Union moves into cannabis sector

Business Examiner

Local 367 of United Food & Commercial Workers announced in an online post this week that it expects to represent employees of Puyallup’s Dutch Master’s Organic Gardens, a medical cannabis collective that has been serving patients since 2011.

These “patient consultants” are the first in Washington state to organize a union, and the labor organization reportedly is in talks with others who may be interested.

“The UFCW works with employers to help them move into different counties and states when they need advice and workers in those areas,” said Dutch Master, founder of the collective. He also cites a shared commitment to find regulatory solutions for his industry.

Workers at the collective see the need for more regulatory protection for the estimated 5,000 persons working in medical cannabis collectives across the state. Most notable is their concern for patient access under the roll-out of recreational marijuana retail sales as ordered by the Initiative 502 mandate.

While UFCW primarily represents retail, pharmacy, food processing, manufacturing and production workers, it reports a growing membership through a Cannabis Workers Rising campaign.

“Any time you have an industry where jobs, people’s livelihoods and families are dependent on the law and regulations, the union is the place where workers find their strength to bargain and have a voice in the process,” said UFCW Local 367 president Denise Jagielo.

The union said its goal is to bring stability to all workers in the blossoming medical cannabis industry in Washington.

Source

Union moves into cannabis sector