ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Public school employees in Albemarle County can now pursue collective bargaining, allowing them to negotiate as a group.

The Albemarle County School Board unanimously voted Thursday to approve a resolution allowing Albemarle County Public Schools employees to do so through a set of specific procedures.

According to a release, this follows a state legislative change in 2020 that repealed a prohibition against collective bargaining for school employees and gave school boards the authority to recognize any organized employee associations if they chose to.

Then in 2022, the Albemarle Education Association asked to be certified as the collective bargaining representative for employees of the county’s schools.

At that time, the school board did not vote for the measure, because the board’s members had concerns there was not enough guidance from the state on how the process of entering a collective bargaining agreement as a board would work.

“I am grateful every single day for everything that our teachers do for our students on a daily basis,” Allison Spillman, the At-Large Representative, said. “I’m really excited that our board, the AEA, and our teachers could come to this point and that we’re finally here after a lot of hard work.”

Since February 2023, a board subcommittee on collective bargaining has been working with the AEA to talk about a collective bargaining resolution, which was presented at the school board meeting on March 28 and then approved this week.

“It’s been an honor to be a part of this process,” Dr. Rebecca Berlin, White Hall District Representative, said. “I truly appreciate both sides of the table were able to come together and reach across the aisle and really, truly negotiate to agree on what is best for teachers.”

The release says the resolution creates two possible bargaining units within the school division. One is for licensed instructional staff while the other is for education support professionals or classified staff.

If enough employees in either or both of these units ask to be represented by a union, then the school board will have to convene a secret ballot election that will be administered by a neutral third party, called a Labor Relations Neutral.

The release adds that any union elected in this manner would then have the authority to negotiate contracts with the school board regarding wages, benefits and working conditions for the represented employees.

Such a collective bargaining agreement could then last for several years. It would also contain a grievance-arbitration process.

To read the full resolution, click here.