Posts Categorized: Cannabis

On April 18, workers at Heritage Provisioning, a retail cannabis facility in Battle Creek, Mich., joined UFCW Local 951 for a better life. These hard-working men and women are the first group of cannabis workers to unionize in west Michigan.

Workers at the dispensary, who voted to join UFCW Local 951 unanimously, see union representation as a step in the right direction when it comes to a lasting career in an industry known for high employee turnover. They are looking forward to negotiating their first union contract.

“I’m really excited to be a part of something bigger than just myself,” said Riley Boles, a worker at Heritage Provisioning. “My dad is a union member and I’m proud to not only become one also, but to make history as the first UFCW Local 951 organized cannabis facility.”

“UFCW Local 951 is committed to raising the standards for all workers in this unique and rapidly developing industry,” said UFCW Local 951 President John Cakmakci. “We celebrate with the workers today and look forward to bargaining a contract that will give them the guarantees and protections in the workplace they deserve, along with competitive wages and quality health care. I’m excited and hopeful this will serve as a pathway to expanding union coverage to include more workers in the cannabis industry.”

Heritage Provisioning is owned and operated by Left Coast Holdings, which has multiple dispensaries throughout Michigan.

On April 4, workers at Root 66 in St. Louis, Mo., made history by becoming the first medical cannabis dispensary in the state to unionize by joining UFCW Local 655. 

The eight workers, who are employed as budtenders, joined our union family because they were concerned about the lack of a consistent company policy and proper explanations of workplace policy changes, which left workers feeling unsure how to properly follow policy and get their jobs done. They were also concerned about economic issues and wanted better wages and benefits, including paid time off for sick leave or vacation.

“If there are changes made to policy, we deserve to understand why,” said Prince Israel, a budtender at Root 66. “And right now, it feels like they can just change things whenever they want and that makes it difficult on us. Benefits are also very important to us. We really like what we do, and we want these jobs to be good jobs for all of us.” 

“Cannabis workers across the country are voting to join a union because they know it’s the best way to secure good wages and benefits on the job,” said UFCW Local 655 President Dave Cook. “Workers need economic security and fair treatment in the workplace, and cannabis workers are no different. We are committed to helping cannabis workers across Missouri.”