Data reveals that Koreatown supermarket workers experience pervasive overwork, wage theft, and abuse and intimidation.
LOS ANGELES — On Feb. 18, UCLA Labor Center researchers will release a new study of supermarket workers in Los Angeles and Orange County Koreatowns. Authored in partnership with the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), AAPI Data, and researchers from Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona, the report illuminates how Koreatown supermarket workers experience low and stagnant wages, unsafe working conditions, lacking health care benefits, and verbal abuse. Alongside these findings, the study recommends key opportunities for improvement, including investment in career advancement opportunities, language accessibility processes, and strengthened wage theft enforcement.
According to 331 surveys and 20 interviews, a literature review, and an analysis of administrative data:
- 40% of supermarket workers in Los Angeles and Orange County Koreatowns experienced at least one form of wage theft, such as unpaid overtime or denial of breaks.
- 24% of workers reported being pressured to work faster than was safe. Workers often forego breaks or meals out of fear of reprimand from management.
- 14% of workers have been injured on the job.
- 13% of workers reported experiencing discrimination; 20% experienced verbal abuse.
- 53% of those abused or intimidated were targeted by managers; response rates of abuse and mistreatment were highest among cashiers, a position overwhelmingly composed of women.
WHAT: Press conference with researchers, workers, and a public health expert about new findings on the experiences of workers in Los Angeles and Orange County Koreatown supermarkets.
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 from 10:00-11:00 AM
WHERE: Press conference via Zoom. Click here to RSVP.
WHO: Featured speakers include:
- Lucero Herrera — Report co-author, senior research analyst at the UCLA Labor Center
- Brady Collins, PhD — Report co-author, director of research and policy at KIWA
- Juan Aguilar (Spanish speaker) — Koreatown supermarket worker
- Koreatown supermarket worker (Korean speaker)
- Alice Berliner — Director of LA County Dept. of Public Health’s Office of Worker Health & Safety
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About the UCLA Labor Center:
Established in 1964, the UCLA Labor Center believes that a public university belongs to the people and advances cutting-edge research, education, and service guided by our core values: economic equity, racial and immigrant justice, and worker power and solidarity. Through our signature approaches and methodology that employ research justice, narrative storytelling, student and leader-to-movement pathways, and culturally and racially responsive evaluation, we partner with workers, unions, worker centers, students, and impacted communities to advance economic justice across California, the nation and globally. Learn more: https://labor.ucla.edu/
About KIWA (Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance):
Founded in 1992, KIWA (Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance) builds power with immigrant workers and renters to bring about a more just and inclusive Los Angeles. One of the nation’s most established worker centers, KIWA organizes primarily Korean and Latino workers, with a focus on the restaurant and retail industries, in Koreatown and beyond. KIWA aligns strategic worker and community organizing with policy change, leadership development, research, services, and coalition-building. Because of their immense impact on workers’ lives, KIWA also works in the areas of civic justice, economic policy, immigration, housing policy, and land-use reform. Learn more: https://kiwa.org/
About AAPI Data:
AAPI Data is a leading research and policy organization producing accurate data to shift narratives and drive action toward enduring solutions for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. AAPI Data aspires to transform public and private systems to ensure that all AA and NHPI communities are recognized, valued and prioritized. Learn more: https://aapidata.com/
