Press Release

Governor Youngkin’s Tax Plan: More Money For His Rich Friends, Higher Costs For Everyone Else

Richmond, Virginia—Working families in our community would pay more for everything from a bar of soap to their Netflix subscription under Governor Youngkin’s tax package, while the top 1% of earners would enjoy a nearly $10,000 tax cut. Today, we’re celebrating that the Senate Finance Committee saw through the Governor’s campaign rhetoric and voted SB […]

Press Release

Historic Minimum Wage Increase Passes General Assembly, Moves to the Governor’s Desk

Richmond, Virginia—In a victory for working families, SB1, sponsored by Senator Louise Lucas, passed the House of Delegates today The bill increases the minimum wage to $13.50 this year, and $15 an hour starting in 2026. SB1 will now move to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk for a signature. Youngkin, who travels between the Governor’s Mansion […]

Press Release

Historic $15 Minimum Wage Increase Will Include Farmworkers For The First Time

Richmond, Virginia—Today, we moved closer to pay equity and racial justice when the Virginia Senate voted to remove the exemptions that excluded farmworkers from earning the minimum wage. HB157, sponsored by Delegate Adele McClure, narrowly passed the Senate by a vote of 20-19 and will move to the Governor’s desk for a signature. The exemption […]

News

When Did Glenn Youngkin Last Buy His Own Groceries? 

Here’s something that will no doubt shock you: Glenn Youngkin hasn’t met very many people who make minimum wage. In fact, he thinks minimum wage workers barely exist: he told the reporters that he believed employers pay the minimum wage only in “very rare circumstances”and that he thought a minimum wage hike wasn’t necessary. After […]

News

Housing Justice for Tenants 

By Kierra Johnson  Renters’ crises, infrastructure issues, and displacement due to rising costs and gentrification were major issues across the U.S. before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, we are still in a crisis and it seems that the losses that landlords took during the first year of the pandemic have compounded and come down on tenants […]

News

Rental Hikes Should Take a Hike

By Kimberly R. Nario WTF is up with rising rents? In March of 2023, an affordable housing crisis was declared in Richmond. Paired with the fact that Richmond has the second-highest eviction rate in the country, to me it feels like something is rotten in the state of Virginia.  Since 2020–you know, the year everything […]

News

Where are the GOOD Leaders? 

 by shay bell With election season being here, it’s really got me thinking about leadership. What it means to be a leader, how to tell a real leader from ones who are just here for the benefits of being called a leader. Oh sure, the people in leadership positions like to PRETEND they’re leaders, but […]

News

Hip Hip Hooray!

by shay bell Shouting out three cheers to our partners at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for their latest victory in D.C.! Unionized cleaners in the D.C. region (yes, Virginia too!), as well as Montgomery County, MD, recently settled a month-long negotiation with the Washington Service Contractors Association. This negotiation was made after an organized […]

News

Virginia Weighs Cash Aid

Earlier this year, the Richmond city government announced a direct-cash aid program for residents. Since then, it has shown wonderful results: those in need have been able to evade eviction, stave off rising living costs, and even pull themselves out of homelessness. The Family Crisis Fund follows in the footsteps of a program of the […]