UC Berkeley Labor Center

The UC Berkeley Labor Center hosted a webinar on Thursday, June 25 to discuss our June 22 publication Data Brief: Public Sector Impacts of the Great Recession and COVID-19 and a forthcoming blog post: California’s public sector: lessons from the Great Recession for the COVID-19 response.

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.

The study, by Ken Jacobs and Kuochih Huang of the UC Berkeley Labor Center, finds that almost half of the families of construction workers in California are enrolled in a safety net program at an annual cost of over $3 billion in public funds. By comparison, just over a third of all California workers have a family member enrolled in one or more safety net programs.

Meet the Labor Center’s Labor Summer 2021 intern class! Now in its third decade, Labor Summer is a rare paid educational internship that connects students with the labor movement in California.

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.