[PRESS RELEASE] – WEST BERLIN, N.J., July 21, 2026 – United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 announced that sales representatives with The Botanist New Jersey have voted to unionize, becoming the latest group of industry professionals to join the Cannabis Workers Rising campaign. The organizing effort marks another important milestone for New Jersey’s legal cannabis industry, extending worker representation beyond cultivation and retail to the professionals who connect cannabis producers with dispensaries throughout the state.
Working across New Jersey, The Botanist’s sales reps work with licensed dispensaries, educate retail staff, coordinate with buyers and ensure that flower, pre-rolls, vapes, gummies and other cannabis products reach consumers. In an industry where traditional advertising opportunities remain limited, sales reps play a critical role, helping cultivators and manufacturers compete across an increasingly sophisticated and competitive marketplace.
“Sales representatives are the engine of New Jersey's multibillion-dollar cannabis economy, yet we face extreme market volatility, shifting commission structures and a lack of job security,” said Abbey Perl, a sales representative with The Botanist. “Joining Local 360 means ensuring that more of the workers who build these brands secure stable wages, fair benefits and workplaces that respect our contribution to the bottom line.”
“These employees are ambassadors for New Jersey’s cannabis industry,” UFCW Local 360 Director of Organizing Hugh Giordano said. “They devote their time and energy to helping businesses succeed, supporting dispensary teams and ensuring the hard work of cultivation and manufacturing employees reaches customers across the state. By choosing to unionize, they’re investing in themselves, their families and communities, and New Jersey’s cannabis industry. These workers recognize that strong partnerships between employees and employers create stronger businesses.”
The Botanist describes itself as providing premium cannabis products supported by compassionate service, cannabis education and patient-first values. The company’s branded products are available through its own dispensaries, as well as licensed cannabis retailers throughout New Jersey, making its statewide sales team a pivotal link between production and the retail marketplace.
“As New Jersey’s cannabis industry continues to mature, we’re seeing organizing spread into every corner of the business,” UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino Jr. said. “From cultivation and manufacturing to retail and now statewide sales professionals, workers understand that a successful cannabis industry depends on a skilled, respected and empowered workforce. That’s why Cannabis Workers Rising was created, and every organizing victory enhances the long-term stability, professionalism and credibility of New Jersey’s regulated cannabis marketplace.”
The Botanist organizing campaign reflects the continued growth of UFCW Local 360’s Cannabis Workers Rising initiative, which has given thousands of cannabis workers stronger workplace protections, fair wages, greater transparency and a meaningful voice on the job.
From seed to sale, UFCW is the nation’s leading cannabis labor union and the official cannabis union recognized by the AFL-CIO. Representing tens of thousands of cannabis workers in dispensaries, cultivation facilities, manufacturing operations, laboratories, delivery services and processing facilities across the United States, UFCW works alongside employees and employers to build a regulated cannabis industry that delivers family-sustaining careers, supports responsible business growth and advances social equity.
