Measure 119
Forces cannabis businesses to be silent during union organizing of its workers
Measure 119 Forces cannabis businesses to be silent during union organizing of its workers
Cannabis workers currently have all the same abilities to organize and unionize as other workers around the state. They have the same protections against intimidation or retaliation by their employers as they do this organizing. They have the same safety protections as other workers in Oregon.
This measure seeks to give special privileges to cannabis workers not enjoyed by other industries. As cannabis workers investigate unionizing this measure would require management to not engage in any conversation with their employees about the pros and cons of unionization. The only conversations allowed in this would be between the union organizers and the employees. The employers would be locked out of the dialogue. The scriptures repeatedly command dialogue as a means of coming to a reconciliation or to a joint conclusion. Our constitution establishes freedom of speech, which this measure would seem to be violating. But it certainly is violating the principle of dialogue by locking out one of the two parties in the business negotiations, that of the employers. The measure is strongly supported by two groups of people, Democrat party officials and unions.
One other aspect of this measure to consider is its effect on illegal cannabis. There is currently a serious problem in Oregon with illegal cannabis growers. This involves gangs, illegal weapons, and human trafficking. The effects of easy unionization would be increased labor costs which would then of course be passed on, resulting in higher cannabis costs. The higher the cost of legal cannabis, the more people turn to illegal sources. That is not good for Oregon. We recommend a no vote on measure 119.
