{"id":65155,"date":"2026-07-01T16:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/?post_type=victories&#038;p=65155"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:57:23","slug":"maryland-dispensary-workers-ratify-first-contract","status":"publish","type":"victories","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/actions\/victories\/maryland-dispensary-workers-ratify-first-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Dispensary Workers Ratify First Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>On a roll:<\/em><\/strong><em>\u00a0Rebecca Robinson (standing), Nick Belton (left), and Samira Wilson (right), are all smiles after winning a fair contract<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw400.org\/\">UFCW Local 400<\/a>\u00a0members working at the Apothecarium cannabis dispensary in Burtonsville, Md., voted unanimously to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three-year contract raises standards of living and improves the working conditions for the 15 employees who interact directly with the dispensary\u2019s customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Significant gains include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Guaranteed wage increases over the life of the agreement<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Protections against members losing their jobs to temporary workers<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Paid breaks<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Employer matches for worker saving accounts<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Paid holidays and personal time off<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Paid bereavement leave<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>A grievance procedure to resolve disputes with management<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Mandated work-week schedule postings<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Severance pay<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw400.org\/2024\/09\/16\/workers-at-two-maryland-cannabis-dispensaries-vote-to-unionize-with-ufcw-local-400\/\">unionizing with UFCW Local 400 in September 2024<\/a>, Apothecarium workers were pleased to have won a strong agreement. \u201cIt feels great to get a contract for everyone at the dispensary,\u201d said bargaining committee member Nick Belton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s great to work for a company that listens and actively works with the union to hear our needs and try and come to the best possible solution that works for everyone,\u201d said Samira Wilson, who was also part of the bargaining committee. \u201cAnd a big thanks to our union for being there and checking in on us to make sure that we have everything we need.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI congratulate our Apothecarium members on their first collective bargaining agreement,\u201d said UFCW Local 400 President Mark P. Federici. \u201cTheir activism and solidarity earned them a contract that improves their lives and strengthens their security.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a roll:\u00a0Rebecca Robinson (standing), Nick Belton (left), and Samira Wilson (right), are all smiles after winning a fair contract UFCW Local 400\u00a0members working at the Apothecarium cannabis dispensary in Burtonsville, Md., voted unanimously to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement earlier this month. The three-year contract raises standards of living and improves the working [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":65156,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[334],"class_list":["post-65155","victories","type-victories","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cannabis","tag-ufcw-local-400"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Maryland Dispensary Workers Ratify First Contract - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maryland Dispensary Workers Ratify First Contract\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/actions\/victories\/maryland-dispensary-workers-ratify-first-contract\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maryland Dispensary Workers Ratify First Contract - The United Food &amp; 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