Members of UFCW Local 328 who work at Cresco Labs in Fall River, Mass., ratified a first union contract that raises wages and improves benefits. Cresco Labs is one of the largest multistate cannabis operators in the country and operates a cultivation and processing facility in Fall River, as well as Sunnyside Dispensary. UFCW Local 328 members at Cresco Labs voted to approve the new contract on June 17.
These workers joined our union family in November of 2020 because they wanted to address issues relating to low pay and the lack of workplace protections. The new three-year contract addresses those issues by securing guaranteed pay increases, which will amount to up to an 18.7 percent pay increase over the next three years. The contract also includes fair scheduling policies, workplace protections, and protects retirement benefits and employee discounts.
“I am so proud of our hard-working team at Cresco for sticking together and securing this victory,” said Molly Balbuena, a three-year employee of Cresco Labs and a member of the negotiating team. “We are so excited to have secured the better future and collective voice we were looking for when we formed our union with the UFCW. We urge all cannabis workers to come together and say, ‘Union Yes!’”
In addition to Cresco Labs, UFCW Local 328 also represents workers at Greenleaf Compassionate Care Center and Ocean State Cultivation Center in Rhode Island and Curaleaf workers in Massachusetts.