Over 50 Years of Worker JusticeThe UCLA Labor Center, a unit of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, believes that a public university belongs to the people and should advance quality education and employment for all. Every day we bring together workers, students, faculty, and policymakers to address the most critical issues facing working people. For over 50 years, the center has secured victories for immigrant youth and families, advanced progressive economic policy, and inspired a new generation of labor and community leaders.

MAJOR PROJECTS

Develops innovative programs that educate, train, and connect immigrant youth so they continue to be at the forefront of the national movements that impact their lives and their families.

Develops collaborations between labor leaders, scholars, and activists to address common worker issues in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Pacific Rim.

Employs a research-justice approach to partner with worker centers and unions to improve conditions in low-wage industries, address workplace policy, and strengthen the enforcement of workplace laws.

Trains students to tackle real-world community and workplace issues through interdisciplinary courses, applied research, and internship opportunities with labor and community-based organizations.

Labor Center

Dream Resource Center Global Solidarity ReWork UCLA Labor Studies

CONTACT USC A M P U S D O W N T O W N O N L I N E

PO Box 95147810945 Le Conte Ave Ste 1103Los Angeles CA 90095310-794-5983

675 S Park View StLos Angeles CA 90057213-480-4155

labor.ucla.edu

facebook.com/UCLALabor

@UCLALabor

instagram.com/UCLALabor

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The California state legislature expands labor research and education throughout the UC system.

The Dream Resource Center’s first Dream Summer internship program places 102 immigrant students in labor and community organizations.

Governor Jerry Brown signs comprehensive bill on wage theft.

From Coors to California: David Sickler and the New Working Class. (2019). Kent Wong, Julie Monroe, Peter B. Olney, and Jaime A. Regalado.

Hour Crisis: Unstable Schedules in the Los Angeles Retail Sector. (2018). Janna Shadduck-Hernández, Saba Waheed, Preeti Sharma, Lina Stepick, Vina Nguyen, Monica Macias, and Reyna Orellana.

Ready to Work, Uprooting Inequity: Black Workers in Los Angeles County. (2017). Saba Waheed and Reyna Orellana.

Nonviolence and Social Movements: The Teachings of Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. (2016). Kent Wong, Ana Luz Gonzalez, and Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.

Profile, Practices and Needs of California’s Domestic Work Employers. (2016). Saba Waheed, Lucero Herrera, Reyna Orellana, Blake Valenta, and Tia Koonse.

The Labor Center establishes a downtown office in immigrant, working-class MacArthur Park. The first organized US labor delegation travels to China to meet with labor scholars and leaders.

The Labor Center releases Hollow Victories: The Crisis in Collecting Unpaid Wages for California’s Workers, a report exposing rampant wage theft practices throughout the state.

The Labor Center facilitates strategic planning processes for the Los Angeles and Orange County labor federations.

The summer research internship program begins. The Labor Center conducts the first African American, API, and LGBTQ union leadership schools.

UCLA Labor Studies student research and community partnerships result in the first three union car washes in the country.

The Labor Center releases a series of studies focused on California domestic workers and employers.

The Labor Center launches the LA Black Worker Center.

The Labor Center initiates cutting-edge research focused on young workers throughout California.

The Labor Center releases Hour Crisis: Unstable Schedules in the Los Angeles Retail Sector, the first comprehensive study in Los Angeles on the adverse impacts of unpredictable scheduling on retail workers.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS Dreams Deported: Immigrant Youth and Families Resist Deportation. (2015). Kent Wong and Nancy Guarneros.

“Hanging by a Thread! Los Angeles Garment Workers’ Struggle to Access Quality Care for their Children.” (2015). Natalia Garcia and Janna Shadduck-Hernández.

I am a #YoungWorker: Retail and Restaurant Workers in Los Angeles. (2015). Saba Waheed, Janna Shadduck-Hernández, Alfredo Alvarez, Mohammad Khairul Amin, Diana Campos-Valenzuela, Marcos Franco, Enedina Garaldo, Lucero Herrera, Yanely Marin, Reyna Orellana, Patricia Orozco, Jeylee Quiroz, and Blake Valenta.

Orange County on the Cusp of Change. (2014). Saba Waheed, Hugo Sarmiento, and Carolina Sarmiento.

Hollow Victories: The Crisis in Collecting Unpaid Wages for California’s Workers. (2013). Eunice Hyunhye Cho, Tia Koonse, and Anthony Mischel.

TIMELINE

1964 19911978 1994Statewide joint labor-university committee establishes the UCLA Labor Center in the UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations (IIR).

The UCLA Labor Center and the Department of Urban Planning launch the Community Scholars Program.

The IIR founds the Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) program, the Labor Center’s sister program.

Labor Studies concentration begins at UCLA.

Labor Center