Newport News votes to establish collective bargaining task force

Employee associations in Newport News have expressed interest in organizing certain parts of the city’s workforce under collective bargaining agreements, and the city government is now assembling a task force to explore the matter.

Dozens of people showed up to the City Council meeting at Christopher Newport University’s Gaines Theatre Tuesday night to show support for the city allowing collective bargaining, or at least studying the issue. After hearing from about 20 people — including those working in public safety, the shipyard, public works and education — the council unanimously passed a resolution to establish a collective bargaining task force.

Virginia was one of a few states with a blanket ban on collective bargaining for public sector employees until 2020, when the Democrat-controlled General Assembly enacted a new law, effective 2021, punting the final say to localities.

Advocates for collective bargaining told the council that it would help close pay gaps, ensure fair wages, ensure equal rights and encourage long-term commitment to the job.

“A fundamental right of workers is to organize,” said Newport News resident Jason Parker.

“Union workers work safer, they take more pride in their jobs,” said Paul Trujillo with Teamsters Local 822. “It’s more reflective that it’s a career for them and not a one-off job. We’ve been seeing over the past few years this great resignation, this trend of workers walking away from jobs. We don’t see that same trend in unions.”

Adrian Manning, representing the Newport News chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said the task force would benefit not only the firefighters but “the city as a whole.”

“This task force will be crucial in ensuring the strong working relationship that we currently have between the city and our valued firefighters,” Manning said. “It would allow open and honest communication regarding our working conditions, wages and benefits.”

City Manager Alan Archer said city council members brought forward the matter of the task force after hearing interest on the issue from employees. The council believes it would benefit from receiving recommendations from a task force of stakeholders that would study the scope of collective bargaining, which could include certain terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, benefits, scheduling, work hours and working conditions, among other things. The task force would also study the number of collective bargaining units.

The resolution, co-sponsored by Mayor Phillip Jones and Councilman Cleon Long, says that the task force shall serve in an advisory capacity to the City Council, and the council will appoint its members. The task force will consist of nine members and may include representatives of employee associations, city representatives and other stakeholders.

Several speakers took issue with the resolution, stating the task force “may” include representatives from employee associations instead of saying it “must” have union members on the task force. Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany said he agreed that the task force should have workers or union representation.

Archer said he did not have an exact timeline for assembling the task force as of Tuesday night. Still, the resolution says the task force shall provide recommendations to the City Council on the issues within one year of its members’ appointment. It also says that the task force’s term shall end upon making recommendations to City Council, or Oct. 1, 2025, whichever occurs first, unless the council votes to extend the term.

In a joint statement, Jones and Long said, “This initiative is essential to ensuring fair and equitable labor practices, strengthening our workforce, and ultimately enhancing the quality of life for all our residents. We are taking a crucial step toward fostering a more inclusive and prosperous community by supporting this task force.”

Earlier this year Virginia Beach denied collective bargaining of city employees , but is in the process of studying the issue . Norfolk denied city workers collective bargaining rights , and instead supported a meet-and-confer process. Portsmouth approved collective bargaining in November.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com