“There’s plenty of blame to go around” for expensive healthcare, said Miranda Dietz, director of the Health Care Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. But hospital costs make up the largest share of premium spending – about 40 cents of every premium dollar.
“It’s important for workers to have a stronger voice, because they are the front line,” said Enrique Lopezlira, who directs the low-wage work program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. “The more confidence they have in their ability to speak up without fear of losing their job or hours, then the safety and security of the Oakland airport improves. And that’s a benefit for everybody.”
The UC Berkeley Labor Center, which has extensively researched this topic, puts the current number of low-wage workers in the state at 5.7 million — nearly 35% of all of California’s workers.
An analysis by the UC Berkeley Labor Center and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research projects that by 2030, 4.6 million Californians under the age of 65 will not have health insurance, an increase of 2.2 million uninsured people, doubling the state’s current uninsured rate.
Supporters of the tax cite research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, which reported in 2019 that every dollar spent in early care and education generates as much as $1.88 in increased economic activity.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley’s Labor Center describe a broader move across the industry in which chains treat their locations as dispersed mini-warehouses, shifting labor away from the sales floor and toward back-room picking, packing, and processing returns.
According to research from UC Berkeley cited by the union, more than two thirds of Bay Area security guards qualify as low wage workers, earning a median of around $20 an hour, less than half what a typical worker in the region makes.
Median pay for security workers in California remains around $20 per hour, according to an analysis by the UC Berkeley Labor Center. While median pay for security officers is higher in the Bay Area—closer to $24 per hour—that’s still significantly lower than the median wage for all workers in the region, which crosses $42 per hour.
“They’re playing this critical public safety role, but their wages and training have not kept pace with those responsibilities and risks with the job,” said Enrique Lopezlira, a labor economist at Berkeley and an author of the report.
The offer on the bargaining table is a 65-cent raise over the next two years, according to the press release — guards currently make a median hourly wage of $20.09, according to a UC Berkeley study.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center projects half of undocumented residents in California under age 65 could be uninsured by 2030, double the rate now.
The number of uninsured Californians under 65 is projected to nearly double, from 2.4 million to 4.6 million by 2030, according to a May analysis by the UC Berkeley Labor Center. The projection reflects federal and state changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces that are now taking effect.
“Our rideshare chapter highlights a different but related development that I think is especially significant: workers who have traditionally been excluded from conventional collective bargaining structures are developing new pathways to worker voice,” said a program director at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, Enrique Lopezlira, in an email.
By 2030, the number of uninsured Californians under 65 is expected to nearly double from 2.4 million to 4.6 million, as recently enacted state and federal cuts to Medicaid and ACA marketplaces begin to roll back historic gains in health coverage, according to a May analysis by the University of California-Berkeley Labor Center.
Today, some 81,000 security officers work in New York City. Our work is not done. According to a UC Berkeley Labor Center report, the NYC security industry suffers from a 77% turnover rate and 37.8% of NYC security officers lack employer-provided health insurance.
Eighty-three California hospitals are at risk of closing, and up to 145,000 health care workers could be laid off, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. Ninety percent of the Prop 40 revenue will backfill these health care cuts, with the balance dedicated to public education.
“This is an essential workforce that’s being asked to do more and more,” said Enrique Lopezlira, director of the UC Berkeley Center’s Low-Wage Work Program. “Yet the pay, training and other labor standards of the job have not kept up.”
“This is an essential workforce that’s being asked to do more and more,” said Enrique Lopezlira, director of the UC Berkeley Center’s Low-Wage Work Program. “Yet the pay, training and other labor standards of the job have not kept up.”
Unions have been a forceful voice for controlling health spending because these costs, they argue, eat into potential wage increases. That’s backed up by UC Berkeley Labor Center research, which shows that when employers spend more on premiums, they spend less on raises.
California had about 2.4 mn uninsured residents under age 65 before the latest policy changes. By 2030, the figure is projected to reach 4.6 mn, according to a May analysis from the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center.
