California’s ranks of uninsured residents could nearly double in the next four years — to nearly 4.6 million people — because of deep federal cuts to Medicaid and dramatic changes in federal and state policy, according to a new report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
New estimates by the UC Berkeley Labor Center project that 2.2 million more Californians will go without health insurance by 2030 because of Trump’s spending law and recent state actions.
Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program, enrolls more than 14 million Californians. According to data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UC Berkeley Labor Center, about 210,000 recipients in San Diego County could lose their health care coverage if the changes are adopted.
More than 3.8 million L.A. County residents, or 39% of the population, were enrolled in Medi-Cal at the start of this year. Because of federal cuts and changes, about 1.1 million of them could lose that coverage by 2028, according to an analysis by the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center.
For those on Medi-Cal, the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center estimates nearly 3 million fewer Californians will have Medi-Cal in 2028 due to the various rule changes, with 129,000 losing benefits in Santa Clara County. About 460,000 county residents were enrolled in Medi-Cal last October, the latest data available.
The Labor Center at UC Berkeley came out with an estimate last year putting the number of uninsured Californians skyrocketing to 4.6 million by 2030 and a nearly doubling of the uninsured rate.
“Low wages drive high turnover and turnover is a safety problem,” Enrique Lopezlira said. “A less experienced workforce is less familiar with security and safety procedures.”
“Over the decades, Medi-Cal has really undergone a significant transformation. It’s shifted from a program that primarily served the disabled and indigent and elderly folks to one that largely supports folks that work in low-wage industries,” Tia Orr, the executive director of SEIU California, said.
“We have a whole database at the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center of every single contract we bargained on this issue, and it does show success. We know we’ve saved jobs,” Lorena Gonzales said.
UC Berkeley researchers, studying “the public cost of low-wage work,” have found that, when employers fail to pay sufficient wages to survive in California, workers are relying on housing assistance, Medi-Cal and CalFresh, formerly known as food stamps.
The Governor’s executive order calls for state agencies to identify how the collective bargaining process has produced positive outcomes for workers. The UC Berkeley Labor Center has developed a comprehensive database of provisions from over 175 collective bargaining agreements, drawn from a review of over 500 contracts, with protections on AI and tech in the workplace negotiated and won by labor unions.
Research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center found that nearly 30% of adults experiencing homelessness cited medical debt as a contributing factor to their housing crisis.
According to a University of California Berkeley Labor Center study published in May 2024, the net income for drivers of Uber and other ride-hailing companies is well below the state’s minimum wage.
California ride-hail drivers said Tuesday they are a step closer to establishing a union that — if certified by the state — must be recognized by Uber and Lyft for collective bargaining under a new law.
Economics researcher Kassandra Hernández from the UC Berkeley Labor Center explains how low wages and poor training put security guards – and the public – at risk.
Betony Jones released an important, well-documented, and comprehensive report on how the Biden administration’s clean energy strategy used labor standards to ensure that workers and communities share the benefits of industrial policy.
A UC Berkeley Labor Center analysis projected more than 1 million Medi-Cal enrollees could lose coverage by 2028.
California does not have universal healthcare. Before passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, estimates showed nearly 2.6 million Californians were uninsured, including people who chose to forgo coverage and immigrants without legal status who earned too much money to be eligible for Medi-Cal.
“ I’d like to think that some of these strategies are forthcoming,” said Josh Sonnenfeld, a senior researcher at UC Berkeley Labor Center. “Given this is the sixth refinery closure or conversion [in six years], I think we need to pick up our pace here.”
“What was really smart about the Biden policies is that they took an urgent need that we have, to address our energy challenges, and turned it into a real economic opportunity for the country’s economy as a whole and in a way that also supports good job quality and worker outcomes and addresses inequities,” Hammerling says.
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.
A study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds that union members are more likely to be women and people of color than 20 years ago.
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.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks a Grants and Contracts Administrator.
The Labor Center is deeply saddened by the passing of our long-time colleague and friend, Kent Wong, project director for labor and community partnerships and former director of our sister labor center at UCLA for more than 30 years.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center seeks applications for a Research & Policy Associate in the Low-Wage Work Team.
The Skills to Win Workshop is a six-week series for rank and file members and staff of unions, worker associations, worker centers, and community organizations that are embarking on, or in the midst of, organizing campaigns.
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.
