UCLA IRLE

More and More Unions Are Joining the Fight Against ICE As armed federal agents terrorize workers across the US, organized labor is increasingly stepping up to respond.

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a round up of labor news to your inbox every Friday.

Our top story covers the growing coalition of unions against ICE: truthout.org/articles/mor...

Catch up on more labor news here: conta.cc/4apKGWE
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

“Generation Union”: The people and strategies powering the labor movement in the 2020s Sociologist Ruth Milkman assessed labor organizing trends and union growth prospects in the 2020s

The U.S. labor movement made gains in the 2020s, but according to top labor sociologist Ruth Milkman (of @cunyslu.bsky.social), recent wins might not be enough to reverse the broader trend of decline.

Learn more about organizers' achievements and challenges here: irle.ucla.edu/2026/02/06/l...

Trump Strips Job Protections From Thousands of Federal Workers

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a round up of labor news to your inbox every Friday.

Read about the latest attempt to dismantle the federal workforce in our top story: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...

Catch up on more labor news here: conta.cc/4rCVO9N
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

From recovery to rebuilding, UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) program trains workers how to stay safe on the job, supports advocacy organizations, and carries out research on the labor of wildfires and other climate disaster. @uclalosh.bsky.social!

LOSH supports workers in the aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles fires The Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) Program leads education and research efforts for workers in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena

In the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, the Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) Program has dedicated significant resources to support the safety and wellbeing of workers involved in cleanup, recovery and rebuilding. @uclalosh.bsky.social

Learn more: irle.ucla.edu/2026/02/03/l...

Why Labor Unions Can’t Ignore ICE From agriculture to meatpacking to service work, immigration enforcement functions as labor discipline. Minnesota’s mass strike against ICE points toward a reckoning with the agency that the labor mov...

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a round up of labor news to your inbox every Friday.

Read about the links between immigrant rights and labor justice movements in our top story: jacobin.com/2026/01/minn...

Catch up on more labor news here: conta.cc/4t76or2
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Labor Studies Now - The U.S. Labor Movement in the 2020’s: Achievements and Challenges Ruth Milkman is one of the world’s foremost sociologists of labor and labor movements, having written extensively on various topics related to work and organized labor in the United States, past and p...

Tomorrow, leading labor scholar Ruth Milkman will visit UCLA campus to discuss the state of the labor movement today.

RSVP here: irle.ucla.edu/event/labor-...

A Mass Strike in Minneapolis Against ICE? General strikes don’t happen very often in the United States. But in the face of widespread anger at ICE abuses and the murder of Renee Good, the Twin Cities’ labor movement is moving toward organizin...

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a round up of labor news to your inbox every Friday.

Our top story covers today's general strike in MN: jacobin.com/2026/01/stri...

Catch up on more labor news here: conta.cc/4bf4Tk2
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Lots of news in the world of working people this week.

Sign up for the Weekly Labor Reads newsletter compilation of the stories that caught our attention, from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment @uclairle.bsky.social. In your mailbox every Friday morning.

How ICE Crackdowns Set Off a Resistance in American Cities

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top stories reports on how communities have united to form defense networks against ICE: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...

Catch up on more labor news here: conta.cc/4qZYrCg
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Labor Studies Now - The U.S. Labor Movement in the 2020’s: Achievements and Challenges Ruth Milkman is one of the world’s foremost sociologists of labor and labor movements, having written extensively on various topics related to work and organized labor in the United States, past and p...

On January 29, Ruth Milkman will join UCLA Labor Studies for a presentation on the U.S. labor movement in the 2020s. A top scholar of her field, Milkman will discuss the challenges and achievements of organizers today.

RSVP here: irle.ucla.edu/event/labor-...

Over 8.3 million workers will benefit from minimum wage increases on January 1: Nineteen states will raise their minimum wages. Here’s where. Nineteen states will increase their minimum wages on January 1, boosting earnings for more than 8.3 million workers by a total of $5 billion. In addition, 47 cities and counties will raise their minim...

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

For our last letter of 2025, we're sharing developments to look out for in the new year: www.epi.org/blog/over-8-...

Read the digest here: conta.cc/4j2fMHK
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

While Diversity in Streaming Television Slips, Underrepresented Stories Increase Share, Finds UCLA Hollywood Report The Hollywood Diversity Report for 2024 streaming TV from UCLA reported fewer leading roles for women and women of color than in 2023.

Read coverage of the IRLE's newest Hollywood Diversity Report on streaming television in 2024: variety.com/2025/streami...

NOW AVAILABLE! Our latest report titled, UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report Presents: Streaming Television in 2024, examined the 250 most-watched shows on the major streaming platforms in 2024, incl. both currently running series & library titles. DOWNLOAD here: socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-di...

