Stories that feature our work amongst our communities in New York, the US, and the world, and invitations to join the change we're making to the world of work.
Collective Representation and Worker Voice
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
Politico: Teachers unions hit the Hill ahead of gun safety votes
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, says the debate around gun rights and gun legislation in America is difficult for labor leaders to maneuver.
Two ILRies leading Outreach institutes are informing the national conversation around the historic union organizing shift.
Cathy Creighton, director of the ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, and Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, have been putting their ILR education and experience to work in roles they now hold at the school.
CNBC: The Amazon, Starbucks, Apple union push is capturing what a majority of all American workers now say they want
“I’m of the school that says there is something happening, but no indication yet it is even going to amount to a sizable increase in the level of unionization,” says Harry Katz, director of the Scheinman Institute.
AP: Unionized Starbucks stores face hard work of bargaining
U.S. labor law doesn’t set a deadline, or require that a contract be reached at all. “The overall approach with the law is to encourage the parties to reach an agreement that they both can live with,” said Risa Lieberwitz, academic director of the Worker Institute.
Vox: Why unions are growing and shrinking at the same time
“For a long time, there was a belief you couldn’t organize low-wage workers or part-time workers,” says Patricia Campos-Medina, director of the ILR Worker Institute. “Industry has changed. Our economy has changed.”
Yahoo Finance: Amazon Labor Union says 'the fight has just begun' after defeat in Staten Island
According to Harry Katz, Director of the Scheinman Institute, media relations will be a lever that the ALU can and should pull, as they need to “supplement strike leverage with public relations."
From Retail to Tech to Universities: Unionizing for Equity in all Workplaces
Join us on Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. for a Union Days event, "From Retail to Tech to Universities: Unionizing for Equity in all Workplaces." In-person on our Ithaca campus and virtually.
Wall Street Journal: Starbucks Prepares to Expand Worker Benefits That Might Exclude Unionized Staff
“It’s a union avoidance technique,” Buffalo Co-Lab director Cathy Creighton said, referring to employers discussing benefits that won’t automatically extend to unionized workers.
CNN: Can Wall Street and labor unions learn to get along?
"Since the 1980s, management's perspective was that unions are the devil," said Harry Katz, professor of collective bargaining and director of the Scheinman Institute.
Vox: Congrats! You formed a union. Now comes the hard part.
“I think it’s going to lead to more [organizing] but I don’t think it’s yet an indication of a massive turnaround,” says Harry Katz, professor in the ILR School.
As labor unrest continues to surge, the ILR Labor Action Tracker founded in 2021 continues to provide nationwide information on strikes and other worker actions.
Congrats! You formed a union. Now comes the hard part.
Vox
The lengthy and difficult process of negotiating a contract that benefits workers has only just begun and, according to Professor Harry Katz, its conclusion is far from certain.
Book Launch: The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century
Join us on May 2nd at 11 AM EST for an in-person and virtual book launch of The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century, written by Erica Smiley and Sarita Gupta that will be livestreamed.
The Moment for a Movement: Starbucks and the Slow Drip of Starting a Union
Learn the ins and outs of how to unionize a workplace and what legal methods Starbucks has used to delay the votes. In-person event, free and open to the public.
AP: Disney in balancing act as some workers walk out in protest
In response to Disney’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, workers are threatening a full-day walkout. Patricia Campos-Medina says, “people felt surprised that they [Disney] wanted to stay quiet on this issue,” because Disney has long been influential in Florida politics and social issues.
Disney finds itself in balancing act with walkout threat
AP News
In response to Disney’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, workers are threatening a walkout. Patricia Campos-Medina says, “people felt surprised that they wanted to stay quiet on this issue,” because Disney has been influential in Florida politics and has been more open on social issues.
“‘Talking to the Girls’ invites engagement with a tragedy and its lasting legacy,” said Kheel Center Director Wesley Chenault, who will moderate the discussion.
The Labor and Employment Relations Association will honor Professor Sarosh Kuruvilla June 3 for extraordinary contributions to the industrial relations field.
American workers went on strike for a combined 3.2 million days in 2021 in response to health and safety concerns, pay, racial injustices, sexual harassment and other issues, according to the Cornell ILR Labor Action Tracker.
Many have turned to Nellie Brown, director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs at the ILR School, for guidance on how to keep their offices safe from COVID-19.
