Missouri Cannabis Workers Win Union Contract to Secure Higher Pay and Paid Vacation

Missouri cannabis industry workers are building on a series of recent union wins as employees at dispensaries and production facilities push to organize across the state, the Missouri Independent reports.

Workers at High Profile Cannabis in Columbia last week unanimously ratified what union officials said is Missouri’s first collective bargaining agreement for cannabis workers. The contract secured higher pay and paid vacation time for employees, according to United Food and Commercial Workers International Local 655.

The win comes as other Missouri cannabis workers are advancing union campaigns. Proper Brands post-harvest workers in St. Louis voted 25-21 on July 1 to unionize, while Vibe Cannabis post-harvest workers are scheduled to hold their own union election later this month.

According to the report, Sean Shannon, organizing director for UFCW Local 655, told the outlet that production and dispensary workers from around the state have been reaching out about organizing their workplaces.

Several of the campaigns follow years of legal disputes and employer pushback. In May, workers at BeLeaf Medical’s Sinse cultivation facility won a National Labor Relations Board decision affirming that post-harvest cannabis workers are covered by federal labor law and have the right to unionize. The decision rejected the company’s argument that the workers should be classified as agricultural workers, who are excluded from certain federal labor protections.

Proper Brands founder and CEO John Pennington told the Independent that the company respects the workers’ decision and looks forward to working with the union.

At Vibe, workers cited concerns around favoritism, pay, working conditions, safety equipment, and retirement benefits. Organizers said the recent wins at High Profile, Proper, and Sinse have helped build momentum among cannabis workers who had previously questioned whether unionization was possible in the state.