My dissertation, Fields in the Factory: The Making of Precarious Union Labor in the Salinas Valley's Bagged Salad Industry, will be completed in Spring 2017. Through a focus on this industry's workforce, I examine how precarious labor and upward social mobility reinforce each other. Drawing on workplace ethnography and interviews, I argue that bagged salad workers recognize the precariousness of their labor even as they celebrate the achievement of upward social mobility. Most workers in bagged salad were born in Mexico, arrived in the U.S. as undocumented workers, and spent years as farm laborers in the Salinas Valley of California. This migration and employment background is key to understanding their experiences as precarious unionized workers in industrial factories today.
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Working for DignityAs a co-author and investigator, this report highlights the issues that low-wage workers encounter in Santa Cruz County- one of the nation's most expensive areas to live in. Click on the "Learn More" button to access the Working for Dignity website and download the full report.
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Give Me ShelterThis ongoing research project documents the struggles facing renters in Santa Cruz County. Through surveys and interviews, University of California Santa Cruz students are engaged in participatory-action research throughout the county. I organize student activities and provide additional support. The "Give Me Shelter" report is due to be completed in 2017.
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Building Healthy Communities (BHC)Building Healthy Communities provides resources to local communities. East Salinas, one of 14 BHC sites, leads the way by promoting healthy eating and food justice, exercise and physical activities, and leadership development for local students and young people. I led a team of researchers as we spoke with organizations, surveyed youth members, and more. Learn about BHC Salinas below.
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