Union negotiates first Oregon cannabis worker contract, hopes for more
Source: Oregon Live
By George Rede
As the Oct. 1 launch of recreational marijuana sales nears, one labor union is looking to organize cannabis workers in Oregon.
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 recently negotiated a three-year contract on behalf of employees at a Portland dispensary and hopes to broker similar deals across the state as the cannabis industry takes off, said Jeff Anderson, Local 555 secretary-treasurer.
The initial contract for workers at Stoney Brothers provides for wages starting at $15 an hour for cashiers, $20 an hour for trimmers and up to $32 an hour for master cannabis cultivators. The agreement also guarantees paid holidays and vacation days, pension contributions and employer-subsidized health insurance.
"Our UFCW International Union has been involved in cannabis organizing for six to eight years, much of it in northern California involving medical dispensaries," said Anderson, who is coordinating union organizing efforts in Oregon.
FULL story & more photos at link.
Stoney Brothers, now known as hi, is the first unionized marijuana dispensary in Oregon.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2015/09/union_negotiates_first_oregon.html
United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555 represents over 20,000 workers in Oregon and Southwestern Washington. Our membership is comprised of workers in retail, manufacturing, health care, and many other industries. We are a diverse group of workers that have grown into being the largest private sector labor union in Oregon. Local 555 has a rich history dating back to 1936. Our local is chartered by the UFCW International Union, joining us with over 1.3 million workers across the United States and Canada.
Local 555 is led by a democratically elected Executive Board of members. Daily operations of the Local are managed by the Union President and Secretary-Treasurer, and are carried out by approximately 40 other full-time staff members in eight different departments and eight different offices throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Local 555 is a member of, and actively involved with, the Change to Win Federation of Labor Unions. In March of 2007, along with other Change to Win Unions in the Portland area, Local 555 helped put on a Change to Win Organizing Conference; a first in the nation.
Local 555 has several annual events including the Stewards Summit, to train our workplace leaders, and a golf tournament fundraiser through the Northwest Hope Foundation to raise money for our annual scholarship program as well as Leukemia research.
Most importantly, UFCW Local 555’s members are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons. We are people who want to be treated with respect for the work we do in our communities. We want to be able to afford our rent, and take our families to the doctor when they are sick. We want to be able to give our kids a new bike for their birthday, and ensure that they have fulfilling lives. We want what every person wants, the American Dream. We are UFCW Local 555.
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