The 2022-2023 California state budget will allocate $13 million to the University of California labor centers, allowing scholars to increase the extent of their research on working conditions and inequitable labor policies.

Ken Jacobs said the rise in the number of shops unionizing was partly inspired by the Occupy movement, which advocates for the redistribution of wealth; the Bernie Sanders campaign; and successful teacher strikes that have occurred in the past few years.

Undocumented individuals are projected to remain California’s largest uninsured group in 2022, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. The ACA neglected them, with long-term consequences.

One of the major potential policies to combat labor violations is Assembly Bill 257, which will establish a labor standards board that would include seats for fast food workers themselves, Jacobs said.