Like 27 other states, Virginia has “right-to-work” laws that lead to lower wages and benefits and poorer working conditions than workers are generally able to obtain in the roughly half of the country that lacks these laws. Misleadingly, but commonly, called “right-to-work” laws, these provisions protect employers rather than workers. Their real purpose and effect is to limit the ability of unions effectively to bargain for better terms for their members.
Currently pending in the Virginia House of Delegates is legislation, HB 1755, that would repeal Virginia’s right-to-work laws. You can help improve the lot of Virginia workers by calling your state representatives and urging them to support HB 1755. Contact information and a suggested message are shown below.
Virginia’s right-to-work laws are particularly stringent. Like laws in some other right-to-work states, they prohibit an employer from agreeing to make union membership a condition of employment. Unlike many other right-to-work laws, however, they also prohibit an employer from agreeing to require its employees to pay their fair share to the union for representing them, even if these employees do not have to pay any additional amount for union membership.
These laws weaken a union by depriving it of income from some of the employees whose interests it is required to represent. At the same time it enables those employees to receive whatever wages, benefits, and working conditions the union is able to negotiate without contributing to the cost of their union representation. States with right-to-work laws have been shown to have lower wages, lower benefits, and poorer working conditions than states without such laws. In part because of Virginia’s right-to-work laws, the rights of workers in our state are among the weakest in the nation.
There is another ugly side to right-to-work laws: many were enacted in the years after World War II in part to preserve racial segregation in unions. Virginia’s laws were adopted very soon after the war, in 1947.
You can help make change happen. Email your state Delegate and Senator and urge them to support repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws:
Four delegates represent voters in various parts of Arlington. Email your delegate:
Patrick Hope represents District 47 in Arlington. He is a patron of HB 1755. DelPHope@house.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I strongly support your efforts to enact HB 1755.
Mark Levine represents District 45 in Arlington. He is a patron of HB 1755. DelMLevine@house.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I strongly support your efforts to enact HB 1755.
Alfonso Lopez represents District 49 in Arlington. He is a patron of HB 1755. He is also on the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which is currently considering HB 1755. DelALopez@house.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I strongly support your efforts to enact HB 1755.
Rip Sullivan represents District 48 in Arlington. He is on the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which is currently considering HB 1755. DelRSullivan@house.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I urge you to support HB 1755.
Three senators represent voters in various parts of Arlington. Email your state senator:
Adam Ebbin represents District 30 in Arlington. district30@senate.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I urge you to work to repeal these unfair laws.
Barbara Favola represents District 30 in Arlington. district31@senate.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I urge you to work to repeal these unfair laws.
Janet Howell represents District 32 in Arlington. district32@senate.virginia.gov Proposed text: Repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work laws is very important to me. I urge you to work to repeal these unfair laws.
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