Fairfax County has committed to funding its responsibilities to employees under a collective bargaining agreement.
At its meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 9), the Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 to approve a resolution committing to funding obligations under the agreement with the Fairfax County Government Employees Union.
“[In] none of our lifetimes have we had this type of contract for our county employees who are in the trenches every day,” said Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik. “It is a historic moment.”
The county reached a tentative agreement with the union in September on a three-year contract that will govern employee pay, benefits and working conditions. The contract was ratified by union members in a reported 99.9% vote on Oct. 24.
The union is a chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local Virginia 512. It was elected in May to exclusively represent more than 11,000 general county workers after the board authorized collective bargaining in 2021.
Separate collective bargaining agreements for the county’s police and fire workers were approved in December 2023.
Board Chair Jeff McKay said the agreement for general county employees sets forth measures that are “doable.”
“It is historic from the standpoint that this is the first SEIU Virginia 512 negotiated contract for our county employees,” he said.
Among a variety of measures, the collective bargaining agreement (page 443) seeks to give workers guaranteed and regular pay raises, an increase in the ceiling for salaries to address wage compression, permanent telework policies and a freeze on the cost of health insurance premiums.
“It’s clear there was a lot of good back and forth discussions and give and take basically on how changes could be made in the work environment and how that could work for our employees and the county,” said Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.
Alcorn also highlighted the inclusion of a section requiring the county to collaborate with workers before implementing any artificial intelligence tools or other emerging technology.
“There’s a process that we basically are open to as a county for doing things better, so that’s very hopeful, and I think that helps underscore how this can be a win-win for our employees and for our county overall,” he said.
The county is expecting a tough budget cycle amid a declining commercial tax base and economic hardships from tariffs and the Trump administration’s workforce and funding cuts. The resolution essentially says that the Board of Supervisors will do its best to meet all the conditions of the collective bargaining agreement despite those challenges.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the board’s only Republican, cast the lone dissenting vote based on his objections to public sector collective bargaining.
“The process has led to less public transparency, less interaction and transparency with the board, less flexibility for the board to determine how to prioritize spending in very difficult budgets and more spending on administrative and legal processes that take away from our ability to fund our residents and employees,” he said.
