B.C. budtender headed back to work after he was allegedly fired for unionizing bid
Before being let go, there had been months of back-and-forth on issues such as scheduling, health benefits and pay, resulting in the move to unionize.
A budtender in Victoria, B.C. is back on the job after being fired three weeks ago, which the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) argues was the employer’s response to unionization efforts at the retail store.
The firing follows months of back-and-forth with the employer on issues relating to scheduling, a lack of health benefits and inconsistent and low pay at Burnside Buds, the union claims in a press release.
Not getting anywhere, Niko Kruzel reports in the UFCW statement that he and fellow budtenders decided to contact a union organizer for the B.C. Budtender Union, which is the cannabis-focused division of UFCW 1518.
Three days after employees voted to unionize, Kruzel — who had never before been written up for any infractions — was shown the door by the store owner.The UFCW reports the firing, via a late-night text, cited “lack of trust” and “poor work ethic.”
The manner in which he was let go threw Kruzel for a loop, he says. “It felt like a knee-jerk reaction from the employer, and in my opinion, it showed they didn’t know a lot about running a business,” he says in the union statement.
Measures taken subsequent to the firing reportedly included the owner removing snacks from the staff room and reducing the employee discount.
Both the firing and the snacks were mentioned in the union’s complaint filed with B.C.’s Labour Relations Board (LRB). The complaint argued both actions were unlawful and represented retaliation for the workers’ bid to unionize.
Information from the B.C. government notes that “to end an employee’s job, employers can give written working notice or an equal amount of pay called compensation for length of service,” or a combination of the two.
Firing without notice is possible in certain limited exceptions and for just cause. This would include a serious offence such as stealing, committing fraud, acting dishonestly, assaulting or harassing others, or breaking company rules.
Eric Nordal, an organizer with the B.C. Budtender Union, was disappointed, but not surprised by the owner’s alleged actions.
“This is all too common in the retail industry, and, frankly, it’s childish,” Nordal says in the press release.
“I’m looking forward to future negotiations and to serving people, as I’ve always done,” Kruzel adds.
Adds the union, “The B.C. BUD division is looking forward to commencing negotiations on issues that matter to the bargaining unit, as the union has been developing a reputation for improving wages, training, and other workplace issues in the cannabis sector.”
Per Mugglehead Magazine, budtenders at the Victoria store join others, including Trees Cannabis and the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, while Potanicals Green Growers became the first licensed cannabis producer to join.
Representing 75 workers at eight different cannabis dispensary locations, as well as the 10 workers at the Potanicals Green, StratCann adds two Seed & Stone locations in Victoria to the list as well.
Eva Prkachin, a union representative for UFCW Local 1518, says these workers have expertise in their field, “but their wages and workplace conditions have lagged behind,” per StratCann.
After two B.C. dispensaries became the first private pot shops in Canada to unionize , then UFCW 1518 president Kim Novak says in a press release: “Our B.C. BUD division keeps growing because cannabis industry workers know their value and the power they can wield when they work together.”
“The cannabis industry is an emerging sector and it’s important to build worker power so that budtenders, as well as other cannabis workers, have a strong voice. That is our union’s commitment,” Novak adds.
The UFCW is touting the benefits of unionizing north and south of the border. “Federal legalization of the cannabis industry (in the U.S.) appears likely to happen within the next few years,” notes an Economic Policy Institute report.
“Protecting workers’ collective bargaining rights in any broader legalization of cannabis is the best way to ensure cannabis jobs are good jobs,” authors of the report recommend.
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