News Release
Economy adds 199,000 jobs in November: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs in the month of November, according to newly released government data. It’s a tightening labor market, with…
Blog
Is UAW still an automaker union? How Gaza became a top issue
The name “United Auto Workers” would appear to pretty clearly indicate who that union represents, but it is increasingly becoming inaccurate. Today, only…
Blog
Biden admin: Taxpayers don’t need to know about ‘official time’
The Biden administration is actively rolling back transparency requirements for unions, most recently by no longer posting information on the controversial practice…
Blog
Ringside seats at today’s Senate cage match
A lot of preparation goes into testifying before a Senate committee. To borrow from the late Donald Rumsfeld, there are the “known” things…
Testimony
Testimony before the Senate HELP Committee, November 14, 2023
Chairman Sanders, Dr. Cassidy, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Sean Higgins and…
Citation
As more workers take to picket lines, the labor movement is having a moment
Higher wages are also driving up inflation, said Sean Higgins, a labor policy expert at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank.
The Hill
New Biden ‘Joint Employer’ regulation is a boon for unions
What if you could get in legal trouble simply because you knew somebody else who got in trouble? You didn’t do anything wrong with…
DC Journal
Point: 40-Hour Workweek Is Under Scrutiny
Technology is making the 40-hour workweek an outmoded tradition. Historically, the workweek concept was based on the cycle of working from sunup to…
Blog
NLRB responds to CEI on government ‘encouraging’ unionization
The National Labor Relations Board recently issued a rulemaking that included a direct rebuttal to an argument made by the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
News Release
Economy added 150,000 jobs in October, fewer than average months: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in the month of October, fewer than in average months, according to government data released today. That…
Blog
UAW strike epilogue: Big Three will continue to shrink
The United Auto Workers has won, according to the headlines. What the union has won will force three companies, Ford, GM, and Stellantis,…
Blog
NLRB expands ‘joint employer’ rule to include kitchen sink
The National Labor Relations Board has issued its new rule for “joint employer status.” As expected, it extends the rule for when one…
Blog
Ford-UAW deal: Declare victory and go home
The current United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers has been more of a public relations spectacle than an actual strike. At…
Washington Times
Supreme Court ruled public sector workers cannot be forced to pay dues; unions take them anyway
In the five years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME that public sector workers cannot be forced to pay union dues,…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Davis-Bacon Requires Pork Spending, Costs Taxpayers Billions
Forcing federally funded public works projects to pay the so-called prevailing wage is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The intention…
Blog
As Predicted, UAW Strike Remains Limited, Spares Automakers From Full Walkout
It only took about three weeks, but mainstream journalists are becoming aware of something the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been pointing out from the…
News Release
Economy adds 336k jobs in September, with implications for unions, job-seekers, and Fed interest rate decisions: CEI analysis
The economy added 336,000 jobs in the month of September, according to just-released government numbers. CEI experts expect this means opportunities for labor…
Blog
The year of strikes ain’t over yet
2023 has had the most major labor strikes the country has seen in decades, with likely more to come. Unions leaders are itching to…
Blog
UAW’s Fain says new strike strategy has produced no ‘meaningful progress’
UAW President Shawn Fain announced Friday that the union would expand its strike against Ford and GM. Fain said an additional 7,000…
Washington Examiner
UAW strike: What the media won’t tell you about the strike
One of the things that liberal groups, unions included, have been good at is creating a narrative and selling that to the …
Blog
UAW strike mostly a PR move
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is making much of the fact that the union is currently engaged in its first-ever strike against…
Blog
United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie
If the United Auto Workers go on strike this week – and as I write this it appears as though they will –…
Fox News
This Labor Day, let’s get real about how things have gotten better for workers in the USA
The nature of employment has changed in the last decade more than many people might realize. More of us work from home. More of…
The Hill
My job, my choice: The National Labor Relations Act does not require unionization
It’s been just shy of a century since the National Labor Relations Act was signed into law, guaranteeing workers nationwide the right to bargain…
Blog
