Working Toward an Equitable Workplace

"With 100 workers on the payroll, [River City Phoenix dispensary is] the largest unionized dispensary in the state. Their employees start at $13 an hour and get bumped to $15 after 90 days. They receive health benefits, and will eventually participate in the UFCW’s pension plan as well."

The United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) has been a force for developing best practices for cannabis dispensaries for years now. They even have a distinct program - "Cannabis Workers Rising" - begun in 2010, which represents tens of thousands of cannabis workers in multiple states and has been instrumental in developing family wage & benefits structures and training programs.

A recent article in by Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times keeps this important industry component front-of-mind.