Alexandria Passes First Collective Bargaining Ordinance in Virginia City employees will have the right to collective bargaining by May 1. The City of Alexandria on Saturday became the first jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia to pass a collective bargaining ordinance. The ordinance gives city employees the right to bargain about most workplace issues, including pay, benefits, grievances and other disputes. According to a memo from City Manager Mark Jinks, the ordinance is likely to cost the city money. "The fiscal impact of a shift to a collective bargaining environment is likely to be material both in the short and long term, as personnel costs comprise some two-thirds of the overall City operating expenses. It is expected that collective bargaining agreements will result in City employee pay and benefits likely being higher than they otherwise would have been absent collective bargaining," Jinks wrote. However, the City does retain the right to defund union agreements in times of true need like a recession or a pandemic.