Website: clc.ucmerced.edu
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center conducts research and education on issues of community, labor, and the environment. It is the largest labor center serving a rural region in the US and has four major areas of expertise: rural work, workplace health and safety, immigrant rights and the safety net, and high road economic development.
In a short time, the Community and Labor Center has established itself as a leader in applied labor research and public education. The center has produced research briefs, reports, and fact sheets that have been cited regularly in mainstream media, such as the New York Times, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, and CalMatters.
The center’s research has informed the passage of several major California immigrant and workers’ rights policies, such as the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard, paid leave protections, tax benefits for undocumented immigrant worker households, and disaster relief. The center also informed the first federal initiative to raise labor standards among agricultural guestworkers.
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center has held a full-time, paid summer internship program for the past six years. Through the internship, undergraduate students receive training and placement with a labor union or community-based organization. Past participants have learned how to organize workers, and some have worked on historic initiatives.
The center’s projects are funded by a variety of public agencies and philanthropic foundations. These include the California Department of Public Health, California Labor & Workforce Development Agency, California Workforce Development Board, and the City of Fresno.
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