Marcos Ruiz-Rojas | September 29, 2025

The start of the 25-26 academic year brings exciting growth for UCLA Labor Studies as the program is elevated to a full department. The new Department of Labor Studies is the first of its kind at the University of California. This historic achievement is a testament to the grounded, inspiring leadership of Labor Studies faculty and staff. As a department, Labor Studies will continue to advance the impact of students and researchers as they strive toward a more equal world. 

UCLA Labor Studies is pleased to announce Jennifer Jihye Chun, Ph.D., as Chair of the Department for the academic year 25-26. Chun is Professor of Labor Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA with a faculty appointment in the International Institute. She previously served as the Chair of International Development Studies (IDS) at the International Institute at UCLA and as Associate Director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE). 

Chun is stepping in for Chris Zepeda-Millán, professor of public policy, Chicana/o studies and labor studies at UCLA. Zepeda-Millán was appointed as Chair of Labor Studies in 2022 and will resume his position in one year, after the conclusion of his sabbatical. 

Zepeda-Millán shared, “I can’t think of a better person to be interim Chair while I’m on sabbatical. Professor Chun is a prolific global labor studies scholar and a stellar teacher. The experiences she brings from serving in leadership positions at the International Institute and the IRLE will be invaluable during our historic first year as a full fledged department.” 

Read more about Chun’s background, expertise and goals as Chair of the UCLA Labor Studies Department as the program enters a year of momentous growth. 

Q&A with Jennifer Chun

Q: What inspires you about UCLA Labor Studies?

Chun: “UCLA has long been at the forefront of connecting research, community engagement, and activism in labor studies, and to be part of that tradition is deeply meaningful to me. My experiences, both as a researcher and as a former organizer working with immigrant women and workers of color, have shaped how I view labor studies: as a space to uncover suppressed histories, highlight innovative approaches to labor and community organizing, and advance social justice. Being part of this department allows me to continue that work in collaboration with students, faculty, and community partners.”

Q: How has labor studies shaped your scholarship? Why is it important to approach the study of work with an intersectional framework?

Chun: “For me, we cannot understand what it means to work, or efforts to make work more just and dignified, unless we know who does the work and under what conditions. Work is fundamentally embodied and social. Who we are matters in terms of the kinds of jobs we get, our experiences in the workplace and labor markets, our ability to secure basic rights and social protections, and our access to new opportunities.

“Pay equity is one example. There continues to be a significant gender pay gap: women earn less for doing comparable work to men, simply because they are women. But that inequity is not just about gender. It intersects with race, immigration status, nationality, age, and class in ways that are structural and historical. That is why immigrant women of color, Black women, working-class women, poor women, and older women are often overrepresented in undervalued jobs, including jobs that are not recognized as “real” or legitimate work.

“Through ethnic studies, I learned about the long history of racial discrimination and exclusion of Asian American workers, along with other immigrant workers and workers of color. While these workers tend to be excluded or written out of dominant narratives of U.S. labor history, there are many cases when they have been at the forefront of change, challenging the compounding effects of gender, racial and class oppression. Much of my research as a sociologist has been about paying attention to these dynamics and showing how immigrant workers of color were not just part of the labor movement but at the forefront of revitalizing and changing it in more democratic and emancipatory ways.

“So for me, intersectional analysis is central. It provides a powerful lens for answering foundational questions: Why does inequality and injustice persist? What kind of social change matters? 

Q: What are some of your goals as Chair?

Chun: “This is such an exciting time to advance the field of labor studies at UCLA as it becomes a department. I am joining a program with a rich history. UCLA Labor Studies has always been on the cutting edge, working closely and in solidarity with activists, organizers, and other social change agents to deepen our understanding of social, economic, and political transformation.

“Our program attracts many children of immigrants, first-generation students, Latinx students, students of color, transfer students, young women, feminist and queer students. Students often find that what they learn in class transforms how they understand their own lives. That is powerful. It shows that learning is connected to empowerment. That is something I want to continue uplifting and building upon, keeping the movement origins of labor studies at the center.

“Another goal for me is strengthening the global and transnational dimensions of labor studies scholarship. The global is already embedded in the local, especially in a city like Los Angeles. People are displaced, families are separated, workers send wages around the world, and workplaces and labor markets are shaped by cross-border flows and transnational connections. 

“Places like Korea, where I have spent a lot of time doing fieldwork, also show us that similar dynamics are taking place there and here–such as economic precarity, housing and food insecurity, gender violence, state repression and police brutality, environmental devastation, among others–highlighting ways that we are increasingly interconnected, for better or worse. Solidarity requires us to understand and respect these differences while building unity across them.

“I also want to create more spaces at UCLA where faculty, graduate students, and community-based researchers can come together and share their experiences and knowledge. So many people are doing critically important work, and I am looking forward to continue building a collective project that fosters intersectional, global, and transnational perspectives as part of our common sense when we talk about labor.”

Q: What advice do you have for students who are living through challenging times?

Chun: “I find hope with people who are struggling to change things, despite the tremendous risks and consequences of doing so. Every day feels like a state of emergency, and we see so much suffering and injustice, but we also see how people and communities are standing up and fighting to protect our shared values and shared worlds, including in seemingly mundane and ordinary ways, whether it is providing mutual aid or community defense, or students and workers joining a picket line or mass protest.

“Collective action is what keeps me going. Change is never guaranteed and it comes with real risks and consequences, but there are traditions, strategies, and histories of struggle to learn from. That is what labor studies teaches us.”