Equity Rising S2 : Episode 8
cannabis worker equity
with cody funderburk
Union organizer and cannabis researcher, columnist, and consultant Cody Funderburk works to leverage the strength of many to push back on the few: the white- and male-owned structures of the cannabis industry.
Cody can talk terpenes, cannabinoids, and deep cannabis research with the best of them, but this important conversation centers on current and very important movements happening in Seattle around cannabis workers.
We urge all those who partake in cannabis and/or those who are watching as issues arise and become more known to visit Cody's site and learn more about their work.
You should also check out Ponder, where Cody works with Black and BIPOC people as well as queer, trans, and non-binary people to create an equitable and expansive cannabis marketplace.
In lieu of a Chime-In today, we're asking YOU to chime in and use your voice for change, for equity, and for workers.
This episode was produced by Julia Drachman & TraeAnna Holiday, edited by Alex Place, and mastered by Josh Berl. Description was written by Laura Cassidy. Transcribed by Susan Moskwa.
Transcript
Erika Hope 00:00
Hi, this is Erika Hope from Equity Rising. Today instead of sharing the Chime-In that introduces you to today's guests and helps you understand why they're a changemaker, we want to encourage *you* to be a changemaker. Just like the workers at Ponder, we encourage you to take a stand at spreading equity by sharing this podcast with friends, family and coworkers. We challenge you to tell three people about Equity Rising. Forward them this episode; post it on social media; you can even rate and review the show on your favorite platform. So make your own Chime-In this week and help us spread the word about Equity Rising. We are all part of the solution and informing people is the first step to making change. Thanks for tuning in.
TraeAnna Holiday 00:41
Thank you so much for tuning in today to Equity Rising, Season Two. I'm your host, Trae Holiday, and joining me today is Cody Funderburk. I'm so excited because we keep spotlighting amazing local equity changemakers doing great work. And Cody is definitely addition to that amazing list. Thank you so much, Cody, for joining me today!
Cody Funderburk 01:02
Yes, for sure. Thank you for having me.
TraeAnna Holiday 01:04
Absolutely. And so Cody, I want to dive into this because, y'know, we love to start our podcast off, and we ask every guest First Things First: how are you taking care of yourself?
Cody Funderburk 01:16
Yes, that's such an important question. For me recently, that's been my entire objective. I had an accident in August, where I broke my knee in a skateboarding accident; I had to have surgery to have it fixed. So for the past several months, I've been in post-operative care, just trying to get enough sleep, eating right, taking care of myself. I've been in physical therapy full-time. So taking care of myself has been my primary objective since... for the past several months at least.
TraeAnna Holiday 01:44
Well, you know what, I'm glad to hear that. And honestly, y'know, sometimes we need something to shake us up before we really start to prioritize self-care. So I'm sad to hear about your knee but glad to hear about, on the other side of that, you're really being intentional about self-care.
Cody Funderburk 02:01
Thank you. Thank you.
TraeAnna Holiday 02:02
Absolutely. It's really important. And, y'know, I mean, we have talked about cannabis equity here on Equity Rising in Season One. We had a couple of guests who really were speaking about the ways that their organizations were involved in some cannabis equity across the nation. So I'm really happy to be able to sit down with you and get an insight as to how it's being done here in Seattle and beyond, and throughout King County. One of the things that I know closely is that the union, UFCW Local 21, has been a leader in terms of saying, one of the things that they can do as a union organization is to start unionizing and organizing the labor force and the workers. And you're really involved in that effort. Let's start at the beginning for you, Cody. How has this been for you? I mean, let's talk about your entry into the cannabis industry.
