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Upcoming Events

Project Labor Agreements & the NYC Tree Planting Program

A Win for New York City Workers, Businesses, and Communities

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Project Labor Agreements & the NYC Tree Planting Program

The Incursion of Private Equity into Home Care

Findings on the effect of private equity on quality work and care

A homecare worker helping elderly woman walk
The Incursion of Private Equity into Home Care

Collective Representation as Response to Worker Precarity in Logistics, Warehousing and Supply Chains

Please join the Worker Institute for the second of a three-part series of webinars exploring worker precarity across different industries in the United States. This time, we will examine the nature of precarious work in logistics and warehousing as critical components of our supply chains. Together, warehousing and logistics ensure a seamless flow of goods through the supply chain, bridging the gap between production and consumption.

overhead shot of warehouse worker pushing boxes with surrounding shelves of packages
Collective Representation as Response to Worker Precarity in Logistics, Warehousing and Supply Chains
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About the Institute

About us

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. A core value of the Worker Institute is that collective representation and workers’ rights are vital to a fair economy, robust democracy and just society. Learn more about all of our offerings.

Worker Institute

Core Offerings

The 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.

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Student Engagement

Student Engagement

The Worker Institute is committed to engaging Cornell ILR undergraduate and graduate students through our courses, research fellowships, graduate programs and other professional development opportunities.

 

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Learn more about our work with students.

In the News

Media Mentions

New York construction council launches peer support network to combat worker suicide

New York Construction Report
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the development and delivery of the curriculum for the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, which aims to train approximately 1,000 workers in the NYC construction industry as peer supporters, in order to improve mental health and reduce suicide rates.
New York construction council launches peer support network to combat worker suicide

‘It’s not weak to speak’: NYC construction unions launch mental health initiative

Construction Dive
ILR’s Worker Institute, which is a partner in the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, contributed to the network’s approach by confirming that peer-to-peer interventions work better for improving construction worker mental health than top-down interventions.
‘It’s not weak to speak’: NYC construction unions launch mental health initiative

Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Launches Peer Support Network to Prevent Suicide

LaborPress
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, which aims to improve construction workers’ mental health by training approximately 1,000 workers throughout the trades and across job sites in New York City as peer supporters.
Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Launches Peer Support Network to Prevent Suicide

ILR, Unions Offer NYC Construction Workers Innovative Emotional First Aid

Cornell Chronicle
The ILR School’s Worker Institute and unions have launched an innovative peer support initiative to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry.
ILR, Unions Offer NYC Construction Workers Innovative Emotional First Aid

Trades Council Launches Peer Network To Curb Construction Suicide Rates

Harlem World
“This is precisely the kind of initiative that Cornell ILR supports as we pursue our public service mission,” said Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, about the institute’s contribution to the Building Trades Peer Support Network curriculum, which aims to improve NYC construction workers’ mental health.
Trades Council Launches Peer Network To Curb Construction Suicide Rates

NY Construction Peer Network Targets Worker Suicide

Occupational Health & Safety
ILR’s Worker Institute is mentioned as a partner in the development of the new Building Trades Peer Support Network, an initiative to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in New York City’s construction industry by leveraging relationships within unions.
NY Construction Peer Network Targets Worker Suicide

Blog: Latest News and Events

Read more stories from the Worker Institute Blog

Cornell’s Empire State Poll Finds New Yorkers Concerned about the Cost of Living and the New York State Economy

Cornell's Empire State Poll data shows that 43% of New York State residents consider cost of living to be the most important issue facing the state, up from 29% in 2024. Respondents indicated substantial concern about the state's economy over the past year and looking to the future.
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Cornell’s Empire State Poll Finds New Yorkers Concerned about the Cost of Living and the New York State Economy

Singaporean Labor Leaders Visit the Worker Institute

On June 29, the Worker Institute hosted a delegation of Singaporean labor leaders representing the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
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Singaporean Labor Leaders Visit the Worker Institute

Worker Center Leaders Come Together to Build Power in Syracuse, NY

This spring, worker center leaders and worker justice organizations from across Upstate New York came together in Syracuse for an in-person gathering of the Upstate Worker Center Hub, a project of the Worker Institute at ILR Cornell. 
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Worker Center Leaders Come Together to Build Power in Syracuse, NY

Lois Gray Innovation Initiative 

Lois Gray, ILR School faculty member

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.

Explore the initiative