Letters
CEI and Other Organizations Oppose the PRO Act
Dear Member of Congress, We are writing in opposition to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The PRO Act, introduced by…
Blog
New Mexico Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Business
The Hill
Why are Labor Union Reforms Only Necessary for Mexican Workers?
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…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Labor and Employment
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…
The Heartland Institute
Report: Project Labor Agreements Have Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars Since 2002
The Heartland Institute cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on PLAs: PLAs put unionized workers in a privileged position, says Trey Kovacs, a policy…
Blog
National Labor Relations Board Attack on McDonald’s Finally Over
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…
Blog
How Kentucky Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Business
As taxpayers, we trust our locally elected officials to act as fiduciaries of our hard-earned dollars. However, it is well documented that the government frequently…
News Release
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…
Study
Union Time on the Taxpayer Dime
“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 Heartland Institute
Project Labor Agreements Have Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars Since 2002
The Heartland Institute cites policy analyst Trey Kovacs on Project Labor Agreements: PLAs put unionized workers in a privileged position, says Trey Kovacs, a…
Los Angeles Daily News
The Cost of Ending Independent Work
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
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…
The Washington Times
Trump Executive Orders Curtail Union Business on the Taxpayer Dime
Imagine each working day, federal employees report for work but do not perform any governmental duties. Instead, they work for a private enterprise void of…
Blog
Labor Relations Chief Corrects Record on ‘Joint Employer’ Rule
Chairman John Ring delivered the latest salvo in response to the manufactured “scandal” at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Democrats, with help from the…
Blog
Priorities for Department of Labor’s New Secretary
On September 30th, Eugene Scalia was sworn in as the 28th Secretary of Labor. Last week, the Senate confirmed Scalia on a 53-44 vote. With…
News 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…
Blog
California to Eliminate Independent Work
Late Tuesday evening, the California legislature passed controversial legislation that would codify a state Supreme Court decision, which adopted a flawed test that effectively prohibits…
Blog
Union Wish List Bill Would Harm Workers and the Economy
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a report that analyzes the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2019 (H.R. 2474), which the…
News Release
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…
Study
The Case against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act
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…
Blog
PRO Act Undermines Employee Choice
Democrats in Congress introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act with the state goal of strengthening union power and increasing union membership, which…
Blog
Greater Financial Transparency Could Prevent Next Union Scandal
Earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation served indictments to several high level United Auto Workers (UAW) officials, some of who have already pleaded…
Comment
CEI Comments on DOL Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports for Trusts in Which a Labor Organization Is Interested
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…
Blog
Long Wait for Worker Freedom Finally Ends for Airline, Rail Employees
It is a banner day for employee choice. For the first time, airline and railroad workers have a direct path to remove an unwanted union.
News Release
Minimum Wage Hike Passed by House Democrats Would Put Millions Out of Work
House Democrats today passed a federal minimum wage hike, $7.25 to $15 per hour, though with slim expected chance of gaining Senate passage. Politics aside,…
Blog
‘Raise the Wage Act’ Would Reduce Family Incomes, Increases Unemployment
Democrats view raising the minimum wage as a way to show they are are better for working-class Americans than Republicans. But no matter how high government…
Marketplace
Labor Department Deregulation Expected to Pick Up Steam After Acosta
Marketplace cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on deregulation efforts from the Department of Labor. “He certainly took what I would say is an…
Blog
Priorities for New Leadership at Department of Labor
There is a new sheriff in town at the Department of Labor. After Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned today from his post, President Trump announced…
Blog
State Legislatures Seek to Undermine ‘Janus’ Decision
Labor unions continue to deny the First Amendment rights of public employees despite the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which ruled one…
The Boston Globe
Let There Be a Clean Break Between Unions, Nonmembers
The editorial “House gets it mostly right on labor law” misses the mark. The primary provision of the bill that the Globe finds sensible —…
Blog
Post-‘Janus’, Unions Continue Undermining Public Workers’ First Amendment Rights
It has been nearly one year since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the First Amendment rights of public employees, but many members are still having…
Blog
Democrats’ Criticism of Department of Labor Overtime Rule Misguided
Overtime regulation has been a hot topic since the Obama administration proposed and finalized a rule that radically overhauled such requirements. Before this rule, which…
The Tennessee Star
Trump Administration Ends Unions ‘Skimming’ $100 Million A Year From Medicaid
The Tennessee Star cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on Medicaid rule change made by the Trump Administration. “Congress created Medicaid to exclusively fund…
Boston Globe
Unions are on Frontlines of Fight against Inequality
The Boston Globe cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on labor unions. And even when workers are unionized, they are often forced to bargain…
The Center Square
Trump Administration Ends Unions ‘skimming’ $100 Million Per Year from Medicaid
The Center Square cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on labor unions and Medicaid. “Congress created Medicaid to exclusively fund care to the elderly…
Comment
CEI Comments to DOL on Overtime Rule
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…
Blog
Regulators Find Uber Drivers to Be Independent Contractors
Determining the proper legal worker classification for an individual has become an arduous task. A major reason for the difficulty is a patchwork of federal…
Blog
Hearing Discusses Boosting Union Coercive Powers
Democrats in Congress are pushing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act H.R. 2474, which seeks to strip workers of long-held protections and bolster…
Blog
Trump Administration Ends Homecare Providers Dues Skim
Since 2000, state governments have diverted $1.4 billion from homecare providers and handed it to labor unions, according to the Freedom Foundation. For over a…
Blog
House Democrats Introduce Union Gift Bag Bill
The Protecting Workers’ Right to Organize (PRO) Act puts the interests of labor unions over workers. Each provision of the bill either grants unions greater…
News Release
Trump Administration to End Labor Union Medicaid Dues Skimming
Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took action to end labor union Medicaid dues skimming, promulgating a rule to fix that problem. The…
Blog
Two-Tier Wage System Highlights Need for Labor Reform
Over the weekend, the eleven-day strike by more than 30,000 Stop & Shop employees ended. The grocery chain announced that it “has reached fair new…
Blog
Union Membership Post-Janus
It has been difficult to gauge the impact of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME. In this ruling, the Supreme Court held…
Blog
Employers Good Deeds Punished by Administrative State
Progressives—Democratic elected officials, community organizers, and labor unions—incessantly disparage employers for failing to provide employees with a living wage, adequate time off, and quality health…
News Release
CEI Video Ad Tells Florida Taxpayers About Labor Union Subsidy
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is running an online-video ad campaign in Tallahassee to educate Florida taxpayers about legislation to end a longtime subsidy handed out…
Blog
Federal Agency Seeks to Create Direct Path for Ousting Unwanted Unions
National labor policy guarantees employees the right to form a union to promote their interests. There are clear, longstanding rules and procedures that provide a…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Rule Decertification of Representatives
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…
Blog
Union Subsidy Faces Judicial Scrutiny
“When you’re hired as a teacher, you should be teaching,” said Judge Jose L. Fuentes of the New Jersey Court of Appeals. This statement is…
Blog
Why National Right to Work Act Is Necessary
No worker should be compelled to join or pay dues or fees to a union just to get or keep a job. The U.S. Supreme…
Blog
Democrats Invent New Joint Employer Controversy
There is a new invented controversy involving the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rulemaking, which seeks to clarify the definition of joint employer liability…