Whether it is exposing legislation and regulations that benefit unions, lawyers or management at the expense of workers, detailing the folly of occupational licensing laws; supporting the expansion of state right-to-work laws; or highlighting the overreach of lawmakers, bureaucrats, and courts; CEI advances reforms in this crucial, often overlooked policy area. Our op-eds, policy papers, media appearances, coalition work, and innovative research serve as crucial counterweights to the aggressive efforts by unions and their allies to frame the policy debate.
Labor and Employment Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
Longshoremen stood down when they realized wrecking the economy wasn’t popular
Thursday’s announcement that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) was ending its strike at east coast and Gulf of Mexico ports after…
News Release
US adds 254,000 jobs in September signaling a strong economy: CEI analysis
The US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, beating out economists’ predictions and indicating that the economy remains strong. While wages continue to rise…
News Release
Union Members Right to Know Act would protect union-worker rights and promote transparency
Three and a half decades after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Communications Workers of America v. Beck, the rights afforded by that decision are understood…
Search Posts
Blog
Longshoremen stood down when they realized wrecking the economy wasn’t popular
Thursday’s announcement that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) was ending its strike at east coast and Gulf of Mexico ports after…
News Release
US adds 254,000 jobs in September signaling a strong economy: CEI analysis
The US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, beating out economists’ predictions and indicating that the economy remains strong. While wages continue to rise…
News Release
Union Members Right to Know Act would protect union-worker rights and promote transparency
Three and a half decades after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Communications Workers of America v. Beck, the rights afforded by that decision are understood…
Blog
White House has several options in dockworkers strike, none of them good
President Biden likes to call himself “Blue Collar Joe” and declare his support for union workers, but his administration has been…
Daily Caller
‘Sleeping Giant’: US Could Be Inches Away From Another Economic Crisis As Massive Port Strike Looms
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on the border economy “The Biden administration has a record of stepping in and forcing a deal if they…
News Release
Port strike threatens another supply chain crisis: CEI analysis
Today marks the beginning of a union strike against East and Gulf Coast ports that could trigger a similar supply chain crisis like that of…
Blog
The real issue in the port strike: Automation
Most news reports on the east coast dockworker’s strike are focused on the issue of wages, which obscures the real reason for the strike:…
Blog
Teamsters non-endorsement: Outlier or sign of things to come?
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’s internal poll on who to endorse in the 2024 presidential election was so lopsidedly in favor of Republican nominee Donald…
Blog
Teamsters’ non-endorsement exposes internal divisions
The announcement that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will not endorse a presidential candidate this cycle is a sign of the internal struggles within…
Blog
Removing taxes on overtime would have only marginal impact
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the taxes on overtime would likely have little effect on the workers and the economy. It…
Issues & Insights
What We’re Reading: Urbanist Dreams, Kamala’s ‘Bluetooth’ Earrings, Climate Indoctrination … And More
Issues & Insights cited CEI’s article for some headlines that caught their eye. Just 5 percent of private sector workers voted for their unions —…
Blog
Just 5 percent of private sector workers voted for their unions
Imagine if you lived in a country where a vote held decades previous determined which party held control of the government and people had little…
News Release
Unemployment rate edged down in August, all eyes on Fed’s next move: CEI analysis
August’s jobs numbers show an addition of 142,000 jobs to the economy, edging the unemployment rate down to 4.2 percent compared to July’s 4.3…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Workers Are Not Better Off
The perennial question in presidential elections is, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” For American workers, the answer is, lately, not…
Washington Examiner
Grocery store-owning congressman blasts ‘reckless’ Harris plan to target price gouging
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s experts on across-the board tariff regime “Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, recently told the Washington Examiner that he…
The Washington Times
Report suggests that real wages have fallen as inflation rose over past four years
The Washington Times cited CEI’s experts on real wages & rising inflation Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the Pew…
Blog
Labor issues
Labor Day was established in the late 1800s to celebrate workers and their achievements. Back then, manual labor was the dominant type of work for…
NewsTalksSTL
CEI’s Ryan Young on huge downward revision of jobs report by BLS
NewsTalksSTL cited CEI’s expert who talks about the huge downward revision of over 800,000 jobs between March 2023 and March 2024. Listen to more at…
News Release
Big revision in job numbers spells bad news for the economy: CEI analysis
The economy added 818,000 fewer jobs between March 2023 and March 2024 than previously reported, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data. CEI…
The Center Square
Rising unemployment and a volatile stock market raising concerns about the economy
While some say the Fed waited too long to cut interest rates, Ryan Young, an economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, doesn’t agree. “I do…
The Dispatch
U.S. Markets Recover After Dismal Start to the Week
The Dispatch cited CEI’s expert on employment rates “Whatever the reason(s) for Monday’s mini-panic, Ryan Young, a senior economist at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Reason
Recession Is Not Inevitable, Despite Stock Market Slump
t’s OK to calm down about the economy. Yes, Friday’s unemployment news was bad. Yes, the NASDAQ and Dow Jones neared correction territory on Friday morning.
