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.
News
NLLI Spotlight: Nia Winston
Recently elected Secretary-Treasurer, she has made history as the first Black person to hold this leadership role in her union. She is a trailblazer as the first woman to rise through the ranks to become a worker leader in this position.
The Worker Institute and the Buffalo Co-Lab Present Research at the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators, Inc. 54th Legislative Conference
Researchers from the Worker Institute and the Buffalo Co-Lab presented research findings on the racially disproportionate impact of austerity measures on the state mental health workforce.
On January 30, Labor Leadership Initiatives hosted a virtual gathering for alumni of the National Leadership Initiative (NLLI). Participants came together to discuss how they are adapting their leadership strategies within unions and organizations to tackle the current challenges facing workers, especially as their protections remain vulnerable.
Protecting Worker Rights Under Project 2025: The Changing Landscape on Immigration Enforcement & the Need for Worker Solidarity
On January 8th, 2025, the NYC Central Labor Council (CLC), in collaboration with the Worker Institute and Labor Leadership Initiatives at Cornell ILR, hosted a strategic conversation focused on the potential impacts of the upcoming Trump administration’s policies on workers' rights as outlined in Project 2025.
ULI Spotlight: Christina Christman, President Federation of Social Workers IUE-CWA 81381, Monroe County
Christina is a Recipient of the 2024-25 NYS AFL-CIO Union L.E.A.D. Scholarship
Christina says that the ULI has helped her reflect on issues such as union-busting tactics, the importance of robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and challenges in resource allocation.
ULI Spotlight: Marvin Tavarez, Business Representative Sheet Metal Workers (SMART) Local 28
Recipient of the 2024-25 NYS AFL-CIO Union L.E.A.D. Scholarship.
The ULI program has been an enlightening experience, broadening his perspective and exposing him to diverse opinions.
WI Faculty Awarded Einhorn Center Fellowship to Publish Research on Domestic Workers
Zoë West, senior researcher for worker rights and equity at Cornell ILR’s The Worker Institute (WI), has been selected as one of the Engaged Faculty Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year.
ULI Spotlight: Asenhat Gomez, Deputy Director of Programs at El Puente of Williamsburg, NY
Recipient of the 2024-2025 Ed Vargas Legacy Fund Scholarship.
The ULI program has provided Asenhat with a unique opportunity to connect with labor leaders outside of her organization.
The day-long Sept. 27 meeting in King-Shaw Hall at ILR drew state legislative staffers and representatives of the governor’s office and the state Department of Labor. It included presentations from ILR Outreach faculty based in New York City, Ithaca and Buffalo.
The Worker Institute’s Labor Leadership Program Graduation of the 2023-2024 Co-Hort of The New York State-AFL-CIO/Cornell University’s Union Labor Institute
On Tuesday, September 5, Cornell ILR hosted a delegation of five Australian labor leaders from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) at our NYC conference center. SDA is Australia’s largest private sector union, representing 210,00 workers in retail, warehousing, fast food and other related industries.
Labor Day 2023: ILR’s Worker Institute Reflects and Recommits
We at the Worker Institute are proud of our continued work to support union and worker justice leaders with research, training, and education. We seek to equip change-makers with the skills to challenge the increasing levels of income inequality and worker precarity.
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.
The ILR School Climate Jobs Institute, the first U.S. academic institution focused on conducting research and developing policy for governments across the nation to support clean energy targets, is launching Jan. 25 in New York City.
When the pendulum of justice moves backward, your generation must resist it | A 2022 commencement essay
NJ - Star Ledger
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."
2022 Migrations Awards Include Grant for Worker Institute Faculty on Central American Workers with Temporary Protective Status
The 2022 Migrations Awards include a Justice Futures Team Research Grant awarded to Patricia Campos-Medina and more for their project, “Displaced and Uprooted: Stories of Belonging, Central American TPS Workers' Defiant Struggle for their Right to Stay Home in the U.S.”
A Message from Worker Institute Leadership for International Workers' Day
A message from Worker Institute leadership, Patricia Campos Medina, Executive Director, The Worker Institute and Risa Lieberwitz, Academic Director, The Worker Institute for International Workers' Day, 2022.
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.
Labor and environmental coalition calls for R.I. to transition to a clean energy economy
Boston Globe
A report by Cornell University researchers details crises involving climate change, the pandemic, and inequality, recommends major public projects involving wind energy, schools, and electrical grid
New York's food delivery bicyclists and drivers demand more workplace rights
CBS News
This piece mentions a survey out of the ILR School and the advocacy group Los Deliveristas Unidos finding that two-thirds of the surveyed delivery drivers work at least six days a week and average just over $12 per hour, including tips.
