UCI Labor Summer

Labor Summer comes to Orange County!

UC Irvine Labor Center is coordinating Labor Summer internships for UC Irvine students and partnering with the UC Berkeley Labor Center for orientation. Here’s what Labor Summer looks like for UC Irvine undergraduate and graduate students:

  • Eight-week, full-time, PAID internship with an Orange County labor union or community organization
  • Two tracks: Organizing Track and Research & Policy Track
  • One week of orientation at UC Berkeley (June 20 – 24)
  • Seven weeks at internship site in Orange County (40 hours per week; June 26 – August 10)
  • Two training sessions at UC Irvine during internship
  • Two to three mentor conversations
  • August 11 graduation in Oakland

Requirements to participate in Labor Summer

  • Interest in working on social and economic justice issues with unions or community-based organizations
  • Ability to work with diverse communities
  • Applicants must be available for the entire length of the internship to be eligible: eight weeks from Tuesday, June 20 to Friday, August 11, 2023.
  • Applicants must be rising juniors, rising seniors, graduating seniors, or graduate students, and must be enrolled at a college or university in the United States. Please note we prioritize graduating seniors and graduate students.
  • Since this is a full-time internship, interns are not permitted to take summer classes.
  • Some placements will require proficiency in a specific language, such as Spanish or Cantonese.

For the orientation week at UC Berkeley, the UC Irvine Labor Center will cover travel expenses to and from UC Berkeley and provide room and board. The UC Irvine Labor Center will also cover travel expenses to and from
Oakland for the August 11 graduation. If you are graduating in June, you are eligible to apply for Labor Summer.

UC Irvine Application Deadline: March 17, 2023

Please see FAQ and other information on the UC Berkeley Labor Center Labor Summer webpage.

For other questions, please email Professor Virginia Parks, UC Irvine Labor Center Faculty Director at vparks@uci.edu. Make sure to put “Labor Summer” in the subject line.

APPLY HERE

 

How to use Labor Summer for your Field Study: 

Students that would like apply their Labor Summer experience toward their Field Study requirement MUST enroll in a remote summer section of SE 195 or SE 195W while completing their Labor Summer internship. Below are the general steps for enrolling in summer Field Study with Labor Summer: 

1. Student applies to Labor Summer

2. Labor Center selects students (not all that apply are accepted)

3. Labor Center matches student to internship (students don’t get to choose)

4. Labor Center sends final list of participants to Field Study office

5. Student submits Course Enrollment Form (CEF) with placement info (e.g., site name, primary and alternative contact name and contact information) to Field Study office prior to the deadline, to request enrollment in a summer FS course

  • Information submitted via the CEF: 
    • Student information for verification of your eligibility and completion of the Field Study prerequisites 
    • Your summer session selection: SUMMER SESSION I  ONLY - for Labor Center 
    • Your field study course selection (SE195, 195W), so we know which course we should authorize you for if you are fully eligible. 
    • Your placement information, so we know where you will be completing your fieldwork hours and which supervisor to contact. Use Site # 1004

6. Field Study office processes CEFs on rolling basis and authorizes student to enroll in a summer Field Study course

7. Field Study office checks in with each student's supervisor to complete student evaluations and verify completed hours