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
Déjà vu all over again as Trump administration move to protect freelancing
The Department of Labor has proposed a new worker classification rule to replace the previous administration’s 2024 rewrite. This new version would…
Blog
Yes, Trump has shrunk the government
President Trump’s big jobs boast in his State of the Union address Tuesday was that under his watch every job created in the US…
Blog
Freelancers want to be free
The labor movement has been trying for years to organize gig economy workers, claiming that they are traditional employees being exploited by their bosses. The problem is that gig employees don’t view themselves that way…
Search Posts
Blog
Could a Unionized Federal Employee Reject a Visa Application for Political Reasons?
Now that IRS officials have been caught red-handed targeting conservative organizations, it is reasonable to ask whether officials at other federal agencies also need more…
Blog
Treasurers’ Union: A Treasure Trove for Democrats
The Internal Revenue Services claims to be “one of the world's most efficient tax administrators.” But it may also be one of the most biased.
Blog
Chaos at the NLRB
Yes, a second court has now ruled that President Obama's "recess" appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional. The 2-1 decision from the…
Letters
Coalition Letter on E-Verify Amendment
Full Document Available in PDF We, the undersigned organizations, representing thousands of businesses and millions of Americans from all sides of the…
Blog
‘Gift Clause’ Can Eliminate Union Pork
What happens when state laws grant government unions the power of collective bargaining? Taxpayer funds become misused and end up aiding government union bosses at…
News Release
Diverse Coalition Supports E-Verify Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2013 — This week, an ideologically diverse coalition of 44 organizations led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, National Small Business…
Op-Eds
E-Verify’s biometric database: A huge step toward a permission-slip society
“Maybe we should just brand all the babies.” With this mocking remark, Ronald Reagan dismissed a national ID proposal in 1981. In the 32 years…
Blog
Sorry, Daily Beast: E-Verify Will Be National ID
Daily Beast blogger Justin Green, who blogs on columnist David Frum’s Daily Beast blog, has responded to Wired’s recent article “Biometric Database of All…
Blog
Milton Friedman, Immigration, and Birth Control
Milton Friedman, perhaps the most important free market economist and libertarian activist of the 20th century, is also the favorite of immigration restrictionists for comments he…
Citation
Could Immigration Bill Lead to Big Brother Database?
David Bier, an analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, warned, “The most worrying aspect is that this creates a principle of permission basically to do…
Blog
Correcting Misconceptions about Autonomous Vehicles: Reason Magazine Edition
In the June issue of Reason, one of my favorite publications, Greg Beato has an article discussing the public policy implications of autonomous vehicles, such…
Blog
Heritage Immigration Report Implies 70% of Americans “Increase Poverty”
The Heritage Foundation’s new report on the fiscal costs of legalization for unauthorized immigrants concluded that it will cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion. Yesterday, I…
Blog
Government’s Chinatown Bus Shutdowns Based on “Statistical Malpractice”
Reason’s Jim Epstein has an article up that does a nice job debunking a National Transportation Safety Board study, prompted by a 2011…
Blog
Seven Ways Heritage Concluded Immigration Reform Will Cost $6.3 Trillion
The Heritage Foundation’s report this week that suggests legalization for unauthorized immigrants will result in a $6.3 billion fiscal deficit is an important conversation…
Blog
The Economist on “the muddle-headed world of American public pension accounting”
As state governments across the nation struggle to address a public pension underfunding crisis they can no longer deny, The Economist is the latest…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 8, 2013: The Debate over Undocumented Immigration
CEI Immigration Policy Analyst David Bier is critical of a new Heritage Foundation study that estimates that giving legal status to America's undocumented immigrants would…
Blog
Youth Unemployment Is at Highest Sustained Level Since World War II
Real youth unemployment is at 16.1 percent, the highest sustained rate since World War II. As the non-partisan youth advocacy group Generation Opportunity notes,…
Blog
Ohio Deserves Right-To-Work
Right-to-work has been sweeping the country like a glorious fever (symptoms include swelling opportunity and dangerous spikes in liberty), even seizing brows in deep-blue union strongholds like…
Blog
‘Life of Julius’ shows how unions kill jobs, hurt workers
Many people realize that unions can hurt the workers they claim to represent. For example, the United Auto Workers union drove labor costs up for…
Blog
Government Gives Students Lifelong Lesson— In Debt
Jodi Romine is just your typical 26 year-old. Like most students, Jodi took out a student loan so that she could afford university in hopes…
Blog
John Locke’s Response to Heritage: Don’t Blame Immigrants for Fiscal Problems
Washington's largest conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, has released a study that suggests legalization for illegal immigrants will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars over the next…
Citation
Why Are Social Security Cards Still Easy To Fake?
