In 1945, the California legislature created Institutes of Industrial Relations (IIR) at the Los Angeles and Berkeley campuses.

[4] In December 2003, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal state of emergency and called for a $150 million budget cut.

[6] In early 2004, following expressions of public support for the ILE, the University of California directly covered most of staff salaries through June 2004.

In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto to reject a $3.8 million fund for labor research at the University of California.

Democrats have criticized Governor Schwarzenegger for singling out the labor program, but overall the California legislature voted to increase funding for the university system.

Governor Schwarzenegger argued that the budget cuts were necessary in order to save money for the state, and the veto was not a commentary on the value of the programs.

[9] After the support of more than 400 UC faculty and academic staff members, the University of California, Office of President agreed to continue funding the program for the fiscal year.

The UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment continues to support its programs through external fund-raising efforts in addition to campus, state, and federal level funding.

The Labor Center hosts multiple programs that reaches out to minorities to address immigration issues, education, and equal opportunities at the work.

The IRLE would continue their research of public sector employee rights well into the late 80's, due to the disastrous strike-breaking of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) in 1981.

Research for developing public policies focus on neither local nor national levels; rather it looks at global strategies to improve low-wage and atypical employment.

The journal includes discussions and research in trends of employment and the workforce and serves as a critical resource for academics, policy makers, union organizers, and the public.