Labor Research

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About Bridges Center Labor Research

A number of exciting projects have been completed through Bridges Center research programs. The published research and working papers profiled below have been funded by the Washington State Labor Research Grant. Each summary report includes information directly relevant to policymakers, employers, unions, and others. 

Reports are organized broadly by topic, then by year. To read or print reports, click on the "Read More" links below. 

Labor History

  • 2025 | Research Report - Waterfront Workers History Project

    The 1936 Pacific Coast Maritime Workers' Strike


    This insightful report, authored by Annika Tuohey, an undergraduate senior majoring in History, delves into the 1936 Pacific Coast Maritime Workers' Strike. Less recognized than its 1934 predecessor, the 1936 strike had a profound impact on the labor movement in the U.S. It was pivotal in securing safer working conditions and better wages for maritime workers while solidifying the power of unions (ILWU) along the West Coast. Tuohey examines how the strike, despite its nonviolent nature, played an important role in reshaping the maritime labor landscape and inspiring future labor movements across various industries. Tuohey is now a Research Associate with the Racial Restrictive Covenants Project. Read the full report here.

  • 2023 | Dissertation - Dr. Andrew Hedden
    Empire of Tomorrow: Seattle and the Making of Global Capitalism, 1962-1983


    This dissertation recounts the history of Seattle as an imperial city, and in doing so, chronicles a larger story about the fate of American global supremacy in the late twentieth century. Whereas the city began the 1970s in economic and political turmoil, it ended the decade as a paragon of new American urbanism, “the most livable city in the United States.” And American power, once found strictly in manufacturing strength and military prowess, was being recomposed in new professional service sectors of trade, research, and technology – sectors that heavily favored Seattle. By examining how working people, community activists, unions, politicians, and businesses experienced these transformations, this dissertation argues that the fates of the city of Seattle and the American empire were deeply entwined. Faced with crisis, their renewed fortunes required new formations of class and race that would allow American elites to defeat the strength of organized labor and social movements while tapping into growing circuits of global capital. Andrew’s full dissertation can be downloaded/accessed here.

  • 2021 | Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Bridges Center Report Revisits Lessons of Puget Sound's $15 Minimum Wage


    This project presents a broad range of research related to the minimum wage in the Puget Sound region including political strategies for minimum wage policy changes, the implementation and enforcement of wage policy, and the impacts of minimum wage legislation on working people and their families. The report highlights innovative perspectives and methods and contributes to the ongoing debate around the benefits and costs associated with increasing the minimum wage to $15. Read the full report here.

Workforce Development and Equity

  • 2025 | Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies - Washington State Labor Research Grant

    Changing Equity, Maritime Labor, and Offshore Wind in the Pacific Northwest 

    Offshore wind has been proposed as a possible clean energy solution to meet the challenges of new energy development. During the Biden Administration, ambitious policies were championed to accelerate offshore wind in the United States, including the waters off the West Coast. Focusing on combating climate change, advancing clean energy, and creating jobs, the Administration aimed to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The Administration also adopted a “whole of government” approach to advancing equity for historically marginalized and underserved groups. Read the full research brief here.

  • 2024 | Research Brief - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    High Road Training Partnerships

​In this brief, written by research assistant Kait Johnson, we summarize select Washington workforce development programs and approaches, examine how High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs) have operated in California, and investigate the potential opportunities for and benefits of HRTPs in Washington state. The framework for this research came from initial meetings and collaboration with Ligaya Domingo (Racial Justice and Education Director at SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and member of the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Board), Ana Luz Gonzalez-Vasquez, (Project Director for POWER in the Workforce Development at the UCLA Labor Center), and Sarah L. White (Labor Policy & Research Director, Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis). Read the full research brief here.

  • 2024 | Research Report - The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA)

    Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in King County


    Bridges Center Research Director, Rachel Erstad, in partnership with Washington Labor Education Research Center's Labor Policy Researcher, Muhammad Javid, developed and conducted interviews and surveyed labor and workforce development leaders in Seattle and King County for a new report, "Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in the City of Seattle and King County." The report was published by Seattle's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) and authored by Glenn Scott Davis. The report focuses on the challenges and opportunities immigrant and refugee communities are experiencing, especially regarding secure and quality career opportunities. Immigrants and refugees are valued community members with increasing representation in our regional workforce.

