Q&A with 2008 Groat Award winner Robert Molofsky ‘72
Reflections on an ILR education and teaching students about workplace policy
Robert Molofsky is one of two distinguished ILR School alumni receiving the 2008 Groat Award for his contributions to the field and to the School. Molofsky is an accomplished labor-union attorney, a nationally recognized transit and labor policy expert, and a highly regarded legislative and political strategist.
He currently serves as Vice President/Special Counsel of the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation, a diversified marketing and financial services company focused on raising capital for labor-friendly investments. He talks about the difference an ILR education has made in his life and career, his work with the ILR Washington. D.C. Credit Intern Program, and what it means to be named a Groat Award winner this year.
Q: What is it about your ILR education that has helped you be successful over the last 35 years in so many different positions?
A: My education at ILR provided me with a broad and diverse knowledge base; an understanding of the vital role unions play, empowering workers on the job and providing them with a voice to seek social justice in their communities and an ability to engage those who hold different views.
It was this foundation that proved invaluable at the Department of Labor as I prepared briefings on major contract negotiations, conducted research and training on new state labor laws, and applied my mediation and arbitration skills to my job enforcing transit employee labor protections. My ILR background also aided my work at the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). And the School's faculty and extension programs were a constant source of assistance during my tenure at the ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union), especially in advancing labor/management cooperation in the transit industry.
There wasn't a single course, including statistics, that I took at ILR that I haven't come to draw on in various facets of my career.
Q: You serve as an adjunct instructor for ILR's Washington, D.C. Credit Intern Program. Talk about your course and how it helps students learn more about government and workplace policy.
A: The course, Workplace Policy and Party Politics, is a seminar on how Washington and the Congress really work. Through our readings, visits to the "Hill," and an array of speakers accomplished in their field, the students come to understand the complex interplay of the White House, Congress, regulatory agencies, interest groups, policy experts, grass roots organizations and politics in shaping workplace policies. Senior senate and house committee staffs discuss their roles, and union and management lobbyists describe how they operate, shape their messages and secure the political support necessary to prevail. Former White House speech writers, nationally acclaimed pollsters, and a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist provide firsthand glimpses of their functions in the process.
This all culminates with a paper identifying a workplace issue, proposing a legislative solution, and designing a comprehensive campaign for getting it through the Congress. That's how ILR students have amended the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and raised the minimum wage several times!
Q: Why are the Credit Intern Program, and courses like the one you teach, so valuable to students and to ILR, and why do you continue to stay involved?
A: Most students come to Washington and take the course with little or no experience in politics or government. Yet they are eager to make a difference. So, I see the course as a 14-week challenge to help them understand the political process and its higher purpose, and convince them that they can change things for the better. After they finish, many students said they loved the program and that it has really sparked their interest in politics. I think the course, in combination with their internships, provides an excellent opportunity to better understand "Washington" and the contributions they can make.
The program provides valuable benefits for the School as well. ILR is a major player in shaping workplace policies. As the DC program grows, it increases ILR's visibility, contacts and opportunities to impact the process. And the placement of its highly qualified students in the Congress, with agencies and in the private sector, has the added advantage of expanding the School’s well-deserved reputation.
Q: This year, you are being honored with the 2008 Groat Award. What does it mean to get this recognition from ILR?
A: It’s a great personal and professional honor to be recognized by Cornell ILR in this manner and to share this celebration with so many accomplished friends of the school. I am truly grateful for the opportunities and networks my ILR education has afforded, and continues to afford me.
So much about the field of labor/management relations has changed since I graduated, but the constant struggle to ensure workers get the dignity, respect and benefits they deserve endures. It is not easy to pursue a career in the labor movement, but the foundation I got at ILR reinforced my principles and values that it was not only the right move but a rewarding one as well. And that is what the Groat Award represents; my commitment to the School and my sense of purpose on behalf of the labor movement.
- Q&A with 2008 Groat Award winner Robert Molofsky ‘72
