Workers at California Medical Marijuana Company Join Teamsters

[JackTheGrower]

Workers at California Medical Marijuana Company Join Teamsters

Teamsters Vote Overwhelmingly to Ratify Strong New Contract

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Workers at a California medical marijuana company have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first-ever contract. The 38 workers are now represented by Teamsters Local 70. Medical marijuana is legal in California.

The workers are employed by Marjyn Investments LLC in Oakland, a management company retained by multiple lawful cooperatives organized under California laws for the purpose of providing patient access to medical marijuana.

The workers are trimmers, gardeners and cloners. Cloners clone different strains of marijuana, depending on its medical needs, said Lou Marchetti, the business agent for Local 70, which organized the workers and negotiated the contract. Marjyn Investments provides medical marijuana used by patients suffering from cancer, HIV and other life threatening illnesses.

Rome Aloise, President of Joint Council 7 and Western Region Vice President, praised the work of Local 70.

"The Local was approached by these workers to organize and Local 70 accomplished this goal very quickly," Aloise said. "The Teamsters will provide these workers with the best representation possible."

Marty Frates, Local 70 Secretary-Treasurer, credited Marchetti for obtaining a recognition agreement with the full cooperation and support of the company, enabling the workers to obtain a contract very quickly.

"These workers are highly educated and dedicated to helping people with very serious illnesses," Frates said. "Lou was able to negotiate for them a very good first contract."

Under the two-year contract, the company will pay for the workers' health care costs. The workers will receive pensions under the Western Conference of Pensions Fund, and their wages, currently at $18 an hour, will increase to $25.75 an hour within 15 months. They also get 10 paid holidays and 60 hours of personal time per year.

"The company expects to expand and hopes to have about 150 employees," Marchetti said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever organize medical marijuana providers, but this is an expanding industry in California."

"We look forward to a long and beneficial relationship with the Teamster workers, providing well-paid jobs with benefits and a safe work environment," said R. Dean Jackson, a Marjyn representative.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE Teamsters Local 70

What gets me an an ex-Teamster steward is the the Teamsters now embrace cannabis.

It was a non-starter for conversation at any meeting I ever attended.

 

[resinryder]

A long as they get the monthly union dues nut they don't care where it comes from.

 

[Tr33]

stupid fools.

Fuck Unions!!!

 

[JackTheGrower]

A long as they get the monthly union dues nut they don't care where it comes from.

The bottom line is Capital yes.

What benefits one side or the other is economic.

Economic is political play so all things are negotiable

It is a big deal from what I can see.

 

[JackTheGrower]

stupid fools.

Fuck Unions!!!

Even Unions of One?

Who says Fuck Me like you...

-jA

 

[memphis man]

if you have never worked for a union then i could understand why you say fuck. people now a days are falling into the same kind of stigmatism as the refer madness movie inflicted back in the day. all people know is the unions and the mob did lots of dirty shit so everyone is anti union.
try puttin a different look on the idea of a union from my stand point not just in this case but any other as well. when you hear think about unions and there places of employment what do you think of?
thats right some kind of multibillion or well at least multimillion company. this company is making so much money they can afford to wipe their ass with tens and twenties. everything a union stands for is the same thing most people in this country bitch about not making enough money and not having a say so in what happens. in a union you are doing nothing to be looked down upon about maybe envied to say the least! in a union you are basically a sub contractor. you negotiate your contract to decide your wages for a set number of years taking into consideration inflation and costs of living increases. you get to also negotiate your pension, your health care, your holidays, your vacation, your sick time, your personal time, your i wanna do what the fuck ever time. as being a part of a union your employer must follow a pre negotiated displinary system. basically the rules and wages and retirement of your job are something that you get to negotiate and not leave up to your employers to just feel nice and give to you and fire you when they want or dog you out or make you go on shit detail. in a union seniority rules, the more years you dedicate to your employer the less bullshit jobs you have to do and the jobs you would rather do your able to takeover.
people always say shit about paying stewards and unions. stewards are on your job to make sure the company follows the pre negotiated set of rules and acts like every workers on that job attorney. contracts are legal binding documents, workers sign contracts with their employer through labor unions. not trying to be little any one here but legal shit should be left up to attorneys lmao. as for paying into unions before you knock em look at what the unions offer members. most unions have some sort of scholarship program, retirement, various discounts on all types of shit like cars, houses, and even real estate.
to sum it all up the employer is making plenty of money why shouldn't the employees get what is deserved to them of the jump instead of working your life away for a company you hope will take care of you?
now as for the pot oriented chapter of teamsters i say hell yeah. these large ass grows are gonna be making tons of money so the people who do the work deserve to be able to negotiate their employment and not leave it up to the greedy bastards who actually pulled this shit off in the first place.

