This role has grown in the past few years with the dramatic changes that have overtaken the Southern California workforce and economy. As part of the university, the Labor Center serves as an important source of information about unions and workers to interested scholars and students. Through its extensive connections with unions and workers, the Labor Center also provides labor with access to UCLA's resources and programs. An advisory committee comprised of about forty Southern California labor and community leaders (representing more than one million members in the public and private sectors) provides advice and support for the center. The Labor Center also has a vibrant outreach office just blocks from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, dozens of major union headquarters and worker centers, and in the heart of a diverse immigrant community. The Labor Center is a vital resource for research, education, and policy development to help create jobs that are good for workers and their communities, to improve the quality of existing jobs in the low-wage economy, and to strengthen the process of immigrant integration, especially among students and youth.
