COLLECTIVE BARGAINING-CANNABIS

104th Regular Session Introduced by Gregg Johnson and 1 co-sponsor

HB 3317 lets Illinois cannabis employers statewide enforce union-security agreements requiring union membership as a condition of employment, overruling local bans.

Summary — HB 3317 (Collective Bargaining — Cannabis)

Bill number: HB 3317
Title: Collective Bargaining — Cannabis
Introduced: Feb. 18, 2025 (filed Feb. 25, 2025)
Chief Sponsor: Rep. Gregg Johnson (co-sponsor added: Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, 4/8/2025)
Statute amended: 820 ILCS 12/15 (Collective Bargaining Freedom Act)
Companion: SB 1236
Current status (as reported): Rule 19(a) / Re‑referred to Rules Committee; actions through 2025-05-12 include committee reports and calendar actions.

Purpose / Intent

HB 3317 seeks to make explicit that employers licensed under Illinois’s adult-use Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act or the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act may enter into and enforce labor “union security” agreements anywhere in Illinois. In short, the bill permits agreements that require union membership as a condition of employment for cannabis employers statewide.

Key provisions

Amends Section 15 of the Collective Bargaining Freedom Act (820 ILCS 12/15).

Adds a new subsection stating that, “notwithstanding any law to the contrary,” employers licensed under:

the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, or
the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, and labor organizations may, anywhere in Illinois, execute and apply agreements requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment.

Leaves intact existing language permitting NLRA‑covered private sector employers to enter union security agreements to the extent authorized under federal law.

Who would be affected

Employers licensed to cultivate, process, distribute, dispense, or otherwise operate under Illinois’s cannabis regulatory schemes.

Employees of those licensed cannabis businesses.

Labor organizations seeking to negotiate collective bargaining agreements with cannabis employers, including provisions that require membership or dues payment.

Local governments and ordinances that might otherwise restrict or prohibit union security clauses within their jurisdiction (the bill’s “notwithstanding” language intends to override conflicting local law).

Potential impacts

Enables union-security arrangements (e.g., membership or dues requirements tied to employment) across the cannabis industry statewide, which could increase unionization leverage in that sector.

May alter labor costs and bargaining dynamics for cannabis businesses (wages, benefits, dues, grievance procedures), though the bill contains no appropriation or direct fiscal provisions.

Could preempt local restrictions on union-security agreements by expressly permitting such agreements “anywhere within the entire State of Illinois.”

Procedural history (selected highlights)

Filed: 02/25/2025 (first reading 02/18/2025); chief sponsor changed to Rep. Gregg Johnson 02/07/2025.

Referred to Labor & Commerce Committee (03/11/2025); reported Do Pass (03/19/2025).

Committee substitute considered and reported favorably (04/17 & 04/23/2025); public hearings held.

Re-referred under Rule 19(a) to Rules Committee (04/11/2025); further calendar actions and placement on General State Calendar in May 2025; as of 05/12/2025, laid on the table subject to call.

Notes

The bill does not itself define the specific mechanics of union-security types (e.g., agency shop vs. union shop) beyond permitting “agreements requiring membership.” Federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) constraints and other labor law standards would still shape enforceability where applicable.