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Our call — vote NO
The measure
Proposal 3 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on Vermont's November 3, 2026 ballot. It would add an Article 23 to the Vermont Constitution establishing a right for employees to organize or join a labor organization and bargain collectively over wages, hours, working conditions, and workplace safety. It then goes further: no law may be adopted that "interferes with, negates, or diminishes" that bargaining right — and no law may prohibit agreements that require union membership as a condition of employment. That second clause constitutionally bans right-to-work laws in Vermont, forever. Collective bargaining is already provided for by federal and Vermont statute; this amendment lifts it into the constitution and fences off the legislature.
What YES does
A yes vote constitutionalizes collective bargaining and prohibits Vermont from ever adopting a right-to-work law or any law a court finds diminishes union bargaining power.
What NO does
A no vote leaves collective bargaining in statute, where it exists today, and leaves future legislatures free to adjust labor law — including adopting right-to-work.
The math
No fiscal note for this measure was published on its Ballotpedia page.
OUR CALL
Our call: NO.
Workers' freedom to join a union is protected by law today; nobody's organizing rights are on this ballot. What is on the ballot is a one-way ratchet: a constitutional ban on right-to-work laws, meaning no Vermonter could ever be protected from being forced to join or fund a union as a condition of a job, and a vague prohibition on any law that "diminishes" bargaining — language that invites courts to strike down ordinary labor legislation for a generation. Freedom of association includes the freedom not to associate. Locking one side's advantage into the constitution is a no.
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Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Ballotpedia — Vermont Proposal 3, Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2026) — https://ballotpedia.org/Vermont_Proposal_3,_Right_to_Collective_Bargaining_Amendment_(2026) (accessed October 25, 2026)
- Ballotpedia — 2026 ballot measures — https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.