Cody Funderburk 03:02
Yeah, so I entered the cannabis industry right out of college. It was my first job after graduating from Evergreen State College. I actually studied cannabis business at Evergreen, so the field of work definitely aligns with my field of study. And in the business of cannabis, specifically because it was oriented around Washington State, and I-502, I learned a lot about the equity challenges that is being faced with the cannabis industry in Washington right now. Specifically how, like, for example, less than 1% of cannabis businesses in Washington are owned by people of color. It's pretty much exclusively white men that run the cannabis industry. So that was one of the things that I was aware of going into it. And then as soon as I started working in cannabis, I got to see these challenges firsthand. Yeah, it's been — to answer your question, it's been an uphill battle, for sure, ever since we decided to unionize. I worked at Pondor for about three years before we even talked about starting a union. What prompted our decision to unionize was really the COVID struggle. Retail workers in Washington State were being granted specific protections like hazard pay, for example, especially in grocery retail spaces. And in cannabis we did not have hazard pay; we were working without health care, without dental care; so we were tremendously lacking just, like, basic quality-of-life protections that people would expect to have at their workplace. And that specifically affected, I mean, pretty much all of our employees at Ponder are people from marginalized backgrounds: a lot of Black people, a lot of queer people, people of color in general, make up the majority of our staff at Ponder. So for us to lack these workplace protections while people like owners are making money off of this business. It — you know, it really like shed a light or spotlighted specifically how these equity challenges are real and affect our day-to-day lives.
TraeAnna Holiday 05:00
I mean, absolutely they do. And I think it really does take champions of these issues to make sure that the masses understand the inequality, right, that's built into them.
Cody Funderburk 05:10
Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 05:11
I always say it's about capitalism, but I think it goes so far beyond that because, honestly, y'know, if you're an owner of a business, you really do have the authority to choose how that business is going to run. And the ways that you care for your workers is really on you. It's up to you. And unfortunately, the ideas around, y'know, profit over people, we've seen time and time again how that has, you know, unfortunate results for the people moreso than anything.
Cody Funderburk 05:41
Exactly.
TraeAnna Holiday 05:42
And so, yeah, it really does take champions like yourself to start understanding these things and putting it out there in the forefront. What about all of this work, in terms of your personal experience as a cannabis worker, made you say, You know what, like, here we are with COVID, no hazard pay, y'know, I can't wait for somebody else to do something. I've gotta be one of the people that is going to help lead this. What was it about that for you that made you really step up in this tremendous way?
Cody Funderburk 06:11
Well, honestly, it was really a collective effort between me and my co-workers. It was something that — it was an idea that had been pitched around for a while. Like, We should join a union; this workplace isn't as equitable and as fair as we'd like for it to be and we have the power to change that. So it was really just... I mean, the planning stages kind of took a long time; it's really been a long sort of arduous process, especially as far as the legality is concerned. But yeah, our decision to just start the union itself was kind of a collective decision between several of us because we all were on the same page, and we all felt the same way.
TraeAnna Holiday 06:46
Mmhm. And a lot of the times these kinds of things have to happen with others involved, right? You build relationships outside of the workplace in order to make this happen. How has it been for you and other workers there at Ponder to start connecting with UFCW Local 21?
Cody Funderburk 07:05
Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I mean, camaraderie is the most important thing in any social movement. It's the fuel for the fire, if you will. So UFCW has streamlined that process for us and made it really easy for us to get in touch with other workers at other cannabis shops that are having similar struggles, and then also collaborate so that we can go on strike together, we can raise awareness to the challenges that we're experiencing together. And then 'cuz, y'know, we are united as a cannabis workforce, as bud tenders. And we really do have a collective enemy here in this battle, which is the minority homogenous white male demographic that owns and operates cannabis as it exists in Washington right now.
TraeAnna Holiday 07:49
Yeah. Understanding that collectivity I think is so key to this, because I'm always saying that, y'know, when we think about the power of social justice movements, or equity work in general, it takes the voice of so many people to come together to really build that collective power. And that's one of the things that I really appreciate about the unionized movement, right? When it comes to labor, there's always been this. And, you know, in Black community in particular we talk about how, y'know, labor industries haven't always been inclusive of Black folks, right? There was even some history there, dark history, around unionizing that was exclusive [of] Black folks. But what I love about what's happening now is that the workers come together in a diverse set of backgrounds to really understand that they're all fighting for something that is similar, right?
Cody Funderburk 08:39
Yes.
