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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…
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…
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…
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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…
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…
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…
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 company…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: unemployment that works with Matt Darling
In this week’s episode we talk about banning plastic gift cards in California, the solution to Germany’s energy crisis, the political…
Blog
Will COVID-era work-from-home flexibility disappear?
The question of how many Americans are going to continue working remotely, post-COVID, is back in the news again (if, indeed, it ever left).
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 there…
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 Legislative…
Blog
Wall Street doesn’t want to come back to the office
The continuing saga of remote versus in-office work acquired a new data point recently when Bloomberg released its latest Markets Live Pulse survey, which…
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 of…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Opposing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act
Dear Chairman Sanders; Ranking Member Cassidy; and Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions – On behalf of the millions of…
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 rights.
Reason
Photos Show the Transformation of Great Britain
Not so long ago, Great Britain was deemed “the sick man of Europe.” The 1970s were plagued by inflation, labor union strikes, and a rise…
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 jobs.
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 a…
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 is…
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 job…
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 explains that then-Speaker of the…
Blog
House Staffers Can Now Unionize
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved, for the first time ever, allowing congressional staff to form unions. This will be an interesting experiment. How…
Blog
How Newt Gingrich Laid the Groundwork for Congressional Staff Unionizing
The current effort by congressional staff to unionize builds on a legal groundwork laid decades ago by Republicans. In fact, the idea was…
The Hill
You’re the Boss: Unionized Staff Would Force Democrats to Take on Management’s Role
A group of congressional Democratic staffers are attempting to form a union. It might not be a bad idea. A major problem with Congress is…
Blog
Even Most Democrats Favor Right to Work Laws
For being so controversial, right to work laws are pretty popular. A majority of states, 27, have them and even Democrats will give…
Blog
Build Back Better’s $1.5 billion Gift to Unions
Hidden in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan is a provision that amounts to a $1.5 billion gift to unions. It is intended to…
Blog
We Wanna Negotiate This – Unions Cool to Biden Vaccine Mandate
The nation’s top unions have reacted coolly to the Biden administration’s proposed vaccine mandate, with many rejecting the administration’s unilateral approach and saying that workers…
Blog
Unions on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate: That’s Not in Our Contract
President Biden’s vaccination mandate announcement on Friday has drawn a notably cool reaction from unions. While none appear to have come out against it, few…
Blog
Are Janus Violations a RICO Matter?
Ever since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME that public sector workers cannot be forced to financially support unions, labor groups…
Blog
Teacher Union Resistance to School Openings Keeping Moms out of Workforce
The closure of schools and the resistance by teachers’ unions to reopening them is having the spillover effect of forcing more women out of the…
Blog
Biden to Focus on Public Sector Unions First?
All indications are that the Biden administration will be the most pro-labor one since at least Harry Truman’s. Biden has promised to defer to labor…
Blog
New York’s School Principals Try to Flunk the Mayor
The problem with public sector unions is that they represent not just the workers for a government entity but also the elected leaders’ constituents. That…
Blog
School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump back…
Blog
Headline: School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump back…
Blog
School’s Out Forever? Teachers Unions Flex Muscle on Reopening Policies
What determines whether your child school is open this fall? Apparently, the strength of the teachers local union. That was what analysts found using data…
Blog
Unions Say They Shouldn’t Be Burdened with Complex Process They Created
A favorite tactic used by unions to prevent membership losses, and the accompanying loss of dues money, is making the process of opting out of…
Blog
Congress’ Long Bipartisan History of Defending Cops Accused of Wrongdoing
For more than a decade, one of the areas of broad bipartisan agreement in Congress was on protecting police officers “unfairly targeted” for their “aggressive…
The Orange County Register
Few protections for workers whose unions rip them off
Maria Quezambra was ripped off for six years by the United Domestic Workers of America (UDWA) after someone at the union forged her signature on…
Blog
We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges; Left Pushes Labor Leaders to Dump Police Unions
The progressive left’s calls to “defund the police” have extended to attacking the right of law enforcement officers to have unions. This has put organized…
Blog
Homeschooling Growth Worries Teachers’ Unions
Teachers unions are eager to see the COVID-19 outbreak end and things return normal because the outbreak has turned the U.S. into a nation of…
Blog
How Kentucky Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Business
As taxpayers, we trust our locally elected officials to act as fiduciaries of our hard-earned dollars. However, it is well documented that the government frequently…
The Portland Press Herald
