The Bridges Center is excited to offer LABOR 480 Labor Studies Research: Applied Research for the Labor Movement again this winter quarter. 

Credits: 5

MyPlan link: https://myplan.uw.edu/course/#/courses/LABOR480

Fulfill requirements: Yes, SSc

Prerequisites: Yes, one of the two requirements for the labor studies minor. If you don’t have one of these courses before winter 2025, reach out to Rachel (email below) for an add code. 

Instructor: Rachel Erstad, Bridges Center Research Director

This is the class’s fourth iteration, and the focus on an employer analysis and a collaborative project with a union, worker center, or worker-focused organization continues. We will also host guest speakers who work in various roles in the labor movement. 

In the class, students will examine power in working relationships, examine how policy impacts working people, and learn how to find information on theirs and others’ employers while participating in research projects that will support working people in Washington. This is an opportunity to apply and develop practical research skills, including reviewing financial data, comparing worker-centered policy, and submitting public records requests. 

LABOR 480 uses popular education models. We will start with our experiences and knowledge in the room, and everyone will participate in learning and teaching. We will unpack who has power, what power means, and who it impacts in working relationships. We focus on power because applied labor research always connects to power and contributes to broader worker-led movements. 

Students will complete an independent research project - focusing on a specific employer, as well as a collaborative project with a worker-focused organization. In past classes, we’ve worked with organizations, including WFSE Council 28, APALA, SEIU 1199 NW, 350 Seattle, UFCW 3000, the Fair Work Center, and the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC). Skills students may expect to use or develop include basic data analysis (finding averages, summing, etc.) in Microsoft Excel, doing advanced internet-based research, including utilizing datasets through public and private organizations, conducting interviews and analyzing surveys, and submitting requests through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Washington State’s Public Records Act (PRA).

Please reach out to Rachel Erstad at rerstad@uw.edu with any questions.