PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth Fire Capt. Levin Turner wants firefighters like him to have more of a say in their workplace.
"Almost half my life I've served this community and having a seat at the table is very important to me," Turner told the city council Tuesday night.
In 4-2 vote, city council members approved giving city employees collective bargaining, an effort led by the Portsmouth Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Union.
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The city is the first in Hampton Roads to approve it.
"We're not here to get rich. We're not here to take people's money. We know we can't raise taxes," said Turner. "We just want a subject matter expert to be at the table to talk about things."
The vote means they can negotiate things like pay, working conditions, and other issues related to their jobs.
Still, some questioned whether it's really needed and if it's too costly for tax payers.
"What exactly would collective bargaining give you today that you're not getting?" questioned Mayor Shannon Glover, who voted no.
"I hope the citizens understand what this is going mean for them," said Interim City Manager Mimi Terry. "What is it going to cost the city?"
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The city council passing the ordinance following a law that went into effect in 2021, ending Virginia's ban on collective bargaining for public employees.
The law prevents these workers from being able to go on strike.
Virginia is also a right-to-work state, meaning workers aren't forced to pay union dues in order to work.
"The two issues, right-to-work and collective bargaining, are not really attached at the hip," said Kevin O'Connor from the International Association of Fire Fighters, the national organization with local members from Portsmouth.
He says figuring out what's up for negotiation will stay in the hands of the city council.
"They can determine the scope of the bargaining," ," said O'Connor. "Who will be represented, what issues are up for bargaining, how they will resolve the disputes."
