By Dianne Anderson

What started as the white women’s quest to break the glass ceiling, also known as the original model of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion during the ’80s and ’90s, soon left Black workers and people of color out of luck.

Decades later, it’s back to square one.

Despite shifts in California’s labor market, unemployment continues to rise for Black workers still fighting long-standing racial hiring and firing.

According to the recent California Labor Market Review, Black Californians saw an increase to an 8.5% unemployment rate, with white workers (5.4%) and Hispanic workers (6.1%) held steady or dropped slightly.

Steeper barriers are tracked in the 2025 State of Black Women in California Report for Black women, who earned 60 cents for every dollar paid to white men. Based on BLS data estimates, national analysts report that nearly 300,000 Black women left the workforce in a few months during 2025, mostly due to widespread cuts to public-sector and professional services jobs.

But some local organizations are trying to push the system toward fairer outcomes.

Through training, workshops, and career development programs to skill up and gain stable employment, the Long Beach Black Worker Center is helping the community get around barriers in the local labor market.

Across Southern California, Black worker advocates are stepping up outreach as SB 1340 expands protection for workers facing discrimination. The bill, authored by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), was signed into law last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“At the LABWC, we have placed 52% of Black workers who have come through our Ready 2 Work program in public sector jobs,” said local activist Dawn Modkins, Director of the SoCal Black Worker Hub for Regional Organizing.

Their organizations are focused on community education, canvassing neighborhoods, sending out targeted communications, and directing workers to the Civil Human Rights office to file complaints.

Regionally, she said that Long Beach, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire centers are strategically aligned to support Black workers through training, coordinated organizing, and monthly #EchoBlackVoices sessions to strengthen career pathways.

“We work in coalition with statewide partner organizations like the CA Black Power Network and the CA Coalition for Worker Power to improve conditions impacting our communities and develop CWOP policy,” she said, adding that LBBWC is in partnership with the SoCal Black Worker Hub.

Right now, the Center is pressing the City of Long Beach for clearer pathways into public-sector jobs and fairer workplace conditions, but she said that movement is slow and the racial reconciliation framework remains an obstacle.

Communication breakdowns and ongoing challenges within the equity department make it hard to address citywide discrimination, she said, adding that referring workers to city jobs under these conditions conflicts with the Center’s values and mission.

“Therefore, any efforts by LBBWC to refer citizens to city jobs, knowing that the environment is toxic with discriminatory practices, doesn’t align with our values and purpose,” she said. “From our career-fair partnerships, we haven’t seen concrete outcomes yet.”

Even in dealing with the hurdles, she said capacity building is ongoing.

Within the last year, the Center has supported workers from CSULB and LBUSD through intakes, listening sessions, rights training, and filing claims. Two of three cases have worked toward resolution, one through litigation, and one through organizing.

“We’re committed to push for deeper systemic change by supporting workers to be empowered to organize within their workplaces and stand for their rights,” she said.

Looking ahead to 2026, Modkins emphasized that the Center plans to expand worker rights education, deepen CWOP outreach, reduce unemployment, and strengthen access to career pathways that offer family-supportive wages, while continuing to push the city to deliver on its racial reconciliation commitments.

They also offer their “U Good?” wellness work, which remains central to that strategy, integrating mental health support into daily organizing to help Black workers maintain resilience as they navigate workplace challenges and assert their rights.

The Long Beach Black Worker Center also supports impacted workers at Cal State Long Beach and LBUSD through intakes, training, and claims support, as well as workshops and career fairs.

“Two out of three have worked towards a resolve. One, by litigating, one by organizing. We’re committed to push for deeper systemic change by supporting workers to be empowered to organize within their workplaces, and stand for their rights,” she said.

On December 17, they are also partnering to guide residents through city employment opportunities. The workshop, where LABWC provides guidance during city employment events, is a typical example of nonprofit-government coordination for Black worker advocacy.

Laath Martin said local officials maintain a workforce structure that includes over 500 unique job classifications, from entry-level and mid-skilled to highly technical and specialized positions. About 40 active recruitments are now posted on its career website.

He said the city’s point-based system, the local hiring metric, gives preference to local candidates and directly addresses equity efforts. Of the City’s roughly 7,025 employees, 3,115 are Long Beach residents, representing about 44% of the workforce.

Recently, he said, their job fair diversity efforts included displaced workers and those with barriers to employment.

“We have also hosted several previous job fairs this year, including a recent Space Beach job fair for people impacted by the recent NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory layoffs, as well as New Horizons: A Career Fair for Second Chances and the Veteran and Service Member Job Fair,” said Martin, Media Relations Specialist for the City of Long Beach.

Also upcoming, the City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine will host job fairs for current and upcoming part-time Recreation Program Leader openings. On Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, one fair will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Doris Topsy Elvord Community Center at Houghton Park, 6301 Myrtle Ave.

The city’s targeted outreach commitment focuses on diversity and inclusion, Martin said, with job opportunities posted across multiple channels, reaching over 500 community partners and organizations.

“To help ensure that historically underrepresented and underserved communities have access to City careers, the City offers workshops, webinars, and informational sessions that guide applicants through the City’s hiring process, including how to complete applications, prepare for assessments, and understand hiring rules and timelines,” he said.

For more information on jobs and training, see:

Long Beach Black Worker Center (LBBWC)
https://lbbwc.org/

Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network – City of Long Beach Talent & Workforce page
https://longbeach.gov/edo/talent-workforce/