Cannabis retail employees join UFCW in Missouri, New Jersey

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More cannabis dispensary employees have voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) labor union, this time in Columbia, Missouri, and Freehold, New Jersey.

Twenty-five budtenders at the High Profile store in Columbia will join UFCW Local 655.

High Profile’s parent company, Ann Arbor-based C3 Industries, still must officially recognize the union, according to the Columbia Missourian.

Meanwhile, an undisclosed number of workers at NJ Leaf in Freehold voted to join the UFCW Local 360.

NJ Leaf owner Ritesh Shah said the company supports the union drive.

“NJ Leaf is committed to our partnership with the UFCW,” Shah said in a statement.

“We want to make sure we are there every step of the way to provide a better work environment and better wages for our team.”

An increasing number of marijuana workers have joined unions such as the UFCW and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, most recently in Missouri and Utah.