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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.

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

Cost of living a major concern for New York workforce

Cornell Chronicle
Now in its fifth year, the 2024-25 New York at Work report draws on ILR expertise, research-based data and policy analysis on a broad range of key issues affecting the state’s workers, unions, communities and employers.
Cost of living a major concern for New York workforce

The Women Who Keep New York Clean, and the System That Fails Them

This article references a 2018 study by the Laundry Workers Center and Cornell University’s Worker Institute, which found that 86 percent of laundromat workers in New York City are women, most of them immigrants.
The Women Who Keep New York Clean, and the System That Fails Them

'A new fight for civil rights': Elmont leaders rally for TPS and immigrant worker protections

Labor organizers and activists from Elmont and other Long Island neighborhoods rallied for immigrant workers’ rights at the Stories of Belonging celebration, at Sisters of St. Joseph Preparatory School in Brentwood, on June 18.
'A new fight for civil rights': Elmont leaders rally for TPS and immigrant worker protections

Justice Dept. says it is investigating Univ. of California hiring practices

The Washington Post
Aiming to have a diverse workforce is not illegal under antidiscrimination laws, said Risa Lieberwitz, ILR professor of labor and employment law.
Justice Dept. says it is investigating Univ. of California hiring practices

The Power Half-Hour #3

Power at Work
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, analyzes the role of unions in current events, such as determining the quality of manufacturing jobs created in the U.S. due to Trump administration policies and fighting deportations of those who held Temporary Protected Status.
The Power Half-Hour #3

New pope's name signals focus on work issues

Law 360
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, discusses Pope Leo XIV's inauguration as a hopeful moment for unions and workers.
New pope's name signals focus on work issues

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