The Labor Center launched a racial justice workshop summer series in partnership with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). |
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IRLE Director Abel Valenzuela and Rudy Mondragón, UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at IRLE, are conducting research that calls attention to boxers of color and their need for protection from labor exploitation through examining boxing regulations and financial limitations in California. Read more here.
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Labor Center Director Kent Wong won the Legacy Drum Major for Justice Award at the AFT Convention in Boston. Kent was recognized for his courageous commitment to service, human rights, social justice and union values.
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In July, the Labor Center launched a racial justice workshop summer series in partnership with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). In July and August, the Labor Center is holding 5 online workshops that bring together labor and community leaders for conversations about racial justice, organizing, reproductive rights, political power and immigrant rights. The workshop schedule and recordings can be found here.
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On July 6, the workshop focused on racial justice. Speakers included Ligaya Domingo, SEIU 1199NW; Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union; Monica Thammarath, California Teachers Association and former APALA president; Greg Cendana, Former APALA Executive Director.
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On July 20, the workshop focused on worker organizing across a variety of workplaces, industries and labor organizations. Speakers included: Brady Calma, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West; Arlene Inouye, UTLA; Aquilina Soriano, Pilipino Workers Center (PWC); Kathleen Yasuda, Los Angeles Trade College Labor Center.
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On July 27, the workshop focused on the role of labor and workers’ rights movements in the broader fight to protect reproductive rights. Speakers included Ligaya Domingo, SEIU Local 1199 (facilitator); Elise Bryant, Coalition of Labor Union Women; Tracy Lai, Seattle AFT; Darlene Lombos, Boston Central Labor Council.
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The UCLA Dream Resource Center’s Dream Summer fellowship is now in action! The 2022 Dream Summer fellows are leading immigrant rights, social justice and labor movements across the U.S. The vision for Dream Summer 2022 is to uplift the intersecting issues impacting our immigrant communities as well as to create a space for undocumented youth leaders to address ways in which our communities can further mobilize and organize to address these various issues.
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The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is sponsoring six Dream Summer fellows at various affiliates and projects, mentoring them through community organizing work — whether it is supporting immigrant communities, advocating for public schools or advancing labor policies. Learn more here.
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Dream Summer 2022 fellow Sydelle O’Brien launched a fundraiser to help pay for her college tuition costs and fees. Sydelle plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Community Engagement with a concentration in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship. Sydelle plans to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector working with Black immigrant communities. Learn more here.
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CARE at Work is proud to continue to build the next generation of talented Black activists and organizers with the launch of its 2nd cohort of Freedom Fellows. After an intensive 3-day Freedom Fellows Training Institute bootcamp, CARE at Work celebrates the start of the fellows’ journey with Happy Hour at The District as they dive deep into the work of labor justice and movement-building.
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UCLA LOSH (Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program) |
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Course Name: LABR ST 115 – T02 (Class #25167): Workplace Health and Safety
Location: LATTC-Room E3-205
Date and Time: Sept 10th, 17th, and 24th, 2022 from 8:30am – 5:20pm
Students will complete and present an Action Plan as part of the course.
To Register:
Contact Olga Garcia, Admissions and Records Assistant at Los Angeles Trade Technical College via email at garciaoa2@lattc.edu or visit the link.
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Chris Zepeda-Millán, professor of public policy and Chicana/o & Central American Studies, has been appointed as faculty chair of the UCLA Labor Studies interdepartmental program. Chris began his appointment in July 2022 and succeeded Toby Hibgie, who served as the program’s inaugural chair for the major since its approval in 2019. IRLE announcement coming soon.
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On July 13th, labor studies professors Toby Higbie and Kent Wong, along with labor experts Cornel West and Dana Caldemeyer, discussed the past, present and future of the American labor movement at a livestream hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Watch here.
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Updates from labor studies alumni:
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Diana Marquez, ‘19 graduated with her Master’s of Human Resources and Industrial Relations with a Certificate in Policy Issues on Work and Pay from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
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Todd Lu, ‘17 is now the Higher Education Representative of the United Association for Labor Education (UALE) Executive Board.
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IRLE Director Abel Valenzuela discusses IRLE’s involvement in the research partnership between UCLA and LADWP working towards equitable environmental justice solutions in this UCLA Newsroom feature.
UCLA Labor Center Research Director Saba Waheed spoke with NPR on the Great Resignation. Waheed discusses how the pandemic opened up conversations surrounding livable wages, family leave and making demands on work conditions.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with UCLA Labor Center Director Kent Wong on the recent unionization efforts across the country. Wong pointed out that there is not a shortage of workers but rather a shortage of good jobs, as witnessed by essential workers risking their lives for poverty wages.
UCLA Labor Center Project Director Gaspar Rivera-Salgado spoke with the Los Angeles Times on the legacy of the bracero program. Rivera-Salgado discusses the H-2A visa program and its similarity to the bracero program in which immigrant farmworkers are taken advantage of by single employers.
UCLA College Magazine spoke with UCLA Labor Center Legal and Policy Research Manager Tia Koonse and Research Director Saba Waheed on food justice and activism. They spoke on the UCLA Labor Center fast food workers report which found that fast food workers were at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and facing labor violations.
Last fall, UCLA Labor Center researchers interviewed janitor parents from Building Skills Partnership and SEIU United Service Workers West about their unique experiences and critical role in the pandemic. In the post from L.A. Social Science, researchers Lucy González, Sophia L. Ángeles and Project Director Janna Shadduck-Hernandez discuss their preliminary findings.
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2022 Racial Justice Workshop Series: On August 17, 2022, the UCLA Labor Center and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) will host a virtual workshop to educate and mobilize community members and leaders. The workshop will engage activists in critical conversations about immigration. Register here.
Labor Summer Research Program 2022 Final Presentations: On August 17, 2022 students participating in the Labor Summer Research Program (LSRP) will share their findings, key issues impacting workers and learners, and share strategies and solutions to support students who work and workers who study. RSVP here.
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In this story, writer Kurtis Lee analyzes Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) and its effect on port truckers who have been protesting against it. AB5 requires certain gig workers to be considered employees rather than independent contractors. Uber and Lyft drivers are exempt from complying with AB5 while court proceedings play out after Prop 22, giving Uber and Lyft drivers exemption from AB5, was deemed unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court and the companies appealed. Port truckers also want to be exempt from AB5 claiming they do not work for a single company and that they remain independent drivers. Proponents of AB5 claim that truck companies have been misclassifying workers. These protests could force a reexamination of AB5. Read more here.
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From the Memory Work Los Angeles Files |
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Memory Work Los Angeles is a project of UCLA IRLE. We bring the past to the present to highlight the diverse experiences and perspectives of working people in southern California, the changing world of work, and the continuing struggle for equality. |
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In 1986, Los Angeles Jobs with Peace campaign hoped to pass Proposition V which would have established a commission to advise the city on how to redirect funds away from military contractors. The campaign attempted to link the interests of organized labor with the peace movement, the women’s movement and the African American civil rights movement.
The campaign was based in rented offices in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) hall on MacArthur Park, which would later become the James Lawson Worker Justice Center. Despite the defeat, the campaign built an effective get-out-the-vote operation at the precinct level that would be the basis of future progressive victories. Read more here.
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We hope you enjoyed This Month at IRLE. Media inquiries for the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and its labor experts can be sent to vanessacodilla@ucla.edu.
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Read previous IRLE Newsletters here.
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