Posts Categorized: Industries

After waging a dramatic public awareness campaign, cannabis workers at New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Franklin, Mass., secured a strong contract this summer.

The UFCW Local 1445 members won across-the-board wage increases, a one-time $700 ratification bonus, better holiday and overtime pay, improved benefits, and successorship language in case of a sale. The contract also includes technology provisions to prevent employees from being negatively impacted by an automated or artificial intelligence system, and it requires the company to give the union advance notice of significant technology updates.

The one-year contract covers 18 workers at the facility, including cultivation, harvest, cure, and pest management staff.

Negotiations had stalled after 16 months, so to put pressure on the company, members wore union swag during their shifts and distributed handbills outside the facility during a powerful summer storm. The rain was so strong that police, concerned about the workers’ safety, asked them to seek shelter.

Those actions had an impact. Members felt strong support from customers who backed their calls for a fair deal, and they believe that support helped kick-start negotiations.

Despite the intense process, cultivator, shop steward, and bargaining committee member Jack Shanahan is looking forward to what’s ahead. “This fight is far from over, but we have gained tremendous ground for the next round of negotiations and shown our bosses that we will not stand for mistreatment.”

Andrew Mandeville, cultivator and bargaining committee member, was emboldened by the fight for a fair contract. “With the cannabis industry, it can sometimes feel like our work is truly up in the air, or at the mercy of people more powerful than us, but organizing with our UFCW local branch has helped us plant our feet on the ground and given some of that power back to the workers.”

By a two-to-one margin, pharmacy technicians at Kroger in Tiffin, Ohio voted to join UFCW Local 75 earlier this month.

These 10 new members join the other approximately 150 unionized Kroger workers at this location.

The workers assist the store’s pharmacists by preparing and dispensing medications, processing prescriptions, managing inventory, and supporting patients with routine pharmacy needs.

Organizers say member activists played an important role in unionizing the unit by talking with workers about the benefits of having a strong contract and making sure these conversations were effective. Workers were inspired to unionize by a desire for better health insurance, improved wages and working conditions, and most importantly, a greater voice in how they were treated on the job. They wanted a meaningful seat at the table and the ability to work collectively to make their workplace better and fairer.

“We came together because we knew things could be better. We wanted a voice on the job, better benefits, and to be treated with the respect we deserve,” said Jill, a pharmacy tech at the store.

Contract negotiations are expected to begin next month.