RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Several Virginia mayors are urging Governor Abigail Spanberger to veto legislation that would allow most public-sector workers to collectively bargain in Virginia without receiving permission from their local government. Currently, public-sector workers can only collectively bargain if it’s approved by the local government where they work.  However, four Hampton Roads area mayors are urging Spanberger to veto bills that would eliminate the need for local government permission and expand the right to collectively bargain to most public-sector workers regardless of where they work.  The mayors of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach wrote in a letter to Spanberger, “The legislation limits the ability of governing bodies to review and approve collective bargaining agreements in their entirety, creates inconsistent treatment among employee groups, and imposes timelines that do not align with the practical realities of local government decision-making.”  However, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who wrote the Senate version of the legislation, disagrees.  “I really wish that these local governments, if they had issues with the bill, that they want to take up with the governor, they’d come and taken them up with me and Delegate Tran,” Surovell said. Surovell said local governments and their representatives will have a say in any potential agreement, and they can reject provisions of an agreement if they don’t have the funding.  “It’s a very important step that will give employees the right to sit at a table, and have dialogue with their employer collectively about how they want their jobs to work, and lots of different issues, and it’s really important to empower workers in this way, it’s pretty common in most other states,” Surovell told 8News.  Last week, Governor Abigail Spanberger said she hasn’t made any decisions on the legislation after the General Assembly effectively rejected her proposed changes that would have given localities until 2030 until they had to allow for public-sector workers to collectively bargain.  ...read more read less