Unionizing happening under Teamsters banner for growers of weed

Organized labor is feeling the impact of the economic downturn and needs to bolster its membership ranks. The Teamsters Union is no exclusion, and the union is looking with expectant eye toward what is proving to be a development industry in The United States. Based on the Associated Press, the business that has Teamsters high on possibility is weed.

Marijuana growers unionized with Teamsters

Marijuana growers, about 40 to be exact, were picked up in September by Teamsters. There is no proof, but many assume the members must mostly be from California. This is because in the whole nation, California has one of the most permissive medical weed laws. Regardless, there are real concerns as to how Teamsters will protect the rights of members whose work constitutes a federal crime.

Working with marijuana workers wasn’t what Lou Marchetti thought he’d be doing when he joined Teamsters 34 years ago. Marchetti works with newly signed farmers in California and Teamsters local 70.

He said, “This is a whole new ballgame”.

When speaking on Teamsters getting involved with marijuana growers in California, Marchetti explained the company wouldn’t be working with any business it thought was breaking the law in its proceedings.

Marjyn Investments LLC creates more work for Teamsters

Gardening, trimming and even cloning are jobs held by employees of Marjyn Investments LLC, a business that contracts with medical cannabis patients to grow pot plants. The Teamsters Union helped the employees with a two-year contract. Now they all have paid escape, health care insurance and even pensions. Teamsters Local 70 explains that in the next 15 months, wages will go from $18 to $25.75 per hour.

Weeding out the little snags of growing pot

Medical purposes are the only reason why states like California can get away with allowing marijuana plants to be grown. Otherwise, it is against federal law. It is possible for the federal government to start looking into Marjyn Investments just a little more. If this were to happen, Marchetti does not know how Teamsters would react. For that matter, the AP states that marijuana trimmers have an arduous job, and federal law would not step in on their behalf if trimmers happened to be subjected to abusive labor practices. In Oakland, there is an assistant regional director for National Labor Relations Board. This is Michael Leong who states the category of farm workers may not even contain Teamster pot growers. If they really aren’t farm workers, then things change. The NLRB no longer has jurisdiction over them.

Cultivation ‘in the shadows’ with growing Marijuana dispensaries

California law has allowed marijuana dispensaries to grow into a booming new business, however existing laws have not fully defined just how cultivation operations like Marjyn Investments LLC should be regulated. Nobody knows what the labor standards have to be although numerous individuals are willing to start working on the change. At this point, one of the only things that is clear as applicants await their permits to open shop is that membership within the Teamsters Union isn’t required in order to operate.

Additional reading

Associated Press

newser.com/article/d9ibmhtg0/us-teamsters-boost-membership-by-adding-medical-pot-growers-to-the-union-rolls.html