John Tillman, CEO of the American Culture Project, wrote in Friday’s Wall Street Journal about Governor Glenn Youngkin’s fight against “the death spiral that comes when government unions conquer a state.”
The article specifically mentions Fairfax, where Democrats have repeatedly prioritized the demands of public-sector unions over the rights and interests of county taxpayers.
Fairfax County is forecasting at least $1.6 million in administrative costs, with forthcoming union contracts likely costing tens of millions more per year. Prince George County, south of Richmond, foresees the annual cost of contracts at $10 million, with one local official saying the higher costs will run “forever.” In Richmond itself, public-school employees and principals have already unionized, with teachers ratifying a pricey contract in December. The costs will grow as unions make more demands, and inevitably unions will demand higher state taxes as well as local levies to fund the largesse.
The stakes in this year’s Virginia elections could not be any higher. As Tillman warns: “If Republicans fall short, it will get harder to repeal public-sector collective bargaining, since unions will become more powerful with every passing year. It may be now or never to stop Virginia from becoming a wholly owned union subsidiary like Illinois.”
