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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.

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 at Cornell 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

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.
Poll finds that unpaid caregivers face financial challenges

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.
Cost of living a major concern for New York workforce

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.
The Women Who Keep New York Clean, and the System That Fails Them

'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.
'A new fight for civil rights': Elmont leaders rally for TPS and immigrant worker protections

Justice Dept. says it is investigating Univ. of California hiring practices

The Washington Post
Aiming to have a diverse workforce is not illegal under antidiscrimination laws, said Risa Lieberwitz, ILR professor of labor and employment law.
Justice Dept. says it is investigating Univ. of California hiring practices

The Power Half-Hour #3

Power at Work
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.
The Power Half-Hour #3

Blog: Latest News and Events

Read more stories from the Worker Institute Blog

Unpaid Caregiving and Its Impact on New Yorkers' Paid Employment

The findings affirm that caregiving—both unpaid caregiving and access to paid care support—remains a pressing concern for the substantial number of New Yorkers who are providing care for children and/or adults.
A home healthcare worker takes a man's blood pressure.
Unpaid Caregiving and Its Impact on New Yorkers' Paid Employment

The Role and Value of Social and Labor Protections

This policy snapshot summarizes findings from questions pertaining to respondents’ wages and benefits and their perception of social and labor protections.
A calculator, cash and budget journal on a table.
The Role and Value of Social and Labor Protections

Racial Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Intimate Partner Violence and the Workplace: Results from the 2024 Empire State Poll

This brief presents analysis of results of the 2024 Empire State Poll concerning rates of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as experiences of intimate partner violence and their impacts at work.
A woman cringes as her co-worker places a hand on her shoulder
Racial Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Intimate Partner Violence and the Workplace: Results from the 2024 Empire State Poll

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