News Release
Unemployment news may signal difficult inflation fight: CEI analysis
The jobs report for July shows an addition of 114,000 jobs to the economy, pushing unemployment to 4.3 percent. A cooled off labor market…
Blog
The NLRB’s Orwellian ‘Fair Choice – Employee Final Voice Rule’
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that oversees union elections, has a funny idea about what constitutes giving employees an honest say…
News Release
Positive signs in 2024’s second quarter GDP report: CEI analysis
The nation’s GDP grew 2.8 percent during the second quarter of 2024. Strong growth indicates rapidly improving living standards and an easier fight against…
Blog
Kamala Harris’s California quid pro quo for unions
Kamala Harris is now the Democrats’ likely nominee to succeed Biden and she may pull the administration’s already pro-union labor policy even further leftwards. A…
Blog
NLRB backs down on Joint Employer
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn an appeal of a district…
Blog
Union leaders need Trump more than he needs them
Credit where credit is due, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien faced a tricky tightrope walk when he spoke before the Republican National Convention…
National Review
Teamsters for Trump?
Among the speakers at the GOP convention this year will be International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. He will be…
Blog
The Supreme Court sends warning shot to NLRB
Only one of the Supreme Court’s cases this term dealt directly with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), but several addressed the broader question of…
News Release
June jobs report indicate hiring slowdown: CEI analysis
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released June’s jobs numbers which reported an addition of 206,000 jobs to the economy compared to May’s…
Blog
Biden’s pro-labor policies will linger past fall election
The Biden administration is trying to cement a pro-union labor policy into place for the next four years, even if likely Republican candidate Donald Trump…
Blog
Even SCOTUS liberal wing skeptical of NLRB moves
The most notable thing about the Supreme Court’s ruling last week against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Starbucks Corp.
The Washington Times
More than 75% of hotels report nagging labor shortages despite wage hikes
The Washington Times cited CEI’s experts on wage hikes The problem is that immigrants have better job options in a “historically tight” labor market, said…
Blog
The inherent contradictions of unionized political campaigns
President Joe Biden is the first candidate expected to win their party’s presidential nomination with a unionized staff. Whether this is…
News Release
May jobs rebound, skilled workers still needed: CEI analysis
The job situation for May 2024 indicates employment numbers are rebounding with 272,000 jobs added, though employers are still struggling to find the right…
Blog
Unions outdo Donald Trump in crying foul over election losses
The US labor movement is rivaled only by Donald Trump when it comes to throwing out claims of election fraud. Like the Republican presidential candidate,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Liberty movement jobs with Claire Kittle Dixon
In this week’s episode we cover the war on prices, the great un-wokening of corporate America, the attack on credit card…
Blog
UAW loses 13,000 members
The United Auto Workers (UAW) lost 13,000 members in the last year, according to filings the union made to the Labor Department. The UAW said…
Blog
NLRB seeks to revoke First Amendment for management.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week sent a warning that literally anything management says about a union organizing bid…
Marketplace
Job satisfaction up, but may be near a plateau
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in Marketplace on employment satisfaction: These days, Sean Higgins at the Competitive Enterprise Institute think tank said people are…
National Review
CA’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage Is a Regressive Tax
California’s new $20 an hour minimum wage for fast food restaurants has turned into a regressive tax on the state’s low-income residents. People who wanted…
National Review
The Biden Administration Is Working Overtime to Make Work Less Flexible
The Biden administration has been putting in extra hours to quash the burgeoning trend of employment flexibility, and its latest effort is overhauling overtime rules. It may…
News Release
April adds 175,000 jobs, signaling economic stress test: CEI analysis
The US economy added 175,000 jobs in April, a significantly lower number than economists were anticipating and signaling a major economic stress test has…
The Center Square
Op-Ed: To win the South, unions should embrace right to work
The United Auto Workers’ recent success organizing a Chattanooga, Tenn., Volkswagen factory and an upcoming vote at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama raise the possibility…
The Center Square
As the U.S. adds jobs, Illinois continues to lag in unemployment numbers
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in The Center Square on worker shortages: Researcher Sean Higgins with the Competitive Enterprise Institute said despite the robust job…
New York Post
Layoffs at Tesla reveal the need for fresh ‘green’ thinking
Tens of billions of dollars in subsidies for electric vehicles. Billions more coming to subsidize charging stations. Non-stop jibberjabber about “sustainable” this and “Green New Deal” that.
