On the heels of last fall’s record-long cannabis worker strike at a multistate operator-owned Pennsylvania retailer, dispensary workers at another MSO location in the state walked off the job on Thursday, according to union officials.
Workers at a Sunnyside cannabis store, the retail chain operated by Chicago-based MSO Cresco Labs, are on strike after contract negotiations failed, said the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which organizes the location.
Eighteen workers at the Wyomissing location of Sunnyside went on strike, the union said.
“Sunnyside is part of a rapidly growing industry, and these workers are essential to the company’s success. They will not accept wages and working conditions that fall short of the standards they deserve.”
A representative for publicly traded Cresco did not immediately return a request for comment.
Second Pennsylvania medical marijuana dispensary worker strike at MSO-owned location
Pennsylvania remains a medical-cannabis-only state after adult-use legalization measures have repeatedly failed in the state Legislature.
That’s created difficulties for operators anticipating a significant increase in revenue unlocked by serving all adults 21 and over.
Workers may be feeling emboldened after a 45-day strike at a York, Pennsylvania, location of RISE, operated by Chicago-based MSO Green Thumb Industries, ended with what workers said was a successful contract that included a raise.
But not all cannabis workers are feeling union solidarity.
Massachusetts cannabis workers vote to remove union
According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit that opposes union requirements in cannabis and other industries, packaging associates and delivery drivers at a Massachusetts location of Holistic Industries voted to de-unionize earlier this month.
That followed a filing of a petition at the National Labor Relations Board by employee Scott Browne seeking to end representation by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), another prominent labor organization active in cannabis.
UFCW officials had resisted the decertification process at the NLRB last summer before dropping opposition last month, a spokesman for National Right to Work said.
“Browne and his colleagues are now free from UFCW bosses’ forced-dues demands and exclusive representation powers,” the organization said in a news release.
