An adult use cannabis company hoping to open a Worcester location has come under fire for actions the United Food and Commercial Workers Union says are attempts to block unionization efforts.

Last week, the Local 1445 branch of the UFCW filed a complaint against Mayflower Medicinals for issuing written warnings to two workers involved in an effort to unionize staff at a Holliston cultivation facility, as well as spreading anti-union messaging.

“These types of companies are making millions of dollars and they should be sharing it with their employees,” said Richard Poole, representative of the UFCW local. “These aren’t run of the mill employees, they come from the culture and they believe in it and they want the company to succeed.”

Mayflower Medicinals, which already operates in Holliston and Boston, has full city approval to open a retail location at 645 Park Ave. Both the License Commission and the Planning Board approved the proposal in the fall. But the company has not yet received final approval from the Cannabis Control Commission. A request for comment by email from the commission's press office on the new anti-union allegations went unanswered as of press time.

For months, workers at Mayflower facilities in Boston and Holliston have been organizing to join the Local 1445 union. Recently, the management has come down on two employees active in the unionization effort for infractions the union said does not typically require punishment. Further, documents provided to Worcester Magazine by the union appear to show a letter circulated by the company dissuading employees from joining the unionization effort.

“You may be approached by a paid union organizer or one of your coworkers that is in favor of organizing a union,” the letter reads. “The union organizers may ask you to sign a 'union authorization card.' Signing these cards has serious consequences.”

The letter goes on to warn employees that union membership means “you could be put on trial or fined” for failing to follow union bylaws, and that, via collective bargaining, “you could get the same, or you could get less.”

In the two-page letter’s closing note, the company writes, “We support our employees and respect their rights to make informed decisions about their employment. Therefore, we encourage each of you to obtain answers to the important questions above before making any commitments."





For the union, this letter, and the two disciplinary actions, constitute illegal interference in unionizing efforts.

“It tells us that the company in this situation is not allowing the employees to choose, which is the law,” said Poole, representative of the Local 1445. A majority of the statements made by the company in the letter are “framed in a way that is quite frankly incorrect.”

Mayflower Medicinals did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson for iAnthus Capital Holdings, the parent company, told the Boston Globe last week that Mayflower employees “will have the opportunity to decide whether they want union representation” in what the paper described as a brief statement.

Poole said he feels the new allegations should give both the city and the CCC pause about doing business with the company.

“I think Worcester is a union town,” he said. “I believe that if you have a dispensary that is going to be moving into Worcester, then you should really look at things like, are they actively funding an anti-union campaign?”

The UFCW has been working aggressively to unionize workers in the nascent cannabis industry throughout the country. They currently represent more than 10,000 workers in 15 states. Last year, the union organized more than 100 workers at Sira Naturals, a Milford-based cannabis company. Workers at Mayflower Medicinals were inspired by the effort at Sira to launch their own campaign, Poole said.

The complaint went to the state Department of Labor Relations Board, but has not yet been heard. Poole said he doesn’t expect harsh punishment for the company, but hopes a ruling will stop Mayflower from actively working against unionization efforts.