2025: February 27 // Empowering Vulnerable Workers
Special thanks to everyone who joined us on February 27 in Sacramento at the UC Student & Policy Center for a briefing event focused on findings from our new report exploring the impact of the California Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP).
Launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CWOP was an innovative initiative designed to educate and support California’s most vulnerable workers. In partnership with a trusted network of community-based organizations (CBOs), the program provided critical information on workplace protections, labor rights, and health and safety measures to workers in high-risk industries. Since its inception, CWOP has evolved beyond COVID-19 response efforts to address a broader set of workplace challenges, including wage theft, employer retaliation, and heat-related safety violations.
The event featured key insights from:
Dr. Meredith Sadin, Faculty Affiliate at the Possibility Lab, Assistant Research Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley
Stewart Knox, Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency
Lilia Garcia-Brower, California Labor Commissioner
Sebastián Sánchez, Deputy Secretary, Agriculture and Immigrant Workforce at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency
Ruth López, Executive Director, Valley Voices
Dr. Thomas Nosakhere, Executive Director, Inland Empire Black Worker Center
DJ Yoon, Program Manager, Korean Immigrant Worker Association