Organization has enough signatures to form a collective bargaining unit

Back in December PWEA President Maggie Hansford wrote an editorial in the PW Perspective that specified the benefits for collective bargaining for teachers after a state law allowed for public sector bargaining for the first time in almost 50 years.

Yesterday, it came one step closer to reality as they announced that they have obtained the required signatures to form a collective bargaining unit, joining the police and fire department employees, who submitted petitions to the Board of County Supervisors. Hansford sent the following tweet this morning, thanking elected officials such as Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-31st House District) and former Delegate and gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Carroll Foy.

This is just the next step in what is needed to achieve collective bargaining, as it now goes to the school board to vote on the resolution, in which they have 120 days to adopt or decline the resolution. So far, the board has approved the fiscal year 2023 budget during yesterday’s meeting, which includes an average of 7% pay raise for teachers.

Although teacher pay in Prince William County remains lower than their counterparts in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, obtaining the signatures to create the unit is a step in the right direction for those who have endured difficult conditions before and during the pandemic.