Sixth Illinois Marijuana Store Votes to Unionize With Teamsters

Workers at Sunnyside, a medical marijuana dispensary in Chicago, have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 777.

The dispensary in the River North neighborhood of Chicago is the sixth location to organize with Local 777. In the fall, Local 777 secured strong first contracts for the five other organized locations in Elmwood ParkSouth BeloitSchaumburgRockford, and Buffalo Grove, Ill., that contain significant improvements for dispensary workers.

“We are thrilled to welcome another Cresco location to Teamsters Local 777,” said Jim Glimco, President of Local 777. “Dispensary workers are seeing their counterparts at other locations organize with the Teamsters and they want to secure the benefits of a union contract for themselves. We look forward to helping these workers get their first contract and continuing to organize workers in the cannabis industry across Illinois.”

The River North dispensary is the sixth location to organize with Local 777. In the fall, Local 777 secured strong first contracts for the five other organized locations in Elmwood Park, South Beloit, Schaumburg, Rockford, and Buffalo Grove, Ill., that contain significant improvements for dispensary workers.

“With all the negative news lately, watching unions win has been incredibly heartening. Getting to be a part of that in my own small way was amazing,” said Quinn Shaffer, a wellness advisor at Sunnyside. “It feels good to see things change for the better.”

Founded in 1937, Teamsters Local 777 represents workers in a wide variety of industries throughout the Chicago area. For more information, go to teamsters777.org.

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