Buffalo, NY – Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera announced today that Cornell University’s International Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab has received $300,000 in funding within the New York State FY2025 Budget.

Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab advances a more equitable and cooperative economy in Western New York and throughout the state by promoting collaboration and innovation through actionable research impacting public policy, labor education, workplace health and safety training, and community-engaged education.

The state funding announced today will encourage stronger Cornell ILR investment into extension programing in and beyond Buffalo, and will perpetuate the Co-Lab’s capacity in the WNY region while leveraging the expertise of Ivy League institutions in our community.

Since 1946, The ILR Buffalo Co-Lab has leveraged its expertise on place-based development in the new economy by strengthening a robust network of employers, unions, community organizations, and state and local government entities to make Buffalo a model of inclusive economic development in post-industrial cities. The ILR Buffalo Co-Lab’s work has had a diverse impact on stakeholders locally and across the state.

In 2023, the Co-Lab researched and developed policies around the care economy, including launching a digital map showing childcare deserts, childcare providers, and large business areas, with an intent to allow users to match areas of work with childcare providers.

Their study put a stark focus on the issue of childcare in Erie County and the alarming disparities that exist between the needs for equitably accessible, high-quality childcare and the current funding models. It compared the actual cost of quality childcare by modality in Erie County and compared those costs to NYS Office of Children and Family Services’ (“OCFS”) “market rate” price of care.

This sort of high-level research can be utilized to inform potential policy decisions that benefit entire communities, but its reach stretches far beyond policy discussions.

Cornell does more than just research and generate new ideas – they teach the next generation of policy makers and informed citizens how to put this work into practice. For 15 years, the Co-Lab has also run the High Road Fellowship program, a competitive summer program giving Cornell undergraduates the opportunity to live and work in Buffalo with work with community leaders on social justice issues including the labor movement, urban farming, educational and racial leadership, affordable housing, climate change, immigration and refugees, and childhood lead poisoning.

The Co-Lab also educates the regional community on labor issues. They host a Labor Studies program where union members work hand-in-hand with the regional labor leaders to give them the tools to lead, mobilize, organize, communicate, bargain and engage in job actions. Buffalo has been in the national spotlight recently as a hotbed of labor activity, from the organic formation of union movements to leading the way on issues of pay equity.

The state funding announced today for this university-community learning asset will contribute directly to diverse, sustainable development, equitable opportunity, quality jobs and the promotion of knowledge for the public good. It will also greatly expand the Co-Lab’s capacity for research partnerships and collaborations with community organizations like the Partnership for the Public Good, which seeks to build a more sustainable and culturally vibrant Buffalo through action-oriented research, policy development, and citizen engagement.

Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, “The Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab epitomizes the benefit of partnerships between government entities and university research initiatives. Not only do these collaborations provide meaningful direction when advancing policy, they help to democratize knowledge for the collective public. This state funding will allow the Co-Lab to continue their efforts in creating a more robust and equitable region for us all.”

Catherine Creighton, Director of Cornell University ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, said, “We are extremely grateful to have the support of Assemblymember Rivera and the Western NY delegation.As New York’s Land Grant University, Cornell is devoted to working to improve the lives of New Yorkers by using the full resources of the Ivy League to research and educate on the most pressing topics of the day.”