Commentary: A Year After Janus, Many Maine Workers Are Still Unaware of Their Rights
The Portland Press Herald cites CEI on litigation surrounding the Supreme Court’s Janus decision. This is just one example of how unions are…
Blog
State Legislatures Seek to Undermine ‘Janus’ Decision
Labor unions continue to deny the First Amendment rights of public employees despite the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which ruled one…
Blog
Post-‘Janus’, Unions Continue Undermining Public Workers’ First Amendment Rights
It has been nearly one year since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the First Amendment rights of public employees, but many members are still having…
News Release
Trump Administration to End Labor Union Medicaid Dues Skimming
Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took action to end labor union Medicaid dues skimming, promulgating a rule to fix that problem. The…
Blog
Union Membership Post-Janus
It has been difficult to gauge the impact of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME. In this ruling, the Supreme Court held…
Blog
Union Subsidy Faces Judicial Scrutiny
“When you’re hired as a teacher, you should be teaching,” said Judge Jose L. Fuentes of the New Jersey Court of Appeals. This statement is…
News Release
CEI Comments on New Labor Department Rule on Overtime Pay
The Trump Labor Department put forward a new rule on overtime pay for salaried workers yesterday, that would increase the threshold for overtime eligibility from…
Blog
California Supreme Court Upholds Pension Reform, Punts on ‘California Rule’
On Monday, March 4, the California Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, upheld a major provision in the state’s 2012 pension reform legislation, but punted…
Blog
Florida Bill Shines Light on Union Subsidy
Taxpayer dollars should be used to benefit the general public, not special interest groups. Yet, the state of Florida doles out a massive subsidy to…
Blog
Oregon Introduces Taxpayer-Funded Union Subsidy
Earlier this week, I took a look at legislation that has been enacted to undercut the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Janus v. AFSCME.
Blog
In Aftermath of ‘Janus’ Decision, Blue States Push Pro-Union Bills
Prior to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, government unions were already devising ways to keep members and dues flowing. In a…
Blog
Teachers Paid to Walk Off the Job?
The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union contract negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have broken down. UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl called…
NewsOk
Point of View: Walking off the Job at Taxpayers’ Expense
Some teachers in Oklahoma got paid by taxpayers to walk off their jobs in April, newly released information reveals.
Blog
Massachusetts Teachers Union Dues Do Not ‘Stay Local’
Labor unions like to promote the narrative that dues payments stay local. If you peruse union websites, a consistent message appears that reads something like this:…
Citation
Veterans Department Puts Medical Professionals Back to Work for Veterans Instead of Labor Unions
The U.S. Department of Veterans has long been paying certain employees to conduct labor union business on the taxpayer dime, but today the agency announced…
News Release
In Horse-trading Deal, Trump Renominates Problematic NLRB Democrat
Last night, President Trump renominated a controversial Democrat for another five-year term at the powerful National Labor Relations Board,…
Blog
Judge Strikes Down Trump Executive Orders on Federal Employment
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…
Blog
End Union Medicaid Dues Skim
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,…
Blog
Protect Home Healthcare Providers: End Dues Skimming
Our friends at the State Policy Network have produced a compelling new video about the plight of men and women who have been forced…
Blog
Employee Rights Act Strengthens Worker Choice
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…
Blog
Federal Employees Fight to Keep No-Show Jobs in Union Lawsuit
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…
Blog
Guidance on How to Curtail Time Federal Employees Spend Performing Union Business
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…
Blog
Congressional Democrats Seek to Undermine Janus Decision
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…
Blog
Supreme Court: Compelled Support of Unions Ends Now
Public sector workers who haven’t affirmatively chosen to support labor unions should see a bump in their paychecks, thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in…
The Washington Post
Trump’s Orders Show Unwavering Attack on Federal Unions, Employees
The Washington Post cited Ian Murray on the sweeping reform occurring throughout the federal government since the Trump administration instituted new procedures through which federal…
Federal Times
Official time use: vital for feds or a waste of time?
Federal Times cited Trey Kovacs on the negative impact which official time imposes on dispute resolution in the bargaining process. Federal employee use of…
The New York Times
Trump Moves to Ease the Firing of Federal Workers
The New York Times cited Kent Lassman on the conditions which have ensued where workplace equity has increased following changes to federal regulation set in…
Comment
Testimony of Trey Kovacs: Union Time on the People’s Dime, a Closer Look at Official Time
CEI labor policy analyst Trey Kovacs testifies before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Government Operations on the issue of official time in the federal workforce.
News Release
Trump Executive Orders on Civil Service Reform Are a Huge Win for Taxpayers, Workplace Equity
On news today that President Trump signed three executive orders aimed at making federal workers more accountable and better-performing, Competitive Enterprise Institute experts praised the…
Blog
House Committee Examines Union Subsidy
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…
InsideSources
Government Report Breaks Down Taxpayer Funded Union Hours
InsideSources cited Trey Kovacs on the irony and need for getting rid of “official time” where union officials are paid with tax-payer dollars while conducting…
Blog
Federal Employees Spend Over 3 Million Hours on Union Business
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.
