Two outstanding labor organizers join the UC Berkeley Labor Center as practitioners in residence
We are pleased to welcome labor organizers Jaz Brisack and Brad Hirn to the Labor Center for a year-long residency.
The Labor Center conducts research on unions and worker organizations and how they affect the lives of working people. This research has included the effects of unions on workers’ wages and benefits, how that differs by race, ethnicity and gender, and the role of unions in shaping public policy. The Center analyzes state and local policies that support worker voice on the job and the ability of workers to organize. We also study the effectiveness of organizing and bargaining strategies and methods.
See also our Labor-Managements Partnerships program
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California Union Membership and Coverage: 2023 Chartbook
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Snapshot of California Union Membership: ‘It’s not your grandfather’s union anymore’
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Workers ‘can still win really big.’ How labor can demand more
We are pleased to welcome labor organizers Jaz Brisack and Brad Hirn to the Labor Center for a year-long residency.
At the latest Labor Center Lead Organizer Training 19 organizers strengthened their organizing skills and learned to cultivate new leaders within their organizations. The frontline leaders from teacher, grocery, and flight attendant unions, and Black, Latino, and Filipino worker centers, among others, learned to adapt different leadership approaches to different circumstances.
Teachers’ willingness to strike represents not just a resurgence of union power, but also their determination to call attention to the dire consequences of decades of California’s underinvestment in K-12 education.
The Labor Center sat down with Seema Patel to ask more about the work she is passionate about, what she’s been working on during her residence, and what “movement lawyering” really means.
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.
May 31, 2018
The Union Effect in California #1: Wages, Benefits, and Use of Public Safety Net Programs
June 7, 2018
The Union Effect in California #2: Gains for Women, Workers of Color, and Immigrants
June 20, 2018
The Union Effect in California #3: A Voice for Workers in Public Policy
Veritas, the largest landlord in San Francisco, has defaulted on another loan and is losing 23 apartment buildings. Our practitioner in residence Brad Hirn discusses Veritas, the Union-At-Home ordinance, and ongoing tenant organizing.
The recent upsurge in organizing is worth celebrating, but workers can’t afford to rest.
Ken Jacobs and others discuss the new California Fast Food Workers Union, a “minority union” of SEIU that cannot yet collectively bargain but that will have unique opportunities to implement change through the California fast-food council.
“The union’s message — that strikes work — I think was spot on,” Jacobs said. “Well-organized strikes with high participation have an impact.” While the union did not attain all its demands, “it appears they made significant progress.”
Ken Jacobs said the growing unrest among faculty in part reflected universities’ increased reliance on part-time instructors and others who have very low starting pay.
Ken Jacobs
Labor Center Chair
Jane McAlevey
Senior Policy Fellow
Alex Caputo-Pearl
Practitioner in Residence
Katie Quan
Senior Fellow
Brad Hirn
Practitioner in Residence