Collective Representation and Worker Voice

A pair of published papers released by the CAROW Initiative on Home Care Work shows that unionized direct care workers are likely to earn more money and are more likely to have employer-sponsored health care insurance and pension plans than non-unionized direct care workers.

“Voice gap,” which measures a worker’s perceived gap between desired and actual influence at work, significantly impacts job-related outcomes, such as job satisfaction, according to new research by ILR Assistant Professor Duanyi Yang.

On January 16, 2025, Cornell ILR’s Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) published “Colorado’s Clean Energy Jobs Path,” a vision and roadmap for tackling climate change in Colorado while also preserving and creating high-quality jobs and forging a more equitable future. 

The Climate Jobs Institute produced a primer and webinar on Thermal Energy Networks, which can decarbonize multiple buildings at once while also harnessing the existing skills of our building trades.

Funded by Cornell ILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW), the study intends to measure the real-world impact of the USMCA trade agreement on workers’ voices and power in the Mexican Auto Industry. Additionally, the study explores the RRM's awareness, effectiveness and outcomes.

Domestic workers perform the critical labor of caring for children and cleaning homes but face many forms of exploitation. Zoë West, Ketchel Carey, and Anne Marie Brady of ILR’s Worker Institute break down how an innovative peer training model is empowering domestic workers to demand more on the job.

On October 25th, in Syracuse, New York, more than 8 upstate organizations gathered for an event to strategize on building long-term worker power in their region.

A discussion focused on the evolution of, and challenges facing, women’s professional hockey was hosted on Monday by ILR International Visiting Fellow Kelly Pike, ’03, Ph.D. ’14.

The Worker Institute recently published three data snapshots of findings to questions asked about the care economy, the experience of sexual harassment in the workplace, and work for online platforms. Read on for a preview of key findings with links to the three data snapshots.

Guest contributor Kiran Abraham-Aggarwal, ILR '25, discusses direct care workers--the challenges they face, how their working conditions relate to patient outcomes, and possible ways forward.

Cornell ILR’s Global Labor Institute (GLI) launched its Labor Outcomes Metrics on May 29. The new set of 25 quantitative measures allows regulators, firms and unions to score, track and compare impacts over time.

Our last mile delivery project investigates the changes happening in a dynamic essential industry.

The High Road NYC program has hit the ground running as students settle into their new surroundings, gain confidence and begin to advocate for and engage with the community.

The Scheinman Institute is bringing labor to the table for a U.S. project designed to equip front-line workers with effective personal protection equipment that will be widely adopted.

In this post, Russell Weaver, Director of Research for the Buffalo Co-Lab, and Ian Greer, Director of the Ithaca Co-Lab, explain what a minimum wage is meant to do, where current policy falls short, and promising practices that can help ensure a living wage for workers.

The Climate Jobs Institute State of the NY Solar Workforce study provides a first look at the results of our exploratory study on the working conditions of New York State solar workers on Friday, April 26, in person and live stream.

Cornell ILR's Union Days begins Tuesday, March 5, with "Unions, Labor, and Freedom of Expression," a presentation given by Randi Weingarten ’80.

Beginning July 1, 2024, NYC employers must distribute and post a Worker Bill of Rights notice, emphasizing labor laws and protections for all workers, including immigrants. Employers must comply by July 1, 2024, or face a penalty. The law allows a 30-day window for corrections, emphasizing support for businesses in adapting to new requirements.

Charlotte Garden, professor of law at the University of Minnesota, presented “The Constitution and the Workplace: Exploring How the First Amendment Impacts Workers.”

A new grant awarded by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation will fund an interdisciplinary team featuring MIT and Tougaloo College scholars.

Mark your calendars for the Climate Jobs Institute’s upcoming statewide conference, Generating Equity: Pathways to Union Careers in Clean Energy, in Albany, NY, on March 1-2, 2024.

Cornell ILR's Climate Jobs Institute celebrated the launch of its new report, “Building an Equitable, Diverse & Unionized Clean Energy Economy: What We Can Learn from Apprenticeship Readiness” on November 30th.

An ILR student helped establish the United Auto Workers Local 2300, which now represents Cornell building maintenance and service workers.

The Kheel Center, ILRies and Cornellians carry on the collective action legacy that grew from the Triangle Factory Fire disaster.