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Upcoming Events

Project Labor Agreements & the NYC Tree Planting Program

A Win for New York City Workers, Businesses, and Communities

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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

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The Incursion of Private Equity into Home Care
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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

Pessimism, Cost of Living Are on the Rise, New York at Work Report Finds

Cornell Chronicle
Studying two decades of data collected through the Empire State Poll, researchers have found that the cost of living dominates respondents’ key concerns, eclipsing other priorities, such as the environment.
Pessimism, Cost of Living Are on the Rise, New York at Work Report Finds

The Context: Who Gets to Be American?

Apple Podcasts
Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute, discusses problems with immigration, labor and democratic systems in the U.S. – how these problems are connected and how to fix them.
The Context: Who Gets to Be American?

NYC dismisses Haitian employees who lost their TPS status, Mamdani says

Newsday
This article cites a report by ILR’s Worker Institute, saying that New York state has 98,250 workers with Temporary Protected Status, with most coming from Haiti and Venezuela; the report is called “We Are Home: Workers with TPS Belong Here.”
NYC dismisses Haitian employees who lost their TPS status, Mamdani says

Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status

The New York Times
“They have devoted their entire years of productivity to this country,” says Patrica Campos-Medina, executive director of ILR’s Worker Institute – and co-author of the report “We Are Home: TPS Workers Belong Here” – describing the contributions to the U.S. of Central Americans with Temporary Protected Status.
Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status

Temporary Protected Status is set to expire for Haitians. That could be a significant loss to Long Island communities and employers.

Newsday
New York state has 98,250 workers with TPS, most of whom come from Haiti and Venezuela, according to a study from ILR’s Worker Institute.
Temporary Protected Status is set to expire for Haitians. That could be a significant loss to Long Island communities and employers.

Cornell study shows impact of immigrant workers on New York economy and communities

WBNG
The economic and community impact of immigrant workers with Temporary Protected Status in New York state is the focus of a new report from ILR’s Worker Institute, called “We Are Home: Workers with TPS Belong Here.”
Cornell study shows impact of immigrant workers on New York economy and communities

Blog: Latest News and Events

Read more stories from the Worker Institute Blog

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. 
Mix group of men and women posing and smiling for camera
Worker Center Leaders Come Together to Build Power in Syracuse, NY

Labor Leadership Initiative and the Solidarity Center Host Young Labor Movement Leaders in Zambia

The Labor Leadership Initiative, in collaboration with the Solidarity Center, recently hosted a cohort of its Global Labor Leadership Initiative for over 20 young labor leaders from across Africa.
worker construction
Labor Leadership Initiative and the Solidarity Center Host Young Labor Movement Leaders in Zambia

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