Green Thumb Industries workers at four New Jersey locations, including Hackettstown, vote to remove UFCW union
NEW JERSEY — Employees at Green Thumb Industries, a company that manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products, have voted to remove United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 as their union representative following a decertification election certified by the National Labor Relations Board.
According to the National Right to Work Foundation, the election result was certified Tuesday, nearly 21 months after employee Michael Potter, a lead warehouse technician, filed a petition seeking the vote on behalf of coworkers at four Green Thumb locations in New Jersey. Green Thumb also operates a location on Bilby Road in Hackettstown.
The foundation said approximately 270 employees were covered by the election, with workers voting 94-13 in favor of removing the union. Union officials challenged ballots cast by 74 additional employees, but the challenged ballots were not sufficient to affect the outcome, according to the foundation.
“The UFCW did not advance our interests here, and many of us believed we would be better off without them,” Potter said. “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.”
The National Right to Work Foundation said the union was originally recognized through a “card check” process rather than a secret-ballot election. The foundation contends that the process is susceptible to coercion and said workers sought the decertification vote to determine whether employees still wanted union representation.
According to the foundation, the decertification petition was filed in October 2024, and the election took place Nov. 7-8, 2024. The foundation said the vote count was delayed after UFCW Local 360 filed what are known as “blocking charges,” which postponed the counting of ballots while related issues were resolved. The ballots were ultimately counted on June 29, and the election was certified July 14.
“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,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix.
“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,” Mix added.
The National Labor Relations Board is the federal agency responsible for administering union certification and decertification elections and enforcing federal labor law. The story reflects claims made by the National Right to Work Foundation regarding the election and its outcome.