 

[resinryder]

I don't have a problem with trade unions. I do have a big fuckin problem with Public employee unions. Those who work in state and county government. Look at public employee unions. Here in Nevada we have 15% unemployment and the numbers grow every month. We lead the nation in home foreclosures and it is predicted that more and more will be walking away from their upside down mortgages in the coming months. The unions piss away millions backing political players who vote their way, and union members are actually in our elected state legislature that vote on matters that benefit them. . The state is going broke, there is over a 3 billion$$$ short fall in our up coming state budget. And we get public employees writing letters to the editor saying we need to raise MY taxes so they can keep their job and the lifestyle they are accustomed to. I say fuck em. Let em get laid off like every other person out there in the private sector. If the budget won't support their dept, let the layoffs begin. It's a harsh thing to say, but they aren't any better than anyone else in the private sector. As the state populations decreases so does the need for their services.
When you get 15 to 20% in wages over 3 years and double your pay in just under 6 years as some of our public service unions have, with, cola's, longevity pay, training pay, step raises, and on and on, sooner or later you raise yourself out of a job. The firefighters here actually had the balls a year ago to recommend through their union that they get a bonus for filling out their paper work correctly. Not that it isn't already a part of their job. Unfucking believable.
Unions were a great thing and badly needed when they came about. Now it amounts to legalized extortion and shake downs. Why do so many union leaders get caught up in legal problem?. The only one who think otherwise are union members. They have priced themselves out of contracts here.
What is their slogan? Workers of the world unite. Do you realize this was Karl Marx's slogan as he ushered communism into Russia? Karl would be proud to see his slogan carried on and chanted in the USA.

 

[resinryder]

"Under the two-year contract, the company will pay for the workers' health care costs. The workers will receive pensions under the Western Conference of Pensions Fund, and their wages, currently at $18 an hour, will increase to $25.75 an hour within 15 months. They also get 10 paid holidays and 60 hours of personal time per year."


Wonder how much of a price increase this will put on the backs of sick and dying patients. They are the ones who will absorb the final cost of the nice new shiny benefits.
Business is not in the business of loosing money. All cost get passed on down to the end user. In this case, the patient.

 

[dank.frank]

my thoughts EXACTLY resinryder....



dank.Frank

 

[grapeman]

This was done with the approval and insistence of the owners of the operation, in order to present to the media, what they consider, a mainstream face.

Me? I shit in the mouth of people that do this kind of thing. Trimming leaf is NOT a career, nor a career path. These dumbass workers just helped the owners "advertise" via the ignorant media, that they are "good and mainstream" employers.

This whole story is fucked up, along with the owners of the enterprise and the workers.

But the American electorate is for the most part stupid (how else can you explain how a shadow figure that's never accomplished anything in his life (but writing 2 autobiographies)) got elected. And these are the same people that this type of bullshit hyped story is targeting.

Oh, and forget the costs involved to the owners/unions. We have already bailed out these fucking teamster pensions plans once under this administration to the tune of billions. Our tax dollars going towards this bullshit makes me puke.

Put down the joint for a day or 2 and see the bigger picture. We are being marched towards insolvency by unions and their pension funds. How the fuck is that a good thing?

 

[memphis man]

i will agree with resin about the political unions. but one must remember the people that are in these political unions got voted into office by us the people. unions are a good thing for laborers in the work force who otherwise would be shit on by their employers

 

[Dorje113]

Unions are good in theory but looking at the past there have been a lot of really big problems.

Most companies will not set up a new factory anywhere that has a union controlled workforce given the choice.

I believe unions have reduced the ability of US companies to compete on a global level and made outsourcing of manufacturing more attractive.

I also believe workers need to have their rights and fair employment, but I'm not sure Unions are the best way to accomplish this.

 

[subrob]

never mind....

 

[mrdizzle]

I second that unions are good in theory

but after working as a manager with union employees, I could never support unions. We have labor laws in this country that protect everyone, but unions basically are given the right to be shitty employees and get promoted whether they have talent or not. Unions make it hard for good workers and easy for shitty ones. Trying to fire a union employee is almost not worth the trouble. We had a dishwasher who was caught peeing in the sink, took us 6months to get rid of him

 

[lid]

Resinryder. State Workers in Nevada take advantage of their union benefits and work like slugs. I may be Union now but for 15 yrs i worked piece. I still work like im getting paid for the job and not by the hour.

 

[lid]

I second that unions are good in theory

but after working as a manager with union employees, I could never support unions. We have labor laws in this country that protect everyone, but unions basically are given the right to be shitty employees and get promoted whether they have talent or not. Unions make it hard for good workers and easy for shitty ones. Trying to fire a union employee is almost not worth the trouble. We had a dishwasher who was caught peeing in the sink, took us 6months to get rid of him

Very True. One thing i like about my union is the fact i can hire who i want as long as there in the union.

 

[JackTheGrower]

The point is the Teamsters have gone pro-cannabis.

Like unions or not the news is the Teamsters.

I can tell you what it was like to be pro-cannabis in the Teamsters 10 years ago.

You would lose any office or position you held for smoking weed.

Now they support weed?

The times are a-changing.

 

[grapeman]

Very True. One thing i like about my union is the fact i can hire who i want as long as there in the union.

How fucking stupid is that comment?

 

[JackTheGrower]

How fucking stupid is that comment?

Actually on construction jobs it is expected to be taken on and let go at will even in union contracted labor. So for a guy to hire a man to weld say he may be a good fit or not and usually there is no hard feelings the guy just rotates back into the pool and waits for the next call from the Union.

That's what i took out of it.

 

[subrob]

How fucking stupid is that comment?

how fucking stupid is that question?