Oregon Measure 119 cannabis workers’ unionization results

This story will be updated at 8 p.m. with the first election returns.

Measure 119 asks Oregon voters whether to give protection to cannabis workers trying to unionize their workplaces.

After a 2023 bill to make it easier for cannabis workers to unionize failed to pass in the Oregon Legislature, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 took their fight to voters.

Miles Eshaia, a spokesman for UFCW Local 555, said the measure is part of a multiyear effort to protect workers from safety concerns, toxic chemicals and lack of proper equipment.

“It boils down to cannabis workers really should have the freedom to unionize their workplaces,” Eshaia said. “Because cannabis is still federally illegal, there’s enough confusion around it for anti-union employers to skirt the law and retaliate against attempted unionization efforts.”

If the measure is passed, cannabis businesses would be required to submit a signed labor peace agreement to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission with its licensure or renewal application.

The agreement requires the business to remain neutral when labor organizations communicate with employees about collective bargaining rights.

According to the ballot summary, failure to have a signed agreement or to follow an agreement could result in penalties, including fines or the denial, suspension or revocation of a business license.

In 2022, the Oregon Employment Department said 7,671 people worked in the cannabis industry in Oregon.

Supporters of the measure say that without protection, cannabis workers often end up in a “no man’s land” of accountability, facing unsafe conditions, wage theft and job instability with few options for recourse.

No formal opposition to the measure formed.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth

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