UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

: BREAKING: The latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report finds the playing field continues to level for women and minorities, but there’s stubborn structural gridlock at the highest ranks and behind the camera. L.A. Social Science #hollywooddiversity

#FactFriday The repeal of Affirmative Action has had an impact on the demographic composition at UC, specifically among Black students, who make up 3-4% of the student body throughout all UC Campuses. This percent is lower than the proportion of Black persons in California, which is 6% of the state population.

#TBT In 1996, Proposition 209 eliminated the consideration of race, ethnicity, and sex in public employment, contracting, and university admissions. In response, students of color at UC and CSU campuses organized protests against the repeal of Affirmative Action.

"Nearly 73% of people diagnosed with coronavirus were Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% were Black and 4.1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, the survey found. This suggests "Hispanic or Latino, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander workers in these workplaces might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19," the researchers wrote in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases." https://www.cnn.com//cdc-study-covid-hispanic-w/index.html

#FactFriday "8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours of what we will." This emblematic refrain of the movement for the eight-hour work day was written into law in the United States with the FLSA (1940). However, many countries outside of the U.S. had already adopted 8-hour workdays prior to 1940, such as Uruguay, Mexico, Spain, France, Russia, and others.

#TBT This past Monday was Indigenous Peoples' Day! The struggle for indigenous peoples' rights is inextricably linked to the labor movement and the fight for economic justice. This week we celebrate an icon in labor history, Lucy Parsons, a woman of mixed African, Native American, and Mexican descent.

"Millions of jobless Americans have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But one group of workers likely had more luck navigating the overwhelmed state agencies administering those programs: union members."

"Coronavirus-forced school closures have fueled an unprecedented run on tutors that takes in the gamut of circumstances including students who need academic help...and those seeking to maintain their high-achieving status. But for every parent who can pay for private tutoring, there are others who can’t, fueling a surge of start-up volunteer tutoring groups." "UCLA recently established the Bruin Tutor Network, a free service made up of more than 500 student volunteers who work online at least one hour a week with K-12 pupils in foster care across L.A. County. The network also provides resources to foster parents and caregivers who want to get better at supporting their children while they adjust to e-learning."

#FactFriday Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act guarantees employees "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection."

#TBT In 2008, Rank and file workers and UFCW Organizers in North Carolina achieved their union victory. During the 15-year struggle, workers and organizers gathered in workers centers for English-language classes and Know-Your-Rights workshops, building power and solidarity among the majority Black and Latinx workforce of Smithfield.

BREAKING: A new binational report, from @UFCWOUTreach and @uclalabor, documents that UFCW LGBTQ+ union members and their allies are leading the way in challenging discriminatory laws and policies. Link to report: bit.ly/LGBTQ_workers #UFCWequality #LGBTQworkers #LGBTQjustice

"With the number of remote workers surging as a result of the pandemic42 percent of U.S. workers are now doing their jobs from their kitchens, living rooms, and home officesa number of employers have begun requiring their workers to download spying software to their laptops and smartphones. The goal is for businesses to monitor what their remote employees do all day, to track job performance and productivity, and to reduce so-called 'cyber-slacking.'"

"Much of today’s staff is composed of African American, Latino or Filipino employees, and many are older, making them among the most vulnerable populations in the pandemic."

"Research shows that motherhood triggers (false) assumptions that mothers are more focused on their children than on their job and are therefore less competent, committed, and productive at work than fathers or employees without children."

#FactFriday Though logistics is such a large employer, many semi-truck drivers have been misclassified as independent contractors in recent decades.