During the first full week of Session 2022 we recognized Martin Luther King, Jr. Day while the House and Senate began to vote on legislation. Bills have started to be referred to the committees and subcommittees where they will receive their first votes. We were getting into the full swing of things with morning meetings full of enthusiastic labor activists looking to lobby General Assembly members to urge them to protect the progress we have made over the last 2 years.
This first week was a bang with over 500 labor lobbying outreach to legislators done on 27 bills with 23 local unions represented. Labor did not come to play games this session, and with all that outreach, the hard work can be seen in the few legislative highlights of the week below.
This Week's Legislation Highlights
Defeated Bad Bills:
Attacks on Voting Rights (SB 118 / SB 127/ SB 162/ SB 167/ SB 168)
Minimum Wage Increase Freeze (SB 173)
Good Bills That Advanced & Reported Out of Committee:
Right to Vote Constitutional Amendment (SJR 1 / SB 21)
Safe and Thriving Workplace Anti-Harassment (SB 494)
A Few things we are watching next week:
Advanced out of committee, will be on House floor next week:
HB 9 (Attacks on Teachers)
HB 58 (Attacks Local Prevailing Wage)
This session, just so far, there are over 2300 bills that have been dropped by legislators, and so many of them are bills that would be detrimental to working families of Virginia and all of the progress we made to protect workers and amplify their voices on the job. The state-federation is tracking well over 200 of them, and working hard to ensure that we continue to make a positive change in the labor movement through legislation. To strengthen our efforts, we need your help! Sign up to virtually lobby with us this session -- the more labor activists we have, the better!
