Cornell Expert Quotes | Cornell Chronicle

Cornell Expert Quotes

Cornellians weigh in on current events in the news

"As Trump showed, even negative buzz is good, especially for front runners, because it can suck attention away from challengers (remember during GOP debate when he talked about his ‘hands’)."

Drew Margolin

Assistant Professor

Topic	Name	Date
Industrial and Labor Relations , New York State	Russell Weaver Economic Geographer, ILR Buffalo Co-Lab	12/03/20
	“The consensus among economists is that Friday’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will show that around 500,000 jobs were gained during the month of November, resulting in an unemployment rate of around 6.8% – down slightly from the 6.9% rate recorded in October. This slow pace of growth continues the trend of stalled recovery that began to take shape in September. Adding 500,000 jobs last month still leaves the economy with a deficit of nearly 10 million jobs relative to the start of the pandemic, when more than 22 million jobs were lost during March and April alone. The initial shock of those March and April losses will continue to reverberate in Friday’s report, which is set to show continued growth in long-term unemployment.” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: November jobs report to continue trend of stalled recovery (12/03/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Adam Seth Litwin Associate Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations	11/12/20
	Litwin says: “In school, we learn that capital and labor can be adjusted with a dial. If only that were true. To build a skilled workforce, policymakers need to play the long game. Even by raising wages substantially right now, they can’t instantly create more registered nurses or intensive care doctors. Times like these make that reality painfully clear. “As much as we all want to return to normalcy, lockdowns may well be the most responsible measure. Even if the healthcare sector can somehow find more beds, it cannot just go out and buy more frontline caregivers – not when they are in demand across the globe. That means we have to rely on prevention, as treatment could become less and less of a viable alternative.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: Hospitals face ‘painfully clear’ future: not enough caregivers (11/12/20)
Law and Policy , Industrial and Labor Relations	Maria Figueroa Director, Labor and Policy Research	11/02/20
	“The vote on [Proposition 22] Tuesday will test not only the effectiveness of the platform companies’ multi-million-dollar campaign, but also the level of California voters’ awareness about the need for labor and employment rights for app-based workers. So far, the race looks too close to call.” Media: Rachel Rhodes rer252@cornell.edu 202-434-8036 Related Tip Sheet: ‘Too close to call’ Prop 22 to test strength of Uber, Lyft advocacy (11/02/20)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Industrial and Labor Relations	Lara Skinner Associate director of the Worker Institute at Cornell	10/20/20
	“Raising the emissions standards for ship fuel is a good way to reassess the cost of shipping products internationally and may push more regional and local manufacturing." Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Deal to curb shipping emissions may boost regional manufacturing (10/20/20)
Energy, Environment & Sustainability , Industrial and Labor Relations	Arthur Wheaton Director of Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute	10/15/20
	“Ford is facing some possible fines in Europe if they are unable to find a partner to meet emission standards. There is a very common practice for companies to pool sales in order to meet emission standards. Tesla has been doing this from the beginning as they have no truck sales and have excess CO2 or emission credits to trade, sell or pool with other automakers.” Media: Jeff Tyson jeff.tyson@cornell.edu (607) 793-5769 Related Tip Sheet: Ford needs to make ‘quick deal’ to meet EU emission standards (10/15/20)
Industrial and Labor Relations	Arthur Wheaton Director of Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute	10/01/20
	“The impending layoffs by the airlines are only the beginning of job cuts in the sector. Through no fault of their own, tens of thousands of workers will lose their jobs, as the payroll protection plan deadlines ended today.” Media: Rebecca Valli rv234@cornell.edu 607-255-6035 Related Tip Sheet: Amid broader industry impact, airlines slash workforce (10/01/20)
Economics and Business , Industrial and Labor Relations	Erica Groshen Visiting Senior Scholar at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations	09/29/20
	“Based on the last few months of jobs reports, upward trends in infections and the withdrawal of fiscal relief, I expect the pace of recovery to show further slowing, with fewer jobs gained and a smaller decline in unemployment than last month.” Media: Rebecca Valli rv234@cornell.edu 607-255-6035 Related Tip Sheet: September job report to show slow rebound, ‘hardening’ unemployment (09/29/20)
Industrial and Labor Relations , New York State	Russell Weaver Economic Geographer, ILR Buffalo Co-Lab	09/29/20
	“With New York’s unemployment rate already at four percentage points higher than the national average, news of relatively sticky unemployment levels and small jobs gains suggest that the Empire State will continue to be among the states hardest hit by the pandemic, thus putting it on one of the longer timetables for recovery.” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: September jobs report to show ‘sticky’ unemployment levels in NYS (09/29/20)
Industrial and Labor Relations , New York State	Russell Weaver Economic Geographer, ILR Buffalo Co-Lab	09/11/20
	“In both cases, public and private, prospects of lower revenues mean that additional job losses are possible if appropriate actions are not taken to stimulate the economy. Renewing the extra UI benefits and providing additional direct cash support to households are two components of a people-centered recovery. Additional federal aid to state and local governments is another one.” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: Second stimulus bill needed to prevent additional job losses (09/11/20)
Economics and Business , Industrial and Labor Relations	Erica Groshen Visiting Senior Scholar at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations	08/07/20
	“In the household survey, look at the change in the number and composition of the unemployed and what happens to the number of people who are out of the workforce. How much of the COVID-19-related increase in unemployed or underutilized workers comes from those who retain a connection to their employers – because they are on temporary layoff, working short hours, or on leave – versus those who have permanently lost their job and are unemployed or have left the labor force?” Media: Rebecca Valli rv234@cornell.edu 607-255-6035 Related Tip Sheet: July’s jobs report to map industries’ recovery, recession (08/07/20)

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