News & Events

Announcing:

"State of the Unions Part II: The Fight for a First Union Contract"

The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and UCLA Labor Center invite you to join labor experts and organizers for a timely virtual panel discussion on workers’ prolonged efforts to secure a first union contract.

September 23, 12 - 1:30 pm PST
RSVP at: https://lnkd.in/gYsU4FNF

Caitlin Vega, Chief of Staff at the California Labor Federation, Peter Finn, Vice President of the Teamsters, and Jim Araby, Director of Strategic Campaigns at UFCW Local 5, will join leaders and staff from Labor Centers at various UC locations to discuss barriers to achieving a first contract and strategies to address them.

Hyperscale Data Center Symposium

On August 21st, the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center (IELCC) at UC Riverside and the UC San Diego Labor Center hosted the regional symposium on hyper-scale data center development — and what it means for our communities.

Data center projects are being proposed in the Inland Empire, San Diego, and Imperial regions. They bring real opportunities but also raise serious questions about long-term job creation, water and energy consumption, air quality, utility costs, and long-term community sustainability.

This symposium put all of those realities on the table.

We brought together community members, labor leaders, environmental advocates, and policymakers to examine the full picture — so that when hyper-scale data center projects come to our communities, we have the tools to evaluate it honestly and advocate effectively. 

We discussed:

• Economic and workforce opportunities
• Environmental and public health risks
• Energy and water demands on regional infrastructure
• Policy frameworks and community benefit strategies

In the near future, we will publish a community report synthesizing our speakers’ insights and the data center trends in our regions.  

Satomi Rash-Zeigler Receives Civil Rights and Justice Award from City of San Diego

Congratulations to Satomi Rash-Zeigler, executive director of the UC San Diego Labor Center, housed in Urban Studies and Planning, on receiving a Bayard Rustin Award from Mayor Todd Gloria and the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission. Read about the ceremony in the article on INSIDE San Diego "Civil Rights and Justice Advocates Celebrated at Annual Bayard Rustin Awards".

The annual award recognizes individuals who have “positively impacted their communities through their advocacy and dedication to civil rights and justice.” Rash-Zeigler, who has more than 20 years of experience working in the labor movement, said in a City News story: “It was a privilege to celebrate alongside fellow advocates and leaders in our community, all dedicated to the values that Bayard Rustin championed.”

Satomi Rash-Zeigler's appointment to the Labor Center was announced on UC SAN DIEGO TODAY "UC San Diego Labor Center Appoints Its First Executive Director."

Southern Border Region AI Conference held on December 16-17, 2024, at Park & Market

As our border region navigates the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, it is imperative that we prioritize the voices and perspectives of workers. The UCSD San Diego Labor Center invited labor activists, technologists, policymakers, and tech activists to the "Good Tech for Good Jobs: Strategies for Building Worker Power in the Age of AI." Conference.  

UCSD Labor Center hosted prominent Filipino human rights lawyer on Friday November 3, 2023.

On Friday, November 3rd, 2023, the Labor Center, San Diego chapter of the Asian American Pacific Labor Alliance, and other community partners hosting prominent Filipino human rights lawyer Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno. Attendees had the opportunity to hear Chel speak about efforts to preserve the Bantayog Ng Mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes Museum), as well as witness a traditional Filipino cultural performance. 

UC San Diego Labor Center Launch - April 12, 2023

Labor Center researchers, students, union leaders and community members from across San Diego and the Imperial Valley gathered on Friday April 12, 2023, for the UC San Diego Labor Center Launch.

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For other questions, project ideas, collaborations and requests, please email laborcenter@ucsd.edu.