A new report from the Commonwealth Institute took a look at wage rates and cost of living data for Virginia Beach, and recommends allowing collective bargaining for public employees. From the introduction:

Virginia Beach is a vibrant, diverse community where people choose to live and work together for better opportunities for all of us. Part of why so many people choose to make Virginia Beach home is its high quality public services, and city employees play a significant role in creating and maintaining those services. It is important that public servants are fairly paid and have a voice in their workplace. Allowing collective bargaining will allow city employees a formal voice to lift up ways to improve public services and build a more equitable workplace. In the end, that benefits every one of us.