The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 labor union recently announced sales representatives with The Botanist New Jersey voted to unionize.

Unionizing Sales Representatives

Working across New Jersey, The Botanist’s sales reps work with licensed dispensaries, educate retail staff, coordinate with buyers, and ensure that flower, pre-rolls, vapes, gummies and other cannabis products reach consumers.

In the NJ cannabis industry where traditional advertising opportunities (besides from Heady NJ) remain limited. So, sales reps play a critical role. They help cultivators and manufacturers compete across an increasingly sophisticated and competitive marketplace.

“Sales representatives are the engine of New Jersey’s multi-billion-dollar cannabis economy, yet we face extreme market volatility, shifting commission structures, and a lack of job security,” said Abbey Perl, a sales representative with The Botanist. “Joining Local 360 means ensuring that more of the workers who build these brands secure stable wages, fair benefits, and workplaces that respect our contribution to the bottom line.”

Perl has also been active with the NJ CannaBusiness Association (NJCBA).

“These employees are ambassadors for New Jersey’s cannabis industry,” said Hugh Giordano, Director of Organizing for UFCW Local 360. “They devote their time and energy to helping businesses succeed, supporting dispensary teams, and ensuring the hard work of cultivation and manufacturing employees reaches customers across the state.”

“By choosing to unionize, they’re investing in themselves, their families and communities, and New Jersey’s cannabis industry. These workers recognize that strong partnerships between employees and employers create stronger businesses,” he added.

The organizing effort marks another important milestone for New Jersey’s legal cannabis industry. This will extend worker representation beyond cultivation and retail to the professionals who connect cannabis producers with dispensaries throughout the state.

“As New Jersey’s cannabis industry continues to mature, we’re seeing organizing spread into every corner of the business,” said Sam Ferraino, Jr., President of UFCW Local 360. Workers understand that a successful cannabis industry depends on a skilled, respected and empowered workforce. That’s why Cannabis Workers Rising was created. Every organizing victory enhances the long-term stability, professionalism and credibility of New Jersey’s regulated cannabis marketplace.”

The UFCW Union and Cannabis

The UFCW International Union represents over 1.3 million hardworking families across the U.S. and Canada. These members work in essential industries such as Retail, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, the Public Sector and Cannabis.

The UFCW is the nation’s leading cannabis labor union and the official cannabis union recognized by the AFL-CIO. They represent tens of thousands of cannabis workers in dispensaries, cultivation facilities, manufacturing operations, laboratories, delivery services and processing facilities across the United States, UFCW works alongside employees and employers to build a regulated cannabis industry that delivers family-sustaining careers, supports responsible business growth and advances social equity.

Notably, the Teamsters union seems to be cutting into their turf elsewhere.

The Botanist and NJ

According to the UFCW, the Botanist describes itself as “providing premium cannabis products supported by compassionate service, cannabis education and patient-first values.”

 The company’s branded products are available through its own dispensaries as well as licensed cannabis retailers throughout New Jersey. That makes its statewide sales team a pivotal link between production and the retail marketplace.

The Botanist is a very large Multi-State Operator (MSO). The UFCW has been working with other unhappy workers in other branches of the company.

They opened a dispensary on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. But while Atlantic City allowed its Boardwalk smoke shops to sell infused hemp, the dispensary was no allowed to sell adult-use cannabis. So it was closed.

They ultimately moved it to Collingswood.

The Botanist is owned by Acreage Holdings which bought one of the first six medical cannabis dispensaries opened in in New Jersey.