Saturday, Feb. 28, students, faculty and staff from the College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University gathered in Andrews Hall to advocate in favor of collective bargaining rights for campus and home care workers.
The American Association of University Professors, United Campus Workers of Virginia and UNITE HERE Local 25 helped host the town hall. Speakers included Virginia Delegate Jessica Anderson and Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi.
The event related to bills currently making their way through the Virginia General Assembly that would afford Virginia public sector workers the right to collectively bargain: House Bill 1263 and Senate Bill 378. At the town hall, the main source of contention was whether campus and home care workers would be included in the final version of this legislation.
“The power of the union is us coming together as workers and as a community to put our heads together and solve problems,” Brian Liston said, a lead organizer for UNITE HERE Local 25.
Campus workers were removed from the bill on public sector bargaining in the Virginia House of Delegates, per event organizers. Home care workers were removed from a similar bill in the Virginia Senate.
Several university presidents oppose and have lobbied against the legislature giving graduate workers, university faculty and staff the right to collectively bargain.
The College declined to comment on whether it supports extending the bills to graduate workers, College faculty and staff, saying it is their practice not to comment on pending legislation.
Despite winning their union with former dining provider Sodexo in fall 2022, campus employees, particularly the cleaning staff, have expressed dissatisfaction with their hours, wages and lack of equipment, dining employee Melanie Edwards said.
“They need to get what they deserve,” Edwards said. “They’re overworked.”
Allen Walker, a Colonial Williamsburg employee who previously worked part-time at the College, said he has seen little change for campus staff since leaving his position there 20 years ago.
“I see that there are buildings being built, I see that they are bringing in more revenue, but they’re not taking care of the workers,” Walker said.
Anderson emphasized the importance of campus employees.
“If someone is not cleaning up behind you and picking up your trash, if someone is not vacuuming that building, if someone is not making sure that food is being served to our students and our professors and our other staff, these buildings would cease to exist,” she said.
Hashmi highlighted collective bargaining as a means for change, referencing a 2022 national survey conducted by Hanover Research. The study found that over 50% of adjunct faculty report relying on their work as part-time faculty as their primary source of income.
“Even after teaching multiple courses each semester, most are barely surviving financially and are doing so without benefits for retirement or health care,” Hashmi added.
Hashmi said the state’s “institutional family” is composed of campus dining hall staff, housekeepers, maintenance workers and security officers.
“People seeking to work at our institutions of higher learning are doing so because of a love of teaching and learning,” Hashmi said. “They create the environment that welcomes students and that creates a home away from home.”
Virginia Delegate Mark Downey, who represents parts of York County, James City County and Gloucester County, attended the event.
Downey said that his career as a pediatrician inspired him to advocate for workers in the Virginia House of Delegates.
“Over my 25 years as a pediatrician, I’ve been supporting families and kids, being a voice for them,” Downey said. “I see this as a kind of a similar cause, being the voice for workers [and] being the voice for those who don’t have a seat at the table.”
Downey expressed support for collective bargaining rights in Virginia.
“Universities, public institutions, private institutions, they all do better if everyone is at the table working together,” he said. “It benefits everyone if people feel like they’re supported.”
Downey expressed optimism that nobody will be excluded from the final version of the bill. He said he intends to work with the Senate of Virginia and the governor’s office to ensure that all Virginia public sector employees are afforded collective bargaining rights.
Downey did not directly say whether he supports repealing the state’s existing right to work laws, which prohibit employers from requiring their workers to join unions and pay dues. In May 2025, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she does not support a full repeal of right to work in Virginia, but she remains open to reforming the statute.
In addition to state politicians, students attended the town hall and expressed their support.
“I think it’s important that people are treated fairly at work no matter what,” Tori Tarrant ’29 said, whose father participates in a union. “I think this bill, if university workers are included, is going to be a huge step.”
CORRECTION (03/04/26): Article was updated by the Standards & Practices Editor to clarify that the College does not comment on pending legislation.
