BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – The United Campus Workers of Virginia (UCWVA) is set to gather at the Belitower at Capital Square in Richmond for a Lobby Day and Rally Friday afternoon. It’s aimed at restoring bargaining rights and advocating for a more equitable future for Virginia universities.

United Campus Workers of Virginia, a member-led union, is dedicated to advocating for the rights and well-being of higher education workers. The union represents workers from William & Mary, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

“It’s not just faculty, its not just students; It’s sort of everybody and recognizing that we have shared goals. Things like making sure people have appropriate levels of leave. Making sure we have affordable housing for people. Making sure that we have childcare for individuals who have kids. So, our union is based on trying to advance whose goals,” said UCWVA Virginia Tech Chapter Chair and VT professor Nick Ruktanonchai.

The union’s Lobby Day and Rally in Richmond provides a platform for higher education workers to engage with state legislators about challenges facing Virginia’s university sector and discuss potential solutions. Ruktanonchai, who attended his first Lobby Day last year, expressed the experience of uniting with colleagues from different campuses.

“I never felt that connected to the democratic process, to the actual creation of legislation before that moment. It was just really empowering; I think for me and my colleagues in UCWVA. We all felt that we were able to come together, decide what our priorities were as a unit and then present those priorities,” said Ruktanonchai.

A key focus this year is reinstating collective bargaining rights for public sector workers. These rights were stripped away by the Virginia Supreme Court in 1977 and have been banned by state law since 1993.

“The most important thing about collective bargaining is it gives us a seat at the table. Administrations have increasingly dictated working conditions for staff across campuses. They’ve done things like try to push specific research strategies, research aims. They’ve tried to dictate how we teach and what we teach. It also infringes on free speech. Right now, a lot of those decisions are made by the Board of Visitors, who aren’t elected. Faculty, staff and students don’t have nearly as much of a say as they should in that process,” said Ruktanonchai.

If passed, the collective bargaining bill will give workers a voice to negotiate fair wages, timely pay, and better workplace conditions.

UCWVA invites all public sector workers, higher education advocates, and supporters of workers’ rights to join the rally at 2 p.m. and help amplify the call for transformative change.

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