Advanced Grow Labs CEO David Lipton, right, stands in 2018 in a Flower Room that was modified to grow more marijuana plants using rolling bench tables to better utilize the square footage of the room. Tyler McKinley, an AGL production team member, left, opens the canopy of the cannabis plant so light can penetrate the lower flowering sights of the plant. The state has recently announced a system to track sales and production of cannabis.
Connecticut’s first cannabis workers union has been formed by workers at a West Haven cultivation facility.
Forty eight workers at Advanced Grow Labs in West Haven voted to unionize, with a focus on wages, benefits and workplace protections, according to a release.
“We are so inspired by the team at Advanced Grow Labs. They are the very first cannabis workers in the State of Connecticut to form their union,” said UFCW Local 919 President Mark A. Espinosa in a release Monday. “We are excited to bargain a contract and set the standard for all cannabis workers in this state.”
Though it is the first cannabis worker union in Connecticut, it probably won’t be the last. The law that allowed the possession, use and sale of recreational cannabis included a provision that required a “labor peace agreement” as a condition of full licensure.
UFCW Local 919 Director of organizing Emily Sabo explained that though every cannabis establishment in Connecticut is required to have a labor peace agreement, that does not mean a union will form.
“A labor peace agreement means that an operator will remain neutral and fair workers want to form a union,” she said. “In return, the union agrees and the workers are agreeing not to picket no work stoppages, strikes, etc, in exchange for the neutrality.”
“A labor peace agreement levels the playing field for workers if they want to form a union. It doesn’t force them to form a union, but it levels the playing field and it gives them a quicker path to forming a union if they want to,” Sabo said.
That provision was not without its detractors. The Connecticut Medical Cannabis Council, the trade association representing the original four cannabis growers, voiced its opposition when the bill was proposed.
“Connecticut’s cannabis producers greatly value their workforces, including by providing good paying jobs with favorable terms and conditions of employment,” the organization said in submitted legislative testimony. “They oppose the current proposal as a solution in search of a problem – and one that risks creating legal uncertainty and serious potential disruption for Connecticut’s cannabis program and the public it serves.”
There have been reports in other states of mistreatment at cannabis businesses. In Holyoke, Mass., a worker at a cultivation facility owned by Trulieve died after being hospitalized during work hours.
In that case, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration reportedly fined Trulieve $35,219, though it absolved the company of any wrongdoing. Trulieve also has a dispensary in Bristol, Conn.
Advanced Grow Labs was acquired by Illinois-based Green Thumb Industries in 2019 for a reported $80 million.
“GTI remained neutral throughout the process,” Sabo said. “Those workers wanted to form a union and they allowed them to do so.”
You can view the whole article at this link Connecticut’s first cannabis workers union forms
