Union-backed Measure 20-388 campaign becomes first ballot initiative campaign in the country to recognize staff union
The Measure 20-388: Eugene Clean Energy Fund (ECEF) Steering Committee has recognized the first ballot initiative campaign staff union in the country. The Steering Committee and workers represented by Campaign Workers Guild have tentatively agreed on a Collective Bargaining Agreement covering Staff Organizers and Paid Canvassers.
The Agreement includes nearly seven percent raises, severance, disciplinary and successorship protections, provisions against workers being replaced by AI, and improved scheduling procedures. The members of the Union will vote whether to ratify the Agreement this week.
“The Eugene Clean Energy Fund campaign was born out of a belief that our environment, workers, and our community deserve better, and that the clean energy transition must be union-built,” said Jennifer Davis, a Steering Committee member and Executive Director of Beyond Toxics. “It’s important that we live up to these values and expectations internally. Everyone deserves a union, and our staff are no different.”
Organized labor support has been key to the ECEF coalition since its launch. Measure 20-388 has earned endorsements from SEIU 503, the Building Trades Council of Lane, Coos, Curry and Douglas Counties, the Lane Central Labor Committee, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 280, the Sheet Metal Workers 16, and many more.
“We are proud to have formed the first staff union for a Ballot Measure in the United States, and to be working on a campaign that is living its values and treating its workers with dignity and respect,” said Ky Fireside, a Campaign Workers Guild shop steward and paid canvasser with ECEF. “This Agreement helps set strong standards for all campaign workers in Oregon and around the country. We look forward to demonstrating the power of working people when we organize, and winning definitively this November.”
The campaign looks forward to working collaboratively with the ECEF Workers Guild while continuing its efforts to pass Measure 20-388 in November.
About Measure 20-388, the Eugene Clean Energy Fund
The Yes for Eugene Clean Energy Fund campaign is a community-led effort supporting Measure 20-388 on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The measure would establish a 2% fee on the profits of billion-dollar corporations operating in Eugene, like Walmart and Amazon, to fund local clean energy projects, lower household energy costs, create good-paying jobs, and strengthen the City’s climate resilience. The initiative has been endorsed by over 100 local businesses, labor unions, elected officials and community organizations.
Learn more at eugenecleanenergyfund.org.
About Campaign Workers Guild
Campaign Workers Guild is an independent, worker-led labor union that represents workers on political campaigns, non-profits, consulting firms, and political parties across the USA. Workplaces represented by the Guild in Oregon include the Democratic Party of Oregon, FuturePAC, Chris Gorsek for Senate, and Deb Patterson for Senate. Additional campaigns in Oregon have also signed Card-Check Neutrality Agreements with the Guild.
Learn more at www.campaignworkersguild.org.