TraeAnna Holiday 08:40
Oftentimes, it is really just to be able to be treated fairly in the workforce. And so much of what I think we see nowadays, even outside of cannabis, is that there's a hard driver between, y'know, the ones who are profiting off of workers and their labor and their time commitments, and the ones that are actually on the ground doing the work. And there's almost always such a huge distinction between how the two are living.
Cody Funderburk 09:11
Exactly.
TraeAnna Holiday 09:11
And, you know, you think about somebody who's got the yachts and the vacation homes and all this, and then you think about a worker who's like, Man, I'm just trying to get my vacation, right? I'm just trying to —
Cody Funderburk 09:21
Right. Pay rent.
TraeAnna Holiday 09:21
And that may mean I'm staycationing; I'm just in the house or something because I don't have the money to go off and, y'know, be in this vacation home or whatever.
Cody Funderburk 09:30
Exactly.
TraeAnna Holiday 09:31
Yeah, so the ideas about the difference of life, I think is super important and key when we're talking about these distinctions. What are some of the things that you and other workers have been able to kind of bond over as you guys have been going through this process together and really going through this struggle together?
Cody Funderburk 09:49
Right. So our main three things were, as I mentioned, our lack of health care, but then also a lack of a real pay scale or a pay structure. When I started working at Ponder I got annual raises, but as far as I'm aware, the new hires at Pondor aren't getting annual raises. So we've had that conversation. We've had conversations on pay and equity. And that was one of the things that we were looking forward to, with UFCW 21, is being able to say, We want to have a fair and equitable pay scale, so that we understand, y'know, what's going on here. And then the third is unjust firings: protection against unjust firings. When I — so, right before we started unionizing, one of our co-workers was unjustly terminated, just because of like, he missed one shift, basically. And it was a shift that he wasn't even scheduled to work originally; it was just, like, brought up to him, like, Will you cover this shift? And then he missed it. I think he just forgot; it was an accident. And they fired him over that one incident. So we really wanted to have protection against unjust firings so that we can have stability in our workplaces and feel that we had like a solid source of income, y'know what I'm saying?
TraeAnna Holiday 11:00
Yeah.
Cody Funderburk 11:00
So, yeah, that was the three main things that we were looking for. And what's funny is after we started unionizing, the owner of the store decided to terminate three of my co-workers. So that left us incredibly short-staffed. It was in retaliation, of course, to our decision to unionize. And that was at the same time that I was laid off from my position as a columnist. So in addition to bud tending, and medical cannabis consulting at Ponder, I also would write columns for the store website, and for the Madison Park Times, a local newspaper. And so because the owner decided that he was going to close the store, he fired three of my co-workers and then decided to pause marketing materials, which basically meant that I was laid off from my position as a columnist. So we experienced a lot of retaliation there, and it was in direct opposition to our main goals, which was a protection against unjust firings, right? So, yeah, that was one of the main challenges that we've experienced so far, 'cause we are still short-staffed to this day, we are lacking adequate staff.
TraeAnna Holiday 12:07
Y'know, this is really one of the parts, I say... y'know, it's almost like a rose growing out of the concrete, right, where it's like through these struggles, together, you all are collectivizing your voices and making sure that you are setting a foundation for yourselves, but also for future workers at Ponder. But it sets a precedence. And one of the things I wanna talk to you about is how, y'know, these kinds of protections are not inherently built into the cannabis industry. By far they're not. This is something that I know UFCW Local 21 has experienced on a mass scale, whether it's Ponder or it's, y'know, other shops, like now Have a Heart is unionized. We've heard about stories from Uncle Ike's. When we think about it, though, this is something that is, like, nationally known. As the cannabis industry became legal, there wasn't any, you know, built-in protections for workers at the gate, right? So then it was left up to individual shop owners to decide how they were gonna do this, and more often than not, they chose not to do it at all, right?
Cody Funderburk 13:17
Right.
TraeAnna Holiday 13:17
Not to allow for unionization, to keep it at a privatization. And then that meant that they had the power, really, with how the, you know, structure was gonna be for workers. So I think that this is also really setting a precedence, Cody, around, y'know, how cannabis industry is now looking at doing business a little bit differently. And as you guys collectively pull your struggle together and allow your voices to be like one loud collective voice, have you guys been thinking about how this actually sets a major tone for the industry in itself?
