Elkins Park Restore workers to join UFCW 1776 union – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Restore’s Elkins Park location opened about five years ago, but since there is a high turnover of retail workers, Robert Franco, with only two years of service, is one of the most senior employees.

Franco began working part-time at $15 an hour, and is now earning $18.50 an hour as a full-time employee. He’s offered health insurance, but it’s a limited plan with few doctors in the region. It’s from the for-profit giant United Healthcare.

Cannabis industry insiders say it’s the only health insurance company willing to underwrite group policies for a business that’s still illegal on the federal level. That same reality means 401K retirement plans are off the table for cannabis business employees too.

UFCW Local 1776 union president Wendell Young said that total compensation for unionized cannabis workers is typically about 30 percent higher than non-unionized workers when healthcare benefits and retirement plans are factored in.

Dispensary workers at Restore are expected to cross train as janitors, security officers, inventory specialists, and retail sales cashiers for a starting wage of $17 an hour, but are often denied overtime and holiday pay, employees say. There are no sales bonuses either.

Lindsay Alston is 31 years old and has a college…