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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

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

One in Five in NYS Face Workplace Sexual Harassment

Cornell Chronicle
More than a third of cisgender women and half of respondents who identify as transgender or other gender identities reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new ILR School Worker Institute report.
One in Five in NYS Face Workplace Sexual Harassment

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