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Worker Institute

The Context: Who Gets to Be American?

Apple Podcasts
Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, discusses problems with immigration, labor and democratic systems in the U.S. – how these problems are connected and how to fix them.
The Context: Who Gets to Be American?

NYC dismisses Haitian employees who lost their TPS status, Mamdani says

Newsday
This article cites a report by ILR’s Worker Institute, saying that New York state has 98,250 workers with Temporary Protected Status, with most coming from Haiti and Venezuela; the report is called “We Are Home: Workers with TPS Belong Here.”
NYC dismisses Haitian employees who lost their TPS status, Mamdani says

Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status

The New York Times
“They have devoted their entire years of productivity to this country,” says Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute – and co-author of the report “We Are Home: TPS Workers Belong Here” – describing the contributions to the U.S. of Central Americans with Temporary Protected Status.
Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status

Temporary Protected Status is set to expire for Haitians. That could be a significant loss to Long Island communities and employers.

Newsday
New York state has 98,250 workers with TPS, most of whom come from Haiti and Venezuela, according to a study from ILR’s Worker Institute.
Temporary Protected Status is set to expire for Haitians. That could be a significant loss to Long Island communities and employers.

Cornell study shows impact of immigrant workers on New York economy and communities

WBNG
The economic and community impact of immigrant workers with Temporary Protected Status in New York state is the focus of a new report from ILR’s Worker Institute, called “We Are Home: Workers with TPS Belong Here.”
Cornell study shows impact of immigrant workers on New York economy and communities

Cornell report shows immigrant, temporary workers contribute to NY economy

FingerLakes1.com
A new report from ILR’s Worker Institute found that immigrants in New York with Temporary Protected Status have strong attachments to their New York communities, are highly engaged in civic and political organizations and view the United States as their home.
Cornell report shows immigrant, temporary workers contribute to NY economy

Workers With Temporary Protected Status Aid NYS’s Economy, Society

Cornell Chronicle
Central Americans with TPS status make significant contributions to New York’s economy and civic and political organizations, an ILR School report says.
Individuals from the National TPS Alliance standing with a banner.
Workers With Temporary Protected Status Aid NYS’s Economy, Society

Morning Report: A rough start to the new U.S.-Iran deal

Marketplace
“Diversity is always good business practice, because you bring different voices to a problem … That’s what we’re missing by not being able to track it,” says Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, about the dropped EEOC requirement for federal agencies to report certain demographic data.
Morning Report: A rough start to the new U.S.-Iran deal

Inside Rainbow's AI clash with its fashion models

Business Insider
A report from ILR’s Worker Institute is quoted in this article about how the use of artificial intelligence by Rainbow, a fashion retailer, has impacted models.
Inside Rainbow's AI clash with its fashion models

NYC building trades launches peer support network for construction workers

America’s Workforce Union Podcast
This podcast describes the essential role played by ILR’s Worker Institute in creating and supporting the new NYC Building Trades Peer Support Network, and it discusses the need for the network and how it will reduce suicide attempts and improve the mental health of construction workers.
NYC building trades launches peer support network for construction workers

Up to 4,000 graduate students at Harvard are poised to strike Tuesday

Boston Globe
Risa Lieberwitz, ILR professor of labor and employment law, provided expertise on the negotiating position of the Harvard graduate workers union, noting that it goes beyond a finances; for example, the union is asking for expanded protections for international students.
Up to 4,000 graduate students at Harvard are poised to strike Tuesday

Harvard University’s plan to expand writing class size draws union objection

The Times of India
Risa Lieberwitz, ILR professor of labor and employment law, shared her expertise, saying that increasing class size amounts to increasing workload, and even if increasing from 10 students to 15 students falls within an employer’s discretion, the change’s impact may require Harvard to negotiate with the union.
Harvard University’s plan to expand writing class size draws union objection

New NY Union Peer Network Brings Construction Suicide Prevention to Jobsites

ENR East
ILR’s Worker Institute is noted as a partner of the new Building Trades Support Network, which will train peer supporters to assist with improving the mental health of New York City construction workers.
New NY Union Peer Network Brings Construction Suicide Prevention to Jobsites

Pamela Anderson's Aerie Campaign Is Her Response to AI's "Unsettling" Hold On the Fashion Industry

Marie Claire
A report co-written by ILR’s Worker Institute, about how AI is affecting the careers of fashion models, is quoted in this article.
Pamela Anderson's Aerie Campaign Is Her Response to AI's "Unsettling" Hold On the Fashion Industry

Women farmworkers who built their own fight against sexual assault cope with Chavez allegations

AP News
“I can imagine when she was trying to co-create this union with him, how much it would have cost her to speak up,” said Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, commenting on allegations of sexual abuse within the United Farm Workers movement.
Women farmworkers who built their own fight against sexual assault cope with Chavez allegations

