ROANOKE, Va. — All of the Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor, except for Alex Bastani, who did not attend, voiced support Wednesday night for repealing Virginia’s decades-old right-to-work law.
Under current state law, employees cannot be required to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment — a statute critics say weakens organized labor and suppresses wages.
During the candidate forum, contenders made clear they view the repeal as a necessary step toward strengthening workers’ rights in the commonwealth.
Here’s what the candidates had to say:
- Levar Stoney
- “I support the repeal of right to work, but let’s say the right to work is a misnomer, because it’s the right to work for less.”
- Ghazala Hashmi
- “I absolutely support a repeal of right to work, and it is a right to work for less. We know that it keeps so many of our wages down, it prevents our opportunity for workers to unite and to champion and fight for the issues that are so important.”
- Babur Lateef
- “Simply put, yes to repeal the Right to Work. My record on this has been really a commitment to the workers and the hard working families in Virginia.”
- Aaron Rouse
- “Absolutely,” Rouse said about repealing right to work. The sound quality was inaudible for his part of the answer, but he talked about voting against Republican efforts this year to enshrine right to work into the Virginia Constitution.
- Victor Salgado
- “I do believe that it is time that we repeal the so called right to work law. We need to make sure that people have a right to negotiate for better wages and better living conditions.”
Right to work is often a touchy issue for Democratic candidates in primaries.
The more progressive Democrats want to repeal the law, but the moderates who want to appeal to a larger electorate and not alienate the business class often try to skirt the question.
2021 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe often avoided directly answering the question.
During his first term, which ended in 2018, he supported keeping the law on the books.
Facing a large field during the Democratic primary in 2021, candidates tried to gain ground on McAuliffe, who was the favorite and eventually won the nomination, by attacking him from the left.
He did not release a public stance on the issue, but a video surfaced of him saying he would sign the repeal if it reached his desk.
“If it came to my desk, sure I’d sign it,” McAuliffe said, noting the General Assembly would likely oppose the repeal. “But listen, you can’t get it through the House and Senate.”
Former Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, introduced legislation in 2021 to repeal right-to-work, but it was defeated 83-13 on the House floor.
Ralph Northam faced a similar problem during the 2017 primary when his opponent Tom Perriello supported repealing the law.
During a debate at the time, Northam said he would rather focus on issues that seem more achievable.
“I think rather than pick fights that we perhaps can’t win right now, we need to talk about how can we help labor,” Northam said.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears has made protecting right to work a key issue of her campaign.
The Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Abigail Spanberger, has not taken a definitive stance on whether she supports repealing the law or not.
You can watch the forum in its entirety below: