Subcommittee reports broad bill to extend collective bargaining to most public employees and create a PERB

Delegate Tran presented House Bill 2,764 to the House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee on Feb. 12, 2025, proposing a statewide expansion of collective-bargaining rights for public employees and the establishment of a Public Employee Relations Board to manage representation elections, mediation and implementation.

Tran said the bill would extend bargaining rights to tens of thousands of employees who currently lack them, including home-care workers, and would create a PERB to ensure consistency across jurisdictions. Supporters argued that after local collective-bargaining rights passed in 2020, more workers organized and that statewide rules would address large pay gaps. Rich Goshka of the Police Benevolent Association and multiple unions, including the Police Benevolent Association, SEIU, Virginia Professional Firefighters, and the AFL-CIO, testified in favor.

Witnesses from the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis and academic and teacher groups highlighted pay disparities and the Department of Human Resource Management’s report showing state employees paid below market rates in many agencies. Opponents included the Virginia State Police Association, Virginia Professional Educators, the Virginia Association of Counties and the Municipal League, which raised concerns about fiscal impacts, the role of local school boards, potential elimination of secret-ballot elections for union representation, and impacts on law-enforcement independence.

During questioning, Delegate Tran said the bill seeks to exclude changes to existing disciplinary procedures and that the bill’s language differs from the Senate version in key respects. A motion to report the bill passed and the subcommittee voted 5–2 to report HB 2,764.

Action: The subcommittee reported HB 2,764 by a 5–2 vote; the measure will advance for further consideration.