Fair Work

Working families play a critical role in California’s economy, yet often lack voice or influence on the economic conditions that affect their families and communities.

For example, far too many workers do not receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. One study found that roughly 600,000 Californians eligible for minimum wage lose an average of $3,400 each to wage theft every year — at a cost of $2 billion annually. In addition, a statewide survey funded by Irvine found that nearly half of all California workers face a host of difficult financial choices regularly, such as putting off seeing a doctor or purchasing medications, paying the rent or a mortgage, or paying a monthly bill.

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis have been devastating, erasing job gains and plunging the state into recession levels of job loss, with workers of color affected disproportionately. For essential workers, access to paid sick days, personal protective equipment, and other safety and health protocols have been significant challenges.

The Fair Work initiative seeks to ensure greater fairness and opportunity for workers in California by:

• Supporting collaboration between public labor enforcement agencies, worker, and legal aid organizations to address wage theft and ensure workers receive their full wages due.
• Providing multi-year grants to worker organizations that engage, support, and mobilize low-wage workers, informing them of their legal rights, and elevating their voices to inform policy change as needed.
• Supporting collaboration and innovation within the worker rights ecosystem in California, including helping organizations employ research, effective revenue models, and policy advocacy as a cohesive network.

Impact Goals

Fair Work grantmaking is informed by the following impact goals:

• Workers receive the full wages and benefits they’ve earned.
• Substantially more workers are informed and politically engaged.
• Strong and sustainable nonprofits improve conditions for low-wage workers.

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