Ellisa Green, a Fairfax School Age Child Care Worker, emphasized the importance of this achievement: "Now my co-workers and I will sit down with the County to negotiate pay, new workplace norms, and the protections we need on the job. The contract we'll fight for will protect us, and it's an essential part of joining together in a union."

Among the organizers on the campaign was PSI's Young Workers Coordinator Gabriel Casnati of Brazil who spent four weeks supporting the drive, to collect and share strategies. Casnati said: 'During my time with SEIU Virginia 512, I was able to work with and learn from union organizing experts from across the United States about best practices for strategizing, coordinating, and executing a large-scale union campaign, from organizing different teams, collecting and managing data, and gaining experience talking with workers in the workplace. This experience will undoubtedly help develop PSI union organizing work in Latin America and may serve as a model for future exchanges of union leaders from PSI affiliates in the Global South."

The victory is particularly significant in the South of the United States, where union organizing has historically faced substantial challenges due to the lasting impacts of Jim Crow laws and systemic barriers affecting workers of color. The successful union drive represents a dramatic shift in labor relations in the region.

This organizing success comes at a crucial time when public sector workers face increasing challenges at the federal level. The victory demonstrates the potential for collective action to secure better working conditions and workplace protections.

The newly formed union will focus on negotiating improved working conditions, fair compensation, and establishing new workplace standards for thousands of county employees. This breakthrough is expected to inspire similar organizing efforts across the region.

Ellisa Green, a Fairfax School Age Child Care Worker and SEIU member said”In a moment when public workers are being vilified and their jobs ripped out from under them at the federal level, this victory is huge news. Why? It shows the power we have, together, to win better."