A relatively new union at a Columbus east side cannabis dispensary remains on strike as they demand their corporate owner come back to the negotiating table to ink out a new contract. Herbal Wellness Center United or HWC United went on strike at the end of September, forcing their corporate bosses to shorten hours of operation and bring in scabs.

Out of Ohio’s 159 cannabis dispensaries only a handful have unionized, and this is the first time Ohio dispensary workers have gone on strike. Most dispensary workers, or “budtenders,” make between $14 to $20-an-hour.

HWC United organized with the help of local Teamsters 413 in 2023 not long before full legalization in Ohio was passed by a citizen-led amendment. Their busy medical dispensary was going to have far more customers and make a lot more money. That was predictable, and then they began hearing rumors their owner was looking to sell to a much larger corporation.

“We knew the direction things were going in. The store was probably going to be making a lot more money and we knew there was going to be a sale,” said Estlin Hiller, who helped form HWC United. “We really liked the store. We really liked the group of co-workers we had. We were hoping there would be a successorship established for the staff and terms of employment agreed upon.”

The sale did happen, with the Cincinnati-owned Strawberry Fields dispensary at 2950 East Main St. being bought by the Arizona-based Vext Science and renamed Herbal Wellness Center.

“Everybody had to reapply, and they kept about half the staff. And for everybody who was let go, we were able to negotiate with the old company for severance, which was a huge benefit,” said Hiller.

Hiller no longer works for the Herbal Wellness Center but remains a spokesperson and a supporter of the union he started, and rightfully so. Just before they took their vote to unionize, Strawberry Fields “brought in a union buster.”

“I had to go to court and get a restraining order against him. He kept trying to contact me after everything happened. I guess I got under his skin,” he said.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) helped the union carry over after the new corporate owners refused to voluntarily recognize its existence. Members also wanted a contract, something they didn’t have with Strawberry Fields. Full legalization had tripled the number of the dispensary’s daily customers (300 to 400 a day) and “tripled their workload,” says HWC United union steward Kismet Royce.

They began negotiations with Vext Science in August of 2024, and for several months there was progress. But it’s been contentious ever since, and negotiations broke down altogether.

“We’ve seen a lot of stalling during negotiations, a lot of pushing back,” said Royce. “And during this time, we’ve seen a lot of wrongful terminations and favoritism.”

She added, “Our strike is not economic, but we have seen discrimination when it comes to raises across the board. So, we are asking everything to be fair and equal.”

“This strike is to get this company back to the bargaining table and participate in good faith negotiation,” said Hiller. “They’re even stalling on some basic stuff. Successorship clauses in case the place would be bought out again. Sort of basic stuff that is standard in every union contract, and they’re pushing back.”

Vext Science owns cultivation facilities, manufacturing units, and dispensaries, and is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange (but based in Phoenix, AZ). It has told investors Ohio “is a major growth driver.” Fully legal or recreational sales was just over $700 million in its first year, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.   

“Like I said, our strike is not economic, but I feel Vext as a whole is extremely worried about the economic outlook of their company. And due to that, they’ve gone back and forth with us on a lot of proposals due to their worry about the cost, and less so worried about the employees’ welfare,” said Royce. “I think their projected economic outlook is favorable. Recreational in Ohio was a boom. We saw our transaction numbers almost triple. So Vext has seen their client base triple.”

The labor revolution after the pandemic – a mild revolution to be fair – motivated smaller groups of employees in retail and customer service to organize. Consider Wex Center United at the Wexner Center as a local example.

Now come “budtenders” who handle the day-to-day customer service operations (including weekends) of a new industry which just received good news from Gov. DeWine. He banned “intoxicating hemp” or Delta-8 sales. A move which no doubt will further fatten the profits of dispensaries, such as Herbal Wellness Center.

HWC United should be applauded for their moxie and courage to unionize and then strike when necessary. Certainly, their actions will inspire other smaller groups of employees to do the same.