Virginia AAUP-AFT

The Virginia State Conference of AAUP-AFT Local 6741. A higher education union for all workers on campus. Fighting to restore our rights as higher ed workers.

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

There have been about a half dozen speakers so far. the focus has been on the need to pass the best bill possible in 2027 that includes higher ed and home care workers.

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

Happening now in Woodbridge: SEIU Virginia 512 is hosting a town hall in support of public-sector collective bargaining legislation

[Jacobin @jacobin]

Mayor Zohran Mamdani mocks Ronald Reagan’s infamous quote.

“I can think of nine words more terrifying than ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help…’”

“I worked all day and can’t feed my family.”

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

A spox for the Virginia labor coalition confirms the unions met with the Spanberger administration today.

The coalition is still calling for the General Assembly to reject Spanberger's substitute and for Spanberger to sign the bill the GA passed.

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

As a candidate, Spanberger spent a day with an SEIU Virginia 512 home care worker, Elisha Woods, and her client, Ethan.

Woods asked Spanberger if she supported collective bargaining.

Spanberger: "The short answer is, 'Yes.'"

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

The unions and Surovell would rather risk a Spanberger veto and try again next year than live with the changes she's proposed for the collective bargaining bill

[SEIU Virginia State Council @SEIU_Virginia]

ICYMI: This week, unions representing hundreds of thousands of Virginia workers called on the General Assembly to reject anti-worker changes that gutted the historic Collective Bargaining bill.

Read more here: https://t.co/f2FTw1XUQe

[SEIU Virginia State Council @SEIU_Virginia]

BREAKING: Unions Representing Hundreds of Thousands of Virginia Workers Call on General Assembly to Reject Anti-Worker Changes Gutting Collective Bargaining Bill https://t.co/oxJKyHl4yK

[SEIU Virginia State Council @SEIU_Virginia]

BREAKING: Workers call on General Assembly to reject collective bargaining bill changes! https://t.co/TVJ4bM4GtG

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

“We hope that the governor will listen to the people who make [VA] a great place to live and work — not local governments, not university top brass, not executives, but the people...who need a seat at the table because we have been on our feet for far too long.” @SpanbergerForVA

[Harry Szabo is in the union @HarrySzabo]

It's been a while since I've been dispersed by the cops; guess a group of educators and healthcare workers is pretty terrifying. Shoutout to the home healthcare worker who requested a paper copy of the use of space policy.

[Michael O'Connor @oconnor_reports]

Virginia Capitol Police dispersed a small group of union members calling on Spanberger not to water down the public-sector collective bargaining bill.

In Virginia, public workers need permission to rally at the Capitol and they need permission to collective bargaining.

[Todd Wolfson @ProfTWolf]

This is pure lunacy. Have you not been on campuses since the spring of ‘24? Just this week NYC Cuty Council is moving a bill creating a buffer zone so you can’t protest on campus.

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

Opponents use misleading arguments to attack Virginia’s collective bargaining bill https://t.co/smMX27FLp6

[Todd Wolfson @ProfTWolf]

. @scottyenor calls it “tradition,” but it’s exclusion. VMI wasn’t strong because it excluded women—it was limited by it. Public institutions don’t defend hierarchy; they expand opportunity. Excellence grows with inclusion, not segregation

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

All @aaup members can feel proud that they played a role in this historic victory for bargaining rights. Even though legislators cut us out, we never once broke ranks. We lived our values. We acted in solidarity. We centered the margins. Our turn is coming. And we will win! ✊

[Danny Bloom🌷 @danzu72]

I worked for USAID when It was closed, these guys literally were firing senior Foreign Service Officers with 30 years of experience on the spot. These kids were drunk on power and a reckoning is coming. I will always be hot about this shit. I know for a fact we allowed children to die because of these snotty shits.

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

@oconnor_reports Bittersweet moment. Happy for our union siblings who won rights today. Gutted for those of us who teach, esp as we face attacks in higher ed, are being surveilled and threatened, our academic freedom and speech chilled, and we (even w tenure) can be fired without due process.

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

Bittersweet @AAUP. Happy so many public sector workers won collective bargaining. Dismayed that @vademocrats excluded faculty who "engage in any instructional activities." This at a time when teachers are under attack...when tenured faculty are being fired without due process.

[Virginia AAUP-AFT @VA_AAUP]

💔💔💔💔💔

[L. Louise Lucas @SenLouiseLucas]

Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was a lifelong Virginian who lived in Chesapeake where I represent with @NewCraigforVA. He was a beloved ROTC leader at ODU in a program he was once enrolled in as a young man. He will be missed terribly by our community and our hearts are broken tonight.