Blog
Companies May Scrutinize Employee Activity More under DOL’s Proposed Overtime Rule
The battle over the Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule is heating up. A number of business groups, labor unions, and progressive organizations have met…
Blog
Congress Needs to Halt DOL Regulatory Onslaught
Last week, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) called out recent Department of Labor policies as having a “chilling effect” on the economy. Ryan’s statements were…
Blog
Why Is Employee Involvement an Unfair Labor Practice?
U.S. labor law is largely based on the false narrative of an inequality of bargaining power between employees and employers. The theory goes that an…
Blog
A Diverse Collection of Stakeholders Oppose the DOL’s Overtime Rule, Really
The Huffington Post recently ran a piece entitled, “Who Opposes Overtime Pay Increase, Really?” The author, Harlan Green, publisher at PopularEconomics.com, says, “That’s a…
Blog
Give Job Seekers a Break: Get Government Out of the Licensing Business
Public policy easing union organizing is not an economic cure-all, and really wouldn’t help at all—no matter how many times union-backed politicians say so (see…
Blog
Easing Union Organizing Won’t Fix the Economy
Most progressive policy makers view labor unions as the panacea that would address the problem of stagnate wages and disappearing middle class. A proposal to…
Blog
NLRB Puts Stamp of Approval on Harassment in the Workplace
Around 80 years ago, Congress created the National Labor Relations Board to bring stability to labor relations in the private sector. The current iteration of…
Blog
Union Bosses Order Verizon Workers to Strike
Today, union bosses ordered 36,000 Verizon workers on the east coast to strike. Nearly all of these employees, 99 percent, service the Verizon…
Blog
Wisconsin Judge Rules that Workers’ Wages are Unions’ Property
On Friday, April 8, a Wisconsin judge handed unions a surprising victory—surprising because of the argument behind his decision.
Blog
State Legislatures Can Dampen Friedrichs Ruling’s Blow to Worker Freedom
Today, the Supreme Court announced a 4 to 4 spilt decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a decision that keeps alive the Abood…
Blog
NLRB Case against McDonald’s Shows Need for Labor Law Reform
At the beginning of the month, the National Labor Relations Board and McDonald’s trial began. The case will determine whether McDonald’s is a joint…
Blog
The Public Pays for Union Political Activity
Taxpayer dollars in state and municipal governments across the country are, normally without public knowledge, used to subsidize government union political undertakings. Clearly, this is…
Blog
Congress Proposes Bill to Nullify Overtime Regulation
This week, the Department of Labor took the last step before the final overtime rule is published and implemented. DOL sent the rule to…
Blog
NLRB vs. McDonald’s: The Trial Begins
The long awaited McDonald’s trial in National Labor Relations Board joint employer case begins today. In RealClearPolicy, I discuss the less-than-transparent proceedings leading up…
Blog
Not Much Business Sense on Capitol Hill
Members of Congress, even some Democrats, are finally coming to terms that the Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule may be bad for business. Why…
Blog
Obama Administration Policy Threatens Youth Job Opportunities
The National Labor Relations Board’s long-awaited trial involving McDonald’s will begin this week on March 10. The case puts the franchise model in the…
Blog
Uber Publishes Core Principles to Guide Seattle’s Union Election Procedures
Uber maintains that Seattle’s recent ordinance that extends collective bargaining privileges to ridesharing drivers is illegal. However, to cover its bases, Uber issued a letter…
Blog
NLRB Undercuts its Own Employees’ Rights
If the NLRB cannot respect the rights of its own employees, is it really capable of governing all private-sector labor relation disputes?…
Blog
Sharing Economy in the AFL-CIO’s Crosshairs
The AFL-CIO is meeting in San Diego to shape its policy initiatives for the upcoming year. One increasingly popular type of work arrangement is…
Blog
House Oversight Committee Demands Agencies Reveal Union Subsidy Data
On February 12, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent out letters to federal agency heads to provide more information on union “official…
Blog
A Majority of States Now Right to Work
Today's historic vote in West Virginia means that now in a majority of states, workers can’t be fired from their job if they choose not…
Blog
Overtime Rule Is a Threat to Workers and Small Business
By statute, Congress delegated to the Secretary of Labor “the authority to define and delimit the terms of the [overtime] exemptions.” But that doesn’t mean it…
Blog
NLRB’s Joint Employer Ruling Challenged in Court
CEI applauds Browning-Ferris’ stand against the National Labor Relations Board's upending of employment liability and flexibility, otherwise known as the new joint employment standard. The…
Blog
Labor Policy Developments to Watch in the New Year
Labor policy reform was a fast-moving issue during in the past year. At the federal level, labor policy became more tilted in favor of union…
Blog
How Do We Give Workers a Fair Shot? Remove Regulatory Roadblocks
In President Obama’s State of the Union address, he echoed a theme that has been constant throughout his tenure, saying, “how do we give everyone a…
Blog
Union Subsidy Eliminates So-Called “Free Rider” Problem
On January 11, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that could provide right to work…
Blog
Protecting American Workers and Job Creators with the Omnibus
This week, Congress is working against the clock to avert a government shutdown and pass new spending legislation before the current continuing resolution expires on…
Blog
Official Time and Criminal Misconduct by Federal Employees
With under two weeks until Congress must pass an omnibus spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, one policy that should be on the chopping…
Blog
NLRB Attack on McDonald’s
No one accuses the government of being responsive to the public. Whether you are a veteran seeking care or need to renew your license at…
Blog
Republicans Should Support Rep. King’s Amendment to Prohibit Davis-Bacon Requirements
The House of Representatives is voting on the Highway Trust Fund this week. Numerous amendments have been added to the bill. One that should garner…
Blog
House Committee Pushes Back against NLRB Assault on Small Business
Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed H.R. 3459, the Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act, a bill that would restore the traditional…
Blog
Return of the Employee Free Choice Act
Labor law has dramatically changed under the Obama administration via the pro-union National Labor Relations Board. Many longstanding Board precedents have been tossed aside in favor…
Blog
Why Isn’t There a Joint Union Standard?
