Collective Bargaining is Back in Fairfax

Transcript

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Leslie : This victory sends a powerful message to educators across Virginia and the nation. When educators unite and stand together, they create real change.

Natieka : Hello and welcome to School Me, the National Education Association's podcast dedicated to helping educators thrive at every stage of their careers. I'm your host, Natieka Samuels. Collective bargaining has returned to Virginia after a nearly 50-year ban, which is a huge win for Virginia workers, but [00:00:30] change doesn't happen overnight. Educators in Fairfax, Virginia have come together to create their first collective bargaining agreement since the ban, and my guest today, Fairfax Education Association President, Leslie Houston, is here to tell us all about what it took to bring collective bargaining back for Fairfax's educators. Thank you for joining us today, Leslie.

Leslie : Thank you for having me. I've been excited about having this conversation with you.

Natieka : All right, so let's get into a little bit about you. Can you tell me a little bit about [00:01:00] where you're currently working, what your position is in Fairfax?

Leslie : I am currently the president of Fairfax Education Association. I work here out of the Fairfax office. For the last two and a half years, I've been mostly in schools. This is the most I've been in the office since we have now gotten collective bargaining.

Natieka : Why did you decide that you wanted to become an educator?

Leslie : I didn't trust the school system with my son, who had been diagnosed with autism, and [00:01:30] I wanted to make sure that he was able to get all of the services needed, but then I also needed to educate myself, so I continued just to go in and get degrees and classes, and in helping my own child, I ended up helping many, many more.

Natieka : And I know from a previous conversation that we had, that you went from journalism to becoming a special education teacher, and [00:02:00] now you're in union leadership as well, so can you talk a little bit about what inspired you to take on the role of the FEA president?

Leslie : It's definitely been an interesting and meaningful journey. My inspiration to take on the role of FEA president really stems from a deep sense of service and advocacy. That's who I am at my core. My core value is integrity. And so, in each phase of my career, whether it was through storytelling and journalism, [00:02:30] editing, or supporting students, as a teacher, I've always been driven by the desire to amplify voices and create positive change. I started my career, not as a teacher. I actually started as an instructional assistant, an ESP, because I wasn't sure I wanted to teach. I just wanted to make sure that I was in the system that my son would also be in. As an educator, I saw firsthand the challenges that other educators [00:03:00] were facing: under-funding, workload pressures, and the need for equity and respect in our profession.

And so, it just ignited me. It ignited my passion for union leadership, and I'm here today. I want to be part of the solution. You sit, and you think, "Okay, so how can I help?" I have always been one to fight for what's right. There's a right and there's a wrong, and I need to be on the side of right, and that's what got me here. I [00:03:30] stand up for educators, and I also stand up for students as well. So, leading FEA is more about representing teachers. It's about giving them a voice. I want teachers and staff to be able to do what I do, and they don't have to be like me. I'm an extrovert. I tell people what I think, and sometimes that's very difficult for people, for others to do; however, I have loved the fact that I have taught people to do what I do, to be able to use [00:04:00] their voice, and so that's where we are. It's an honor though. It's an honor to carry the responsibility. I'm constantly inspired by the resilience and dedication of our members. They remind me every day why I do this work.

Natieka : Well, I'm sure, in a time like right now, where there's actually change happening that you can see and measure, it feels especially rewarding, and that leads me to our topic of today, collective bargaining and how it's back in Virginia, so for [00:04:30] those who are unfamiliar and listening, could you give us just a quick overview of what collective bargaining is and why it is so significant and important for educators?

Leslie : So, to simplify it, collective bargaining is when educators, as a group, sit down with their bosses, their managers, their employer, to work out agreements about pay benefits, work conditions, and other important job-related issues. It's like a team negotiation to make sure [00:05:00] teachers have a say, not just teachers, because we didn't just fight for teachers, we also fought for ESPs, but we have the operational staff, bus drivers, food service workers. So, all of those people were in the operational group, and so they have a say in decisions that affect their jobs and their students.

Natieka : There was a ban on collective bargaining for nearly 50 years on collective bargaining, not just for educators, but for all workers, and how do you think that that [00:05:30] nearly 50-year ban affected educators in Virginia during that time?

