Would-Be Gov. Abigail Spanberger Hiding Right to Work Stance

Just five years ago this winter, union boss-owned Democrat politicians in Richmond launched a legislative blitz to repeal Virginia’s popular Right to Work law, which had already been on the books for 73 years at the time. 

This scheme was thwarted due to fierce public opposition, largely mobilized by the National Right to Work Committee. But there is ample reason to believe that, if Big Labor Democrats recapture control of the Old Dominion’s governorship while remaining in control of both chambers of the General Assembly this fall, Right to Work protections for Virginia employees will once again be on the chopping block. 

The leading Democrat candidate for Virginia governor this year, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, accumulated an ample record as a lapdog for Big Labor during her six years on Capitol Hill. 

In 2020 and 2021, Ms. Spanberger voted for the so-called “PRO” Act, a bill which would wipe out all state Right to Work laws across the country, including Virginia’s, while simultaneously handing Big Labor bosses a host of other antiemployee, economy-destroying special privileges.

Virginia Democrats Continue Walking Away From Worker Freedom 

Ms. Spanberger also cosponsored union-label legislation that would have federally mandated union monopoly control over state and local public employees nationwide. 

Ms. Spanberger’s anti-Right to Work record has been called out by Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. A resolute defender of the Right to Work, Ms. Earle-Sears is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for governor. 

So far, Ms. Spanberger is refusing to recant her support for forced unionism, despite being directly questioned by local reporters on the matter. 

“Unfortunately, kowtowing to greedy union bosses is now the norm for Virginia’s Democrat politicians,” said National Right to Work Committee Vice President John Kalb. 

“For decades, many Democrat elected officials in the Old Dominion supported Right to Work. In fact, it was Democrat Gov. Doug Wilder who signed a bill to ban public-sector monopoly bargaining in 1993. 

“But over the past seven or eight years, the vast majority of Democrat politicians in the Commonwealth have proclaimed their fealty to forced unionism, even though ordinary Democrat voters continue to support Right to Work. 

In 2020, Democrats in Richmond partially repealed the Doug Wildersigned ban on government-sector union monopoly bargaining, setting the stage for Big Labor-dominated schools and public safety departments in localities across the state. 

Since then, Big Labor and its leftist allies have succeeded in solidifying their control over Virginia’s Democrats by putting up union-boss lapdogs to run in primaries against several of the remaining elected officials in the party who refused to support total Right to Work destruction. 

Union Bosses Revving Machine For Unified Control Of Richmond in 2026 

With union-label Democrats now wielding operational control over the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, the only extra thing they may need in 2026 to realize their dream of ramming through Right to Work repeal is a governor who is willing to sign it into law. 

The problem they face is that public opinion among rank-and-file Democrats as well as among Republicans and independents remains overwhelmingly supportive of the Right to Work principle. 

Mr. Kalb commented: “Abigail Spanberger is obviously aware of the fact that the vast majority of Virginia citizens want to keep their Right to Work law and oppose new special privileges for union bosses across the board. 

“That’s undoubtedly why she is now dodging the Right to Work issue and pretending to have not yet made up her mind on whether or not Virginia employees should be forced to pay union dues, or be fired from her jobs. 

“But the reality is that Ms. Spanberger made her anti-Right to Work stance abundantly clear during the six years she just recently spent in Congress. 

“You can be assured that the Committee and our members will be making every effort this year through our Survey 2025 program to convince Ms. Spanberger and other Virginia candidates to repudiate their pro-forced unionism track records and pledge to support Right to Work in the future.”

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