Local 49, Pensions, and the Future of Minnesota Cannabis

In this episode of The Canna Connect Show, we sit down with Benjamin Mike and Dan Gilbert of Local 49 at Lucky Leaf Expo 2026 in Minneapolis.

With nearly 100 years of history, Local 49 is stepping into the Minnesota cannabis industry with a focus on partnership, worker protection, and simplifying benefits for business owners.

We cover pensions vs 401k plans, Labor Peace Agreements, microbusiness support, and how unions are positioning themselves in cannabis and hemp.

If you’re an operator, builder, or just curious about where labor fits into this industry, this conversation offers a grounded perspective.

Chapters:
 0:00 Disclaimer
 0:44 Introduction
 1:35 The 100-Year History of Local 49
 2:17 Benjamin Mike’s Career Path
 4:22 Benefits Provided by Local 49
 5:08 “We Were Told 401k’s Were the Future”
 8:05 Goals in the Cannabis Industry
 9:45 How Unions Entered Hemp & Cannabis
 11:00 Craft Brewery & Hemp Beverage Involvement
 12:26 Supporting the Cannabis Industry
 13:40 What Local 49 Offers Business Owners
 16:36 Labor Peace Agreements Explained
 20:30 Mental Health Support & Benefits
 23:20 How to Get in Touch with Local 49

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

The thoughts, views, and opinions expressed on the Canic Connect Show belong solely to the individuals and do not reflect those of Canaconnect and its affiliates, sponsors, or partners. Can I Connect does not promote or facilitate any activity that violates state or federal regulations. Everything you hear here is strictly for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not legal advice. It is not financial guidance, and it's definitely not medical direction. Seriously, don't take our word for it. Even if someone on the mic sounds like they know what they're talking about, and they're probably crazy smart too. Regardless of how legit our guests may be, you should always do your own homework, consult with your attorney, and understand the risk you're taking before you do anything when it comes to cannabis. Our intention is to keep it real. If you've got a problem with anything we've said, take us to court.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Local 49, uh huge huge supporter of Canaconnect. We're working with them to help them better understand the cannabis industry, understand where they fit in, both on the hemp side and the cannabis side. And the cool thing with Local49 is they've got great benefits and they're able to work with small mom and pop, uh, and then also the larger companies as well. So Local49 is a union. Uh learn more about them by visiting our website and uh can't wait to share more about our partnership with Local49. Welcome back to the Can of Connect Show. I'm your host, Stephen Eigenman, live from Lucky Leaf, and today I am joined by Local49. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I got Dan Gilbert and Benjamin Mike. What does Local 49 stand for? Tell me, International Union of Operating Engineers. So, how far back does this go?

SPEAKER_01 1:35

So we will be celebrating our 100-year anniversary in Minnesota, operating uh excuse me, covering um construction workers, operating heavy equipment, yeah, public sector workers, private sector workers, sand and gravel. So that's our prime, our core business is protecting and covering those workers.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

So when I'm on 394 and I see construction and there's there's what what do you call those, those earth movers or they got like that?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

The excavators, the the the scrapers, the dozers, all that big yellow equipment, that's all our guys operating that. But behind the scenes, those street workers, those park workers, yeah, those are our workers too, right? They're in your cities, there's local to your community. Yeah, we're protecting those workers and helping those workers as well.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

And before you got to where you are, tell me tell me where you started in this in this industry.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Yes, sir. So I started my uh my uh entry into local 49 as a worker was uh in the concrete world. I started as concrete removal, concrete removal, yeah, and then uh frep and then reinstall concrete. So ADA sidewalks, the curb and gutter, yeah. So a lot of that street project, flat work project that you see everything that we use daily on the ground, on the ground, getting her done.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

And and one thing that people need to know about local 49 is that you don't get to HQ unless you put in the years and years of work to understand the industries that you are a part of.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

That's right. I would say any any union, any union, any union, the more active you are in your union, the active participant has that opportunity, and if that passion is there, that the those opportunities are afforded people that put in that kind of effort, that kind of strong uh uh passion. And that's where mine came from. My passion came from in the fields. I cared about my union, I participated in my uh meetings, I went to events, yeah, and then from that I was recognized and I was invited to apply for a job on staff. Now I'm a labor organizer, and that's what I do is fight for workers and look for workers. And then part of that also was especially in the cannabis industry, we are looking to partner. This isn't about uh the union of the 1950s, bitch farts and porches, sure. This is about a partnership now. Yeah, it is a new era, it is a new age. How do we make this work for everybody, right? And part of what I love about the cannabis industry and where we're at now is it's still heavily focused on the micro side of that. Yeah, how do we keep private equity out of it in the sense of they need to be there needs to be oversight on them?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

