Two policy research briefs released this month by Researchers from UCR’s Labor Studies program and School of Public Policy’s Center for Sustainable Suburban Development found that a significant share of blue-collar warehouse jobs are filled through temporary staffing agencies, enabling warehouse companies to pay these workers less than those employed directly by the companies and avoid providing health insurance. These jobs typically pay less than the living wage, contributing to poverty rates in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and the city of Ontario that exceed poverty rates for California and the U.S. The studies were funded by the UC Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.
The research team includes: Ellen Reese, professor of sociology and chair of the Labor Studies program; Juliann Allison, associate professor of gender and sexuality studies and public policy, and associate director of CSSD; Joel Herrera, a UCR sociology major who will enroll in UCLA’s sociology graduate program in the fall; and Mila Huston, an independent researcher who earned her master’s degree in sociology at UCR.
Policy Brief: Health Care Needs and Access Among Warehouse Workers in Southern California Why the City of Ontario Needs to Raise the Minimum Wage: Earnings Among Warehouse Workers in Inland Southern California
