Cannabis Workers and Labor Rights: The Industry's Most Overlooked Crisis
Cannabis is one of the fastest-growing industries in the US — and one of the least unionized. A new report documents wage theft, unsafe conditions, and the barriers workers face in organizing.
Marcus Williams
Policy & Advocacy Director, Cannabis Dispensary
The cannabis industry employs an estimated 440,000 full-time workers in the United States — more than the coal mining industry. It is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the American economy. It is also one of the least regulated from a labor perspective, and workers face a distinctive set of challenges that have received far less attention than the industry's business and policy dimensions.
The Wage and Hour Problem
Wage theft is endemic in the cannabis industry. A 2024 survey by the Cannabis Workers Coalition found that 38% of cannabis workers reported experiencing wage theft in the previous 12 months — including unpaid overtime, illegal tip pooling, and failure to pay minimum wage. The cash-intensive nature of many cannabis businesses creates opportunities for wage theft that are difficult to document and prosecute.
The problem is compounded by the industry's federal legal status. Cannabis workers cannot file complaints with the National Labor Relations Board because the NLRA does not protect workers in federally illegal industries — a legal gray area that has been exploited by some employers. State labor law protections apply, but enforcement resources are limited.
Occupational Health and Safety
Cannabis cultivation and processing workers face significant occupational health risks that are poorly understood and inadequately regulated. Pesticide exposure is a major concern: cannabis is not covered by the EPA's pesticide tolerance regulations that apply to food crops, and some states have approved pesticides for cannabis use that are not approved for food crops. Workers in cultivation facilities report respiratory symptoms, skin irritation, and other health effects that have not been systematically studied.
The Unionization Movement
Despite these challenges, cannabis workers are organizing. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has been the most active union in the cannabis space, representing workers at dispensaries and cultivation facilities in multiple states. The Teamsters have organized delivery drivers in several markets. But union density in the cannabis industry remains below 5% — far lower than comparable retail and food processing industries.
The barriers to organizing are significant: high turnover, fear of retaliation, and the industry's rapid growth mean that many workplaces are constantly cycling through new employees who have not had time to build the relationships that organizing requires.