unions | ARLnow.com

State reps call on APS to provide stronger labor protections in construction of new Arlington Career Center

Published April 4, 2024 at 3:55PM

A 2023 rendering of the Arlington Career Center

Arlington’s state legislators are calling on school officials to provide more labor protections for workers building the multimillion-dollar Arlington Career Center.

Sens. Adam Ebbin and Barbara Favola, along with Delegates Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez and Adele McClure, sent a letter to the Arlington School Board last month requesting a prevailing wage requirement. This would require workers to receive wages comparable to market rates when constructing the roughly $180 million project at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive.

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NEW: Arlington Transit workers vote to join transit union

By ARLnow.com

Published April 2, 2024 at 9:45AM

An Arlington Transit (ART) bus in Clarendon in 2019 (staff photo)

Arlington Transit workers have overwhelmingly voted to join the same union as their Metro counterparts.

ATU Local 689 announced this morning that 99% of workers — including bus drivers, technicians and cleaners — voted to join the union last month. More, below, from a press release.

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Police, fire unions vie for piece of 2.5 cent tax hike floated by Arlington County Board

By Jo DeVoe

Published February 29, 2024 at 10:30AM

Police officer gives out citation in Courthouse (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Arlington’s police and fire unions are vying for more funding in the county’s proposed $1.62 billion budget to fix compensation issues they say fuel attrition and vacancy issues.

County Manager Mark Schwartz, meanwhile, makes the case in the 2024-2025 budget that the county has been and is committed to meeting these problems with funding while balancing other budget priorities.

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County Board agrees to fund tentative union agreement for Arlington service, labor and trades workers

By Jo DeVoe

Published December 20, 2023 at 1:30PM

County workers fix a valve in Ballston (via Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr)

Some county employees now have a labor contract with Arlington County.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board adopted a resolution funding the tentative collective bargaining agreement between the county and the local union representing service, labor and trade workers.

Schools

Prosecutors dismiss charges against former Arlington teachers union president, for now

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 28, 2023 at 11:30AM

Former Arlington Education Association President Ingrid Gant delivered remarks during a press conference in September 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County prosecutors are taking a step back from pursuing the embezzlement charges levied against former Arlington teachers union president, Ingrid Gant.

That decision, however, does not mean the case against Gant — who was ousted in the spring of 2022 after a 6-year tenure — is closed. The Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney says Gant’s case is serious and they are keeping their options open.

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County weighs tentative wage increases for trades workers against predicted 2025 budget gap

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 9, 2023 at 11:30AM

County workers fix a valve in Ballston (via Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr)

Unionized trade workers have tentatively negotiated with Arlington County for wage increases and safety protections for the next four years.

Predicting a budget gap in the 2025 budget, however, the county says it will have to raise taxes or make budget cuts to pay for these provisions, according to a fiscal analysis the Arlington County Board is set to hear about during its Saturday meeting.

Schools

Arlington teachers decry impending healthcare changes as a ‘catastrophe’

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 13, 2023 at 1:45PM | Updated October 13, 2023 at 2:27PM

Members of the local teachers union, Arlington Education Association, protest the Kaiser contract termination during the Thursday, Oct. 12 School Board meeting (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Over the course of an hour last night, Arlington Public Schools teachers excoriated the School Board and central administration for how they are handling what some call a healthcare catastrophe.

On Dec. 31, APS staff will lose the healthcare they receive from Kaiser Permanente and Cigna through APS, to be replaced in January by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

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Petition filed by Union Kitchen employee to end relationship with union is B.S., union rep says

By Matt Blitz

Published July 17, 2023 at 11:45AM

Union Kitchen in Ballston (staff photo)

A petition filed by a Union Kitchen employee is calling for the end to its relationship with its labor union, but the union is dismissing the effort as a ploy by management.

It was announced on Friday that a Union Kitchen employee has filed a petition with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) to end its relationship with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400. The petition has reportedly been signed by a number of Union Kitchen employees, including those who work at the Ballston location

Schools

APS staff to vote on making Arlington Education Association their official union

By Jo DeVoe

Published March 15, 2023 at 1:45PM | Updated March 15, 2023 at 4:11PM

Arlington Education Association members wearing red in a May School Board meeting when a collective bargaining resolution was passed (courtesy of Virginia Education Association/Olivia Geho)

Local teachers union Arlington Education Association is vying to become the exclusive collective bargaining representative for public school staff.

Arlington Public Schools educators, led by AEA, will hold an election to certify AEA as the official union for teachers and support staff. Currently, the membership-based organization advocates for employees but cannot guarantee benefits through legally binding contracts.

Schools

BREAKING: Former Arlington teachers union president charged with embezzlement

By Jo DeVoe

Published January 24, 2023 at 5:30PM | Updated January 26, 2023 at 9:56AM

Former Arlington Education Association President Ingrid Gant delivered remarks during a press conference in September 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) A former president of the Arlington teachers union, who was ousted last spring, has been charged with embezzling more than $400,000 from the organization.

Ingrid Gant, 54, of Woodbridge, was arrested yesterday (Monday) in Prince William County on four counts of embezzlement. She was taken to the county’s jail and later released on an unsecured bond, according to a press release from the Fairfax County Police Department today (Tuesday).

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Major rally planned in Courthouse to support of unionized Starbucks employees

By Matt Blitz

Published December 6, 2022 at 10:55AM | Updated December 6, 2022 at 2:28PM

Employees at the Courthouse Starbucks went on strike in November (staff photo)

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A major rally is being planned for later this week in front of the county government headquarters, in a show of solidarity with recently-unionized Starbucks employees.

The president of the AFL-CIO and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) are both expected to attend, among others.