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Cannabis grow and extraction facility first to unionize in Canada

Published on April 5, 2021 by oz. staff

Employees of Potanicals Green Growers in Peachland have become the first at a cannabis growing operation and extraction facility to unionize in Canada.

They are also the first in the cannabis industry to join UFCW 1518.

The union announced they unanimously ratified their first collective agreement.

“Our BC BUD division keeps growing because cannabis industry workers know their value and the power they can wield when they work together,” says UFCW 1518 President Kim Novak.

“I’m proud to welcome them to their union and to help them fight for more improvements in the workplace.”

Workers at the medical cannabis growing and processing facility reached out to the union last year. Negotiations for their new collective agreement began in March.

The agreement includes a grievance procedure for solving problems that arise in the workplace, a new, clearer wage scale with progression based on the number of hours an employee works, and five guaranteed paid sick days per year.