Diego Bollo and Marcos Ruiz-Rojas | May 6, 2025

On April 29th, UCLA Labor Studies hosted a dynamic conversation as part of the Labor Studies Book Talk series in partnership with the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Department of History. 

Moderated by UCLA Labor Studies professor Kristoffer (Kit) Smemo, this installment of the series featured keynote speaker Eric Blanc, assistant professor of labor studies at Rutgers University, who discussed his forthcoming book “We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big” (UC Press, 2025). Blanc was joined by Alex Caputo-Pearl, UCLA Labor Movement Fellow and former president of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), and UCLA alumna Mel Deorsola of Starbucks Workers United for a conversation on how worker-to-worker organizing is revitalizing the labor movement.

Blanc presented his research on the worker-to-worker organizing model in which workers lead efforts to launch campaigns, train fellow workers and support strategic organizing from within. Deorsola shared their experience organizing their Starbucks store using worker-to-worker tactics. She noted that the model accelerated their efforts to unionize, along with the store’s strong sense of community.

Caputo-Pearl reflected on his leadership at UTLA and shared insights into how the union prepared for the 2019 strike across the Los Angeles Unified School District. He explained how UTLA developed worker leadership and invested in staff who could engage meaningfully with educators to help build the infrastructure needed to win.

“When you’ve got 20 staff and 35,000 members, you’re not going to pull off a 100% strike without worker-to-worker organizing and real worker leadership,” said Caputo-Pearl.

Professor Blanc also spoke about the origins of his book and the lessons drawn from a wide range of organizing efforts, including union campaigns in auto plants, warehouses, healthcare and fast food industries.

“There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit in the labor movement for workers to seize and transform their unions,” Blanc said. “We need to push our unions to pivot and put forward a new perspective to fight back.”

The full recording of the panel discussion is available for viewing below.

UCLA Labor Studies is the first major of its kind at the University of California. Renowned for its commitment to engaged student learning in community worker settings, rigorous hands-on research and courses that explore some of the most pressing labor and social justice issues, the program became a major in 2019 after being established as a minor in 2014.