“What Cornell is doing is a form of action,” said Chris Scattone, the member assistance program director at the Ornamental & Architectural Ironworkers Union Local 580. “It’s an in-person action and I respect it, because it’s saying it’s OK to ask for help, and that’s what they’re providing.”
We're proud to support the launch of the Building Trades Peer Support Network—created by #CornellILR's Worker Institute + NYS Building & Construction Trades Council— seeking to destigmatize mental health and reduce suicide in NYC’s construction industry by leveraging relationships within its unions.
On the flip side, it’s hard to keep workers around, Avgar said. “These are difficult jobs. In a lot of places, working conditions are quite tough. And so we see a lot of turnover, especially in the low-wage, front-line jobs.”
“A great deal of work in health care is human labor that needs to be done in treating actual patients in an actual location,” said Avgar. “Health care is an anchored industry, and it’s difficult to outsource.”
Ariel Avgar, who is the David M. Cohen Professor, Labor Relations, Law and History at #CornellILR and director of ILR's Center for Applied Research on Work, discusses the difficulty of outsourcing health care jobs due to their on-site labor requirements. (via @marketplace.org)
“Pay transparency laws represent meaningful progress, but transparency alone isn’t enough,” explained Lee. “How employers present pay information matters just as much as whether they disclose it.”
“Across our studies, we consistently found that women show a stronger preference for jobs with narrower salary ranges compared to men, and that this preference is associated with less assertive negotiation behaviors," said Lee. “This matters because starting salaries have compounding consequences.”
Research co-authored by @alicejlee.bsky.social, assistant professor of organizational behavior at #CornellILR, found that pay range transparency laws, intended to promote pay equity, can inadvertently deter women from applying for those positions, thus perpetuating gender gaps in the workforce.
Save the date! ✨March 12th✨ is #CornellGivingDay — a celebration of community, growth and Big Red Pride! Your support helps #CornellILR students thrive and strengthens the Cornell causes that matter most to you. Join us next week for 24 hours of impact and possibility! 🎉
This doesn't mean accepting every invitation, however. Instead, when weighing whether to engage, leaders may benefit from asking not only, “How interesting does this topic sound?” but also, “What relational or informational value might emerge once the interaction unfolds?”
"When leaders mentally disengage from conversations that sound uninteresting, they risk missing information, signaling disinterest and weakening relationships," the researchers explain.
A research team including Nicole Thio, Ph.D. student in organizational behavior at #CornellILR, has found that leaders often underestimate the value of “boring” meetings, which can surface insights, strengthen relationships and reveal early warning signs.
Jason Judd—exec. director of #CornellILR's Global Labor Institute—said living wage pledges from companies like Nike are so flexible that they’re almost meaningless. Only asking factories to be working toward living wages "could go on for 20 years until you’ve found yet another lower-wage province.”
Congratulations, Susanne Bruyère!
Read more about our @cornellyti.bsky.social director's influential career and work: www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/faculty...
Remote work can provide ⬆️ flexibility/autonomy but may also foster social isolation + blur the boundary between home/work life, leading to mixed effects on mental health. #CornellILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work provides research-based recommendations for protecting workers’ mental health:
two women sitting in chairs by windows, one woman holding a tablet while listening intently to the other woman.Cornell University Logo. ILR Yang-Tan Institute Logo. DWDC - Disability Workforce Development Center. Understanding and Supporting Employment for Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. March 11, 2026, 2-3:30 pm ET.
🌟 Join us for Understanding and Supporting Employment for Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder
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📍CRC and CVE credits
🗓 March 11, 2026
⏰ 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
👉 Register here: www.ytionline.org/webinars/84
Join us and play for a good cause today!
The top five areas to collect the most apples will split $2,500 in real-life funds, based on the number of apples awarded to each!
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"In other words, how a company structures its salary disclosure can influence who applies and how they negotiate—before a single interview takes place. For organizations working to build diverse talent pipelines, that means pay range design is a recruiting lever, not just a compensation detail."
In their studies, gender differences in risk preference statistically accounted for women’s stronger pull toward narrower ranges. Additionally, applicants who chose positions with narrower salary ranges consistently negotiated less assertively.
In this @hbr.org article, @alicejlee.bsky.social, assistant professor of organizational behavior at #CornellILR, and fellow researchers argue that wide salary ranges in job postings can unintentionally perpetuate gender pay gaps.
Learn more about the National Conflict Resolution Service (NCRS) at #CornellILR:
The new contract addresses patient care, staffing, safety + pay. “These settlements resolved very contentious issues, and I’m honored by NCRS’ involvement. It’s truly a testament to the necessity of conflict resolution services today,” said Harry Katz, director of #CornellILR's Scheinman Institute.
NYC’s largest + longest nurses' strike in decades ended on Thursday. Extension faculty from #CornellILR’s National Conflict Resolution Service helped mediate an agreement that will see ~4200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center return to work under a new contract.
For people wanting to create or assess diversity initiatives, Osborne emphasized the importance of acknowledging social hierarchies outside the workplace, and shaping initiatives with an intersectional analysis, understanding that "all employees have some form of intersecting identities."
Merrick Osborne, assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Cornell University ILR School, says: “Managers don’t always ask ‘how are my decisions about who’s hired and who’s fired situated in a broader social context?’ Decisions are not just influenced by the information directly in front of us. Societal influences and pressures seep into the thought process, ultimately generating biases that shape decision-making.” A lack of attention to intersectionality can “sometimes result in initiatives failing large portions of the groups they are purportedly designed to help.”
A pair of research papers co-authored by @merrickosborne.bsky.social, assistant professor at #CornellILR, examines why some DEI initiatives succeed while others fall short. The papers also suggest how to design more effective efforts.
Read more: www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/researc...
Diane Burton—who was recently named the #CornellILR senior associate dean for research, outreach and external relations—talks about the land grant mission of the ILR School and its various outreach initiatives, including the Climate Jobs Institute and the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative.
Lee Adler, visiting lecturer at the Cornell University ILR School, says: “Presently there is an odd confluence politically in California, as unions are mostly unified in seeking a one-time billionaires tax state wide, but the governor and some of his legislative allies oppose that tax and it will make for a muddy picture for the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) as often their needs/demands take into account legislative support. I do not think that the recent San Francisco strike will influence the UTLA as they will be driven by their sense of the political winds in LA, as well as their assessment how well/bad off California might fiscally be. It would seem that the parents would rather not see a strike. But if citizens are well educated about the strike's necessities, there is a chance that parents will support the teachers again.”
As LA and Oakland teachers approach potential strikes amid other contract battles in CA, experts say the disputes could signal a new phase in public-sector union strategy—leveraging coordinated timing/political pressure to reshape pay, staffing + school funding debates. #CornellILR's Lee Adler says:
You may have heard of "Heated Rivalry," the hockey romance show that has taken the world by storm. Even NHL commissioner + #CornellILR alum Gary Bettman ’74, has reported binging all 6 episodes, calling the storyline “very compelling and a lot of fun.”
Read more about the show's Cornell connection:
The @laboraction.bsky.social tracker provides a comprehensive picture of nationwide workplace conflict, and is available to policymakers, practitioners, scholars and the public. It counts all work stoppages, regardless of size.
Check out the full 2025 annual report on the #CornellILR website:
