Article content

Production workers at a Southwestern Ontario cannabis company could be the first in Canada’s marijuana industry to unionize, a move one union official hopes will create a “ripple effect” across the sector.

Employees at WeedMD, a London-headquartered company with more than 200 workers at its operations in Strathroy, Aylmer and Bowmanville, have been signing union cards with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union over the past three weeks, national representative Kevin Shimmin said Wednesday.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Production staff at WeedMD could be first in cannabis industry to unionize Back to video

Representing 250,000 workers across Canada, UFCW wants to begin negotiating a contract with the company next week, Shimmin said.

“We’re hoping that with enough public attention, the people who are consuming cannabis, both medicinally and recreationally, are looking for an ethical employer,” he said.

“We’re hoping that enough public pressure will come to bear on this company and they will sit down and start bargaining.”