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
News Release
Misnamed ‘Railway Safety Act’ advances in House
The misleadingly named Railway Safety Act pushed by the Trump administration was inserted in the Build America 250 Act today and passed out of the House…
Blog
DOL gets flexible on overtime
The Department of Labor (DOL) will formally reverse a Biden-era rule that expanded the number of workers eligible for overtime on Friday. Courts had…
News Release
Economy added 115,000 jobs in April, modest boost amidst economic uncertainty: CEI analysis
The jobs report for April shows 115,000 jobs were added to the economy, a modest boost compared to previous months. While unemployment remains unchanged…
Search Posts
Blog
Workers Deserve the Right to Remain Silent
The California Legislature is considering a “Public Employee Bill of Rights” that (among other things) would restrict the state’s ability to hire outside contractors and…
Forbes
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Real Crisis
On February 1, American Airlines—which declared bankruptcy last November—announced plans to end defined benefit pensions as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring plan. If approved…
Forbes
An Unintended Consequence
From George Leef’s post on the National Review Online: Thanks to the college-for-everyone mania, we have a shortage of workers capable for doing…
Blog
Severe Shortage of Skilled Factory Workers As Government Encourages Students to Pursue White-Collar Jobs
The government has encouraged people who once would have become skilled and valuable factory workers to instead go to college and work in white-collar jobs, contributing…
Blog
Government-Funded Job Training “Might Not Work”: Washington Post
Even a liberal Washington Post writer admits that taxpayer-subsidized job training “might not work,” despite its popularity with politicians, and President Obama’s desire to spend billions more…
Blog
Is the Obama Administration Trying to Expand Federal Collective Bargaining?
An Obama-created board within the federal Office of Personnel Management's recently approved "an outline of a report due to President Obama in May on personnel issues…
Blog
Connecticut Government Focuses on Non-Union Worker Collective Bargaining “Options”
Yesterday, the next step toward Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy completing his scheme to force unionize personal care attendants took place. CTNewsJunkie.com reported: The four-member…
Blog
I Can Succeed, But You Can’t: The Left’s Message to Waitresses
One of the left’s favorite mantras is that government regulations and special interest groups provide the only ways that workers can get ahead. This notion…
Blog
High Unemployment Masked by Exploding Disability Claims that Lead to Permanently-Higher Government Spending
The official unemployment rate is going down, but that's partly because many long-term unemployed people went onto Social Security Disability, citing ailments such as depression. …
Forbes
Bringing Democracy Back to the Workplace
Imagine a presidential election in which one candidate may campaign for a year and the other is told he is running only one week before…
Blog
California Considers “Public Employee Bill of Rights”
Openmarket.org The California State Assembly is considering sweeping legislation aimed at protecting the “rights” of state employees. According to its sponsor, Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento),…
Blog
California Considers “Public Employee Bill of Rights”
The California State Assembly is considering sweeping legislation aimed at protecting the “rights” of state employees. According to its sponsor, Assemblyman Roger Dickinson…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 210: Transgendered Air Travelers
Canada is cracking down on the latest terrorist threat to innocent people everywhere: transgendered people. If their appearance doesn't match their ID's listed gender, they're…
Blog
Regulation, Jobs, and Creating Wealth
Lobbying, politicking, and special favors are part and parcel of the regulatory process. The result is that many regulation-created jobs are not created on the…
Blog
Lame Duck Sen. Herb Kohl Continues Quixotic Battle Against Rail Carriers in Senate Highway Bill
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), who will not be seeking reelection this November, decided that he would make one last-ditch attempt to get his awful piece…
Forbes
Ayn Rand Was an Illegal Immigrant
From Shika Dalmia’s article in Reason: Yes, every nation has the right to control its borders. But both liberal and illiberal immigration policies…
Forbes
Free Cupcakes! GOP Hispanic Super PAC Reaches Out
From Pema Levy’s article in Talking Points Memo: The next morning, four panelists met in the hotel’s main ballroom to discuss immigration. The…
The American Spectator
Busting Union Reform
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is touting the recent passage of his "compromise" bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that oversees U.S. air…