I think private equity ruins a lot of good companies.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

That's correct. So being able to support the micro business and and affording them the same opportunities that a large-scale company had have, yeah, right. We have that through our health insurance, we have that through a pension.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Yeah, now tell tell me about your benefits.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Yeah, Dim. Well, I guess our benefits would be like uh, well, first of all, our health and welfare, the pension pension's huge, everybody wants a retirement, right? Yeah, um, with us, we're uh we're with the central pension, second largest in the nation, 23 billion in asset. Your money is safe. So with 108% funding, you got nothing to worry about. Some pension plans, how that works, if it drops below 70% funding, the federal government will step in and they still look at that as drug money. So then they'll make that payback. So the number one thing is pension liability. You want your pension to be saved.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Um pension is pension is kind of a a term of the past, right? And it had been, it's coming back very few. Is it's coming back? Very few comp, I mean, less and less companies are able to offer pension. That's what they're took it away from us. They stripped it from us.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Tell me we were taught, we were told 401ks went away with the future. Well, when 401k money runs out, it runs out. Yeah, a pension is for life, it's an investment for life. So not only does the micro owner able to invest in themselves, yeah, that's their money, yeah, just secured in our 23 billion dollar pension package, right? Right. And all that the worker then is protected. They have a quality of life, they have a retirement that they could say I've earned this and I have that right to that money.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Yeah, because you know, there's a lot of mom and pops, there's a lot of independent micro businesses as you talked about. And I want people to know if you're a small micro business, it's worth having a conversation with local 49 about how they can provide you benefits, and it's not astronomical, and it's it's actually you as you guys have explained it, you guys have some of the most affordable benefit packages. That's right, right, that's right.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

We streamline it, so it's not like you're gonna do individual benefits, right? We got a third-party administrator that takes care of everything, it's like a one-stop shop.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

A one-stop shop, it is simple pie is the back family insurance, right? Yeah, so yes, you have an opportunity to be a single person in this, but grow into a family insurance plan, yeah, and it takes care of everything. Wow, yeah, and again, when I refer to that partnership, yeah, I want to talk to that owner because I want that owner, I know that owner wants to be able to provide something on the micro level, right? That corporate, faceless, nameless, yeah, they don't they're not concerned, right? It's such an exploited workers now for the last 40 years. We've seen that that's where we come in. That's where we're looking to protect. And how does that help on the small level and then grow?

SPEAKER_02 6:49

And how do you feel supported? You guys work for local 49, you guys are out in the field. What kind of security do you feel as an employee of Local 49 over the years?

SPEAKER_03 6:59

Like plus, it's the brotherhood, you know. You you said you have other people to help you, you know, you're you're not individualized no more. Yeah, now you're you're with a group of uh other people, sure.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

The local 49 has in-house council. We had retained on outside parties per council, the retainer, sure, right? We've got a political uh director, yeah, he's at the Capitol every day, yeah, fighting for all sorts of various uh issues, right? If it's obviously infrastructure money, that's one thing. If it's regulation on how to protect workers, if it's worker safety, so you know we see that in all sorts of so the support that's within local 49, right? We have 40 business agents, we have a great leadership, yep, right? Leadership's given us this opportunity to stick out there, talk to workers. Dan's put an amazing amount of work in just to get the LPAs drafted, the labor peace agreements, right? Right, Minnesota's taking that step to say if you're gonna be in the cannabis field, you have to have a labor peace agreement. Yeah, we have that labor peace agreement, right? Right, and we're willing to talk and willing to listen and willing to work with you to try to shape what a contract looked like, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:03

And what are some of your early goals within the cannabis industry as it relates to the the work that you do?

SPEAKER_03 8:10

I would say our goal is to help help the industry. Um, like uh like we've talked before, I started off in the hemp industry. Yeah, and uh, you know, basically where I came into is my dad had uh stepdad had cancer, right? And uh he's he had two years to live. He lived two and a half years, and on his deathbed, he pulled me straight up what kept him alive was marijuana. At that point, I started growing, I looked into the Department of Agriculture, got license to start growing hemp. Um, and unfortunately, the hemp industry's kind of got kicked to the curb with a little everything that's kind of going on right now. Yeah, so I've kind of there really can't much do. So once I seen that, kind of seen the hole there where the labors need labor unions need to step in to help out. Yeah, um, I started the whole thing to help out general, you know, medical industries helping people out with you know cancer or any kind of stuff. Um, I still to the day just give out free stuff of anybody's shot, sure, any medical is right.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