An invitation for union organizers to cheat in elections
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a new rule for union organizing elections that says the election will go ahead even when…
News Release
187,000 jobs added in August 2023, with more people trying to get back to work: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in August 2023, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8 percent, according to data released Friday by…
Blog
Biden administration working overtime to regulate working overtime
The Biden administration issued a new rule this week that vastly expands of the number of workers covered by federal overtime rules. While…
American Banker
Reach out to employees before unionizing becomes an issue
With labor making a bid to unionize the financial services sector, management should proceed with the utmost delicacy. The National Labor Relations Act is…
News Release
Biden Labor Department offers new rule on “prevailing wages” that is less accurate
The Biden Labor Department today announced the issuance of the final rule making changes to Davis-Bacon Act labor regulations, ostensibly aimed at helping…
Washington Examiner
Labor Department to issue pro-union final rule on construction worker pay: Report
Washington Examiner cites CEI’s Sean Higgins on union regulations: Sean Higgins, a research fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner that…
News Release
Economy adds 187,000 jobs in July 2023: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not spectacular but not bad, say…
Blog
What you don’t know about the Wagner Act
What stance does the National Labor Relation Act, the main federal law regarding union rights, take towards workers joining unions? A long-held article…
Blog
The Paycheck Protection Act gives Congress a chance to defend the little guy
Freshman Missouri congressman Eric Burlison (R) has introduced legislation called the Paycheck Protection Act. The act, a project of the nonprofit American…
Study
The Forgotten History of the Wagner Act
Introduction President Joe Biden on April 26, 2021, announced the creation of a special Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The purpose of…
News Release
Report disputes role of federal government in labor union participation, reveals forgotten purpose of the National Labor Relations Act
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report disputes claims by President Biden and others that the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) directs the…
Blog
Hollywood and the collateral damage of strikes
The current Hollywood strike by writers and actors has forced several others who don’t have an issue with the studios to stop…
Blog
Teamsters’ UPS win suggests more strikes coming
Tuesday’s announcement that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS have agreed on a contract is a likely sign that strikes and other…
Daily Caller
SEAN HIGGINS: Hollywood Unions Are Getting A Bitter Dose Of Reality
The current strike by Hollywood writers and actors is a reactionary, rear-guard effort against changes in technology. The members of the WGA (Writers Guild…
Blog
Actors and writers unions are fighting technological change. Expect change to win.
The current strike by Hollywood writers and actors is a reactionary, rear-guard effort against changes in technology. The members of the WGA (Writers Guild…
Blog
The Teamsters want UPS drivers to go on strike
UPS’s drivers will likely go on strike at the end of the month. It would be a huge disruption to the broader economy –…
News Release
Economy adds 209,000 jobs in June, fewer than expected: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added just 209,000 jobs in June 2023, under-performing compared to expectations. CEI economy and labor experts offer analysis on what…
Blog
Supreme Court’s Janus case 5 years later: Workers are invoking their rights
A common argument made by unions and their allies is that workers want to belong to unions but that big business uses all manner…
Blog
Biden Labor pick Julie Su claims she cannot recall her Prop 22 vote
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su claimed multiple times Wednesday that she could not recall how she voted on California’s Proposition 22, the ballot…
News Release
253,000 Jobs Added in April 2023, but Labor Force Participation Lags
The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the labor force participation rate remains…
Blog
Romney slams Labor nominee Su’s ‘so severely lacking’ record
Julie Su, the White House’s pick to replace outgoing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, had her first of two Senate hearings Thursday. Sen. Mitt…
Blog
Freelancers Find Little Sympathy from Left In Fight over Worker ‘Misclassification’
Kim Kavin is a freelance writer and an activist in the current political fight over the issue of worker classification. As co-founder of the…
News Release
Senators Should Oppose Biden Nominee Julie Su for Labor Secretary
Earlier this year, President Biden nominated Julie Su to serve as Secretary of Labor. Given Su’s track record as an aggressive enforcer and inept…
News Release
236,000 Jobs Added in March 2023
The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggesting good and bad future trends, say…
