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
Court rejects New York bid to take over federal labor enforcement
An effort by the New York legislature to usurp the role of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency,…
Law & Liberty
America’s Hidden Judiciary
Unbeknownst to most Americans, federal regulatory agencies have their own court system for adjudicating disputes that businesses and citizens have with regulators. These agencies rely…
Blog
New York, California make a play for federal labor law enforcement
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency, currently lacks a quorum to act. Ordinarily, that type of federal…
Search Posts
Blog
Year in Review 2018: Labor and Employment
There was a mix of good and bad news in the labor and employment policy space in 2018. A tremendous gain was made in the…
Blog
New Joint Employer Rule Means More Jobs, Not Lower Wages
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is in the process of implementing a regulation that would restore the traditional standard for when a worker is…
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.
Fox Business
Lessons from the GM layoffs: End the tariffs and the subsidies
General Motors announced on Monday it will be laying off 14,700 workers, closing five factories, and discontinuing several car models. This has caused some soul-searching in the…
The Hill
A Solution to Stop Our Veterans from Dying While Waiting for Medical Care
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has a simple but crucial mission. The agency’s website quotes President Lincoln’s promise to veterans to describe it:“To care…
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:…
GOP USA
‘Union Business On The Taxpayer’s Dime’: Trump Administration Cracks Down On ‘Official Time’ At VA
GOP USA cited CEI’s Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on Virginia union policy. The Department of Veterans Affairs this week will stop paying employees in…
Blog
National Labor Relations Board Member Cleared of Ethics Conflict
Republican appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have become the target of an ongoing campaign by Democrats to silence their voices and ability…
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…
Blog
What Do the Midterms Mean for Labor and Employment?
The primary labor and employment statutes—National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act—have not been substantially amended for decades. A divided government is not…
Inside Sources
Displaced Workers Could Benefit From Apprenticeships, but for One Labor Regulation in the Way
By most measures, the economy is booming. Unemployment is at a 49-year low of 3.7 percent. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5 percent last quarter.
Blog
AFL-CIO’s Own Workers Threaten a Strike
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka frequently lambasts companies for not “sharing the wealth” with employees. Joining a union is a surefire way to see an increase…
News Release
October Brought 250,000 New Jobs, Despite Bad Trade Restrictions
The American economy added 250,000 jobs in October, the U.S. Labor Department announced today. The unemployment rate was meanwhile unchanged from last month, at 3.7…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Section 202 of S.3278 of the Protecting Taxpayers Act
The 17 undersigned organizations together ask Congress to oppose Section 202 of S. 3278, the Protecting Taxpayers Act, and similar efforts to grant the IRS…
Blog
Labor Department Listens to Public Input on Overtime Rule
Yesterday, I attended the Department of Labor’s final overtime listening session. It was an opportunity for the DOL to hear from the public on how…
ABC News
Inside America: How Steelworkers View The Midterm Elections
ABC News cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on the steel industry job market. Despite the deal with Canada and Mexico, the trade war…
Washington Examiner
Conservatives Ask Senate To Block Chuck Schumer-Favored Labor Board Nominee
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s rejection of NLRB nominee Mark Pearce. A coalition of conservative groups urged Senate lawmakers to oppose the renomination of Mark…
The Washington Times
Conservative Groups Call On Senate To Reject Trump Nominee To NLRB
The Washington Times cited CEI’s rejection of NLRB nominee Mark Pearcet. Conservative groups are urging a Senate committee to reject President Trump’s nomination of Democrat …
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter to Senate Opposing Mark Pearce Nomination to the NLRB
The undersigned organizations strongly oppose the nomination of Mark Pearce to serve on the five-member National Labor Relations Board. Pearce’s legacy as Chairman of the…
VOA
US Steel Workers Questioning Value Of Trump’s Tariffs
VOA cited CEI’s Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow Iain Murry on U.S. tariffs. Ian Murry is a labor expert with the…
Daily Caller
Politics Undermines Ethics Rules at the National Labor Relations Board
Republican appointees to the nation’s most powerful labor policy-making board have become the target of an ongoing campaign to sideline their voices and votes.
Blog
Deregulation Coming from Labor Department
Deregulation is a topline goal of the current administration. Leading the pack in terms of costs savings from reducing red tape is the Department…
Voice of America
Are US Labor Unions Souring On Trump’s Tariffs?
