Oregon’s Measure 119, backed by the AFL-CIO, is setting new standards in cannabis through enforceable labor peace agreements.
Oregon’s recently passed Measure 119 didn’t just check a box for cannabis legislation—it cracked open a door that’s long been sealed shut for workers on the fringes of organized labor. In a win for worker protections and industry integrity, the state voted to require cannabis businesses to sign labor peace agreements, effectively demanding neutrality from employers in unionization efforts. At the center of this push is the AFL-CIO, a historic labor federation that’s aligning itself more closely with the fast-growing cannabis sector in a move that could ripple across the country.
The AFL-CIO’s support for this initiative was foundational. Measure 119, officially known as the United for Cannabis Workers Act, underscores the increasing relevance of labor peace agreements in industries where regulatory oversight is often reactive rather than proactive. In cannabis, where companies emerge quickly and often without a long-term blueprint for workforce equity, formalizing fair labor practices is more than symbolic—it’s structural.
What Measure 119 Means for Cannabis Labor
At its core, Measure 119 requires cannabis companies in Oregon to submit labor peace agreements to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) as a condition of licensure. These agreements compel employers to remain neutral during union drives, meaning no retaliatory action, intimidation, or interference if workers decide to organize.
But not every business in the industry is held to this standard. The measure applies specifically to cannabis retailers, processors, and laboratories. Producers and wholesalers are exempt—a decision that has sparked debate among labor advocates, especially given the risks faced by agricultural and cultivation workers. This exclusion raises equity concerns, as agricultural laborers, often from historically marginalized groups, remain outside the measure’s protections.
The initiative passed with 56% of the vote in November 2024 and took effect December 5. Without a signed labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization, businesses cannot obtain or renew their OLCC licenses—a hard line in a competitive, highly regulated market.
Legislative Origin: A Grassroots Response to Legislative Stagnation
Measure 119 didn’t originate from the Oregon Capitol. It was introduced as a citizen-led ballot initiative after similar legislation failed to pass through traditional legislative channels.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, the state’s largest private sector union, led the charge. Backed by the Oregon Center for Public Policy and PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste), the state’s largest farmworker union, their campaign built on growing public awareness about unsafe working conditions and inequity across cannabis operations.
“Workers across every industry should have the freedom to unionize if they so choose. This ballot measure closes an age-old loophole that deprives that right to thousands of Oregon cannabis workers,” UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay said during the campaign.
AFL-CIO’s Commitment to Cannabis Workers
As the legal challenges mounted, the AFL-CIO emerged as a key defender. Their filings in federal court emphasize the essential role labor peace agreements play in giving workers access to unbiased information about their rights.
“Labor peace agreements essentially safeguard cannabis employees’ access to information about their own labor rights,” AFL-CIO representatives said.
The nation’s largest federation of unions sees its role as expansive—one that includes lifting up workers in emerging and marginalized industries where traditional protections don’t reach. And in the legal gray area of cannabis, where federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance, such protections are tenuous at best.
This advocacy aligns with AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler’s stated belief that “labor peace agreements aren’t about coercion; they’re about creating dialogue in industries where workers have been silenced.”
Legal Pushback: Dispensaries Challenge the Law
That gray area is now a battleground. In February 2025, two Portland-based dispensaries—Bubble’s Hash and Ascend Dispensary—filed suit in U.S. District Court in Eugene to block Measure 119’s enforcement. The case, Oregon Cannabis Association v. State, names Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and OLCC officials as defendants.
Their lawsuit claims the measure conflicts with the National Labor Relations Act and violates multiple constitutional rights, including the First and Fourteenth Amendments. It argues the law “fails to recognize an employee’s right to choose (or not) their union representation… while commanding the Licensees to enter into binding contracts, albeit improper contracts, or risk licensure.”
Critics say the measure intrudes on federally governed labor relations, making it vulnerable under the Supremacy Clause. Others have noted the law’s strict gag-order-like neutrality requirement could infringe on an employer’s right to free speech.