You heard uh really good information last night. We were with Sodokan. Yep, and um they made a great statement about social justice, yeah, what it means in the community. Okay, so how does that how do we help with that, right? Right, you know, if we can protect the worker. Um, discussions we've had in the past, uh, Department of Labor has the the 1099, right? Yes, and that's a misclassification of a of a worker. If you're gonna come and work for me and I tell you what hours you have to work, yep, and I'm giving you what time your break is at, yeah, I'm telling you to use these tools, right? You're not an independent contractor. Uh huh. That's wrong. You're avoiding that contractor, that owner is avoiding taxes. Taxes, and God is a big thing right now. Yes. So yes, unions in general can help on that oversight. So I believe that's why the state of Minnesota made a bona fide labor union for 10 or more employees. Okay, because labor unions have that opportunity to help on oversight, but on on specifically misclassification of worker, which is what we do in the construction field. We're looking for that. We want to make sure workers are being protected, paid right, wage theft, right? Those are department of labor. Yeah, partment of labor can only go so far. Uh-huh. You have somebody with the the the scale and breadth that we have, sure, over 15,000 numbers, right? And then to add to anybody from the cannabis industry, right? So we're kind of using the flex and the muscle that we have from what our core business is, yeah, and be able to help and support the cannabis industry going forward here in 2026.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Absolutely. Now, before we jump all the way into the cannabis industry, I want to touch on the brewery industry a little bit. Yeah, the beverage industry. The nice thing about Minnesota is that we will continue to have a hemp beverage industry. We will continue to have hemp products because it is uh written into the state state rules that we have a hemp industry that's protected. I can't say the same for national, but within the hemp, uh within the Minnesota hemp beverage industry, there or within the Minnesota brewery industry, there will still be folks that will continue to make hemp beverages. When it comes to breweries, though, the state has a lot more transparency on production. That's something we've talked about. What what is what are you able to look up uh when it comes to barrels produced at the state level or inside Minnesota? That's right. And what are we looking for when it comes to hemp beverage barrels produced?

SPEAKER_01 11:17

That's a great question, right? For just hemp beverage produced, they are governed or exclusively craft brewers. Craft brewers, yep. And that's mainly what Minnesota's made up is craft brewer. Yeah, even at a three million barrel count, that's still considered a craft brewer. When you're talking about the Anheuser Busch, the Coors Light, yeah, you're talking about you know triple digit barrel production in the million. In the in the million, right? Right, in the millions. So even at three million production, it's still considered a crap brewer. Not a microbrewer, but a craft brewer, right? So you still have a scale, economy is a scale, yeah. You still have your 140 barrel producer, but they're managed, they're they're regulated by ATF, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:59

There's a barrel count, alcohol tax, alcohol tobacco, and fire iron. That's correct, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:04

There's a whole regulation there, they're reporting in the Department of Revenue, how many barrels are being produced. So there's a they've already have a plenty of oversight, that opportunity to come in and shape a contract that would be more specific to a 140-barrel producer to a three million barrel producer. The idea is there that you can recognize what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Ultimately, local 49 wants to understand what's going on, that's right, and how they can protect workers so that we can have a better working class and help the industry. We'll we'll we want everybody to follow the industry, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:36

I mean, you're not here to battle the owner, right? You're not here to battle. We want to work with you. We want to be able to provide an avenue to get those resources to people at at a at a in a means that'll be if it's affordable or if we streamline the process, yeah. Right. If I have to go buy health insurance for my 15 people, yeah, I've got three months wrapped up in to buy insurance, right? I've got to call my insurance agent, I've got to see what hackages are available, I gotta look to see what's what fits my employees. Yeah, right. So if I've got a single, I got a single plus one, got a family, how does this work? Right. There's it's not all of it where coming to local 49, I just buy something as simple as health insurance. Yeah, you're just reporting. I have this person, okay, I owe this money, I pay it on the 50, and it's done. You're not shopping that around, you're not having three months of your time that's wrapped up and going back and to find what package works. It's an easier option. That's right. And as you know, it's streamlined for the partnership, it's inside the order, right? I I can't help your business. I'm not gonna help you sell more. What I can do is give you more ties. Yeah, I can give you time, yeah, that you don't have to dedicate to shopping these other things that you're required.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Yeah, and it's reliable. That's right, reliable benefits. Yep. And as the insurance, obviously, what they're shopping around, they're gonna see that the lower amount of people that they have, the higher the premium they're gonna have to pay. So in Local 49, we've got 15,000 members, which translates around 30,000, 33,000 belly buttons on these plans, which then drops the race. So when they'll when they're going around their insurance for looking for health insurance, they're gonna look at they're gonna have to pay a high deductible for a low insurance. Where here you would pay a low deductible for a high insurance.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

