May 14, 2026
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New Virginia Majority Condemns Governor Spanberger’s Decision to Veto Historic Collective Bargaining Legislation
New Virginia Majority condemns Governor Spanberger’s veto of the landmark public sector collective bargaining legislation passed by the General Assembly earlier this year. This veto is a betrayal of Virginia’s working families and a direct blow to the communities whose votes and organizing put this administration in power.
The veto is also a direct contradiction of the affordability agenda Spanberger campaigned on. Virginia already carries one of the largest public-sector pay gaps in the nation, a gap that falls hardest on healthcare workers, teachers, public works employees, and other frontline workers who hold the commonwealth together.
NVM co-executive director Tram Nguyen said, “Virginia’s ban on public sector collective bargaining was a deliberate act of white supremacist backlash against Black workers’ organizing drive in the 1940s. The General Assembly’s bill was a long overdue opportunity to correct that history and this veto extends it instead. New Virginia Majority will continue to fight alongside our labor partners for the collective bargaining rights Virginia’s public sector workers have earned and deserve."
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New Virginia Majority builds power in working-class communities of color, in immigrant communities, among LGBTQ people, women, youth, and progressives across the Commonwealth. We organize for racial and economic justice through large-scale political education, mobilization and advocacy around dozens of issues. We fight for a Virginia that is just, democratic and environmentally sustainable. For more information, visit our website.