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Jobs and Labor

From unionization to the green transition, California workers are demanding a say in the future of labor. Learn about the history of labor organizing, the challenges of informal work and the effort to build a new, equitable economy.

Katheryn at the Ontario airport | Still from "Nightshift"
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Caridad - Los Angeles Street Vending Campaign - City Hall
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56:52
City Rising

The Informal Economy

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Francisco Didier Ulloa and Bernardino Almazán sit across from each other in a radio studio decked out with sound dampening on the walls and microphones on a table.
Stressed vaccine communicators battle anti-vaccine propaganda while seeking to persuade Latino farmworkers to get COVID boosters.
A black and white photo depicts a row of cabins are arranged in a line along a steep slope. Each one is affixed with screened porches.
In the early 1900s, Los Angeles’ temperate climate and natural attractions drew droves of tourists seeking an escape from crowded, industrial cities. But behind the pristine curtain of Mt. Lowe’s tourism industry was a harsh reality of labor exploitation that continues to disproportionately affect Los Angeles’ Latinx population today.
Mariachis in white suits holding their instruments standing in front of a red house
As work dried up for mariachi bands, many musicians put themselves at risk for coronavirus transmission. Even when demand picked up last fall, many mariachis were asked to perform at funerals to help families mourn lost loved ones.
Media reporters gather by the main entrance of the Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California on February 23, 2021.
Many believed the amendment was "a clear attempt to hobble this bill" and make journalists' jobs more difficult.
A tv camera faces a woman in a face mask from behind a fence.
A pending state Senate bill intended to protect journalists was amended and now the journalists it was supposed to protect oppose it. Why?
A man in coveralls stands on a ladder as he paints a house's exterior
Chamba, a Spanish term for jobs, is a free employment search tool launched during the pandemic to help workers connect to employers. It’s available in English and Spanish nationwide.
Cynthia Bassett, a child care provider, in her backyard in San Bernardino.
The coronavirus pandemic has decimated child care centers in California, with many closing permanently. The consequences will adversely affect children, parents, center operators and the state economy.
A protective face mask lies discarded on a pedestrian footpath on May 13, 2020 in Marina del Rey, California.
In highway crash statistics, unemployment claims, anti-Newsom lawsuits and florist sales, the numbers in these charts present a “before” and “after” picture of these last surreal, lonely, heartrending, life-ending and life-altering 365 days.
Grand Central Market COVID-19 Dining
As restaurants slowly re-open again, they will have to do far more than restore hospitality. They — and the larger society — will have to reckon with an issue long left to simmer on the back burner: social inequality within restaurants.
Monica sits at a chair next to a window lighting her face. She's sitting with one leg folded on the chair.
After 17 weeks of unexplainable, ongoing symptoms, Monica was diagnosed with COVID-19-induced lupus and is still fighting for workers' compensation despite catching COVID-19 at work.
An education worker receives a vaccination at a mass vaccination site in a parking lot at Hollywood Park adjacent to SoFi stadium during the Covid-19 pandemic on March 1, 2021 in Inglewood, California.
The pool of residents eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations vastly expanded in Los Angeles County today, with teachers and other essential workers added to the list of those who qualify for vaccines.
Photo from above of people waiting in line on a sidewalk.
Bank accounts, housing and fixed wages among new benefits being offered to some of India's vast army of informal workers.
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