New Course: LABOR 480 – Research for the labor movement

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Hello all,

This winter quarter, the Bridges Center is proud to announce that we will be offering a labor research course, LABOR 480 Labor Studies Research: Applied Research for the Labor Movement. Information about the course is below:

Credits: 5

Requirements it fulfills: Ssc

Instructor: Rachel Erstad, Research Coordinator, Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

How can working people create plans to mobilize for social change? In this course, we will unpack power in working relationships. Who has power? How do we influence those in positions of power? We will consider how our labor, and the labor of others, define us and our communities.

This course will use popular education models. We will start with the experiences and knowledge in the room, and everyone will participate in the learning and teaching. We will unpack who has power, what that power means, and how it impacts working relationships. Applied labor research always connects to power, and it contributes to broader worker-led movements. Students will complete independent research as well as at least one collaborative project with organizations/ unions. Skills students may expect to use or develop include basic data analysis (finding averages, summing, etc.) in Microsoft Excel, doing advanced internet-based research, including utilizing datasets through public and private sites, conducting interviews and analyzing surveys, and submitting public records requests through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Organizations/ projects:

  • United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 3000 [ufcw21.org] is the largest private-sector union in Washington State. The union represents grocery, retail including cannabis, and healthcare workers.
    • Projects with UFCW 3000 will focus on further developing the racial justice curriculum of the union. They will include fights for racial desegregation in grocery and retail settings including the more recent experience of workers being retaliated against for wearing pins and buttons supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020, as well as the fight for gender pay equity in grocery and retail. These projects may include historical labor analysis using the labor archives and the union’s records, conducting interviews and/or developing surveys, and compiling a write-up and/or a proposed workshop for the union’s review.
  • WeTrain Washington [wetrainwa.org] provides workforce training programs in a variety of grocery occupations to support workers develop skills and improve job quality, ensuring stability, and promoting workforce equity.
    • The project with WeTrain Washington will focus on providing information to assist the organization in developing its next worker training program or module. Project(s) may include surveying or interviewing grocery or cannabis workers, analyzing data from past surveys/ focus groups/ interviews, and utilizing some data analysis skills, such as using excel for averages, summations, creating pivot tables or other visualizations, as well as looking for trends from focus groups and surveys to provide a recommendation report for the organization’s review.
  • Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) [wslc.org] represents more than 550K rank-and-file union members in Washington state and is the state’s largest labor
    • The WSLC’s project may focus on the intersections between reproductive justice and workers’ rights. The project is still in development with the WSLC’s Director of Gender and Racial Justice.
  • Imagine Institute [imaginewa.org]: Supports childcare workers through training, grant assistance, and mentorship that benefits children, workers, and families.
    • Imagine Institute’s Imagine U is a mentorship program that is intended to increase licensed childcare providers in Washington State and has resulted in hundreds of new childcare providers opening up their businesses. This project may include an analysis of the program (Imagine U), possibly including examining data, reviewing policy in Washington and other states, and creating a road map that could be considered for other states or organizations supporting childcare workers.
  • Fair Work Center [fairworkcenter.org]: provides training, education, legal support, and more to workers across the state. Centro Chinampa, a project of the Fair Work Center and other organizations, is a gathering place for support and collaboration for immigrants and workers.
    • Fair Work Center is working on a variety of projects regarding workers’ rights and safety, and the instructor will be connecting with them in mid-November to see which project(s) they are requesting support with.

Organizations that may also provide a project include SEIU Washington [seiu.org], SEIU Healthcare 1199NW [seiu1199nw.org], Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) [opportunityinstitute.org], and the Private Equity Stakeholder Project [pestakeholder.org].