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On Labor Day, 2002, the UCLA Downtown Labor Center (DLC) opened its doors on Park View Street overlooking MacArthur Park. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by Governor Gray Davis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Miguel Contreras, three international union presidents, numerous elected officials, and over seven hundred union members from the Los Angeles labor movement.
A downtown office for the UCLA Labor Center had been a long-term dream of director Kent Wong who commented, "It would be hard to find a better site for the Downtown Labor Center, located near the majority of L.A.'s union halls and worker centers and in the heart of a diverse immigrant community." For the staff of the Labor Center, the DLC is intended to not only build the bridge between the university and the Los Angeles labor community but also to support collaborative projects between unions, worker centers, and the broader community.
The DLC houses a growing library, workstations for student researchers, conference rooms, and staff offices. The center occupies two floors of the building and provides a centrally located meeting space for up to two hundred participants that is frequently used by unions and community partners.
The DLC furthers the existing work of the UCLA Labor Center by offering the nation's first Spanish-language leadership school, the Colegio de Liderazgo Laboral, an African American Leadership School, an Asian American Leadership School, and an LGBTQ Leadership School. Other schools target work at the intersection of various unions and community organizations.
Each summer the Downtown Labor Center also offers a ten-unit service learning class for undergraduates through the Labor Summer Internship Program (LSIP).
The Labor Center staff conduct ongoing labor education trainings as well as a variety of conferences and events. In addition, the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON), a grassroots organization working to improve the lives of day laborers in the United States, is based at the DLC.
To reserve space at the DLC, contact Andrea Arias at 213-480-4155 x206 or arias@irle.ucla.edu.
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