Posts tagged cannabis
OREGON: A Union Asks Lawmakers to Repeal a Ballot Measure the Same Union Passed at Great Expense
February 16, 2026 // UFCW wasn’t finished. In 2024, the union spent another nearly $2.9 million to put on the ballot and pass Measure 119, which achieved what Holvey denied UFCW one year earlier—a law making it easier to unionize cannabis workers. As Selvaggio acknowledged Feb. 10, that victory proved short-lived. He told lawmakers that subsequent conflicting federal court decisions in California and Oregon convinced UFCW that a challenge to Measure 119, now law, could go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has generally been unfriendly to organized labor under Trump appointees. Selvaggio said the issue “could be weaponized against working people,” and so he asked the House Rules Committee on Feb. 10 to support repealing Measure 119 via House Bill 4162.
Washington Democrats propose collective bargaining for farmworkers
January 21, 2026 // Washington Farm Bureau director of government relations Breanne Elsey told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Jan. 19 that farmworkers are excluded from the federal law for good reasons. Untimely labor disputes would bankrupt farms, she said. “Striking during harvest could threaten the small window of time farmers have to produce their income for the entire year,” she said. SB 6617 would apply to housekeepers and employees of some small businesses, as well as farmworkers. Senate Bill 6045 and House Bill 2409 are confined to collective-bargaining rights for just farmworkers. Those bills are scheduled for initial hearings Jan. 20.
Right to Work Foundation Urges Ninth Circuit to Reject CA Law Granting Union Bosses Massive Power Over Cannabis Industry Workers
October 9, 2025 // The Foundation’s amicus brief argues in particular that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts California’s “labor peace agreement” statutes. The NLRA is the federal law that governs most private sector labor relations. The four conditions mandated for cannabis companies under California law, “an agreement with a…union, a ban on disrupting union organizing, a ban on union members picketing, boycotting, or striking, and a clause granting union organizers access to employees at work” all concern activity that the U.S. Congress intended the NLRA to deal with – not state law.
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.”
Commentary: Labor unions are mobilizing in new and old industries alike
October 6, 2024 // How job security issues are addressed following this wave of strikes could set the tone for what other hospitality, manufacturing and transportation unions seek when their contracts are up for negotiation again.The Conversation
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.”
Trulieve cannabis agricultural workers in Phoenix vote to unionize
February 2, 2024 //