Recent iir items

Inequities in job-based health coverage for California low-wage workers

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most Californians under age 65 receive health coverage through their or a family member’s employer. Workers earning low wages, however, are far less likely to have job-based coverage, and more likely to be on Medi-Cal or uninsured. This creates a real public cost: California spends tens of billions in state and federal dollars covering low-wage workers through Medi-Cal. In the face of federal Medicaid cuts in H.R. 1, California must revisit the question of who bears responsibility for the health coverage of low-wage workers in a system that primarily relies on job-based coverage for working-age adults and their dependents. This brief examines the low-wage health coverage gap, its costs to the state, and possible policy options—drawing on lessons from other states—available to California lawmakers.

Social Security is California’s Economic Bedrock: How and Why We Can Strengthen the Promise

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post explains Social Security’s vital importance to millions of Californians, underscores its role as a key driver of the state economy, and highlights broad bipartisan support for sensible proposals to strengthen the system’s finances and enhance benefits for vulnerable groups.

Underpaid, Undervalued, and Essential: The Security Guard Workforce in the United States

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This report examines the security guard workforce across the country—who these workers are, what they earn, the conditions under which they work, and the standards that govern the industry—and argues that improving job quality in security is a matter both of economic justice and of public safety.

Minimum wage debate goes local

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An innovative new way of thinking about inequality is emerging, where urban centers and regions like the Bay Area with higher costs of living use a range of tools, including robust minimum wage laws, to ensure that growth and prosperity are broadly shared.

Over two million more Californians projected to lack health insurance by 2030

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As a result of federal and state policy decisions made in 2025, we project that 4.6 million Californians under age 65 will be uninsured by 2030—an increase of 2.2 million—and the uninsured rate will nearly double to 14.7%. This will erode much of the progress California has made since the Affordable Care Act and subsequent state actions to move closer to universal coverage. It will also widen disparities in health care coverage, particularly for low-income, Latino, and undocumented Californians, who already face higher-than-average uninsured rates.

Job-based health care costs are growing—and workers are paying the price

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post examines the extraordinary growth in job-based health care costs, how this impacts California workers, and what the state can do to mitigate the problem. We focus on costs for family coverage, though a similar story could be told about the cost of single coverage.

Demographic and Job Characteristics of the Security Guard Workforce in California

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This factsheet highlights the characteristics of the private sector security guard workforce in California, the Los Angeles MSA, and the five-county Bay Area, and highlights the need to improve labor conditions in the industry.

Cultivating Solidarity: Students learn about the Bay Area labor movement through Solidarity Spring

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Student Iris De Leon provides a firsthand account of this year's Solidarity Spring, a three-day spring break program during which 50 undergraduates met with workers, tenants, artists, and organizers in the Bay Area to engage in a wide range of activities and learn what solidarity means.

Testimony before the California State Senate Environmental Quality Committee on Environmental Impacts of and Considerations for Refinery Closures

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Testimony of Josh Sonnenfeld before the California State Environmental Quality Committee at a hearing on Environmental Impacts of and Considerations for Refinery Closures.

Comments to Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Motion Securing Funding to Preserve Critical County Services Cut by H.R.1

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Comments submitted to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors highlighting Labor Center research on the economic harms associated with H.R. 1 due to the need for funding to backfill the federal Medi-Cal cuts.

Demographic and Job Characteristics of Baltimore’s Security Guard Workforce

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

TESTIMONY: Health Coverage Access and Affordability Challenges

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Miranda Dietz testified before a joint session of the California Senate and Assembly Health Committees on the challenges Californians face with health care access and affordability. View video and slideshow.

Earnings of delivery network company drivers in Seattle prior to App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper uses data from January 2022 to determine the earnings of delivery network company drivers in Seattle prior to implementation of the city’s App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance, and to calculate what their earnings would have been had the policy been in place at that time, finding that earnings would have been below the city’s minimum wage.

Labor Summer opens new worlds for students interested in organizing

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For students like Levin Lam, Labor Summer is a game-changer.

TESTIMONY: Economic Status of California’s Labor Market

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Enrique Lopezlira testified at the March 11, 2026, hearing of the California Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee on “A Year in Review: 2025 Federal Policy Impacts on California’s Labor Market.” View video and slideshow.

Testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing on “Modernizing Retirement Policy for Today’s Workforce”

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Testimony by Nari Rhee before the U.S. House HELP Subcommittee highlighting the challenges that most American workers face in the existing retirement system and offering some considerations for integrating lifetime income products into 401(k) plans.

Projected reduction in Medi-Cal coverage due to federal H.R.1 and 2025-26 State Budget, by county, 2028

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We provide county-level projections of how many fewer Californians will be enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal by 2028 as a result of policy changes in federal H.R.1 and the enacted 2025-26 state budget.

There are economic consequences to budget cuts

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Berkeley Blog post. When it comes to jobs and the economy, not all solutions to the state’s budget shortfall are equal. Most measures designed by well-meaning state leaders to reduce the deficit also will depress employment and economic growth in California. But the magnitude of those impacts will vary significantly – depending on what measures are enacted – and the worst effects can be avoided.

TESTIMONY: Medi-Cal losses from Federal and State Budget Cuts

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Miranda Dietz testified before the California Senate Budget Committee on the potential impacts of federal and state cuts to Medi-Cal. View video and slideshow.

Demographic and Job Characteristics of the Security Guard Workforce in Seattle and Washington

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This factsheet describes the characteristics of the private sector security guard workforce in Seattle and the state of Washington, highlighting the need to improve labor conditions in the industry.

TESTIMONY: Landscape of health insurance for low-wage workers in California

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Miranda Dietz testified before the California Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services about who in the state is employed, who has health coverage, what the gap is, and why there are people who are working full time who do not have health coverage.

The State of Working East Bay, 2021-2023