On September 29, an official and members of Boston’s Teamsters Local 25 were indicted on extortion charges, which U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz described as…
Blog
Bill Introduced in Senate to Strip NLRB of Adjudicatory Power
On September 28, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced The Protecting American Jobs Act, S. 2084, which would relieve the National Labor Relations Board of its…
Blog
NLRB Doubles-Down on Expanded Joint-Employer Standard
As I detailed here last week, in a case involving Browning-Ferris Industries, the National Labor Relations Board decided to greatly expand when an employer is…
Blog
NLRB Joint Employer Decision Creates Barrier to Job Creation
In a 2010 speech, President Obama said small business “is as American as apple pie. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.” He went on…
Blog
Missouri Can Make History with Right to Work Override Vote
Today, the Missouri legislature is scheduled to vote on overriding Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of right to work. If Republicans can muster enough votes—several…
Blog
Workers Deserve Labor Law Reform
Unions use Labor Day as an occasion to remind workers of their past good deeds and deploy their usual rhetoric claiming to have workers’ best…
Blog
Federal Labor Agencies Attack Workers and the Economy
Today, CEI released a report on the Obama administration’s effort to pay back its union allies by way of federal labor agencies. The National Labor Relations…
Blog
CEI Joins Coalition to Support Right-to-Work Protections in Missouri
No individual should be forced to financially support an organization with which they disagree or risk penalty. However, in Missouri and 24 other states, private-sector…
Blog
CEI Joins Coalition to Support Right-to-Work Protections in Missouri
No individual should be forced to financially support an organization with which they disagree or risk penalty. However, in Missouri and 24 other states, private-sector…
Blog
Missouri Tax Dollars Finance Union Political Activity
As Thomas Jefferson wrote, the constitution created a "wall of separation between church and state." An equally impenetrable wall of separation should be erected to…
Blog
Time to Enforce Texas Constitution’s Bar on Taxpayer Subsidies to Private Parties
Use of taxpayer funds should be reserved for purely public purposes, not the private benefit of an individual, corporation, or association. Yet, Texas public employee…
Blog
After 80 Years, Labor Law Needs Reform
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) recently penned an op-ed that celebrates the 80th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act and praises the work of the…
Blog
Largest Union Decertification Effort in Railway Labor Act History Underway at Allegiant Air
Last week, Allegiant Air flight attendants have filed with the National Mediation Board to decertify the Transport Workers Union. If successful, it would be largest…
Blog
Texas: Austin and San Antonio Release Time Records
The San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) granted 4,238 release time hours in fiscal year 2012, at a cost to taxpayers $135,786. In FY 2013, release…
Blog
Government Union Privilege Highlights Necessity to End Forced Union Dues in Public Sector
Every worker should be able to get and keep a job without being forced to pay union dues. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it…
Blog
U.S. Supreme Court to Take on Government Union Power
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted cert to a case that could give all public employees right-to-work protections. If SCOTUS rules in favor of the…
Blog
California Department of Water and Power Trusts Used as Union Slush Fund
Public resources should be used to promote public purposes, meaning tax dollars should not go toward efforts that exclusively financially assist a private entity.
Blog
Was Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s Right-to-Work Veto Influenced by UAW Campaign Contributions?
