Agricultural workers in the United States don't have the same collective bargaining rights and protections as other workers, but for a few thousand workers in Washington, that's about to change. Starting July 27, agricultural cannabis workers in Washington will have a state-recognized right to unionize — and have those rights enforced if employers retaliate.
House Bill 1141, which was signed into law April 22 by Gov. Bob Ferguson, gives the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) authority over collective bargaining for agricultural cannabis workers. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 3000 worked on HB 1141 with one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self (D-Mukilteo).
"We closed a long-standing gap in worker protections to give cannabis growers in Washington state the same basic rights that their peers who work in retail and processing already have," UFCW Local 3000 political director Dustin Lambro said.
As its name suggests, PERC deals almost entirely with public sector workers. Under the new law, the commission will now also administer collective bargaining rights for agricultural cannabis workers.
Read more at Northwest Labor Press
