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Teamsters ramp up cannabis industry organizing effort

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The race is on to unionize cannabis shops at the same time unionization is picking up at places like Starbucks and Amazon.

Teamsters Joint Council 25 and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters entered a joint agreement that gives Teamsters Local 777 exclusive jurisdiction for organizing cannabis workers in Illinois. The agreement signals that Teamsters Local 777 will be the only local unit under the Teamsters union to deal with cannabis in the state.

The move, which happened on Aug. 16, is said “to benefit Teamsters across Joint Council 25 as they negotiate strong contracts with cannabis corporations that are increasingly large, multistate firms.”

Teamsters has been organizing around cannabis in Illinois for a little over a year, said Teamsters representative Matt McQuaid. Since that time, they have won more than 10 cannabis elections throughout the state and organized over 500 dispensary workers.

* High Times…

Modern Cannabis dispensary in Chicago unionized in 2021, and many other businesses in the city have done the same. The first cannabis union contract in Chicago was ratified in March 2022.

“We’re trying to make these careers for the long term, not just one that is a turnover establishment,” says Alex Suarez, who works at Modern Cannabis. “I think the upswing in organization in this country right now is astonishing and we need to keep going over that energy.”

Tonya Townsend, who worked at a Green Thumb Industries cannabis facility in Rock Creek, Illinois when they pioneered unionizing in 2018 and 2019, saw some backlash to the movement. They failed to unionize, as the vote missed by a 26-30 margin.

“There was a lot of union busting. They hired the top union avoidance firm in the country,” she says. “We took them on for about a year. It was a lot. It was mental, physical, verbal, daily abuse from these guys – they fought us tooth and nail the whole way. These workers are reaching out to us for help, so that’s unusual. It used to be we were seeking them out and now they’re coming to us. Our phones are ringing constantly with workers who want protection, higher wages, better benefits and accountability from these companies.”

* From a United Food and Commercial Workers Union press release from last year …

Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), called on federal and state legislators to build on the success of the cannabis industry in creating high quality, better paying jobs for hardworking Americans. A new report released today by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that unionization was key to ensuring new jobs created in the fast-growing cannabis industry were safer, better paying, and more likely to provide benefits like health care, paid leave, and fair scheduling.

The report also found that Labor Peace Agreements (LPAs) between companies and workers in the industry successfully protected the right of cannabis workers to unionize while supporting greater alignment between companies and workers. This led to increased job quality and pay standards for all workers, particularly those of color, in addition to increased safety for customers and workers. Specifically, unionized cannabis workers can earn up to $8,690 more than their non-union, non-cannabis peers. This model provides a tangible opportunity to repair the harm done to communities of color during the war on drugs. […]

As Congress considers the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act discussion draft introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Ron Wyden (Oregon), the UFCW is urging lawmakers to recognize the importance of strengthening protections and the right to unionize for all workers in the fast-growing cannabis industry which already supports 321,000 American jobs nationwide.

Labor peace agreements (LPAs) have proven successful in protecting workers’ rights to organize in the six states (California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Virginia) with statutes encouraging or requiring LPAs for licensed medical and/or recreational cannabis businesses. LPAs prevent union busting by employers in exchange for workers’ pledge not to strike.

* The industry continues to grow, CBS reports…

Cannabis sales are up in Illinois as the state received nearly $450 million in tax revenue from $1.5 billion in recreational marijuana sales.

According to Governor JB Pritzker, the amount of taxes collected from recreational marijuana sales went from $297.7 million in fiscal year 2021 to $445.3 million this year, an increase of 50% from the same time last year. Overall, recreational pot sales also went up 50%, going from $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

“Illinois has done more to put justice and equity at the forefront of this industry than any other state in the nation and has worked to ensure that communities hurt by the war on drugs have had the opportunity to participate,” Pritzker said. “The $1.5 billion in sales of adult-use cannabis in Illinois translates into significant tax revenue with a portion of every dollar spent being reinvested in communities that have suffered for decades.”

According to state law, 25% of tax revenue from cannabis sales must support economically distressed communities along with being “disproportionately impacted by drug criminalization.”

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 12:17 pm

Comments

The Teamsters must be high on this new business.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 12:48 pm
==“There was a lot of union busting. They hired the top union avoidance firm in the country,” she says. “We took them on for about a year. It was a lot. It was mental, physical, verbal, daily abuse from these guys – they fought us tooth and nail the whole way.==

Man, that’s harsh. Sounds like these dispensary owners could stand to loosen up and mellow out a little, man.

Comment by Roadrager Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 12:55 pm
It’s hard for me to figure out the connection between pot and Teamsters.

But OTOH, there’s a lot of tech bro DNA in the cannabis industry, and I probably trust Teamsters more than anyone else to knock that out of ‘em.

Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:03 pm
@Arsenal

Yeah it’s interesting how big tent it is, when a buddy’s brewery was in the process of unionizing they would have joined the teamsters if COVID hadn’t happened and all the Union organizers were let go for “unrelated” reasons

Comment by Epic Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:09 pm
**It’s hard for me to figure out the connection between pot and Teamsters.**

Teamsters represent all kinds of industries. They even represent some hospital and nursing home workers here in IL.

Comment by SaulGoodman Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:13 pm
Just imagine Al Pacino playing Jimmy Hoffa in ‘The Irishman’ organizing weed dispensaries. Teamsters and Cannabis go together like PB&J.

Comment by Hot Taeks Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:23 pm
I couldn’t get past the Teamsters JOINT Council 25 with a chuckle.

Comment by Duke Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:28 pm
Lost opportunity for a Local 420…

Comment by CT Guy Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 1:36 pm
Can’t wait to read more about these unionizing efforts in my High Times subscription.

Comment by Baloneymous Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 2:15 pm
Ascend in Springfield is unionized. WBEZ reported on Tuesday on the Consider This podcast that once the downtown store unionized, the company voluntarily recognized the union at the other location in town.

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 2:23 pm
====Ascend in Springfield is unionized. WBEZ reported on Tuesday on the Consider This podcast that once the downtown store unionized, the company voluntarily recognized the union at the other location in town.=====

After Boones (ownership overlap with Ascend) had their union problems he probably didn’t want anymore problems. And the amount of business he lost from one union group not drinking there probably cost more than whatever he saved for using non union trade workers.

Comment by Been There Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 2:57 pm
I am honestly at a loss as to why Pritzker is not reminding voters of his accomplishment here.

Comment by Thomas Paine Thursday, Sep 1, 22 @ 4:28 pm
Keep on trucking

Comment by Rabid Friday, Sep 2, 22 @ 5:29 am