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UCLA Labor Center

The UCLA Labor Center is one of two departments established by California Governor Earl Warren with the intent to bridge a mutual relationship between the two original Universities of California and the state’s various trade unions.

Origins

The origins of The Labor Center predates World War II by about 20 years. It is considered to have originated when the University of California Berkeley was producing some of the more influential labor economists of the time; economists such as Ira Cross, Paul Taylor and Charles Gulick. These economic researchers were highly influential academics credited for laying the foundation for labor researching institutions such as the UCLA Labor Center to come into existence. At this time from 1910-1930 the union membership went from about 3 million to 5 million in 2 decades.

Foundation

Organized labor reached an apex of social and political influence around the conclusion of World War II. Industrial relations units were founded at many universities within the United States in this era. Preceding the early 1940’s, the maintenance of membership provision was granted to about 5 million employed workers after negotiations involving the National War Labor Board. The maintenance of membership forced labor unions to stay on their union contracts at the steak of losing their jobs. The Mediation Board was established by President Roosevelt and facilitated in increasing union membership from around 9 million in 1941 to about 14 million in 1945 after numerous granted demands in favor of union leaders across the country. Also by this year, the percentage of union density, the wage and salary workers in unions, reached an unprecedented 35.4% due to a limitation on feasible corporate intimidation. This surge in membership created a wide and reliable base for the liberal-labor electorate. In the same year union membership hit 14 million, Governor Earl Warren of California established two labor institutes at the University of California: one at UCLA, the other at Berkeley. The attempt was to create a connection between these two universities and various trade unions to better Californian society.

Institute for Research on Labor and Education

The Institute for Research on Labor and Education (IRLE) was founded in 1944 when University of California President Gordon Sproul and California Governor Earl Warren together planned for this establishment to be founded at both Berkeley and Los Angeles in conjunction with a labor-university committee in California. Governor Warren had President Sproul enlarge the University's educational base in labor and industrial relations to further facilitate transparent worker-management relationships. The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Education started publishing research papers with analysis around 2 years following its establishment. Those initial papers in the IRLE’s early decades describe more fiscal subjects like national welfare and its relations to commodity prices and wages, economic impacts of collective bargaining, the agricultural labor force, various strikes, and other trade and industry topics regarding social mobility and common disparities. This department provides research for utilization by, not only participants of these various labor movements, but also the general public and those students working within the university. Much of the findings from this institute at UCLA formulated a national dialog as some of these employment and labor concerns began to surface into the public’s personal lives. The various publications convey a cross-section of outlooks about various working environments during the late twentieth century. These periodicals and journals explore various policy and political objectives, routine and common worker experience, and the areas of discipline for faculty researchers associated with the Institute Within the already established IRLE at UCLA, the new Center for Labor Research and Education was created in 1964. The establishment of the Center for Labor Research and Education within the IRLE further consolidated the ties between the labor movements and the university. The program is currently directed by Chris Tilly, a Ph.D. in Economics and Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and Professor of Urban Planning. Decades after its founding, the UCLA Institute, then the IRLE, has contributed to the national dialogue on social issues surrounding workers, their work environment, and employment. This institute has generated a plethora of research studies on poor wages, while also meticulously working with local unions, community-based organizations, and policymakers in order to improve working conditions, wages, and the livelihood of those workers. The authors of the IRLE highlighted topical issues thought to be deserving of collaboration between the research published by UCLA and the various representatives of labor groups: job displacement, white-collar union needs, hour reduction, and unemployment. Today, the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment seeks to nurture an environment of research, education, and dialog on employment, while also touching on UCLA campus issues, linking them to macro level phenomena via community and outreach service. When the Labor Center was expanding its programs in 1978, it created the Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) department; a sister program of the IRLE department. The creation of this department, in conjunction with the rapidly growing public sector, created a mounting interest in education and inquiry in this field despite crippling budget cuts in this decade. The IRLE boosted its influence around 1995 when the national AFL-CIO instituted new leadership; soon afterwards, intellectual interest in labor and employment issues were more revitalized than before.

Justice for Janitors

An example of one of the more controversial studies done in this institute was the Justice for Janitors campaign. This work documented the creation of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from 1986-2000. In this campaign of primarily Latin immigrants, many workers began organizing in different cleaning industries around Los Angeles counties. The research and demonstrations are highly documented, primarily with photographs, audiovisuals, and three rounds of contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreements for about 24 years. The collection also includes various research studies, memorabilia, training and planning records, various complaints and grievances, union recognitions, records of Southern California SEIU photographs for healthcare and security guard campaigns, some dating back to the 1930’s. The movement began in Denver 1986 when the poorly paid, de-unionized cleaning workforce in the local communities began to organize. This encouraged the Justice for Janitors campaign to start up in Los Angeles 1 year later. The campaign concluded with contracts being agreed to by the building owners hiring the custodial workers. The building owners agreed to hire union members. Larger contractors agreed to recognize the SEIU via neutrality contractors. As a result, pensions, health benefits, and full-time work for custodians became standard in this work environment.

Funding Crisis

In December of 2003, Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a financial emergency and eradicated the Labor Center’s funds in both Berkley and Los Angeles for the remainder of the fiscal year. Soon after when that fiscal year began in 2004, a mass of public aid allowed the University to cover most staff salaries through the summer of that year allowing the Institute to continue to function. There were more than 400 UC faculty members who signed a letter of protest against the Schwarzenegger administration to regain funding for the next fiscal years. Around 2005, the Labor Center restructured itself while still preserving statewide funds for research on UC campuses through the newly established system-wide Labor and Research Education Fund. The Miguel Contreras Labor Program (MCLP), an over-arching department to all UC labor research and education programs, was approved by the UC Regents in 2007. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed any funding to the Miguel Contreras Labor Program before signing California’s budget in September of that year. Schwarzenegger, along with California Republicans, sought to eliminate the MCLP, despite its providing state policy makers with utilizable research pertaining to the economic and workforce impacts of various proposed California policies on issues from health care to immigration. $5.4 million was eliminated from the budget as a result of the veto.

Modern Labor Center Programs

The Labor Center founded the California Construction Academy in 2008 in order to join together union and community leaders, workforce development centers, and local and state municipality representatives. The California Construction Academy sought to work on expanding careers in construction, green jobs, and strong policy initiatives that may improve opportunities for economically disadvantaged communities. The Labor Center currently seeks to become a strong resource and advocate for disenfranchised laborers; increasing the participation of women, different races, and LGBTQ workers in the workforce of the United States. In 2010, the Labor Center launched the Black Worker Center in order to combat the social issue of disenchantment in the labor force amongst the black community; an unprecedented program. The Labor Center has initiated new programs recently to assist the further inclusion of immigrant workers and students within their own respective communities. In 2011, The Dream Resource Center was founded with the intention to promote higher education for immigrant youth coming to the United States. The Labor Center at UCLA, despite having a compromised budget, has been able to provide research and man power to approach various topical societal problems in labor and employment in the community of Los Angeles and beyond.