EDITORIAL EDITOR Matt Hennie CULTURE EDITOR Jennifer Goldberg FOOD EDITOR Tirion Morris STAFF WRITERS Benjamin Leatherman, Katya Schwenk, Elias Weiss, Natasha Yee CONTRIBUTORS David Abbott, Scott Bourque, Ole Braatelien, Nikki Michelle Charnstrom , Chris Coplan, Allison Cripe, Sara Crocker, Serene Dominic, Justin Freemyer, Gannon Hanevold, Kevin Hanlon, Beau Hodai, Mark C. Horn, Michael Kiefer, Stephen Lemons, Julie Levin, Mike Madriaga, Ashley Naftule, Melissa Parker, Rudri Patel, Timothy Rawles, Tom Reardon, Kiera Riley, Allison Trebacz, Elinor Tutora, Lauren Wise, Georgann Yara, Allison Young, Amy Young ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PRINT Tom Carlson PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER John Hunt GRAPHIC DESIGNER Adam Lasko, Cassie O’Connor MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING 602-271-0040 OUTSIDE SALES ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jennifer Meister ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ellis Alvarez OPERATIONS MANAGER Jennifer Huber ACCOUNT MANAGER Kyana Robles SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Hotchy Kiene, Tom Rodriguez, Grace Somers ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Matthew Gibbons, Theo Karp, Alexandra Lynch, Grant Wade INSIDE SALES ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jennifer Meister ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ellis Alvarez SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Cameron Boyes, Ronnie Cote ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Rafael Gil, Theo Karp, Grant Wade SALES INTERN Emily Giarrizzo WEBONOMIC AFFAIRS SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALISTS Rio Paynter DIGITAL ADVERTISING OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Kalyn Albers, Shelaia Armstrong DIRECTOR OF INTERWEBS Andrew Meister MARKETING PROMOTIONAL COORDINATOR Kristin Buldan PROMOTIONAL COORDINATOR ASSISTANT Cassidy Novobilski RECRUITING/HIRING COORDINATOR Ruby Romero CIRCULATION CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Brian Scharer BUSINESS WEST COAST BUSINESS MANAGER Brian Scharer SENIOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTANT Seth Ewald ACCOUNTS PAYABLE COORDINATOR Kristina Smith ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE MANAGER Dante Battista ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE COORDINATOR Shari Rutkowski PUBLISHER Kurtis Barton Voice Media Group EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christine Brennan EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE EDITOR Andy Van De Voorde CORPORATE CONTROLLER Beth Cook LEGAL COUNSEL Steve Suskin CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jeff Mars CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Scott Tobias INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL OPERATIONS Gerard Goroski PRODUCT DIRECTOR James Hamilton IT DIRECTOR Dave Marcon OPERATIONS MANAGER Brian Heimert INFRASTRUCTURE ARCHITECT David Fearn DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SYSTEMS Lee-ann Dunton NEW MEDIA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL SALES Stuart Folb WEB SUPPORT MANAGER Michael Uchtman VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE MARKETING Jenna Corday VMG NATIONAL National Advertising 888-278-9866 WWW.VMGADVERTISING.COM BUSINESS MANAGER Seth Ewald SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES OPERATIONS Joe Larkin 9 News 14 Feature 25 Culture 27 Café Chow Bella ............................. 28 32 Music Concerts ................................. 35 37 Cannabis On the Cover: New Times Illustration. Source photos: Getty Images. New Times (ISSN#0279-3962) is published weekly by Voice Media Group 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ. Domestic subscriptions: $30 for six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to New Times, P.O. Box 2510, Phoenix, AZ 85002. New Times is available free of charge in Maricopa County, limited NEW TIMES MAILING ADDRESS: 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034 FOR GENERAL INFORMATION CALL: 602-271-0040 FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALLS: 602-258-1073 FOR CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CALL: 602-254-3177 6 FOR NATIONAL ADVERTISING INFORMATION CALL: 602-238-4800 Our paper is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled product. to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue of New Times may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the New Times office. Outside Maricopa County, the single-copy cost of New Times is $1. New Times may be distributed only by New Times’ authorized independent contractors or New Times’ authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of New Times, take more than one copy of each New Times weekly issue. For back-issue information, call 602-271-0040. The entire contents of New Times are Copyright 2022 by Phoenix New Times LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means including electronic retrieval systems without the express written permission of the publisher, New Times, 1201 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034. Feature ▼ Labor of Love From baristas to budtenders, union organizers fight to score victories in Phoenix. BY KATYA SCHWENK | PAGE 14 Culture ▼ Geek Out Seven nerdy things to do in metro Phoenix in September. BY BENJAMIN LEATHERMAN | PAGE 25 Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons ▼ Contents VOL. 53 | NO. 36 | SEPTEMBER 8–14, 2022 SEPT 8TH–SEPT 14TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com