Green Collar Workers: Why the Cannabis Industry Needs a Labor Movement

When people talk about the "green rush" of the cannabis industry, they often focus on dispensary owners, venture capitalists, and brand founders raking in millions. But behind every glitzy marketing campaign and slick dispensary counter, there’s an invisible workforce making it all happen. These "green collar workers" — the growers, trimmers, budtenders, lab techs, and delivery drivers — are the backbone of the cannabis industry. And they need a labor movement.

I learned this the hard way. Years ago, when I first dipped my toes into the cannabis industry, I worked as a trimmer during harvest season in Northern California. The pay was cash-only, the "workplace" was a makeshift shed, and breaks were whenever the grower remembered we existed. Some days we'd trim for twelve hours straight, fingers sticky with resin, necks and backs aching. No overtime, no benefits, no HR department. And yet, it was one of the few jobs available in that rural area that paid enough to keep a roof over your head.

Fast forward to today, and not much has changed for a lot of cannabis workers. Despite the industry's explosive growth — projected to top $50 billion nationally in just a few years — many workers still operate in a legal gray zone when it comes to labor rights. Without federal legalization, cannabis employees are often excluded from traditional labor protections. That leaves them vulnerable to wage theft, unsafe working conditions, sudden layoffs, and discrimination with little recourse.

In California alone, there have been dozens of cases where workers were exposed to unsafe levels of pesticides with no safety training or protective gear. In emerging markets like Oklahoma and New Jersey, "contractor" status is slapped on workers to skirt minimum wage laws. And in nearly every state, cannabis employees are usually left out of broader discussions about workplace rights and protections.

A labor movement could change that.

Unions like the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) have started to make inroads, offering cannabis workers collective bargaining rights, workplace safety standards, and job security. But the movement is still young, and it needs to grow fast if it’s going to keep up with the breakneck speed of industry expansion.

It's not just about fair wages and safer workplaces, either. It's about dignity. Cannabis workers are often treated like they’re easily replaceable, their work seen as "unskilled" — despite the fact that growing, processing, and selling cannabis legally requires a deep knowledge of regulations, customer service, botany, and more. They deserve the same respect — and rights — as any other skilled workforce.

The "green rush" should benefit everyone, not just those at the top. If we don’t build protections for workers now, the cannabis industry risks repeating the mistakes of other American industries that put profits over people.

I often think back to those endless days in the trimming shed. We laughed, we bonded, we took pride in our work. But we also knew — deep down — that we were invisible to the outside world. Today, cannabis workers are stepping into the light, demanding to be seen, heard, and valued.

It’s time the cannabis industry listens.