On June 4, Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon vetoed right-to-work legislation, which would end forced union dues payments, and was joined by UAW Local 249…
Blog
Only One Option to Rein in Politicized NLRB: Eliminate Appropriations
In a recent Forbes article my colleague Wayne Crews explains that "federal regulation matters more than spending." On the flip side, one of the only…
Blog
California Labor Commission Rules Uber Drivers Are Employees
A recent ruling by the California Labor Commission found that an Uber driver is an employee, not independent contractor as the ridesharing company argues. The…
Blog
Union Deauthorization Provides Workers Weapon to Combat Pro-Union NLRB Actions
Nearly all action to come out of the Obama administration's National Labor Relations Board has sought to ease union organizing campaigns in order to funnel…
Blog
Union Official Time Breeds Corruption
The Office of Labor-Management Standards of the Department of Labor conducts criminal investigations to unearth union wrongdoing that violates the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
Blog
NLRB Approves of Vulgar Union Gear at Workplace
Under the Obama administration, the National Labor Relations Board has gone to great lengths to expand employee Section 7 rights to the point of absurdity.
Blog
NLRB’s End Run Around Right to Work Laws
Yesterday, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing entitled, "Compulsory Unionism Through Grievance Fees: The NLRB’s Assault on Right to Work," which examined…
Blog
Texas Court Upholds NLRB Ambush Election
On June 1, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas upheld the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) ambush election, which dramatically alters…
Blog
Union Bosses Lobby for Exemption from $15 LA Minimum Wage
As I reported in yesterday, Big Labor spent a lot of money and resources supporting the Los Angeles' $15 minimum wage.
Blog
Big Labor Money Behind Los Angeles Minimum Wage Hike
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-1 in favor of raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2020.
Blog
Defund the Partisan NLRB
One of the primary objectives of the National Labor Relations Act is to remedy the perceived "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers. However,…
Blog
Missouri House and Senate Pass Right to Work
On May 12, Missouri took a great leap forward toward becoming the 26th right to work (RTW) state. First, the State Senate passed the bill…
Blog
Right to Work is Right for Missouri
On May 12, Missouri took a great leap forward toward becoming the 26th right to work (RTW) state. First, the State Senate passed the bill…
Blog
Government Union Collective Bargaining Needs Sunlight
Taxpayers should have a right to know how tax dollars are spent. Unfortunately, one of state and local governments' largest expenditures, public union contracts, mostly…
Blog
Congress Tables Ambush Election Resolution of Disapproval
The Competitive Enterprise Institute planned on scoring the Senate’s veto override vote on S.J. Res. 8, a Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval to void…
Blog
Congress Gives Up Fight against NLRB Ambush Election Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute planned on scoring the Senate’s veto override vote on S.J. Res. 8, a Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval to void…
Blog
Republicans Vote in Favor of Union Giveaways
Last week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent out a Key Vote alert on two amendments. Both were designed to save taxpayers money by ending policies…
Blog
SEIU Support for Minimum Wage Hikes Based on Self-Interest
Why is the Service Employees International Union funneling $15 million into the Fight for 15 campaign when the average private-sector union member makes $22 an…
Blog
SEIU Support for Minimum Wage Hikes Based on Self-Interest
Why is the Service Employees International Union funneling $15 million into the Fight for 15 campaign when the average private-sector union member makes $22 an hour and…
Blog
Washington Teachers’ Union Boss Compensation Not Unusual
A recent article in the Yakima Herald-Republic describes a union subsidy, which pays 75 percent of the teachers' union president's salary, as "unusual." Unfortunately, that…
Blog
NLRB Holds Training at Union Office and Top Lawyer Forgets Details of Ambush Election Rule
Congress has held numerous hearings and passed a resolution of disapproval of the National Labor Relations Board regulation known as the "ambush election" rule due…
Blog
Missouri Government Employers Rarely Keep Track of Union Subsidy
One would expect government employers to know where and what its employees are doing while paid by the taxpayer. Unfortunately, in Missouri, that is not…
Blog
Congress Introduces Bill to Combat NLRB Overreach
Last week, Congress introduced a bill that would restore decades-old National Labor Relations Board precedent by overturning a decision that inappropriately eased union organizing drives.
Blog
Maine Legislators Try to Bring Right-to-Work to the Northeast
Last week, Wisconsin became the 25th right-to-work (RTW) state, meaning workers cannot be forced to pay dues to a union which they may disagree with.
