[Payaso]

Jimmy Hoffa would be stoked.

In a logical move, cannabis workers have decided to unionize. Like any other business, employers take advantage of employees, and it's a long-honored tradition in America to organize, unionize and demand better working conditions and pay.

This is a capitalistic society, and the government certainly frowns on anything cannabis. So this is a logical move, the workers need to stay united so that they are not taken advantage of by greedy business owners who might demand more of their cannabis-related employees than they would a traditional mainstream type of occupation.

In what cannabis fans were calling a high-water mark for their movement to legitimize the drug, about 100 employees of medical marijuana-related businesses in Oakland were welcomed to the ranks of unionized workers on Friday after voting to join the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 5.

The move — which union officials said was the first time medical marijuana employees had been so represented — was hailed by the local’s leadership, who called their new members ‘great workers.”

“This is a natural for us,” said Ron Lind, the president of Local 5, whose 26,000 other members work primarily in groceries and the meat industry. “Our union’s primary jurisdiction is retail.”

The move was also welcomed by Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University, the medical marijuana trade school whose Oakland campus employs some 60 newly unionized members in its dispensary, gift shop and nursery. (For plants, not children.) Mr. Lee that said his employees were already offered health benefits and paid vacation, but that the union imprimatur was an important milestone in the battle to bring marijuana more into the mainstream.

After all, we hear in the cannabis world of business owners that employees have a usability factor.

For more on this story click here.

[nomaad]

Richard Lee has obviously decided to take his personal PR image to a different place. His comments that have been published in the last couple of weeks have been supportive of unionization of his workforce and critical of the GIANT indoor grow paradigm being considered by Oakland in favor of more smaller operations. Both things I can get behind.

Oh, Richard. Are you trying to woo me?

[SeniorBuzz]

rather than unions, it would be much better
if there were owner-operators

people with a vested interest
tend to do a lot better job

i.e. the "skin in the game" attitude

[nomaad]

I'm with you 100%, but as long as we have politically connected big business, the small scale owner-operator paradigm will never prevail. there will always be a niche, inhabited by the knowledgeable and honest owner-operator and the discerning, community minded consumer.

for all intents and purposes, "owner-operator" = "mom and pop." SeniorBuzz.. correct me if my understanding is correct. There may be some subtle differences... tell me what differentiates the two besides semantics?

[Skip]

Oh, Richard. Are you trying to woo me?

Hummm... This is a good development. I'm wondering if ppl shouldn't be lobbying Richard Lee over the Legalization Initiative, to get him to consider a more liberal reworking of it if it fails as it is.

Since he is one of the Gang of Four behind this Initiative and has the resources to conduct a petition drive, and since he has now heard all the complaints about this Initiative, perhaps he is having second thoughts.

So let's start pressuring him to start working on a new Initiative, regardless of what happens to this one. If it passes in Nov., the new one would replace it the next election cycle and hopefully fix the problems ppl have with this one.

The key would seem to be giving Richard Lee and the Gang our feedback and suggestions for improvements. You gotta give the guy credit for getting the legalization initiative this far. Now that the weaknesses of the measure are apparent, we can improve upon it in the next Initiative. A new initiative would also keep the legalization drive alive, even if the current measure fails at the polls.

[Skip]

Owner-Operator = Collective or Cooperative, which we already have plenty.

Well I feel like a proud mamma. Good idea, bad union name though.

Richard Lee, there is a whole thread of dandy union names here you can use.

Yup, Unions will brring Agraweed to it's knees.

[nomaad]

I am all for giving credit where credit is due. Richard Lee has done as much for the MMJ cause as anybody.

My criticism of him stems from the monopolistic practices of his busineses. You can lobby the GOF all you want to rewrite the bill, but its not going to change the fact that its the same guys who are pushing the local ordinances that limit the amount of dispensaries... then lo and behold, Harborside gets one of the three permits. Or TWO of the three. Let watch and see what happens in Chico. They own the lab that tests the herb. They have sway over the certification body that serves the industry...

Now... I will tell you that while I am officially undecided as to how I will vote, I am leaning toward a yes vote for the very reasons you support. Unless I am convinced that more people will be going to prison because of this bill it will get my vote on the basis that it will add to the momentum of true (alcohol style) legalization on a national level. MMJ spread from Cali to other states and so will recreational. Once i let go of certain attachments and just focus on my sense of justice, voting YES is the obvious answer. I do it begrudgingly, knowing that I give power to the forces of control at the top of this industry.

But nothing is a clean as we'd like it to be.

[binaryfission]

Originally Posted by Skip

So let's start pressuring him to start working on a new Initiative, regardless of what happens to this one. If it passes in Nov., the new one would replace it the next election cycle and hopefully fix the problems ppl have with this one.

The key would seem to be giving Richard Lee and the Gang our feedback and suggestions for improvements. You gotta give the guy credit for getting the legalization initiative this far. Now that the weaknesses of the measure are apparent, we can improve upon it in the next Initiative. A new initiative would also keep the legalization drive alive, even if the current measure fails at the polls.

this sounds like a great idea. how can i help?

[nomaad]

Originally Posted by Skip

Owner-Operator = Collective or Cooperative, which we already have plenty.

not in places where ordinances have been passed limiting the number of D's. In those places we have none... or a couple. And one of them is always connected to Richard Lee.