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Jennifer Tran, a fourth-year sociology student, has taken up the labor studies minor which draws

Preparing themselves for influential careers in a slew of labor-related fields, UCLA undergraduates are adding the labor and workplace studies minor to their resumes.

The minor is not offered by a department at UCLA, but through the Institute of Industrial Relations at UCLA in collaboration with the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education – a liaison between the university and the Southern California labor community.

“It’s an interdisciplinary program, drawing on the expertise of faculty members across a variety of departments,” said Nancy Cohen, the coordinator for the minor and a project director for the center.

As a result of the unique integration of disciplines, students taking advantage of the minor get an experience not available in UCLA’s other offerings.

Some students in the minor feel that they learn about important labor issues which often aren’t represented in classrooms, a claim corroborated by Jennifer Tran, a fourth-year sociology student who has taken up the labor and workplace studies minor.

“It’s about creating social justice for a lot of underdeveloped communities,” said Tran.

Tran discovered the minor last year when she was looking for an internship and began taking classes in which “(the professors) taught us about unions, labor wages and social justice.”

Another benefit of the minor she enjoys is the variety of subject matters being taught.

Cohen said that the minor is intended to give students a breadth of knowledge spanning classes from the history, sociology, law, Chicana/o studies, management, political science, psychology and women’s studies departments.

A minimum of 28 units and seven classes are required for the minor, which will be awarded to 45 to 50 students this year.

But amid the class time, the minor also has a strong component of internships and service. Over the summer, the center offers a 10-unit internship with placement in labor unions such as Justice for Janitors and the Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates, as well as other community groups focused on workplace issues.

Undergraduates often work together with graduate and law students with interests in pursuing labor and workplace issues such as discrimination, wages and unionization.

After graduation, many students find employment with the organizations where they completed their internship.

“(The minor) prepares students to go into labor law, urban policy, working as organizers or researchers for labor unions, human resources or academic careers,” said Cohen.

Accordingly, Tran feels the minor has helped her plan for the future.

Tran eventually became a research assistant for one of the professors for the General Education cluster “Work, Labor and Social Justice in the U.S.,” helping him get data on day laborers.

Now applying for graduate school in urban planning, Tran hopes to work in economic development of impoverished communities.

She feels that the professors in the minor such as Victor Narro, also a project director at the center, have encouraged the students to become more engaged in labor issues and to go to rallies and marches – experiences that have had a sharper impact for her than classroom learning.

Furthermore, the professors bring labor campaigns on campus to the students’ attention, making them more pertinent to their daily lives.

Even though labor unions and institutions sympathetic to the labor movement traditionally have had a liberal connotation, Tran noted that in her classes, she feels a balance in perspectives. For example, one of her classes examines labor from a business perspective, associated with more conservative values.

“One of the good things about the minor is that while some people may hear the name and think it’s way to the left, it’s not. It gives you good exposure to both sides,” said Tran.

Currently, the labor center faces losing all its funding from the state, and if it does close down, the minor would also cease to exist.

Nevertheless, the center faced similar cuts last year and was able to come through with its funding intact and Kent Wong, director of the center, said he feels they are likely to do the same this year.