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Worker Institute

Weingarten ’80 Reflects on Week at ILR

As the 2024 Alice B. Grant Labor Leader in Residence, ILRie Randi Weingarten spent time at ILR teaching, speaking and meeting with students, professors and university staff.
Randi Weingarten '80
Weingarten ’80 Reflects on Week at ILR

“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

Washington State Climate Jobs Report Released

The Evergreen State has positioned itself as a climate leader in America, but a new report from the ILR Climate Jobs Institute reveals there is much more to be done to ensure that its climate investments maximize high-quality job creation, equity and economic development.
A scenic image of Washington state
Washington State Climate Jobs Report Released

ILR Connects with Amazon Labor Union Leaders

The 2023 Union Days’ labor leaders in residence first learned of the school through Alejandra Quintero, MILR ’23 and have been inviting students.
Alejandra Quintero - Union Days
ILR Connects with Amazon Labor Union Leaders

One in Five in NYS Face Workplace Sexual Harassment

Cornell Chronicle
More than a third of cisgender women and half of respondents who identify as transgender or other gender identities reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new ILR School Worker Institute report.
A woman cringes as her co-worker places a hand on her shoulder
One in Five in NYS Face Workplace Sexual Harassment

ILR’s Worker Institute Helps Guide a Newly Energized Labor Movement

Cornellians
Led by Patricia Campos-Medina ’96, MPA ’97, it conducts research and outreach on today’s rapidly changing employment landscape
Patricia Campos-Medina ’96, MPA ’97
ILR’s Worker Institute Helps Guide a Newly Energized Labor Movement

When the pendulum of justice moves backward, your generation must resist it | A 2022 commencement essay

NJ - Star Ledger
In an open letter to the Class of 2022, Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, says "You must be comfortable with the tension that exists between going along to get along or challenging the status quo."
When the pendulum of justice moves backward, your generation must resist it | A 2022 commencement essay

What Happened at the Amazon Warehouse on Staten Island?

When a union-free tech giant was upended by a worker-founded union at a Staten Island warehouse April 1, the world was shocked. ILR experts are contextualizing what led to the surprise win and what’s next.
Amazon headquarters in Seattle, Wash.
What Happened at the Amazon Warehouse on Staten Island?

A Climate Jobs Roadmap for NYC

A new report from the Worker Institute and Climate Jobs NY outlines a bold vision for strengthening the economy, while tackling climate change, and addressing racial and economic inequality.
New York City skyline
A Climate Jobs Roadmap for NYC

Climate Jobs Plan Published

A new Worker Institute report details how Rhode Island can create a clean-energy, worker centered economy.
A windmill on the ocean
Climate Jobs Plan Published

Report Tracks NYS Policy Issues

Beginning in 2022, report will be published on Labor Day.
cover graphic for New York at Work 2021 report
Report Tracks NYS Policy Issues

Cultural Audits Support Workplace Equity

Basic training isn’t enough to stem sexual harassment in the workplace, cultural audits are needed to measure the “pulse” of organizations, according to KC Wagner.
A woman cringes as her co-worker places a hand on her shoulder
Cultural Audits Support Workplace Equity

ILR Employees Recognized

Staff and faculty were recognized at the annual ILR Employee Recognition and Services Awards Friday.
Wide shot of ILR Building in Ithaca, NY
ILR Employees Recognized

Campos-Medina Receives Award

The Latino Coalition of New Jersey has honored Worker Institute Executive Director Patricia Campos-Medina for her work on behalf of laborers, undocumented immigrants and domestic workers.
Patricia Campos-Medina in NYC
Campos-Medina Receives Award

Walsh Speaking at Summit

The Worker Institute, the ILR School’s Lois Gray Labor Innovation Initiative and climate groups are sponsoring the Sept. 21 Climate Jobs Summit, which will feature U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
Solar panel workers
Walsh Speaking at Summit

Skinner Wins Award

Labor Leading on Climate Director Lara Skinner will be recognized Sept. 21 for helping make New York City a model of progress for the nation.
Lara Skinner of The Worker Institute speaks with labor leaders
Skinner Wins Award

NYC Food Delivery Workers Face a ‘Harrowing World’

Cornell Chronicle
New York City’s app-based delivery workers regularly face nonpayment or underpayment, unsanitary or unsafe working conditions and the risk of violence, according to a new ILR School report.
A biker making a delivery
NYC Food Delivery Workers Face a ‘Harrowing World’

Washing for Dignity and Safety on the Job:  Workers in the NJ Retail Laundromat Industry

A new report by the Laundry Workers Center and the Cornell ILR Worker Institute examines the work and socio-economic conditions of workers in the retail laundromat industry in New Jersey.  
Cartoon about wage theft
Washing for Dignity and Safety on the Job:  Workers in the NJ Retail Laundromat Industry

Making Care Systems More Equitable

In collaboration with the Gender Policy Report, researchers at the The Worker Institute co-authored a new report that provides guidance on several measures and principles they say should be built into any new child care, long-term care and health care investments in order to drive greater equity.
Exhausted Black nurse during COVID
Making Care Systems More Equitable

Brown Offers Best Practice Advice During Pandemic

Many businesses in varied industries, along with organizations such as the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, turned to Nellie Brown for guidance on adjusting practices and policies during the pandemic.
Restaurant worker wearing a face mask holds an "Open" sign
Brown Offers Best Practice Advice During Pandemic

Why restaurant workers are demanding better wages and working conditions

CHRON News
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s ILR School, said workers are feeling more empowered, both in the workplace and in the political arena.
Why restaurant workers are demanding better wages and working conditions

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

A Just Transition? On Brooklyn's Waterfront, Oil Companies and Community Activists Join Together to Create an Offshore Wind Proj

Inside Climate News
New York requires that all major renewable energy developments meet prevailing wage agreements and local or national procurement guidelines that encourage domestic manufacturing. But Lara Skinner, director of the Labor Leading on Climate Initiative at the Worker Institute, says other states are far behind.
A Just Transition? On Brooklyn's Waterfront, Oil Companies and Community Activists Join Together to Create an Offshore Wind Proj

NYC Gig Workers Are Organizing Against Rampant E-Bike Theft and Assault

VICE News
Maria Figueroa, senior extension associate at the Worker Institute, explains the grievances that led to protests against working conditions at DoorDash, GrubHub, and Postmates by more than 1,000 New York City e-bike delivery workers, known as Los Deliveristas Unidos.
NYC Gig Workers Are Organizing Against Rampant E-Bike Theft and Assault

What’s Ahead for Teachers?

A year after COVID-19 disrupted education, Dean Alex Colvin and Randi Weingarten ’80 will discuss the future of K-12 teaching.
A female teacher wearing a mask puts hand sanitizer on a student
What’s Ahead for Teachers?

“9to5” Film Discussion Part of Union Days

Documentary filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar joined ILR students and faculty for a screening and discussion about the award-winning film.
Logo for the documentary 9to5
“9to5” Film Discussion Part of Union Days

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