United Food and Commercial Workers Union Offers Marijuana Course to Train Budtenders for New York and New Jersey Stores

The labor movement is going to shit.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union has launched what it calls the nation’s first apprenticeship program for aspiring budtenders to sell marijuana at licensed cannabis stores in New York and New Jersey.

The certified program to become a “cannabis professional” is being run in conjunction with Queens-based Cannabis Place.

“No one had done this before,” said Hugh Giordano, organizing director for UFCW Local 360.

“We have a visionary employer that leverages our unmatched experience in the cannabis industry to develop ambitious, local, but often overlooked talent,” he said.

“It’s a scalable, repeatable model that delivers great value for employees, owners and consumers.”

Cannabis Place founder Osbert Orduna said he formed a partnership with UFCW as part of the community benefits program he introduced while obtaining cannabis licenses to operate in New York and New Jersey.

“We’re training people to be buds, to be cannabis professionals,” said Orduna, a former Marine and disabled veterinarian who operates a licensed cannabis store in Jersey City as well as a marijuana delivery service based in Queens, about the two- weekly learning.

The first cohort of budtenders graduate from the United Food and Commercial Workers and Cannabis Place apprenticeship program. The Cannabis Place

He said he offers $1,000 stipends to participants in the program and that his company is hiring those who “graduate” and earn a certificate.

Students are taught the history of cannabis and delved into the cultivation process, including how to grow and manufacture marijuana (the so-called “seed selling” program), as well as learning about THC, cultivars or strains, and terpenes. responsible for aromas and flavors.

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Students also receive advice on how to interact with customers, including conflict resolution, and are briefed on the ins and outs of the business and state regulations governing the industry.

Trainees are trained to sell marijuana at licensed cannabis stores in New York and New Jersey. The Cannabis Place

The program includes 80 hours of classroom instruction, followed by 2,000 hours on the job.

Orduña, of Colombian descent, said he was eager to work with the union and was pleased that most of the Budtender program’s first 22 graduates were people of color.

The former Marine is the only cannabis operator who has licenses to operate in both New York and New Jersey and is set to open a marijuana dispensary in Middle Village, Queens.

The UFCW has been at the forefront of unionizing cannabis workers across the country and initially recruited employees in New York’s medical marijuana program.

The budtender program includes 80 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours on the job. The Cannabis Place

Both New York and New Jersey have suffered slow and difficult implementation of their licensed recreational cannabis programs.

In the Empire State, there are 26 licensed cannabis dispensaries or delivery services, 11 of which are in New York City after lawmakers legalized the sale of marijuana for adults in 2021.

Therefore, the apprenticeship program is taking off at an opportune time.

Amid the breakneck pace of openings, an estimated 1,500 unlicensed stores selling marijuana have sprung up like weeds in the city’s five boroughs, including in front of City Hall and the Queens civic center, including the district attorney’s office, before they closed.

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Students are taught about the legal marijuana industry, including the history of cannabis and the cultivation process. The Cannabis Place

Currently, there are 38 dispensaries open in the state of New Jersey. Of them, 13 are exclusively for medical cannabis patients.

The union movement has high hopes for its role in the growing cannabis industry and is proud to bring the marijuana plant under the union label.

“The best employers recognize the huge untapped pool of incredible talent that exists,” said UFCW’s Giordano. “Programs like this help attract that talent and unleash their potential.”

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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