Cody Funderburk 13:52
Absolutely yes. So the cannabis industry, the legal cannabis industry, is perfectly poised to serve as a model for equity and as a way to provide reparations to communities, marginalized demographics, that were unfairly impacted under the war on drugs for the past century, up until the past — up until legalization, basically. And it's unfortunate that the cannabis industry hasn't done that yet, and that it's actually served as a model sort of the opposite, or the antithesis, of that. So yes, I mean, that is like an incredibly important conversation and a really big part of this is how this sort of [levels] the playing field, if that makes sense, in our favor; and yeah, promotes equity. Yes.
TraeAnna Holiday 14:39
Y'know, this is exactly why I love the term "equity changemaker": because it can mean so many different things. And here for our team over at Equity Rising, you know, we get so excited when we talk to folks like yourselves because we realize even more the expansive nature that equity has. And I think every episode I say, Look, equity wasn't built into anything on purpose, right? So now we have to purposely build it into everything. And that's kind of what I love: it's like a constant throughline, no matter who I'm talking with, that there is a real intentionality that has to happen at this moment in order for us to understand the infusion of equity into all industries. And I think that it's important when we talk about some of the ways that we do this. I think there's, again, a wide variety; you have to be on the ground doing work. And we do that at King County Equity Now by, you know, we were part of all these protest movements, doing events and actually being on the ground to educate our community members on some of the injustices, much of which was never taught in schools. So then people don't even understand, y'know, how equity needs to be infused into everything right now. They're just now really waking up to those ideas.
Cody Funderburk 15:52
Right.
TraeAnna Holiday 15:53
Corporate America is kind of playing its role in a sense of, you know, everybody now has to have a DEI, y'know, framework or a DEI component to their job or to their company or corporation, right?
Cody Funderburk 16:06
Yes.
TraeAnna Holiday 16:06
But it became kind of catchy. And so sometimes I'm like, Hey, is it performative? Or are you really looking to do something? Or are you just jumping on the bandwagon because it exists?
Cody Funderburk 16:17
Exactly.
TraeAnna Holiday 16:17
And, yeah, when it comes to cannabis, you are so right. When you say that cannabis had the opportunity to really infuse equity in the beginning. They didn't do it, so now it's, like, gotta be done in a wide variety of ways; not just at the local level with what you guys are doing, but I know you guys are also looking at policy and legislation, and moving this kind of stuff forward. Can you tell us a little bit about that work and how the work you're doing in the store then permeate new policy and legislation in the cannabis industry?
Cody Funderburk 16:47
Sure, yeah. So our main goal is ownership and promoting ownership within cannabis. That's extremely important to leveraging power and creating, like, an equal and fair power dynamic. And so in order for us to do that, we... first of all, we want to have more licenses available for cannabis retailers in Seattle, specifically for Black people, or people in general from marginalized backgrounds who were impacted negatively under the war on drugs. Maybe even, ideally, specifically people with past cannabis criminal convictions. Right? That is one of the most important things. Yeah, that is the most important thing, honestly, is promoting ownership within cannabis. And then also using tax money from the cannabis industry to promote social equity programs. That's another important component.
TraeAnna Holiday 17:36
Yeah, there's such a huge push right now. You know, the... Washington State had the Cannabis Equity Task Force, and they recently, y'know, released their recommendations, right, for the state. And I remember I was on a call, and they were sharing some of their recommendations, kind of what they were gonna be taking to Governor Inslee, and, you know, there were so many different community members who were a part of that call in the short period that they allowed public comment. And so many folks were saying, This is not enough. You know, what you guys are trying to do — — it's just pennies in the bucket, really. It is small, small efforts. And it really dwindled down. Because originally, there were so many people that were involved in the beginning of the recommendations to say, Y'know what, we actually need *this* amount of licenses. They were talking about doing it in the hundreds, you know, to make sure that the equity was coming off the bat; and then it got whittled down over time and I'm not sure why, necessarily, because there's such a strong community voice of advocates who have come together, who have been experts in cannabis industry since the beginning, that have also, like you said, been shut out from that ownership piece, also since the beginning. And so the ideas of opening up the recreational licenses, thinking about social equity licensing, just like they've done in like Oakland, they've done social equity licensing in other areas of the country.
