More than 300 Ascend Wellness employees at the company’s cultivation site in Barry, Illinois, went on strike last week, alleging unfair labor practices. WGEM reports.

“We have filed charges against the company for violations of the National Labor Relations Act. They have failed to bargain in good faith with the union by refusing to bargain on key and mandatory bargaining points, they have fired one of our bargaining committee members during negotiations, we also have a ULP for this and we are determined to bring forward more ULP workers. — Kyle Bollinger, Vice President of Teamsters Local 916, in the report

Workers walked off the job last Thursday, saying the company refused to negotiate a fair contract for more than a year. According to the report, many of them went outside the building after leaving.

Due to the size of the facility and the number of workers involved, the strike could cause major disruptions to the state’s adult cannabis supply chain.

Matthew McKenna, Vice President of Public Affairs at Ascend Wellness Holdings, told WGEM in a statement:

“We can confirm that there is a work stoppage at our cultivation facility in Barry, Illinois, which remains open and continues to operate. Ascend Wellness Holdings values and respects the employees at our Barry facility and has bargained in good faith throughout this process. Our last, best and final offer includes a strong economic package and remains on the table while the union was not disappointed with the proposal to proceed with the vote. to ask the union to allow a ratification vote. We remain committed to reaching a fair settlement.

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Employment in the legal cannabis industry will decline slightly in 2025 — by 2.7%, according to Vangst and Whitney Economics’ annual US cannabis jobs report. The report links the job losses to a 3.3% drop in US cannabis sales and price compression.

“In-store shopping data shows that the number of items in a consumer’s basket, in most states, stayed about the same or increased slightly over the past year. At the same time, the value of the transaction — the total cost of the goods in the basket — remained flat or decreased. That’s a great value deal for consumers, but it puts retailers on the edge — with inflation driving up fuel, utilities, contracted services, etc.” – “2026 US Cannabis Jobs Report”

Of the top 10 cannabis job markets in the US, only four – New York, Massachusetts, Missouri and New Jersey – saw job growth from 2025 to 2026. The remainder – California, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Illinois – all saw year-over-year job losses.

It’s the second year in a row – and the third since 2017 – that the legal cannabis industry in the US has seen a reduction in its workforce. From 2022 to 2023, the industry saw a 2% decline; from 2024 to 2025, there was a decrease of 3.5%. However, there are still 412,500 jobs in the industry, the report says.

New York added the most jobs last year with 16,160, followed by Maryland (3,500), Ohio (2,596), New Jersey (2,468) and Oregon (374). California saw the most job losses at 17,123, followed by Florida (5,270), Illinois (3,000), Michigan (2,500) and Arkansas (1,920).

The report found that legal cannabis sales in the US reached $29.1 billion in 2025, but notes that legal sales represent only 30% to 35% of the country’s total demand for cannabis.