The AFL-CIO’s Legal Response
In response, the AFL-CIO has built a multi-pronged legal defense. Their team argues that Measure 119 is carefully scoped to comply with federal law and only applies to businesses operating within Oregon’s uniquely regulated cannabis industry—where traditional labor protections have been inconsistently enforced or altogether absent.
Because cannabis remains illegal under federal law, federal labor protections are murky at best for cannabis workers. In this context, the AFL-CIO asserts that Oregon has both the right and the obligation to implement state-level protections to fill the gap. Working in partnership with the OLCC, the federation helped develop compliance guidelines emphasizing mediation over litigation.
Labor Peace in Practice: Protecting More Than Unionization
Labor peace agreements offer more than just a clear path to unionization. They help ensure workers can report health and safety violations without fear of retaliation—an especially pressing issue in cannabis.
“Cannabis workers in Oregon face significant challenges when it comes to voicing concerns about safety and product standards,” said UFCW 555’s Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Humphrey. “Reports from workers across the state reveal a troubling pattern: toxic chemicals, unchecked safety concerns, and lack of proper PPE are rampant in the industry.”
According to OLCC data from 2023, unionized cannabis workers earned 23% more on average than their non-union counterparts. California saw an 18% drop in employee turnover within two years of enacting its own labor peace mandates, according to a UCLA study.
Creating Industry-Wide Standards
Beyond individual worker protections, labor peace helps establish industry-wide expectations for wages, safety, and benefits. It deters operators from engaging in a race to the bottom while elevating best practices across retail and processing sectors.
While California, New York, and New Jersey also require similar labor provisions, Oregon’s version is more comprehensive. It explicitly prohibits employer communications regarding unionization—a feature now central to the legal battle, but also one that may set a new bar for future legislation.
These agreements also offer a foundation for social equity. Roughly 34% of Oregon’s cannabis workforce identifies as BIPOC—a demographic historically excluded from labor protections. Labor peace could be a step toward correcting that imbalance.
National Implications: A Legal Template or a Warning Shot?
What happens in Oregon won’t stay in Oregon. As legalization spreads, regulators, union leaders, and business owners are closely watching this case.
If courts uphold Measure 119, it could serve as a national model for safeguarding worker rights in cannabis. If it fails, labor advocates may need to recalibrate their strategy—possibly by pushing for clearer federal guidance or even amending the NLRA to address cannabis-specific issues.
Business associations, including the Taxpayers Association of Oregon, argue the law could raise costs in an already struggling legal market. “Oregon’s legal shops pay high taxes, have extreme red tape, and cannot compete against untaxed and unregulated illegal pot farms… Measure 119 would likely cause labor costs to spike and hurt a fragile industry already in decline,” they said.
Unions counter that it’s strong protections—not wage suppression—that will stabilize the legal market. “The freedom to form a union is a right that was secured by the generations of workers that built this country,” said UFCW’s Miles Eshaia. “While other American workers have inherited those hard-won liberties, Oregon cannabis workers are being left behind.”
Future Implications: Beyond Cannabis
Measure 119 may have started with cannabis, but its broader implications are already in motion. Labor peace agreements could extend to other industries with high unionization barriers, such as gig economy platforms, renewable energy, and AI-driven tech workforces.
Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is pushing to integrate labor peace principles into federal legislation through support of the PRO Act, which would override state-level right-to-work laws and strengthen collective bargaining nationwide.
The Future of Labor Peace
Measure 119 marks a turning point—not just for Oregon cannabis but for the broader movement to bring labor peace into emerging industries. By requiring cannabis businesses to engage in labor peace agreements, the state has drawn a line in the sand: Worker rights matter, and they’re not negotiable.
With the AFL-CIO anchoring this initiative, and with unions like the UFCW already organizing within the space, we’re watching a new chapter unfold—one where cannabis is no longer an outlier in the fight for labor justice, but a proving ground.
As this model expands and evolves, the hope is that labor peace becomes more than a checkbox on a licensing form. It should become a core tenet of what makes a business legitimate—not just in Oregon, but everywhere cannabis is cultivated, packaged, sold, or consumed.
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