Unionized employees at Minnesota Medical Solutions – one of the two licensed medical marijuana businesses in the state – unanimously ratified a three-year contract with the company.
MinnMed is a unit of MMJ business Vireo Health, which in September signed what it claimed was the first agreement with organized labor in New York. These cannabis-related labor contracts join a growing number in states that also include California, Colorado and Oregon.
According to St. Paul TV station KTSP, the agreement between MinnMed and Local 1189 of the United Food & Commercial Workers includes:
- Annual raises for all workers
- Higher wages for lead positions
- Premium wages for training new employees
- An expansion of the wage scale to attract more workers to the industry
In a news release, MinnMed said the contract also includes an extension of the company’s agreement to cover all costs associated with health insurance through 2017. After that, full-time employees will contribute $5 per week toward the union’s health plan.
MinnMed operates four patient centers in Minnesota as well as a cannabis manufacturing facility.
Minnesota’s MMJ patient pool surged in 2016, a welcome boost to an industry that some thought had stalled.