  • 2024 | Research Brief - Seattle Office of Labor Standards

    Examining the App-Based Workers Minimum Pay Ordinance


    One of the most active and fastest-growing local labor standards agencies, OLS became a standalone office in 2017 after originating as a division in the Seattle Office of Civil Rights. Cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco have similar agencies dedicated to protecting and enforcing workers’ rights, but the practice of having a labor standards office is not widespread. Despite this, a growing number of localities are putting effort into protecting workers, including progressive cities in conservative states such as Durham and Houston, who have both created worker boards. Local labor standards offices, worker boards, and the creation of new and necessary rights for workers through legislation are all ways that local governments advance worker rights. Read the full research brief here.

  • 2024 | Research Report - Casa Latina

    Domestic Workers in King County

Breon Haskett, UW Sociology Graduate Research Assistant, and Kim England, Harry Bridges Chair Emeritus, Bridges Center Faculty Associate, and Professor in the Department of Geography, have recently conducted a demographic and labor market analysis. This report supports the Seattle Domestic Workers Coalition's ongoing efforts to establish portable benefits and Casa Latina's campaigns for improved labor protections for domestic workers in Seattle and throughout the state. You can view and download the full report here.

  • 2024 | Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Building Futures: Pre-Apprenticeship's Role in Creating Equitable Pathways in Construction and Beyond


    The Bridges Center’s Research Team is proud to release “Building Futures: Pre-Apprenticeship in Construction and Beyond.” In this report, we explore the role of pre-apprenticeship in creating more equitable pathways for underrepresented workers in the construction industry - specifically, workers who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, and gender non-conforming. Our research includes employment data for Washington state and its construction industry, information and data related to underrepresented workers’ experiences, and survey findings from 12 pre-apprenticeship organizations and 30 pre-apprentices in the Puget Sound region. Read the full report here.

  • 2023 | Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Examining Wage Equity Among Social Services Workers

A new study by a team of UW researchers, including Harry Bridges Center Faculty Associate Jennifer Romich and former Bridges Center Director Kim England, finds that nonprofit social services workers in Seattle are grossly underpaid compared to other sectors. In fall and winter 2022-2023, researchers at the UW School of Social Work assembled and collaborated with a group of national and international scholars to investigate the extent of the inequity compared with other public and private sector jobs. The study included different methodologies and analytic approaches to investigating wage inequities, and reviewed factors that have suppressed wages in the non-profit human services sector over time, including race and gender discrimination, wage penalties for caring labor, and decisions made by federal and local policymakers. Read the full report here.

  • 2022 | Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Can Workforce Development Address Income Inequality?

As the ongoing pandemic continues to exasperate existing disparities, can workforce development programs help address income inequality perpetuated by racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia? Workforce development leaders from organizations across Washington came together to discuss how programs offered by their organizations are working to address historic discrimination and bias to uplift workers, and the barriers and opportunities that remain. Watch the full panel here.

  • 2022 | Policy Research Brief - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Measuring the American Families Plan's Impact 

A new research policy brief released by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, Measuring the American Families Plan’s Impact on Washington State Working Families’ Ability to Meet Basic Needs, demonstrates how four American Families Plan (AFP) policy initiatives targeting families with children could have affected Washington working families. This brief is based on research completed by Annie Kucklick (Research Coordinator, the Center for Women's Welfare), and Lisa Manzer (Director, the Center for Women's Welfare), and funded by a 2021-2022 Harry Bridges Center Washington State Labor Research Grant. Read the full policy brief here.

​Labor and Social Justice

  • 2023 |  Research Brief - Washington State Labor Council

    Abortion Access is a Racial and Economic Justice Issue

Abortion denial and restriction is a direct attack on working communities, especially BIPOC and the working poor. Neither economic justice nor racial justice can be advanced if these attacks on bodily autonomy continue at both the state and federal levels. The Dobbs decision has only emboldened those in positions of power to oppress people who can become pregnant - those who are often working people who depend on their jobs for themselves and their families. For these workers the right to self-determination, already restricted by economic oppression, is further limited by attacks on the right to decide if and when to have a child. Dobbs threatens workers’ decision-making power both in their personal lives and in the workplace. Read the full research brief here.

