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Employees at Zen Leaf Dispensary in New Haven County, located at 237 East Aurora St. in Waterbury, voted unanimously to ratify their union contract, the first such agreement in the state, UFCW Local 19 announced on Friday, Feb. 9.
The three-year agreement covers all dispensary technicians, leads, and pharmacists, and will bring "significant" wage increases, lead pay, increased holiday pay, more predictive scheduling, more paid time off, and increased retirement and health insurance benefits, a spokesperson for the union said.
The news comes a little more than a month after workers at a West Haven marijuana manufacturer, Advanced Grow Labs, ratified their own union contract, becoming the first cannabis workers to do so in Connecticut.
"Connecticut cannabis workers are on a roll!" said UFCW Local 919 President Mark Espinosa, who added, "Zen Leaf Dispensary workers took a big step towards a better future and a better cannabis industry with their new union contract.”
The UFCW, which represents tens of thousands of cannabis workers across the US in dispensaries, labs, delivery, kitchens, manufacturing, processing, grow facilities, and more, is the country's largest cannabis workers union.
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