Alexandria Firefighter Union Wins Historic Collective Bargaining Vote

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12:31 PM

Alexandria Firefighter Union Wins Historic Collective Bargaining Vote

Abigail Higgins

First responders in Alexandria voted to bargain collectively this week as part of the International Association of Fire Fighters. It was a landslide victory for the union, which now represents the first public sector employees in more than four decades to win a seat at the bargaining table in Virginia.

“Now we have an opportunity to make this place better, and that’s a big deal,” says Joshua Turner, the president of the union, Local 2141, and an Alexandria Fire captain. Turner says the city’s first responders have been plagued by staffing shortages and grueling overtime hours even as their salaries haven’t kept up with Alexandria’s cost of living. “Something’s got to change, and now we can be an agent for this change,” he says.

The vote represents a historic turn of events for organized labor in the commonwealth. A 1977 Virginia Supreme Court ruling barred collective bargaining for government workers in the state, hamstringing public sector unions in the decades since.

In 2020, a new law allowed localities to make their own decisions about collective bargaining and Alexandria took advantage of the law, becoming the first city to allow public employees to collectively bargain— paving the way for this week’s vote. ... The vote was 99.39% in favor, according to the union, a notable margin particularly in Virginia, which is a “right to work state” where unions can’t compel workers to pay dues even if they’re covered by a union contract.

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