Internships
Labor Studies Internship
The UC-Riverside Labor Studies program was designed to educate students about issues affecting workers and the history and current state of the labor movement. To enrich students' understanding of the issues facing working-class people and the labor movement, the program offers internships with local labor and community organizations. Upper-division students in any major who are in good academic standing (i.e., not on academic probation) are eligible to enroll in this course (LABR 198-I). Through this internship course, students gain first-hand experience working with the community and can explore possible career opportunities. Completion of a 4-unit internship is required of all Labor Studies minors, but you do not have to minor in Labor Studies to complete the course.
What kinds of organizations can I work for?
Internships are with unions or community organizations in the local area that serves workers and/or working-class people (low to moderate-income). While students are encouraged to find internships that suit their interests and availability, all internships must be approved by the Labor Studies advisor. Most internships will not be paid.
How do I get credit for the Labor Studies Internship?
Students can gain course credit for their internship through LABR 198I or an equivalent course. Students are advised to seek approval for their internship from the Labor Studies advisor before they begin to ensure that they have room in their schedule for this course, have upper-division status, and in good academic standing. Its best to also find a good organization to work with prior to completing the online enrollment form.
Please contact the Career Center at careerinternship@ucr.edu for assistance with the course enrollment process. For further information and the 198-I course enrollment form, see:
https://careers.ucr.edu/students/internship#how_do_i_receive_academic_credit.
For more information and/or to seek approval for an internship, please contact the Labor Studies Chair, Professor Ellen Reese. She is located in Watkins Hall 1217. E-mail: ellen.reese@ucr.edu. Be sure to put “internship” in the subject line if you send her an email message. Phone: 951-827-2930.
Potential Internship Site Supervisors:
The following people and organizations and expressed interest in supervising Labor Studies internships. You may also choose to work with another labor union, non-profit community organization, or public sector organization as long as it addresses issues affecting working-class people and obtain approval from the Chair of the minor (ellen.reese@ucr.edu).
NOTE: 2022-2023 INTERNSHIPS CAN BE CARRIED OUT REMOTELY OR IN-PERSON UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTIFIED (PLEASE WORK OUT THE BEST ARRANGEMENT WITH YOUR SITE SUPERVISOR AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW COVID-19 RELATED SAFETY PROTOCOLS AT ALL TIMES).
Organizations that are located on or near the UCR campus:
AFSCME 3930/United Domestic Workers
UDW represents in-home supportive service workers and home-based child care providers who provide care to our most vulnerable citizens of California: the elderly, disabled, and children. Union membership is very diverse. The care providers and their clients frequently face cutbacks in services and jobs because of state budget cuts. Volunteers might assist in phone banking members to keep them informed about events and issues, participate in events and rallies, and/or get involved in mobilizing and registering voters, especially around election times. Spanish, Vietnamese, and/or Farsi language ability is a plus but not required. The office is located less than 2 miles from campus (about 7 minutes away from the UCR campus if traveling by car and about 25-30 minutes away from the UCR campus if traveling by public transit and walking).
Website: http://www.udwa.org/
Contact: Yvette Elam
E-mail: yelam@udwa.org
Office Address: 1445 Spruce Street, Suite A, Riverside, CA 92507
Phone: 951-786-1300
American Federation of Teachers Local 1966
The American Federation of Teachers Local 1966 represents lecturers and librarians at UCR. This union helps to protect and improve their employment and working conditions, which also helps to improve the quality of higher public education and student learning conditions at UCR. They are currently seeking a student intern to help with their social media and public outreach.