Blog
Biden says his steel tariffs totally different from Trump’s, speculates uncle was eaten by cannibals
President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday that he would get tough on China’s steel dumping by tripling tariffs on imports. He argued this was totally different…
News Release
Economy adds 303,000 jobs in March, unemployment stays stable: CEI analysis
The Labor Department’s March jobs report show 303,000 jobs were added last month, with unemployment staying steady at 3.8 percent. Employers show that they…
Blog
OSHA tries to walk union officials into workplaces
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued a new rule Friday that will result in union organizers accompanying agency representatives during worksite inspections.
Blog
California laggin’: As Golden State minimum wage rises, so does unemployment
California has been a pioneer in raising the minimum wage for decades, consistently putting its state-wide minimum well above the federal rate. Over that same…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Gig work with Liya Palagashvili
In this week’s episode we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new…
Daily Caller
This Union Is Plotting To Take Over The Auto Industry. Can It Be Done?
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in the Daily Caller a union agenda to take over the auto industry: “Chattanooga is anybody’s guess,” Sean Higgins,…
Blog
Diversity, equity, and exclusion: How the NLRB’s double standard on job-related speech hurts workers
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is supposed to protect workers who publicly raise questions about the policies in their workplace. A few recent cases…
Comment
Comment on notice of proposed rulemaking: National Apprenticeship System Enhancements
Brent PartonPrincipal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and TrainingU.S. Department of Labor200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room N-5641Washington, D.C. 20210 Docket No. ETA-2023-0004, RIN 1205–Ac13 Dear…
Blog
Gov. Youngkin vetoes two-crew minimum bill in defiance of railroad unions
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently vetoed a slew of bills by the commonwealth legislature. One rejection in particular was well-deserved: nixing an ill-advised…
Blog
February inflation stays high, fiscal credibility remains a problem
Headline CPI inflation numbers sped up in February. Monthly inflation increased 0.3 percent in January, and 0.4 percent in February. Year-to-year inflation is 3.2…
News Release
NLRB Should Let Stand District Court Ruling On Joint Employer Rulemaking
Just days before the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule was set to go into effect, a federal judge in Texas struck down…
Blog
Beware the labor regs of March!
A new rule from the federal government meant to protect workers is set to take effect today, March 11. It will instead leave most workers…
News Release
275,000 jobs added in February, employers watching economy and new labor rules: CEI analysis
The economy added 275,000 jobs in February, but the overall unemployment rate is higher than this time last year, sitting at 3.9 percent compared…
Blog
FTC declares mergers to be union-busting
In a classic case of regulatory creep, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently asserted jurisdiction over labor unions and collective bargaining. The agency is…
Blog
What ails the working class?
