As the Oct. 1 launch of recreational marijuana sales nears, one labor union is looking to organize cannabis workers in Oregon.
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 recently negotiated a three-year contract on behalf of employees at a Portland dispensary and hopes to broker similar deals across the state as the cannabis industry takes off, said Jeff Anderson, Local 555 secretary-treasurer.
The initial contract for workers at Stoney Brothers provides for wages starting at $15 an hour for cashiers, $20 an hour for trimmers and up to $32 an hour for master cannabis cultivators. The agreement also guarantees paid holidays and vacation days, pension contributions and employer-subsidized health insurance.
"Our UFCW International Union has been involved in cannabis organizing for six to eight years, much of it in northern California involving medical dispensaries," said Anderson, who is coordinating union organizing efforts in Oregon.
