Proposal would give WA agricultural workers more options to form a union
A proposed law would give Washington’s agricultural workers a formal process to engage in collective bargaining with their employers, extending an advantage that many private-sector workers have.
But farm representatives worry that the change would burden an already struggling industry.
Senate Bill 6045 had its first hearing on Jan. 20 in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, which is chaired by the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Rebecca Saldana, D-Seattle.
The federal National Labor Relations Act, which grants collective bargaining rights to private-sector workers, does not cover agricultural workers. In Washington, agricultural workers can unionize, but the bill’s advocates point out that the law does not have a mechanism to enforce that ability.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/01/27/proposal-would-give-wa-agricultural-workers-more-options-to-form-a-union/