Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
Name	Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
Formation	20th century
Type	Research institute
Location	University campus
Leader title	Director

Institute for Research on Labor and Employment is a university-based research center focused on labor studies, workforce dynamics, and industrial relations. Founded as a hub for interdisciplinary scholarship, the institute engages scholars, policymakers, unions, employers, and community organizations in applied research and public outreach. Its work intersects with social movements, public policy debates, and comparative labor analysis across national and transnational contexts.

History

The institute was established amid debates influenced by figures such as John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, E. P. Thompson, Karl Polanyi, and Paul Sweezy and in the institutional milieu that included American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, International Labour Organization, Industrial Relations Research Association, Russell Sage Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. Early directors drew on scholarship comparable to work by Richard Titmuss, Harry Braverman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Herbert G. Gutman, and Eugene V. Debs; collaborations connected to events like the New Deal and institutions such as Bureau of Labor Statistics and National Labor Relations Board. The institute's archives document engagements with labor leaders such as Cesar Chavez, A. Philip Randolph, Walter Reuther, Dolores Huerta, and commentators like Milton Friedman and John Kenneth Galbraith through partnerships with centers like Harvard Kennedy School, Brookings Institution, Institute for Policy Studies, Economic Policy Institute, and Labor Research Service.

Over decades, research agendas reflected influences from Civil Rights Movement, Women's Liberation Movement, Occupy Wall Street, and comparative studies involving Solidarity (Polish trade union), International Trade Union Confederation, Confederation of German Trade Unions, and regional cases such as Amazon (company) labor disputes, UPS strikes, GM sit-down strike, and Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The institute evolved alongside university-level units like School of Social Welfare, Department of Economics, Department of Sociology, School of Law, and public policy schools including Evans School of Public Policy and Governance.

Mission and Research Focus

The institute's mission emphasizes evidence-based study of labor markets, worker rights, and workplace policy within frameworks advanced by scholars such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, and Thomas Piketty. Research topics include collective bargaining studies linked to Taft–Hartley Act, minimum wage analyses referencing Fair Labor Standards Act, occupational safety studies engaging with Occupational Safety and Health Administration, immigration and labor dynamics tied to Immigration and Nationality Act, and gig economy inquiries involving firms like Uber Technologies, Lyft, TaskRabbit, and Airbnb. Comparative labor governance projects examine models from Germany, Sweden, Japan, United Kingdom, and Brazil with reference to institutions like Works Council, Trade Union Congress, and Cooperative movement.

The institute advances interdisciplinary methods drawing on economists affiliated with National Bureau of Economic Research, sociologists linked to American Sociological Association, legal scholars from American Bar Association, historians from Organization of American Historians, and public health researchers associated with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Organization and Governance

Governance structures mirror practices seen at centers such as Russell Sage Foundation, Woodrow Wilson School, Brennan Center for Justice, and Edward J. Bloustein School. Leadership typically includes a director with academic rank, advisory boards composed of representatives from United Steelworkers, Service Employees International Union, Chamber of Commerce, AFL–CIO, and philanthropy partners like Ford Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. Faculty affiliates come from units including Department of Political Science, Department of History, School of Management, School of Public Health, and School of Information.

Administrative oversight involves committees similar to those at Institute for Advanced Study, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and research compliance offices coordinating with National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Humanities, and National Science Foundation grant rules. The institute maintains student fellowship programs paralleling fellowships like the Fulbright Program, Rhodes Scholarship, and institutional apprenticeships seen in Labor Education and Research Center.

Programs and Initiatives

Core programs include labor market analytics comparable to projects by Pew Research Center, workplace rights clinics resembling Legal Aid Society partnerships, workforce development collaboratives paralleling Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act initiatives, and sectoral workforce studies on industries like manufacturing, healthcare, construction, technology, and agriculture. Initiative partners have included State labor departments, City of San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, Port of Long Beach, United Nations Development Programme, and community groups such as Make the Road New York.

Training offerings mirror curricula at Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, London School of Economics, and University of California, Berkeley School of Law clinics, providing executive education, certificate programs, and policy workshops involving practitioners from National Employment Law Project, Economic Policy Institute, Employment Law Center, and National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Publications and Conferences

The institute publishes working papers, policy briefs, and edited volumes with outlets and collaborators including Industrial and Labor Relations Review, American Journal of Sociology, Journal of Labor Economics, Social Problems, and Harvard Law Review. Conferences have featured keynote speakers from institutions like International Labour Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Trade Union Institute, and invited scholars such as Arne L. Kalleberg, Paul Osterman, Annette Bernhardt, Ruth Milkman, and Sheldon Danziger. Annual symposiums address topics framed by historical events like Great Depression, 1970s stagflation crisis, 2008 financial crisis, and policy debates including Affordable Care Act implementation.

Partnerships and Funding

Funding streams and partnerships involve public and private sources similar to arrangements with National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Labor, major foundations like Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and corporate research partnerships akin to engagements with IBM, Microsoft, Google, and consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company. Collaborative research networks link the institute to centers like Economic Policy Institute, Center for American Progress, Heritage Foundation, Institute for Policy Studies, Bipartisan Policy Center, and global partners including International Labour Organization and World Bank.

Category:Labor research institutes