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Hundreds of newly unionized workers in Chicago are now beginning to negotiate a first contract with their employers. But the process can take years.

"A lot of people running the industry don’t really seem to care about even just the culture and the benefits of cannabis, let alone their employees’ wellbeing," said a budtender at Curaleaf’s Weed Street dispensary in Goose Island.

Seeking higher pay, career advancement and better protection from the COVID-19 pandemic, cannabis workers from Chicago to Springfield have begun to unionize, planting a seed that could reshape the fast-growing marijuana labor landscape.

ROBERT CHANNICK Chicago Tribune The Illinois weed industry, fresh off surpassing $1 billion in revenue during its first year of recreational marijuana sales, may already be facing its “Norma Rae” moment of union awakening. Seeking higher pay, career advancement and better protection from the COVID-19 pandemic, cannabis workers from Chicago to Springfield have begun to unionize, planting a seed that could reshape the fast-growing marijuana labor landscape. “The industry has unfortunately just provided jobs, and not the well-paying careers that we all thought cannabi...

Tom Schuba/Sun-Times Employees of a Weed Street dispensary slammed their “corporate overlords” on Wednesday for allegedly pushing back against their unionization push — though it’s unclear who’s currently running the pot shop in Goose Island. During a news conference Wednesday outside Windy City Cannabis, 923 W. Weed St., two workers said they’re organizing to fight for better wages and bonuses, added job security and considerations to keep workers safe amid the pandemic. “We’re in the middle of a terrible recession and workers are always the people who are going to face the ...