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The Worker Institute uses research to understand the root cause of problems in the world of work and design long-term solutions that advance collective representation and racial and gender equity. To do this, we apply community-engaged and participatory research methods to our research and evaluation of policies and programs. This reflects our commitment to ensuring that workers themselves are at the center of public discussions and decisions that directly affect them.

First of its kind industry report shows New York City’s App-based delivery workers experience harsh working conditions

Los Deliveristas / Worker's Justice Project and Cornell ILR’s Worker Institute released a new report titled, “Essential but Unprotected: App-based Food Couriers in New York City.” The report examines the harsh and unregulated working conditions of app-based delivery workers engaged by digital platforms.
Delivery Biker in New York City
First of its kind industry report shows New York City’s App-based delivery workers experience harsh working conditions

New Report: New Yorkers Indicate That Retaliation Prevents Them From Exposing Workplace Dangers

Workers in NY are more likely than those in the rest of the country to feel pressure to refrain from reporting workplace problems such as sexual harassment and health and safety violations to avoid employer retaliation, according to analysis from the National Employment Law Project and the Worker Institute.
Sexual Harassment Complaint Form
New Report: New Yorkers Indicate That Retaliation Prevents Them From Exposing Workplace Dangers

Texas Unions Launch Major Effort to Combat Climate Change, Tackle Inequality in US Energy Capital

A new report by climate and labor experts at Cornell University, Northeastern University, and Occidental College, in consultation with 27 Texas labor unions, accompanied the launch and outlays out a comprehensive climate jobs action plan to put Texas on the path to building an equitable clean-energy economy.
Man installing solar panels
Texas Unions Launch Major Effort to Combat Climate Change, Tackle Inequality in US Energy Capital

Low Wage and Precarious Work

Low Wage and Precarious Work focuses on the conditions of low-wage and contingent workers who have little or no access to important social protections and have limited institutional or legal labor protections. Low wages and precarity in the labor market are at the heart of vulnerability for vast segments of the workforce and such jobs can be found in all sectors and industries. Our research examines how race, gender and immigration status shape workers’ experiences in precarious work structures and explores solutions in the areas of policy, training, and collective representation.

Equity at Work

Equity at Work explores the role of gender and race in the workplace, examining how power inequities enable harassment and abuse. This includes a discussion of current and evolving workers' rights, the workplace contexts in which they currently exist, and individual and organizational interventions that promote respect, equity and justice and strengthen collective representation. 

The Worker Institute advances this initiative through both research and training programs.

The Future of Care Work

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The Future of Care Work explores the widely devalued, underpaid, and too often difficult, degrading working con­ditions of care economy jobs. Care workers often face significant stress and trauma in these jobs, and yet face barriers to accessing care themselves. The Future of Care Work advances the needs, voices, and experiences of care workers themselves, identifying long-term solutions that value their labor with good wages and dignified working conditions. The initiative also addresses the stress, trauma, and oppression that care workers face due to the work they are doing and their position as a workforce that is devalued and made up disproportionately of women, people of color, and immigrants

More about our work can be found in Publications and Events.