The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) has endorsed legislation to deschedule and regulate marijuana nationwide, saying the proposal would strengthen workplace protections and create better economic opportunities for cannabis workers.
The UFCW, which represents thousands of workers in the marijuana industry, announced its support for the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. The bill was introduced last week by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and 14 other Democrats.
“As America’s cannabis union, the UFCW knows that this industry’s success depends on the prosperity of the growers, cultivators, manufacturers, processors, and budtenders who power it,” UFCW International President Milton Jones said.
Jones said Congress has an opportunity to establish an industry that protects workers while addressing the continuing effects of federal marijuana prohibition.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and allow states to maintain or establish their own marijuana laws. It would also create a federal regulatory and taxation system and restrict legal sales to those 21 and older.
The union highlighted provisions extending protections under the National Labor Relations Act to agricultural workers in the marijuana industry, who are currently excluded from many of the law’s federal organizing and collective bargaining protections.
The proposal would also apply the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Fair Labor Standards Act to marijuana workers, support the development of national workplace safety standards and provide grants for industry training.
Other provisions would automatically expunge certain nonviolent federal marijuana convictions, allow eligible individuals to seek resentencing and provide funding and incentives for state-level expungement programs.
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