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About the Institute

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 coursesresearch fellowshipsgraduate programs and other professional development opportunities.

 

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

In the News

Media Mentions

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

Biden-Era Worker Heat Rule Inches to Finish Line Under Trump

Bloomberg Law
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director for The Worker Institute, says “Extreme heat waves have increased in the last 10 years, so you’re seeing more of a crisis on that, so I hope the administration allows for some minimum guidance.”
Biden-Era Worker Heat Rule Inches to Finish Line Under Trump

Vending Enforcement Slams Poor Minorities in White Neighborhoods, New Report Finds

The City
Most vending tickets are issued in predominantly white and affluent areas to immigrant and minority sellers living in much poorer outer borough neighborhoods, according to a new report by Andrew Wolf, assistant professor.
Vending Enforcement Slams Poor Minorities in White Neighborhoods, New Report Finds

Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values

REI has not signed an agreement with any of its 11 stores that have voted to unionize over the past three years. “Delaying actually getting to a collective bargaining agreement is a strategy by corporations to kill the will of workers to stay as members of the union,” says Patricia Campos-Medina.
Frustrated Berkeley REI Workers Accuse Co-Op of Union Busting, Straying From Values

Is America Pissed Off Enough at Trump and Musk for a General Strike?

The New Republic
“What they are really asking for is for unions and their community allies to be working together on a coordinated level that is ahistorical,” said Eugene Carroll, a longtime labor educator and organizer and a Worker Institute Fellow.
Is America Pissed Off Enough at Trump and Musk for a General Strike?

America's shadow economy shrinks due to deportation fears

Axios
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director for The Worker Institute, explains what may occur if the construction, agriculture, hospitality, and retail industries lose workers.
America's shadow economy shrinks due to deportation fears

Welcome to the 2026–2027 Cohort of the Union Leadership Institute (ULI)

On July 14, Labor Leadership Initiatives at ILR welcomed the 2026–2027 New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell University Union Leadership Institute (ULI) cohort.
ULI Class of 2026-2027
Welcome to the 2026–2027 Cohort of the Union Leadership Institute (ULI)

TPS We Are Home Report

The report entitled We Are Home; TPS Workers Belong Here, written by Patricia Campos-Medina and Natalia Navas, examines the experiences of Central American TPS workers in New York state and finds these TPS holders overwhelmingly view New York and the United States as their home.
TPS Report Launch
TPS We Are Home Report

Collective Representation as a Response to Worker Precarity in the Green Jobs Economy

Collective Representation as a Response to Worker Precarity in the Green Jobs Economy, hosted by ILR School’s Worker Institute in partnership with the Climate Jobs Institute, highlighted the need for community-driven approaches in developing high-quality green energy jobs and infrastructure.
Two technicians wearing hardhats, talking on solar rooftop
Collective Representation as a Response to Worker Precarity in the Green Jobs Economy

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