Selinsgrove, PA AYR members Stacey Bailey and Eric Carter after voting on their new contract.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, March 7, 2024 – Cannabis workers at 10 AYR worksites across Pennsylvania ratified a new contract lifting their wages, health and welfare, and pension benefit while further cementing UFCW Local 1776 as the union for this growing industry. 

“It has been a big month for these workers and our Local. I am enormously proud to welcome 65 new members from a grow facility in Pottsville, and two new dispensaries in Bloomsburg and Selinsgrove,” said UFCW 1776 President Wendell Young IV. These new members will join 130 members at AYR worksites who ratified new contracts at 7 locations across the state. 

“As a member of the bargaining committee, I was proud to serve and happy to represent the Grow facility. I am very pleased to see the additional locations join us with this new ratification and see our union grow in strength,” said Charles Phillipi, an AYR member who works at the Warrendale Grow facility.

Young added, “The bargaining process creates a space for our members to exercise their rights and develop a real voice on what changes they want to see, this contract is a reflection of that.”

The new contract, which covers all AYR workers in the state, provides for significant wage increases, enrollment in strong retirement and savings plans, and robust Health and Welfare provisions. 

“Having a say in what we get as workers is really important, we have a real voice in the workplace, and it gets everyone excited about getting involved and voting,” said Abdiel Alviarez, an AYR Member who works in Bryn Mawr. “One of the biggest things for me was additional PTO – before it was great, but it’s been almost doubled…. We have the ability to take off when needed and not worry about running out of days.”

UFCW Local 1776 now represents nearly 1,600 workers at 23 cannabis locations in Pennsylvania. 

“This is not by accident. We are laser focused on this industry and we will continue to make every effort to organize workers so that they can earn the wages and benefits they deserve,” Young added. “I want to congratulate these members and our team here at the Local. They have done a terrific job.”