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Upcoming Events

Project Labor Agreements & the NYC Tree Planting Program

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

Central Park's lush green lawn with the NYC skyline in the background
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.

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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

Profit Over People: U.S. policy deliberately traps immigrant workers in poverty, danger

NJToday.news
A new book, “Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace,” is profiled in this article. The book was co-authored by ILR researchers Kate Griffith, Shannon Gleeson and Patricia Campos-Medina, along with Darlène Dubuisson of the University of California, Berkeley.
Profit Over People: U.S. policy deliberately traps immigrant workers in poverty, danger

The Hidden Cost of Convenience: How NYC’s Delivery App Economy Exploits Workers While Promising Innovation

WebProNews
A report from ILR’s Worker Institute is referenced in this article about how delivery apps contribute to problems faced by gig workers in New York City’s food delivery industry.
The Hidden Cost of Convenience: How NYC’s Delivery App Economy Exploits Workers While Promising Innovation

More Gig Workers Could See Rights Without Status Change

Law 360
Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, suggests next steps for protecting the labor rights of gig workers, following recent changes in New York City to how grocery delivery workers are compensated and food delivery platforms encourage tipping.
More Gig Workers Could See Rights Without Status Change

What’s Really Happening In Venezuela And How Does It Impact Black People?

Essence
“In the U.S., Venezuelans currently represent the largest immigrant group granted TPS, which is a designation of protection for people who are unable to safely return home due to humanitarian crises or political instability,” says Natalia Navas, labor leadership programs associate, discussing the Temporary Protected Status program.
What’s Really Happening In Venezuela And How Does It Impact Black People?

Blogcast #113: Stories of Belonging and Worker Power

Power at Work
In this blogcast, Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, explores migration, belonging, worker power and the everyday people shaping the future of immigrant worker justice with Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris.
Blogcast #113: Stories of Belonging and Worker Power

Tech Life: Web-scraping bots

BBC News
Zoë West, extension associate at ILR’s Worker Institute, discusses AI in the fashion industry on this BBC audio program.
Tech Life: Web-scraping bots

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