Teachers and staff members in Fairfax County, home to Virginia’s largest school district, are a step closer to being able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement for the first time in nearly 50 years.
School employees overwhelmingly voted in favor of collective bargaining on Monday, with the Fairfax Education Association and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers coming together under an alliance group, the Fairfax Education Unions, that will represent more than 27,000 school system employees in labor talks.
A bargaining team will be formed to identify priorities for a union contract and begin working with the Fairfax school district on an agreement, officials said.
“I am elated and I am excited for what’s to come for the people in FCPS, not just our staff, but also our kids,” said Leslie Houston, president of the Fairfax Education Association. “This is going to change the lives of our kids, because if their teachers are happy, they will be happy.”
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The two Fairfax school unions have long existed, but Virginia previously barred collective bargaining following a 1977 state Supreme Court decision. That restriction was reversed by a 2020 state law that allowed local government agencies to enter into collective bargaining agreements with local unions. Since then, unions around the commonwealth have fought for recognition, and agencies have entered labor agreements for various government workers, including school employees.
Teachers across the region say that collective bargaining is an opportunity to be more involved in the decision-making process, secure better pay and improve conditions to retain staff.
The Fairfax school district recently dropped proposed salary increases for the 2024-2025 school year from 6 percent to 4 percent after it received about $89 million less from the county than it initially requested. Houston said a contract could limit that kind of fluctuation.
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David Walrod, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, said the election results — in which 96 percent of instructional staff members and 80 percent of operational staff members voted in favor of the Fairfax Education Unions — was an indicator of employee excitement.
“We sent a very clear message that folks want to see change,” Walrod said. “For too long the district has been making decisions without bringing workers into the conversation.”
Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch called the development exciting and historic.
“Collective bargaining will help staff retention and student success,” Frisch said in a statement. “After all, teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. Everyone wins when educators and other school staff have a seat at the decision-making table — pay increases, working conditions improve, and turnover becomes less common.”
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Virginia’s labor movement has long been weakened under the state’s “right to work” law, which allows workers to opt out of paying union dues even if they’re covered by a union contract. In 1977, the state Supreme Court ruled that Virginia lawmakers had not authorized localities to enter into collective bargaining agreements with public employees. For decades, those decisions left unions to lobby government boards in nonbinding agreements and negotiations.
The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers celebrated the development as a national victory, noting that FCPS is the ninth-largest school district in the country.
“Whether they are bus drivers or teachers, these educators are devoted to their students and their work; they should have had the right to collective bargaining long ago,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. NEA President Becky Pringle said: “When we are united, we can demand powerful changes for our schools and students. This is how we win respect and ensure that we have the resources we need to give students our very best.”
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Other school districts in Northern Virginia have either approved ordinances laying the foundation for collective bargaining or are in the process of doing so. Late last month, employees of Alexandria City Public Schools voted in favor of collective bargaining, and the Education Association of Alexandria became the official bargaining unit.
“I initially had never thought that we would have collective bargaining in the state of Virginia,” said Dawn Lucas, president of the Education Association of Alexandria. “It was a long process for us; however, we persevered.”
Fran Lewandoski, a social worker at Lemon Road Elementary School and a Fairfax County Federation of Teachers board member, said in an interview that she’s hoping to see improved benefits and leave, but mostly she’s excited for an opportunity for workers to have a seat at the table.
“This really elevates the voice of the rank and file,” Lewandoski said. “It elevates the voice of the average employee, like me.”