Washington Examiner
Education Department Employees Can’t Do Union Work on the Taxpayers’ Dime Anymore
A simmering feud between the Department of Education and the union representing the agency’s employees erupted into a bigger squabble over a wasteful taxpayer subsidy…
Blog
Option for States Dealing with Illegal Teacher Union Strikes
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…
Blog
Department of Education Limits Federal Employee Union Subsidy
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…
Watchdog
More Briefs Filed with SCOTUS in Forced Union Dues Case
Watchdog cited Trey Kovacs on the longstanding circumstance of union workers being forced to pay for controversial political activities for unions by the government. …
Blog
Could Janus Ruling Open the Door to Pension Reform?
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in case Janus v. AFSCME, which could significantly impact unions representing government employees. A ruling in…
Blog
Landmark Supreme Court Case Can Restore Worker Freedom
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…
Fox News
Dear Supreme Court, It’s Time to Let Union Workers Decide How to Spend Their Money
Mark Janus is a child-support specialist in Illinois who is forced to pay union dues in order to keep his job. As a public employee,…
The Hill
Congress Must Stop Union Scheme Siphoning Funds From Medicaid
Congress created Medicaid to exclusively fund care to the elderly and disabled, not fund labor unions. But powerful labor unions like the Service Employee International…
Inside Sources
Free-Market Coalition Urges Action on Franchise Rule
Inside Sources cites the leadership role which CEI is playing in defining joint-employment as head of a coaltion of free-market advocacy groups. A coalition…
The Washington Post
Gorsuch could deal government unions a mortal blow
The Washington Post cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the AFSCME’s use of compulsory agency fees to fund political advocacy on a slew of partisan…
Chicago Tribune
Commentary: Gorsuch could strike a mortal blow to unions
The Chicago Tribune has cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute for its role in bringing to light the breadth of influence the American Federation of State, County and…
Blog
Federal Employee Unions Hamstring Government Reorganization Efforts
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…
Tribune-Review
Forced Union Fees: Fairness Where It’s Due
Tribune quoted CEI on the point in which union fees used to fund national conventions is an inherently political activity. In what portends…
Watchdog
Labor Analyst: Members-Only Unions Would Be Answer in World Without Forced Dues
Watchdog covers the release of CEI’s latest publication, “Supreme Court Can Strike a Victory for Worker Freedom in Janus Case.” A free-market public…
Reason
The Supreme Court’s Big Public Sector Union Case Is Really About Free Speech
Reason covers Janus v. AFSCME. Mark Janus did not vote to join a union, and he does not support the union that he was forced…
InsideSources
How Member-Only Unions Could Solve the Free-Rider Problem
InsideSources covers the release of CEI’s latest report “Supreme Court Can Strike a Victory for Worker Freedom in Janus Case.” The U.S. Supreme…
Blog
Stop Forcing Unions on Workers
Workers should have the right to speak for themselves at their workplace and decide how to spend their hard earned wages.
Blog
Prohibit Union Official Time during Potential Government Shutdown
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…
Blog
New Evidence on the Effects of Teacher Unions
At a time when minimum wage laws are causing opportunities for unskilled young people to disappear, it is all the more vital that education provides…
InsideSources
The Merciless Death of Obama’s Workforce Legacy
InsideSources discusses changes to labor policy with Trey Kovacs. Former President Barack Obama oversaw significant changes to employment policies during his time in office,…
Blog
Top 5 Changes in Labor Policy to Look for in 2018
In 2018, expect a hard push by Congress to cement the traditional joint employer standard into law.
Watchdog News
More Briefs Filed with SCOTUS in Forced Union Dues Case
Watchdog News covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. Three more briefs were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this week in support…
Politico
CEI to File Janus Brief
Politico’s Morning Shift covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. The Competitive Enterprise Institute will file an amicus brief this morning in …
InsideSources
A Case for Banning Forced Union Dues
InsideSources covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. The U.S. Supreme Court should outlaw forced union dues in the public-sector when it hears…
Blog
Forced Union Dues Fund Labor Union Politics
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…
Blog
Brief Filed to Supreme Court in Forced Union Dues Case
No worker should be forced to fund an organization they do not wish to support.
Townhall
Democrats’ ‘A Better Deal’ Revised to Help Unions Wield More Power
Democratic leadership made one huge gaffe when they released “A Better Deal,” a new economic plan aimed at building a strong economy. They forgot to…
Blog
How Government Unions Plan to Keep Members and Dues Flowing After Janus
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…
Blog
Time to Eliminate Hidden Taxpayer Support of Union Activities
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…
The Washington Post
Gorsuch Could Strike a Mortal Blow to Unions
The Washington Post covers Janus v. AFSCME and CEI’s brief in the case. Last week, the Supreme Court announced that it would…