An ILR student helped establish the United Auto Workers Local 2300, which now represents Cornell building maintenance and service workers.
Custodian to National Union Leader: an ILRie’s Journey
Events
Equity in Focus Series
February 24, 2022
Job Creation for a Just Society
We explore how equity in job creation is defined – with a focus on job growth through the current expansion of infrastructure investment.
April 26, 2022
Investing in Childcare Careers
We explore the challenges of the childcare industry and highlight local examples that are improving access to child care while also raising wages for child care workers.
June 29, 2022
Building a Diverse and Inclusive Clean Energy Workforce
How the U.S. can tackle the climate crisis and create high-quality union jobs for women and frontline communities of color that suffer the most from climate change, pollution and historic inequities.
September 22, 2022
Equity in Focus Summit
The US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau and The Worker Institute co-hosted a day-long conversation on how prioritizing gender and racial equity promotes a strong and just economy.
April 19, 2023
Equity in Focus Job Creation For a Just Society, Report Launch
The Worker Institute released its Equity in Focus Report which captures lessons learned from our partners in the field driving innovation in job creation for women and workers of color. This report is a compilation of key findings to emerge out of our one-year webinar series conducted in partnership with the U. S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau.
Labor Policy and Research
Learn more about our Labor Policy and ResearchThe Worker Institute serves as a hub for policy research, publication, and training for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and activists engaged in the public debate to reduce economic inequality.
Equity at Work
The Equity at Work initiative examines how the workplace is impacted by the evolving and changing norms of the social construction of gender roles, identity, and expression. This includes discussion of current and evolving workers' rights, the workplace contexts in which they currently exist, and individual, organizational and cultural interventions that promote and expand employment issues of respect, fairness, equity and justice.
Precarious Work
The Precarious Workforce Initiative focuses on the labor rights and socioeconomic conditions of low-wage and contingent workers, who receive little or no benefits and have largely no institutional or legal protection.
These workers constitute the most vulnerable segment of the workforce. Their ranks include, but are not limited to, day laborers, immigrants, domestic workers, young workers, the unemployed and the formerly incarcerated.
Labor Leadership Development
The Worker Institute builds on a 75-year tradition by the ILR School to help fulfill Cornell’s land grant mission – to assist working people in ensuring their rights on the job and in building effective organizations and strong communities.
Our Labor Leadership Development work focuses on labor movement leadership development, strategy design and organizational change in unions, professional associations and other worker organizations.
Education and Training
For over 75 years, the Cornell ILR School has provided support, education and scholarship to assist working people in ensuring their rights on the job and building effective organizations and strong communities. The Worker Institute's training and education programs are designed to deepen the knowledge and strengthen the skills of union leaders, activists, and staff. We offer several ways for students to pursue their goals. Learn more.
It is critical that managers at unions and social justice organizations receive training to become effective leaders and make the best use of limited resources. Participants learn techniques for helping their staff succeed and respond appropriately to common issues while honoring the values of the labor movement.
Learn from and ask questions to a certified industrial hygienist, biologist and chemist and expert on occupational health and safety every second Friday, starting in September.
The New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute (ULI) prepares labor and worker-justice leaders to effectively and strategically advance the rights of workers. Founded in 2001, ULI helps labor and worker justice leaders strengthen their organizations so that they are bold, innovative and able to adapt to a changing global economy and workforce.
Student Engagement
The Worker Institute at Cornell is committed to engaging Cornell ILR undergraduate and graduate students through our courses, research fellowships, graduate programs, and other professional development opportunities.
Blog: Latest News and Events
Read more stories from the Worker Institute Blog
Lois Gray Innovation Initiative
The Lois Gray Innovation Initiative was founded by labor pioneer Lois Gray to generate innovative thinking and solutions to problems related to work, economy, and society.
The Lois Gray Innovation Fund provide financial incentives for collaboration between resident and extension faculty in relation to priority programs of The Worker Institute.
It ensures faculty, researchers and students have the opportunity to fulfill the institute’s mission of advancing worker rights and collective representation.
About
The Worker Institute at Cornell engages in research and education on contemporary labor issues, to generate innovative thinking and solutions to problems related to work, economy and society. The institute brings together researchers, educators and students with practitioners in labor, business and policymaking to confront growing economic and social inequalities, in the interests of working people and their families. Learn more.
