Oregon’s Unions Pass Resolution to Endorse Equal Rights for All Ballot Initiative

Seaside, Ore. — At the 2025 biennial Oregon AFl-CIO Convention, delegates from unions across the state overwhelmingly voted to pass a resolution endorsing and committing to help support the Equal Rights for All ballot measure to make explicit in Oregon’s constitution protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and affirming the right to make our own decisions about our marriage, our reproductive health, and healthcare. 

“We know that when we as workers do not have control over our own decisions and bodily autonomy, it affects our ability to work and organize effectively for the best working and living conditions,” Sarina Roher (she/her), Secretary-Treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO said. “We also know that the same forces attacking our reproductive, transgender and LGBTQ+ rights are the ones seeking to destroy our unions. Supporting the Equal Rights for All ballot initiative is a straightforward action we can take to protect our rights and build a stronger Oregon labor movement.”

The Oregon AFL-CIO, the state federation of labor unions represents over 300,000 working people across 300 unions in the state.

“Working people can’t always afford to pay out of pocket or travel long distances for healthcare. And each of us should be able to marry who we love, access the healthcare we need, and be who we truly are without fear of discrimination,” said Evelyn Kocher (she/her), a chief petitioner on the Equal Rights for All campaign. “We need to do everything we can to protect and affirm that each of us has these basic rights and freedoms. That’s why passing the Equal Rights for All measure matters for Oregon’s workers.”

The Equal Rights for All ballot initiative for the November 2026 election will ask voters to update Oregon’s constitution to make clear that everyone has equal rights to make private and personal decisions regardless of one’s sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or if they are pregnant or seeking reproductive health care like IVF. 

By protecting Oregonians’ ability to make their own, private healthcare decisions and marry the person they love, the ballot initiative will stop politicians who want to turn back the clock on Oregonians’ basic rights and freedoms.

The Equal Rights for All Campaign is in the process of collecting 156,231 signatures from Oregon voters required to qualify for the November 2026 ballot and calls on all supporters to join the effort. For more information, visit equalrightsoregon.com.

The Oregon AFL-CIO is the statewide federation of labor unions, representing over 300,000 working people.

Equal Rights for All is an Oregon ballot measure campaign that will affirm the right to make deeply personal decisions about our lives with dignity, respect and freedom, regardless of who we love or how we identify. It will protect the right to abortion, contraception and IVF, transgender healthcare, and same-gender marriage in the Oregon Constitution regardless of what policies or decisions are made on a national level. The Equal Rights for All Measure will be on the November 2026 ballot.