The Worker Institute brings together researchers, educators and students with practitioners in labor, business and policymaking to address issues related to confronting systemic inequality and building a fair economy, robust democracy and just society. We will share opinion, analysis, research, data, insights and training from our faculty and staff.
The Union Leadership Institute (ULI) graduation was held at the Cornell ILR NYC offices on Feb 10. Participants celebrated their accomplishments with family and friends.
Expanding Essential Unemployment Coverage in NYS Webinar
As our labor market changes, as our needs change and as new social risks arise, we need an unemployment compensation program to work in tandem with these changes
For more than 300 days, Amazon workers talked with their peers to build relationships, trust and, ultimately, a union that many thought would never be possible, Amazon Labor Union leaders said at ILR during Union Days.
Strong Support Among New Yorkers for Improving Home Care Workers’ Pay
In New York and around the country, home care workers deliver critical services to older adults and people with disabilities, providing support with activities of daily living and medically oriented care under the direction of nurses and other medical professionals.
The ILR School database that documents U.S. work stoppages informs journalists, policymakers, activists, scholars and the public about labor activism and unrest.
This report explores these themes and discusses how policymakers, practitioners, and advocates are addressing the inequities in three sectors: the child care economy, the clean energy economy, and the construction trades, as presented in the Equity in focus—Job Creation for a Just Society series.
This report explores the effects that privatization and austerity have had on mental healthcare capacity in NYS & the employment & wages of public sector mental health workers. Research finds that the public sector mental healthcare workforce & the state’s mental healthcare capacity have decreased significantly between 1990 & 2021.
The Impact of Sexual Harassment and Gendered Violence on Workers in New York State
Workplace sexual harassment and violence have been put under the spotlight during the past five years, heightening public awareness of how pervasive these issues are. Amid this increased attention, policymakers, employers, and unions continue to grapple with the question of how to effectively respond.
When the pendulum of justice moves backward, your generation must resist it | A 2022 commencement essay
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."
Podcast: Organized Labor Sees Promise in Transition to Clean Energy
Lara Skinner, Director of Labor Leading on Climate Initiative Cornell University ILR School spoke with The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy the University of Pennsylvania on a podcast: "Organized Labor Sees Promise in Transition to Clean Energy.
New Report Outlines Equitable Climate Action Plan for Rhode Island
Climate Jobs Rhode Island and Cornell University recently released a report outlining a climate jobs action plan to put Rhode Island on the path to meeting the state’s climate targets and building an equitable renewable energy economy.
The Worker Institute's Labor Leading on Climate team examines the American Jobs Plan and explains why the built-in labor standards are critical to the proposal’s success.
National Labor Leadership Initiative Facebook Live Series: "How are NLLI Leaders Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis." Jennifer Beuthin interviewing Montserrat Garibay, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, Wednesday, July 15th.
National Labor Leadership Initiative Facebook Live Series: "How are NLLI Leaders Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis." Jennifer Beuthin interviewing Siobhan Vipond, Secretary-Treasurer, Alberta Labour Federation. Wednesday, July 8th, 2020.
Cornell Union Leadership Institute Student Survives Covid-19
Gene Carroll, Co-Director of the NYS AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute (ULI) writes on an experience of a member of the current Institute class who contracted COVID-19
National Labor Leadership Initiative Facebook Live Series: "How are NLLI Leaders Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis." Kathleen Mulligan interviewing Mark Lauritsen, International Vice President of UFCW, NLLI Alum Year 2, May 19th, 2020.
Opinion – All Undocumented Immigrants Deserve Citizenship – Not Just Essential Workers
Shannon Gleeson outlines the situation faced by undocumented workers, and discusses potential futures for them including pathways to citizenship and their relationship.
Tristan Ivory, Assistant Professor, International and Comparative Labor, writes about the history that led to this moment and direct actions to address systemic racism and poverty.