Green Thumb Industries cannabis workers vote to leave union (updated)

The basics:

• Green Thumb workers vote 94-13 to remove UFCW Local 360
• NLRB certified decertification results after nearly two-year delay
• About 270 employees at NJ dispensaries, production sites were covered
• Green Thumb said it respects employees’ decision, will work directly with staff

Workers at Green Thumb Industries-operated dispensaries and production sites in New Jersey have opted to end their union representation. The move follows a decertification election, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Workers voted nearly two years ago to remove the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 as their bargaining representative. However, the ballots were not immediately counted because of legal challenges filed afterward by union officials, the Virginia-based foundation said in a news release.

After recently resolving the issue, officials opened and counted the ballots June 29. Then, the National Labors Relations Board certified the results July 14, the foundation said.

Nearly two years ago, Green Thumb Industries lead warehouse technician, Michael Potter, began petitioning for a decertification election with the NLRB. He raised the matter on behalf of his coworkers at the multistate operator’s four locations across the New Jersey. Working with staff attorneys from the foundation, Potter sought to challenge so-called “card check” unionization campaigns. He claimed UFCW union bosses used these to pressure his coworkers.

According to the foundation, workers objected because a card-check process established the union, rather than a secret-ballot election. They believed the latter would have given employees a more private way to decide about union representation.

According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, the decertification election covered approximately 270 employees. Workers voted 94-13 in favor of removing the union.

UFCW officials challenged ballots cast by 74 additional employees but that did not affect the overall outcome, the foundation said.

‘Better off without them’

In a statement, Potter said, “The UFCW did not advance our interests here, and many of us believed we would be better off without them. This was our opportunity to exercise the right to a secret-ballot election, which was denied to us when the union was installed. We are grateful the votes were finally counted, and we have determined for ourselves what the majority of Green Thumb employees want.”

Mark Mix is president at National Right to Work Foundation. He added, “We are proud to have assisted the workers at Green Thumb Industries as they fought for their right to a secret-ballot election; however, workers should not have to wait the better part of two years just to have their votes counted.”

Mix went on, “This case demonstrates why the NLRB needs to take action to defend employees’ legal right to free themselves of unwanted unions, including by eliminating non-statutory rules, such as the current ‘blocking charge’ policy that lets union bosses trap workers in union ranks, no matter how overwhelming the opposition to the union is.”

Headquartered in Chicago, Green Thumb has 20 manufacturing facilities and 113 retail locations across 14 states.

Within New Jersey, it operates the dispensaries in Paterson, Bloomfield and Paramus. The MSO also has two manufacturing sites in Paterson and Hackettstown.

‘We respect the process’

In a statement to NJBIZ, a Green Thumb Industries spokesperson said, “Green Thumb respects the rights of our team members, including the right to choose whether or not to be represented by a union.

“Last week, the National Labor Relations Board counted the ballots in an election at Green Thumb’s New Jersey locations held nearly two years ago, and a decisive majority of union team members in the state voted against continued representation by UFCW Local 360. We respect the process and will continue to support our team’s decision. We look forward to working directly with our team members on the matter going forward,” they said.

Green Thumb respects the rights of our team members, including the right to choose whether or not to be represented by a union.
– Green Thumb Industries spokesperson

New Jersey’s cannabis laws require management to negotiate in good faith if workers seek union representation. As such, employees at several companies have unionized over the past three years. Representative groups include UFCW Local 152, UFCW Local 360 and Teamsters Local 469.

Honoring workers’ rights

“While this process has played out over the last two years, workers have come and gone at Green Thumb Industries. Throughout these years, UFCW Local 360 informed workers of their rights and represented them during this process,” a UFCW Local 360 spokesperson shared with NJBIZ. “We never want to see anyone lose the protections enshrined in a union contract, but we honor the workers’ right to determine their union representation. We will continue to support and fight for cannabis workers in New Jersey.”

Potter filed the initial petition back in October 2024. Shortly after, UFCW Local 360 Director of Organizing Hugh Giordano noted that his union “organized and negotiated a contract which was voted on by the members of GTI” that allows for pay raises, holiday pay and a “strong grievance procedure.”

He also said, “The organization pushing this decertification … is an out of state organization, which is anti-union and is funded by billionaires, who wish to destroy worker rights and labor unions. The UFCW will continue to stand and fight for our members at GTI and will work to educate them on the dangers of listening to far-right organizations which have no loyalty to the workers of New Jersey.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:38 p.m. July 15, 2026, with a statement from UFCW Local 360.