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Judge Strikes Down Trump Executive Orders on Federal Employment

Blog

Judge Strikes Down Trump Executive Orders on Federal Employment

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/28/2018

In a lengthy decision, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia effectively struck down a package of…

Government Unions

Republicans Must Take Back Control of National Labor Relations Board

Blog

Republicans Must Take Back Control of National Labor Relations Board

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/22/2018

Since Republicans reclaimed the majority at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Democrats and unions have been conducting an obstruction campaign against the Board by…

Labor and Employment

Celebrate National Employee Freedom Week 2018

Blog

Celebrate National Employee Freedom Week 2018

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/20/2018

Every worker should be able to decide whether union membership is right for them. And workers who do not want union representation should be able…

Labor and Employment

National Labor Relations Board Recusal Ruse Continues

Blog

National Labor Relations Board Recusal Ruse Continues

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/16/2018

Since a Republican majority was installed at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), labor unions and Democrats in Congress have lobbed baseless conflict of…

Labor and Employment

End Union Medicaid Dues Skim

Blog

End Union Medicaid Dues Skim

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/13/2018

Every Medicaid dollar is statutorily required to directly fund care for the elderly or disabled. This requirement is known as the “direct payment requirement.” Congress,…

Government Unions

Setback in Missouri Won’t Stop Worker Freedom Momentum

Blog

Setback in Missouri Won’t Stop Worker Freedom Momentum

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/09/2018

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to beat his chest on Big Labor’s victory in striking down…

Labor and Employment

Right to Work Is Right for Missouri

Blog

Right to Work Is Right for Missouri

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 08/07/2018

Private-sector workers in states without right to work laws can still be forced to pay fees to a union they vehemently disagree with, even…

Labor and Employment

Employee Rights Act Strengthens Worker Choice

Blog

Employee Rights Act Strengthens Worker Choice

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 07/31/2018

Public employees are no longer required to pay fees to a union as a condition of employment. This newfound freedom was secured by the United…

Government Unions

Federal Employees Fight to Keep No-Show Jobs in Union Lawsuit

Blog

Federal Employees Fight to Keep No-Show Jobs in Union Lawsuit

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 07/27/2018

Federal employee unions and the Trump administration sparred in court over a set of executive orders that make changes to official time and grievance procedures…

Government Unions

Priorities for DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards

Blog

Priorities for DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 07/09/2018

The Trump administration recently installed Arthur Rosenfeld as the head of the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), which administers and enforces the…

Labor and Employment

Guidance on How to Curtail Time Federal Employees Spend Performing Union Business

Blog

Guidance on How to Curtail Time Federal Employees Spend Performing Union Business

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 07/06/2018

If the Trump administration wants to achieve its stated goal to use tax dollars as effectively as possible, ending the practice known as official time, which…

Government Unions

Congressional Democrats Seek to Undermine Janus Decision

Blog

Congressional Democrats Seek to Undermine Janus Decision

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 07/05/2018

Despite union hysterics, the Supreme Court's Janus decision does not impede or prohibit public employees’ right to unionize or collectively bargain. Instead, government unions will simply…

Government Unions

Last Chance for the 115th: Legislative Action on Labor and Employment

Blog

Last Chance for the 115th: Legislative Action on Labor and Employment

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 06/15/2018

Lawmakers have made little to no progress during the 115th Congress to improve labor and employment policy. U.S. labor law is outdated and in…

Labor and Employment

Surprising Results from the Labor Department’s Alternative Work Arrangements Report

Blog

Surprising Results from the Labor Department’s Alternative Work Arrangements Report

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 06/08/2018

A growing economy helps all workers, both those in the sharing economy and those in traditional employment, as new federal employment data bear out.

Labor and Employment

Democratic Senators Criticize Labor Rulemaking on Joint Employment

Blog

Democratic Senators Criticize Labor Rulemaking on Joint Employment

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 06/01/2018

A group of Democratic senators recently took issue with the National Labor Relations Board’s announcement it may initiate a notice and comment rulemaking to clarify…

Labor and Employment

House Committee Examines Union Subsidy

Blog

House Committee Examines Union Subsidy

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 05/24/2018

Today the House Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing entitled “Union Time on the People’s Dime: A Closer Look at Official Time.” The purpose…

Government Unions

Debating Employment Flexibility in the Gig Economy

Blog

Debating Employment Flexibility in the Gig Economy

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 05/18/2018

Renowned labor expert and Harvard professor Benjamin Sachs argues over at OnLabor.org that he's had enough with what he calls the “flexibility trope” of worker classification…

Labor and Employment

Federal Employees Spend Over 3 Million Hours on Union Business

Blog

Federal Employees Spend Over 3 Million Hours on Union Business

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 05/17/2018

Federal employee unions enjoy a government subsidy known as “official time” that enables union members to perform union duties while being paid by the taxpayer.

