Oregon cannabis workers unionize

At least two collective bargaining contracts between Oregon cannabis workers and the dispensaries that employ them have been signed, and more are expected to partake in collective bargaining as the industry develops.

The move to unionize by some cannabis workers strengthens the role unions have historically held in negotiating workplace conditions for their members, as labor unions enter a brand new market.

And the trend is expected to grow: As many as 50 Oregon cannabis businesses have expressed interest in unionizing to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. The union represents more than 20,000 retail and manufacturing workers in Oregon and Washington.

The UFCW is one of the largest unions in the nation, with more than 1.3 million members in the U.S. and Canada. It has already begun representing cannabis workers in Washington, who signed a collective bargaining agreement in June.

Cannabis workers first unionized in Oregon this July, when three employees at Portland's Stoney Brothers dispensary, now known as Hi Casual Cannabis, signed a collective bargaining contract with UFCW Local 555.

UFCW Local 555 is also representing two employees at the West Salem Cannabis dispensary who ratified a collective bargaining agreement in September.

Margo Lucas, the dispensary's owner, said she's "thrilled" about the contract.

West Salem Cannabis is also a member of Union Cannabis, an employer's association promoting union-made products from more than 40 cannabis businesses in six states.

Lucas, who is also employed by the UFCW Local 555 as a cannabis organizer, said there are great opportunities ahead for Oregon's cannabis businesses, and she wants the state to set an example for the industry.

Although she didn't disclose the specific terms of West Salem Cannabis' contract, it's likely that it reflects the one UFCW signed with Stoney Brothers.

In that agreement, wages were guaranteed between $15 and $34 an hour. Other provisions included regular raises, health care, retirement options, and provisions for employee safety.

Dan Clay, UFCW Local 555's president, said those guarantees are essential because the cannabis industry is fundamentally different from other markets.

"Federal law doesn’t protect those workers like it would regular workers in a retail store or a plant because the feds don’t recognize cannabis as legal. They’re not enforcing things like minimum wage or any hours laws or even in many cases workers' compensation laws," he said.

Lucas said she hopes other cannabis businesses around the state will unionize as the economy develops, securing commonplace employee protections. She said unionizing is a step towards legitimizing Oregon's marijuana economy, which she believes will one day grow into a major cannabis exporter.

"We can build the economy from the ground up by having good paying jobs," she said. "It's one thing to say that you're going to treat your employees right, but it's another to commit to it."

Businesses making those contractual commitments are an indicator of the cannabis industry's trajectory towards a more mature market, according to Lance Compa, a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Compa said collective bargaining by cannabis workers isn't a surprise, but it's coming years sooner than usual, as it can take decades for an industry to explore unionizing.

"That was the story of the auto industry. The industry started in the early 20th century and it took 30 or 40 years before employees said, 'Wait a minute, this is my career. I need to fight for some protection,'" he said.

But in contemporary emerging markets, workers are organizing unions more quickly.

"In these new sectors, it's being telescoped into a matter of months or one or two years."

Compa said developing businesses like the new-media company Gawker, or groups of bicycle mechanics in Washington, D.C., are "new age" markets that have also started collective bargaining shortly after formation.

Unionization can be a tough pill for private-sector employers to swallow, but Compa said a bit of tension is normal because employers and employees alike want to maximize their pay.

"But you have to go through the crucible of collective bargaining to understand that nobody gets 100 percent of what they’re proposing," he said.

Employers and employees may soon learn more about the realities of collective bargaining, as Clay predicts 40 or more Oregon cannabis businesses will unionize in the next 18 months.

In the meantime, Lucas is expanding her grow operation. She'll be adding at least six employees, and hopes to unionize them all.

gfriedman2@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6653, on Twitter @gordonrfriedman or Facebook.com/gordonrfriedman