Minnesota cannabis workers win first union contract

Labor rights in Minnesota crossed into a new frontier Friday when workers who cultivate medical cannabis ratified their first-ever union contract.

Medical cannabis, commonly referred to as medical marijuana, will be available in Minnesota starting July 1 under legislation passed last year by the state Legislature. The state authorized two manufacturers – Minnesota Medical Solutions and LeafLine Labs – to manufacture and dispense cannabis for medicinal use.

Workers at Minnesota Medical Solutions signed cards to join United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1189 and the state Bureau of Mediation Services certified the union as their representative on Tuesday. Three days later, the union announced a contract had been reached.

“We’re excited to be in on the ground floor,” said Local 1189 President Don Seaquist. “We’ve bargained an industry-leading agreement.”

The union is actively pursuing representation of employees at LeafLine Labs, which has agreed to remain neutral while employees decide, he said. “They are now our sole focus.”

Starting wage of $18 an hour
The contract with Minnesota Medical Solutions outlines wage scales ranging from $18 for a custodian, the lowest-paid employee, to $22 an hour for horticultural technicians and $25 an hour for extractors. The head cultivator will earn $2,200 a week – more than $100,000 a year.

The two-year pact, which runs from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2016, also includes health insurance coverage, a defined contribution retirement plan, paid vacation and sick days and an education tuition reimbursement.

Currently, Minnesota Medical Solutions employs only four workers, but the number will grow as manufacturing ramps up and the company opens four dispensaries, Seaquist said. The medical cannabis industry projects there are appx. 15,000 Minnesotans eligible to buy its products.

Growth industry nationwide
The United Food & Commercial Workers is active in representing cannabis and hemp workers in at least six other states. The union even has a special website, Cannabis Workers Rising, to promote organizing in the industry.

“UFCW members in the cannabis industry work predominantly in dispensaries, coffee shops, bakeries, patient identification centers, hydroponics stores, and growing and training facilities,” according to the website. “We have been a key leader in coalitions and advocacy groups that work for real change at all levels of policy and have been instrumental in working to advocate for the good jobs provided by the medical cannabis industry.”

In some states, the union has been successful in tying labor rights to medical cannabis legalization. New York, for example, requires cannabis manufacturers to document they “have entered into a labor peace agreement with an organization that is actively engaged in or attempting to represent the employees.”

Seaquist said the contract with Minnesota Medical Solutions is based on agreements in place with medical cannabis manufacturers in California. Unionization creates a level of professionalism that will “build the industry right” and make possible future expansion of cannabis for medical use, he said.

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