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Momentum Building

The Worker Institute at Cornell is sponsoring and participating in a number of national and regional events this fall.

"Momentum is building now for Worker Institute programs, with growing engagement of faculty, students and practitioners from a wide range of labor and social justice organizations," Worker Institute Director Lowell Turner said in an interview.

"We have a great group of committed colleagues and a network of external partners to promote our research, education and engagement in the public dialogue."

The institute was launched in 2012 to advance worker rights and collective representation, with a focus on innovative approaches to contemporary workplace, economic and social problems.

A colloquium entitled "The Gendered Nature of Care" will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Ives Hall Doherty Lounge.

Institute research on non-traditional domestic employment and work-life balance -- in both union and non-union settings -- will be presented.

Interested students are welcome to attend and contribute to the discussion, said Professor Ileen DeVault.

"This entire project is still at an early stage, and there are many options for participation," she said.

"We want to get both faculty and students -- graduate and undergraduate -- thinking about how their interests intersect with ours," said DeVault, who is co-chair on the Worker Institute Equity at Work initiative with Workplace Issues Director KC Wagner.

Also on Sept. 27, Guy Ryder will meet with Worker Institute faculty and worker rights and international communities in New York City.

Ryder is director general of the International Labour Organization and former general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.

He will present perspectives on the employment crisis in Southern Europe, the state of social dialogue and the future of work. More information is available at A Conversation with ILO Director General Guy Ryder.

Other Worker Institute events include:

  • Sept. 28 Food for Thought: Safe and Green for Our Future, Buffalo. Western New York Environmental Conference co-sponsored with WNY Apollo Alliance and Daemen College.
  • Oct. 8 Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Event, New York City. International and national labor leaders meet to discuss a strategic energy transition that addresses the climate crisis and protects workers and communities in the framework of the Worker Institute's TUED Initiative.
  • Oct. 10 Advocating for Workers' Rights in Western New York Breakfast, Buffalo. A Roundtable organized in collaboration with Western New York Worker Center and Open Buffalo.
  • Oct. 25 Labor Relations in Changing Times, Rochester. A conference sponsored by the Worker Institute in conjunction with Labor and Employment Relations Association chapters in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.
  • Nov. 15 Labor Roundtable, Ithaca. Cornell students will engage in small-group roundtable discussions with representatives from labor leadership, unions, non-profits groups and social justice organizations.
  • Nov. 15 Worker Institute Fall Colloquium: Precarious Workers Research Network, Ithaca. The second Worker Institute fall colloquium features speakers Nadia Marin of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network and Saket Soni of the National Guestworkers' Alliance.
  • Nov. 18 National Labor Leadership Institute, Placid Harbor, Md. The inaugural class of 28 labor leaders will begin its work. The institute, a partnership between the Worker Institute and the national AFL-CIO, includes participation of labor programs at Rutgers University, University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, United Association for Labor Education, University of Oregon and the Rockwood Leadership Institute.

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