Voice of America cited CEI’s Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow Ian Murry on U.S. tariffs. But U.S. steel companies may be…
Inside Sources
Displaced Workers Could Benefit From Apprenticeships, but for One Labor Regulation in the Way
By most measures, the economy is booming. Unemployment is at a 49-year low of 3.7 percent. The economy grew at an annualized…
Blog
National Labor Relations Board Responds to Democrats’ Invented Ethics Concerns
On September 17, Sen. Warren sent a letter to the NLRB warning that it must “fully comply with federal ethics regulations during reconsideration” of whether…
Blog
New Federal Labor Directive Holds Unions Accountable to Workers
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel’s office issued a directive that provides clarification for when field offices should pursue charges “against unions…
Blog
Elizabeth Warren Imagines Another Ethics Concern at National Labor Relations Board
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is attempting to undermine another case before the National Labor Relations Board. In a transparent political stunt, the senator is pushing…
Spero News
Trump Administration Marks Victory in Labor Relations Board Ruling
Spero News cited CEI’s Policy Analyst Trey Kovac on NLRB proposed rule announcement. Trey Kovacs of the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a statement…
Blog
CEI Seeks Communications between National Labor Relations Board and Senate Committee
A political campaign to obstruct the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from properly administering the National Labor Relations Act is in full…
The Daily Caller
Trump’s Labor Board May Overturn Obama’s Joint-Employer Rule
The Daily Caller cited CEI’s Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on NLRB’s Joint-Employer Standard proposal. “The NLRB’s proposed rule seeks to restore longstanding principles on what establishes…
News Release
NLRB Retools Joint Employer Rule: CEI Statement
Today, the National Labor Relations Board put out a proposed rule establishing a new “joint employer” standard on when two employers would be liable for…
Bloomberg BNA
Trump Nominates Pearce for Third Term on Labor Board
Bloomberg BNA cited policy analyst Trey Kovacs on President Trump’s Labor Board nominee. Business groups continue to oppose Pearce’s confirmation, despite the talk…
USA Today
This Labor Day, Consider A Labor Reform That Both Democrats And Republicans Can Get Behind
Labor Day was established in the late 19th century as a way to honor all the workers who contribute to the wealth and prosperity of…
Blog
Trump Renominates Pro-Union Advocate to Labor Relations Board
Late last night, the White House cut a deal with Senate Democrats to renominate Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board, according to…
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…
American Radio Journal
AUDIO: Trey Kovacs Discusses the Possible Re-Appointment of an Obama Member of the National Labor Relations Board
Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs discussed the possible re-appointment of an Obama Member of the National Labor Relations Board on the American Radio Journal. Listen to…
Citation
Labor Watchdogs Back Trump’s Dues Skimming Crackdown
The Washington Free Beacon cited Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on labor unions. The move earned high praise from labor watchdogs, who have long objected…
The Washington Examiner
Conservatives Urge Trump to Leave Labor Board Seat Empty
The Washington Examiner cited Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on the National Labor Relations Board. “President Trump cannot allow Democrats to grind the NLRB…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter Opposing the Renomination of Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board
The undersigned organizations urge President Trump not to renominate National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Mark Pearce. The NLRB is an independent agency made up…
Blog
Republicans Must Take Back Control of National Labor Relations Board
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…
Blog
Celebrate National Employee Freedom Week 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…
Blog
National Labor Relations Board Recusal Ruse Continues
Since a Republican majority was installed at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), labor unions and Democrats in Congress have lobbed baseless conflict of…
Blog
Escape from New York: Minimum Wage is Killing and Chasing Away Small Businesses
Big government is crushing small business owners around the nation, punishing decades of hard work and job creation. Too few people speak up as the…
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,…
Comment
CEI Comments on Labor Union Dues – Skimming of Medicaid Benefits
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Notice…
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
Setback in Missouri Won’t Stop Worker Freedom Momentum
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…
The Pittsburgh Tribune
Pa. Workers Deserve Freedom From Forced Union Representation
Pennsylvania public employees are now free to decide how best to spend their hard-earned paychecks. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME…
The Daily Caller
Right to Work is Right for Missouri
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 as their public…
