There was a time when marijuana merchants and union leaders were all but joining hands in the smoking circle, but stepped-up efforts by labor organizers to infuse themselves deep into cannabis commerce have caused the stewards of sinsemilla to rethink the bond.
The legalization of recreational pot in California has set off a scramble for influence in the industry, which is projected to top $7 billion in sales in the state by 2020. Tensions over what role unions should play are rising in Sacramento, in cannabis shops and at places like City College of San Francisco, which has proposed a first-of-its-kind weed apprenticeship course that would largely be run by a union.
“We need a workforce that has minimum training standards,” said Jeff Ferro, the director of cannabis workers for the union seeking to create the class, the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW. “An apprenticeship program provides people with the opportunity to earn as they learn.”
The UFCW has pursued apprenticeship programs for meat cutters, barbers and cosmetologists, so training bud tenders isn’t a stretch. But the college’s plan to funnel mostly dues-paying members into the program raised the eyebrows of its would-be partner, Oaksterdam University, which wants the training to be for all cannabis entrepreneurs regardless of union status.
“We’re meeting to see if this is something we want to pursue,” said Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of the Oakland marijuana trade school, which was founded in 2007. “One thing we are talking about is my interest in providing this to more than just union members.”
Jones said the dustup illuminates a larger question among growers, retailers and distributors: Will unionization ruin the buzz?
“The cannabis industry has traditionally been very sensitive to workers’ rights, and the people who have been working in cannabis tend to be happy,” Jones said. “They are not oppressed workers. So the question is, if the workers don’t need representation against management, then what are they getting for their union dues?”
At stake is not just a class teaching the intricacies of the indica-sativa spectrum but the shape of an industry that grew with the legalization of medical marijuana in 1996 and, starting next year, will see hundreds of recreational-use stores open and line their shelves with competing products.
“I think every employer that is looking at a potential organizing campaign is going to have questions,” said Gina Roccanova, a specialist in labor issues for the Meyers Nave law firm. “You are giving up some control and power when there is an organized workforce.”
The role of unions is under particular scrutiny as the state Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation works to consolidate the two linchpin laws regulating medical and recreational marijuana. The prickliest issue for legislators is a provision in the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act that gives the International Brotherhood of Teamsters first rights to transport and deliver pot products.
The deal, negotiated by the union when the permitting system for medicinal cultivators and dispensaries was established in 2015, would require growers and manufacturers to hire a third party to deliver products to retailers, similar to distribution in the alcohol industry. The contracts would probably go to Teamsters-affiliated haulers.
Because the independent distribution model is not in Proposition 64, the decriminalization measure passed by California voters in November, legislators must decide which law takes precedence. The state Legislative Counsel recently said Prop. 64 should trump provisions in the medical marijuana law, but the Teamsters are not giving up and have gained support from some distribution companies, police chiefs and local governments.
Barry Broad, the Teamsters’ state legislative director, said the industry would be courting corruption by allowing growers and manufacturers to distribute their own products, which is known as vertical integration.
“Right now 80 percent of the marijuana produced in California is sent to other states, which is illegal,” he said. “We want to organize the industry, but we want to organize an industry that is well regulated. If you have vertical integration, you are watching yourself.”
Pot growers and retailers are fighting to stop the Teamsters, who they say are trying to corner the market on distribution. In the alcohol industry, they say, the model has pushed up costs, prevented craft brewers from entering the market, and opened the door to organized crime.
credit: sfchronicle.com