Labor and Community Studies

This course covers students’ rights on the job under federal, state and local law and in the union and nonunion workplace. It examines wage and hour, job security, anti-discrimination, health and safety and collective bargaining protections. Students will learn how to organize effectively for fair conditions at work.

An overview of the various organizations within the San Francisco labor community, their work and their issues. Unions, workers' centers and community-based advocacy organizations. Organizing for a better work life, building labor-community coalitions and telling working people's stories. People of color, immigrant, women's and LGBT workers' rights. The "Si, Se Puede" spirit in Bay Area labor today.

Introduction to the role of the workers' advocate. Union, workers' center and government agency advocacy. Organizing for social, racial and economic justice. Employment rights laws. Shop stewards and union contract enforcement. Labor-community solidarity.

Labor and Community Empowerment teaches organizing theory and practice. It conducts an in-depth study of different periods of organizing history and of workers organizing potential today. It trains students to participate in and lead effective labor and community organizing campaigns. Planning, conducting and evaluating organizing campaigns.

Brings working peoples' voices to the forefront of society and social change movements. Explores communications campaigns, oral history projects, public speaking, media relations and labor and community arts programs. Special emphasis is put on students telling their own stories and those of their communities, workers centers and unions. Taking organizing deeper and further - into the heart and soul of workers lives.

Prepares students to advocate for improvements in their wages, working and living conditions in a variety of settings. Includes identifying issues, planning and campaign evaluation. Preparation for volunteer and paid work in union, community, and electoral activism.

This course bridges Labor Studies and Latin American/ Latino/a/x Studies by comparing the histories of realities of Latin American workers in the US and Latin America. Traces the parallel histories of Latin American and Latino workers and the ways in which politics, economics and social movements shape their experiences.

A multicultural, working people's history of the early United States. Native Americans,
Africans and Europeans. Latinos and Asians. Farmers, shoemakers, and slaves.
Revolution and expansion. Abolishing slavery, establishing workers' and women's rights.
Cooperative communities and unions. The Civil War and Emancipation. American ideals
and American realities.

A labor and working class, post-Civil War history of the United States. Native, African, Latinx and European Americans create a country. Cowboy unions and rancher rebels. Republic vs. Empire, Progressives and labor reform. Workers in World War I. During '30s hard times, workers make a New Deal. Labor Defeats Fascism. Cold Warriors attack, Freedom Marchers fight back. Worker rebels of the '80s and '90s. Immigrant workers and unions today. The needy battle the greedy. Liberty and Justice for All!

Strategies and tactics of organizing for economic, racial, and social justice in various settings, including workplace and community organizing, unions and workers' centers, and labor-community coalition building. Study the effectiveness of different approaches to building labor and community power in the current historical context.

History of California's working people and their quest for social justice, encompassing the state's diverse regions, races and cultures. Examines early Native Peoples, the Spanish conquest, and Chinese workers and the railroads. Studies agricultural, industrial, service and public sector workers, the tech sector, and the impact of economic inequality on society. Explores strategies used by workers, unions, worker centers, and community organizations advocating for workers power.

A study of United States labor relations and employment rights. Includes labor history, economics and law, as well as contemporary issues in various industries. Labor relations and employment rights as they have shaped American society.

A study of labor relations in general and through the lens of specific industries. Course explores workplace power: its history, present status, and current issues. Topics include forms of ownership, the structure of the workplace, the changing workforce, management practices, unionization, workers' rights, and current developments. A thorough analysis of labor relations and employment rights as they affect the economy, society and culture.

Training for volunteer peer counselors in the areas of substance abuse, strike and emergency assistance, unemployment, and related workplace problems. Covers information and referral issues as well as communication skills necessary to peer counseling.

Public policy shapes our workplaces, neighborhoods, the criminal justice system, and the environment. This course examines the role of policy making in working-class communities and communities of color. Particular attention will be given to local policy formation and the ways that labor and community organizations can influence the process for the benefit of all.

The course examines the ways that workforce and housing development policies shape the lives of working-class communities. Particular attention will be given to the ways that city and county governments contend with a shifting global economy, changing federal priorities and regional job training and affordable housing needs.