Cody Funderburk 18:11
Yes. Yes.
TraeAnna Holiday 18:17
And we have a lot to learn from in that regard. In the first season of Equity Rising we were able to speak to Raeven, who gave us a first look into what it actually means to be one of the first people out there in Oakland that was a recipient of a social equity license. But they paired these — really it was like Black-owned businesses, but like you say, those from the global majority, and those who have been, y'know, primarily the targets of the war on drugs and dealt with it in a negative impact on their lives — but they were able to take those social equity licensees and connect them with a major industry owner, right, who's in the cannabis industry, who is thriving in their business, and do a mentorship program, right? Where they were saying, These guys need that help, they need to understand, get the connections, when it comes to wholesaling, when it comes to where they're getting materials, all of that; and setting these businesses up for success, right?
Cody Funderburk 19:09
Right. Yes
TraeAnna Holiday 20:04
And it's the job of the mentor to ensure that the mentee is really getting all of the nuts and bolts that they have gotten over their understanding and lifecycle in the cannabis industry, to make sure that these businesses are thriving. And so I said, Man, y'know, that's an amazing program. I wonder what it would take for us to understand that we need to be doing that here in Washington.
Cody Funderburk 20:27
Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 20:28
There's so much more room to grow, when we think about the policy and legislation, with regard to opening up the ownership of licenses. And then understanding the ancillary businesses, I think, which is also key to this, because everything may not be about owning a marijuana shop; it may be having a CBD business or, y'know, doing something around wholesaling —
Cody Funderburk 20:50
Producing and processing. Yes.
TraeAnna Holiday 20:52
Exactly. So as you have been, y'know, now really steeped into it — and shout out to Dr. Maxine Mimms, who founded Evergreen State College; shout out to her that you went there, and their vast programming is just amazing and phenomenal — but really, there's a lot of work to be done. So this is like a step in the right direction that you guys are taking. As you think about this, kind of futuristically speaking, what are some of the things that you're really gunning for and hoping for that your efforts either spark some change, ignite something else, allow this to flourish in the ways that we're just describing?
Cody Funderburk 21:29
Yeah, so of course, promoting ownership and equity, but then also inspiring other social movements that can do the same thing. As you touched on in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area, they have a lot of really good nonprofit organizations that are working to promote social equity within cannabis. And just like UFCW Local 21, we have that here too, but we can inspire more of that. And we can see more of that over time by really pushing this initiative and pushing this... these talking points. It's incredibly important.
TraeAnna Holiday 21:59
Yeah, I mean, this is such important work, not just for the region, but I think sometimes when people think about cannabis, and they think about Washington State, they used to say Washington State had the best cannabis. Right? We had the best weed, the best product, right? Coming right here from out of Washington. And there would be this whole battle between Oh, is it California? Is it Washington? And you can hear it infused in hip-hop music; I mean, it was just infused in a lot of different ways where they would be having this battle, right? And so it's really interesting, because as I talk to people across the nation, the idea that in Washington State we're having to fight so hard for this kind of equity in cannabis, is unbeknownst to most people. They're like, What?? You know —
Cody Funderburk 22:44
Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 22:45
We just knew that you guys were getting it right. And we have this outlook that we're so liberal, and so forward-thinking, that the idea is that, no, we're really struggling when it comes to that; we're struggling when it comes to ownership. Have you also experienced some of that bewilderment around people understanding, man, it takes folks like you to make this happen?
Cody Funderburk 23:05
For sure, definitely. I think some people they kind of anticipated, just given the demographics of Washington State as a whole. But even still, there is so much — I mean, Seattle is a very equity-minded place compared to most other places throughout the US, so I think it does take people by surprise sometimes to learn that it's so skewed here, you know?
