The budding cannabis industry is not for the faint of entrepreneurial heart. Growers, producers, and dispensaries face the dubious pleasure of operating in a federally illegal business, yet they must adhere to federal laws, including the National Labor Relations Act. This has made the industry a testing ground for Cemex, putting more union-applied pressure on an already appealing target.
From a sheer numbers perspective, it’s easy to see why unions see flashing dollar signs as additional states begin to regulate marijuana and budtending becomes a job for more workers. At this time, 24 states have legalized recreational adult-use cannabis, with at least 40 states permitting medical use. As those numbers grow, unions gain more potential ground in an industry that essentially didn’t exist until the past decade or so.
A few key international unions are making dents in the industry, even if locals end up pulling most of the weight in this industry’s unionization push:
United Food And Commercial Workers: This union surveyed the landscape earlier than most and launched the 2013 Cannabis Workers Rising initiative. Years later and amid the backdrop of the pandemic, their efforts increased as they deployed an organizing website to ramp up their “Cannabis Workers’ Union,” which now claims membership numbers of 10,000+. Yet if one considers that, in California and Michigan alone, a total of 120,000 marijuana jobs exist, then the UFCW hasn’t yet made an overwhelming impact in the increasingly nationwide market.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters: The Teamsters were late to the game but keen to play cannabis catchup under Sean O’Brien’s presidency. In 2019, this industry’s delivery drivers began to unionize in California, where the union previously targeted agricultural workers. Drivers also hit the union’s priority list in Pennsylvania and Illinois, with the latter seeing retail workers join Local 777.
Since O’Brien took office, several locals have taken charge of the market in states including Missouri and Massachusetts. About a year ago, O’Brien also instructed more locals to ramp up cannabis plans across the nation significantly, whereupon many Chicago-based PharmaCann/Cresco locations unionized with local 777, which organized what is believed to be the longest strike in the industry earlier this year.
Abandoned petitions from other unions: Both the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America have launched and abandoned efforts to unionize production facilities in Colorado and Pennsylvania, respectively.
What the future might hold: A rocky road lies ahead for cannabis, both on the business and union sides. The widespread financial instability within the industry has led to more buyouts and takeovers, which has periodically shuttered some organizing efforts. As well, a wide variety of laws in different states and massive tax rates have pressured distributors to the point where they are beginning to collapse in states like California.
In other words, and despite this industry’s seemingly fertile ground for organizing, union activity isn’t growing like a weed, although UFCW and the Teamsters won’t be giving up in their quest to roll that joint.
