Voters in Vermont will decide on a ballot measure, titled Proposal 3, on Nov. 3, 2026. Proposal 3 would amend the Vermont Constitution’s Declaration of Rights to provide that employees have a state constitutional right to organize and join a labor organization for collective bargaining with their employer. This constitutional right to collective bargaining would include “negotiating wages, hours, and working conditions and to protect their economic welfare and safety in the workplace.” Proposal 3 would prohibit laws that interfere with, negate, or diminish this constitutional right, including those that ban agreements requiring union membership as a condition of employment (right-to-work laws).

As of 2025, four states—Illinois, Hawaii, Missouri, and New York—have provisions that provide for a state constitutional right to collective bargaining. In Illinois, the constitutional provision also preempts right-to-work laws. In 2022, voters approved Illinois Amendment 1, with 58.7% of the vote. If approved by voters, Vermont would become the fifth state to establish a constitutional right to collective bargaining and the second to include a provision banning right-to-work laws. If rejected by voters, Proposal 3 would be the first amendment defeated in Vermont since 1986, when voters rejected the Equal Rights Regardless of Sex Amendment.

In Vermont, placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires approval by the legislature in two successive sessions. In the first session, the amendment must receive a two-thirds vote in the state Senate (20 votes) and a simple majority in the House of Representatives (76 votes). In the second session, a simple majority vote is required in both chambers—16 votes in the Senate and 76 votes in the House. The governor’s signature is not required for a constitutional amendment to be referred to voters.

During the 2024 legislative session, the Senate passed Proposal 3 unanimously (29-0), and the House passed it by a vote of 129-8. In the 2025 session, the Senate again passed the proposal unanimously (29-0) on March 20, and the House passed it 125-15 on May 1. Democrats and Senate Republicans supported the amendment. In the House, Republicans were divided 35-15. All independents and members of the Vermont Progressive Party voted in favor.

House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Chittenden 16) said, “This constitutional amendment comes at a critical point in our nation’s history. I could not be more proud of the vote today and to do so on International Workers’ Day. It comes at a time when laborers and working-class people are being brushed aside while corporations and the wealthiest few move farther ahead. This constitutional amendment is about standing up for what is right and paving the way for future generations to come.”

Rob Roper, former chairperson of the Vermont Republican Party, said, “While this may sound benign at first glance – the First Amendment already guarantees the right to peaceably assemble, often interpreted as freedom of association – this so-called ‘right to collectively bargain’ effectively strips, in key cases, one’s right to individually bargain on one’s own behalf. That’s not a good thing.”

Proposal 3 could be joined by a second constitutional amendment, Proposal 4, which would prohibit the denial of rights to an individual based on their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin. Proposal 4 must be approved by both legislative chambers in 2025 or 2026.