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
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…
Search Posts
Washington Free Beacon
Trump Set to Give Employers a Leg Up at NLRB
The Washington Free Beacon covers President Trump’s NLRB nomination and a statement by Trey Kovacs. The Trump administration may give Republicans a majority at…
News Release
CEI Comments on Amazon’s Plan to Buy Whole Foods
Amazon’s recent announcement of its plan to buy the grocery chain Whole Foods has set off a series of questions and speculation. CEI experts on…
Blog
Five Big Reforms for Trump Labor Nominees
It is imperative for the Senate to confirm President Trump’s nominees so they can bring fairness and predictability to agency decisions. …
Blog
A Birthday Wish List for the President
Here are four gifts Congress should give the president before its annual July 4th recess.
Reason
Trump Can Gut Obama-Era Labor Regs Because They Were Never Meant to Last
Reason covers the Secretary of Labor Acosta’s decision to eliminate independent contractor rules. Eliminating a set of Obama administration rules for independent contractors…
Washington Examiner
Trump Is Dismantling Obama’s Workplace Law Legacy
Washington Examiner discusses President Trump’s rollback of labor regulations with Trey Kovacs. The White House is systematically dismantling former President Barack Obama’s legacy…
Inside Sources
Trump’s DOL Rescinds Obama-Era Franchise Rule
Inside Sources discusses the rollback of the joint employer rule with Trey Kovacs. The Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew Wednesday from an Obama-era…
Washington Free Beacon
Labor Department Rolls Back Obama Franchise Rules
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the rollback of the joint employer rule with Trey Kovacs. The Department of Labor will roll back an Obama-era…
The Hill
Curtailing Use of ‘Official Time’ in VA Will Benefit Veterans Care
A recent op-ed in The Hill by Jeff Shapiro, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees’ Veterans Affairs Council, (“A true labor-management partnership at…
News Release
CEI Praises Move by Trump Labor Secretary to Withdraw Rules on Independent Contractor, Joint Employer Liability
Today Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta reportedly rescinded Obama-era rules on joint employer and independent contractor liability, according to a Bloomberg BNA reporter. CEI labor policy…
Blog
Janus v. AFSCME Could End Forced Union Dues in Public-Sector
Today, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Liberty Justice Center asked the United States Supreme Court to hear a case…
Blog
New York City Passes Automation-Inducing Labor Laws
In the ongoing battle between New York City and San Francisco to enact the nation’s costliest labor laws, the Big Apple may have just pulled…
The Hill
Congress Introduces Legislation to Reverse Obama’s Big Labor Agenda
Federal labor agencies issued numerous regulations during the Obama administration in hopes of boosting union membership rolls. It didn’t work. The latest data published by…
Blog
Paid Parental Leave Proposal Increases Cost of Employment and Burdens States
President Trump’s first budget proposal includes an unfunded mandate that likely will lead to tax hikes. This comes in the form of a paid family…
Inside Sources
House Republicans Target Taxpayer Funded Union Work
Inside Sources discusses the “Official Time” bill with Trey Kovacs. House Republicans passed a bill Wednesday aimed at providing further oversight into a…
News Release
Labor Union Official Time Bill Set For May 24 House Vote
On Wednesday, May 24, the House is expected to vote on a plan, H.R. 1293, requiring better reporting on labor union “official time” –…
Blog
Center for American Progress’ Make-Work Scheme Needs Details
A debate over income inequality and job growth is worth having.
Foundation for Economic Education
The Progressives Took Away Our Right to Contract. It’s Time to Reclaim It
According to surveys, 77 percent of millennials want flexible work hours, which many say makes them more productive at work. Yet some recent…
Blog
Greater Government Economic Intervention Isn’t the Only Way for Workers to Receive More Paid Leave
President Trump, along with his daughter Ivanka, have frequently advocated for mandated paid family leave. Most recently, on Mother’s Day, Trump touted his desire…
Inside Sources
Free-Market Coalition Urges Lawmakers to Support Overtime Choice Bill
Inside Sources covers a coalition letter led by CEI urging lawmakers to support The Working Families Flexibility Act. A coalition letter from free-market…
Inside Sources
Congress Considers Plan to Improve Workplace Flexibility
Sometimes people need extra time off work to take care of loved ones or tend to life’s other demands and goals. But for many, that…
Bloomberg BNA
Trump to Nominate Kaplan, Emanuel for Key Labor Board Spots
Bloomberg BNA covers President’s Trumps progress in nominating two members to the National Labor Relations Board and CEI’s take on the matter. The…
Fortune
This Overlooked Labor Rule Could Be a Huge Drag on U.S. Businesses
On May 10, 13 Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expressing concerns over the…
News Release
April Jobs Report Still Falls Short, Regulatory Reform Needed
The jobs report for April, 2017 shows decent but not spectacular progress, says the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray. Though the economy added 211,000 jobs in April…
Blog
Celebrate National Small Business Week
There is no better way to celebrate National Small Business Week than for the Trump administration to rollback red tape that discourages business formation and…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting Working Families Flexibility Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of the Working…
InsideSources
Senate Confirms Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick
InsideSources highlights CEI’s coalition letter’s estimation of regulatory costs from the Department of Labor. Those opposed to the last administration also hope the…
Washington Free Beacon
Acosta Is New Secretary of Labor
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the confirmation of Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary with John Berlau. Conservative legal experts urged Acosta to act…
News Release
CEI Priorities for New Labor Secretary Acosta
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Alexander Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor. CEI experts on labor and financial policy, respectively, offered their thoughts…
Blog
Time to Repeal Special Interest ‘Prevailing Wage’ Laws
If Congress passes a massive infrastructure spending plan, it is imperative to ensure the best rate of return for tax dollars spent on these projects.
