Unions

Dispensary workers at two Arizona cannabis stores, Zen Leaf Local Joint in Phoenix and the Zen Leaf in Chandler, voted on Tuesday to ratify union contracts with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 99.

Cannabis workers at the Cresco Labs cultivation site in Fall Rivers, Massachusetts have voted to de-unionize ahead of their contract’s expiration date this summer.

The National Labor and Relations Board has approved a settlement that will see a Missouri cannabis dispensary company reinstate five employees and pay more than $145,000 in backpack, front pay, and interest and compensation to 10 employees who were terminated after a March union organizing action.

The California Department of Cannabis Control has clarified that the National Agricultural Workers Union is not a bona fide labor organization following reports from earlier this year that the organization is one of many “fake” unions in the space.

Workers at the Home State Dispensary in Kansas City, Missouri voted this week to join the Teamsters Local 955, making them the first cannabis workers in the city to unionize.

Workers at a Phoenix, Arizona dispensary went on strike last week after the company, Curaleaf Midtown, failed to negotiate a contract despite workers having voted to join the UFCW Local 99 union last summer.

Three Rise dispensaries in Illinois recently saw workers ratify their first collective bargaining agreement following a “protracted fight.” Rise is a subsidiary of multi-state operator Green Thumb Industries.

This week marked the second collective bargaining agreement in the Michigan cannabis industry after workers at Ascend Cannabis Provisions in Grand Rapids voted to join the Teamsters Local 406.

Workers at Connecticut’s largest cannabis cultivation facility have voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 919. It’s the second time that cannabis workers in the state voted to unionize.

The Teamsters Local 777 union has reached tentative agreements for cannabis consultants and agents-in-charge at Zen Leaf dispensaries in Chicago.

Rhode Island dispensary Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center has filed a lawsuit over labor peace agreement provisions in the state’s cannabis legalization law, arguing it was “coerced into entering an oppressive collective bargaining agreement.”

Workers at the California-based cannabis distribution company Amuse voted on Wednesday to join the Teamsters Local 630 union.

The Teamsters Local 777 union in Chicago has filed additional Unfair Labor Practice charges against Green Thumb Industries, the parent company of RISE dispensaries, adding new allegations to an ongoing labor dispute.

Cannabis cultivation workers at 48 Advanced Grow Labs in Connecticut this week became the first cannabis industry workers in Connecticut to unionize.

The union worker’s strike over wages in British Columbia has resulted in about 500 job losses and the closure of 50 cannabis retail locations.

Cannabis operators in British Columbia, Canada are bracing for supply disruptions this week after the BC General Employees’ Union went on strike over wage disputes.

Members of the New York City Fire Department will no longer be subject to random drug tests as per a Uniformed Firefighters Association leaked document.

Some workers at province-run cannabis stores in Quebec have entered an indefinite strike over low pay. The workers are with the Syndicat Canadien de la Fonction Publique, which is affiliated with the largest trade union in the province.

The Teamsters union has successfully recruited more than 500 cannabis industry workers and is looking to organize in multiple states with upcoming cannabis legalization questions on their ballots.

Multistate cannabis firm Curaleaf did not offer Juneteenth holiday pay for its unionized employees but did for non-unionized employees.

Workers at a cannabis cultivation site in Gresham, Oregon walked off the job on Monday, alleging their employer had initiated actions to impede unionization efforts.

The cannabis industry helped drive unionization efforts for retail workers in 2021, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board.

New York lawmakers passed a bill to let hemp cultivators and processors obtain early conditional licenses for the state’s adult-use cannabis program.

Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) said in a recent interview he will not seek to overturn the adult-use cannabis law signed by his predecessor but will look to adjust certain elements of the program, including a “forced unionization” clause.