Cornell University mobile logo
Person with megaphone

Upcoming Events

Worker Precarity in Journalism, Academia and Computer Programming

Collective Representation as a Response to Worker Precarity

What do part-time or underemployed workers without health benefits, pensions or job security who work split shifts at a number of different locations each week have in common? They all hold a university degree, often with at least one master’s degree and/or a doctorate, but find themselves in precarious, insecure work.

A man and woman sitting down working together looking at a shared tablet
Worker Precarity in Journalism, Academia and Computer Programming
cornell-seal Icon

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.

megaphone

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.

 

Students on international experience trip
Learn more about our work with students.

In the News

Media Mentions

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

Models Feel Hemmed in by AI

Cornell Chronicle
Using generative AI, fashion designers can use digital photos to adjust models’ features and even deploy fully digital avatars in place of humans. A team including an ILR School researcher has written a paper highlighting models’ challenges.
Models Feel Hemmed in by AI

Schneps Media’s 2025 Leaders of Labor to honor top professionals in labor community

AM NY
Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, is mentioned as a 2025 Schneps Media Leaders of Labor awardee; the award, which recognizes members of the labor community and the organizations that support them, will be presented on Oct. 8 at Terrace on the Park in Queens, New York.
Schneps Media’s 2025 Leaders of Labor to honor top professionals in labor community

A Broad Wave of Firings Followed Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

The New York Times
Risa Lieberwitz, ILR professor of labor and employment law, comments on recent workplace firings and employers’ heightened fear of political reprisal.
A Broad Wave of Firings Followed Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

‘Stories of Belonging’: Long Island exhibit celebrates TPS workers

The Long Island Advocate
“It’s a celebration of solidarity with TPS workers,” said Patricia Campos-Medina executive director of The Worker Institute and primary researcher for the “Stories of Belonging” public art and storytelling exhibit about the contributions of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status in the U.S.
‘Stories of Belonging’: Long Island exhibit celebrates TPS workers

AI Could Have Terrifying Impacts on Fashion Models, New Research Shows

Teen Vogue
A report co-authored by the Worker Institute reveals problems with AI-driven image manipulation in the fashion modeling industry.
AI Could Have Terrifying Impacts on Fashion Models, New Research Shows

Blog: Latest News and Events

Read more stories from the Worker Institute Blog

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

The second webinar in the Cornell ILR Worker Institute's three-part series on collective representation and worker precarity examined how e-commerce, automation, and changing supply chains contribute to worker insecurity in warehousing and logistics, and how collective organizing, legislation, and community solidarity can address these challenges.
overhead shot of warehouse worker pushing boxes with surrounding shelves of packages
Collective Representation as a Response to Worker Precarity in Logistics, Warehousing and Supply Chains

Cornell’s Last Mile Delivery Study Finds Majority of Non-Union Delivery Drivers Would Unionize

Preliminary data from Cornell’s Last Mile Delivery study finds that a majority of its non-unionized package delivery driver respondents think that their interests would be better represented by a union and would support unionization at their employers.
blogphoto
Cornell’s Last Mile Delivery Study Finds Majority of Non-Union Delivery Drivers Would Unionize

The Incursion of Private Equity into New York State Home Care

Findings from a two-year research project that explores private equity’s incursion into home care in New York State, its relationship to structural racism and how agency structure shapes working conditions, worker voice and what this means for quality of care.
RWJF0930
The Incursion of Private Equity into New York State Home Care

Lois Gray Innovation Initiative 

Explore the 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.