Blog
Reviewing Trump’s First 100 Days
This Saturday, April 29th, marks President Trump’s 100th day in office, which offers us the opportunity to reflect on what his administration has accomplished so…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Missouri Governor to Champion Public Sector Union Reform
View Full Document as PDF Dear Governor Greitens, In your first month in office, Missouri joined a growing majority of states to…
Blog
Senate Moves to Confirm Acosta as Labor Secretary
There is much work to do at the Department of Labor. The Obama administration’s DOL spent eight years imposing huge costs on the economy and…
Blog
Labor and Employment in Trump’s First 100 Days
The White House should fill key personnel positions at labor agencies so that they can get to work on repealing numerous roadblocks erected by the…
Daily Caller
Report: Taxpayers Subsidize Thousands Of Federal Workers Conducting Union Business
The Daily Caller highlights Trey Kovacs’ report on the practice of official time. Thousands of federal employees are likely spending 100 percent…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Taxpayers Potentially Paid Thousands of Union Officials
The Washington Free Beacon reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. An analysis by a pro-free-market think tank estimates…
InsideSources
Report: Ending Taxpayer Funded Union Work
InsideSources reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. Official time allows federal employees to do union tasks instead of…
Washington Examiner
Estimated 700 Federal Employees Do Only Union Work
Washington Examiner reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. The estimate is from a study by the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Stop Paying Federal Employees to Perform Union Business
There are an estimated 1,000 federal employees who spend 100 percent of their work hours on labor union business instead of actual government work.
News Release
Report: Taxpayers Spend Millions to Subsidize Government Unions
Congress should end a multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidy to federal government unions, a new Competitive Enterprise Institute report urges. “The practice called ‘official time’…
Study
It Is Time to End Official Time
View Full Document as PDF For years, federal employee unions have enjoyed a government subsidy that enables their members to perform union…
The Hill
Overtime Pay Isn’t A Cure-All: Make Work Flexible Without The Red Tape
Proponents of the Obama-era overtime rule claim that arbitrarily raising the cost of labor at a new, higher salary threshold would help workers achieve a…
Blog
A Time for Choosing: Will Trump Side with Taxpayers or Unions?
If keeping construction unions as an ally comes at the expense of efficient use of tax dollars and competition, the White House must side with…
Blog
Increasing Worker Satisfaction Shouldn’t Be an Unfair Labor Practice
Companies should be permitted to establish a system so they can receive feedback from employees and remedy worker dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, national labor law generally prohibits…
News Release
Court Injunction on Unionization for Rideshare Companies Wins Praise From CEI Labor Expert
Today, a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary injunction against a Seattle law on unionization for rideshare companies. CEI labor policy expert Trey Kovacs praised…
Blog
Time to End Official Time
The Official Time Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 1364) would prohibit federal employees from conducting political activity on union official time. Union official time…
Blog
SEIU Spending Big on Fight for $15
Why has the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) spent at least $19 million last year and $90 million since 2012 financing the Fight for…
Blog
Seattle Forced Union Dues Scheme Faces Legal Challenge
In 2015, the City of Seattle enacted a misguided ordinance that allows Uber and Lyft drivers, who operate as independent contractors, the privilege to collectively…
InsideSources
Striking a Balance Between Small Businesses and Regulations
InsideSources highlights a CEI’s coalition letter to the Senate. President Donald Trump has promised to help businesses struggling with burdensome regulations. He has…
InsideSources
Letter Pushes Restrictions on Taxpayer-Funded Union Work
InsideSources reports on CEI’s coalition letter urging Congress to limit the practice of union official time. The practice of letting federal officials conduct…