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.
Worker Institute in the News
How will schools enforce social distancing? Baldwinsville superintendent weighs in
CNY Central
Nellie Brown speaks with Central NY News about reopening schools and says that each school must have a customized plan.
Occupancy limits and no fitting rooms: Shopping in the COVID-19 era
Newsday
Nellie Brown tells Newsday that temperature checks on employees will likely be commonplace, even though it is a “coarse screen” that won't pick up asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections.
Experts: COVID-19 outbreaks at processing plants affect the whole community
CNY Central
Nellie Brown speaks to CNYCentral about making processing plants safe during the Covid-19 outbreak, "you tend to have people working literally shoulder to shoulder doing their processing. So that makes protecting individuals far more difficult. You're going to have to really look at putting barriers between people."
Workers have filed 4,775 complaints to OSHA about exposure to Covid-19 on the job.
Nellie Brown, speaking to The Counter, says the threat of OSHA citations, whether in the form of fines or public notice, can motivate employers to make safer workplaces.
As carmakers restart factories, they look at steps to protect workers from COVID-19
Marketplace
Art Wheaton speaks at Marketplace about precautions that car manufacturers can take, "you may have some staggered start and stop times, you may have people arriving at different intervals or different places and they may have more than one entrance."
Health Experts Say Schools Can Reopen in the Fall — But With Some Big Changes
Nellie Brown speaks with EdSurge on schools reopening and says that Schools will also need to wade through a morass of individual concerns around cafeteria and classroom seating, transportation and, in some cases, retrofitting bathrooms and other facilities.
As Americans Return to Work, How Will COVID Change the Workplace?
Nellie Brown speaks with Health Day News about how companies will take advantage of automation to further protect workers' health -- automatic doors, automatic lighting, automatic water fountains, automatic dispensers for sugar and creamer at the coffee stand.
NY, lifeguards wrangle over safety issues as beaches prepare to open
Newsday
Nellie Brown speaks to Newsday cautioning about the use of PPE for lifeguards on New York beaches, "as always, the equipment needs to be provided, fitting the wearer properly, and properly donned and doffed and decontaminated."
Nellie Brown speaks to Spectrum News about being realistic about what life will be like as regions reopen, "at first it's going to be awkward and difficult and we're not going to be happy and we’re going to long for the good old days."
Two White House Coronavirus Cases Raise Question of if Anyone Is Really Safe
The New York Times
Nellie Brown speaks to the New York Times about understanding the limitations of testing and what can happen in the time immediately after a test is taken.
For retailers, reopening means rethinking everything about a store
Marketplace
Nellie Brown advises that retail stores consider adding a sign saying, “Please don’t touch an item unless you truly are interested in buying it. Or if it’s a piece of clothing, you know, if you’re truly interested in looking at it.”
COVID-19 impact: Nellie Brown on workplace consequences
Cornell Chronicle
Nellie Brown speaks with the Cornell Chronicle on Covid-19 and discusses the need for sick leave for all types of workers, and predicts we’ll see an increase in collective bargaining for safer workplaces.
Distancing at Reopened Offices Will Mean Long Elevator Lines
Bloomberg Law
Nellie Brown recommends to Bloomberg News that employees returning to the office should wear masks when they’re moving from floor to floor on elevators.
Grocery stores take steps to protect cashiers and customers
Newsday
Nellie Brown advisers that retailers’ measures should also include scheduled hand-washing breaks for employees, finding ways to reduce the use of paper coupons, and encouraging customers to pay with credit/debit cards instead of cash.
WNYCOSH offers guidance for cashiers in retail establishments, specifically in relation to the outbreak, Nellie Brown who worked on the report speaks to its specifics.
How College Students Can Keep Themselves & Others Coronavirus-Free
The Worker Institute's Nellie Brown speaks with the University Network about how college students can keep themselves and others safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Our carbon footprint is a lot smaller than it could be because we move around millions of people on public transport rather than car, but mass transit is often overlooked,” said Lara Skinner, associate director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University.
ILR’s Shannon Gleeson: Confronting Inequality Means Going Beyond Minimum Wage
Wage theft and other workplace violations are rampant in low-wage industries, and the mechanisms to address these challenges are weak, as Gleeson explains in her recent piece in US News & World Report.
In our upcoming webcast, we examine the ways in which worker rights and collective representation impact inequality and explore innovative solutions developed by the labor movement to solve this growing crisis.
Eli Friedman Op-Ed on Repression of Labor Activism in China
Eli Friedman, assistant professor of international and comparative labor at the ILR School and Worker Institute associate, recently authored an editorial in the Washington Post on the crackdown on labor activists in Guangdong, China.
ULI Co-Director Campos-Medina Honored Among Most Influential Latinos in NJ
Patricia Campos Medina, Co-Director of the New York State/AFL-CIO Union Leadership Institute was named to PolitickerNJ’s list of 51 Most Influential Latinos in NJ Politics
The strike planned by workers at hundreds of Walmart stores nationwide on America’s busiest shopping day has significance on many levels, according to Ken Margolies and Kate Bronfenbrenner of the ILR School.
