The cannabis industry is experiencing a wave of unionization as workers seek to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions in the newly legalized sector. However, not all union campaigns are successful, and some workers have faced resistance from employers and union avoidance firms.
Union Growth in the Cannabis Sector
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the largest union representing cannabis workers in the US, there are currently about 10,000 unionized cannabis workers across 14 states. The union has organized workers in various segments of the industry, including cultivation, processing, retail, delivery, and testing.
The unionization efforts have been driven by several factors, such as the rapid growth and expansion of the industry, the lack of consistent regulations and standards, the low wages and benefits, the high turnover, and the health and safety risks.
Workers in the cannabis industry have reported facing issues such as wage theft, harassment, discrimination, exposure to pesticides and mold, a lack of training and protective equipment, and retaliation for speaking up.
By joining a union, workers hope to gain a voice and a seat at the table to negotiate better terms and conditions with their employers. Some of the benefits that unionized cannabis workers have secured include higher pay, health insurance, paid sick leave, vacation time, retirement plans, seniority rights, grievance procedures, and job security.
Union Challenges in the Cannabis Sector
However, not all union campaigns in the cannabis industry have been successful, and some have faced significant challenges and opposition from employers and union avoidance firms.
One example is the case of Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a multi-state cannabis operator that has been accused of engaging in anti-union tactics and violating labor laws. In 2019, workers at a GTI facility in Rock Creek, Illinois, attempted to unionize with the Teamsters but lost the union election by a narrow margin of 26 to 30 votes.
Tonya Townsend, a former worker at the facility, said that the company hired a top union avoidance firm to dissuade workers from joining the union. She said that the workers faced daily abuse and intimidation from the firm’s representatives, who made false promises and threats.
“They fought us tooth and nail the whole way,” she said.
GTI has also faced union organizing efforts at its facilities in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, where workers have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging unfair labor practices. The company has denied any wrongdoing and said that it respects its workers’ rights to choose whether or not to join a union.
Another example is Eggs Canna, a cannabis store in Vancouver, Canada, that became the first one outside of Vancouver Island to join the BC Budtenders Union in 2020. However, a few months later, the workers voted to decertify the union, meaning that it no longer represented them.
Eva Prkachin, a representative of the Budtenders Union, said that the workers decided to leave the union after it successfully negotiated for changes to different in-store policies. She said that the workers felt that they had achieved their goals and did not need the union anymore.
However, Oana Cappellano, a co-owner of Eggs Canna, said that the workers were disappointed with the contract that the union negotiated and that the union made promises that it could not keep. She said that the workers realized that they were better off without the union.
Union Outlook in the Cannabis Sector
Despite these setbacks, the union movement in the cannabis industry is expected to continue and grow as more states legalize cannabis and more workers join the sector. The union organizers said that they are reaching out to more workers and educating them about the benefits of unionization.
“Our phones are ringing off the hook,” said Prkachin.
The union advocates also said that they are lobbying the government to enact laws and regulations that would support and protect the rights of cannabis workers. They said that they want to ensure that the cannabis industry provides good-paying union jobs with benefits throughout its supply chain.
“We’re trying to make these careers for the long term, not just one that is a turnover establishment,” said Alex Suarez, a worker at Modern Cannabis dispensary in Chicago, Illinois, who unionized with the UFCW.