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Unions

“Worker Militancy” Series Continues Jan. 16

Some of the most significant labor-management issues of 2023-24 are being discussed by ILR alums, faculty and external experts.
Hand on stethoscope
“Worker Militancy” Series Continues Jan. 16

Exhibit Celebrates Union Icon and Power of Collective

The “Norma Rae” movie immortalized unionizing efforts of southern textile workers that grew into a national boycott of cotton goods manufactured by a union-busting manufacturer. Kheel Center curators tell the deeper story.
Sally Field and Crystal Lee Sutton
Exhibit Celebrates Union Icon and Power of Collective

Climate Jobs Institute Launch Celebrated

Union leaders, elected officials, non-profit organizations and others across the nation are lauding the growth of the ILR School initiative.
Lara Skinner, center
Climate Jobs Institute Launch Celebrated

Bigler Reappointed Chair of NYS Council

The New York State Apprenticeship and Training Council will be led through 2025 by Esta Bigler.
Esta Bigler
Bigler Reappointed Chair of NYS Council

Student Receives Grant to Study Strike Impact

Johnnie Kallas started the ILR Labor Action Tracker, which tracks labor strikes across the country, and is now also studying their effectiveness.
Johnnie Kallas
Student Receives Grant to Study Strike Impact

Employees at a coffee shop formed a union. Here's what happened next.

Democrat and Chronicle
Rosemary Batt, the Alice Hanson Cook Professor of Women and Work, explains the misperceptions many people have about how unions work.
Employees at a coffee shop formed a union. Here's what happened next.

What Biden's worker organizing task force could mean for non-union employers

HR Dive
According to Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, President Biden’s worker organizing task force, on a broad level, serves as a recognition of issues raised by workers and their advocates, ranging from income inequality to the declining influence of labor unions.
What Biden's worker organizing task force could mean for non-union employers

Gig Workers Inch Toward Right to Unionize in New York - But There's a Catch

The City
Lawmakers, labor unions and tech companies are nearing a deal on a bill to allow workers for app-based outfits to unionize. María Figueroa, who heads the Worker Institute, says the bill could be “a step in the right direction.”
Gig Workers Inch Toward Right to Unionize in New York - But There's a Catch

Is Organized Labor Making a Comeback?

Brink
In this extended Q&A, BRINK spoke to professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, and asked if she thinks a shift is occurring in the U.S. in the relationship between capital and labor.
Is Organized Labor Making a Comeback?

Cannabis Industry Peace Laws Spread, Fertilizing Union Growth

Bloomberg Law
Labor peace pacts generally call on employers to stay neutral during Union organizing campaigns, while unions agree not to engage in economic interference with the employer’s business. According to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, that removes the ability for unions to strike and negates their bargaining power.
Cannabis Industry Peace Laws Spread, Fertilizing Union Growth

May 10 Keynote Features Tom Perez

The “Future of Work: Labor in America” event will discuss proposed legislation and labor changes unfolding during the Biden administration.
People looking out the window of a skyscraper
May 10 Keynote Features Tom Perez

Labor Action Tracker Launches on May Day

The tool enables a better understanding of the scope of labor unrest across the U.S. by tracking labor actions involving two or more people and distinguishing between protests and strikes, said project lead John Kallas, Ph.D. ’23.
Screenshot of ILR's Labor Action Tracker
Labor Action Tracker Launches on May Day

Amazon workers can still fight for better conditions, even if union efforts fail. Here's how.

Fortune
Even though Amazon workers decided against unionization, Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, says it’s only a matter of time before the e-commerce giant is forced to do better.
Amazon workers can still fight for better conditions, even if union efforts fail. Here's how.

Labor advocates float new strategies after Amazon's victory

The Hill
In this piece, also syndicated to MSN, Dean Alexander Colvin says that the strategies used in the Amazon unionization battle were “pretty typical of what we see in organizing campaigns in other industries.”
Labor advocates float new strategies after Amazon's victory

Amazon Prevails in Vote Count as Union Alleges Interference

Yahoo News
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union intends to file Unfair Labor Practice charges against Amazon. According to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, even if violations are affirmed by the NLRB, there aren’t necessarily consequential penalties.
Amazon Prevails in Vote Count as Union Alleges Interference

Amazon union in Alabama warehouse headed for defeat with half the ballots counted

Yahoo News
Despite a wage of $15 per hour, more than 1,000 Amazon employees have contacted the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union about organizing efforts. According to Ileen Devault, professor of labor history, this is because unions aren’t just about wages and benefits.
Amazon union in Alabama warehouse headed for defeat with half the ballots counted

Landmark Amazon union vote count begins

ABC News
The outcome of the vote to determine if workers in Alabama will form the first-ever labor union at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., ILR Dean Alex Colvin discusses how the outcome could impact labor.
Landmark Amazon union vote count begins

Unions eager for swift action from new Labor secretary

The Hill
Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, says the fact that President Biden wants OSHA to implement new workplace rules for dealing with short-term challenges like the coronavirus is a big step in prioritizing worker safety.
Unions eager for swift action from new Labor secretary

Amazon Workers Consider Unionizing at Several More U.S. Sites

Bloomberg
Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, says the Amazon union vote in Bessemer, Alabama is a “historical pivot point” for labor unions.
A pro-union demonstration in Bessemer, on Feb. 6. Photographer: , Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg
Amazon Workers Consider Unionizing at Several More U.S. Sites

Building a Labor Movement Bond

The Union Leadership Institute prepares people moving up in organized labor in New York state.

The Union Leadership Institute Class of 2019
Building a Labor Movement Bond

LaborPress 2014 Union Health-Care Summit: The Future of Care

LaborPress 2014 Union Health-Care Summit: The Future of Care

Quality and Systems Improvement Workshop

Quality and Systems Improvement Workshop

2014 LERA: Interview with John August, Associate Director, first time LERA attendee

2014 LERA: Interview with John August, Associate Director, first time LERA attendee

2014 LERA: Live Updates from John August, Associate Director

2014 LERA: Live Updates from John August, Associate Director

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