The American Spectator
Calls for ‘Self-Deportation’ of Illegal Immigrants Win Applause at Conservative Conference
The American Spectator
CPAC Panelist Booed for Speaking Truth on Immigration
The American Spectator
CPAC, Immigration, and Racism Accusations
The American Spectator
Co-Author of Arizona Immigration Law Says Self-Deportation Working
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 9, 2012: The Immigration Tariff
Alex Nowrasteh proposes scrapping the complex and unfair immigration system and replacing it with a tariff. This is a much more humane approach to immigration,…
The American Spectator
Immigration Tariff: Improve System, Shrink Budget Gap
Of the public policy problems most Americans worry about, there are two that seem intractable. The first is the federal budget deficit. The second is…
The American Spectator
U.S. Sen. Johnson Says Obama “Not Someone We Can Compromise With”
The American Spectator
CPAC Speaker Goads Pro-Union, Occupy Protestors
The American Spectator
At CPAC, Undermining the Power of American Workers
The American Spectator
Afternoon News Brief
Blog
Even Liberal Reporters Sour on Stimulus-Funded California Rail Boondoggle
Even reporters at the famously-liberal Los Angeles Times have soured on California’s $100 billion-plus rail boondoggle, whose cost will far outstrip whatever the state will…
Washington Examiner
SEIU Makes Play for ‘Dues’ From Conn. Subsidy
From The Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential (also appeared on the National Right to Work Committee website and The Oklahoman): The Service Employees International…
Washington Examiner
Vincent Vernuccio explains the union’s latest method of recruitment.
Vincent Vernuccio explains the union's the latest method of forcing home healthcare and daycare workers into their unions…
Study
The Conservative Case for Immigration Tariffs
The current immigration system is a complex bureaucracy that sets quotas, fees, and arbitrary restrictions that prevent most immigrants from attempting legal immigration. Replacing that…
Washington Examiner
Rome vs. the Unions
Relative to Italy’s debt problems, the country’s biggest impediment to growth gets relatively little international press. Burdensome labor regulations are nothing new to Italians. But…
Washington Examiner
Employment Law Roundup: Retaliation Charges Pose Growing Threat to Free Speech
Washington Examiner
Keystone and the Unions
President Barack Obama placated one wing of his liberal base, environmentalists, with his decision to kill the Keystone Pipeline, but he’s angered another — labor…
News Release
Immigration Tariffs Are Cost-Effective Solution to Illegal Immigration Problem
Washington, D.C., February 7, 2012 – In a new CEI OnPoint, Immigration Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh proposes an innovative solution to our nation’s…
Blog
Yes, Pensions Did Help Push American Airlines into Bankruptcy
I generally hold John Tamny’s analysis of economic matters in high regard, so I was surprised to find his take on the American Airlines bankruptcy…
News Release
Free Market Policy Organizations Push Back Against Stealth Unionization Campaign
Washington, DC, February 6, 2012 – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is trying to unionize home health care workers in Connecticut by stealth—and Governor Dannel…
Washington Examiner
Alinksy Disciple Obama Does the Master Proud
Polls show that, even as his job approval ratings have struggled against continued grim economic news, majorities nonetheless find President Obama personally likable.
Washington Examiner
Could Indiana’s Right to Work Law Mean Trouble for Neighboring States?
Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois soon may need to construct a wall—not to keep people out but to keep business in. While such a drastic move…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 208: Re-Booking Flights
A new Department of Transportation regulation limiting re-booking fees caused one airline to add a $2 "Department of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee" on every ticket…
Blog
Oklahoma Moves to Keep Big Labor in Check
Openmarket.org Oklahoma taxpayers might be able to breathe a little bit easier this year thanks to two important pieces of legislation making their way through…
Blog
12 More Law Schools Sued for Defrauding Their Students; Many More Class-Action Lawsuits Expected
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that a team of eight law firms have just “sued a dozen more law schools across the country,…
Blog
Oklahoma Moves to Keep Big Labor in Check
Oklahoma taxpayers might be able to breathe a little bit easier this year thanks to two important pieces of legislation making their way through the…
Washington Examiner
NY’s Still Too Business-Unfriendly
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute Applauds Indiana Enactment of Right to Work
Washington, DC, February 1, 2012 – Indiana today enacted a crucial, hard-fought right-to-work law prohibiting labor contracts that force workers to pay for union representation.
