A marijuana dispensary in Buchanan has unionized.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 has announced it’s now representing 17 employees at Zen Leaf on East Front Street.
Union Legislative Affairs Director Todd Regis tells us UFCW represents more than 10,000 cannabis workers around the country, making it the largest union to represent them. What could this move mean for the workers at Zen Leaf?
“I think this is going to be job protection,” Regis said. “It’s going to allow them the ability to make sure that they have some sort of wage protection. It’s going to allow them to know what their hours and schedules are. It’s going to allow them some dignity at work.”
Regis says as more states legalize marijuana and the industry grows, there will be more of a need for its workers to have representation. He says one major issue the union wants to address is safety in dispensaries as there’ a lot of cash on the properties due to credit cards being unusable in pot shops.
Justin McMeans is a cannabis advisor at Zen Leaf. He tells us the staff decided to reach out the union after feeling they weren’t getting the right treatment. He’s hopeful this will mean improvements for the industry as a whole.
“I think overall we’re very ecstatic,” McMeans said. “I think it’s just the beginning. We’re all looking for a better future for ourselves. And hopefully when other cannabis stores see how easy this was for us, the other cannabis stores in the region will start doing the same and bargain for themselves as well.”
The Zen Leaf employees held their election Friday, and the vote to unionize was 13 to 2. McMeans says bargaining with the ownership now begins.
