SWADE Cannabis dispensary employees file for union representation

On Thursday, workers at a cannabis dispensary on Cherokee St. became the latest in a series of industry employees to file for a union election with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655.

UFCW Local 655 was the first union to successfully organize a cannabis facility in Missouri and has seen a surge in workers in the industry looking to form a union.

The decision to file for a union election at the Swade dispensary location on Cherokee Street came less than a week after cannabis workers at Shangri-La Dispensary in Columbia staged a two-day strike after their employer engaged in aggressive union-busting activity when employees began communicating with UFCW Local 655 organizers.

“These workers here and across the country are turning to UFCW to get representation on the job and bargain good contracts,” said UFCW Local 655 President David Cook. “We are fighting for these workers across the country, and we’re fighting for them here in Missouri.”

   

UFCW represents the overwhelming majority of union cannabis workers across the country as the industry continues to grow.

UFCW Local 655 is the largest union in the State of Missouri. We represent some 8,500 members working throughout the eastern half of Missouri. Local 655’s members are employed in food stores (its largest single division), shoe manufacturing, packinghouses, distribution centers and a number of miscellaneous plants.