The United for Cannabis Workers Act, put forth by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555, has officially been placed on the November 5 ballot.
Measure 119 “would ensure that cannabis workers’ freedoms to organize and bargain collectively are protected under state law”, according to a press release from UFCW. No one would be required to join a union, but workers would have the freedom to do so if they choose.
“Workers across every industry should have the freedom to unionize if they so choose”, says Dan Clay, President, UFCW Local 555. “This ballot measure closes an age-old loophole that deprives that right to thousands of Oregon cannabis workers. Shady cannabis tycoons have taken advantage of an outdated law to strip workers’ rights that are guaranteed to nearly every other American. By passing Measure 119, voters will enshrine the freedom to unionize in the Oregon Cannabis industry.”
Miles Eshaia, Communications Coordinator, UFCW Local 555, says “The freedom to form a union is a right that was secured by the generations of workers that built this country. While other American workers have inherited those hard-won liberties, Oregon cannabis workers are being left behind. Oregon voters have the opportunity to deliver on the sacred promise that we should all have equal rights under the law. You have the freedom to form a union; when we pass measure 119, Oregon cannabis workers will too.”
The measure is already supported by the Oregon AFL-CIO and Oregon Working Families Party, as well as a number of state and local officials, including Democratic nominee for Attorney General Dan Rayfield, House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, and lawmakers including Senator Chris Gorsek and Representatives Jules Walters and Khanh Pham.
Of the measure, Senator Gorsek said: “I am excited to help ensure that the freedom to join a union is enjoyed by as many Oregon workers as possible. This measure will bring us in line not only with the other states that have paved the way, but also with Oregon’s own values.”