Reason
Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Labor wants ‘wage theft’ cops
Blog
In Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff, It’s a Question of Which Union Wins
In Chicago’s upcoming mayoral race, the question is not whether organized labor will win, but rather which public sector union walks away with bragging…
Blog
Michigan’s Right To Work Repeal Is a Repeal of Individual Rights
If right to work laws are so bad than why do their critics have such a hard time talking about what precisely the laws…
News Release
Economy Adds 311,000 Jobs in February 2023 – Good News
The U.S. economy added 311,000 jobs in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than expected by experts. Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
DOL Nominee Julie Su An Aggressive Enforcer, Inept Manager
President Biden’s announcement Tuesday that he would nominate Department of Labor Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to replace departing Labor Secretary Mary Walsh…
Blog
Walsh Skates out of the Biden Administration
The news that Marty Walsh will be stepping down as Secretary of Labor seems to reflect the diminished agenda that Joe Biden will…
News Release
Economy Adds 517,000 Jobs in January: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January 2023, according to newly released government numbers. That’s higher than expected. CEI experts explain what…
National Review
The Federal Minimum Wage Is Irrelevant to Most Workers
It has been 13 years since the federal government last raised its minimum wage — currently $7.25 an hour — and that’s totally fine. It’s…
Blog
Philip Howard’s Not Accountable Focuses on Reform of Public Sector Unions
Of the 14.3 million people that the Department of Labor says are currently union members, almost half, 7.1 million, work in public sector…
Blog
Unionization Is Down to 10.1 Percent of the Workforce, Lowest Level on Record
The Department of Labor annual survey of union density, released today, shows that unions have fallen to just 10.1 percent of the overall…
News Release
Economy Added 223,000 Jobs in December – Some Good News and Bad
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in December, according to government data, and the unemployment rate dipped down to 3.5 percent, where it…
Issues and Insights
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to promise…
Blog
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary…
Blog
Bailout Suggests It’s Time to Rethink Multiemployer Pensions
President Biden announced last Thursday that the government would give $36 billion to bail out the multiemployer Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. It…
DJ Journal
NLRB Doesn’t Want Workers to Hear Both Sides on Unions
Amazon isn’t the only corporation to face such charges. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was hit in October for comments regarding unions, indicating…
Inside Sources
NLRB Doesn’t Want Workers to Hear Both Sides on Unions
News Release
Job Gains in November 2022 Amid Inflation, Economic Problems: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs in November while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent, according to the Labor Department. CEI experts…
News Release
House Premature on Rail Strike Intervention: CEI Analysis
The House today voted today on a resolution aimed at averting an impending strike by freight rail workers on December 9 – over…
Wall Street Journal
House Approves Imposing Railroad Labor Deal, Paid Sick Leave Measure
The White House said Mr. Biden broadly supports providing more sick leave for rail workers, but he opposes measures that could slow down passage…
Blog
Biden Hits the Brakes on Possible Railroad Strike
President Biden’s call on Monday for Congress to intervene in contract negotiations between railroad workers and the industry to prevent a strike…
Blog
Somebody Better Hit the Brakes Soon in Railway Dispute
Three railroad unions have now voted to reject a contract negotiated by the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) that had been accepted by eight…
News Release
US Economy Added Jobs in October, but Unemployment Remains High – Signs of Cooling
The U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October, while unemployment ticked up to 3.7 percent, according to data released today by the Labor Department. That’s…
Blog
NLRB Seeks to Gag Amazon Management
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently alleged that Amazon chief executive office Andy Jassy violated federal labor laws by publicly saying that…
Blog
Mandatory Union Fees are Junk Fees
The White House yesterday called up federal agencies to target “junk fees” charged to consumers, arguing that these hidden costs are exploitative and…
Blog
Workers Should Be Able to Hear from Both Sides Before Union Votes
Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Albany, New York, opposed forming a union by a nearly two-to-one margin last week. It was…
The Center Square
Washington Supreme Court ruling could boost the cost of public works
Washington state constitutional questions aside, Competitive Enterprise Institute research fellow Sean Higgins doesn’t believe the law is an improvement.
