Eaze reaches deal with drivers’ union to avoid strike ahead of 4/20

California-based marijuana delivery company Eaze has reached an accord with hundreds of its delivery drivers as of Wednesday, which will put to rest fears of a possible strike in the lead-up to the cannabis holiday of April 20 this coming Saturday.

The company reached a “tentative agreement” with four chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, according to a press release from the union, which said the new deal for drivers “guarantees better pay, a fair process for reimbursement of the costs of operating their vehicles, hours of work, and a multitude of enforceable rights and protections on the job.”

Eaze workers are slated to vote on whether to ratify the deal later this week.

The union didn’t detail what Eaze had offered in its new agreement, but a previous sticking point was that the company reduced its mileage reimbursement rate for drivers to 40 cents, despite the federal recommendation of 67 cents. California state law mandates driver mileage reimbursement rates of at least 35 cents.

“It’s a relief to finally reach a middle ground with a contract that recognizes our costs and contributions,” said UFCW Local 135 bargaining committee member Kerry McCue in the release. “This agreement is going to have a real impact in actually improving Union member’s lives.”

Members of UFCW Locals 5, 324 and 770 were also represented during the negotiations, for a cumulative 600 Eaze drivers statewide, the union estimated.

Negotiations also had been ongoing for about nine months, the UFCW said, and earlier this month the union put the possibility of a strike on the table. Such a move could have financially crippled Eaze, given that April 20 has always been one of the biggest sales days in the U.S. marijuana industry, with this year’s likely to be even bigger given that it falls on a Saturday.

Eaze drivers who are also UFCW members said in the release that the strike threat was likely what helped them win concessions from the company.

“This contract improves everyone’s working conditions significantly and places us in an excellent position for the next fight,” Austin Williams, a delivery driver for Eaze and a member of UFCW Local 324, said in the release. “Our strike threat put them in a corner and got us more than they had been willing to offer.”

Eaze and parent company Stachs LLC are still facing several active unfair labor practice complaints filed by the UFCW since last year on behalf of its workers.

Eaze CEO Cory Azzalino said in an email to Green Market Report that he’s “pleased” at the outcome.

“We’re pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with UFCW, which we hope will be ratified in the coming weeks,” Azzalino wrote. “I want to thank our employees that took part in the bargaining committee who made their voices heard and we will work to implement their feedback to make Eaze an even better place to work. I also want to thank the UFCW team for negotiating an agreement that is fair for all parties involved. We look forward to their partnership over the coming years.”