Workers at Zen Leaf Dispensary in Highland Park, Illinois, last week received final approval to decertify their membership in the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 881. The workers voted 10-1 in October to end their union participation. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) approved the decertification on November 3.
The National Right to Work Foundation offered free legal aid to the workers during the decertification effort. The vote count and approval date were confirmed in the foundation’s announcement.
The Zen Leaf employees’ decision removes UFCW Local 881 as their bargaining representative. The NLRB’s November 3 approval made the October vote final. No further steps in the process were reported.
Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, commented on the decision. “Zen Leaf employees have joined the groundswell of workers nationwide who are exercising their right to declare independence from union bosses who don’t represent their interests,” Mix said in a press release.
Mix also criticized state laws that require union participation. “This again shows the pressing need for the NLRB to step in and take action against state laws which, in violation of federal labor law, unlawfully mandate that businesses hand over their workers to forced-dues union ranks,” Mix said in a press release.
The National Right to Work Foundation provided the legal support at no cost to the workers. Mix’s statements were issued following the NLRB’s approval of the vote.
According to the National Right to Work Foundation, the decision marks the third decertification by cannabis industry workers this year. In May, employees of Herbal Wellness Center in Athens, Ohio, voted to decertify their relationship with the Teamsters Local 413.
In July, Green Thumb Industries employees at four locations in New Jersey chose to end their participation with UFCW Local 360. The Zen Leaf vote in Highland Park is the most recent of the three. The foundation counted all three decertifications within the same calendar year.
The Zen Leaf outcome received final NLRB approval on November 3, following the 10-1 October vote by the Highland Park workers.
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