Strengthening the labor movement for a sustainable, inclusive economy.

In this paper we look at the use by construction workers and their families in the United States of five means-tested safety net programs. We find that 39% of families of construction workers are enrolled in one or more safety net program at a cost of almost $28 billion per year. In comparison, 31% of all workers have a family member enrolled in a safety net program. Three times as many construction workers as all workers lack health insurance (31% compared to 10%).

Current job openings:
—NEW! Research and Policy Associate
—Senior Trainer

We are now accepting applications for our 2022 Labor Summer Internship Program. Spend your summer learning about social and economic justice and exploring the intersections of race, class, gender, and immigration in the labor movement!
Application Deadline: January 30, 2022

This groundbreaking report provides a new and comprehensive set of policy principles for worker technology rights in the United States.

“Basically, these are largely untested technologies with virtually no oversight,” said Lisa Kresge, research and policy associate at the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center, who studies the intersection of technological change and inequality. “That’s unprecedented in the workplace.”

This data tool tracks the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers in California, and how the state is recovering from these effects. The pandemic left millions of Californians out of work, and while the economy has begun to recover in recent months, some workers continue to struggle. This resource will be updated periodically, as new data becomes available, to allow users to monitor the progress of labor markets in the state.