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We need your help to consolidate the power and voices of Southern California Black workers to scale our solutions to win locally, regionally, and build statewide influence by unifying Black worker voice in Southern California and beyond. Build with Us!
who we are
Join us as we build and center an ecosystem of Black workers, leading and organizing for economic opportunity and inclusion in Southern California. The Southern California Hub for Regional Organizing is an alliance to ensure that Black low-wage and unwaged workers have access to quality jobs and are empowered to uphold and improve workplace standards across Southern California. The HUB will provide research, communications, and supports that informs and advances policy development and campaigns.
We need your help to consolidate the power and voices of Southern California Black workers to scale our solutions to win locally, regionally, and build statewide influence by unifying Black worker voice in So Cal and beyond.
Policies/laws/advocacy priorities
the Hub supports:
Better for All Coalition
CA Black Power Network
Black labor reponse survey
The Southern California Black Worker Hub for Regional Organizing works to achieve racial and economic justice by providing the strategic support needed to develop Black Worker Centers across the region toward a unified Black worker voice..
We strongly believe there is no place for anti-Black or any kind of discriminatory rhetoric, within the House of Labor, especially from our elected leaders who we expect to fight for the protection and defense of all workers, including Black workers.
As we strive for restitution and a deeper commitment to solidarity-building between the LA Fed and the Black Labor Community, please check out a link to the statement below, and answer the following questions, signing your name alongside the hundreds of Black Californians fighting for Black equity and deeper institutional change within our labor movement.
Featured research/data
Essential Stories Report
Essential Stories: Black Worker COVID-19 Economic Health Impact Survey finds that the current economic restructuring triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is compounding the Black jobs crisis in Southern California. With heightened unemployment, underemployment, and unsafe conditions for a workforce plagued by a long history of systemic racism, researchers find that it will take a decade to address these critical issues if state officials do not intervene sooner. This report is the first large-scale study of Black workers in Southern California, which is home to 60% of the Black population in the state. The report documents the challenges faced by nearly 2,000 Black workers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among other findings, the report notes:
Close to 70% of Black workers who lost their jobs or were furloughed during the pandemic have not been called back to work. More than half of Black workers surveyed worked in essential or front line sectors pre-pandemic.
As Black workers have navigated overlapping economic and health crises during the pandemic, there has been insufficient systemic support available and accessible to them. 71% of on-site workers were concerned about COVID-19 exposure on the job. A third of workers reported uncertainty that they could afford food in the next month.
90% percent of Black women surveyed had an increase in at-home and financial responsibilities during the pandemic, and many of their employers were inflexible in accommodating their needs.
In response to the concerns of Black workers surveyed in the report and a subsequent exhaustive research analysis, the report offers the following key recommendations:
- Long-term quality jobs, economic support, and COVID-19 recovery programming
- Black worker wellness support through targeted programming
- Direct workforce rights training and development programming
In order for the current economic restructure to lead to an equitable recovery, researchers emphasize the importance of amplifying the voices of Black workers. These recommendations have been further summarized in the report in context of regional, state, and federal labor policies.
related links
Dismantling Disparity
Dismantling Disparity: Breaking Barriers to Employment, a new research brief by CARE At Work at the UCLA Labor Center, states that the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the systemic discrimination Black workers have long faced. Authors note it is imperative that state and federal funding allocated to workforce development prioritize addressing the barriers that impact many Black workers.
Among other findings, the research brief states:
- From March to December of 2020, 84% of the Black labor force in California filed for unemployment.
- Institutionalized racism leads to Black people being overrepresented in incarcerated and homeless populations and at risk for a number of health and educational disparities. These factors create economic insecurity and barriers to employment that are difficult to overcome without strategic support.
- The California Workforce Development Board’s (CWDB) Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative aims to create grant programs that ensure that individuals are equipped with skills training and educational services that will reduce barriers to employment.
- Amendments to Breaking Barriers, like those currently suggested in AB 628, would allow for more resources to reach Black workers who have been economically devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
build black worker power
Black workers remain rocked by the convergence of three pandemics: COVID-19 and the disproportionate loss of life; state violence, which has taken the lives of so many members of our communities; and chronic unemployment and poverty jobs. As our country continues to recover from the pandemic, so are Black workers who have been impacted by racism and economic inequality. Black workers continue to tirelessly fight for equitable wages and access to quality jobs with healthcare and worker protections.
The disastrous effects from the pandemic have compromised the wellbeing of Black workers and further devastating Black families. 85% of CA Black workers have filed for unemployment benefits in the last year and our aim is to ensure Black workers short-term receive resources to better protect themselves in the workplace during the pandemic and that long-term COVID-19 recovery supports, resources, and protections.
To help change this situation, support our communities by considering a donation of $25, $15 or $10 to build a movement for us, by us to create opportunities for Black workers such as resources to support local organizing efforts, provide education in workers rights, and economic recovery for Black workers. There is no greater time than now to invest in Black working people here in Southern California.
There’s nothing more powerful than a community that shows up for one another. Every dollar raised will build Black worker power and contribute to a larger Black worker organizing movement across Southern California
sign the petition
The Southern California Black Worker Hub for Regional Organizing works to achieve racial and economic justice by providing the strategic support needed to develop Black Worker Centers across the region toward a unified Black worker voice..
We strongly believe there is no place for anti-Black or any kind of discriminatory rhetoric, within the House of Labor, especially from our elected leaders who we expect to fight for the protection and defense of all workers, including Black workers.
As we strive for restitution and a deeper commitment to solidarity-building between the LA Fed and the Black Labor Community, please check out a link to the statement below, and answer the following questions, signing your name alongside the hundreds of Black Californians fighting for Black equity and deeper institutional change within our labor movement.
