Dr. Carol Zabin
Senior Labor Policy Specialist

Carol Zabin (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) is a labor economist whose research has addressed job quality, living wages, worker training and other economic development issues in the United States and Mexico. Most recently, Carol has extensively researched and analyzed ways to alleviate the staffing crisis in California’s services for those with developmental disabilities. She is also working with labor, community, and business partners on a field project to improve conditions for workers in this sector. Carol has served as a research advisor to numerous unions, community organizations, and foundations on issues of workforce development reform, the role of unions in labor markets, and improving opportunities and outcomes for low-wage workers. Before joining the Labor Center, she was on the faculty at Tulane University and UCLA.

Areas of Expertise
• Sector Strategies for Improving Low Wage Jobs
• Labor Markets
• Workforce Development and Training
• Living Wage and Labor Standards Policies
• Paraprofessional Health & Human Service Workers
• Immigrant Workers
• Farm Workers

Current Projects
Research and convenings to develop a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in the Developmental Disabilities Services Sector as a way to address the crisis in staff retention and to improve quality of care.

Recent Publications
Quality Services and Quality Jobs for Supporting Californians with Developmental Disabilities, June 2006.

Impacts of the Proposed Living Wage Ordinance for the City of Petaluma: City Employees, Contracts, Leases, Franchises, Agreements and Grants, with Sara T. L. Mayer, June 2006.

Establishing a San Francisco Taxi Driver Health Care Coverage Plan, with Rhonda Evans, Jabril Bensedrine, and Ken Jacobs, March 2006.

The Wages and Self-Sufficiency of Unionized Hotel Workers in San Francisco, September 2004.

The Hidden Public Costs of Low-Wage Jobs in California, with Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs, The State of California Labor 2004, University of California Institute for Labor and Employment, May 2004.

Workforce Needs in California’s Homecare System, with Eileen Boris, G. Chung, L. Delp, and R. Matthias, May 2004.

Labor Standards and Quality of Care in California’s Services for People with Developmental Disabilities, expert testimony for Plaintiffs in Sanchez v. Johnson, 2002.

Recession and Reaction: The Impact of the Economic Downturn on California Labor, with Manuel Pastor, The State of California Labor 2002, University of California Institute for Labor and Employment, 2002.

Union Organizing in California: Challenges and Opportunities, with Katie Quan and Linda Delp, The State of California Labor 2001, University of California Institute for Labor and Employment, 2001.

Curriculum Vitae