Sean Higgins is a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute specializing in labor and employment issues. As journalist, he covered the intersection of politics and economics for two decades, having been senior writer for the Washington Examiner, Washington correspondent for Investor’s Business Daily and a contributor to publications like Reason and National Review Online.”
Authored by Sean Higgins
News
January adds 143,000 jobs to the economy, labor market trends cooler: CEI analysis
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs numbers for January showed 143,000 jobs were added to the economy last month and the unemployment rate edged…
Economy adds 256,000 jobs in December, uncertainty remains with upcoming tariff policies: CEI analysis
The job numbers released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show 256,000 jobs were added to the economy in the last month of…
Biden blocks Nippon Steel purchase of U.S. Steel in baseless protectionist maneuver
With just days left in office, President Biden decided to block Nippon Steel from purchasing U.S. Steel, alleging it might “impair the national security of…
Blog
Trump labor secretary pick backs right to work, disavows past support for union-tilted PRO Act
- By: Sean Higgins
President Trump’s pick to be labor secretary, former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, disavowed her past support for the union-tilted …
Trump says labor law cannot prevent him from cleaning house at labor umpire agency
- By: Sean Higgins
President’s Trump’s letter firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairwoman Gwynne Wilcox and the NLRB’s general Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, makes the bold claim that…
No, Virginia, there was no Amazon worker strike
- By: Sean Higgins
The labor protests launched by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against Amazon over the Christmas holiday were nothing more than a hollow …
Op-Eds/Articles
National Review
The Teamsters’ Imaginary Strike against Amazon
- By: Sean Higgins
There was a historic strike by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters workers at Amazon facilities over the Christmas holiday, yet it didn’t appear to slow Amazon’s…
City Journal
Unions’ Choice
- By: Sean Higgins
At first glance, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of one-term congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as Labor secretary is mystifying. The former congresswoman seemingly …
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Commentary: Automation could be a problem in retail theft
- By: Sean Higgins
Headed into the holiday season, the retail industry is wrangling with a surge in shoplifting and possible solutions to prevent theft. The upsurge may be an…
Studies
The Forgotten History of the Wagner Act
- By: Sean Higgins
Introduction President Joe Biden on April 26, 2021, announced the creation of a special Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The purpose of the…
The Protect the Right to Organize Act Empowers Unions at Workers’ Expense
- By: Sean Higgins
View the Full Document as PDF The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is touted by its supporters as advancing the rights…
Citations
Could Nippon still buy U.S. Steel after Biden blocked the deal?
- By: Sean Higgins
NPR’s Marketplace interviewed CEI’s expert on Biden blocking Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel Listen to more at Marketplace…
The Washington Times
Retail industry projects surge in post-Christmas regifting and returns
- By: Sean Higgins
The Washington Times quoted CEI’s expert on regifting in the retail industry The problem is that regifting ‘can suggest a certain laziness on the part…
CNN
Trump’s Labor secretary pick is surprisingly pro-union. It doesn’t mean his administration will be
- By: Sean Higgins
CNN’s Chris Isidore relays Sean Higgins’s misgivings about the Trump Labor Dept. nominee “While it is hard to predict what (Chavez-DeRemer) would do as a…
Regulatory Comments
CEI Letter Opposing the Department of Labor’s Proposed Changes to the Davis-Bacon Act
- By: Sean Higgins
Via Regulations.Gov Hon. Marty Walsh Secretary of Labor United States Department of Labor 200 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC 20210 Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related…
Competitive Enterprise Institute Letter In Opposition To Withdrawal of Independent Contractor Status Final Rule
- By: Sean Higgins
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit the following comments in response to the…
Podcast Episodes
Going into Labor with Sean Higgins
- By: Sean Higgins
This week we talk about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s legal fate, rising economic might in India, terrible federal policy on sugar, and how the...