Monthly Archives: October 2023

On Oct. 19, workers at the Lush Cosmetics store in Friendswood, Texas, made history by becoming the first Lush Cosmetics store in Texas to unionize by joining UFCW Local 455.

The nine workers, who sell vegetarian and vegan bath bombs, creams, soaps, shampoos and other products, joined our union family because they were concerned about insufficient wages, as well as health and safety issues at the store, including the lack of air conditioning. The campaign to organize these workers included in-person meetings, as well as connecting with the workers through social media.

The Lush Cosmetics workers at the Friendswood store are looking forward to negotiating their first union contract.

“We will make this the Lush we want it to be,” they said in a joint statement.

Lush Cosmetics is owned by British cosmetics retailer Lush Retail Ltd., and this the second Lush Cosmetics unit in the U.S. to unionize with the UFCW. Workers at the Lush Cosmetics store in Louisville, Ky., voted to join UFCW Local 227 earlier this year.

On Oct. 20, cannabis workers at “The Dispensary” owned by Ayr Wellness in Las Vegas voted to join UFCW Local 711 to build a better life. This organizing win marks the second cannabis unit to join UFCW Local 711 this month. Cannabis workers at Green Thumb Industries in Reno joined the local on Oct. 6.

“Today proves that when workers stand together, we win,” said Alberto Villalobos, who works at  The Dispensary and was part of the organizing process. “I’m so proud of the work my peers and I put into making our voices heard and helping move the cannabis industry in the right direction. We look forward to negotiating a strong union contract that fairly rewards our labor and respects the contributions we make every day toward making the shop successful.”

“We are excited to join union brothers and sisters as the second Ayr Wellness location to form a union,” Villalobos added. “The future of the Nevada cannabis industry is bright and we hope others follow suit.”