Government Unions

Due Process Concerns Remain in National Labor Relations Board Ethics Inquiry

Blog

Due Process Concerns Remain in National Labor Relations Board Ethics Inquiry

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 05/11/2018

On March 28, 2018, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board Office of Inspector General to investigate NLRB…

Labor and Employment

Department of Labor Safeguards Worker Retirement Investments

Blog

Department of Labor Safeguards Worker Retirement Investments

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 04/30/2018

It is well known that Americans do not adequately save for retirement. As such, it is crucial that every dollar American workers put away…

Private Unions

House Committee Examines How to Modernize Labor Laws

Blog

House Committee Examines How to Modernize Labor Laws

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 04/26/2018

Labor-management relation laws in the United States are in need of an update. Reform is long overdue, with the last major update to statutes governing…

Labor and Employment

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Rebukes Board

Blog

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Rebukes Board

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 04/06/2018

It seems there is never a slow day over at the National Labor Relations Board. Today, the NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a legal…

Labor and Employment

Option for States Dealing with Illegal Teacher Union Strikes

Blog

Option for States Dealing with Illegal Teacher Union Strikes

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 04/06/2018

An uptick in teacher union strikes has occurred over past few months. Teachers have abandoned students in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma with rumblings of…

Government Unions

Investigate Labor Relations Board Confidentiality Breach

Blog

Investigate Labor Relations Board Confidentiality Breach

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 03/30/2018

Earlier this week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a request to the National Labor Relations Board Office of Inspector General to investigate NLRB member…

Labor and Employment

Include ‘Joint Employer’ Fix in Omnibus Budget Bill

Blog

Include ‘Joint Employer’ Fix in Omnibus Budget Bill

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 03/20/2018

The Competitive Enterprise Institute is leading a free-market coalition urging Congress to attach the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 4331) as a policy rider to the…

Labor and Employment

Department of Education Limits Federal Employee Union Subsidy

Blog

Department of Education Limits Federal Employee Union Subsidy

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 03/19/2018

Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos deserves a round of applause. Most federal agencies, even in Republican administrations, agree to collective bargaining agreements that heavily…

Government Unions

National Labor Relations Board Recusal Saga Continues

Blog

National Labor Relations Board Recusal Saga Continues

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 03/14/2018

Democrats and union allies have been transparent in their goal to block or delay any decisions by the Trump National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as…

Labor and Employment

Growing Scandal at National Labor Relations Board

Blog

Growing Scandal at National Labor Relations Board

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 03/12/2018

This has the look of a coordinated attack to hinder the current National Labor Relations Board’s ability to reform Obama-era policies. The Inspector General stirred…

Labor and Employment

Job-Killing Joint Employer Standard Returns

Blog

Job-Killing Joint Employer Standard Returns

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 02/27/2018

In an abrupt and unexpected move, on February 26th, the National Labor Relations Board vacated its December 2017 decision in Hy-Brand, which restored longstanding Board…

Labor and Employment

Landmark Supreme Court Case Can Restore Worker Freedom

Blog

Landmark Supreme Court Case Can Restore Worker Freedom

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 02/26/2018

Today at oral argument in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said “You're basically arguing, do away with unions,” when questioning Bill…

Free Speech

Lawson v. Grubhub a Big Win for Flexible Work Arrangements

Blog

Lawson v. Grubhub a Big Win for Flexible Work Arrangements

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 02/09/2018

Classyfying sharing economy workers as employees, rather than independent contractors, would undercut why many individuals find sharing economy work appealing. Sharing economy workers can choose how much and…

Labor and Employment

Federal Employee Unions Hamstring Government Reorganization Efforts

Blog

Federal Employee Unions Hamstring Government Reorganization Efforts

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 01/29/2018

President Trump has said that “billions and billions of dollars are being wasted on activities that are not delivering results for hardworking American taxpayers.” The inspection…

Government Unions

Stop Forcing Unions on Workers

Blog

Stop Forcing Unions on Workers

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 01/24/2018

Workers should have the right to speak for themselves at their workplace and decide how to spend their hard earned wages.

Government Unions

Prohibit Union Official Time during Potential Government Shutdown

Blog

Prohibit Union Official Time during Potential Government Shutdown

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 01/18/2018

Under OPM policy, exempt federal employees who work during a shutdown “serving as union officials may continue to be granted official time to the same…

Government Unions

Right to Work Laws Protect Workers from Union Corruption

Blog

Right to Work Laws Protect Workers from Union Corruption

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 01/11/2018

Widespread union corruption is just another reason why states should adopt right-to-work laws and free workers from forced union dues requirements.

