ILR students express gratitude for the Miller Shah Labor Internship Award and to Jim Miller '88.
James E. (“Jim”) Miller ‘88, an ILR Alumnus and graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, has always been a staunch labor advocate. Now the managing partner of his law firm, Miller Shah LLP, Jim was first exposed to the labor movement through members of his family who were part of New York City’s construction and teachers’ unions.
As an ILR student, Jim had the opportunity to complete a credit internship with the Doctors Council based in NYC. Engaging with the union and its attorneys ultimately inspired Jim to pursue law school. The experience was also the impetus for Jim’s decision to establish a credit internship at Miller Shah. As one of the most sought-after labor law internships, the Miller Shah Credit Internship program is an opportunity for students to work in a cutting-edge legal environment with attorneys and staff committed to defending labor and employees’ rights.
Distinct from similar opportunities, Miller Shah interns are also generously compensated, which is not always typical of labor internships. It was this reality and Jim’s firm belief in compensated work as a means of achieving more equitable access to labor that inspired the Miller Shah Labor Internship Award. This incredibly generous award allows one ILR Student each semester to pursue an unpaid or low paid labor internship and receive a weekly stipend of $1,000.
Jim’s aim in establishing this award is to meaningfully expose students to labor work by eliminating financial disincentives. Of equal importance, Jim hopes to strengthen and maintain ILR’s long history and relationship with the labor movement. For Jim, lawyering is a profession requiring good character, integrity, and a commitment to social justice. As he works to invest in the next generation of labor leaders and legal professionals, Jim believes “ILR is the best place to find students of character.”
Instituted in Spring of 2020, several students demonstrating these values have already benefited from the award, including Daniel Kirchner ’21, Hanna Xue ’23, and Olay Ajayi ’23 and Vian de la Torre ‘23.
Daniel used the award to intern with UNITE-HERE Local 100 in New York City, where he worked on the political, research, organizing, and communications aspects of the national Airline Catering Workers campaign. As a member and advocate of the working class, Daniel explained that the Miller Shah Labor Internship Award allowed him to pursue an internship that aligned with his values. As such, he maintains that the value of the Award “cannot be overstated” as it “balances the playing field and opens up doors to labor-side students that may not have been accessible otherwise.” Building on his experience as a credit intern, Daniel now works as a Strategic Organizer with LIUNA DEROC (District Eight Regional Organizing Committee), the organizing fund of Laborers' International Union of North America, serving Ohio, Kentucky, and the Southeast Region that Daniel calls home.
Hanna expressed a similar sentiment. As an intern with the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU) in New York City, she concentrated on a research project supporting union organizing at Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama. Her research concerning the use of police power as a means of subduing labor organizing in a majority Black workforce helped contribute to a report published by Rutgers Law. The Labor Award allowed Hanna to focus on her research “with far less financial burden.” Indeed, the experience was so transformational that Hanna now intends to attend Rutgers to complete her PhD in labor studies.
Finally, Olay worked as a Research and Negotiations intern under DC37, New York City’s largest public sector Union. In this role, Olay was responsible for complex statistical and financial analyses central to the formation of collective bargaining agreements. Olay sees labor as a way to create “public-facing change” and credits the Labor Internship Award with providing her “exposure to all aspects of labor—from labor law, to negotiations, and even arbitration.” Passionate about the intersection of labor and law, Olay aspires to “make change and incite impact” as a future attorney.
Each of these students express immense gratitude for the Miller Shah Labor Internship Award and to Jim Miller for his generosity, professional guidance, and devotion to labor advocacy. Many ILRies have also had the pleasure of working with Jim after completing the Miller Shah Credit Internship. One of these graduates, now a Project Analyst with the firm, describes him as “selfless, compassionate, and of the highest character.” As many ILRies have agreed, “without Jim, none of this would be possible.”
Students committed to labor and interested in the Miller Shah Labor Internship Award should contact Brigid Beachler at bk30@cornell.edu.
Written by Yasmin Ballew ’23, former Miller Shah Credit Intern