Southern California Teamsters Local Award Scholarships For New Cannabis Training Program

Exciting news coming out of Southern California’s Inland Empire region: The Teamsters Local 1932, a labor union that comprises over 14,000 members across this area, is awarding 20 scholarships for a new cannabis cultivation training certification program. This will support the local burgeoning organized cannabis workforce.

Based out of the union’s new training center in San Bernardino, the cannabis program is a five-week course covering topics specifically designed to prepare growers for successful harvests, according to a news release. Future courses are planned for manufacturing and retail work. Also featured in this program are seminars from the Agricultural Labor Relations Board as well as experts on Occupational Safety and Health Administration policies.

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This news is the latest development in an area noted for its involvement in and support for the cannabis community. In 2021, cannabis cultivation workers at cannabis company Tikun in Adelanto, California organized to join the Teamsters Union, becoming the first unionized cannabis cultivation workforce in Southern California. The same year, the Teamsters Union committed $1.5 million to support legislative efforts to improve cannabis workforce issues and cannabis rescheduling.

Gabriel Reyes, mayor of Adelanto, applauds the new program and its positive ramifications for the community. “The City of Adelanto will have the premier cannabis workforce,” he said in a public statement. “We look forward to providing our residents the opportunity to achieve their certification in this growing industry with the help of Teamsters Local 1932. Our goal is to be known as the capitol of the cannabis industry, and to be that, we need to have a trained workforce that can produce premier craftsmanship.”

Randy Korgan, secretary-treasurer of Local 1932, echoed the sentiment. “This union is bringing together cannabis workers to improve this industry and is also creating pathways for workers to advance in the industry with education and certification,” he said. “With a trained workforce, and our initiatives to involve union members in political action that will help this industry and its workers thrive, there are brighter days ahead for the industry.”

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In 2021, the cannabis industry employed up to 415,000 full-time workers in the U.S., a 30% increase from 2020, reported industry trade MJBizDaily.