Manufacturing is still an important part of the Bay Area economy, despite a long-term decline in manufacturing employment across much of the US. These jobs once provided a pathway to decent wages and financial stability for blue-collar workers, but a new report finds that this is no longer the case.
A new UC Berkeley Labor Center report finds that while East Bay workers experienced real wage growth (adjusted for inflation) during the recovery from the COVID-19 recession, many still lived at or “near” poverty, struggling to make ends meet.
A report from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and the UC Berkeley Labor Center that provides a snapshot of the California labor movement. It analyzes the most recent publicly available data on union density, member demographics, and labor organizing activity in California and the nation, and features case studies highlighting victories for workers in the fast-food, warehousing, and agriculture industries.
A new case study released by the UC Berkeley Labor Center looks at the lessons for current elected officials, unions, and community groups from redeveloping the Oakland Army base 25 years ago.
New research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research finds that if Congress does not extend the expanded subsidies implemented under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, some 2.4 million Californians in the individual market—most of whom are enrolled in Covered California—would face higher health insurance premiums.
A first-of-its-kind analysis of app passenger and delivery drivers’ wages in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle metropolitan areas finds that most gig drivers in these cities make significantly less than minimum wage when all work time, gas, and vehicle wear and tear are factored in.
A predicted boom in warehouse automation did not materialize, according to this new report.
Monterey County has some of the highest hospital costs in the state. To better understand why health care costs are so high in this Central Coast county, there is an urgent need to collect and analyze data that can help point to causes and solutions to the problem.
A new report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds that defined benefit pensions—especially public pensions—are critical to providing adequate retirement income for California seniors, especially for women, Black, and Latino retirees, and those without a four-year college degree.
This report provides the first in-depth look at the labor market for agricultural truck drivers in California and the first study of this workforce anywhere in the U.S. in almost 30 years. It finds that, while there is not a shortage of people interested in truck driving, the industry faces challenges with retaining drivers, with turnover being especially high for long-haul drivers.
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.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks a Program Coordinator to support its Leadership Development program.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks applications for a Research & Policy Associate in the Low-Wage Work Team.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks applications for the position of Policy Researcher/Senior Policy Researcher in its Green Economy Program
Security guards are essential workers who ensure public safety in buildings, hospitals, and transportation hubs—but their compensation and working conditions do not reflect their important role. Our series of briefs examines wages, job quality, and workforce characteristics in the private security industry across multiple geographies.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks applications for the position of Technology and Work Program Director.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks a Policy Researcher / Senior Policy Researcher for its Health Care Program.
Join us in 2026! Announcing the dates of our new year of Leadership Development courses: Power and Participation in Negotiations, Skills to Win, our all new training Power Structure Analysis, and Lead Organizer Training!
Miranda Dietz, who has been the Labor Center’s interim Health Care Program director since July, has taken over as the permanent lead of the program.
With excitement and gratitude, we announce the just-established Low-Wage Workforce of Color Endowment, spearheaded by former Labor Center Chair Katie Quan, to ensure ongoing support for research and capacity building for years to come.
Join us for a hybrid panel and Q&A with disabled labor activists and organizers!
Join us for this student-led event celebrating Filipino labor organizer Larry Itliong. Hear about the current work being done by Filipino and Filipino-American labor organizers in the U.S. and abroad.
Join us for an engaging panel and small group networking conversations with labor movement professionals across a variety of fields and experiences.
This four-day, in-person workshop is offered to lead organizers in labor unions and community-based organizations who want to strengthen their skills in effectively managing their teams to win campaigns. Ofrecemos esta capacitación de 4 dias en persona para organizadores principales en uniones y organizaciones comunitarias quienes quieren fortalecer sus habilidades de dirigir sus equipos para ganar campañas.
This three-session online training teaches Power Analysis, to strengthen participants' understanding of how power is exercised, by who, and to what end—to develop stronger campaigns and organizations.
