“We all are very well aware that it was because we were unionizing.”
By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
Madison Taylor has spent the past eight days picketing outside her former workplace, Greenlight Dispensary in Springfield.
Two weeks ago, Taylor says she and a group of coworkers met outside of work to discuss forming a union. Days later, 12 employees who attended the meeting were fired, she said, after management accused them of consuming marijuana at work.
The workers contend the firings were retaliation for their union activity.
“My hope, at this moment, is to just continue speaking up for my coworkers’ rights, the industry workers as a whole, and making sure that our community continues to be aware of the predatory practices of this business,” Taylor told The Independent.
The firings came just one day before employees at another Greenlight dispensary, this one in Joplin, voted to 18-2 to unionize.
Both the Springfield and Joplin locations came under new management of “an entity affiliated with Good Day Farm” in March 2025, a Greenlight representative said in a statement to The Independent.
The Joplin workers began seeking representation from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2 after they saw the management change and new “top-down changes,” according to a press release announcing the September 18 election results.
“I love my job and the customers I get to help every day,” said Kelli Jones, a budtender at the Joplin Greenlight, in the union’s release, “and with a union, we will be able to serve them better. Job security at Greenlight is crucial for us.”
In Greenlight’s statement to The Independent, the company said regarding the Springfield employees’ claims, “We do not comment on personnel matters, but we take compliance matters very seriously.”
Regarding the Joplin union election, the statement said, “Greenlight respects employees’ right to decide whether they wish to be represented by a union. We will continue to provide great service and products to the people of Joplin.”
Joplin workers there will now begin negotiating for their first collective bargaining agreement, which they hope will include more consistent scheduling, equitable tip distribution and better pay.
“UFCW Local 2 is thrilled to welcome workers from Greenlight’s Joplin location into our union family,” said Chad Price, the union’s director of collective bargaining and retail servicing. “We commend these workers on their solidarity and commitment to improving their workplace, and we look forward to supporting them as they bargain their first contract.”
The Joplin vote comes on the heels of a busy summer of union activity for Missouri cannabis workers, including the ratification of three union contracts.
Taylor said she’s happy for her Joplin colleagues and is unsure why the group was able to successfully petition and her Springfield colleagues weren’t. She said one employee who attended the union meeting told management about the organizing effort later that day.
“On Monday evening, we found out that somebody that we decided to trust with that information decided to go against the best interests of the group and notify management,” she said. “And then Thursday at about noon, it was just one after another.”
Eleven employees received calls on September 17, Taylor said, saying they were terminated effective immediately. Another, she said, was fired a day later.
“We all are very well aware that it was because we were unionizing,” she said.
The workers have protested outside the Springfield dispensary every day since. Taylor said the demonstrations have been exhausting, particularly during stretches of hot weather, but union supporters have joined them in shifts.
“If I would have known that this would have happened, I think I still would have pursued it because this is such an important issue, and bud tenders matter,” Taylor said. “Our workers matter.”
She began working at Greenlight nearly two years ago. Before that, she worked at a Good Day Farm dispensary for almost two years, leaving because she said she considered it a “toxic environment.”
“For about two years, I watched some of the most dedicated, knowledgeable people in this industry get treated really poorly and just kind of get trampled on by Good Day and discarded like trash,” she said.
Asked about Taylor’s comment, a representative from Good Day Farm said the company does not comment on personnel matters.
Evan Arehart, a budtender at the Joplin Greenlight location, said the group’s election win will hopefully improve their workplace and “ensure the sustainability and success of Missouri’s cannabis industry.”
“With our union, my co-workers and I will have a say in how our tips are distributed, protection from corporate whims, and the ability to bargain for better wages,” Arehart said. “I love this industry and I want to see it thrive, which is why I’m proud to have a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions being made at Greenlight.”
This story was first published by Missouri Independent.
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