Labor Studies Lecturer Q&A: Labor Organizing with Rosemarie Molina
Rosemarie Molina is a lecturer in the UCLA Labor Studies Interdepartmental Program. Also the Organizing Director of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (LA Fed) and Program Manager of the LA Fed’s Los Angeles Mutual Training Center, Molina is an organizer and lead strategist for some of the most influential campaigns in the Los Angeles labor movement.
Molina’s experience includes developing comprehensive campaigns, such as the Raise the Wage Campaign which increased the hourly minimum wage in Los Angeles to $15, that center and empower low-wage workers of color to build power in their workplaces and communities. She has successfully led campaigns to organize workers in the underground economy, has transformed industry standards across the State of California through policy, and has created workforce development programs that build pipelines to union employment and erase employment barriers for marginalized people.
She holds a B.A. from UCLA in Global Studies and Sociology, and an M.A. in Labor and Community Studies from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she also currently teaches labor studies.
Molina’s Summer 2022 Session C course, Labor Studies 188-1 – Building Power for Change: Labor Organizing Principles and Practices, explores the principles and practices of labor organizing and equips students with the tools, techniques and art required to become effective union organizers.
Learn more about Molina and her course below!
1. What does your work focus on?
My work focuses on growing the labor movement in Los Angeles. I spend my time building relationships with workers and worker organizations who are shifting power into the hands of working people in our communities.
2. Why did you choose to teach LBR STD 188-1 – Building Power for Change: Labor Organizing Principles and Practices?
I chose to teach this class because I would have loved to have a class like this while I was a student at UCLA. This class is meant to provide students with an avenue into the labor movement. It will prepare students with the tools, resources and mindset needed to become a successful organizer. We will be learning about organizing in the context of the workplace and labor movement, but organizing is a transferable skill that could be used in various careers or areas of life.
3. What are you most excited for about the class?
I’m most excited to show students that organized people can beat back systems of power that are unfair and harmful. This class offers students a window into the world of organizing using the same tools workers use every day to transform their lives. The class is structured around a training clinic model that we use in our organizing institutes within the labor movement. Students will get to meet organizers from across Los Angeles who are doing the real work of building and transforming power.
Enrollment for Labor Studies 188-1 – Building Power for Change: Labor Organizing Principles and Practices NOW OPEN! The Summer 2022, Session C course will be held on Wednesdays, 1 p.m.–3 p.m. on-campus with 3 hours of fieldwork per week.
