The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration (SHA) has launched a new institute dedicated to understanding and improving labor and employment relations in the hospitality industry.

Through educational student programming, faculty scholarly research, industry conferences, and roundtables, the Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations (CIHLER) has as its goal to establish itself as the leader in the field and will provide a platform for students, employers, employees, unions, and their advocates to learn about the complex relationship between labor and management.

“The school has offered outstanding courses and roundtables in hospitality labor and employee relations for several years now, and we are formalizing and expanding our work in this area with the establishment of the Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations,” said Michael D. Johnson, dean and E. M. Statler professor at the SHA.

David Sherwyn, professor of law and the John and Melissa Ceriale professor of hospitality human resources, will serve as the first CIHLER director. He will serve a three-year term.

“CIHLER will encompass the entire spectrum of hospitality labor and employment relations. Union contracts, implementing the affordable care act, EEOC issues, wage and hour compliance, leadership, and succession planning are just some of the subjects we will be writing about and discussing,” said Sherwyn.

“With the help of our partners, we believe that within one year our website we will be a top resource for any information concerning labor and employment relations in the industry. In addition, we have the lofty goal of creating a forum where union and management can work together to ‘modernize’ the hotel industry in ways that benefit both capital and labor. We are tremendously excited about CIHLER and are extremely thankful to John and Melissa Ceriale whose generosity and energy made it possible. We are also thankful that so many industry-related employers and firms are supporting CIHLER financially and with expertise by giving their time to our conferences and roundtables and by contributing content to our website.”