Libertarians oppose such cards for a variety of reasons, one of which is the impact on businesses, according to David Bier, an immigration policy analyst…
Op-Eds
Conservatives Must Reject the “Poor Are Parasites” Narrative
When Mitt Romney made his comments about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay taxes and were supposedly “dependent on government,” many conservatives rightly…
Blog
Twinkie, Twinkie, Little Star
America will be celebrating this July with parades and fireworks. That’s right, the Twinkie is back! The private equity firms Metropoulos & Co and Apollo…
Blog
Conservatives Must Reject the “Poor Are Parasites” Narrative
When Mitt Romney made his comments about the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay taxes and were supposedly “dependent on government,” many conservatives rightly…
Blog
The Doctor Is In, America: Get With the Estonian Program
Don’t let the optimism surrounding last month’s job numbers fool you. The unemployment rate’s decline from 7.6 percent in March to 7.5 percent in…
Citation
What we learned about immigration reform yesterday
Not a single right-leaning think tank rose in defense of Heritage’s anti-immigration study. The American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, Manhattan Institute, the Competitive Enterprise…
Op-Eds
To Grow, The U.S. Economy Needs More Low-Skilled Immigrant Workers
Recently introduced legislation to tackle immigration reform has elements that should satisfy both liberals and conservatives–namely, strong border security metrics for conservatives and a pathway…
Blog
Anti-Immigration Group: “They’re Taking Your Jobs!”
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the close-America’s-doors lobby group, has a facile new study that purports to show “there really are no jobs…
Blog
Poisoned Apple: Unions Taint NYC’s Economy
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s recent video “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt Workers” demonstrates how unions lead to higher taxes. Many scoffed at this…
Blog
What Are the National ID Implications of the Senate Immigration Bill?
1. ID standards: The bill requires all employers to check photo IDs of all employees they hire—any employee who fails to present a photo ID…
News Release
CEI Unveils Original Cartoon Series: Unions vs. The Johnsons
Washington, D.C., May 3, 2013 – Organized labor exerts a pernicious influence on the economic lives of all Americans, even those who don’t belong to…
Blog
The Costs Of Union Shareholder Activism
Is shareholder activism a good or a bad thing? That depends on what any given resolution seeks to improve the company's performance, and thereby increase…
Blog
Hands Off! Protecting Paychecks From Union Bosses
Last year major labor law reform centered on Right to Work laws. Both Indiana and Michigan passed the commonsense reform that prohibits union security agreements,…
Blog
WPC Pro-Worker Legislation Update
In the month of April, three bills have been introduced in the 113th Congress that are now included in Workplacechoice.org Pro-Worker Legislation, which we then…
Blog
Did Hensarling Force Obama’s Hand On “Recess” Appointments?
