It would cost Prince William County taxpayers as much as $2 million per year to implement a new collective bargaining office, which would give employees the right to negotiate their salaries and benefits.
The Board of County Supervisors is exploring the possibility of adopting the practice and creating and staffing a new office of collective bargaining to manage the process. A new state law that went into effect on May 1 cleared the way for localities to choose whether or not to adopt the practice, 44 years after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the blanket practice of collective bargaining illegal.
If adopted, the new practice would govern not only employee pay, but also the hours they work, healthcare benefits, department staffing levels, working conditions, health and safety policies, and how county government employees are disciplined.