UC Davis Labor and Community Center of the Greater Capital Region
Phone: 530-761-8748
E-mail: info.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Office Address: Walnut Cottage, 448 La Rue Road, Davis, CA 95616
Mailing Address: King Hall, 400 Mrak Drive, Room 2020, Davis, CA 95616
People
Leticia Saucedo
Co-Director and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law
E-mail: lmsaucedo@ucdavis.edu
Bio: Leticia Saucedo, Co-Director, is a Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. She is an expert in employment, labor, and immigration law and she teaches immigration law, employment law, labor law and torts at UC Davis.
Robyn Magalit Rodriguez
Co-Director and Asian American Studies Professor Emerita
E-mail: robyn.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Bio: Robyn Magalit Rodriguez, Co-Director, is professor emeritus of Asian American Studies at UC Davis. She is also the founding faculty director of the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies, the first of its kind in the University of California system focused on the Filipinx experience in the United States. Her writing has focused significantly on the Philippine labor diaspora.
Xochitl Lopez
Managing Director
E-mail: xochitl.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Bio: Xochitl Lopez, joins UCDLCC with two decades of work in the labor movement, including twelve years of practice as a labor attorney in northern California, representing unions and workers, and providing legal representation on immigration related issues in employment. Prior to her attorney practice, she organized in academic, gaming, and auto sectors with the UAW for six years and worked in the field of performing arts/arts organizing.
Marcos Lopez
Director of Research and Education
E-mail: marcos.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Bio: Coming soon.
Jason A. Whisler
Senior Research Specialist
E-mail: jason.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Bio: Jason comes from a union household and has researched and worked with the labor movement for the past 20 years. He attended the University of Northern Iowa and received a B.A. in Secondary Education and an M.A. in History. His thesis examines the history of meatpacking labor in Iowa, an industry where his father worked. Jason continued his graduate studies in History at the University of Iowa. As a PhD Candidate, he taught undergraduate courses on U.S. Labor History and carried out dissertation research on working-class conservativism in Iowa in the 20th century. In addition, Jason was an active member, officer, and eventually the President of COGS-UE Local 896, representing roughly 3,000 graduate employees at the University.
Jason took a full-time position as a Field Organizer with the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) in 2014 where he worked on external organizing campaigns that resulted in several new locals and hundreds of new members and internal organizing, signing up hundreds more in tough right-to-work environments. Along with organizing, Jason also represented 14 different locals, in nearly as many different industries, across five Midwestern states. His role included handling all contract campaigns and negotiations (numbering nearly a dozen, covering over 4,000 workers), member recruitment, education, and training, as well as grievance and arbitration handling.
In 2024, Jason joined the UCDLCC as a Senior Research Specialist where he conducts all forms of research and education, particularly that which directly engages workers and their unions to empower them in their fight for workplace and social justice.
Samantha Xiong
Program Coordinator
E-mail: samantha.labor@law.ucdavis.edu
Bio: Samantha Xiong grew up in the Central Valley, and is passionate about embracing diversity and culture. She has a wealth of understanding and experience giving back to the community. She enjoys spending time with her family, going on camping trips, cooking, and is an avid reader.