They called it a "stunt" early last week when House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) refused to allow Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)…
Blog
Jerry Brown’s Legacy Train Wreck
California Governor Jerry Brown, along with an entourage of high-profile business and financial leaders from the Golden State, recently traveled to China on a trade…
Blog
Supreme Arrogance: NLRB Challenges Court Ruling
Stop! In the name of the Constitution. On April 25 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) petitioned the Supreme Court to review a previous ruling…
Blog
Gang Of 8’s Euphemism For National ID System: “Identity Authentication Mechanism”
Our new euphemism for a national identification system is “identity authentication mechanism.” The Gang of 8, the leaders of which are proponents of biometric national…
Blog
Meet Julius: How Unions Hurt The Average Worker
Meet Julius. Julius is an African American man living in modern-day America. Julius is a fictitious character, but the problems he faces are real problems that real…
National Review
The Life of Julius
Remember the White House’s poster child for welfare dependency, Julia? Meet Julius. Julius is the star of a new original production from my team at the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
News Release
New Labor Policy Video: The Life of Julius
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 29, 2013 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute unveiled a new video today: “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt Workers.” The…
Blog
Maryland Bill Will Force Teachers To Pay For The Privilege Of Going To Work
In a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed and WorkplaceChoice.org blog post, I argue against Maryland’s Orwellian-named Fair Share Act,…
Blog
The Case of the Missing BLS Source
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Labor Policy team re-launched its flagship website, WorkplaceChoice.org, featuring the original video: “The Life of Julius: How Unions Hurt…
Blog
Welcome to the New Workplace Choice!
Step right up! Welcome, boys and girls of all ages, to the new and improved WorkPlaceChoice.org, your one-stop shop for all things labor. Included herein…
Blog
The Maryland State Education Association’s Blatant Money Grab
As I recently explained in a column for the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) is salivating at the chance to force all…
Blog
Obama’s Controversial Nominee For Labor Secretary To Be Voted On
Cato Institute attorney Ilya Shapiro wrote Tuesday about “Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights who personifies . . . this…
Blog
Iron Man vs. The Musicians Union
Iron Man has faced a variety of dastardly villains in his storied, five decade-long super hero career: Communists, terrorists, evil tycoons, rust. And most frightening…
Blog
The Other President Reagan
The actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan is remembered by some both for his on-screen presence and his impact on American politics. Too few, however, know of his…
Blog
Joy Division vs. The Lighting Union
In his new and riveting biography recounting the rise and fall of his legendary band, Joy Division bassist Peter Hook (Hooky, to friends and fans)…
National Review
The spreading of ‘right to work’ … where will it show up next?
Matt Patterson, senior fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sees Pennsylvania as one possibility. “There has been some legislation introduced [there]. I mean, that would…
Products
Fact Sheet on the Senate’s E-Verify Proposal
Full Document Available in PDF…
Blog
CEI Study: Cost Of Keeping One Unauthorized Immigrant From Getting A Job — $13,000
If Americans truly want to ensure no unauthorized immigrants work in the United States, they better get ready to pay top dollar. E-Verify, the electronic…
Blog
Why FAA’s Child Seat Campaign Is Deadly
Federal law allows airline passengers with children under the age of two to travel with their children on their laps. This option, which has existed…
Study
E-Verify Mandate Is Costly for Businesses and Workers
As Congress revisits immigration reform, one aspect deserves close attention: electronic employment verification. Both the White House’s leaked draft legislation and the Senate’s proposed bill…
Blog
VW on radar: UAW chief sets sights on Southern automakers
timesfreepress.com The UAW is coming! The UAW is coming! It’s not quite Paul Revere’s famous warning, but it’s true nonetheless. Yes, the United Auto…
Blog
EEOC: A Scofflaw That Poisons The Climate For Hiring
One way the current political climate discourages hiring is by turning problem employees into potential lawsuits for the employers who take the risk…
News Release
E-Verify Mandate Would Impose New Costs on American Businesses, Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 22, 2013 – If the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform proposal becomes law, one provision alone—that employers use E-Verify to confirm work eligibility—will…
Blog
No Job For You!
