By Dave Ress
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
RICHMOND, Va. — The nation’s main firefighters union’s biennial convention voted to censure Gov. Abigail Spanberger because of her veto of collective bargaining legislation after the General Assembly rejected amendments she said the bill needed.
The International Association of Fire Fighters said the censure is a formal reprimand for what it described as a “willful violation” of Spanberger’s explicit promises to it.
“Abigail Spanberger turned her back on the very workers who helped put her in the governor’s mansion,” said Edward A. Kelly, the union’s general president.
“But firefighters have long memories. Today’s unanimous censure vote sends a clear message to all elected officials: when you make a promise to firefighters, we expect you to keep it. It doesn’t matter what party you’re from — if you break your commitments, the IAFF will hold you accountable,” Kelly said.
Noting that Spanberger, while a member of Congress, pushed legislation that ended a 40-year-old practice of denying firefighters Social Security benefits, her director of communications Libby Wiet said the governor has long been a champion for Virginia’s firefighters.
“Now as governor, she pushed through a budget amendment that secures millions of dollars to provide cancer screenings for career firefighters,” Wiet said.
“The governor’s commitment to supporting first responders, and specifically Virginia’s firefighters, remains consistent and unchanged,” she said.
While Spanberger has said she supports collective bargaining for state and local government employees, including firefighters, she vetoed legislation (Senate Bill 378 and House Bill 1263) after the General Assembly rejected changes she proposed in an unprecedented refusal to even vote on them.
Spanberger said at the time that she worried about the legislation’s fast-track timeline and how local governments and school boards would cope.
She proposed delaying some key provisions until 2030 and moving more oversight of government employee collective bargaining to a new state board, which she said would make implementation of collective bargaining happen with less disruption.
She has said she still supports the basic idea and expects legislation next year to address her concerns.
The censure resolution says the union will oppose any future or national political office for Spanberger unless she takes meaningful action to enable collective bargaining rights for firefighters and emergency medical workers.
“We do not take the action of this censure lightly,” said Kurt Detrick, president of the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters.
“We want nothing more than to work with the Governor to enact this critically important legislation and support our Commonwealth’s public safety professionals,” Detrick said.
“We are willing to sit down with her and discuss the path forward just as we have with members of her party. And if that happens, and legislation is approved as she promised, we will be pleased to retract this censure resolution and publicly communicate her efforts,” he added.
