Joining United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 gives employees more say, opens access to more training and development, brings expanded benefits options, and more.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, Local 360, announces that employees at recreational cannabis dispensary Flower & Flame have voted to unionize. Located in Blackwood, New Jersey, Flower & Flame opened to the public in March of this year. Workers there connected with Local 360’s ‘Cannabis Workers Rising’ team, one of the nation’s most successful labor organizing drives, in order to navigate the process of unionizing. On its website, Flower & Flame, a minority- and women-owned recreational cannabis dispensary in Gloucester Township, notes that “the success of our dispensary hinges on the passion, dedication, and expertise of our staff.”

“The owners at Flower & Flame highlight the importance of creating a workplace where team members can flourish,” Hugh Giordano, UFCW Local 360’s director of organizing, said. “An organized and labor-supported workforce is part of such a workplace, and it is exciting to see these employees recognize. This decision to join UFCW Local 360 is them reaching for success and a brighter future, for families, communities and their employer.”

Giordano credits the early inclusion of Labor Peace Agreements in legislation to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, as well as Local 360’s ‘Cannabis Workers Rising’ campaign for its continued success in organizing cannabis industry workers, from seed to sale.

“It’s self-evident that our Cannabis Workers Rising initiative continues to be a driving force in the development and stabilization of the legal cannabis industry across the state,” Giordano said. “Right now, thousands of New Jersey’s cannabis workers, from dispensaries, labs, and kitchens, to growing, manufacturing, processing and delivery, enjoy better wages, protection from unfair discipline, access to important benefits, and training opportunities because of our work, and the work of other bona fide unions.”

From seed to sale, UFCW is a recognized leader in organizing cannabis industry employees and is the official AFL-CIO designated cannabis labor union. Representing tens of thousands of cannabis workers in dispensaries, labs, delivery, manufacturing, processing, grow facilities and more, UFCW works with employees and business owners to achieve the shared goal of a regulated cannabis industry that delivers family-sustaining jobs and is focused on social equity.

About United Food and Commercial Workers: The UFCW International Union represents over 1.3 million hardworking families across the U.S. and Canada. These members work in essential industries such as Retail, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, the Public Sector and Cannabis.

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