You're already getting into a group plan. Yeah, you're essentially coming into a group plan, 50,000 plus numbers.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

I think that's the biggest thing that folks need to know. Uh, because we need insurance to the the healthcare system in America is is often broken. So, you know, we need we need an easy place to go. That's right, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

That's right. Another thing uh we heard last night too was um, what does it mean, right? They think there was a 20% success rate or what was a profitable company getting into the hammock or our cannabis industry, right? Well, if you're gonna contribute into your own pension, right? You as an owner, you're gonna contribute into that pension. Yeah, if it's five years or ten years, that's your money, that's still gonna be there. That's your money as you contribute. So, as you try to navigate what it means to be a business, where your success lies, it becomes a savings account for yourself. So if it's only five years that you're in the business, that's that's not all loss. You put their money somewhere, you entrusted us to have it, it's your money, you're gonna get that money back, and you're gonna get it back in the form of a pension monthly for life. Okay, so that's a I thought that was a big thing last night because we heard in terms of it's 20 being profitable. Yeah, it felt a little bit like a restaurant industry. Yes, what's the success rate out of a restaurant, right? This is a brand new, you've got to create your brand, you've got to create your image, right? Well, in the meantime, if you're making enough to be able to afford a package, yeah, our package, you're it's your money, especially in this day and age.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Okay, so it puts on the red on the part of being transparent. You know, unions are always the big bad union, right? So being transparent on this is there's union dues, right? Everybody talks about oh, I don't want to be with the union because there's goose. Okay. Our union dues are$35 a month. With those dues, you got NCL benefits, which gives you like a half half off membership at Costco. You get discounts that at auto uh advanced auto zone board. Um, you could send uh people to college for less money for a discounted price. You get a whole network instead of legal fee, flat rate, legal fleet fees. This all comes with your your all these dues. So that's right, okay, totally transparent. You always hear about the big, bad unions with their union dues. Our union dues are not just for membership, it is also for benefits. So I'm gonna ask a dumb question.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

Go ahead, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

No dumb question.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

So we're all learning. I signed a labor peace agreement on behalf of Canada Connect uh in October of last year. Yes, sir. Do I get all of these? Am I am I now a member of the sure?

SPEAKER_01 16:45

That's a great question, right? An LPA is just that, it's a labor peace agreement. It says that you've entered into or willing to, and it's by no means binding. But when you get to that point when you're ready to have those conversations, you at least don't have a contact. Then when we enter into a contract, you become that number. So yeah, that's a great question. Definitely not dumb. Right. The labor peace agreement binds you to nothing, but it serves your obligation to the state for your licensure right.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

And that and that's going to apply to businesses that have over 10 employees.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

That's right. Or if they want, I mean, it's up to them if they want to union.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

It gets the benefit. It's in effect at 10 plus, yes, but I can help somebody with two. So if it's mom and pop, yeah, husband and wife, two buddies, yeah, whatever it might be, three partners, three partners, right? We could take care of, we can structure that. But at 10 more, then you'd have to be part of or signed with a bona fide labor union.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Now, just to recap a little bit, Dan, like what was it like in October going through what was the LPA onboarding process like? And maybe highlight a couple of the things you're optimistic or successful. Uh, you know, you you got Surlee, that's a big one. Let's talk a little bit about uh October.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

So we have two different labor feast agreements, one more for focus more for the cannabis industry and one focus more for the low potency hemp industry. Yep. Um we've got uh I think we're up to 32 different breweries right now that we've got signed on LPAs. Right. So the difference between an LPA and the active working contract, so once you sign that LPA, it just gives us time to sit down at the table with you, right? We're not coming in a pounding on the table. We're gonna look for common ground of how we can help you as the employer and how we can help the employee also. So we're basically trying to be the common ground, like the mediator, if you will, right? So that's kind of what we're looking at to help out with the industry, sure. Um, and as I say, the working contract, we would sit down and we would go over the wages, benefits, and how that's being uh allocated.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

And I would present that as a business decision, to be honest with you, right? We've had an opportunity to talk to some local brewers, yep, and it's more about I I'd appreciate the Pepsi challenge. Go up against us, see what you're paying now versus what we can offer. Like I'm I'm happy to have that conversation and see what that looks like, right? We're open about that, right? We we don't hide numbers, and on top of that, we are federally there's federal oversight on unions, yeah. So, right, that idea, the the the old myths about unions being what they were, right? It's not like that anymore. Yeah, and I have to report monthly on what I just did for the last month, right? So then that goes and gets filed. So there's there's a whole lot of oversight that happens within the union. Okay, and I think that's what's been what's different about what union is today, yeah, and what it can do for both the employer and the employee.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