  • 2023 |  Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Lattes and Labor: Examining Consumption and Perception of Starbucks at the University of Washington

In collaboration with a coalition of student groups supporting Starbucks workers at the UW, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies (HBCLS) research team developed a survey to better understand how students, staff, and faculty feel about Starbucks, how often and why they purchase Starbucks on and off campus, and how aware they are of union campaigns at Starbucks and the company’s anti-union behavior. The survey's findings and other information are included in this report. 

  • 2023 |  Research Brief - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Building Cross-Racial Solidarity with Constituency Groups of Color

For much of its history, the labor movement has been dominated by white male workers and excluded those who weren’t, such as women, people of color, and immigrants. However, those excluded groups have fought for their inclusion and empowerment for just as long as they’ve been excluded. Even today, workers of color continue to fight for recognition and inclusion in the labor movement. This snapshot of Constituency Groups of Color was done as a project in LABOR 480 by Anita Zeng. Anita partnered with the WSLC to connect with union members participating in Constituency Groups of Color regarding their experiences in the labor movement. Read the research brief here.

  • 2023 |  Thesis Write Up - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Connecting Migrant and Worker Justice

LSJ and sociology major and human rights and labor studies minor, Elizabeth Lu Gao, completed their thesis last term, with Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies Research Coordinator, Rachel Erstad, as their second reader. Lu Gao's thesis focused on financial contributions of Detention Corporations - and how this may or may not impact politics. Read Lu Gao's write-up from LABOR 480 connecting migrant justice and worker justice through their research findings and reflections here.

  • 2023 |  Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Public Record Requests and FOIA in Research

On April 19th, The Bridges Center hosted a panel workshop to discuss the roles of public record requests and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in labor research and beyond. This was part of our Labor Spring. Labor Spring is a nationwide series of teach-ins, events, and actions centering workers and worker power. In the workshop, we discussed Washington State's Public Record Act and the FOIA, specifically what these acts allow and how they support researchers and anyone interested in accessing materials that are within the purview of the acts. Watch the webinar here.

  • 2022 |  Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Art and Labor: A Conversation with Grace Athena Flott

Flott is a figurative realist painter and arts educator. She is a former union organizer and was the 2012 recipient of the Harry Bridge's Center for Labor Studies' Gundlach Scholarship in Labor Studies. Flott's work often explores her relationship to her body, the gaze, and the social realities and constructs that impact us. As a burn survivor, she is passionate about depicting other burn survivors and examining the power of the body and returning the gaze that is directed at her and others. According to a recent report from the Puget Sound Regional Council, many artists, especially young artists, are considering other types of employment due to low wages, lack of access to services such as child care and healthcare, and an ever-increasing cost of living. Watch the conversation here.

 

​Workers' Rights, Health, and Safety

  • 2025 |  Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    The State of the Student Worker at the University of Washington


    This mixed-methods report delves into the experiences of student workers who attend the University of Washington and their relationship with work. Student workers -- those who balance the demands of higher education with employment (enrolled in at least six credits and have a paid position on- or off-campus) -- are just one population that lacks sufficient research and support when considering their unique position as both students and workers. Improvements to their academic and working conditions cannot be made without first understanding why they work, how work affects them, and what they want to see changed. Read the full report here.

  • 2024 | Research Brief - Seattle Office of Labor Standards

    Examining the App-Based Workers Minimum Pay Ordinance


    One of the most active and fastest-growing local labor standards agencies, OLS became a standalone office in 2017 after originating as a division in the Seattle Office of Civil Rights. Cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco have similar agencies dedicated to protecting and enforcing workers’ rights, but the practice of having a labor standards office is not widespread. Despite this, a growing number of localities are putting effort into protecting workers, including progressive cities in conservative states such as Durham and Houston, who have both created worker boards. Local labor standards offices, worker boards, and the creation of new and necessary rights for workers through legislation are all ways that local governments advance worker rights. Read the full research brief here.

  • 2024 |  Research Report

    A qualitative study on work and health among agricultural workers in Washington State


    This report was written by Érica Chavez Santos, an alumnus of the Bridges Center, who received the Washington State Labor Research Grant (WSLRG) for the 2022-2023 academic year, and the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA)-Bassett scholarship in 2019 and is now a researcher at the Work Equity Research Center at the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. She was also a panelist in the Social Determinants of Health discussion in April 2024. Read the full report here.

