Turn Your Work Experience Into Power: Earn a Certificate in Labor Studies

Looking to make a difference at work, in your community, or in your future career? The 15-credit Labor Studies Certificate at UH West Oʻahu gives you the tools to understand how labor shapes society—and how you can shape it too.

Hawaiʻi has one of the highest union membership rates in the country. From plantation struggles to today's campaigns for equity and fair wages, organized labor has been central to building democracy and justice in the islands. This program invites you to explore that history and step into that legacy.

You'll take interdisciplinary courses that connect the dots between work and real life—race, gender, media, politics, economics, and the future of jobs. Learn how labor law affects your rights, how collective bargaining works, and how workers have organized across time and place.

Whether you're interested in advocacy, public service, law school, union work, or research, Labor Studies offers a flexible academic pathway with real-world relevance. You'll also develop critical thinking, public speaking, and policy analysis skills—plus get exposure to labor's global dimensions and Hawaiʻi's unique role in it.

Stand up. Speak out. Start here.