Blog
Wisconsin Unions Sue to Maintain Coercive Power
Workers should find the union lawsuit against Wisconsin's recently enacted right-to-work law (RTW) bizarre and, probably, offensive. The argument put forth by unions is that…
Blog
State Labor Law Reform Beyond Right-to-Work
Governor Scott Walker and Wisconsin's legislature are not alone. A number of states are introducing legislation that enhances worker freedom and holds unions accountable to…
Blog
Steelworkers Allegedly Intimidate Members that Just Want to Work
On February 1, the United Steelworkers (USW) instigated a strike at several oil refineries around the country, a first since the 1980s. After contract negotiations…
Blog
Gov. Scott Walker Aims to Make Wisconsin 25th Right-to-Work State Monday
No individual should be forced to financially support an organization they disagree with or risk penalty. Thankfully, Governor Scott Walker is determined to ensure that…
Blog
U.S. Supreme Court Could Free Government Workers from Forced Union Dues
Public-sector workers could soon gain the freedom to decide whether or not to pay union dues if the U.S. Supreme Court hears the impending case,…
Blog
Union Employees on Public Payroll Challenged in Pennsylvania Courts
A recent lawsuit filed by The Fairness Center, a public interest law firm, is challenging the Philadelphia School District's practice of allowing school employees perform…
Blog
Wisconsin Opponents of Right-to-Work Offer Weak Defense of Compulsory Dues Payments
Predictably, yesterday, labor unions and its supporters protested outside of the Wisconsin Capitol to voice their displeasure with the right-to-work (RTW) bill that is making…
Blog
NLRB Ambush Election Rule Weakens Worker Privacy
Government should not have the power to force private-sector employers to disclose workers’ private contact information to a third party special-interest group for any cause.
Blog
Missouri a Step Closer to Enacting Right to Work
Last Thursday, right-to-work passed the Missouri House. The bill, approved 91-64, makes union dues payments in the private-sector voluntary and now awaits a contentious political…
Blog
Congress Takes First Shot at NLRB Ambush Election Rule
Congress established the National Labor Relations Board as a body made up of neutral arbiters to represent the public in labor disputes. Under the Obama…
Blog
Congress Takes First Shot at NLRB Ambush Election Rule
Congress established the National Labor Relations Board as a body made up of neutral arbiters to represent the public in labor disputes. Under the Obama…
Blog
Treasury Union President: IRS Needs More Money
As budget talks heat-up, union officials are making their presence known and that their agencies need more money.
Blog
Poll: 75% of Ohioans Disapprove of Using Taxpayer Funds to Collect Union Dues
Jason Hart, Watchdog.org labor reporter, recently published a story that highlights a new poll from the think tank Opportunity Ohio on Ohioans' opinions of labor…
Blog
GOP Introduces Labor Reform Bills
As the 114th Congress kicks-off, labor reform seems to be on the minds of the GOP. On January 28, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Lamar…
Blog
National Labor Policy Increasingly Grants Big Labor Privileges as Union Membership Declines
A recent press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the percentage of American workers in labor unions dropped again. In 2014, only…
Blog
Oregon Blueberry Farmers Prevail over Department of Labor Overreach
A majority of attention paid to federal agency overreach in the labor policy arena during the Obama administration has focused on National Labor Relations Board…
Blog
Union Exemptions from Criminal Law Must End
In 2012, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report compiled a list of states that grant labor unions exemptions from criminal laws such as stalking, trespassing,…
Blog
Right to Work Is Good for Business and Workers
Research shows right-to-work states experience greater manufacturing growth compared to states without such laws. That is because many businesses consider RTW, which makes union dues…
Blog
Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Right-to-Work Law
As the number of right-to-work states is expected to grow in the near future, the Indiana Supreme Court reaffirmed the legitimacy of the law in…
Blog
11 Groups Urge Senators to Allow More Time to Consider NLRB Nominee McFerran
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and 10 allied organizations signed a coalition letter urging the Senate to delay the nomination of Lauren McFerran to the National…
Blog
Competitive Enterprise Institute Event Highlights Department of Labor’s Crimanlization of Volunteer Work at For-Profit Businesses
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation are co-hosting an event on December 9th (see event details, here and below), which highlights the Department of…
Blog
Labor Scorecard Alert: “NO” on NLRB Nominee Lauren McFerran
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will score the upcoming U.S. Senate vote on the confirmation of Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Blog
Wisconsin Public Employees Exercise Freedom to Choose
Wisconsin unions have spent the better part of the past three years denouncing Governor Scott Walker's signature public-sector collective bargaining reform law, Act 10.
Blog
GAO: Union Official Time Costs Underreported
In October, the Office of Personnel Management released the long-awaited report that estimates the cost and amount of time federal employees spend on union activities…
Blog
USPS Data Breach Highlights Union Hypocrisy
Recently, a United States Postal Service computer system experienced a security breach. The result: around 800,000 current and former USPS employees' private information, including their…
Blog
Miami-Dade Contracts Keep Paying Government Employees to Perform Union Business
In the summer of 2013, Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser, and current Lieutenant Governor of Florida, Carlos Lopez-Cantera tried to fire an employee who wasn't showing…
Blog
Right to Work Should Be on the Agenda in Ohio and Wisconsin
One takeaway from the midterm elections is politicians who support labor reform, which protects worker choice and reduce union coercive power, should not fear political…