  • 2024 |  Research Report

    Determinants of stress, depression, quality of life, and intent to leave in Washington State EMTs during Covid-19


    ​This research was funded as a working group with Washington State Labor Research Grant funding from the Bridges Center. Report was written by researcher, Pranav Srikanth, PhD student in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Services. Identifying and addressing factors that contribute to the mental health and quality of life of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and reason for attrition in the profession can have long-lasting positive impacts, both on EMTs and in other similar occupations. Findings from this study could inform workplace interventions to improve mental health and well-being among EMTs; in particular, targeting concerns regarding pay and access to benefits may be impactful in reducing work-related stress and depression, and increasing retention among EMTs. Read the full report here.

  • 2023 |  Research Report

    Landscapes of Uncaring: Latina Caregivers' Experiences in the Covid-19 Pandemic


    For this report, Olivia Orosco received funding from the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies and the Howard Martin Award from the Department of Geography. As the ongoing pandemic restructured daily lives and led to surges in hospitalizations and deaths, the media praised the heroism of healthcare workers using the hashtag #HealthcareHeroes. However, this rhetoric of #HeroesDeLaSalud did not circulate in Spanish-language media sources – sacrifice and exploitation were already workplace expectations for Latinx immigrant workers in the United States. Read the full report here.

  • 2023 |  Research Report

    The Custodian Project at three years: A Conversation with Founder Evalynn Fae Taganna Romano 


    Evalynn Fae Taganna Romano is an MPH and MSW graduate from the University of Washington's School of Public Health and School of Social Work. Romano is a Public Health Researcher and a Bereavement Clinician. The Custodian Project is an independent, community-led project with no direct affiliation with UW or the Bridges Center. The discussion video and report summary can be found here.

  • 2023 |  Research Report

    Wage Equity Among Social Services Workers

      

    This report was written by a team of UW researchers, including Harry Bridges Faculty Associate Jennifer Romich and former Bridges Center director Kim England. This study finds that nonprofit social services workers in Seattle are grossly underpaid compared to other sectors. It includes different methodologies and analytic approaches to investigating wage inequalities, and reviewed factors that have supressed wages in the non-profit human services sector over time, including race and gender discrimination, wage penalties for caring labor, and decisions made by federal and local policymakers. Read the full report here.

  • 2022 |  Research Report

    Domestic Workers Coalition Portable Benefits Survey Report


    ​This research report released by the Domestic Workers Coalition, finds that a Seattle portable paid time off (PTO) policy should fill a gap for domestic workers who have long been excluded from labor protections. The survey's findings include that Seattle domestic workers have low access to paid leave benefits. The Coalition comprises of the following organizations: Casa Latina, Fair Work Center & Working Washington, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network, Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, and Legal Voice. Read the full report here.

  • 2022 |  Research Profile - Marissa Baker and Lily Monsey

    Discussing Covid-19 Occupational Risk for App-Based Drivers

      

    This research project discussed in this interview was funded through a University of Washington Population Health Initiative Economic Recovery Grant. Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies Faculty Associate, Marissa Baker and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) Research Coordinator Lily Monsey spoke with the Bridges Center about their research concerning the occupational risk of the Covid-19 pandemic on app-based drivers. Read the full interview here.

  • 2022 |  Research Report - Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

    Health and Workplaces: Working Conditions and Public Health

      

    This report issued by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington, examines some of the issues and conditions impacting workers' health and safety - and proposes ideas to better understand and support impacted workers. The four projects included in this report cover workers across a variety of industries, workplaces, and labor arrangements or statuses including gig or temporary work and full-time union-represented workers. All four projects conducted by researchers at UW, address how conditions of employment have far-reaching impacts. Read the full report here.

  • 2022 |  Research Profile - Érica Chavez Santos

    Farm Workers, Public Health, and Community Research in Washington State

    Érica Chavez Santos, a public health researcher and Ph.D. student in Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington (UW), recently spoke with the Bridges Center about her research interests, approach, and ongoing study on how labor and social determinant-related policies impact agricultural workers. The conversation covered a range of topics including the importance and value of centering workers and communities in research and the importance of considering how labor and social policies affect workers, especially those at the intersection of racism and/or xenophobia. Read the interview here.