Blog
Michigan SEIU Scam the Product of Government Collective Bargaining
Openmarket.org Proponents of government collective bargaining view it as a fundamental human right. The shameful actions of SEIU in Michigan, however, undermine this claim.
Blog
Michigan SEIU Scam the Product of Government Collective Bargaining
Proponents of government collective bargaining view it as a fundamental human right. The shameful actions of SEIU in Michigan, however, undermine this claim. In…
Blog
More Bailouts for Speculators and Delinquent Mortgage Borrowers from Obama Administration; More Taxpayer Money for Certain Banks
In his State of the Union address, President Obama, a consistent supporter of bailouts and crony capitalism, hypocritically railed against them, proclaiming, “no…
Blog
Buffett’s Secretary, Romney’s Return, and the Crushing Double Taxation on Investment Income
There has been much waxing in the last few days about how unfair it supposedly is that Mitt Romney was taxed at around 15 percent.
Blog
Enr1 Goes Belly Up; Yet Another Solyndra
"After spending $55 million of a $118.5 million grant from" the U.S. "Department of Energy, Ener1, an Indianapolis-based maker of batteries," has just "declared…
Huffington Post
Could Our Immigration Laws Prevent the Next Google?
While President Obama’s State of the Union address did not focus on immigration, his few statements on that issue sent out…
Huffington Post
It’s Politics: Linda Sanchez Wins Key Step Toward Democratic Party Endorsement
Blog
The Silver Platypus
Openmarket.org Last week, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced it was considering scrapping the Silver Line stop at Dulles Airport. Though the Silver line was…
Blog
The Silver Platypus
Last week, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced it was considering scrapping the Silver Line stop at Dulles Airport. Though the Silver line was designed…
Blog
Obama’s False Claims about Outsourcing and Corporate Taxes in the State of the Union Address
President Obama has spent billions of dollars in taxpayer money on subsidizing foreign firms through his failed "green energy" programs, so it was…
Huffington Post
Employers Skeptical of Obama’s SOTU Promises
Blog
Obama’s State of the Union Address: More Failed Jobs Proposals?
My take on President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address is at this link. It discusses one of the jobs…
Blog
Stimulus was Designed to Provide Pork and Payoffs, Not to Revive the Economy
Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron argued that the $800 billion stimulus package wasn't even designed to stimulate the economy, but rather to benefit…
Blog
Law Schools Teach Junk, Exaggerate Their Students’ Job Prospects
Propped up by government subsidies and regulations requiring students to attend law school before taking the bar exam, law schools waste their students' time teaching…
Blog
Celebrate National School Choice Week
Openmarket.org This week, a collaboration of over 200 organizations will hold the second annual National School Choice Week. National School Choice Week highlights the need…
Blog
Dodd-Frank Claims 4,300 More Jobs, Reduces Consumer Choice in Mortgage Market
The Dodd-Frank law passed in 2010 in the name of “financial reform” has wiped out another 4,300 jobs: MetLife is closing down its growing…
Blog
Court Ruling Broadening Americans with Disabilities Act Will Harm Taxicab Safety and Cost Hundreds of Millions
A federal judge last month barred New York City's “Taxi and Limousine Commission from issuing permits for taxicabs unless they're accessible to people who…
Huffington Post
Immigrants Help Fuel Tech Growth
People are the most valuable resource. We see this most clearly among entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, and innovators. Creating wealth and new ways of doing things…
Blog
Media: If You Wear Headphones while Walking, You’re as Good as Dead
Various media outlets are trying to scare the bejesus out of us by reporting on a new study published in this month's issue of Injury Prevention,…
Blog
Judge Criticizes American Law Schools
A prominent federal judge has added to the growing chorus of criticism for American law schools and their failure to provide practical training for…
Blog
Wisconsin union holding federal funds hostage
The Washington Examiner Federal health care funds are being held hostage by the Wisconsin Education Association Trust, a not-for-profit health insurance company created by…
Huffington Post
Wisconsin Union Holding Federal Funds Hostage
Federal health care funds are being held hostage by the Wisconsin Education Association Trust, a not-for-profit health insurance company created by the state’s largest…
Blog
Eleven More Solyndras in Obama Clean-Energy Program
There are 11 more Solyndras in the Obama administration’s clean-energy program, reports CBS News. These companies are in financial trouble — five have already…
Blog
CEI Podcast for January 12, 2012: Mistaken Deportations
Immigration Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh tells Jakadrien Turner's story and what it means for the immigration reform debate.
