Over the next two years, UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Labor and Community will partner on a $555,000 per year state grant to the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO for a project to improve workplace safety and promote worker rights across California’s Central Coast.
The funding comes from the California Department of Industrial Relations’ California Worker Outreach Program (CWOP), which taps community-based organizations to conduct outreach and training for workers in high-risk industries. The goal is to educate workers about workplace protections, labor rights, and health and safety measures outlined in California’s labor code and other regulations, as well as to prepare workers to take action if their rights are violated or they suffer a work-related injury or illness.
“Helping workers build power often starts with making sure people know their rights,” explained Center for Labor and Community Faculty Director Steve McKay, a professor of sociology and affiliated faculty member in community studies. “Without that knowledge, workers are at risk of being taken advantage of. This state program takes an innovative approach to address the issue by partnering with trusted local organizations to reach the workers who need this information most.”
More than 120 community-based organizations across the state applied for funding through the program this past year. In March, the Department of Industrial Relations awarded $25.2 million to 89 of those organizations, including six targeting California’s Central Coast region. The Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO was one of those awardees. The organization will now lead a coalition of regional partners, including the UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor and Community, the Central Coast Labor Council, and the UC Santa Barbara Community Labor Center.
Regional partners will focus on reaching the most vulnerable workers across Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties. The project will prioritize outreach in sectors like agriculture, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and retail, with a special emphasis on workers who are also immigrants, workers of color, low-wage workers, or youth and new workforce entrants.
“Our goal with this effort is to empower workers in ways that promote social and economic justice,” said Monterey Bay Central Labor Council Executive Director Francisco Rodriquez. “Our deep roots in the community and our strong network of partners have positioned us well to succeed in that goal.”
The Center for Labor and Community’s role in the project will include coordinating the outreach work of local organizations, supporting partners from across the Central Coast, and hosting quarterly convenings of partners to share successes and discuss resource needs. The center will also recruit potential new partners for the project, support at least two educational outreach and training events per year, and help create any training and educational materials partners might need.
The center will lend its research expertise too, conducting bilingual surveys to help the project team better understand the needs of the workers they’re aiming to reach, including identifying gaps in knowledge or resources. They’ll share their findings through publications that can guide future regional equity and outreach efforts.
“We’ve been really excited about the idea of working on this project since it was first proposed, because it’s such a great fit with our center’s mission and research goals,” McKay said. “We were grateful to be included in the proposal, and now that it’s funded, we look forward to working with the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council and our partners to make an impact for local workers.”
