Daniel Cornfield

Media Appearances

• ‘Victories would be nothing less than an earthquake’: can UAW win in the south?

  “The UAW has clearly taken a very creative, grassroots, militant approach to organizing and collective bargaining,” said Daniel Cornfield, a sociology professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “That’s a huge change.”

  April 17th, 2024

• Wynn Resorts reaches deal with Las Vegas unions, avoiding strike

  "This union's gains in wage increases will certainly address the heightening income inequality that has been rising not only within this particular industry but also in the national service economy," said Daniel Cornfield, a Vanderbilt University sociology professor.

  November 10th, 2023

• Former Yellow drivers have trouble finding jobs in right-to-work Tennessee

  Tennessee, along with 27 other states, has right-to-work laws, which forbid mandatory union dues. Such laws can also divide a workforce between union and nonunion members, according to Dan Cornfield, an expert on unionization at Vanderbilt University.

  October 3rd, 2023

• Can I Watch ‘Barbenheimer’ Despite the Hollywood Strikes?

  “The question for all workers and consumers in any strike is: Which side are you on?” said Dan Cornfield, a professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University and a labor expert. When workers are striking, there are ways for consumers and members of the public to show their support. In some cases, people can march with the workers on the picket line. Or they can boycott.

  July 19th, 2023

• US union membership rate hits all-time low despite campaigns

  Dan Cornfield, a sociology professor at Vanderbilt University who studies unions, noted that while unionization rates are declining in some sectors, like telecommunications and clothing manufacturing, they’re rising in others, including hospitality, the arts and entertainment. Younger workers are largely driving those efforts, he said.

  January 19th, 2023

• Gen Z battles to bring back unions, one Starbucks at a time

  Many Republican states have since brought in "right to work" laws that weaken unions, while increasingly large corporations use their "vast resources" to quell organising efforts, says Dan Cornfield, an expert in unionism at Vanderbilt University.

  September 16th, 2021

• Why the Teamsters union drive at Amazon could succeed where Bessemer faltered

  “It makes sense that this union in particular, which happens to be a very large one, would want to organize Amazon warehouses," says Dan Cornfield, a professor and labor sociologist at Vanderbilt University. "It’s a very powerful union in the economic sector in which Amazon operates."

  June 25th, 2021

• Tensions and tempers rise on the picket lines as General Motors strike enters day three

  “For many workers, the pay gap between Barra and the workers symbolizes the actual gap between the haves’ and the have nots’ in the U.S. and the disappearance of many career ladders that have made the American dream an increasingly unattainable dream for millions of working families,” Vanderbilt University sociology professor Dan Cornfield, who studies the plight of U.S. workers in the changing economy, wrote in response to questions from NBC News.

  September 18th, 2019

• GM strike update

  The strike comes at a time when other worker movements have gained momentum in the past year and a half, Dan Cornfield, a labor expert and professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, told Morning Shift. “That usually happens when the economy improves and workers feel more secure about making demands and not fearing unemployment so much.”

  September 17th, 2019

• Tennessee Workers Reject Union At Volkswagen Plant — Again

  "It's not unusual for governors and U.S. Senators to vociferously oppose unions in private companies," Daniel Cornfield, a labor expert at Vanderbilt University, told NPR. "What is unusual is this governor went inside the plant and directly talked to the workers."

  June 15th, 2019