UCLA IRLE’s Fall Quarterly newsletter is out now! 📢

Catch up on recently published reports, stories, staff mentions in the news and more

🔗 Read the full newsletter at bit.ly/IRLEQuarterly
📰 Sign up to receive our next newsletter directly to your inbox:
bit.ly/IRLEsign_up

Trump Officials Cut Length of Work Permits for Asylum Seekers and Refugees

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story this week brings the latest on how the federal government is restricting immigration www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...

Read the digest here: conta.cc/4pnTPFA
Subscribe at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Power from the Past: Back in '78 organizers and legal advocates in Los Angeles blocked the deportation of over 100 workers rounded up to undermine unionization at a shoe factory. The strategy spread across activists networks to Chicago and other cities--an echo of the fight-back we're seeing today

How Employers and Labor Groups Are Trying to Protect Workers From ICE Here are some tactics unions and employers at farms, factories, restaurants and other job sites are using to shield employees from immigration raids.

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

This week, we bring you the latest installment of @capitalandmain.bsky.social 's "ICE vs. LA" series: capitalandmain.com/how-employer...

More news here: conta.cc/3JODABX
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Behind the scenes at the Port of Los Angeles with UCLA Labor Studies Students explored North America’s busiest shipping port from multiple perspectives

Earlier this month, UCLA Labor Studies students went on an exclusive tour of the busiest shipping port in North America.

Read what they learned here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/11/18/l...

The Shutdown Is Over. But for Federal Workers, the Anxiety Persists.

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story explains why federal workers are continuing to struggle in the aftermath of the shutdown: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...

More news here: conta.cc/4qT3u85
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Eye-opening boat tour of the Port of LA today with UCLA Labor Studies students and ILWU guides @uclairle.bsky.social

UCLA Labor Studies students are learning about logistics and dock workers on a trip to the Port of Los Angeles today

Zohran Mamdani: New York's Working Class Elects a Movement Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and the Democratic nominee, will be New York City’s next mayor, after trouncing former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a primary and general election double whamm...

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story recounts how newly elected NYC Mayor Mamdani built a coalition of working class support: www.labornotes.org/2025/11/zohr...

More news here: conta.cc/4qN6YsE
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Top Federal Workers’ Union Breaks With Democrats on Shutdown

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story brings you an update on federal workers’ unions stance as the shutdown continues: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/u...

More news here: conta.cc/3LdYQkR
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

L.A. labor leaders link the past and future during visit to UCLA campus David Huerta, SEIU-USWW president, explored labor history archives before joining Flor Melendrez, CLEAN Carwash Worker Center director, for a panel on worker organizing

Earlier this month, David Huerta, president of SEIU-USWW, visited UCLA Library before joining a panel on worker organizing in a UCLA Labor Studies class with Flor Melendrez, CLEAN Carwash Worker Center director.

Read about their visit here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/10/30/h...

How are unions pushing back against Trump’s attacks on labor and layoffs? Unions are battling in court to halt firings and ensure workers retain their collective bargaining rights

📰 IRLE's Weekly Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story covers how unions are fighting back against the federal agenda: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

More news here: conta.cc/3WlYlHF
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Meet UCLA IRLE’s 2025 Visiting Scholars The Visiting Scholars program at the UCLA IRLE hosts researchers from institutions around the world to study labor and workplace topics in Los Angeles

Meet UCLA IRLE's 2025 visiting scholars, Brady Collins and Eli Revelle Yano Wilson.

Learn more about their research and the Visiting Scholars program here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/10/23/i...

Introducing “Labor Studies Now” speaker series The UCLA Labor Studies Department presents book talks, film screenings and research workshops exploring the top issues facing the labor movement today

The UCLA Department of Labor Studies presents "Labor Studies Now," our '25-'26 speaker series 📣

Join the Labor Studies Department for book talks, film screenings and research workshops exploring the changing nature of work, economic inequality, immigration and more ⬇️

irle.ucla.edu/2025/10/22/l...

31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers strike for better wages and staffing An estimated 31,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers have gone on strike to demand better wages and staffing.

📰 IRLE's Weekend Labor Reads delivers a digest of labor news straight to your inbox.

Our top story covers a massive healthcare workers strike unfolding this week: apnews.com/article/kais...

More news here: conta.cc/4oIWk4H
Subscribe to the at: bit.ly/IRLE_LaborReads

Kent Wong, a champion of nonviolent resistance in the L.A. labor movement, dies at 69 Kent Wong, who spent decades teaching a doctrine of nonviolent resistance, died Wednesday at a hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 69.

Kent Wong, a champion of nonviolent resistance in the L.A. labor movement, dies at 69