UCLA Strategic Labor Research Conference 2026 Highlights
The UCLA IRLE’s annual conference brought together nearly 200 researchers and organizers from across the U.S.
Willa Needham | August 13, 2026
“Solidarity is our power,” said Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, during her keynote speech at the 2026 UCLA Strategic Labor Research Conference (SLRC) last weekend.
“And if we want to get anything done, we have to first define the problem,” she continued. “I’m glad you are here.”
Nelson, the renowned president of a union representing 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, addressed a room full of scholars and activists eager to identify inequalities affecting working people and develop impactful solutions through research.
Nearly 200 researchers from across the U.S. working in the labor movement and allied causes gathered on UCLA’s campus over the weekend for three days of generative workshops, panels and discussions.
This year marked the fourth convening of the conference, co-hosted by the UCLA Department of Labor Studies and the UCLA Strategic Research Lab (SLR), a project of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE). At a particularly contentious social and political moment, the conference was energized by the sense that the country is on the precipice of a momentous shift. But, as Nelson pointed out, change doesn’t happen by accident.
“Social movements are powered by research-informed strategies,” said Justin McBride, project director of the SLR. “We hope to provide SLRC attendees with skills and knowledge they can apply at their organizations in support of worker- and community-led campaigns.”
The conference offered 25 workshops to researchers at unions, universities and nonprofits. Other highlights of the weekend included a panel on successful public finance campaigns and a closing discussion on what the 2028 Olympics means for Los Angeles workers.
Throughout the weekend, attendees commented on the relevance of the workshops and panels to their work, with many researchers attending the conference for the second, third or even fourth consecutive year to continue learning and building connections at the SLRC.
The conference is one of several initiatives of the SLR, which also hosts training workshops for social movement researchers and produces the annual “State of the Unions” report, providing an overview of the state’s labor movement.
The SLR is an initiative of the IRLE, which is preparing to celebrate its 80th anniversary in the fall. Since 1946, the IRLE has supported research on labor and workplace issues to meaningfully improve the lives of working people. As the oldest Organized Research Unit at the University of California, the IRLE uplifts the strong tradition of multidisciplinary collaboration at the UC.
The diverse and multidisciplinary nature of social movement research was on full display at the 2026 Strategic Labor Research Conference.
“This year we welcomed participants from throughout the U.S. and from a variety of social movements beyond labor, including environmental, housing and food justice,” said Chris Zepeda-Millán, faculty director of the SLR. “As a public university, I’m proud of the fact that our team is able to create a space where critical research skills can be learned then applied to defend and improve the public good.”
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The UCLA Strategic Research Lab (SRL) is a capacity-building training hub and network for researchers from labor and community-based organizations. As a research unit of a public university, the SRL seeks to empower strategic researchers through workshops, conferences, research, training camps and networking events.
