Workers Unanimously Vote to Organize the Booming Industry

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – With 95 percent of eligible workers participating, budtenders at Strawberry Fields in Columbus have voted to join Teamsters Local 413. The workers are the first in Ohio to affiliate with the Teamsters.

“This is the first of many proprietors we will be organizing now in Ohio, especially now that recreational cannabis is legal,” said Tony Jones, Teamsters International Vice President At-Large and President of Local 413. “These workers are an amazing group of people who stood strong in spite of the company running a nasty anti-union campaign. I have no doubt that the tenacity, bravery, and solidarity they demonstrated during the lead up to the election will serve them well when we start negotiations.”

“The success of our latest organizing effort is a clear message to the Ohio cannabis industry: workers demand and deserve respect,” said Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Food Processing Division Director. “This is just the beginning. We’re on a mission to transform this industry one contract at a time, with sustainable, middle-class careers.”

“We believe all workers should unionize,” said Tavis Barton, a Strawberry Fields budtender. “Without a contract, employers can do whatever they want. We must look out for each other!”

“This is a huge moment for the Teamsters, Ohio, the labor movement, the cannabis community, and especially us,” said Estlin Hiller, another budtender. “By unanimous decision, after months of hard work by everyone involved, we won. We are ecstatic about this outcome, immensely proud of one another, and looking forward to bargaining our first contract. Strawberry Fields united, solidarity forever.”

Teamsters Local 413 represents workers in a wide variety of industries throughout central Ohio. For more information, go to teamsters413.com.

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