Gary LaBarbera, president of the NY Building and Construction Trades Council, speaks on the suicide 'epidemic'

The Chief
Gary LaBarbera says the Building and Construction Trades Council was “especially lucky” to have worked with Arianna Schindle and Jeff Grabelski, both from ILR’s Worker Institute, when developing a new peer support network aimed at improving construction workers’ mental health.
Gary LaBarbera, president of the NY Building and Construction Trades Council, speaks on the suicide 'epidemic'

New York construction council launches peer support network to combat worker suicide

New York Construction Report
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the development and delivery of the curriculum for the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, which aims to train approximately 1,000 workers in the NYC construction industry as peer supporters, in order to improve mental health and reduce suicide rates.
New York construction council launches peer support network to combat worker suicide

‘It’s not weak to speak’: NYC construction unions launch mental health initiative

Construction Dive
ILR’s Worker Institute, which is a partner in the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, contributed to the network’s approach by confirming that peer-to-peer interventions work better for improving construction worker mental health than top-down interventions.
‘It’s not weak to speak’: NYC construction unions launch mental health initiative

Campos-Medina Helps Steer N.J. Jobs Task Force

Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell, served as co-chair of the Jobs, Opportunity, and Prosperity for All action team, which was tasked with developing job and economic growth strategies for New Jersey.
patricia-medina
Campos-Medina Helps Steer N.J. Jobs Task Force

Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Launches Peer Support Network to Prevent Suicide

LaborPress
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, which aims to improve construction workers’ mental health by training approximately 1,000 workers throughout the trades and across job sites in New York City as peer supporters.
Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Launches Peer Support Network to Prevent Suicide

ILR, Unions Offer NYC Construction Workers Innovative Emotional First Aid

Cornell Chronicle
The ILR School’s Worker Institute and unions have launched an innovative peer support initiative to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry.
Arianna Schindle (left) and Jeff Grabelsky (right) of the ILR School’s Worker Institute talk with Paul Schwan (center), a member of the Ornamental and Architectural Ironworkers Union Local 361 and an instructor in the peer supporter program.
ILR, Unions Offer NYC Construction Workers Innovative Emotional First Aid

Trades Council Launches Peer Network To Curb Construction Suicide Rates

Harlem World
“This is precisely the kind of initiative that Cornell ILR supports as we pursue our public service mission,” said Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, about the institute’s contribution to the Building Trades Peer Support Network curriculum, which aims to improve NYC construction workers’ mental health.
Trades Council Launches Peer Network To Curb Construction Suicide Rates

NY Construction Peer Network Targets Worker Suicide

Occupational Health & Safety
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the development of the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, an initiative to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry by leveraging relationships within unions.
NY Construction Peer Network Targets Worker Suicide

Profit Over People: U.S. policy deliberately traps immigrant workers in poverty, danger

NJToday.news
A new book, “Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace,” is profiled in this article. The book was co-authored by ILR researchers Kate Griffith, Shannon Gleeson and Patricia Campos-Medina, along with Darlène Dubuisson of the University of California, Berkeley.
Profit Over People: U.S. policy deliberately traps immigrant workers in poverty, danger

“Labor in New York in 2026” Presented in Albany

Experts from the ILR School met with Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson, New York State Chairs of the Committee on Labor, to discuss the current state of labor in New York.
Esta Bigler presents to Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson in Albany.
“Labor in New York in 2026” Presented in Albany

The Hidden Cost of Convenience: How NYC’s Delivery App Economy Exploits Workers While Promising Innovation

WebProNews
A report from ILR’s Worker Institute is referenced in this article about how delivery apps contribute to problems faced by gig workers in New York City’s food delivery industry.
The Hidden Cost of Convenience: How NYC’s Delivery App Economy Exploits Workers While Promising Innovation

More Gig Workers Could See Rights Without Status Change

Law 360
Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, suggests next steps for protecting the labor rights of gig workers, following recent changes in New York City to how grocery delivery workers are compensated and food delivery platforms encourage tipping.
More Gig Workers Could See Rights Without Status Change

Blogcast #113: Stories of Belonging and Worker Power

Power at Work
In this blogcast, Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, explores migration, belonging, worker power and the everyday people shaping the future of immigrant worker justice with Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris.
Blogcast #113: Stories of Belonging and Worker Power

Tech Life: Web-scraping bots

BBC News
Zoë West, extension associate at ILR’s Worker Institute, discusses AI in the fashion industry on this BBC audio program.
Tech Life: Web-scraping bots

Patricia Campos-Medina To Be Honored as Changemaker Champion

The YWCA will recognize Campos-Medina for bold leadership that drives equity and opportunity for women and communities.
Patricia Campos-Medina with KC Wagner and Zoe West at the Leaders of Labor award ceremony in 2025.
Patricia Campos-Medina To Be Honored as Changemaker Champion

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