Posts tagged cannabis

    Does federal marijuana prohibition mean cannabis workers can’t unionize?

    September 19, 2025 // That’s what so-called “trigger laws” in California, New York and Massachusetts call for: allowing workers to petition state labor-relations entities if the NLRB cannot function. That could work against cannabis companies in such blue states. In contrast, it would be a boon for anti-unionization efforts in states with weak labor laws such as Missouri, where the cannabis industry is doing comparatively well compared to other states. It’s not clear what might happen next in Michigan, where Democratic lawmakers repealed anti-union “right-to-work” laws in 2024.

    Teamsters: South Jersey cannabis workers unionizing in Mays Landing

    May 7, 2025 // Teamsters set out about three years ago to unionize the cannabis industries. It has recorded more than 30 collective bargaining agreements among workforces in California, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan. “This is inherently a core industry for our union,” union spokesman Matt McQuaid said this week. “If you look at most of the core segments of the cannabis supply chain — agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and retail — these are all jobs where the Teamsters have represented workers for decades.”

    Percentage of Construction Industry Workers in a Union Continues to Decline

    April 5, 2024 // According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis, the percentage of construction workers who belong to a union dropped to a record low of 10.7 percent in 2023. This is the latest in a generational shift. Over the past 50 years, the percentage of unionized workers has decreased from 39.5 percent to the new low. Non-union construction employers should still be aware of unions and related labor law issues. We provide a few reasons here. First, the law that covers unionized employers in private industry, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), applies with equal force to non-union employers. Non-union workers still have the NLRA’s protections to engage in protected, concerted activity in support of improved working conditions. That includes group activities that have nothing to do with bringing a union into the workplace.

    What’s Working: Why unionizing in Colorado, a modified-right-to-work state, sees limited success

    March 13, 2024 // The Peace Act rules require three-quarters of eligible workers to participate in a second vote, if they already successfully voted in an NLRB election. Without it, the union has less bite since it doesn’t represent all eligible workers and cannot collect dues from those who don’t join. The NLRB’s vote needs just a simple majority. “This is where it gets kooky,” said Alejo R. González, political and community coordinator at Service Employees International Union Local 105 in Denver. “So you could literally win the vote 55 to zero and still lose because you didn’t get 75% of the people to vote. That 75% turnout is insane. It’s hard to get that many people to vote. … And a lot of companies won’t start bargaining until that happens.”

    Teamsters allege GTI surveilled striking employees

    June 13, 2023 // The ULP alleges that GTI was reading a private Discord server between striking employees during the action. The intrusion after an attorney admitted to reading the server during the hearing, Teamsters Communication Matt McQuaid shared with GreenState.

    Teamsters’ Unionizing Efforts In Cannabis Industry: Cresco Labs Dispensary & CA Delivery Service Next Up

    January 12, 2023 // "I support the union because all of us here at Grassdoor are in this life together. It's up to all of us to act collectively and stand firm to demand the respect we deserve," Robertson said. "We want to have stable, middle-class careers, but also protect California's cannabis culture of peace and community – one we have worked so hard to preserve over the decades. Cannabis is for everyone, and the prosperity it provides should be for everyone as well." In late November, Teamsters Local 777 helped organize an unfair labor practice strike outside Revolution Global’s Enlightened Dispensary in Schaumburg, Illinois.

    Booming US cannabis industry seen as fertile ground for union expansion

    August 3, 2022 // Union organizing in the cannabis industry has driven a surge of union elections in retail, one of the few industries to experience unionization gains in recent years, winning 18 out of 26 union elections in 2021. The United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teamsters both represent thousands of workers in the cannabis industry and are leading union organizing campaigns to keep up with the pace of the industry’s growth.