Posts Categorized: Negotiations

About 60 members of UFCW Local 1006A who work at the Radisson Blu hotel in downtown Toronto, Canada, recently ratified a new contract.

The three-year contract includes the following provisions:

• Wage increases of $1.50 per hour on ratification for non-gratuity employees (vast majority of members in the bargaining unit), and increases of $0.20 per hour to $1.20 per hour for gratuity employees. An additional 12 percent in wage increases over the remainder of the contract for all employees in the bargaining unit.
  
  
• New lead hand premium for several departments and a new evening premium for housekeeping.
  
  
• Improved bereavement leave.
  
  
• Improved sick leave.
  
  
• Shoe allowance for part-time employees.
  
  
• Reduction in the room assignment for housekeepers (fewer checkouts).
  
  
• Increases to benefit and pension plan contributions.
  
  
• Higher retirement allowance for certain age groups.

“We were happy with what we accomplished,” said Jemal Mousa, who works at the Radisson Blu hotel and served as member of the negotiating committee. “We did fairly well — we did good with pensions, benefits, sick leave, and improved the retirement package. Everybody was happy.”

“As a member of UFCW 1006A, you are part of a union and a movement which is advocating and achieving fairness, respect and dignity for workers across Ontario,” said UFCW Local 1006A President Wayne Hanley. “I’m proud of our exceptional negotiating committee for being a strong and relentless voice for our members at this hotel and helping achieve significant improvements.”

On Feb. 21, about 500 members of UFCW Locals 5, 135, 324 and 770 who work for Eaze Inc. (formerly Stachs LLC) in California ratified a new contract. This agreement ensures continued stability, fair wages, and critical worker protections at a time when the cannabis sector faces ongoing financial and regulatory challenges, and covers cannabis delivery drivers, and depot and retail staff spread across 11 locations in California.   

The three-year contract guarantees fair wages and scheduled raises retroactive to January 1, 2025, employer contributions to health and welfare benefits, an indexed mileage reimbursement rate for drivers, and successorship language to protect workers in the future. By securing these protections, the UFCW continues to provide cannabis workers with the stability they deserve, reinforcing the importance of union representation in an unpredictable industry.

Eaze union members had successfully negotiated their first union contract in April 2024, but financial challenges endemic to California’s cannabis industry, coupled with a falling out among factions of Stachs LLC’s investors, led the company to liquidate and close. In November 2024, Eaze announced $10 million in Series B funding following the acquisition of select assets from Eaze Technologies, Inc. The investment funded the reopening of 70 Eaze and Green Dragon locations across California, Colorado, Florida, and Michigan, including 57 retail stores, 11 delivery hubs, and two production facilities.

Eaze Inc. rehired a super majority of its existing workforce and recognized the UFCW in early January 2025. The company and the UFCW then swiftly negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement that minimized disruption to the business and its workforce.

“With this contract ratification victory, Eaze cannabis delivery drivers can put the uncertainty of the past few months behind us and continue to build on the union solidarity and pride we’ve been cultivating with UFCW for the last two years,” said Ron Swallow, an Eaze delivery driver out of Van Nuys. “We’re proud of the collective work we’ve done to get to this point, and will continue fighting for fair treatment for all cannabis workers.”