Verano Challenges Its New Jersey Cannabis Industry Labor Peace Agreement

The cannabis multistate operator Verano Holdings Corp has filed a lawsuit in New Jersey seeking to overturn its labor peace agreement signed with Local 360 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

New Jersey set the rule in 2018 that cannabis licensees in the state must maintain a labor peace agreement with a union. However, a federal judge ruled in May in a suit filed by Curaleaf, another multistate operator, that the agreements are preempted by federal law.

Referencing the Curaleaf decision, Verano is now asking a judge to declare that the company cannot have its license revoked, suspended, or denied renewal because of its labor peace agreement, and that its agreement should be considered void.

“Verano did not want any of these terms. Had it been free to do so, it would not have accepted any of them. In fact, it would have signed no (labor peace agreement) at all.” — Excerpt from the complaint

Verano operates four dispensaries in New Jersey under the ZenLeaf brand, with locations in Elizabeth, Lawrence Township, Neptune Township, and Mount Holly. The company also operates a cultivation and processing facility in Branchburg.