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The Precarious Work 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.

The challenges facing them have become increasingly prevalent in the labor market and the economy as a whole, to the point that core industries such as construction, health care, manufacturing, media and entertainment include growing numbers of workers employed under precarious conditions.

The Precarious Workforce Initiative draws on the research and expertise of the ILR School faculty and associates in the areas of labor rights, collective representation, leadership and strategy development. We conduct research and advance the debate about policies and strategies that would improve working conditions and enforcement of labor rights for workers facing precarious employment.

Additionally, this initiative offers programs that provide technical assistance, as well as leadership and organizational development opportunities for non-traditional organizations representing low-wage and marginalized workers.

Events

Worker Institute hosts an international forum on app-based work

The two-day forum, titled "Platform-Workers Forum: Global Perspectives on Organizing and Policy” was translated simultaneously into English, Spanish, and Hindi. The event was attended by more than 150 participants from 34 countries from across the globe.
Panel in the International App-Based Forum
Worker Institute hosts an international forum on app-based work

Fair and Safe Return to Work: Protecting Workers and Communities during Reopening

On Thursday, August 6, 2020, the Worker Institute at the ILR school and the Restaurant Opportunity Centers of New York hosted a webinar focused on reopening the economy and the workplace.
Worker wish a mask
Fair and Safe Return to Work: Protecting Workers and Communities during Reopening

Fair and Safe Return to Work: Protecting Workers and Communities during Reopening

This webinar will examine the issues that workers and communities are facing as New York City undergoes phase 4 of the reopening of its economy.
person wearing a mask working behind a bar at a restaurant
Fair and Safe Return to Work: Protecting Workers and Communities during Reopening

Equity at Work Helping Expand Initiatives

The Worker Institute Equity at Work initiative supports domestic workers and their employers in improving workplace standards.
Nanny training graduation ceremony
Equity at Work Helping Expand Initiatives

New York's food delivery bicyclists and drivers demand more workplace rights

CBS News logo
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.
Delivery driver in the snow
New York's food delivery bicyclists and drivers demand more workplace rights

Gig Companies Can’t Take Everyone for a Ride

Wall Street Journal
42% of food delivery workers say they've been underpaid, according to ILR's Worker Institute and the Workers Justice Project's study cited by The Wall Street Journal in wake of FTC warning to companies about unfair practices.
DoorDash driver
Gig Companies Can’t Take Everyone for a Ride

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