eCommons

DigitalCollections@ILR
ILR School
 

Undergraduate Labor Institute

Permanent URI for this collection

The Undergraduate Labor Institute is a labor policy think-tank run by Cornell undergraduates. The ULI aims to give students a platform to research and create a collaborative policy document each semester, based on a specific predetermined theme associated with changes and problems in the workforce.

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Item
    International Labor Movements (Issue 6, Fall 2021)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2021)
  • Item
    Revitalizing the Labor Movement (Issue 5, Spring 2021)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2021)
    [Excerpt] Eugene V. Debs stated that “While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” This sentiment is reflected in the new attempts to organize workplaces that have built up advanced anti-unionization techniques. There is a focus on inclusion that prior labor movements have lacked, and an admirable hope in the face of grandiose adversity. A forceful challenge to the state’s complicity in allowing employers to mistreat and undervalue those who keep society running is long overdue, and there is an especially adamant refusal among workers to tolerate constant jabs at their dignity. Our analysts have worked diligently to provide detailed accounts of injustices against those who turn our society’s gears and have set forth to research policies that would help undo the burdens that prevent people from having adequate representation at work. We hope to instill our readers with a certain consciousness about the various inequalities that workers have to process on a daily basis and come to the understanding that standing against injustices is best done collectively.
  • Item
    The New Normal: Work in the COVID-19 Era (Issue 4, Fall 2020)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2020)
    [Excerpt] After analyzing the unemployment trends and COVID-19 responses in China, Italy, and the United States, it can ultimately be be concluded that countries with a delayed pandemic response suffered higher unemployment compared to countries who had a proactive response. Other policies proved to ameliorate some of the immediate effects of unemployment such as Italy’s ban on firing workers and stimulus checks sent out in addition to unemployment insurance.
  • Item
    Black Work Matters (Issue 3, Summer 2020)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2020)
    [Excerpt] W.E.B. Du Bois illustrated the disharmony of being a Black worker well in his essay, “Strivings of the Negro People,” as he writes that they aim to “escape white contempt” while “on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde.” He encapsulates the message that to struggle against the economic conditions that have been cultivated against Black people by the state, the oppressor must not only undo the legislative wrongs that have alienated Black people from their labor, but must also unlearn the behaviors that lead to these wrongs. With the increasing awareness of Black issues brought about by violence against Black people by the state, it is now more important than ever to encourage and participate in collective action to create real outcomes in order to undo the longstanding injustices against Black people in America. As you read further, you will be presented with issues related to Black labor and our analysts’ research pertaining to undoing these hindrances to the advancement of Black people. We hope to come to a further understanding of the issues and subsequently encourage not only the labor movement, but all people to be unflinching in their solidarity with Black people fighting for their rights.
  • Item
    A Green New World: Sustainable Labor in the 21st Century (Issue 2, Fall 2019)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2019)
    [Excerpt] Climate change is undoubtedly the defining crisis of our time, so much so that future scholars may look back and use it to define our very epoch. Given that labor is the source of all value in society, we saw it fit to analyze this greatest of all crises through the lens of the greatest of all commodities under capitalism: labor-power. More specifically, we plan on delving into such issues as the interplay between “green job” creation and unionization, the racially inequitable effects of pollution, and the promises and perils of the Green New Deal. To confront climate change from a consumerist perspective is to understand only part of the larger picture vis-à-vis climate change, which, perhaps inconveniently for some, involves workers around the world. To that end, we hope to dispel certain myths regarding the intersection of labor and environmentalism, most notably popular cultural pathologies regarding the “forgotten,” often white and often male, industrial worker. The world of labor, whether unionized or not, is far more diverse than the mainstream media might let on. Moreover, workers are far more eager to tackle climate change issues than many of us may be led to believe. In choosing such a profoundly pertinent theme, we hope to highlight workers as a key component of any discussion relating to the climate crisis, which too often centers on corporations and governments. While it is true that all of us are consumers, almost all of us are workers, too, and we spend far more time at our jobs than we do at Wal-Mart or Target. We also recognize that we have an obligation to commit ourselves to the highest standards of research. We hope that our Fall 2019 issue reflects our dedication to the severity and the hope present in the discourse surrounding climate change.
  • Item
    The Year of the Strike (Issue 1, Spring 2019)
    Undergraduate Labor Institute (2019-04)
    The founding executive board of the Undergraduate Labor Institute at Cornell University is proud to present the inaugural issue of our research report. This Spring, fourteen undergraduate policy analysts from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations examined and researched strikes in the labor movement. Each of the four research pieces comprising this report analyze the theme through the perspectives of non-traditional labor, intersectionality, comparative labor, and barriers to strikes. In commemoration of the labor movement that was molded by the voices and efforts of worker resistance, we chose to focus this report on The Year of the Strike.