Website: https://ucaft.org/content/riverside
Contact: Stephanie Ann-Wilms Simpson
Email: wilmsster@gmail.com
Phone: 760-583-3960
CALPIRG is a statewide student org started here at the UC's in the 70's to make social change. We're the group that ran the campaign to get California to commit to 100% clean electricity- a huge victory in the fight against climate change. We also banned plastic bags in our state to protect the oceans and helped turn young people out to vote at record-breaking historic levels during the 2020 elections. Our mission is to take on issues that the majority of the public agrees on, that we have the solutions to, but we aren’t implementing because of powerful special interests. We were started by students in 1971, who wanted to take on the big issues of their generation and be actively involved in important decisions on the local, statewide, and national level. Students have been at the forefront of social change throughout history, from civil rights to voting rights to protecting the environment. That’s because young people have a lot at stake and also know the world can be better and have the drive and vision to push for a greener, healthier, and more meaningful future. This year: We're working to tackle climate change, textbook affordability, and more!! Join us as a volunteer or intern to make a difference, learn skills, and work with great people.
Internships: https://calpirgstudents.org/get-a-campus-internship/
Contact: Kathryn Gonzalez-Vallez
Email: kgonzalez-valle@calpirgstudents.org
Phone: (310)-480-4353
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CALPIRGStudent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalpirgUCR
https://calpirgstudents.org/chapters/uc-riverside/
Chicano Student Programs
We create a positive environment for Chicano/Latino students at UCR by offering supportive services and programs that encourage academic success and retention. We provide service referrals when necessary, and serve as a resource for advocacy, as well.
Website: https://csp.ucr.edu/
Contact: Estella Acuna
E-mail: estella.acuna@ucr.edu
Phone: 951-827-3822
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicanostudentprograms
Inland Empire - Union Workplace Organizing Internship
Labor Center - LA Trade Tech College
If you are interested in worker organizing, the Labor Center at Los Angeles Trade Tech College has openings for on-the-job organizing internships starting immediately in the Inland Empire. Interns will be assigned an experienced union organizer as a mentor. Interns must be working full or part-time in a non-union job and attend a minimum of 12 1-hour training sessions on workplace organizing. Additional requirements will be set by the intern and mentor.
Minimum requirements: An interest in worker organizing and being able to work while based in the Inland Empire. Ability to talk to and build relationships with other workers. Access to a car is helpful, but if you lack access to a car, assistance with transportation might be available upon request.
Contacts: Teresa Conrow or Mario Vasquez
Email: tconrow2@gmail.com, masquezvario@gmail.com
Phone: 310 827 2117 (Teresa) or 909 501-9232 (Mario)
Mi Familia Vota MFV
Mi Familia Vota MFV is a national nonprofit (nonpartisan) civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizenship workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. We advocate year-round on critically important issues that affect our community in the fields of immigration, voting rights, the environment, workers’ rights, education, and health care. Volunteers will assist in Voter Registration and Education, co-lead and attend local events, data entry, co-lead citizenship/DACA Renewal workshops, co-lead in Know Your Rights KYR sessions, co-lead in Get Out The Vote (GOTV) and phone banking efforts. Work will be completed at the MFV office and/or surrounding area (depending on event/project). The office is located a few miles from campus (less than 10 minutes away if traveling by car and about 30-40 minutes away if using public transit & walking).
Mi Familia Vota Website: http://www.mifamiliavota.org
Phone: 951-581-0781
Office Address: 2025 Chicago Ave Suite A4 Riverside CA, 92507
Teamsters Local 2010
Teamsters Local 2010 is the Union of 14,000 hard-working employees throughout the University of California system. We are affiliated with the 1.4 million members of the Teamsters Union across the United States and Canada. Together we are building a strong Union with the power to win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. We strive to protect workers' rights through capable, determined labor representation. Join us in our fight for a better workplace and the preservation of the working and middle class
Teamsters Local 2010 Website: http://teamsters2010.org
Contact: Tanya Akel
E-mail: takel@teamsters2010.org
Phone: 213-407-2331
The 28ers
The 28ers is a nationally recognized non-profit and a post-partisan justice movement that hopes to join forces with organizations, communities, and kindred spirits to bring about a paradigm shift that America so desperately needs: to create the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that forever severs private wealth from politics. On the 28th of every month, we host events across the Inland Empire about how money in politics hurts workers, students, foreign-born, our food, the poor, the homeless, immigrants, and people who need healthcare. The vision of our movement calls for a one-vote, one-voice democracy by creating a 4th branch of government to oversee, audit, and distribute campaign contributions. To do this, we created our own 28th Amendment that was envisioned, drafted and revised over a four-month period. Our Amendment calls for a National Holiday for every election day and creates a cash lottery system that rewards voter participation across the nation. The Amendment, though, is ultimately a people-powered act of legislation that aims to ban corporations as humans, money as speech, and requires all federal elections to be publicly funded, exclusively. We hope to redress the harms of the 1%, which has limited the growth of a greater democracy from the very beginning of our nation's history.
