VEA Names Guzman, Boysko ‘Legislators of the Year’; Mugler ‘Rookie of the Year’; Others Earn ‘Legislative Champion’ Awards
April 14, 2020
April 14, 2020
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: John O’Neil, VEA Communications, at 804-775-8316
In recognition of their leadership in the historic movement to help public employees to regain the right to negotiate contracts with their employers, Delegate Elizabeth Guzman and Senator Jennifer Boysko have been named the Virginia Education Association’s 2020 Legislators of the Year.
Their efforts helped lead to the most important piece of worker’s legislation passed in Virginia in a generation. Now, public school employees are no longer prohibited from sitting down with their local school division and using the collective bargaining process to get the best learning conditions for students and working conditions for educators.
“Delegate Guzman and Senator Boysko helped make history in Virginia,” said VEA President Jim Livingston. “It’s been over 40 years since public school educators in the commonwealth have had the right to bargain with local school divisions, a process that benefits both students and school employees. We’re extremely grateful to both of them for helping make a huge step forward for our schools happen this year.”
The VEA also honored Delegate Martha Mugler as the 2020 Legislative Rookie of the Year, in honor of her leadership in standing up for improved salaries for Virginia’s public school teachers. Her House Bill 233 would have required that our teachers be paid at or above the national average salary for teachers by 2025. Mugler also introduced budget amendments providing teachers with a 4.8 percent raise in both years of the biennium.
“While Delegate Mugler’s bill was defeated in the House Appropriations Committee and her amendments weren’t included in the budget, we believe both were an important victory in the battle to address a long-time problem, and one that Virginia must address,” said VEA President Jim Livingston. “We look forward to working with her in the years ahead.”
The VEA also honored Senators and Delegates with Legislative Champion Awards for their support of public education initiatives in this year’s General Assembly session. They are:
The more than 40,000 members of the Virginia Education Association believe that every child deserves a great public school.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, teachers in Virginia earn 67 cents on the dollar compared to other (non-teacher) college-educated workers. Virginia’s teacher wage penalty is the worst in the nation.
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