Employees at Nature’s Care and Wellness, a medical cannabis dispensary in Cecil County, accused management of retaliation and intimidation after beginning efforts to unionize with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 27.
According to a statement released by the union on Monday, the dispensary’s owners, Angelica and Bobby Windsor, responded to the organizing campaign with “an aggressive campaign of threats, intimidation, and retaliation,” in violation of state and federal labor laws.
UFCW Local 27, which represents cannabis workers across Maryland, said staff at Nature’s Care and Wellness faced escalating pressure since launching their union effort. Workers allege they have been removed from schedules, threatened with termination for discussing the union outside of work hours, and warned that management could replace them with automated kiosks — actions the union says undermine patient care and workplace safety.
“These workers are resolved to form a union which is their federally protected right and the Windsors’ response is nothing less than blatant intimidation and harassment,” said UFCW Local 27 President Jason Chorpenning, in the press release. “We will not back down until every worker at Nature’s Wellness Care is treated with the dignity, respect, and fairness they have earned.”
Even prior to the union drive, the statement claims, the dispensary’s management engaged in “unlawful practices,” including diverting employee tips to managers, pressuring staff to make personal purchases and encouraging workers to upsell products to medical patients.
The union says it plans to pursue “every legal and direct action necessary” to protect workers’ rights and hold the dispensary accountable for any violations. “Nature’s Care and Wellness must stop this illegal retaliation immediately,” the release states. “The law is clear: workers have the right to organize without fear of intimidation, termination, or harassment.”
