Proposal 3Constitutional amendment · Put on the ballot by lawmakers
Right to Collective Bargaining
Explain it like I'm 5
Workers would have a right to join together in unions and bargain as a group. The right would be written into Vermont’s hardest-to-change rulebook, the Constitution.
Yes vote
Adding a constitutional right to organize, join a labor organization, and bargain collectively, while protecting agreements that require union membership as a job condition.
No vote
Leaving the Constitution unchanged, with collective-bargaining rights continuing under existing state and federal law.
The question to ask yourself
Should collective-bargaining rights and limits on right-to-work laws be fixed in the Constitution or left to lawmakers?
The case for
- A constitutional guarantee could protect bargaining rights from future political or federal rollbacks.
- Workers could negotiate together over pay, safety, hours, and benefits.
- Supporters say constitutional protection gives workers a lasting shared voice.
Backed by: Vermont AFL-CIO, Vermont NEA, Vermont State Employees’ Association, Vote Yes for Workers Rights
The case against
- Existing state and federal laws already protect organizing and collective bargaining.
- The amendment protects union-security agreements and prevents future right-to-work laws.
- Putting detailed labor policy in the Constitution could limit lawmakers’ flexibility.
Opposed by: Right for Vermont Foundation, National Federation of Independent Business, Fiscal Alliance Foundation
- Money
- No direct tax or cost impact is estimated in the sources reviewed.
- Don't be misled
- It would not automatically force every worker to join a union, but it would protect certain contracts requiring membership as a condition of employment.