Leslie : It affected them greatly. For nearly 50 years, Virginia educators couldn't come together and negotiate better pay, benefits, or working conditions. They could sit down and have a conversation, but if you were with a school district that didn't necessarily want to hear what was being said, they didn't have to do anything. Without the power of collective bargaining, many teachers [00:06:00] had low wages, bigger classes to manage, and not enough resources to do their jobs well, so it made a lot of educators feel like their voices didn't matter, which caused many to leave the profession or made it hard to attract new teachers. It's where we are now, so this hurt, not just the teachers, but also the students who missed out on the support that they deserved. So, now that collective bargaining is back, teachers finally have the chance to stand up for themselves and their students.

Natieka : It's 2025 [00:06:30] now somehow, but 2020 is when collective bargaining actually officially came back. What happened in 2020, and how did that pave the way for the progress that we're seeing now in your county?

Leslie : So, in 2020, Virginia changed the law to let local governments decide if public employees, including educators, could negotiate their pay, their benefits, and their working conditions. So for us, this was a game changer [00:07:00] after nearly 50 years of not having that right. Fairfax County took the lead by becoming the first school district in the state to approve a collective bargaining resolution, and we were beyond proud. We've had a history of firsts in Fairfax County, and as I've sat in the seat of the presidency. It gave educators the chance to sit down with decision-makers and push for improvements, fair pays, smaller class sizes, more support for students, ensuring [00:07:30] that educators were able to have a fair chance if there was something going on with their principal, those type of things. It marked a major step forward in valuing educators and their role in shaping better schools.

Natieka : How many educators are you representing, or how many educators are in Fairfax, I guess I should say?

Leslie : In terms of staff, there's 40,000 plus staff in Fairfax County. In the instructional and in the operational units, [00:08:00] we represent 27,500.

Natieka : It's a lot of people.

Leslie : It's a lot of people.

Natieka : So, what did it take to get Fairfax educators on board with actually bringing collective bargaining back and moving through this process? Were they already excited, or did it take some convincing, or was it just a no-brainer?

Leslie : Well, no. I think you had some people that were leery, because they didn't know. They needed to be educated about collective bargaining, but for the most part, people were [00:08:30] ready. I mean, for 50 years you didn't have this right, and I think educators and the staff were ready to move on collective bargaining, because they knew what was on the other side of that fence. So, in this case, the grass is greener on the other side, so getting Fairfax educators on board with collective bargaining, it took a lot of effort and outreach. While many were excited about the opportunity to finally have a voice in decisions affecting their work, others needed some convincing.

[00:09:00] After nearly 50 years without collective bargaining, some educators didn't really fully understand what it meant or how it could benefit them, so we needed to educate them. So, union leaders and members worked hard to educate and engage their colleagues, one-on-one conversations, getting cards signed. We had workshops. We had meetings. We were lucky in that, through NCUEA, some of the presidents and members from other locals came in [00:09:30] to help FEA get the cards that needed to be signed. It was definitely a shared workload. It took time and a lot of listening, but once educators saw how powerful their collective voice could be, they rallied behind the cause and made it happen, and those that were not excited started to become excited.

Natieka : Well, that's good.

Leslie : Yes.

Natieka : Because this was something that you ran on your platform when you wanted to become the president of FEA, right? So, it was something [00:10:00] that you were passionate about.

Leslie : It was something that I wanted to happen. When I look back at my campaign video, just looking back, because I'm almost done with the presidency, and I realized I said I was bringing collective bargaining to Fairfax, and that's what I've done, so I'm pretty proud of that.

Natieka : We love a campaign promise that comes to fruition.

Leslie : Right. It came to fruition.

Natieka : Well, in some cases. In this case.

Leslie : Well, yeah, we don't like them all, but yes. But this one came to fruition, and [00:10:30] sometimes I tend to minimize that for myself, but it is something that I've done, and it is something to be proud of.

Natieka : So, how did the community, beyond the actual educators, react to the union's efforts to have a collective bargaining agreement and make this huge change for the way that the educators in their schools were compensated and how they work?

Leslie : Of course, you have the usual people who live in Fairfax County and may be upset that it's more [00:11:00] money, that they'll have to pay more taxes. There are some older people that were a little upset by this and spoke up about it, but for the most part, if your children attend Fairfax County Public Schools, those parents were happy that this was going to happen, so the community played a crucial role in the success of bringing collective bargaining into Fairfax. While all of them didn't speak out, they definitely were calling and encouraging. So you had parents, [00:11:30] students, and other local organizations recognize that supporting educators meant improving the entire school system. FCPS tout that we are premier school system, and in order to do that, we need to make sure that our staff is paid accordingly, so they understood that better working conditions for teachers led to better learning conditions for their students so their support was key, and we're still going to need that support.