Labor and Employment

Tax Reform Delivers Another Blow to Union-Funded ‘Fight for $15’

Blog

Tax Reform Delivers Another Blow to Union-Funded ‘Fight for $15’

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 01/04/2018

Tax reform has produced results that have largely eluded the union-funded movement to raise the wages of workers across the country.

Labor and Employment

Top 5 Changes in Labor Policy to Look for in 2018

Blog

Top 5 Changes in Labor Policy to Look for in 2018

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 12/26/2017

In 2018, expect a hard push by Congress to cement the traditional joint employer standard into law.

Government Unions

NLRB Restores Commonsense Joint Employer Standard

Blog

NLRB Restores Commonsense Joint Employer Standard

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 12/15/2017

During the past eight years, the Obama National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) tilted labor-management relation precedent far in favor of labor unions. This came in…

Labor and Employment

Blog

Forced Union Dues Fund Labor Union Politics

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 12/06/2017

Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submitted a brief in Janus v AFSCME, Council 31, a case before the United States Supreme Court. The question at…

Government Unions

Labor Department Should Delay Overtime Rulemaking Pending Report

Blog

Labor Department Should Delay Overtime Rulemaking Pending Report

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 12/05/2017

Trey Kovacs suggests a way to improve the Department of Labor's evidence-based policy making.

Labor and Employment

Brief Filed to Supreme Court in Forced Union Dues Case

Blog

Brief Filed to Supreme Court in Forced Union Dues Case

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 12/01/2017

No worker should be forced to fund an organization they do not wish to support.

Free Speech

Blog

What to Expect from the Department of Labor

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 11/15/2017

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has made a much needed course correction at the Department of Labor (DOL). During the past administration, federal regulators consistently issued…

Labor and Employment

A New Day in Labor-Management Relations

Blog

A New Day in Labor-Management Relations

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/31/2017

While it is important for the NLRB to restore longstanding precedent that was upended, Congress needs to pass legislation that ensures worker freedom and relieves…

Labor and Employment

Blog

How Government Unions Plan to Keep Members and Dues Flowing After Janus

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/27/2017

Government unions are preparing for a world where they can no longer force non-members to pay dues in the public sector. That is because a…

Government Unions

Blog

Illinois Outlaws Local Worker Freedom Laws

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/25/2017

Employers in Illinois really didn’t need another reason to bypass or move out of the state, but the legislature gave them one. On October 24,…

Labor and Employment

Blog

Time to Eliminate Hidden Taxpayer Support of Union Activities

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/23/2017

Tax dollars should exclusively support the public’s business. But a Mackinac Center for Public Policy open records request show this is not the case in…

Government Unions

Joint Employer Deception from Democrats

Blog

Joint Employer Deception from Democrats

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/10/2017

Democrats in Congress need to be honest about their opposition to restoring a commonsense joint employer definition.

Labor and Employment

Small Business Needs Relief from Federal ‘Joint Employer’ Scheme

Blog

Small Business Needs Relief from Federal ‘Joint Employer’ Scheme

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/04/2017

Today, the Save Local Business Act was approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee, a great step forward from clearing up the confusion caused…

Labor and Employment

Executive Order Disbands National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations

Blog

Executive Order Disbands National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 10/03/2017

President Trump has signed an executive order disbanding the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.

Government Unions

Crafting a Sensible Overtime Rule

Blog

Crafting a Sensible Overtime Rule

  • By: Trey Kovacs
  • 09/26/2017

It is important that the Trump administration avoid the pitfalls the Obama Department of Labor fell into on overtime regulation.

Labor and Employment

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Masthead

Publisher

  • Kent Lassman

Managing Editor

  • Jeremy Lott

Assistant Managing Editor

  • Ryan Smith

Associate Editors

  • Travis Burk
  • Christine Hall
  • Scooter Schaefer

Contributors

  • Matthew Adams
  • Daren Bakst
  • Joshua Bandoch
  • John Berlau
  • Wayne Crews
  • Myron Ebell
  • Dan Greenberg
  • Sean Higgins
  • Sam Kazman
  • Marlo Lewis, Jr.
  • Ben Lieberman
  • Mario Loyola
  • Jessica Melugin
  • Richard Morrison
  • Iain Murray
  • Alex Reinauer
  • Devin Watkins
  • Stone Washington
  • Ryan Young
  • Joel Zinberg

CEI Makes the Case for Freedom Every Day

Sign up below for the latest research, news, and commentary from CEI experts.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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