Posts Tagged: UFCW Local 555

Stoney Bros employees Hannah Poole and Kyle Maestra.

Workers at Stoney Brothers, a marijuana dispensary in Portland, Ore., have approved the first-ever union contract for cannabis workers in Oregon and have joined UFCW Local 555. The vote to approve the contract was unanimous and sets a new standard for cannabis workers in Oregon.

“With our new contract, I am excited to have paid holidays and vacation time,” said Kyle Maestra, a site manager at Stoney Brothers. “That is unusual in the cannabis industry.”

The three-year contract includes salaries starting at $15/hour with some making as high as $34/hour, regular raises, affordable health insurance through a multi-employer fund, pension contributions, paid vacations and sick leave, as well as seniority and grievance protections.

“All workers deserve the benefits of a union contract,” said Dan Clay, President of UFCW Local 555, “and workers in the cannabis industry are no different. Starting with the workers at Stoney Brothers, we can build a home-grown Oregon cannabis industry that respects workers and provides good, family-supporting jobs.”

Workers at Stoney Brothers have expressed excitement about their industry-leading compensation package.

“Health insurance is important to me,” said Hannah Poole, a patient consultant at Stoney Brothers. “My union health insurance plan is comprehensive and gives me real peace of mind.”

Stoney Brothers and UFCW Local 555 look forward to growing together as the company plans to open several new retail and growing facilities in the near future.

On June 12, the Oregon House passed paid earned sick leave legislation after successfully moving through the Oregon Senate. The bill will now be sent to Democratic Gov. Kate Brown to be signed into law.

“For more than three and a half years, UFCW Local 555 members have made passing a statewide paid earned sick leave law a top priority. From the very beginning, helping first to pass this law in both Portland and Eugene, members were on the front lines of this fight because we believe that everyone can be healthier and more productive when they are given ample time to recover from sickness,” said UFCW Local 555 President Dan Clay.

Members donated time and resources to lobby on behalf of paid earned sick leave and provide printed materials to support the campaign.

Facts about Paid Earned Sick Leave legislation:

• The bill would take effect January 1, 2016, and provide paid earned sick leave to any worker employed by a company with more than 10 employees.
• The law allows workers to accrue sick time at the rate of at least one hour of unpaid sick time for every 30 hours the worker is on the clock or 1-1/3 hours for every 40 hours.
• Employees could earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time a year.
• Right now, UFCW Local 555 members working in grocery stores outside of Portland do not get sick pay the first day they are sick, but must wait till the third day they are out.
• This bill will allow for members of UFCW Local 555 working in Oregon, and almost all working people, to be paid the very first day they call in sick.

UFCW Local 555 is now working with allied organizations in Washington to bring paid earned sick leave to members in southwest Washington, as well as other workers in the area.