Representatives of both the business community and organized labor voiced skepticism at a recent forum that an end to Virginia’s right-to-work law is on the horizon for 2026.
“Right to work is not a big thing to us right now,” said Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26.
Speaking at a Jan. 14 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington, Slaiman said a contentious fight over Virginia’s unionization framework would get in the way of more pressing priorities in a year when Democrats have control of the governorship and both houses of the General Assembly.
“We’re not going to disrupt this [legislative] session. We’ve got too much of an agenda,” said Slaiman, whose union local represents 15,000 workers.
Addressing right-to-work’s future “will come later,” he said.
Tony Howard, CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, also sensed a major overhaul of unionizing rules was unlikely in 2026.
He pointed to remarks by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) in December, saying she would not sign any legislation on the topic that got to her desk.
“I think she gets it,” Howard said of the possible downsides to Virginia leaving the ranks of a slight majority of states with right-to-work policies in place.
House Speaker Don Scott (D) also appears to have trepidation about moving forward, Howard said.
Despite the views of those leaders, Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-33) has introduced legislation to effectively eliminate Virginia’s restrictions impacting unionization in the commonwealth.
The measure has been sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor. It has until Feb. 17 to win approval in the Senate and move to the House of Delegates, or it will be dead for the session.
“Right to work” doesn’t mean unions aren’t allowed. Rather, it allows employees in unionized workplaces to decide whether they will join and pay dues for representation.
Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, told attendees that there are three main types of union representation:
- A “closed shop,” where workers can’t be hired unless they are already union members
- A “union shop,” where employees are required to be part of a union as a condition of employment
- An “agency shop,” where employees don’t have to be union members and don’t pay union dues, but do pay fees related to collective-bargaining efforts of unions
Slaiman disputed some of those definitions. “Not one worker in this country has to belong to a union,” he said.
During introductory remarks before the panel discussion, Clower questioned whether it would be wise for Virginia to consider changes during a period of economic uncertainty.
The current situation is “pretty butt-ugly,” Clower said, owing largely but not exclusively to federal downsizing.
Clower was not particularly optimistic about the near-term trajectory of the regional economy.
“In 2026, it’s not like we’re going to rebound,” he said. “We’re really in a battle, on the losing side, at the moment.”
At the Advance Arlington forum, Howard said that his chamber of commerce had no problems with unionization as currently allowed in the commonwealth.
“We are not anti-union,” he said. “In many cases they serve a very useful purpose. There are ways in which unions add real value.”
But, he argued, eliminating right-to-work legislation would put Virginia at a disadvantage to states that retain it, including Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas and Texas.
“There’s bipartisan consensus [right-to-work] has made Virginia more competitive,” Howard said.
As a result, his organization supports right-to-work “without amendment, repeal or any dilution,” he said.
The third panelist, labor economist John Earle of George Mason University, said it was plausible that eliminating the right-to-work statute would cause business leaders to avoid relocating to Virginia.
But whether it would have a major impact, Earle wasn’t convinced.
“I’m sure that’s a consideration for them, but there are other considerations,” he said, adding that changes to Virginia’s right-to-work laws might not be “quite as dire” as critics suggest.
“In Northern Virginia, most of our industries are not going to be unionized in any case,” said Earle, who serves as director of the Center for Micro-Economic Policy Research at Mason.
Although only about 5% of Virginia private-sector employees are in unions, IBEW has found a willing partner with industry in the construction of data centers, Slaiman said.
“We’re very integral” to building those facilities, he said, since operators want to “get these things built property, safely and efficiently.”
In other employment areas across Northern Virginia, union organizing has been a challenge, Slaiman acknowledged. But he has hopes for a rebound.
“I’d love to organize the health-care industry, get the hospitality sector organized,” he said.
While Virginia Democrats may kick the can down the road on the issue in 2026, Slaiman predicted Spanberger would have to take a position on it eventually, if she has aspirations for prominence nationally within the Democratic Party.
Right-to-work legislation largely impacts private-sector employment. Recent changes have impacted Virginia public-sector unionization, and more may be on the way.
From 1978 to 2021, Virginia law imposed an outright ban on unionization among employees of the state government and local governments. But legislation passed by the Democratic majority and signed by then-Gov. Ralph Northam (D) allowed for a resumption of union representation at the local-government level, if the governing body of a jurisdiction agreed.
In Arlington, both the County Board and School Board have ratified collective-bargaining agreements with employee groups in recent years.
State law retains a ban on strikes by public-sector employees, and makes any contract with local-government unions subject to the availability of government funding.