Natieka : Looking for more tips, resources, and opportunities to build your professional [00:12:00] skills? Text POD to 48744 to have the latest sent straight to your phone. We're talking about collective bargaining. We've sort of defined the term for anyone who's not familiar, and we were talking about how it was not legal to have collective bargaining agreements for a really long time, and now it is. So how do you go from nearly 50 years of banning of collective bargaining to actually turning this idea into a reality?

Leslie : [00:12:30] It took 18 months, approximately 18 months for 18 groups to come to an agreement on a resolution. That resolution was passed and voted on in March 2024. Then, we had about three months to get 30% of the cards, are 30% of the members in instructional, as well as 30% of the members in [00:13:00] operational to say, "Yes, we want FEU to be the sole bargaining agent for us." What would normally happen in more than a year, more than two years, actually happened in a span of less than a year. So, we had the resolution, and then, from the resolution, we actually had the vote from the school board. We did all of this in pretty much less than [00:13:30] a year. March of 2024, the school board voted on the resolution. June of 2024, we won the election. By September, we were getting together our proposals and bringing them to the school district, and we were at the bargaining table by the end of September.

Natieka : So what were some of the biggest obstacles that you faced along the way?

Leslie : I think, for many educators, it was something completely new, and they were uncertain [00:14:00] about whether it would actually lead to real change. I think we had to invest a lot of time and effort in educating and building trust. We were lucky, in that we have a superintendent who came from a school district in the state of Washington that had collective bargaining, so she was aware of the benefits, and so, I think it was a new process for people who had been in Fairfax County for years, [00:14:30] and change is different. While she could see the future, I think that some of the people that have been here for years had their doubts.

So, we had our critics within the school system. There were moments of pushback and misunderstandings, and that was more when we were dealing the resolution than anything. Financial concerns played a huge role. That's because we receive our funds from the board [00:15:00] of Supervisors, and last year they were very upset that Dr. Reed would dare ask for 6% for all employees as a raise. Here, in our contract, we asked for 7% for 27,500 employees, and so we are now going to do our best to lobby the board of Supervisors so that we are fully funded in Fairfax County.

Natieka : You've mentioned education support professionals, ESPs a couple of times as we've talked about this. How were [00:15:30] they included in this movement, and how did that look different for instructional staff and support staff, as you went through the process?

Leslie : So, I am very proud of the fact that we brought along our ESPs, our operational employees. That was kind of a fight between the two organizations. It was very important for me, because those are the people that [00:16:00] I stand on the shoulders of. I wouldn't be who I am, had it not been for my uncle, Chris, who was a head janitor in Louisiana, and helped me out. And so, when I think about what we've done in terms of contracts, that makes me most proud because their lives are going to be changed drastically. This has the ability to pull people out of poverty, especially living in Fairfax County, and so you have food [00:16:30] service workers, office workers, bus drivers. We have custodians. I mean, it's huge. What we did was we made sure that they had their own contract, so instructional had their contract, operational had their own contract. While there are some things that overlap, because we felt that they deserve the same thing as instructional, they were very pleased with their contract, and they're proud, but the fact that just the wages, [00:17:00] by itself, will change their lives is huge.

Natieka : Since we're on the topic of what can change lives, can you give a couple of highlights about what you all have gained or won as a result of this process? So, what's coming up for Fairfax educators in the new contract?

Leslie : Well, there are two things. Of course, the pay. 7% for the first year, 3% for the second year with a step at the top, and 3% for the third year with a step at the top, [00:17:30] but what we are most proud of is that we received just cause. We were the first in the state to bargain just cause in Fairfax, and it requires a process and evidence of a violation before discipline is administered. That's huge. Also, we got wine garden rights, which guarantees that the employee has union representation during an investigatory meeting that may result in disciplinary action and can speak on behalf of the employee.

[00:18:00] So, while I was very proud to get silent witness, this is like silent witness on steroids. You don't have to be a silent witness. You can actually speak on behalf of the employee, so those are two things that we're definitely proud of, including the financial aspect. We negotiated ensuring that we are able to have dues deductions through 2030, and if you know what's happening around the country right now, is that you have legislators [00:18:30] going after dues deductions because they don't support the union. Well, we negotiated dues deductions until 2030, and so that is huge as well.

