A socially just cannabis industry is possible. We’re here to make it happen. Join the growing movement of unionized cannabis workers fighting for fairness in the industry.
A socially just cannabis industry is possible. We’re here to make it happen. Join the growing movement of unionized cannabis workers fighting for fairness in the industry.
In 2020, a group of cannabis budtenders working in the Victoria area came together to confront low wages, poor treatment, and a lack of benefits, training and educational opportunities. These budtenders were passionate about helping people but wanted more fairness in the workplace and safer working conditions. That’s how was BC Bud Union was born – as an avenue for cannabis workers to fight back!
After the budtenders joined UFCW 1518 in February of 2019, they became the first dispensary workers in Canada to unionize and BCBUD became a division of 1518. Now with the power of the largest private-sector union in BC behind it, the BC Bud Union seeks to bring industry-wide protections to help grow opportunities and security for budtenders and other cannabis processing professionals like farmers, bakers, and edibles producers. But we’re not done fighting for fairness for retail workers. We are always ready to stand at your side and help you get the respect you deserve at work. Learn more about the benefits of joining a union and becoming a part of the UFCW 1518 retail division below.
Budtenders deserve fair wages for the professionalism they put into their work. The BC Bud Union seeks to put in place pay increases for our members and regularly scheduled raises to keep up with inflation.
We seek to gain more benefits like paid breaks, employee appreciation events, a cell phone fee for work-related use, and employer-provided first aid training.
Our members are committed to the cannabis industry and to helping people. We are seeking long-term job security for our members and better recognition of seniority.
Cannabis workers take their jobs seriously and they deserve respect from management. We advocate for advanced scheduling for our members, written contracts, and written changes to hours in advance.
You need a safe work environment. We advocate for mandatory safety training for new employees, guaranteed security at entrances, and emergency exits in all new cannabis locations.
Budtenders are dedicated to professional development. We are seeking Sommelier training, yearly dispensary tours, lectures on growing and curing methods, and education on emerging cannabis trends for our members.
Joining a union means that you are collectively represented in a contract between your fellow workers and your employer. UFCW 1518 already represents 28,000 workers at hundreds of different workplaces.
The collective strength offered by a union means more power to fight for improved contract conditions, including on benefits, job security, vacation, scheduling and other important issues.
Your union is able to support you in bargaining for this contract, as well as making sure the contract is followed, and helping you with any issues you may run into at work.
We represent 28,000 workers in a wide range of workplaces. If you shop at Save-On-Foods, Safeway, or FreshCo, you’re shopping at a UFCW 1518 store, while we also represent thousands of workers in the healthcare sector across BC.
We also represent workers in many private cannabis stores, as well as in the industrial food sector and commercial farms, where our members prepare meat, flour, mushrooms and other foods you might find on your dinner table!
Every employee in BC and the Yukon has a right to join a union, regardless of age, employer or immigration status. It is illegal to fire, threaten or otherwise punish an employee for attempting to form a union.
Management will never know who signed cards – the process is 100% confidential. We will never tolerate retaliation against workers who are in favour of unionizing.
Union dues for new units are no more than 2% of your wages and are 100% tax-deductible. You won’t pay one cent until you vote in your first collective agreement. No benefits, no dues.
If you have a good relationship, there’s no reason anything has to change – you can still deal directly with your manager, and the union only steps in when a worker requests help. Union workers have a stronger voice and more respect, ensuring that their concerns are heard and that bad management is discouraged.
A union contract isn’t one size fits all – we will fight to keep the benefits you have, and expand or introduce new benefits you want. For example, if you like your scheduling flexibility, we can fight to keep it.
Forming a union gives you as workers more control over what goes in your contract.
There are no union contracts requiring an employer to keep lazy or incompetent workers. We protect workers against unjust dismissals and arbitrary discipline.
Strikes are very rare. You have control over strikes through a vote – a majority of your co-workers must be in favour to launch a strike. If that happens, we will provide you with strike pay.
It is illegal to close a workplace because the employees decide to join a union. No successful business will shut down because the workers decide to organize.
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Our office is located on traditional Indigenous
territory belonging to the Qayqayt First Nation
350 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC V3L 1A6
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Toll-Free: 1.800.661.3708 • 604.526.1518
Fax: 604.540.1520