Supporters urge House committee to send Proposal 3 — for constitutional collective bargaining rights — to voters

Supporters of Proposal 3 told the House Committee on General and Housing that lawmakers should place a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing collective bargaining rights on the 2026 general election ballot.

At a public hearing, 13 witnesses described how union representation has affected wages, workplace safety and relations between employees and management and urged the committee to advance the measure to voters.

The amendment “would enshrine in our state constitution the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain and prevent any future legislative action to roll back the hard won protections that workers currently enjoy in the state of Vermont,” Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney Stanek told the committee. “Burlington is a union town. We have over 20 different unions representing municipal workers, our higher education institutions, public schools, the hospital, our designated agency, our transit system, and more.”

Witnesses described a range of workplace settings and offered examples of how collective bargaining affected pay, safety and operations. A nurse from Porter Medical Center said collective bargaining ‘‘has provided me with the peace of mind that comes to job security’’ and that contracts create ‘‘the same rule book’’ for resolving discipline, promotions and other workplace matters. The vice president of a hospital support-staff union said winning a first contract raised wages for many members and secured health-and-safety provisions; she told the committee her unit raised a bargaining-unit minimum from $15 an hour to $20 an hour after organizing.

Several union leaders told the committee the amendment would protect existing rights from being rolled back by future legislatures or executive actions. Larry Mokwine, president of the Vermont AFL-CIO State Labor Council, said the amendment is intended to preserve longstanding worker protections and noted the council’s membership and organizing work in the state. Don Tinney, president of the Vermont NEA, said school employees have bargained for about ‘‘half a century’’ and asked lawmakers to let voters protect those rights permanently.

Some witnesses suggested additional or related policy changes. Casey Jennings, who identified himself as from Lunenburg, said the current process for forming unions can leave organizers vulnerable to employer retaliation and told the committee that a bill before the committee, H.348, would address some of those concerns. He also urged consideration of “periodic, mandatory elections” at large employers so workers would not have to self-initiate organizing efforts and risk retaliation.

David Schrattenberger, president of AFGE Local 2076, referenced federal law and said states have tools to balance federal actions; he noted the Hatch Act in his remarks and suggested the state attorney general could have a role in handling conflicts. Laura Walker Sewell referenced recent national developments she described as hostile to unions and said an executive action in March 2025 was described to her as ‘‘ending collective bargaining with federal unions’’ (her description of a national action was presented as testimony rather than committee fact).

Several witnesses described their local organizing experiences: a nurse who said her unit at Northwestern Medical Center voted to form Northwestern Healthcare United in February 2025 and is bargaining its first contract; a support-staff union leader who said organizing produced pay raises and job-security protections that were useful when administrative cuts were proposed; municipal workers who said negotiating contracts improved relations with select boards; and a theatrical stagehand who identified with IATSE and other entertainment-industry bargaining units.

Committee members ran the hearing under a three-minute testimony guideline and received written testimony offers from people unable to finish on time. The chair closed the hearing after the thirteenth witness and thanked those who came in person and by Zoom.

No formal committee vote or direction was recorded in the hearing transcript provided.