At its heart, the Worker Institute views its work as a contribution to reversing the growing inequality, now at historic levels, which undermines the economic and social sustainability of a vibrant democratic society.  The Institute provides the nation’s most comprehensive education, training, research, and organizational support for union leaders and worker advocates.  Worker Institute research fellows, sometimes in small teams, will have the opportunity to work directly with Ithaca-based faculty and ILR labor extension faculty based in NYC.

The fellowship program’s goal is to provide ILR students with a unique opportunity to contribute to important projects concerning workers and unions, expand their research skills, learn about potential career paths and interact with faculty, labor leaders and other fellows.

The main selection criteria include a strong academic record and a demonstrated interest in one of the Worker Institute’s research areas. 

Better Jobs for Workers with Criminal Records

Having a criminal record is associated with employer discrimination in hiring and tends to trap workers in bad jobs. This reinforces structural racism by disproportionately affecting people of color. The harm of the criminal justice system, however, can be reduced by re-entry services that help workers seal their records, navigate criminal background checks, and obtain certificates of good conduct. The Ithaca Co-Lab is working with community partners in Rochester NY to investigate the effects of these services on clients’ working lives. We conducted 30 in-depth biographical interviews in 2023-24, and we will conduct follow-up interviews in 2025-26. Most of these interviews were with black women working in caring occupations. The work will include assisting with carrying out the interviews, documenting and analyzing them, and sitting in on meetings with community partners and researchers in which findings are discussed. Some of the work will be in-person off-campus in Rochester and Ithaca – Ian Greer