The Labor Center conducts a wide range of research on low-wage work in California and nationally. Our research focuses on documenting and understanding working conditions in low-wage industries, especially for women, immigrants, and workers of color. We also analyze policies to raise labor standards at the local, state, and national levels.
For an in-depth description of California’s low-wage workforce, see our Data Explorer.
You can also visit our Black Worker project.
Minimum wage, living wage, and other labor standards studies.
Research on the societal and fiscal costs of low-wage work.
In-depth studies of labor markets and working conditions in low-wage industries.
A list of California city and county ordinances, proclamations, mayoral directives, and orders that expand labor standards for workers affected by the pandemic, such as paid sick leave, health care, worker retention/right of return, and policies that lift workers’ voices in firm, industry, and government responses to the pandemic.
Over the last decade, fast-food restaurants have proliferated in the United States, with the largest increase in Los Angeles County. Fast food is an integral part of the food sector in Los Angeles, comprising nearly 150,000 restaurant workers. This report investigates working conditions in fast food prior to the pandemic, profiles the industry’s demographics and cost to the public, and examines the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.
A new report by UCLA and UC Berkeley finds that working conditions in the Los Angeles fast-food industry lead to an increased risk of COVID-19 transmission in communities of color as well as high public costs.
The Labor Center is working to provide research on how California is experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic; analysis of new policies, what they offer the state’s workers and businesses, and what is still needed; and curated lists of resources, information, and tools for workers and their advocates.
The Raise the Wage Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019, proposes a national $15 minimum wage to be fully implemented in 2025. This paper looks at the cost of five public safety net programs for families of workers who would receive a direct wage increase under this bill. We find that close to half of these families (47%) are enrolled in at least one program, at an annual cost of $107 billion.
Fast-food workers in LA County are “especially vulnerable” to COVID-19 community transmission. They often face unmasked customers and unsafe workplaces. Workers aren’t protected when they speak up, and some are even punished, researchers wrote.
A study released today by the UCLA and UC Berkeley Labor Centers highlights difficult working conditions in L.A. County’s fast food sector, which employs nearly 150,000 workers.
Grocery store workers are also shouldering extra tasks due to guidelines for sanitization and mask compliance, according to Nari Rhee, researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. Rhee said it is “high time” that essential workers are recognized for their efforts.
Ken Jacobs, UC Berkeley Labor Center chair, says confusion is by design. “Many of them thought they were voting to increase gig workers’ pay,” he says. “The $200 million allowed the companies to confuse the issue.”
According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, Latino workers also have the highest rate of employment in essential front-line jobs, where there’s a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Annette Bernhardt
Director, Low-Wage Work Program
Ken Jacobs
Labor Center Chair
Kuochih Huang
Policy Research Specialist
Sarah Thomason
Research and Policy Coordinator
|
|
