These are some noteworthy labor headlines we read this week.

Weekly Labor Reads:

TOP STORY

Trump Officials Cut Length of Work Permits for Asylum Seekers and Refugees

On Thursday, the Trump Administration announced it would reduce how long work permits are valid for refugees and asylum seekers, now requiring some migrants to renew their work permits every 18 months instead of every five years. This measure comes as the federal government’s crackdown on immigration intensified last week after an Afghan man legally residing in the United States was charged with shooting two National Guard members. The government justified the policy change on the premise that frequent work permit renewals would increase screenings to identify potential security threats. Immigrant rights groups argue that the government is using an isolated incident to create additional strain for thousands of migrant workers who already struggle to make ends meet. 

The New York Times

Madeleine Ngo

WORKER WINS

Starbucks to Pay $39 Million in Landmark N.Y.C. Labor Law Settlement

The New York Times

Emma G. Fitzsimmons

WORKER WINS

California court tosses Wonderful Company lawsuit over farmworker unionization law

CalMatters

Jeanne Kuang

WORKER HEALTH



‘They still need care’: Why California migrant workers are avoiding medical clinics

CalMatters

Larry Valenzuela

NEW RESEARCH

Work and Economic Insecurity in California

Public Policy Institute of California 

Sarah Bohn, Sean Cremin and others

Remember This!

Memory Work Los Angeles is a project of UCLA IRLE. We bring the past to the present to highlight the diverse experiences and perspectives of working people in Southern California, the changing world of work, and the continuing struggle for equality.

Boycott Forever 21, 2001

This week, working people across the country engaged in boycotts against Target, Amazon and Home Depot during a busy holiday shopping period. The coalition of progressive groups leading the campaign said they were protesting the large corporations’ compliance with the Trump Administrations’ harmful DEI cuts, immigration raids and unfair lobbying and tax policies. Boycotts have been a tactical strategy of the labor movement for decades. In this photo from 2001, protesters with the Garment Worker Center (GWC) in Los Angeles announce their boycott of Forever 21. The GWC launched its campaign against the fashion brand after they filed a lawsuit on behalf of thirty-three workers alleging wage theft and dangerous working conditions. View more photos of the campaign on the IRLE’s Memory Work Flickr. 

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UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) advances labor research and education for workplace justice. Through the work of its units – the UCLA Labor Center, the Human Resources Roundtable, the Labor Occupational Safety and Health program (LOSH) and its academic program, UCLA Labor Studies – the Institute forms wide-ranging research and agendas that carry UCLA into the Los Angeles community and beyond.