A campaign to establish a “just cause” standard for Oregon workers failed to achieve liftoff once again. Initiative Petition 36 was filed in August 2024 by Matthew Fennell, an internal organizer for Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP). A proposed amendment to the state constitution, it would have required employers to have a valid reason to discipline or terminate workers, a right that’s standard in union contracts, and one that would replace the current “employment at will” legal framework.
Fennell sponsored a near-identical initiative aimed at the 2024 ballot that also failed to qualify.
The new initiative was aimed at the November 2026 ballot, but once again the campaign raised no money and relied on volunteers to gather the required 156,231 signatures by July 2. It took nine months to gather the first 1,073 valid signatures to qualify for circulate. After it was approved to circulate last November, another 956 signatures were submitted in February, but none after that.
Fennell told the Labor Press the campaign is ongoing and will next aim at the November 2028 ballot.
