Through teaching, research and outreach, ILR generates and shares knowledge to solve human problems, manage and resolve conflict, establish best practices in the workplace and inform government policy.
Worker Institute
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.
‘Stories of Belonging’: Long Island exhibit celebrates TPS workers
“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.
Poll finds that unpaid caregivers face financial challenges
WBNG
Zoë West, a senior researcher of worker rights and equity at ILR’s Worker Institute, comments on issues raised by the latest Empire State poll about balancing unpaid caretaking and paid work. West contributed to the poll project, which was highlighted in ILR’s 2024-25 New York at Work report.
Cost of living a major concern for New York workforce
Cornell Chronicle
Now in its fifth year, the 2024-25 New York at Work report draws on ILR expertise, research-based data and policy analysis on a broad range of key issues affecting the state’s workers, unions, communities and employers.
The Women Who Keep New York Clean, and the System That Fails Them
This article references a 2018 study by the Laundry Workers Center and Cornell University’s Worker Institute, which found that 86 percent of laundromat workers in New York City are women, most of them immigrants.
'A new fight for civil rights': Elmont leaders rally for TPS and immigrant worker protections
Labor organizers and activists from Elmont and other Long Island neighborhoods rallied for immigrant workers’ rights at the Stories of Belonging celebration, at Sisters of St. Joseph Preparatory School in Brentwood, on June 18.
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, analyzes the role of unions in current events, such as determining the quality of manufacturing jobs created in the U.S. due to Trump administration policies and fighting deportations of those who held Temporary Protected Status.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
WI Faculty Awarded Einhorn Center Fellowship to Publish Research on Domestic Workers
Zoë West, senior researcher for worker rights and equity at Cornell ILR’s The Worker Institute (WI), has been selected as one of the Engaged Faculty Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year.
As the 2024 Alice B. Grant Labor Leader in Residence, ILRie Randi Weingarten spent time at ILR teaching, speaking and meeting with students, professors and university staff.
The Evergreen State has positioned itself as a climate leader in America, but a new report from the ILR Climate Jobs Institute reveals there is much more to be done to ensure that its climate investments maximize high-quality job creation, equity and economic development.
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.
When the pendulum of justice moves backward, your generation must resist it | A 2022 commencement essay
NJ - Star Ledger
In an open letter to the Class of 2022, Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute, says "You must be comfortable with the tension that exists between going along to get along or challenging the status quo."
What Happened at the Amazon Warehouse on Staten Island?
When a union-free tech giant was upended by a worker-founded union at a Staten Island warehouse April 1, the world was shocked. ILR experts are contextualizing what led to the surprise win and what’s next.
A new report from the Worker Institute and Climate Jobs NY outlines a bold vision for strengthening the economy, while tackling climate change, and addressing racial and economic inequality.
Basic training isn’t enough to stem sexual harassment in the workplace, cultural audits are needed to measure the “pulse” of organizations, according to KC Wagner.
The Latino Coalition of New Jersey has honored Worker Institute Executive Director Patricia Campos-Medina for her work on behalf of laborers, undocumented immigrants and domestic workers.
