IRLE Publications

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

This report launches a new 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

On Feb. 9-10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California, the UCLA Labor Center convened more than 80 labor leaders and workers from the U.S., Mexico and Canada for the “Worker Solidarity in Action: A Tri-national Labor Response to the USMCA” summit. This report, written by journalist David Bacon, conveys the main objective of the event—to foster transnational labor collaboration and to create a space for strategic discussions surrounding worker rights campaigns in communities across North America.

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu

More than half of college students must work, many in low-wage jobs, in order to pay the high costs of college tuition and living expenses (Ángeles et al. 2020). Now more than ever, workers and learners are feeling the impact of rising inflation, the lack of institutional financial support, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges of working to pay their bills while keeping up with the demands of school to create a better future.

Media Contact

Media Inquires: Marcos Ruiz Rojas, marcosruiz1999@ucla.edu

“Workforce Warriors: Los Angeles Black Worker Center’s Bold Battle for Equity” evaluates the WED Project, a full employment model that codifies the City of Los Angeles’ commitment to a pathway to pre-apprenticeship and on-the-job training for Black workers.

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu

Through UCLA’s 2024 Labor Summer Research Program (LSRP), we center workers and learners as active knowledge producers, not merely research subjects. This study provides an interactive collection of data-driven insights, interviews, and firsthand stories illuminating systemic issues such as financial instability, inflexible schedules, and limited career alignment.

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu

This report is the eleventh 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

Nationwide, almost one in two of full-time undergraduate students are employed. This qualitative study investigates how 69 workers and learners, who were full-time students in a Los Angeles County public college or university and who had a job, leveraged the wealth of knowledge and resources embedded in their familial and peer networks to strategically manage the demands of school and work.

Media Contact

Media Inquiries: Citlalli Chávez-Nava, citlallichavez@ucla.edu

Building off the robust twenty-year Collective Bargaining Education Project turned Young Workers Education Project, this curriculum centers on the experiences of young workers. This simulation aims to ensure young people understand their rights as workers under city, state, and federal law on how to create organized labor unions including the benefits, obstacles, and consequences.

Media Contact

Maisha Kalam, maishakal@g.ucla.edu

This study builds on prior research on the experiences of workers and learners navigating work, school, and life experiences as they adjust to the “new normal.” Findings from this study are based on 151 surveys and 30 interviews collected from Los Angeles public college and university students in July and August 2022 by the Labor Summer Research Program student research team.

Media Contact

Emily Jo Wharry, emilyjowharry@g.ucla.edu