Cannabis workers at a licensed retailer in Springfield, Missouri ratified a union contract last week after years of negotiations, union officials said.
The July 30 vote by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2-organized workers at Key Cannabis Dispensary is believed to be only the second instance of a unionized cannabis store in the $1.5 billion market securing a contract, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
In late June, workers at High Profile Cannabis ratified what UFCW officials said was the state’s very first contract at a retailer.
What do unionized cannabis retail workers get?
Key Cannabis workers first voted to unionize three years ago. Contract negotiations dragged until last month.
According to UFCW, the agreement delivers:
- Wage increases and an additional raise on the contract’s first anniversary
- Bonuses and new bonus and incentive programs
- Additional paid time off, sick time and paid bereavement leave
Sally Powell, a retail associate at Key Cannabis, framed the vote as a signal to workers elsewhere in the state.
“I’m so proud of our resilience, and I hope our win shows cannabis workers across Missouri that when we stand together, there’s nothing we can’t do,” Powell said in a statement to the News-Leader.
Are Missouri cannabis workers joining unions?
Missouri legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, fueling a surge in cannabis jobs and, soon after, a push to unionize.
Several groups of workers endured years-long legal battles and company pushback before seeing victories this year.
In St. Louis, Proper Brands post-harvest workers, who process and manufacture cannabis products, voted 25-21 on July 1 to unionize.
That followed a key decision from the National Labor Relations Board.
In May, the board rejected a St. Louis cannabis company’s argument that post-harvest employees are agricultural workers, a classification that would exempt them from federal law protecting most private-sector workers’ right to organize without retaliation.
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What are cannabis companies doing in response to unions?
Cannabis companies around the country are using various tactics to evade union-friendly licensing requirements. Operators in Utah and New Jersey have filed federal lawsuits against state regulators, alleging that such requirements are unconstitutional.
One such lawsuit, filed against the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission by marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings, is still pending.
Fellow cannabis MSO Verano Holding Corp. also sued the CRC last week, Law360 first reported.
But cannabis workers are also demonstrating increased militancy in response to management.
In Illinois, what’s said to be the biggest strike in cannabis industry history ended after about a month, when more than 300 workers at Ascend Wellnes Holdings’ cultivation complex ratified a contract.
