Marijuana workers in Joliet vote to join union

Ninety-five employees at a Joliet marijuana cultivation facility voted Tuesday to unionize.

With a final tally of 58-37, the Cresco Labs employees opted to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881.

It’s the first time that workers in Illinois’ marijuana industry have opted to unionize since recreational pot use among adults was legalized.

“This victory is the workers’,” said Zach Koutsky, the legislative and political director for UFCW Local 881, adding that the employees “literally made history tonight.” “This was big. This was real big.”

The workers at Cresco include those handling packaging, transportation, extraction and infusion, as well as front-end staff, Koutsky said.

UFCW Local 881 represents about 35,000 workers, mostly in groceries in Illinois and Northwest Indiana. The UFCW represents about 10,000 cannabis workers nationwide, Koutsky said.

Better pay and more comprehensive health benefits will likely be high on the list of priorities when it comes time to negotiate with Cresco, he said.

After the votes were counted, Cresco CEO and co-founder Charlie Bachtell said in a statement: “Throughout this process, we have respected, supported and protected the rights of our employees to make this important decision through an independent secret ballot election. 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.”