[PRESS RELEASE] MECHANICSVILLE, Md., April 15, 2025 – Today, the staff of Story cannabis dispensary in Mechanicsville, Md. announced they have rejected a contract offer from their employer and have voted to authorize a strike to push for higher pay. Today’s announcement empowers the union bargaining committee to call a strike at a time of their choosing, but workers are not yet on strike at this time.

“We dedicate ourselves to this company and this community, and over the course of a year and a half of negotiations, Story has refused to hear us out on fair pay,” said Michael Conklin, who has worked at the Mechanicsville Story location for almost two years. “That’s why we voted to strike – because we deserve to have our voices heard in a growing industry, and we deserve to be able to provide for ourselves and our loved ones rather than a wage freeze.”

The workers are members of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union and have been negotiating their first collective bargaining agreement since unionizing in October 2023. In December, workers at the Hyattsville Story location also voted to unionize.

The staff are among several Maryland cannabis dispensaries that have recently unionized, including: the Apothecarium locations in Burtonsville and Cumberland; Sweetspot in Olney; Green Goods in Rockville; Potomac Holistics in Rockville; Zen Leaf locations in Germantown and Towson; PharmaCann Verilife Dispensary in Westminster; and MaryMed, LLC in Hurlock, among others.