RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - Home care and campus workers urged Virginia lawmakers Wednesday to include them in an effort to give state employees the ability to bargain collectively.

State and local government employees are poised to gain the right to collectively bargain thanks to a Democratic majority in the General Assembly and a newly elected Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger. Two large groups of state employees, home care workers paid through the government and campus workers, however, are worried about being left behind. 

"All of Virginia's public sector workers deserve the freedom to come together and bargain for fair wages, worker protections and meaningful acknowledgement about the value of the work that they do," Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi said at a press conference. "Whether you are an adjunct professor teaching our college students, a food service worker providing meals for thousands of people a day or a home care provider ensuring that we have essential care for those who cannot take care of themselves, please know I'm in this fight with you."

The Senate version of the bill excludes home care workers, while the bill passed through the House of Delegates excludes campus workers. The union advocates are hopeful lawmakers will include both groups in the final version of the bill before the last day of session on March 14. 

Local government employees can currently only collectively bargain if they obtain permission through an ordinance from their locality or a school board, while state employees have no such right. The bill would grant more than 500,000 state and local government employees, ranging from state police to park rangers to teachers, the ability to form unions to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions. 

"The core idea of a union is not radical, it's logical," medical student Jake Mikesell said. "Better working conditions make for more effective, more focused workers in medicine. That just doesn't mean a better life for me, although I'd like that; it means better care for my patients. When we are treated as a source of cheap labor, rather than doctors in training, the entire health care system suffers."

Senator Scott Surovell, who carried the Senate version of the bill, said his chamber's reluctance to include home care workers stems from the costs, ranging in the millions, to create an authority to oversee the process and act as an arbitrator. Surovell said his chamber is looking for an affordable way to include home care workers. 

Virginia currently has 28,000 caregivers, but according to the Paraprofessional Health Institute, that number will need to more than quadruple to meet the estimated 124,000 home care workers needed in 2032. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services set the rate for most state home care workers at $13.88 per hour, while those in Northern Virginia, a wealthy Washington, D.C., suburb, make $17.97 per hour.

"My family would prefer to hire outside home care workers so I can spend my time equally with both of my children," home care worker Caleb Echterling, who cares for his 16-year-old disabled son, James, said. "It's incredibly hard to find workers willing to do the job for the wages currently on offer. Better wages and benefits lead to better stability in the industry, and that means better care for James and all the other clients receiving home care services."

Delegate Jeion Ward, a Democrat and staunch union advocate, claimed university presidents lobbied the finance and appropriation committee to exclude campus workers.

"People want to be heard in any kind of relationship, in your families, in your workplaces, in the government, communication matters," Ward said. "Some people act like collective bargaining is a dirty word."

Vitalis Temu, an agricultural research expert, spoke in support of including campus workers in the legislation. Temu is one of six tenured professors that Virginia State University terminated unexpectedly in December. President of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, Cozy Bailey, said collective bargaining helps everyone. 

"This legislation marks a significant step in dismantling remnants of slavery and Jim Crow laws that have historically marginalized people of color and women in the workplace. It's time to move beyond these outdated restrictions that hinder workers from improving their conditions and their livelihoods," Bailey said. "When teachers can negotiate for smaller class sizes, emergency responders for updated equipment and nurses for improved staffing, we all benefit."

Republican lawmakers oppose the measure, claiming it will require localities to raise taxes to compensate for higher wages expected under collective bargaining. The Virginia Association of Counties also opposes the measure, claiming it disregards locally tailored solutions.  

"Collective bargaining will be incredibly expensive for every Virginian," Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle said. "It does not make their lives more affordable." 

Lawmakers have 10 days to iron out the final version of the bill before sending it to Spanberger's desk for signing. 

Source: Courthouse News Service