Massachusetts Cannabis Retail Workers Sign Landmark Union Contract

Employees at Massachusetts’ Sira Naturals on Friday ratified their Collective Bargaining Agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 1445, the first cannabis employees in the state to sign a labor contract. The employees at Sira facilities in Milford, Needham, and Somerville voted to join the union last year.

UFCW 1445 President Fernando Lemus called the three-year agreement “a mutually beneficial agreement for all employees that includes better wages, healthcare options, a retirement plan, and increased workplace safety and accountability.”

In a Facebook post, the union said the contract also includes holiday pay, the creation of a labor management committee, rights to a grievance procedure, seniority protection, and a job bid system.

In a statement, Local 1445 Political and Organizing Director Gabe Camacho applauded Sira for proving “to be a responsible corporate citizen.”

“We hope the controlling bodies over the cannabis industry in Massachusetts will take notice and award licenses to responsible employers, like Sira, that treat their workers fairly – good employee relations can only serve to benefit operators, municipalities, and entire communities of disenfranchised people.” – Camacho in a press release

Sira employees were the first in Massachusetts to vote to unionize. Since then, Local 328 won an election at Curaleaf’s Hanover dispensary, Local 1445 filed petitions with the state to represent workers at Cultivate in Leicester, and employees at New England Treatment Access’s Franklin cultivation facility and Workers at Mayflower Medicinals in Holliston voted to join Local 1445.

None of those employees have yet ratified a contract.