TraeAnna Holiday 23:25
Yeah. It really is and, as I think about you and your personal lived experience, what are some of the things that you've gone through personally, that — maybe even as a young child — that made you now understand, Oh, man, you know, the struggles that I dealt with there gave me, y'know, the confidence and the courage to step out and champion this issue right now? Are there any connections that you can make to your childhood that really put you in a proper position to do what you're doing now in terms of your leadership?
Cody Funderburk 23:58
I suppose, yeah. So when I started using cannabis, when I was like a teenager, it was kind of like, my fun little, like, side thing that I liked to do. And at a certain point when I was studying cannabis business in college, and I was learning about the discrepancies and, you know, penalization, and sentencing in the war on drugs, I realized: if I had lived my life the way I have right now, as a person of color, I would have been in jail, probably; and gotten arrested for cannabis use at some point, you know, in late high school or early college. And I realized just how much privilege I have. And that really made me want to do something with it, right? And take action and change that.
TraeAnna Holiday 24:40
Yeah. You know, I think you're absolutely right, Cody. I mean, this is an opportunity for lessons for us all. And when I think about it, you know, just as a Black woman, there's so many things that I've seen in my lifetime that really get me to understand the need for the collection of voices. When I think about equity, oftentimes I always say, you know, it's not a Black or White issue; like, it's an all... an American issue; like, we need to —
Cody Funderburk 25:08
For sure.
TraeAnna Holiday 25:09
— deal with, you know, the confines of the past and really bring it out to bear so that we can deal with it. And we can actually create new norms that will allow for us to have the building blocks that are necessary for us to see amazing change. But this is really what it's about. And I think that there's ways that we can make sure that our public and our communities are engaged in this, whether they're in cannabis work or not. What are some of the ways that you think that the everyday citizen can just participate to make sure their voice is a part of this collective?
Cody Funderburk 25:45
Absolutely. Well, unfortunately in Washington it's really hard for consumers to support Black-owned cannabis businesses because as we've discussed, there aren't many. That would be one of the most convenient and effective ways is just to directly financially support Black-owned businesses. I think at this point, there are enough dispensaries that are joining the unionization effort that supporting financially dispensaries with workers that are collectivizing and unionizing is one of the most intelligent steps right now. Because it empowers those workers to continue making those changes.
TraeAnna Holiday 26:21
Yeah, I agree with you. And I think it's about education. And this is something for me where I say, the more that the everyday citizen is engaged and educated and informed about how their dollars are being utilized, right?
Cody Funderburk 26:38
100 percent.
TraeAnna Holiday 26:38
Where do they wanna spend their money? Like you are so right, Cody, to talk about, at the end of the day, if you are partaking in cannabis, be aware of where you're putting your dollars, right? Is it just that that shop is close to your house? So you're just like, Hey, it's the lowest hanging fruit? Or do you understand that that owner is, you know, treating workers fairly, is allowing workers to unionize, is not being against the collectivization of unionization, but that they are promoting it from within? Or are you just saying, I don't care where I get my weed. Y'know what I mean? I think that so much of it is on us as individuals. And that's why I love being able to produce this kind of podcast, because ultimately, the more that I can do to put it out there for people to be engaged and educated. Just be an informed consumer, which I think is so important across the board, right?
Cody Funderburk 27:34
Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 27:35
Outside of things like cannabis, I've talked about this: even when you're thinking about a designer brand, for instance, right? Does that designer brand, is it built off the backs of slavery in the cotton industry? Y'know? Or do you have the ability to now build up Black-owned businesses by participating and being a consumer of their goods and services. There's so many things that we can do nowadays with the internet for us to just be engaged and be informed. We don't have to actually blindly spend our money anywhere. So I love that you target that because I agree 100%. And it's something that I put into practice in my life. And I really try to exemplify that and model that not only for my sons, but for my community as a whole. Because I do think it's really important.
Cody Funderburk 28:04
Yes. Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 28:05
Well, I know that, y'know, you were talking about, y'know, meeting up with UFCW, being able to connect with the workers; let's think about the beginning of all of that. I mean, as you were, you know, there at Ponder and realizing, Hey, this is really inequitable. This is not really working for a lot of the workers. Okay, there's people that are getting fired unjustly. All the things that you described. How did you originally connect with UFCW Local 21 to now really embark upon this major effort?
