Cresco Cannabis Cultivation Employees in Fall River, MA, Join UFCW Local 328!
Fall River, MA – Cultivation workers at Cresco Labs in Fall River, MA have completed the process to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 328. An overwhelming majority of workers were officially certified by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations on November 4, giving them the legal right to negotiate a union contract.
Cresco Labs is one of the largest multistate cannabis operators in the country and operates a cultivation and processing facility as well as Sunnyside Dispensary in Fall River. The Cresco workers are just the latest group of workers to join the UFCW in Massachusetts, which has seen hundreds of workers join the UFCW this year.
Workers celebrated their victory this week and are eager to begin negotiations with the company. Molly Balbuena, a Cresco employee said, “We love our jobs and we love working in this industry. We decided to form a union to make sure that our needs are considered as the company and industry grows. We look forward to negotiating a good contract with the company. I encourage all other cannabis workers to secure their futures in this industry by forming a union too.”
This latest victory for workers comes as the cannabis industry in Massachusetts exceeds $1 billion dollars in sales since adult-use stores opened 2 years ago. The President of UFCW Local 328, Timothy Melia said, “We applaud cannabis workers for forming unions to make sure that as this industry grows, that workers are able to share in the success. The cannabis industry should be a place where workers earn a living wage, have access to affordable healthcare, and protection from unfair discipline and discrimination. The UFCW is excited to welcome the Cresco workers into our union family.”
UFCW Local 328 represents over 11,000 workers in a range of industries across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Nationwide, more than 10,000 cannabis workers have joined the UFCW at laboratories, processing and manufacturing facilities, cultivation facilities and medical and adult-use dispensaries.
