A 20-day strike at a marijuana multistate operator-owned medical cannabis dispensary in Pennsylvania ended this week with the union claiming a victory.
Dispensary workers organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at a Wyomissing location of Sunnyside, a retail brand owned by Chicago-based MSO Cresco Labs, went back to work after winning a contract, the union said in a press release Thursday.
Eighteen workers at the Sunnyside dispensary in Wyomissing went on strike Feb. 26, according to the Teamsters.
Cresco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MJBizDaily on Friday.
Why are cannabis workers going on strike?
Budtender turnover has been a major issue in the cannabis industry for years. Some employees say poor pay and conditions are a key factor.
It’s the second successful strike in Pennsylvania in recent months. Last fall, a 45-day strike at a York location of RISE, operated by Chicago-based MSO Green Thumb Industries, ended with what workers said was a successful contract that included a raise.
In the case of the Sunnyside workers, they won a contract that includes “major wage increases” and enhanced healthcare benefits as well as extra paid time off and protections for part-time employees, according to Teamsters Local 429.
“We’ve made a real change to our workplace with this contract win,” Cobi Motley, a Sunnyside employee and Local 429 member, said, according to a statement.
“For the first time, I feel like we are respected and our future is secure. This contract proves that standing together works.”
With adult-use legalization stalled in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania remains a medical cannabis-only state.
Do unions work in the cannabis industry?
In addition to the Teamsters, major labor union United Food and Commercial Workers has been making inroads into the labor-intensive cannabis industry as a way to boost union membership after years of decline.
However, results have been mixed.
Workers in some states, unsatisfied with their situations and convinced that company-promised raises are preferable to collectively bargained contracts, have elected to decertify, or part ways with their unions.
But major cannabis operators have also proven willing to fight unions tooth and nail.
Curaleaf Holdings, for example, is suing New Jersey marijuana regulators in federal court, alleging that a pro-union requirement in state law is unconstitutional.
Curaleaf is also resisting unionization at one of its Arizona stores, taking the case all the way to the National Labor Relations Board. That case is pending, according to records.
