phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES JAN 20TH– JAN 26TH, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | A Budding Union Arizona workers try to oraganize at Curaleaf, but face resistance. BY ELIAS WEISS M arijuana budtender Anissa Keane tried to hash out a union contract at her dis- pensary in metro Phoenix but lost her job instead. The 28-year-old wants her job back at the Curaleaf Dispensary in Gilbert and has an open case to do just that with the federal agency that oversees workers’ rights against the largest marijuana dealer in the nation. The Sun City resident filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in October 2020, arguing that she was fired for organizing her coworkers on the job. Curaleaf, a publicly traded corporation based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, denied claims that the former employee was fired for unionization efforts. Keane said she was surprised that her tenure at the company would be cut short and sought to improve working conditions. “We weren’t making a fair wage,” she said about making $14.35 per hour. Marijuana budtenders, who are retail associates selling pot products to patients and recreational users alike, earn on aver- age $14 an hour in Arizona, about $2 above minimum wage, according to salary crowdsourcing website Glassdoor. Unlike most other retail stores where average receipts per customer are under $100, the cost of marijuana flower to smoke can be hundreds of dollars for cus- tomers. And it typically requires making a lot of change in cash. Keane said she felt like most of her co- workers were in favor of unionizing, but fear was a motivating factor when it came to signing the petition. “They were just scared about losing their jobs when Curaleaf found out,” she said. If Keane wins the administrative case, she could get her job back and continue to organize. Curaleaf Arizona’s president Steve Cottrell declined to comment until the federal administrative judge decides the case. The Gilbert dispensary worker reached out to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99 in Phoenix for help. Cannabis industry workers are also unionizing in California. Employees of a cultivation site in Adelanto, owned by Is- raeli-run Tikun Olam, ratified their first contract with the International Brother- hood of Teamsters last month. “I was interested in bringing that en- ergy to Arizona,” Keane said. The goal of a union is to get better hourly pay and benefits, and to gain more control in the workplace — issues at the forefront during a global health pandemic such as COVID-19. As the marijuana indus- try matures and grows as part of the overall economy, unionization efforts are picking up pace. “It is a burgeoning industry and there is a sense that there is a lot of profit being made, and that could and should be shared more with the workers,” said Michael Selmi, a labor economist at Arizona State University with expertise in the cannabis industry. Ironically, Arizona dispensaries must be not-for-profit entities, voters decided. Curaleaf operates nine locations across the Valley with sites in Phoenix, Glendale, Gilbert, and Youngtown. It has more than 100 operations nationwide. The company has a track record of vio- lating federal labor laws, according to legal filings. It interrogated, fired, and retaliated against employees after they unionized its Hanover, Massachusetts, location in June 2020, labor board documents show. Administrative Law Judge Ira Sandron at the NLRB ruled one year later that Cura- leaf could not interfere with the employ- ees’ organizing efforts. Curaleaf was forced to post notices which detailed that unionization efforts are legal, the judge ruled. Employers can bargain with employees looking to organize “in good faith,” accord- ing to the NLRB. And they “can’t coerce, intimidate, or surveil employees.” But that’s what happened to the Gilbert marijuana dispensary worker at Curaleaf, according to her complaint. “I want to show my coworkers because I know how scared they were to organize, that you can’t let these corporations bully you,” Keane said in an interview with Phoenix New Times. “I’d love to walk back in there and work another day.” She was worried about the lack of health and safety precautions during CO- VID-19 at the dispensary. “The pandemic has clearly spun some high profile union organizing in Arizona,” said Selmi, the researcher. That’s despite the fact that Arizona is a “right-to-work” state, which means em- ployees don’t have to join unions, even if their workplace has a certified bargaining unit. The first corporate Starbucks store in Arizona may unionize in Mesa. The Star- bucks locations at Phoenix Sky Harbor In- ternational Airport are already unionized. In general, though, there hasn’t >> p 41 39
