Pubdate: Mon, 07 Dec 2015 Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775 Author: Trish Kelly LIQUOR WORKERS WILL ROLL IN MARIJUANA MONEY Last week, the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) and the B.C. Private Liquor Store Association (BCPLSA) announced a partnership to advocate for the sale of marijuana for recreational use at liquor stores across B.C. by Christmas next year. The union and private retailers' association noted the existing liquor distribution and retail system in B.C. already offers a disciplined retail environment that is age-restricted, with all the right infrastructure to sell this additional option for hedonists. Between the two organizations, it's a pretty compelling endorsement. Marijuana activists have to be miffed. After decades of fighting to dispel the stigma and challenge the criminality of pot use, at the expense of their credibility and even freedom, finally, here comes legalization and legitimacy. And now, their just reward, legit taxable income, could be co-opted by these squares in liquor distribution. As sad as the trailblazers will be if this push is successful, it does make sense that liquor stores handle pot sales as well. B.C. seems to be okay with cigarettes being sold in neighbourhood convenience stores, as long as they are masked behind unsubtle shelving units, but pot could do better for itself in a retail liquor store environment. Suddenly all the best marketing tools are on the table: cool package design, brand names with puns, buy-one-get-one deals. And just think of the cross-merchandizing opportunities with snacks. The BCGEU, which already represents 3,800 workers at almost 200 government stores, must be quite pleased with itself for forging a relationship with BCPLSA, a business association that represents almost 700 retail stores, with thousands of employees. These workers aren't unionized. Not yet anyway. But as BCGEU and BCPLSA cosy up, they have to be crunching the numbers. A juicy new revenue source with good margins could pay for unionized wages. And why not? If we're going to legalize it, why not unionize it? Plenty of B.C.ers work in the black market pot industry, where they're vulnerable to exploitation from criminal elements or at the mercy of crappy bosses who know their employees have no legal recourse. As we daylight the pot economy, let's do more than just raise tax revenue. Let's protect the workers along the pot supply chain, right through to those who vend it. To the trailblazers who got us to this point, where a Canadian Prime Minister can follow through on a promise to make it legal, I say mad props. You fought the good fight, and you were right. Your rewards will not be riches, but you gave birth to a new generation of living wage jobs for Vancouver, that's gotta be its own kind of high. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt