A legislative push for labor rights in Virginia ended Thursday, May 14, when Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) vetoed collective bargaining bill HB 1263, which aimed “to establish a system for public sector collective bargaining.” Unions said the veto violated campaign promises.

HB 1263, sponsored by Del. Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax) with an identical bill, SB 378, by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), would have extended bargaining rights to over 500,000 Virginia public employees — including firefighters, teachers and state and local workers — seeking wages, benefits, and working conditions by overturning bans on collective bargaining.

In April, Spanberger proposed a Governor’s Substitute to delay collective bargaining for local employees without an agreement until 2030. The General Assembly rejected the delay on April 22, returning the version unaltered.

In her veto statement, Spanberger said: "While preserving the enrolled bill's focus on allowing public employees to achieve collective bargaining, my amendments would have also provided flexibility for public employers. … However, the General Assembly rejected these amendments.”

Labor leaders pointed to her April 8, 2025, messaging that she would “look forward to working with members of our General Assembly to make sure more Virginians can negotiate for the benefits and fair treatment that they earn."

Union heads said that the promise was broken. "Collective bargaining is not a privilege – it is a right," leaders from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said in a statement. "Governor Spanberger met with our members, stated her support, and made a promise. Today, she broke it."

IAFF General President Edward Kelly stated: “This veto is a step against every worker who put their faith in Abigail Spanberger to deliver," Kelly said. "Firefighters keep their word every day on the job. The Governor did not do the same.” (Read the statement via the IAFF News Portal).

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien added: "Gov. Spanberger's actions in Virginia are a reminder that unions must demand more of elected officials," O'Brien said. (Read the press release at the Teamsters Official Website.)

At a May 6 Fairfax rally, LaNoral Thomas, president of SEIU Virginia 512, said: "Making Virginia affordable means making sure the public servants who keep this state running can [afford to] live here."

Fairfax County Supervisor Dalia Palchick (D-Providence) said: “We know that when unions are active, our economy is stable." She said that without labor protections, workers are vulnerable. 

Thomas noted the bans were rooted in the 1970s: "When collective bargaining was banned in Virginia over 45 years ago, it was banned because a group of Black women at UVA stated that they wanted the right to collectively bargain," Thomas said.

With the veto, the 2021 law remains the status quo, leaving collective bargaining optional for individual municipalities to adopt via local ordinance.