Watch ‘Beyond Poverty: Fight for the California Dream’ — A mini-documentary from The Bee

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What can California do to help people find fulfilling jobs and build its middle class?

That question mattered before the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Californians struggled to achieve stability in the Golden State.

In 2019, more than 30% of California workers earned less than $15 per hour, according to the American Community Survey. The pandemic hammered those low-wage earners.

»» Read More: California keeps adding low-wage jobs. Can it find a way to save its middle class?

The Sacramento Bee’s community-funded Equity Lab this year sought out workers to tell us what it would take to move more people into jobs with higher pay, benefits and stable hours.

See what we found in this mini-documentary.

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Jeong Park led this project. He joined The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau in 2020 as part of the paper’s community-funded Equity Lab. He covers economic inequality, focusing on how the state’s policies affect working people. This video documentary was made possible with the support of Solutions Journalism Network and The James Irvine Foundation.

Credits:

Jeong Park - Producer and Narrator

Cameron Clark - Editor and 2nd Camera

Xavier Mascarenas - 1st Camera

Keiona Williamson - Associate Producer

Amy Chance - Associate Producer

Adam Ashton - Associate Producer

Kamaria Roberts - Executive Producer

Jennifer Molina - Executive Producer

This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.