We are looking for students interested in the 'big picture' and who may or may have not had experience in other social movements, but are still excited by many of the dreams Bernie Sanders envisions. We want students who are disturbed by the adverse effects of legalized bribery in the political system, which makes all solutions for society's ills impossible to implement. We are also open to students with various strengths and interests, and additionally encourage students to pick intern work that best suits their talents: Website, Twitter & Youtube Management; Campus Advertising and Door-to-Door Canvassing; Outreach and Phone-Banking; Content Development and Research for Our Website; Seeding New Chapters; Planning and Organizing Our Monthly Events; Responding to Queries and Help with Non-Profit Grant Writing. Our main goal, though, is to create new chapters through the UC system and then build chapters from city-to-city, state-to-state across the nation.
Website: www.28ers.org
Contact: Matthew Snyder
E-mail: Matthew.Snyder@ucr.edu
Phone: 951-500-1885
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/28ersucr
Women's Resource Center
The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) was founded in 1973. It is one of nine Ethnic & Gender (E&G) Departments at UCR. We value gender equity, inclusion, advocacy, accessibility, and student success. Each quarter we support at least two nonpaid interns. Interns will be expected to familiarize themselves with UCR resources, participate in WRC programs, help organize and execute WRC events, support students at the WRC front desk and student lounge, and select at least one of the WRC areas of concentration to focus on: Women’s Health, Parent Scholars, Student Empowerment, Community Engagement, or Campus Safety.
To successfully complete the WRC internship, students must identify a quarter long project that must be completed by Week 9.
Website: wrc.ucr.edu
Contact: Nina Ruedas, Director of the Women's Resource Center
E-mail: nina.ruedas@wrc.edu
Phone: 951-827-3464
Workers United-SEIU
Workers United-SEIU represents thousands of workers across the US and Canada in the apparel, textile, laundry, and food service industries among others. Our membership began in our predecessor unions with garment workers, the majority of whom were women and immigrants. These members have played crucial roles in advancing labor laws in America.
We are committed to stopping corporate greed, advancing the causes of social and economic justice, and improving the lives of working families, No Matter What!
Interns will be supporting the Starbucks Workers United Campaign as Starbucks workers build student and community support for workers’ right to organize free of interference and intimidation.
Contact: Balgis Muhammad
Email: balgis.muhammad@workers-united.org
Organizations in or near Riverside and/or San Bernardino:
CLEAN Carwash Campaign
The CLEAN Carwash Campaign is committed to supporting carwash workers who are organizing to improve working conditions in the carwash industry in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. CLEAN's vision is building worker power and bringing the industry into compliance with basic federal, state and local laws. Carwash workers are some of the most exploited workers in Los Angeles, many earning as little as $35 for a 10-hour day of work and others earning tips only. CLEAN employs comprehensive strategies that incorporate worker organizing, community organizing, legal enforcement, policy advocacy and direct action to build the worker power necessary to achieve our mission.
Website: https://www.cleancarwash.org/
Contact: Flor Rodriguez
E-mail: flor@cleancarwash.org
Phone: 323-385-4396
Contact: Andrea Gonzalez
E-mail: andrea@cleancarwash.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/271259856218341/
Inland Empire Labor Council
The Inland Empire Labor Council is the labor federation representing over 80 unions and over 300,000 union members in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. It is currently seeking an intern to help to find, collect, and compile historical information, images, and oral histories about the labor movement in the region for a public mural project and other related projects.
