Youngkin’s Public-Sector Union Regulations Protect Worker Choice

In the state of Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin is leading the charge against union overreach. On behalf of the 570,000 state and local government employees within the Commonwealth, the Youngkin administration has recently proposed new regulations, protecting Virginians working for the government from unfair, corrupt, undemocratic, and downright predatory union practices. 

Within the proposed rulemaking, the regulations guarantee that any union certification election must be conducted through a secret ballot process. Governor Youngkin is seeing to it that union bosses cannot force workers to publicly sign cards or cast their vote out loud, tactics widely recognized as worker intimidation. Without these assured secret ballots, workers risk penalization for their votes or discrimination by the union or firm.

When secret ballots, for example, were introduced to U.S. elections in the Gilded Age, they brought an end to voter intimidation tactics and vote-buying in U.S. politics. Similarly, secret ballots help curb union boss intimidation. 

Furthermore, this measure is popular, with 70 percent of Americans and 76 percent of union households supporting secret ballots in union elections. The message is absolutely clear that union members, their families, and their households desire fairness, transparency, and freedom within their elections. Governor Youngkin’s action ensures that elections follow the will of the voters, not that of the union bosses, further democratizing unions.

Another important policy the regulation addresses are the automatic union dues deductions taken from public employee paychecks. As it stands today, unions can have public employers deduct dues automatically from hired local and municipal workers without their consent, thereby enrolling workers by default or as a part of the onboarding agreement, hidden in tons of bureaucratic paperwork.

Governor Youngkin’s proposed regulations prohibit said dues deduction and collection without explicit consent of the employee in writing, which can be revoked at any time. This regulation prevents any sort of loophole or issues of alleged verbal agreements. The policy is both simple and favorable to most members and nonmembers alike: no worker should have money taken from his or her paycheck without explicit and undeniable approval at any time, which can be revoked for any reason.

Once again, workers solidly back this regulation. In fact, two-thirds of Americans oppose mandatory union dues, including a majority of union households. Workers want to keep more of their hard-earned money and be free from the coercion of union bosses.

Lastly, the administration’s regulations prohibit the solicitation and recruitment of workers to the union during working hours. Now, workers can focus on work at work and home at home. The proposed regulation ensures they won’t be harassed, bullied, or pressured into joining a union upon hiring or at the workplace.  

Governor Youngkin’s regulations restore fairness, transparency, and democracy to Virginia’s public workers, while giving them the option to represent themselves as they wish. He not only saves Virginian taxpayers their money but gives dignity to the public employees serving the Commonwealth.