EASTHAMPTON — Staff at The Verb is Herb cannabis dispensary on Cottage Street have filed a petition to unionize and are set to take a vote at the end of the month.
If the vote passes, staff members will join United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459.
Kelsey Birk, a sales guide at The Verb is Herb, said that staff members “saw that other cannabis dispensaries across the state were unionizing for better hours, better pay, more affordable benefits, and we thought we would like that too.”
Unionizing also felt like a way to stand with and support other cannabis workers throughout Massachusetts, she said.
“We love our jobs, but we just know that it could be better for cannabis workers across the state,” Bike said, “and maybe we could help make that happen for them.”
Management at The Verb is Herb could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The Verb is Herb is located at 75 Cottage Street and opened for business last May. Staff members have been working in person since that time, according to Birk.
The union would include sales associates, inventory workers and supervisors, most of the location’s nine staff members. The staff will vote by mail starting on April 9, with a deadline of April 30. Birk believes that the staff has the votes necessary to unionize.
“It’s just hanging tight and sticking together until then,” she said.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.