Employees at all three of Curaleaf Holdings Inc.’s Garden State dispensaries are now among the growing number of cannabis workers who have opted to unionize.

In a June 29 announcement, Union Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 said the nearly 50 workers at the multistate operator’s Bordentown retail storefront voted to organize as members, joining their counterparts at Curaleaf’s other two shops in New Jersey.

Workers at the MSO’s locations in Edgewater Park and Bellmawr voted in October 2022 and March 2023, respectively, to join the union, which represents hundreds of thousands of employees in dispensaries, labs, manufacturing, processing, delivery and grow facilities across the U.S.

In a statement, UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino Jr. said it was “exciting” that every Curaleaf employee in New Jersey has elected to unionize but noted, “Our work is far from done.”

“We’ll continue to crisscross the state, visiting every location of every company to help employees exercise their rights, and to highlight the growing danger of fake company unions. A vote to unionize is a vote to be part of something special, for the long-haul. These illegitimate unions corrupt that desire and weaken worker protections,” he said.

As an official AFL-CIO designate cannabis labor union, UFCW has been successful in unionizing cannabis workers in other Curaleaf shops, such as ones in Illinois and Massachusetts.

As part of New Jersey’s launch of recreational cannabis sales in April 2022, the law included a pro-labor provision requiring companies to negotiate in good faith if employees wanted union representation. Since then, workers at several cannabis companies – including Ascend, Valley Wellness, Harmony Dispensary, Verano and Ayr Wellness – have organized.

Curaleaf did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding unionization efforts.

In a statement, UFCW Local 360’s director of organizing Hugh Giordano said, “This type of direct organizing will keep New Jersey’s cannabis economy thriving for years to come. From small micro-license holders to large multi-state operators, there’s growing recognition that unions create a better balance between the needs of employees, communities, and employers – and people want in.”

He added, “The best employers also understand that a collaborative relationship with labor unions strengthens their business and boosts opportunities for sustainable success.”

Curaleaf, the largest publicly traded cannabis company in the world, employs 5,200 workers in its 152 dispensaries and 23 cultivation sites across 19 states.

However, the MSO has taken steps in recent months to cut operational costs in response to slowing sales growth in some markets, as well as capital challenges and price compression. Earlier this year, Curaleaf announced plans to exit production and cultivation facilities in California, Colorado and Oregon in addition to combining operations in Massachusetts in a single facility.

In New Jersey, Curaleaf unveiled plans to wind down cultivation at its Bellmawr facility and consolidate growing operations in Winslow as part of an effort to streamline business. Of the roughly 40 workers affected by the Bellmawr closure, all but five were offered employment at other locations, according to the company.

In April, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission initially rejected Curaleaf’s license renewals, citing the closure, along with concerns over whether layoffs had been made without proper notice to the state, clashes with unionization efforts and overall transparency.

A few days later, the CRC walked back that decision, granting the New York-headquartered MSO renewal of its annual licenses for manufacturing, cultivation and retail, with a few conditions.

Had the vote stood, Curaleaf would have been prohibited from selling adult-use cannabis at two of its three storefronts and impacted operations at both of its South Jersey cultivation facilities.