Institute for Social Transformation (IST)
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Exploring the impacts of California’s minimum wage for fast food workers
Workers at franchised fast food restaurants got a big pay bump about two years ago. A UC Santa Cruz economics researcher suggests that may have come with a side of unintended consequences.
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‘Dignity in the Fields’: report documents conditions and outlines recommendations for Salinas farmworkers
The report provides practical, equity-centered solutions for the challenges that limit both worker well-being and long-term regional prosperity.
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Ensuring equitable technological transitions: AI use in the workforce
While much of the public conversation about generative AI and work focuses on job replacement or increased productivity, Chris Benner’s research is taking clues from prior technological transitions to understand what other improvements are possible.
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Transformative gifts will help students find their paths as changemakers
Experiential learning programs at the Institute for Social Transformation recently received $1.2 million in new funding to support the next generation of social impact leaders.
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Empowering community organizations to lead on economic development
The Institute for Social Transformation organized a recent statewide gathering that brought together partners from the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative.
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Institute for Social Transformation awarded $700k grant to support inclusive economic development throughout Central California
The James Irvine Foundation has awarded the institute a two-year community-level learning partner grant as part of its Priority Communities initiatives, which seeks to strengthen regional economies by empowering low-wage workers, families, and organizations to drive economic change.
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Lessons from a historic quest to heal spider bites are helping to fight neglected tropical diseases today
Associate Professor Lily Balloffet’s latest research traces successful early efforts to produce new antivenoms in Latin America and explores implications for modern public health issues, like snakebite and Chagas disease
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Can oil extraction fuel sustainable development in Guyana? Beware the resource curse.
Environmental studies and Latin American and Latino studies major Chris Mathura won the dean’s award for his research examining early impacts of oil drilling off the coast of Guyana in South America.
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Horse teeth hold historical clues about military power and trade in Western Africa
Undergraduate Elyse Venerable won the Chancellor’s Award and Dean’s Award for her research using strontium isotope analysis to uncover the origins of Oyo Empire war horses.
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Research uncovers local labor issues that may be driving increased unionization
Surveys show young workers suffer from scheduling instability, and those who are LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience wage theft and workplace injuries. Meanwhile, census data show a harmful pay gap for Latina workers.
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Global premiere of “Power in the Desert” illuminates the human side of the lithium boom
New documentary inspired by Professor Chris Benner’s co-authored book “Charging Forward” explores environmental justice across Argentina, Chile, and California.
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Center for Labor and Community partners with regional union leaders on state-funded push to ensure workplace rights, safety, and benefits
UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Labor and Community will partner with the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO on a state grant to educate workers across the Central Coast in sectors like agriculture, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and retail.