TORRINGTON – As they ratified their first contract, the employees at Still River Wellness became the latest to join a growing union movement of a cannabis workers in the state, according to organizers.
The workers at the medical and recreational cannabis retail shop on Winsted Road in Torrington voted in May to become members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 371. They secured a two-year contract with an increase of six paid days off, significant increases in wages, an increase in the employee discount and access to union health insurance, according to a statement from the union.
“As a resident of Torrington, I am absolutely thrilled to have our city be home to another responsible union employer who ensures that Torrington jobs are quality jobs,” said Keri Hoehne, executive vice president of Local 371.
Still River Wellness opened as a medical cannabis business in 2019 on Winsted Road, and last year it added a retail component. To date, Still River Wellness is the only cannabis retailer in Litchfield County
Local 371 also represents workers in food processing, retail, health care, casinos and many service industries.
“I have always liked my job at Still River Wellness. Having the security that a union contract can provide, plus having the backing of tens of thousands of other unionized cannabis workers who are members of the UFCW’s Cannabis Workers Rising just ensures that I can build a career at Still River that will be here long into the future,” Ashley Corrie, a member of the union’s bargaining committee, said in a statement.
The union said it partners with cannabis workers, patients, consumers, community allies, elected officials and business owners to achieve the shared goals of creating an legal marijuana industry with family-sustaining jobs and a focus on social equity.
Workers in other cannabis-related businesses in Connecticut have also joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. More than 70 workers at CTPharma’s cannabis cultivation facility in Rocky Hill, the state’s largest cannabis cultivation facility, joined the union’s Local 919 in June 2023. Also, 48 workers at Advanced Grow Labs in West Haven also joined the union in March 2023.
