Workers at the Cresco Labs marijuana grow facility in Joliet voted Tuesday to unionize, two weeks after recreational weed sales started in Illinois.
Workers at the facility voted 58 to 32 to be represented by the United Food & Commercial Workers union, said Zach Koutsky, legislative and political director for Local 881 UFCW.
“These workers made history tonight. This is precedent-setting,” Koutsky said. “A lot of people were watching how this would go with a company of this size.”
The workers want higher wages, lower health care costs, more respect on the job and other requests, Koutsky said.
Some experts have long predicted that Illinois’ marijuana industry could become one of the largest in the country, and unlike in other industries, there are reasons why marijuana company owners might more easily accept unionized employees.
The state concluded its first round of applications earlier this month for 75 new dispensary licenses. More than 700 applicants submitted applications for those licenses, which are set to be awarded in May.
The state scores the applications, awarding points for a number of criteria, including their labor and employment practices. Applicants can get credit by entering into a labor peace agreement, in which a company agrees not to disrupt union efforts and a union agrees not to disrupt business.
Koutsky said Local 881 executed those agreements with nearly half of the applicants for new dispensary licenses.
Cresco is one of the largest marijuana companies in Illinois, and operates around the country. Besides Joliet, it has marijuana grow facilities in Kankakee and Lincoln. It also operates five dispensaries in Illinois, with plans to open at least five more in the state.
“We look forward to continuing to provide all of our employees a fair package of employee wages, health and retirement benefits and an environment that is a great place to work,” said Cresco CEO and co-founder Charlie Bachtell in a statement.
Young industries sometimes use collective bargaining agreements to professionalize the work and establish standards for workers and employers, said Robert Bruno, professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois.
“That can be a real stabilizing dynamic,” he said. “These elections for union certification become really important signals of what the standards are going to be in the industry.”
The United Food & Commercial Workers union already represents more than 10,000 cannabis workers in more than a dozen states, Koutsky said.
The vote at Cresco isn’t the first effort among Illinois cannabis workers to organize. A vote last month by employees at Green Thumb Industries’ grow facility in Rock Island to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters narrowly failed.
Illinois dispensaries sold more than $19.7 million of recreational marijuana in the first 12 days of sales. The stores have battled long lines and shortages, and at times halted recreational sales. Some dispensaries also closed for a day to give employees a break. Still, Illinois has seen some of the strongest early days of sales in the history of legal weed.
“This is Illinois. The labor movement is strong and thriving here,” Koutsky said. “We are in the new law going forward, which means we will be in the industry.”
Twitter @AllyMarotti
![Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-Illinois-marijuana_175925141.jpg?w=546 "Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]")
![A recent study that found dangerously mislabeled contents of unlicensed hemp products in Illinois, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC, is prompting a renewed call for regulation. The study by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher, found that such products “pose a clear danger” and a “huge risk” to consumers. “Without regulations being put in place and then fully enforced, this danger will continue, and more people will be harmed,” wrote former university researcher Jennifer Bash. In response, Ald. Brian Hopkins called for legislation to ban or regulate such products. “This is a completely unregulated, Wild West environment,” he said. The […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CTC-hemp-farm08_176428205.jpg?w=525 "A recent study that found dangerously mislabeled contents of unlicensed hemp products in Illinois, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC, is prompting a renewed call for regulation. The study by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher, found that such products “pose a clear danger” and a “huge risk” to consumers. “Without regulations being put in place and then fully enforced, this danger will continue, and more people will be harmed,” wrote former university researcher Jennifer Bash. In response, Ald. Brian Hopkins called for legislation to ban or regulate such products. “This is a completely unregulated, Wild West environment,” he said. The […]")