Over 20 cannabis workers at the MPX/iAnthus grow facility in Pleasantville, N.J., joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 152 for a better life on April 4.
The cannabis workers at the facility, which is owned by the MPX NJ group, grow and process cannabis, overseeing its production and managing the technical aspects necessary to prepare the product for sale.
The company completed the first phase of construction on an 80,000 square foot cultivation and processing campus.
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In March, the workers at the facility voted by majority card check to be represented by UFCW Local 152.
“We are proud to welcome these new workers to our union’s growing cannabis division,” Local 152 President Brian String said. “These new members share our belief that jobs in this emerging industry can become careers with good wages, benefits, and stability.”
The cannabis workers at the facility grow and process cannabis, overseeing its production and managing the technical aspects necessary to prepare the product for sale to and use by consumers.
This organizing win follows another successful cannabis-related drive in 2022 at The Botanist, where more than 60 workers across several locations voted to join Local 152.
At MPX, the company swiftly honored its existing labor peace agreement and supplied the union with the necessary information to conduct the card-check process.
“A UFCW contract will improve the lives of these workers and ensures they are treated with the dignity they deserve,” President String said. “We fight for workers, and we are going to fight for the best contract possible.”
At MPX, the company swiftly honored its existing labor peace agreement and supplied UFCW Local 152 with the necessary information to conduct the card-check process.
On April 4, the results of the card check, which was conducted through both digital and paper cards, were certified by a third-party arbitrator.
UFCW Local 152 representatives will meet with the MPX/iAnthus workers at the facility to draft contract proposals and schedule bargaining dates with the company.
This organizing win follows another successful cannabis-related drive in 2022 at The Botanist, where more than 60 workers across several locations voted to join UFCW Local 152.
“From the beginning of New Jersey’s medical cannabis program to the recent passage of adult recreational use, UFCW Local 152 has advocated for social equity and cannabis policies in New Jersey that protect and support workers,” said UFCW Organizing Director Mike Thompson. “The UFCW has testified at many council meetings across the state in support of workers and the industry during a time when many towns had a knee-jerk reaction to banning adult use.”
“As a labor union, we recognized that the cannabis industry was an opportunity for New Jersey workers to make a career in a newly regulated market with strong wages and benefits that cannot be outsourced,” said Thompson. “Our goal remains the same: help workers in the medical and adult-use cannabis industry get the best contracts possible.”
“We are committed to building and setting a high standard for a successful cannabis industry in the Garden State,” said Thompson. “We believe working in the cannabis industry, which may have started as a dream job for many workers, can be a strong and dignified career.”