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The Joint Cannabis Shop 1st to unionize in Manitoba

Published on July 4, 2022 by David Wylie

Photo: Contributed

Budtenders at The Joint Cannabis Shop in Winnipeg are the first private-sector cannabis workers to unionize in Manitoba.

The new bargaining unit consists of 100 workers across nine locations in Winnipeg. Workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining UFCW Local 832 in late June.

The union says it will soon reach out to the employer to ask for bargaining dates and start the process of working towards their first collective agreement.

“Congratulations to these young workers for taking this first step towards a better future,” says UFCW 832 President Jeff Traeger.

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“We look forward to working together on improving the workplace and bringing The Joint members the fairness they deserve.”

UFCW says unions across Canada and the U.S. have won many improvements for retail cannabis workers, including employer-paid health benefits, pension plan contributions, health and safety enhancements, legally-binding job security, and guaranteed annual pay increases.

UFCW Canada Local 832 is Manitoba’s largest private sector union, representing over 18,000 members in a wide variety of industries, including the food retail, health care, food processing, security, industrial, textile, and transportations sectors.