IRLE Publications

“State of the Unions: California Labor in 2025” provides the latest data on union membership, organizing activity and worker direct action in California. The report includes six case studies highlighting worker and union-led campaigns across the state. It was prepared by the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and features research contributions from labor centers across the University of California at the Inland Empire Labor & Community Center at UC Riverside, UC Berkeley Labor Center, UC Davis Labor and Community Center, UC Irvine Labor Center, UCLA Labor Center, UC Merced Community and Labor Center, UC San Diego Labor Center, UC Santa Barbara Community Labor Center, and UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor and Community.

Media Contact

Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

This report is the thirteenth in a series of annual studies produced by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) to explore relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry. Housed within the IRLE and Division of Social Sciences, the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative (EMRI) – which explores equity and access issues affecting entertainment industry workers and tracks the viewing habits of increasingly diverse audiences – produced the report.

Media Contact

Barbra Ramos, bramos@stratcomm.ucla.edu; Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

This legal research brief details the current legal framework governing the actual or potential exclusion of California homecare workers from taxes or public benefits. This research informs how the Retirement Paradox team is approaching worker surveys and interviews, and it also was identified by our community partners as of immediate practical significance to worker members navigating these complex systems. Exclusion from taxes or benefits may be driven either by whether the worker lives with the client or by whether the two have a close family relationship. The specifics vary with legal context and interact both with California laws specific to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program and with whether an agency, not only the client, acts as the worker’s employer.

Media Contact

Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

This report is the thirteenth in a series of annual studies produced by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) to explore relationships
between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry.
Housed within the IRLE and Division of Social Sciences, the Entertainment and
Media Research Initiative (EMRI) – which explores equity and access issues affecting
entertainment industry workers and tracks the viewing habits of increasingly
diverse audiences – produced the report.

Media Contact

Barbra Ramos, bramos@stratcomm.ucla.edu; Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

This report is the second annual report in a special series titled UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report
Presents that focuses on certain parts of entertainment and media and, just like the Hollywood
Diversity Report, explores relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood
entertainment industry. Housed within UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE)
and Division of Social Sciences, the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative (EMRI) – which
explores equity and access issues affecting entertainment industry workers and tracks the viewing
habits of increasingly diverse audiences – produced the report.

Media Contact

Barbra Ramos, bramos@stratcomm.ucla.edu; Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

Harm to Table: Vulnerability and Exploitation in Los Angeles County Meatpacking and Food Processing examines the social and economic harms associated with the systematic evisceration of a once robust local industry that formerly provided dignified long-term employment, but has now been replaced with an ad hoc network of precarious and contingent work.

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu; Silvia Vazquez, vazsil89@ucla.edu; Maisha Kalam, maishakal@g.ucla.edu

“State of the Unions: California Labor in 2024” provides a snapshot of the labor movement in California and the nation. The report is led by researchers at the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and the UC Berkeley Labor Center and features a chapter from the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center at UC Riverside (IELCC). The “State of the Unions” includes data on union density, member demographics and labor organizing activity. Additionally, three case studies take readers inside worker victories in fast-food, warehousing and agriculture.

Media Contact

Willa Needham, 661-916-3673, willaneedham@ucla.edu;
Julie Light, 415-215-5737, julie.light@berkeley.edu

This report is the twelfth in a series of annual studies produced by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) to explore relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry. Housed within the IRLE and Division of Social Sciences, the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative (EMRI) – which explores equity and access issues affecting entertainment industry workers and tracks the viewing habits of increasingly diverse audiences – produced the report.

Media Contact

Barbra Ramos, bramos@stratcomm.ucla.edu; Willa Needham, willaneedham@ucla.edu

“High Stakes: The State of the California Cannabis Workforce” shares important trends that confirm the potential of cannabis to contribute to California’s growth, well-being, and environmental change, as well as challenges that must be addressed head-on.

Media Contact

Silvia Vazquez, vazsil89@ucla.edu

Shaping the Next Generation: Trends Among Oxnard’s Young Adult Latina Workforce is a research brief that centers young adult Latinas (ages 18-34) to illuminate employment trends and propose recommendations that address their unique labor challenges. The following analysis identifies employment patterns among young adult Latina workers in Oxnard, using estimates from the 2019-23 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2023 Thriving Youth Study (TYS). The TYS is a community-engaged survey of Oxnard residents ages 18-34 and provides additional insights into the specific experiences of workers in the City (Terriquez 2024).

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu