UFCW is first to unionize cannabis retailers in Quebec

Montreal – December 10, 2018 – UFCW Canada is proud to announce that applications to represent employees at SQDC cannabis retail locations in both Rosemont and Rimouski, Quebec have been certified by Quebec’s Administrative Labour Tribunal (Tribunal administratif du travail, or TAT). The two new bargaining units make UFCW the first union to represent workers in Quebec's emerging cannabis sector. Rosemont was certified on December 7, and Rimouski on November 26.

Workers at the SQDC cannabis retail locations look to UFCW as the union for cannabis workers and its proven record to negotiate collective agreements in the sector that:

• meet the needs of workers;
• are responsive to the specific nature of retail employment;
• offer optimal working conditions and equal treatment for different categories of workers;
• provide adequate working hours negotiated for all categories of workers where "flexibility" is not synonymous with "precariousness";
• provide benefits that facilitate work-life balance, and
• include negotiated group insurance and pension plans.

The new members at the SQDC branches join forces with more than 40,000 UFCW members at more than 650 businesses across Quebec. UFCW Quebec Provincial Council President Antonio Filato is pleased with the Tribunal's decision and looks forward to meeting with the new members to develop their bargaining proposals and begin negotiations with the employer. "The strength and resources of UFCW will provide the new SQDC members with all the tools they need to improve their working conditions and achieve their goals," says Filato.

To find out more about Canada's union for Cannabis workers, visit www.cannabisworkerscanada.ca.