Teamsters Reach Monumental Contract With A Large Cannabis Operator, And This Is Just The Beginning

Cannabis consultants and agents-in-charge at two Chicago-based dispensaries operated by Zen Leaf, a subsidiary of Verano VRNOF, have both voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first collective bargaining agreements with Teamsters Local 777.

Founded back in 1937, Teamsters Local 777 represents workers in a wide variety of industries throughout the Chicago area.

The news comes less than a month after reaching tentative agreements at Zen Leaf dispensaries in Chicago and Schaumburg, Ill. Verano is the third multi-state operator that Local 777 has successfully bargained agreements with after launching a campaign to organize the cannabis industry less than three years ago.

“Trade unionism is a full contact sport, and just like anything you train for, you get out of it what you put into it,” stated Jim Glimco, Local 777 president. “The workers at the Pilsen and Lombard locations worked incredibly hard and demonstrated remarkable tenacity, and that’s why they both secured great collective bargaining agreements for themselves.”

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Monumental For The Entire Industry

Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International vice president and Food Processing Division director, commented, “These workers are at the vanguard of an energized, innovative, militant, twenty-first century labor movement. Their victory at Verano serves as a blueprint for successfully building a career in the cannabis industry.”

Lailane Dela Cruz, who works at the Lombard dispensary said that the contract is “monumental” for the entire industry. “It just goes to show that we really do have a voice loud enough to help create proper work conditions. I see this contract as just the beginning. Others will see this as a steppingstone in helping to create a new standard throughout the cannabis business.”

Recent Teamsters Activity

• Wellness advisors and other cannabis workers at Sunnyside, a subsidiary of Cresco Labs CRLBF, have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 777.
• Patient care advocates and dispensary supervisors at Bloc Dispensary, a subsidiary of Justice Cannabis Company, have voted to join Teamsters Local 618.
• Eighty-one workers at Growpacker have organized with Teamsters Local 1932 in San Bernardino, California.
• In June, drivers at Amuse, a cannabis distribution company in Southern California voted to join Teamsters Local 630.
• In June, Teamsters Local 777 filed additional unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against Green Thumb Industries GTBIF, the parent company of RISE dispensaries. The charges come after the workers embarked on the longest ULP strike against a cannabis retailer in U.S. history.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photos by Bits And Splits and Oleksandrum on Shutterstock