Cody Funderburk 28:55
Yeah, so I was actually not the person who originally reached out to UFCW 21; it was one of my co-workers. And after it was sort of, yeah, we were kind of connected with each other, if that makes sense, through a liaison.
TraeAnna Holiday 29:09
Wow. Wow.
Cody Funderburk 29:11
Yeah.
TraeAnna Holiday 29:12
Somebody said, Enough is enough. Reach out to UFCW. [laughter]
Cody Funderburk 29:16
And took initiative.
TraeAnna Holiday 29:18
Yeah, that's good. And like UFCW, they took the charge head-on. Kudos to everybody over there at UFCW. I have been able to connect with them on a couple of different issues, and one of the things that I love the most about it, first of all, it was the first union I was ever connected to as a young worker at Safeway. UFCW 21 was my first job, right there on Capitol Hill. And I did not understand the role that the union really played. And when I grew up and I realized there was some opportunities that I had to really engage my union rep, a couple of different times where I was fired unjustly, right? Where there was discrimination against me as a young manager in Kroger. And I dealt with grocery industry jobs for a while. And so I was really connected to UFCW for a long time and didn't realize the power of that collectivization. And I think that there's something that must be said, too, about the education of the worker to understand their power, which is what UFCW does so well. Y'know, as you guys are engaging new workers and getting people to understand this, how has it been on this trail of really informing and educating workers about why this is beneficial to them?
Cody Funderburk 30:40
Yeah, it's been somewhat difficult. But also, it's possible. It's been possible but difficult; it's been kind of an uphill battle. We didn't originally get everybody at Ponder on the same boat all at once; it's sort of been like a long process. I think, also, as we sort of come to, like, settlement agreements and things like that, some more workers might come around and start to see like, Oh, the union is representing me in these-and-these ways. And I stand to benefit from this in such-and-such way. I expect that in the next few months as things... as cards sort of, like, fall into place, that we'll see more and more participation as time goes on.
TraeAnna Holiday 31:21
Yeah, 'cuz sometimes people just actually have to see it to believe it, right?
Cody Funderburk 31:24
Exactly. Yes. So that was one of the battles that we've had so far.
TraeAnna Holiday 31:28
Yes. It's always astonishing to me that we have — no matter what the demographic is, or the age bracket, that we have people who really are just like, Whoa, wait a minute, that issue [Cody: Mmmhmm]- that is something different, and I'm not sure if I want to be on that different train. And it takes a lot of education and information for them to feel comfortable understanding that they'll be supported through the process, which I think is really key to something like this. Because people are afraid to lose their jobs; understandably so; we are in a pandemic. So the idea of even having a job right now, we understand that that's a major benefit to all of our lives. It's not an inherent thing. It's not built into, you know, what you're gonna just get anyway. And we have a lot of people out there that are, you know, trying to work gig to gig just to make it day by day. So I think that that is also one of those things where people sometimes have to break down their fear — — of the unknown in order to partake in something like this. And so, y'know, kudos to you and everybody over at Ponder who is having those necessary, uncomfortable discussions at times to get people to understand that there is actual comfortability and security on the other side. Because oftentimes, that's just what it is: it's a lot of people being fearful of what may happen to them. And —
Cody Funderburk 32:28
Exactly. Absolutely.
TraeAnna Holiday 32:54
I think that that's one of the things that is the most disheartening about the whole thing, y'know? As we understand that this is what progress is really made off of. Progress is made because people choose to not accept status quos, right? And not accept antiquated systems and the ways that they play out in a negative benefit for their lives, right? Or in a negative way. So the idea that you guys are saying, You know what, we're gonna take this head on, and we're gonna, you know, we're gonna talk to people one on one, we're gonna meet them where they are, that's really important. And I think that that's really what it's about. Sometimes, because you're in the same industry, you're able to really connect with them exactly where they are. And they're hearing it from somebody who is like them. You guys have a couple of big things that are going to be happening recent— you know, pretty soon here with regard to some settlement offers, I know. Do you want to just tell us a little bit about some of the things that you have on the horizon that are coming up?
