Virginia Public Employees Are Big Labor Targets

Mandatory Monopoly-Bargaining Legislation on 2026 Richmond Agenda

Six years ago this spring, union-label politicians in Richmond seemingly set the stage for a complete Big Labor takeover of Virginia’s local public institutions by ramming through repeal of the statutory ban on government-sector monopoly bargaining that had been on the books since 1993.

But while the legalization of so-called “exclusive” union bargaining over local public employees has clearly been a boon for government union bosses in Virginia, it hasn’t so far been as transformative as union strategists originally anticipated.

Thanks in part to the National Right to Work Committee’s effective lobbying of local elected officials, deals between cities, counties and towns and union bosses handing Big Labor monopoly power over the terms and conditions of employment for civil servants have so far been largely stymied.

State Laws Hand Big Labor Governing Power Without Accountability

That’s why, in the wake of Big Labor’s capture of the governorship and tightening of its grip over the Virginia General Assembly in last fall’s elections, union strategists are eager for passage of a law mandating union monopoly bargaining over the compensation and work rules of state and local civil servants.

National Right to Work Committee Vice President John Kalb commented:

“Since union-label politicians, boosted by a flood of Big Labor money and manpower flowing into their campaigns from out of state, took total control over Richmond in November 2025, Committee members and supporters across Virginia have been preparing to fight to save the state’s beloved Right to Work law.

“But the reinstitution of forced union financial support as a job condition nearly eight decades after it was banned in the Old Dominion is not the only threat to the freedom and prosperity of individual employees looming in Virginia.

“A mandatory monopoly-bargaining law similar to those already on the books in Big Labor California, Illinois, New York, and many other states would ensure union bosses wield at least as much power as elected officials do over how government schools and other vital public services in Virginia are run.

“Of course, the power elected officials wield comes with accountability. If citizens are unhappy with the way they and/or their appointees are doing their jobs, they can vote them out.

“But government union bosses wield similar power without accountability to the public. Ordinary citizens have no mechanism to oust them from office.”

While government-sector union monopolies jack up the cost and undermine the effectiveness of all kinds of public services, from police and fire departments to transit and social welfare, their dire impact is especially glaring when it comes to public education.

Monopoly Bargaining Makes Schools Far More Costly And Less Effective

Mr. Kalb explained:

State monopoly-bargaining laws make it impossible to implement important education decisions without government union bosses’ acquiescence. Time and again, the consequences are sky-high costs for taxpayers and abysmal outcomes for schoolchildren.”

To illustrate the point, Mr. Kalb cited the case of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where radical union boss Cecily Myart-Cruz has long been empowered to speak for all educators on key matters concerning their compensation and work rules.

“Per pupil spending in the LAUSD,” he noted, “is roughly $27,000. That’s 33% higher than the national average.

“Meanwhile, academic results are far below the national average. As economist Steve Moore recently pointed out, ‘Over 72% of [LAUSD] students fail math tests, and over 58% fail English.’ And a third of LAUSD students ‘drop out without graduating from high school.’”

‘Obviously Not the Way to Deliver “Outstanding” Schools’

While incoming Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger gratefully accepted the campaign support of teacher and other government union bosses last year, she made no public commitment to support mandatory monopoly bargaining if elected.

Instead, her campaign literature touted her stance that “all parents deserve to know that their child will receive an outstanding education.”

Mr. Kalb concluded: “Foisting union monopolies on school districts across the state is obviously not the way to deliver ‘outstanding’ schools. To stick by her words, Ms. Spanberger should pledge now to veto any mandatory monopoly-bargaining bill that comes her way.”

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