In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Barack Obama called for a minimum wage increase, reigniting a debate about…
Blog
VW on radar: UAW chief sets sights on Southern automakers
The UAW is coming! The UAW is coming! It’s not quite Paul Revere’s famous warning, but it’s true nonetheless. Yes, the United Auto Workers union,…
Blog
Amtrak And The Progressive Sleight Of Hand
Progressives have always assumed that if something is good, it must be provided through coercive force by a central government. This is illustrated in progressive…
Blog
Four Of The Worst Arguments Against The Immigration Bill
Since the Gang of 8 released their proposal, the desperation from those who want to see this bill die — and any hope of…
Blog
Unions do their business on taxpayers’ dime
It's the old "fair share" argument, but this time it holds even less water than usual. The Maryland State Education Association, the union that bargains…
Baltimore Sun
Unions do their business on taxpayers’ dime
It's the old "fair share" argument, but this time it holds even less water than usual. The Maryland State Education Association, the union that bargains…
News Release
CEI Immigration Analyst: Gang of 8 Proposal ‘A Good Starting Point’
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 17, 2013 – A bipartisan proposal to reform America’s immigration system provides “a good starting point” for discussion but could be improved…
Blog
The UAW, Having Stripped Detroit Bare, Looks To The South
By Matt Patterson & Julia Tavlas, Forbes The United Auto Workers union, having looted and stripped Detroit bare, have set their sights south, to…
Blog
The UAW, Having Stripped Detroit Bare, Looks To The South
The United Auto Workers union, having looted and stripped Detroit bare, have set their sights south, to the right-to-work states and the foreign-owned auto plants…
Baltimore Sun
The UAW, Having Stripped Detroit Bare, Looks To The South
Co-written with Julia Tavlas. The United Auto Workers union, having looted and stripped Detroit bare, have set their sights south, to the right-to-work states and…
Blog
Seven Principles Of Free Market Immigration Reform
1. Immigration laws should value human beings. America should welcome newcomers so long as they pose no threat to the health or safety of Americans.
Blog
House Of Representatives Rebukes Rogue NLRB
Openmarket.org On Friday, April 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act, a laudable attempt to rein in President Obama’s unconstitutionally staffed — and…
Blog
House Of Representatives Rebukes Rogue NLRB
On Friday, April 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act, a laudable attempt to rein in President Obama’s unconstitutionally staffed — and therefore illegitimate…
Blog
CEI Lauds, Will Keyvote Members on NLRB Reform Measure
Competitive Enterprise Institute Today the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would require the National Labor Relations Board to cease…
Blog
Railroading The Railroads
In recent years, members of Congress have worked with various interest groups for the purpose of imposing new economic regulations on the…
News Release
CEI Lauds, Will Keyvote Members on NLRB Reform Measure
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 12, 2013 – Today the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that would require the National Labor Relations Board…
Blog
Americans Reject Actual E-Verify System
Imagine there was a free program that could guarantee for employers a legal workforce and eliminate illegal immigration. Would you favor such a system? Yes…
Blog
JOBS Act — What’s Been Implemented — Is Working; Now Implement The Rest!
CEI Research Associate Evan Woodham contributed to this post. Another round of disappointing jobs numbers released last Friday shows more than ever that massive…
Blog
Dismal Jobs Figures Don’t Increase Official Unemployment Rate, As Job-Seekers Give Up, Or Go On Disability
The stock market has fallen this morning in response to the dismal March jobs report released this morning, which showed that a meager…
Blog
The Myth Of Welfare Reform
Welfare reform is largely a myth. Many people who used to be on welfare have since gone onto Social Security Disability. That benefits states…
Blog
Unions attempt to silence elderly in power grab
VTdigger.org Imagine if your elderly relative was seeking in-home care and was denied the right to negotiate the terms of care with the caregiver.