Website: http://www.ielabor.org/
Contact: Celene Perez
E-mail: cperez@ielabor.org
Phone: 909-565-3436
Office: 1074 La Cadena Dr. E, Unit 1, Riverside, CA 92507
Facebook: https://mobile.facebook.com/ielaborcouncil/
Pomona Economic Opportunity Center
The PEOC is a non-profit day labor organization whose mission is to provide an opportunity for day laborers to find safe work at a fair wage, to obtain new trades and skills that improve their employability and quality of life, and to improve the overall conditions for all immigrant workers.
The center organizes day laborers in Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Spanish language ability & access to a car is required.
Website: https://pomonadaylabor.org/
Contact: Benjamin Wood
E-mail: bwood@pomonadaylabor.org
Phone: 909-397-4215 (office) and 909-996-1624 (cell)
Riverside All of Us or None
Starting Over Inc. is a transitional living and reentry service provider. We help individuals and families overcome homelessness while addressing the many barriers faced by our target population. Starting Over provides direct services, advocacy, and policy engagement for purposes of fostering self-reliance and creating leaders from amongst those most impacted and most in need.
Website: https://riversideallofusornone.org/
E-mail: Riversideallofusornone@gmail.com
Phone: 951-898-0862
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RivAOUON
San Bernardino Community Service Center, Inc. & Justice for Immigrants Coalition
The Justice for Immigrants Coalition of Inland Southern California consists of more than twenty groups from all sectors of the community, including the San Bernardino Community Service Center, Inc. We are a pro-immigrant rights coalition advocating for just and humane immigration reform and the respect of immigrant rights.
Website: https://www.sbcscinc.org/
Contact: Emilio Amaya
E-mail: sbcsc.org@gmail.com
Phone: 909-885-1992
Office Address: 788 N. Arrowhead Ave., San Bernardino, CA 92401
Warehouse Worker Resource Center
This non-profit workers’ center provides legal and other services and resources for warehouse workers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and their main office is located in Ontario (about 15 minutes west of campus, so access to a car is required). Many warehouse workers are temporary workers and Latino immigrants, about 40% of whom are women. Many are paid very low wages with unstable employment and some face unsafe and/or illegal working conditions. Spanish language ability is a plus but not required, but a strong commitment to social justice is required! If you are interested, please contact the e-mail address below and be available to work at least 5 hours per week. If you have a resume handy, please send it.
Websites: http://www.warehouseworkers.org/
Contact: Xochilt Trujillo
E-mail: xtrujillo@warehouseworkers.org
Phone: 909-362-7164
Office Address: 521 N. Euclid Ave. Ontario, CA 91762
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarehouseWorkerResourceCenter
Organizations located in Los Angeles:
CLEAN Carwash Campaign
The CLEAN Carwash Campaign is committed to supporting carwash workers who are organizing to improve working conditions in the carwash industry in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. CLEAN's vision is building worker power and bringing the industry into compliance with basic federal, state and local laws. Carwash workers are some of the most exploited workers in Los Angeles, many earning as little as $35 for a 10-hour day of work and others earning tips only. CLEAN employs comprehensive strategies that incorporate worker organizing, community organizing, legal enforcement, policy advocacy and direct action to build the worker power necessary to achieve our mission.
Website: https://www.cleancarwash.org/
Contact: Flor Rodriguez
E-mail: flor@cleancarwash.org
Phone: 323-385-4396
Contact: Andrea Gonzalez
E-mail: andrea@cleancarwash.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/271259856218341/
Garment Worker Center
The Garment Worker Center (GWC) is a worker rights organization whose mission is to organize low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles in the fight for social and economic justice. GWC addresses the systemic problems of wage theft, unhealthy and unsafe working conditions, and the abusive and inhumane treatment faced by workers on the job.
Website: https://garmentworkercenter.org/
Contact: Marissa Nuncio
E-mail: marissanuncio@gmail.com
Phone: 213-748-5866; 213-453-9907
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarmentWorkerCntr/