The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is by far the most dominant union involved in the cannabis industry.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy even appointed a UFCW official to the state’s new Cannabis Regulatory Commission, underscoring the union’s role in the state’s soon-to-launch adult-use marijuana program.
The UFCW started a formal effort in 2013 called Cannabis Workers Rising to organize employees in the marijuana and hemp industries, which offer greater growth opportunities versus mainstream businesses such as grocery chains and retailers.
“Unions view cannabis as a huge opportunity,” Boston labor attorney Jonathan Keselenko recently told Marijuana Business Magazine.
“They have been making sort of a full-court press to get the industry organized.”
Hugh Giordano, a union representative/organizer for Local 152 of the UFCW in New Jersey, said it might sound corny but he believes the cannabis industry offers a “historic opportunity for industry and labor” to forge a partnership that ensures fair wages and benefits and helps in recruiting and retaining highly skilled workers.