I mean, I really like the one-stop shop. Hey, I can get a lot of value out of working with one group because the more that I look into and see more within the comp within the the aquarium of ancillary businesses in the cannabis industry that are looking to serve. You got payroll, you've got HR, you've got benefits, you got payroll, you got HR, you got benefits. Well, gosh, I mean, I'm already tied up. I'm already tied up with a lot of uh services that I gotta handle every month. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Now it's just a matter of how long did this, how long did Steve work? I I put that on the sheet, I remit that in, it's done. It gets givvied off where it needs to go, right? It gets submitted to uh pension, it gets submitted to Steve comes to me, I'm the owner. Steve comes to me and says, I have a question about insurance. I as the owner, I just say, here's the deal. Go ahead and call Wilson to shame. Okay, right? Yep, they're gonna be able to answer those questions, they give you the resources that you need, right? The other uh uh um resource that we have is Teams, so it focuses on mental health, diet, nutrition.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Not Microsoft Teams.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

That's right, not Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams. Get them out of here. No, but Teens is a uh very it's uh it's uh program orientated at uh mental health. Okay, uh it's just orientated at nutrition, uh you know, to quit tobacco, right? It's designed to help by an example. They had two deaths this summer out on the construction road, okay, and teams was dispatched right away. So those workers that were affected by those two deaths, yes, right, had somewhere to go right away. They had somebody to be able to copy to provide that reason to have that's a that's a very traumatic event to have it on a work site out on a three-way. I mean, yeah, you get that right in that area. That's part of your job. That's correct.

SPEAKER_02 21:21

I mean, it's not it's it doesn't happen every day, but it's a reality. It's a reality of the world.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Death out on the workplace is a reality, right? I don't, you know what that looks like in this industry, who knows? But to have the support and the resources, that's what teens is for us.

SPEAKER_03 21:37

We're partnered with TAL's patient advocacy. So if one of our members go in and you know, accidentally, you know, you get that get that terminal, the the acknowledgement you got cancer, right? Oh, yeah. You know, we're a brotherhood at that point. What do you do, right? If you're single though, you're on the streets, like, okay, what do I turn to you? In a brotherhood as a union, we have teams, like he says, Well, you got a patient advocacy. You call them up. Hey, this is a procedure I've got looking into. To what is right? If you're at this work, if you're so example, my dad had he had polyps, he had pollen cancer, right? Um, he was in the hospital. Um, they basically said, Oh, hey, we could take it out, day surgery, no problem. I called that patient advocacy and I said, Hey, this is what's going on. They said, Absolutely not, as they've seen an oncologist. They're RN. You know, no. So, what happened? Um, they basically at the end of this, they sent my dad to the university. He got the best treatment they can because they had uh they had to use radiation and chemo to shrink it and then pull it out. So, after this all went down, that patient advocate basically told me that it saved my dad's life because if they would have date surgery that day, something about oxygen and cancer, it would have spread all over his body. Oh, you gotta get a second opinion.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

All right, well, you have then you have rehabilities. We have the ability to provide that to our membership. That's what a brotherhood is about, and you don't know what people are going through. You I don't know, right? My experience is different from the next, right? But if they know there's some common ground that they can go and reach out, yeah, yeah. Or if you want to say, Hey, I think Steve needs some help, and I call teens, I can say, Hey, I think you please reach out to him. This is what I observe, right? You even can help them through teens and get them to help. I I don't know, I wouldn't know how to help somebody if you but you can see maybe somebody might be in distress or struggling, yeah, right. I can maybe reach out to teens, and teams knows how to navigate that. Okay, great. Well, those resources are are are big for our membership, guys.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

I mean we're we're tight on time today. So I'd love to have you back in in another month here. That's awesome. Before we go, what's the best way to get in touch with local 49?

SPEAKER_03 23:32

I would say if our partnership with the volcanic, yeah, yeah, here is one of the best ways. We would be happy to. Yeah, and the other way, if you're here at the at the event here, we're at booth 215. Um, you can look us up on GineLocal4.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

And Dan Gilbert, Benjamin, Mike, research, do your homework, do the local 49 challenge. Happy to help. Yeah. Happy to talk. You guys aren't afraid to talk about anything. No, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks, Dan.