Industry Power Research Bootcamp
Convened by the UCLA Strategic Research Lab
Join the labor and other social movement researchers from around the country to learn the best ways to approach industry-based research and apply your findings to build industry-wide power.
As the NLRB continues to come under attack, unions and other labor groups that organize are increasingly looking at industries, not companies. To succeed, we need to understand how industries work and what powers and limitations come with a sectoral approach to campaigning.
In this five-day training, you will learn the basics of how to research an industry and explain your findings to members and other staff. We will bring expert campaigners to discuss key aspects of sectoral research, including:
- Bounding your industry and understanding the product
- How to think about supply chains
- Spatial concentration and its effects on bosses and workers
- Intersections between your industry and government regulators and policymakers
- Considerations behind sectoral standards campaigns
The camp is designed for any movement researchers, strategic campaigners, activists, or organizers wanting to better understand how to think about sector-wide strategies.
Only accepted applicants will be admitted to the Industry Power Research Bootcamp. Accepted applicants will be notified by early January. Applications close on December 19, 2025.
Now accepting applications, click here to apply!
Event Details:
- Dates: March 16–20, 2026
- Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Location: Los Angeles (TBD)
- Cost: $625 (includes training materials & refreshments)
- Meals: Not included, but local dining options are available
Bootcamp Faciliators:
Justin McBride
Justin McBride is the Program Director of the UCLA Strategic Research Lab and a former union organizer. During his fifteen years in the labor movement, McBride worked on several industry-based campaigns, including in the janitorial, carwash, and construction industries.
McBride now teaches the Sectoral Analysis class in the UCLA Urban Planning program, originally designed by Goetz Wolff, the former research director of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. McBride is also the co-organizer of the UCLA Strategic Labor Research Conference.
Antara Murshed
Antara Murshed is a researcher in the Western States program at Jobs to Move America, where she focuses on corporate research and community benefit agreements in the emerging green manufacturing sector.
She has a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, where she focused on the intersection of transportation planning, labor, and environmental justice. Prior to graduate school, Antara worked as an environmental planner at the California Department of Transportation. She is also an alumni of the Sectoral Analysis class in the UCLA Urban Planning program.
Stay tuned for updates on guest speakers!
About The UCLA Strategic Research Lab:
The UCLA Strategic Research Lab 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 train strategic researchers for the common good. Besides the Coding Camp for Union Research, the Strategic Research Lab also holds its annual Strategic Labor Research Conference, one of the largest annual convenings of labor and movement researchers in the nation.
Sign up for email updates for other Strategic Research Lab events and trainings here.
