Proposal 3: Declaration of Rights; Right to Collectively Bargain

The question on the ballot

To see if the voters will amend the Vermont Constitution by adding Article 23 to read: Article 23. [Right to collectively bargain] That employees have a right to organize or join a labor organization for the purpose of collectively bargaining with their employer through an exclusive representative of their choosing for the purpose of negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions and to protect their economic welfare and safety in the workplace. Therefore, no law shall be adopted that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to collectively bargain with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety, or that prohibits the application or execution of an agreement between an employer and a labor organization representing the employer’s employees that requires membership in the labor organization as a condition of employment.[4]

Proposal 3 would add Article 23 to Chapter I of the Vermont Constitution. It would state that employees have a right to organize or join a labor organization to bargain collectively with their employer through an exclusive representative of their choosing over wages, hours and working conditions, and that no law may interfere with, negate or diminish that right or prohibit agreements between an employer and a union that require union membership as a condition of employment. If ratified it takes effect on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2026. No fiscal note was found in the sources reviewed.[1][3]