Workers at the MSO’s Phoenix production facility voted 34-7 in favor on unionizing
For the first time in the state industry’s history, cannabis production workers have successfully unionized in Arizona.
The vote, which tallied 34-7 in favor on unionizing, was the second union election ever to be administered by the Arizona Agricultural Labor Relations Board; the first and only other election administered by the board was petitioned by tomato hothouse workers in 2000.
The vote to join United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99 was held January 25, 2024, and was limited only to Trulieve employees in the cultivation and post-harvesting departments.
“Today, employees [at] Trulieve Magnolia have proved that no matter the obstacle, when working people stand together in solidarity and demand better for themselves and their families, there is nothing they cannot achieve,” Jim McLaughlin, president of UFCW Local 99, said in a press release. “As we celebrate this historic win for workers, I would also like to commend AERB executive secretary Lisa James and the entire board for their commitment to ensuring a free and fair election for all eligible employees.”
On April 20, 2023, a complaint was filed against the facility by neighbors concerned about “a significant odor issue.” The complaint led to four inspections by Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services Department, prompting “several repairs and upgrades to the facility by its owners” and giving owners six months to rectify the odor problem, according to reporting by the Phoenix New Times.