The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 labor union announced that workers at the cannabis manufacturer Sun Extractions voted to join them to secure better wages and benefits.

Their decision adds to the growing momentum of UFCW Local 360’s Cannabis Workers Rising campaign, an ongoing, statewide initiative that has helped to shape labor standards and boost worker, consumer, and community safety across New Jersey’s young legal marijuana industry.

“New Jersey’s cannabis industry is stronger today, thanks to this vote by Sun Extractions workers,” said Hugh Giordano, UFCW Local 360 Director of Organizing. “Sustainable success for businesses, employees, and communities starts with fair treatment, strong standards, and shared commitments. That’s how jobs in the cannabis industry become long-term careers. And it’s the future these employees are working towards.”

Sun Extractions is based in Hamilton near Trenton in Mercer County.

Celebrating Cannabis Workers Ahead of 4/20

“It’s great to announce this vote ahead of 4/20,” Giordano noted.

“4/20 used to be all about the plant but has evolved into a holiday celebrating the whole cannabis community,” he argued.

Giordano believed the holiday should include “recognizing the workers who grow, trim, package, curate, advise on, and dispense our cannabis products.

“Their hard work is why New Jersey’s medical and adult-use markets are safe and growing, and why sales are on target to exceed $2 billion this year,” he added.

UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino Jr. emphasized that the Sun Extractions vote represents a growing appetite for improved worker protections and benefits across the legal cannabis industry.

“We have more reasons than ever to celebrate 4/20 this year. We’re welcoming the workers of Sun Extractions into the Local 360 family. Seeing the hard work of our members move an entire industry forward and talking to other states… They look to New Jersey as a model of how to do it right,” Ferraino said. “It’s another proof-point for what we always say. Stronger unions mean stronger industries and stronger communities. And that’s worth celebrating.”

The UFCW and Cannabis

For more than a decade, UFCW Local 360 has been at the forefront of ensuring that New Jersey’s legal cannabis industry delivers fair wages, strong labor protections, and real opportunities for advancement.

Thousands of cannabis workers, from cultivation to retail, have joined the union since the launch of its Cannabis Workers Rising campaign. It’s been led primarily by Giordano and his deputies.

The UFCW has been an opponent of the Multi-State Operator (MSO) Curaleaf and their efforts. In addition, they have successfully organized other legal cannabis companies with less acrimony, like the NJ Leaf dispensary in North Brunswick. That includes the cultivations workers of the small MSO Fresh.

UFCW is a recognized national leader in organizing cannabis industry employees and is the official AFL-CIO-designated cannabis labor union.

The Teamsters union has also unionized legal cannabis industry workers in places like Pennsylvania, according to MJ Biz Daily.

Across the U.S., UFCW works with employees and business owners to achieve the shared goal of a regulated cannabis industry that delivers family-sustaining jobs and promotes social equity.

(Heady NJ is proud to be partnering with them on our next party and live show in their beautiful union hall in South Jersey!)