Opinion | Cannabis workers rising

It wasn’t that long ago that a legal cannabis industry seemed like an impossible fantasy. Even as it slowly began to emerge in a handful of states there was doubt that it would ever gain a real foothold across the nation and certainly not in Missouri.

Well, times have changed. The cannabis industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Once it was the stuff of late-night TV punchlines and now it’s a multi-billion dollar industry across dozens of states. The result has been overwhelmingly positive for companies and investors. The real question, as with any new job in a new industry, is what type job(s) these will be. Will these be low wage, low benefit jobs or will the men and women in this new industry be able to raise a family with dignity and quality benefits?

The Washington Post estimated in September of 2021 that more than 300,000 people across the country worked in the legal cannabis industry. That means there are more cannabis workers in this country than dentists or paramedics, and it’s a number that is only going to go up.

As that number has risen, so has the number of workers that have sought union representation on the job. With well over 10,000 unionized cannabis workers nationwide, the United Food and Commercial Workers union is easily the largest organization representing cannabis workers, and it’s not particularly close.

I’m writing this today to remind readers just how and why unionization is a direct positive for both workers and employers alike.

Through crafting and supporting targeted legislative efforts, leading the way in industry coalitions, and setting standards for cannabis workers through collective bargaining, UFCW Cannabis Workers Rising is where dispensary workers and owners, along with patients and coalition allies, find strength in working for their shared goals.

First, let me be clear: some amount of unionization in this industry is inevitable. Management fighting those efforts could find themselves in expensive and time-consuming fights that soak up resources. Second, not every single cannabis worker in this country will want or need to join a union, and assuming that every workplace is in dire need of representation would be a drastic overreach of organized labor.

There is potential here for a real partnership that would be mutually beneficial to management and workers alike. If you’re in management, you may not be aware of the many ways a union shop would directly benefit you. Let’s talk about that.

Union cannabis shops have significantly lower turnover than non-union operations. The benefit here should be obvious on its face; less worker turnover means less cost to the company and more consistent levels of service for customers and patients.

The reason for that lower turnover should also be relatively obvious: unions provide above-average jobs. The wages and benefits are better at union workplaces, and workers that tend to be happier with their jobs are less likely to quit. As union representation in this industry has grown, something has become clear: unions have the ability to offer quality healthcare benefits at a better price than some smaller employers can purchase on their own, providing both a better benefit to employees while helping reduce healthcare costs to the employer.

One of the reasons this is especially true in the cannabis industry is because of the resources unions can provide employers to ensure a well-oiled operation. Thanks to the rapid growth of cannabis workers as members of UFCW, we are equipped with significant resources that benefit workers and their employers. Across the country we have worked closely with employers to provide training materials, legal assistance, and help in legislative efforts that help the industry grow.

As we are writing this article, UFCW International is working with several Local Unions across the country to develop an apprenticeship training program for cannabis workers. This clearly would be a benefit to workers as they would have a place to be properly trained for jobs in this new industry while simultaneously ensuring that management would have a pool of highly–trained workers available.

In Missouri, where the medical cannabis industry is legal but recreational use remains illegal, the regulatory environment can be challenging. Owners of medical facilities would find that they benefit greatly from having a partner to help them navigate that regulatory minefield. UFCW Local 655, where I am President, is based in St. Louis Missouri. We represent the entire eastern half of the state and we are the largest private-sector local in the state.

Our local led the charge to overturn Right-to-Work a few short years ago and we championed the statewide minimum wage increase. Make no bones about it, without Local 655 and our many partners in organized labor, both of those measures would have likely failed. We pride ourselves on having many partnerships with elected officials and a robust grassroots organizing operation.

If we can create real partnerships with dispensary owners, we can lay the foundation for a partnership that will be mutually beneficial when the day inevitably comes that recreational cannabis finds itself on the ballot. Having organized labor at your back is wildly helpful when it’s time to conduct a ballot initiative campaign.

For those of you working in the cannabis industry, I would simply ask: are you completely happy with your job? Are your wages sufficient? Your benefits? Do you have consistency with your schedule, a safe workplace, and all the training you need? Do you have regular wage increases that are not subject to change? Do you have workplace policies that are not subject to change? Do you feel respected and fairly treated on the job?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all of those questions then you don’t need a union. If you answered ‘no’ to one or more of these items that are important to you, then it’s possible that a union is the right choice for you.

Your workplace can’t unionize unless a majority of workers vote in favor of joining. Your union contract won’t go into effect unless a majority of workers vote to approve it. The union isn’t abstract, the union is YOU. It’s what YOU decide is best for yourself, it’s what YOU create and control.

The relationship with unions and management does not have to be an adversarial one. UFCW Local 655 has numerous employers — Schnucks, Straubs, and Dierbergs Markets among them — where we have strong relationships and mutually beneficial goals. We work together to make sure they can continue to be profitable and competitive while also ensuring that the workers that helped make them those profits have safe jobs with good wages and benefits.

There are some cannabis workers in Missouri that will see value in forming a union, and I urge them to do so by reaching out to us. There are some owners in Missouri that will see the real value a unionized workforce can bring to their company, and I urge them to come to the table with us in good faith.

The industry is growing. The movement is real. Cannabis workers are rising.