Monday, May 9, 2011

Woo-hoo! Another Teamster organizing victory in MI

A warm welcome to 23 new Teamsters who work for a medical marijuana compassion center in Michigan. Twenty-two employees of Blue Water Compassion submitted signed cards, and the center agreed to recognize the Teamsters as a bargaining unit.

Our new Teamster brothers and sisters  provide customer support for their customers – patients and primary caregivers – who use the business to cultivate and learn about medical marijuana.

Mark Sochacki, a safety and protection co-coordinator, said he's excited to be represented by the Teamsters. He said,
I look forward to having a negotiated contract that provides job security and workplace protections.

Our new brothers and sisters at Blue Water.
Here's what Greg Nowak, president of Local 1038, had to say:
We are confident that our union will be able to negotiate a strong contract on behalf of the workers at Blue Water Compassion Center. We have listened to what their concerns are and look forward to working with them. 
The Brown City Banner reported that medical marijuana centers created a bit of controversy in one of the towns where Blue Water Compassion operates. But it explains,
Medical marijuana was approved by 63 percent of Michigan voters in 2008. The state is one of 14 that has legalized medical marijuana. A qualifying patient must be diagnosed by a physician to have a debilitating medical condition and must have a medical card to purchase or use medical marijuana.