Natieka : Payroll deductions are really important for making sure that people can pay their dues automatically.

Leslie : Yes.

Natieka : And that's a topic that we talk about a lot, in terms of ways to bust the union, is to just make sure that people don't pay their dues because they make it hard. It's amazing that you're able to secure that [00:19:00] for at least five years.

Leslie : Yes, five years. You're absolutely right. Another thing that we are very proud of is the fact that we are going back to the table for healthcare, because so many people were disenfranchised.

Natieka : So, where are you right now in the process? All of this has been happening, as you said, pretty fast. Although a year sounds like a long time, but there's a lot to do. Where are you now in the process, and what's next in terms of the legal, the proceedings, and all of [00:19:30] that to make sure that this is done and dusted?

Leslie : Well, the school board voted to ratify the contract, so that was huge. Right now, Fairfax educators are in the process of finalizing key agreements that came out of collective bargaining. There's still some things that we are trying to wrap up, such as the financial aspect with the board of supervisors. We're encouraging everyone to get in touch with the board of supervisors, to get in touch with their state legislators, because we want to make sure that Fairfax [00:20:00] teachers and staff are fully funded. This contract is fully funded, so we've made significant strides in securing better pay and improved benefits. I think that planning time was something that was huge and that we have to continue to work on. So there's also been progress in securing protections around workload, which directly impacts teachers' ability to do their work.

Natieka : What message do you feel that this victory sends to educators across Virginia [00:20:30] and, honestly, the nation in general?

Leslie : This victory sends a powerful message to educators across Virginia and the nation. When educators unite and stand together, they create real change. People came from everywhere, all over the country, so it shows that collective bargaining is not just a right; it's a tool for improving our working conditions, securing fair pay, and ultimately providing better educational experiences for students. If we did it, [00:21:00] you can too. Even though we are a huge school system, we came together with a United Voice to make sure that this happened, and we worked collaboratively with the school system to ensure that it would happen.

Natieka : So if you could go back and approach things a little bit differently, obviously nothing happens perfectly and hindsight's always 2020, what would you do, and what advice would you give [00:21:30] to other locals who are currently without collective bargaining, but would love to bring that to their members?

Leslie : If I could go back, I'd focus even more on building a broad coalition of support from the very beginning. I would do my best to engage more educators, parents, and community organizations early on in the process. We did get strong support, but involving the community [00:22:00] earlier, I think we would not have had to fight as hard, I think. I look back and I think ongoing communication and transparency with everyone, I'd do a lot more of that, because you start to do the work, and in doing the work you're not thinking, "Okay. Well, let me share this," and then there's only so much that you can share in collective bargaining when you're bargaining.

I would want everyone to feel fully informed and involved [00:22:30] in the process. In terms of what I would tell others, start by educating and uniting your members around a shared vision, and understand that it's crucial to build trust and demonstrate how collective bargaining can directly benefit everyone. I would tell them that it does not have to be contentious with your school district. There is a way, and building relationships, ensuring there's mutual trust, [00:23:00] will make the process a lot easier when you get to the table. Stay patient, stay persistent. You're going to have naysayers even in your own camp, and that's okay, but remember, you're resilient or you wouldn't have been able to get to that place.

Natieka : So, this is going to be my last question. What is next for Fairfax educators, and how can others support your continued efforts to improve the lives of [00:23:30] educators there?

Leslie : So, we are now in the process of contacting our board of supervisors, our state legislators to ensure that Fairfax educators are fully funded, the contract is fully funded, our profession is 70% women. When you see a contract for the police or the firemen fully funded, you have to stop and wonder, "Okay, so they say it's not misogyny. Then, what is it?" Because our children deserve the best, and if we are a premier [00:24:00] school system, then our board of supervisors should be on board with ensuring we're being paid as a premier school system. So, what I would ask others is to contact their state legislators, the board of Supervisors, and let them know that the educators in Fairfax need their contract fully funded, because we are a premier work system, and we want to continue having that premier status.

Natieka : Well, I'm happy to immortalize your accomplishment [00:24:30] in this way, and I'm happy that we were able to make everything work.

Leslie : Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Natieka : Thanks for listening. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of School Me, and take a minute to rate the show and leave a review. It really helps us out, and it makes it easier for more educators to find us. For more tips to help you bring the best to your students, text POD, that's P-O-D, to 48744.