Trey Kovacs was a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Kovacs focuses on the economic impacts of labor policy. He has spent the last five years researching the adverse effects of public-sector unions on workplace choice and the economy, worker freedom, private-sector labor relations, and other labor policy reforms.
Kovacs has been published by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, U.S. News & World Report, and The Hill, among other publications. His work has been cited by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Fox News and more. He is also a regular contributor to CEI’s OpenMarket blog.
Kovacs received his Bachelor of Science in 2010 from Radford University. He currently resides in Virginia.
Authored by Trey Kovacs
News
Report Finds Kentucky Wastes Tax Money on Labor Union “Release Time”
New information unearthed by a Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) open records inquiry reveals how Kentucky wastes taxpayer money on a little-known practice called union “release…
Trump Labor Department Rule on Overtime Pay Scraps Toxic Obama-Era Ratchet
Today, the U.S. Labor Department released its long-awaited rule on overtime pay for salaried employees. Competitive Enterprise Institute labor policy analyst Trey Kovacs praised the…
Labor Union ‘Grab Bag’ Bill Takes Away Worker Choice, Greases Wheels for Unions
Workers should have the right and freedom to decide for themselves whether to join a union. But a proposed bill, the “Protecting the Right to…
Blog
New Mexico Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Business
- By: Trey Kovacs
Under the practice known as union release time, public employees are allowed to conduct union business during work hours at taxpayer expense.
Year in Review 2019: Labor and Employment
- By: Trey Kovacs
The Competitive Enterprise Institute had a busy year in the labor and employment space. Much of the work focused on expanding worker freedom, ending wasteful…
National Labor Relations Board Attack on McDonald’s Finally Over
- By: Trey Kovacs
A major holdover case from the Obama-era National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which acted as the litigation arm of organized labor, is finally resolved. On…
Op-Eds/Articles
The Hill
Why are Labor Union Reforms Only Necessary for Mexican Workers?
- By: Trey Kovacs
The primary purpose of free trade agreements is to break down barriers to the free flow of goods across borders so consumers have access to…
Los Angeles Daily News
The Cost of Ending Independent Work
- By: Trey Kovacs
The California legislature managed to pass a near statutory prohibition on independent work in misguided bid to “protect workers.” Lawmakers achieved this outcome by redefining…
Fox Business
Chicago Teachers Strike—What Benefits the Union vs. What Benefits Teachers and Students
- By: Trey Kovacs
For the second time in less than a decade, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) decided to go on strike. Since Thursday, the Chicago Public School…
Studies
Union Time on the Taxpayer Dime
- By: Trey Kovacs
“Forcing free and independent individuals to endorse ideas they find objectionable is always demeaning,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion in Janus v…
The Case against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act
- By: Trey Kovacs
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (H.R. 2474) would radically overhaul United States labor relations law to facilitate labor union organizing without…
Supreme Court Can Strike a Victory for Worker Freedom in Janus Case
- By: Trey Kovacs
View Full Document as PDF Mark Janus is a state child support specialist in Illinois. He works to ensure that children receive…
Citations
The Heartland Institute
Report: Project Labor Agreements Have Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars Since 2002
- By: Trey Kovacs
The Heartland Institute cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on PLAs: PLAs put unionized workers in a privileged position, says Trey Kovacs, a policy…
The Heartland Institute
Project Labor Agreements Have Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars Since 2002
- By: Trey Kovacs
The Heartland Institute cites policy analyst Trey Kovacs on Project Labor Agreements: PLAs put unionized workers in a privileged position, says Trey Kovacs, a…
Marketplace
Labor Department Deregulation Expected to Pick Up Steam After Acosta
- By: Trey Kovacs
Marketplace cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on deregulation efforts from the Department of Labor. “He certainly took what I would say is an…
Regulatory Comments
CEI Comments on DOL Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports for Trusts in Which a Labor Organization Is Interested
- By: Trey Kovacs
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Labor-Management…
CEI Comments to DOL on Overtime Rule
- By: Trey Kovacs
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we are pleased to submit the following comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule on…
CEI Comments on Proposed Rule Decertification of Representatives
- By: Trey Kovacs
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, I respectfully submit these comments in response to the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) Proposed Rule on the Decertification of…