Late last month I was privileged to be asked to speak at a Heritage Foundation event on the subject of the continuing travails of…
Blog
NLRB ruling on college athletes may foul foreign players
Nothing produces untended consequences like government action, and no one can say that the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) isn’t producing its fare share. The…
Blog
Amazon primal: Retailer calls NLRB unconstitutional
Amazon has joined the growing chorus of businesses declaring that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may be unconstitutional. Along with SpaceX and Trader Joe’s,…
Blog
NLRB v. EEOC: Damned if you fire, damned If you don’t
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) aggressive new enforcement stance is creating a terrible bind for some businesses: if they try to avoiding penalties from…
Daily Caller
Biden Is Pushing Unions To Strike — But Not Just In The Way You Think
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in Daily Caller on union related strikes: “Inflation is likely spurring some of the strike activity,” Sean Higgins, a…
Blog
FTC commissioner wants to regulate worker misclassification, decries ‘unfair competition’
Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya has announced that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will get into the business of enforcing labor law. That was the…
Forbes
Convincing Voters That Less Choice Means Stronger Democracy Isn’t Easy
CEI’s Iain Murray is cited on Forbes on the Department of Labor’s new rule: In a January 26 column on the Department of Labor’s…
Washington Times
Two-thirds of hotels report staff shortages despite record wages
CEI’s Sean Higgins was cited in the Washington Times on hotel staffing shortages: However, Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
NewsTalk STL
Ryan Young on December inflation numbers heading into 2024
CEI’s Ryan Young was welcomed as a guest on NewsTalk STL regarding economy, jobs, interest rates & unemployment:…
Blog
The good and bad of Nippon Steel deal
There is good and bad in everything. This includes Nippon Steel’s planned buyup of US Steel, which politicians from both parties are criticizing. The good…
News Release
U.S. economy adds 353,000 jobs in January, employers eager to hire new workers: CEI analysis
In the first month of 2024, the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent. Employers are ready…
Blog
Businesses ask courts if the NLRB is constitutional
The National Labor Relations Board has made a point in recent years of re-examining the laws and regulations that the federal agency enforces, offering up…
The Center Square
Op-Ed: Labor Department stuck in 1930s with rule against independent contractors
The Department of Labor is stuck in the 1930s. That’s the most likely explanation for its new rule that could lead to thousands of freelancers…
Blog
Study Finds that Outlawing Work Reduces Employment
George Mason’s Mercatus Center has provided further proof that California’s AB5 law, which was intended to boost worker employment by preventing them from being misclassified…
Blog
Flight attendants try to decertify union that most never voted for
One of the underlying flaws with US labor law is that it sees workers and the unions that represent them as synonymous, rather than as…
Daily Caller
Biden Admin’s Latest Labor Rule Poised To Upend Key Sector Of The Economy
CEI’s Sean Higgins was cited in the Daily Caller on a recent labor rule: “The consequence is that it gives regulators new powers to…
Blog
Congressional Review Act vote shows cracks in joint employer rule
A vote in Congress Friday showed off the cracks in the support for the National Labor Relations Board’s new “joint employer” rule. It is…
Washington Examiner
GOP tees up effort to roll back Biden’s ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in the Washington Examiner on recent GOP efforts to roll back an ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule: Sean Higgins, a…
Citation
GOP tees up effort to roll back Biden’s ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited on the Washington Examiner about a GOP effort to rollback employer rules: Sean Higgins, a labor policy expert at the…
Blog
Power to the… regulators? That’s what new worker classification rule will do
The US Labor Department’s new worker classification rule is a major step backwards, causing trouble for worker and employer alike as they try to…
U.S. Department of Labor
Biden Labor Rule Undermines Independent Contractors
The Biden Labor Department today put out a new rule that makes it harder for workers to choose independent contractor status. Competitive Enterprise Institute…
News Release
216,000 jobs added in December, employers looking ahead to 2024: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December, slightly less than the year’s average gains. CEI experts explain why the labor market is in…
Blog
The existential threat AI poses to the Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild recently concluded a lengthy strike against Hollywood studios with a contract that included new protections for its members from artificial…
National Review
Adam Smith, a Roman Emperor, and Slavery
Adam Smith tells a story of the new Emperor Augustus and his reaction to the behavior of one of his allies, an equestrian (or “knight”) magnate…
Blog
Common sense has left the building: The push to redefine joint employer rule
The National Labor Relations Board did something earlier this year that union leaders and their allies on Capitol Hill have long demanded: It expanded…
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 rising…
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 about…
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 of…
Duluth News Tribune
Point/Counterpoint: Technology once again is altering how, where we work
Technology is making the 40-hour workweek an outmoded tradition. Historically, the workweek concept was based on the cycle of working from sunup to sundown, stopping…
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 that…
Letters
CEI Joins Letter on Joint Employer CRA
Dear Member of Congress, Small business needs protection. As you are aware, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued their final rule “Standard for Determining…
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 I…
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. “I don’t…
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 them.
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 sundown, stopping…
Comment
Comment on notice of proposed rulemaking: Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees
Dear Ms. DeBisschop: I am an attorney with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. I was a senior policy advisor in Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour…
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 regarding…
Comment
Comment on WHD NPRM on executive, administrative, and professional exemption
Amy DeBisschop Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S–3502, Washington, D.C. 20210…
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 suggests…
