Updated August 17, 2026 with new Medi-Cal and Covered California enrollment maps by district and county. Labor Center researchers have analyzed the potential impacts of Medicaid cuts on California and the importance of the Medi-Cal program to our state.
Should Becerra cruise to victory in November, as polling suggests, he will face what may be the steepest decline in health insurance coverage in a generation, one that will land especially hard in his home state.
Social Security isn’t just a “safety net” for the elderly; it is California’s economic bedrock. In 2024, the program injected almost $138 billion into our state—more than the gross domestic product of California’s computer and electronics manufacturing sector, and more than double the economic output of the motion picture and television industry and agriculture.
Enrique Lopezlira appeared on KQED Forum to discuss our new report finding security guards face a high risk of injury and death on the job and are more likely to be underpaid and undertrained for the work they’re expected to do in stores and hospitals, schools, and office buildings.
This report examines the security guard workforce across the country—who these workers are, what they earn, the conditions under which they work, and the standards that govern the industry—and argues that improving job quality in security is a matter both of economic justice and of public safety.
SSRC’s Just Tech program. What does it mean to have a “human-in-the-loop”? Including examples from the 2026 legislative session, in this piece published by SSRC’s Just Tech Platform, senior researcher Mishal Khan dives into the many different HITL provisions being proposed in legislatures across the country today, highlighting their impacts on workers.
Former Senior Researcher Lisa Kresge is the new Director of the Labor Center’s Technology and Work Program. Outgoing Director Annette Bernhardt will continue to support the program and our partners in her new position as the Labor Center’s Senior Tech Policy Advisor.
Hear from Labor Center staff and researchers about their work, meet other students interested in the labor movement, and learn how you can get involved at our Fall 2026 open house!
PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board, turns 50 this year! Join us September 19 for a half-day conference celebrating public workers, their unions, and PERB!
Join the UC Berkeley Labor Center this Fall! Find out more about the labor movement and social justice work by attending our panel discussions, free film screenings, partner event talks, and more.