News Release
Biden Labor Department Rule Makes “Employee” or “Freelancer” Even Harder to Determine
The Biden Labor Department today announced plans to use not a formal rulemaking but an interpretive rule to upend guidelines that help businesses determine…
Reason
Biden Chips Away at Trump’s Deregulatory Legacy With New Gig Worker Rule
Sean Higgins, a labor policy researcher at the free market Competitive Enterprise Institute, says that litigation chaos is unlikely given…
News Release
September Jobs Report Shows Signs of Business Recovery but Inflation Remains a Problem: CEI Analysis
The federal government today released its data on how many jobs the U.S. economy added during the month of September: 263,000. CEI experts offer…
Blog
Illinois Ballot Measure to Allow Unions To “Keep Our Foot on the Gas”
Here’s a riddle: Why would unions in Illinois promote a ballot measure to establish a right to collective bargaining when that state…
Blog
FTC To Use Algorithms in Bid to Hobble Gig Economy
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will use its “full authority” to investigate “unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices” by so-called…
Inside Sources
Looming Railway Strike Puts Biden on Collision Course With Unions
Blog
Why Railway Unions Oppose the Deal Biden Helped Arrange
The Chamber of Commerce today urged Congress to step in and impose a settlement should talks between the rail industry and the…
The Washington Times
Critics of NLRB’s ‘joint employer’ rule predict job losses, more red tape for businesses
The Washington Times cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on the NLRB joint employer rule: The board’s apparent goal is to encourage…
News Release
NLRB Democrats Unveil New Rule Expanding Joint Employer Liability…Again
Democrats on the National Labor Relations Board have put forward a new rule expanding “joint employer” liability for businesses nationwide. CEI labor policy…
Blog
NLRB Proposes Third Rewrite of Joint Employer Rule in Four Years
As expected, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has proposed a new version of the “joint employer” rule, which establishes when…
National Review
Unions’ Cynical Minimum-Wage Gambit
We want California to be the first in the nation as it is in so many fronts, and to be able to spread this to…
The Hill
This Labor Day, let’s ensure that individual workers are empowered, too
Ideas never die. If they become unpopular, people forget about them, but then they bounce back when a new generation rediscovers them. And whatever…
News Release
CEI Experts React to August Jobs Numbers
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 315,000 new jobs in the month of August, slightly below market expectations. The unemployment rate rose…
Blog
Starbucks Alleges an NLRB Whistleblower Reveals Election Shenanigans
A challenge by Starbucks to a recent union election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) includes a remarkable claim by the company:…
Blog
How the Inflation Reduction Act Favors Unions over Taxpayers
The word “prevailing” appears 27 times in the text of the misleadingly named Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Congress Sunday…
News Release
U.S. Economy Adds 528k Jobs In July Amid Inflation and Shrinking GDP, but Congress isn’t Helping: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 528,000 in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported…
Blog
How to Make Official Time Even Worse
“Official time” is the practice of allowing members of public sector unions to conduct union business while getting paid for the regular government…
Blog
Regulators Going off the Rails on a Crazy Train
One year after a supply chain crisis caused shortages across the nation, the Biden administration is trying to prevent railroads from modernizing and…
Blog
A Closer Look at The Guardian’s “The Uber Files”
On July 11, 2022, The Guardian published an expose of rideshare giant Uber’s business practices, based on a trove of leaked documents it obtained.
News Release
U.S. Economy Adds 372,000 Jobs in June – Good News for Recession Worries
The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June 2022, according to a new tally released today by the government. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held…
Blog
Supreme Court EPA Ruling A Warning Shot to Agencies like NLRB
The Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency that the EPA exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act…
News Release
CEI Experts React to Supreme Court’s West Virginia v EPA Decision
WASHINGTON—In deciding West Virginia v. EPA today, the Supreme Court held that Congress never authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions…
Blog
Federal Agency Tries to Extend Reach with Joint Employer Standard
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal labor law enforcement agency, is likely planning to vastly expand its reach through a rulemaking on…
Blog
Biden Says He Wants to Be the “Most Pro-Union President in the History of the United States”
Flattering the audience is one of the handiest tools a person has when giving a speech. It’s a simple way to establish a positive…
Blog
As Gas Prices Rises, Ridesharing Industry Adjusts
Rideshare companies are currently feeling the pinch from high gas prices, but some of their drivers are weathering the change better than others. High…
The Hill
Authorizing congressional unions won’t end Democrats’ labor troubles
The Hill cites CEI Research Fellow Sean Higgins discussing congressional unions: Regarding unions, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Sean Higgins …
