HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3395        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3710

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Steven C. Owens

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to facilitate the unionization of the cannabis workforce.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3395        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3710

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act to facilitate the unionization of the cannabis workforce.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 94G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Independent testing laboratory” the following definition:-

"Labor peace agreement", an agreement between a marijuana establishment and a labor organization that protects the parties' interests by, at minimum, allowing union agents to inform and communicate with employees of a marijuana establishment about their labor rights including, but not limited to, the right to form a union without interference from the employer in exchange for prohibiting the labor organization from engaging in picketing, work stoppages or boycotts against the marijuana establishment; provided, that a labor peace agreement shall contain a clause that the parties agree that final and binding arbitration shall be the exclusive remedy for a violation of the agreement.

"Labor organization", any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work; provided, that a labor organization shall: (1) elect officers by a secret ballot or otherwise in a manner consistent with federal law; (2) not receive improper assistance or support from a marijuana establishment and shall be free of domination or inference by a marijuana establishment; (3) actively seek to represent employees of a marijuana establishment; and (4) be an affiliate of a nation federation of unions, including, but not limited to the AFL-CIO.

SECTION 2. Subsection (b) of section 5 of said chapter 94G, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding following paragraph:-

(5) the prospective marijuana establishment has entered into, maintained and abided by the terms of a labor peace agreement; provided, that the prospective marijuana establishment shall submit an attestation signed by both the applicant and the labor organization stating that the applicant meets the requirements of this paragraph. A labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition of a license. A violation of a labor peace agreement, established exclusively through arbitration, may result in suspension, revocation or denial of a license.

SECTION 3. Section 6 of said chapter 94G, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following 2 subsections:-

(c) As part of a marijuana establishment’s renewal application, a marijuana establishment shall submit an attestation signed by both the applicant and the labor organization stating that the marijuana establishment has entered into, maintained and abided by the terms of a labor peace agreement.

(d) A violation of a labor peace agreement may result in the denial of the renewal of a license.