SC Labs: Cannabis Activism and Corporate Hegemony
Pros
It is difficult to imagine a better place to get your start in laboratory work than SC Labs. Hiring requirements are very lax for an analytical lab, and management tends to target applicants who they believe to be charismatic and a good fit for the team. With such a high turnover rate, promotions and training opportunities are frequent. There is a nice break room stocked with an appreciable selection of snacks, and many of them are healthy! For many years SC Labs employees could expect at least one catered event per month to bond and enjoy each other's company. Everything from birthday celebrations, to free company raffles, to a corny-yet-fun 80s themed prom were on the table. At the time of this writing, such events have all but disappeared since COVID-19 and a recent corporate acquisition. Compared to other employers, SC Labs management does a pretty good job of accommodating time off requests and scheduling needs. Even during busy parts of the year, it isn't difficult to ensure you can get the time off you need. On a decent-to-good day, the workload at SC Labs is not taxing, manageable, and predictable. Expect a collaborative work environment enriched by conversation with your co-workers and pleasant music. A cannabis lab tends to attract interesting types that are quick to befriend. It's fascinating and interesting to work with weed all day. Having this job is the ultimate ice breaker at parties.
Cons
This company actively engages in in anti-labor practices. In just one example, a founding executive of the company mocked and censured discussion of wages during a company town hall. This same founder would later deride a legitimate request for wage increases as "racist" and "aggressive". This same founder is an important public figure in the cannabis industry, and is a self-described activist. If you are a member of a protected class and value a safe workplace free of harassment, this may not be the job for you. I've personally witnessed illegal discrimination from a senior manager targeted at pregnant or neurodivergent employees, as well as victims of workplace sexual harassment, respectively. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg. SC Labs puts little effort into retaining talented employees, and if you stick around long enough management will tell you this to your face. They are perfectly happy to train employees, but many are lost to better opportunities (especially in Silicon Valley) after an average of a year or so. The wages paid at SC Labs are well below equivalent positions in the industry, with above average responsibilities. The lab openly practices a "churn and burn" recruitment strategy: courting fresh-faced undergrads for cheap labor with the expectation they'll move on to more gainful employment within a couple years. After two, three, or four years you may feel as if you have hit a growth ceiling within the company, and you are meant to by design. Senior management puts substantial effort into protecting a core "boys' club" of employees. Macho, compliant "bros" who are eager to kiss the ring are always welcome in the boys' club. A senior manager at the lab has gone to great lengths to defend his buddies when they slip up: from disobeying instructions from lab leadership, lackadaisical work ethics, and even sexual harassment in the workplace. It was a Sisyphean effort to hold certain employees accountable, depending on their proximity to senior management. Woe to thee if a member of the boys' club wrongs you and you seek corrective action, regardless of your station. Many of the finer points of working at SC Labs began steadily disappearing after the company was acquired and merged by a large Southern Californian investment group. This investment group has zero connections to the broader cannabis industry or culture, and acquired SC Labs as just another portfolio entry alongside significant investiture in petroleum, firearms manufacturing, etc. Based on information I've received from the ground floor, the immediate outlook for SC Labs' future is dire.