Cody Funderburk 33:54
Sure, yeah. So as far as I understand, UFCW 21 and the owner of Ponder are coming to negotiate and coming to settlement agreements soon. I know that there are several ULPs and that there's going to be a hearing, I believe in December (next month). So that will probably prompt some changes and some negotiations. I'm not entirely sure what's gonna happen yet, but I guess we'll stay tuned and find out.
TraeAnna Holiday 34:20
Uhh, so exciting, the entire thing.
Cody Funderburk 34:23
It is.
TraeAnna Holiday 34:23
I mean, you guys are fighting for yourselves. And that matters more than anything. And again, I mean, I've been saying it throughout this entire recording, but I mean it: just kudos to you guys, because without it, it would just be status quos all around. People would feel like that's all they have to accept. And I love that you're just really pushing the narrative that it's not about that; that you don't have to accept this if it's not comfortable for you, and that you're being vocal, because oftentimes that — again, that's where change is made. And that's how the Powers That Be start to realize, Actually, I'm not as powerful as all these people that are working for me, right? Like, if they get together, they're going to be more powerful than just what I want. Because you don't really want a revolving door; you want people that understand the customer base, that are building relationships with their customers as they come in through the door, that are familiar faces, y'know, for customers, because that also gives a sense of security for them to know, okay, this is a thriving business, I can keep on patroning this business. So there's a lot that I think is involved here. And it takes a lot to stand up on your own and say, we're gonna be sure that we're fighting for the everyday worker. But you guys are also really creating a model. And this is what the labor world does, in general, is to create that model to exemplify after, where it says, Look, we are doing this on behalf of ourselves; we're caring for each other; we're gonna lock arms, and we're gonna do this thing. So kudos to you, Cody, and everybody over there that's helping you with this effort. And if any of our listeners, y'know, if there's other ways that they can maybe get connected to UFCW, maybe they're a worker at a cannabis shop themselves and they're wondering about how to get in contact with somebody, or how to start this process for themselves. Do you have any word of advice for them?
Cody Funderburk 36:01
Thank you. Yeah! UFCW 21 is easy to get in contact with; you can reach out to them on Instagram. Yeah. There's a lot of ways that you can get involved. And I mean, to be honest, this was my first time ever participating in a union. I know I'm pretty sure with a lot of people and my co-workers at Ponder it's their first time in a union as well. And it's not as scary and daunting as it may seem at first. It was one of the best decisions that I've made in my career so far. So if you're intrigued by it, I would encourage you to do it.
TraeAnna Holiday 36:47
There you go. Get involved, step up, be a leader. It's important. And also it's so necessary. Cody, thank you again so much for your time with me today on Equity Rising; I so appreciate you.
Cody Funderburk 37:00
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It was great to be here.
TraeAnna Holiday 37:02
Absolutely. Well, you guys heard it from Cody; y'know, clearly there is a push happening over at Ponder, there is people stepping up, they are becoming equity changemakers in their own right. And if you're out there and you're wondering how you can get involved, get engaged or get your folks organized in a union way, UFCW Local 21 is definitely open and ready to help lead the way. At the end of the day, they have such a great expertise of being connected to community efforts that have unionized many different people and different workers, and have always been there to be there for the backs of workers and worker solidarity. And it's important that we take these kinds of opportunities into our hands and showcase to owners of businesses and to different industries that workers are, in fact, the most important part of the business. Without the workers, you don't have a business. So I want you guys to be inspired, be encouraged to step out there and be bold and innovative. Even if you think you can't make any change happen, you won't know unless you try. So get out there and start. Cody is seeing themselves as a part of the solution. I really, really hope that you're inspired and engaged by this equity changemaker themselves, and that you then take on something that makes you say, You know what, I can do it too, just like Cody has done with others. You guys can definitely do it. And I hope that this episode right here inspires you to step out and be bold. Thanks so much for listening, y'all.
