By Huey Tacknin and Coco Smyth
On Sept. 27, workers at the Herbal Wellness Center cannabis dispensary in Columbus, Ohio, began a strike demanding fairness from management at the company.
Herbal Wellness Center workers, represented by Herbal Wellness Center United (Teamsters Local 413), won recognition for their union a few years ago when the store was known as Strawberry Fields and was run by a prior management team.
The original management sold the company, at which point a larger corporation took ownership and a new set of problems presented themselves to the workers. As part of the transition process, the budtenders of Strawberry Fields had to reapply for their positions and half of the workforce was let go. Today, only six workers remain of the 24 who worked there before the management transition, mostly due to layoffs and firings. The store now runs with far fewer employees than when the store was known as Strawberry Fields.
HWC United has continued to advocate for the workers and has been demanding a decent contract and fair negotiations with their employer. Due to lack of progress in negotiations for over a year, HWC workers had no choice but to go on strike to bring management to the table.
Since the 27th, workers have set up daily picket lines outside of the Herbal Wellness Center and have won significant community support. Many union workers and labor organizers have come out to join HWC United to support them on the picket line. Community members driving by the busy road that Herbal Wellness Center sits on regularly honk to show their support for the workers and their demands. Even some workers who had been laid off or fired during the management transition joined the picket line “to help us get better,” as one current employee put it.
Due to the strike, Herbal Wellness Center has been forced to bring in management from other locations to scab on the budtenders, yet has still needed to reduce the store’s hours of operations. Large portions of their customer base have respected the picket line and refused to shop at the store through the duration of the strike. While no figures are publicly available, workers believe that the company’s profits have been significantly impacted by the ongoing strike.
On the picket line, we heard directly from workers about their experiences and their demands. Their attitudes and focus were strong and determined, from the first employee that we talked with to the last. We spoke with three employees in more engaging conversations, while a few other employees also contributed to the discussion. We were struck by their resolve to get a fair deal, involving wages, administrative processes and rules, fair hours and scheduling for employees, etc.
The workers emphasized how they want to resolve the unfair labor practices that have predominated since the new management took over. They demand job security and want fair disciplinary processes. There is a strong feeling that the prior layoffs were unjust, and that since then, there has been an atmosphere of favoritism that has led to further unfair firings. Workers want to see formal disciplinary procedures that can bring fairness to these processes.
Another qualm workers had was with unequal pay and raises. HWC workers feel that these inequalities in pay and raises without any serious processes or explanations is unfair.
A final key demand that workers highlighted was formal procedures for successorship of the company. The handover from the old Strawberry Fields management to the new Herbal Wellness Center management led to large layoffs and a variety of negative changes for the working conditions of the remaining employees. In the case of future changes in management, HWC workers want protections to prevent these types of unilateral actions on the part of management. They are demanding “successorship,” in which employees would have a say in what happens to employees in case of a change of ownership.
The workers at HWC highlighted repeatedly that they’re making these demands because of how much they love their jobs. One employee, Ian, stated that this has been his “favorite job.” But when the business changed ownership, he had his hours cut back while many other co-workers were laid off. He lost four to eight working hours per weekend. Nonetheless, he stated, “I love this job so much that I’m out here striking for it.”
Kalyana, another worker, shared that she has “never done this [strike] before” but believes the “strike is a good thing. I think that we’re being fair.” Another employee summed up their vision in these words: “We want to be protected; we want to be where we can grow as workers.”
As of writing, the strike has been going for almost two weeks. HWC workers on the picket line were in high spirits and believed that the company would come back to the table to negotiate with them soon.
We encourage workers to spread the word about the strike and offer their support to Herbal Wellness Center workers demands. Solidarity and support from the community can materially aid the strikers bring management back to the table and recognize their demands. The demands that HWC workers are putting forward are very simple. Every worker should have fair working conditions and protections. And HWC workers are showing the means for the working class to secure their rights—through solidarity and struggle.