Cannabis workers at Tokyo Smoke join the union – UFCW 1006A

Toronto – July 9, 2021 – Cannabis workers at Tokyo Smoke in Toronto have joined their colleagues in Hamilton, Ontario as the second location to join UFCW 1006A within the past year.

“On behalf of our local union, we are proud to welcome the newest members from Tokyo Smoke,” says UFCW 1006A President Wayne Hanley. “We are committed to being a strong voice for fairness, respect, and dignity for workers in the cannabis sector across Canada.” 
 
Workers organized at the downtown dispensary to raise standards across the industry, hoping to lead the way and inspire more people in the cannabis retail sector to unionize.
 
The issues workers were facing included health and safety concerns when dealing with abusive customers, as well as wages and job security.
 
“It is inspiring to see retail cannabis workers standing united and seeking representation in this new, mostly unregulated industry,” says UFCW 1006A Organizing Director Lesley Prince. "Unionization is helping workers make real workplace improvements and is giving them a voice where otherwise they lacked one.”

UFCW Local 1006A represents 36,000 members in a wide range of sectors across Ontario, including the grocery retail, food processing, hospitality, laundry, warehousing, transportation, and eye care industries. To read more about UFCW 1006A and its outstanding work, visit the Local Union’s website.

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