VT Digger
Unions attempt to silence elderly in power grab
Imagine if your elderly relative was seeking in-home care and was denied the right to negotiate the terms of care with the caregiver. Well, the…
Blog
Incentives Matter, Even For Transportation
CEI’s Marc Scribner previously commented on how advocates for greater investment in transportation infrastructure frequently disregard the infrastructure measure that really matters -- the…
Blog
The problem with Perez
The Washington Times If you saw a man standing outside the grocery store swinging a baton and glowering at passers-by, would you go inside?…
VT Digger
The problem with Perez
If you saw a man standing outside the grocery store swinging a baton and glowering at passers-by, would you go inside? Perhaps, but more likely…
Blog
How the Government Could Save Move-And Protect Workers
By Trey Kovacs, Townhall.com In this era of sequestration, why is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) awarding millions in grants to an…
Townhall
How the Government Could Save Move-And Protect Workers
In this era of sequestration, why is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) awarding millions in grants to an organization under Congressional investigation? The…
Blog
CEI Podcast For March 28, 2013: The TSA’s Illegal Body Scanners
Despite a court order, the TSA is still dragging its feet on complying with the law. Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner has…
Blog
White House Immigration Bill Will Be A Disaster Without Accessible Work Visas
President Obama’s recently leaked immigration bill left off the most important component of an immigration bill: the immigration part. Given the fact that the Chamber…
Townhall
Controversial E-Verify System Integral Part of Immigration Reform Proposal
Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Law Center and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, among many others, have expressed concerns about the…
Blog
Beyond Tom Perez: Why do we need a Labor Department?
The Baltimore Sun Well, America survived. Yes, it’s true, the United States was able to withstand two months without a labor secretary. The previous…
Blog
Labor’s Loss: Secret Ballot Protection Advances In Virginia
Openmarket.org This week Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell struck a little heralded — but much needed — blow for privacy rights in the Old Dominion by…
Blog
Labor’s Loss: Secret Ballot Protection Advances In Virginia
This week Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell struck a little heralded — but much needed — blow for privacy rights in the Old Dominion by signing two…
Townhall
Beyond Tom Perez: Why do we need a Labor Department?
Well, America survived. Yes, it’s true, the United States was able to withstand two months without a labor secretary. The previous secretary, Hilda Solis, stepped…
Blog
Sorry, Progressives, But The ASCE Infrastructure Grade Boost Wasn’t The Result Of Obama’s “Stimulus”
I am generally very skeptical of the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) "Report Card for America's Infrastructure," as this self-interested group 1) gives…
Blog
Rand Paul: No National ID System, Including E-Verify
E-Verify is the Internet-based national identification, which the Senate wants to impose on all workers and their employers. The system, as proposed by the White…
Blog
Unions euthanize nursing homes
The Washington Examiner Once upon a time, a group of health care workers walked off the job, abandoning the aged and infirm under their…
Townhall
Unions euthanize nursing homes
Once upon a time, a group of health care workers walked off the job, abandoning the aged and infirm under their care. Others —…
Blog
SEC Charges Illinois With Securities Fraud And Lets It Off With A Warning
This week, Illinois became only the second state in U.S. history to by charged with securities fraud by federal regulators (New Jersey was the first,…
Blog
Federal Pay Freeze Was Really A Pay Slowdown
The Huffington Post’s Dave Jamieson argues that Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed budget “ignores” a two-year pay freeze for federal employees. But Jamieson also ignores…
Blog
Will Regulators Fail To Learn From The Past Mistakes Of U.S. Railroad Regulation?
The history of U.S. railroads provides an interesting case study on federal regulation. They were the first sector of the economy to come under heavy…
Blog
CEI Podcast For March 7, 2013: The Three-Sided Immigration Debate
Immigration Policy Analyst David Bier recently wrote for USA Today about a third side in the ongoing immigration debate: population control advocates who oppose immigration…
Staff & Scholars
Sean Higgins
Research Fellow
- Deregulation
- Labor and Employment
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Ivan Osorio
Editorial Director
- Labor and Employment
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International