The Washington Senate passed a bill giving collective-bargaining rights to agricultural workers on cannabis farms, setting the stage for extending the right to all farmworkers through further legislation or litigation.
House Bill 1141, already approved by the House, passed the Senate April 14 on a 29-20 vote. All 19 Republicans voted "no." Only one Democrat, Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Chapman, voted against the bill.
Federal law does not grant farmworkers collective-bargaining rights. Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, said he couldn't see why the cannabis industry was being singled out by state legislators.
"I don't know what makes them any different than any other agricultural workers," he said. "They're dealing with what I would consider an ag product."
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