The Latest from VEA

VEA Daily Reports

January 29, 2020

You were a big part of this: Wednesday, Collective Bargaining for Public Sector Employees (HB582) passed the House Appropriations Committee and heads to the floor for first read Thursday, debate on Friday, and final passage Monday. We know that the conversations you had with your legislators on Monday helped firm up the votes we needed. Now we need to keep the pressure on. Make a follow-up call to your Delegate and tell him or her why school employees need collective bargaining. Keep the pressure on!

The Labor Coalition met today to talk about floor strategy and which Senators needed to hear more from us. Thursday, VEA President Jim Livingston will be walking the halls of the Pocahontas Building and getting in front of key Senators. He will also be thanking members of the House and making sure they know how much the VEA supports this legislation. We expect the Senate bill to be heard on Monday in the full Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.

Also headed to the floor Thursday are the House versions of our due process bills. After their bi-partisan passage in the Senate, we feel good about the outcome in the House. These are big bills that, I hope, don’t get lost in the collective bargaining excitement. Watch for HB365 from Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy and HB570 from Delegate Elizabeth Guzman.

In subcommittee tomorrow afternoon our SOL reduction bill, SB847 by Senator Pillion, will have its first hearing. In exciting news, Senator Jeremy McPike has a nearly identical bill. I am hopeful that we can get bipartisan support and finally pass a bill that so many Virginians want. I will update on those tomorrow.