Blog
EEOC Says High-School Diploma is Discriminatory Requirement, Stretches Employment Laws to Harm Small Employers
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently posted a letter on its website claiming that it is illegal for employers to have a high-school diploma requirement…
Blog
Big Labor Political Influence Does Not Make Union Bosses Labor Experts
Openmarket.org A well-known fact is Big Labor’s powerful political influence. According to Opensecrets.org, five of the top 10 all-time federal campaign political donors are unions.
Blog
Supreme Court Rejects Obama Administration Power Grab Over Churches in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC
The Supreme Court has rejected the Obama administration's argument that it can dictate who churches hire as ministers or clergy in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical…
Huffington Post
The Non-Union for Restaurant Workers
When is a union not a union? When it decides that organizing a majority of workers is too much trouble and that it can win…
Blog
New York MTA Contract Negotiations Show Dangers of Binding Arbitration
In most jurisdictions, government employees responsible for public safety and other essential government services are not allowed to strike. In exchange for unions giving up…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 204: How to Buy Liquor
Self-checkout lanes have been popping up in grocery stores across the country over the last several years. Some people worry that without the adult supervision…
Huffington Post
Mistaken Deportation of Texas Teen Highlights the Rigid, Incompetent Immigration Bureaucracy
The unintended consequences of government regulations on the U.S. economy are disastrous. Among the most harmful are regulations that restrict immigration—the movement of laborers and…
Huffington Post
Obama’s Abuse of Power Threatens to Shut Down Senate
Huffington Post
No Time for Advice and Consent
On Wednesday, President Obama infuriated Republicans and threatened to spark a constitutional crisis when he announced he would make four recess appointments during a…
Blog
Judge Upholds Michigan Union Power Grab
A federal judge in Michigan has denied class action status to a lawsuit brought by a group of independent child care workers who objected to…
Blog
Rhode Island’s Bold Pension Reforms Point the Way Forward
To describe pension reform, Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist put it best: "This is not a conservative-versus-liberal issue, this is a reality issue." Liljenquist…
Blog
Congressional Democrats Join Republicans’ Call for GAO Investigation into California High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Government Accountability Office, 11 House Democrats called on the watchdog agency to investigate California's high-speed rail program. The…
Politico
Left Bloggers Hail “New Obama”
Politico
F. Vincent Vernuccio: NLRB and Union Bosses
Vincent Vernuccio: NLRB and Union Bosses…
Blog
Public Pensions Fuel Government Growth
The straitened finances afflicting state and local governments across the nation have brought unprecedented scrutiny to government employees’ compensation, particularly pensions. As pro-market critics have…
Hot Air
Obama Follows Cordray Recess Appointment With Three More to NLRB
News Release
Obama Surprise Recess Appointments Are End-Run Around Democracy, Senate
Washington, DC, January 4, 2011 – President Obama’s decision to make a slew of surprise recess appointments today drew criticism from CEI experts.
Blog
Obamacare Causes Layoffs in Medical Device Industry, Harms Medical Innovation
Ramesh Ponnuru writes about the layoffs and lost jobs resulting from Obamacare's new tax on medical devices at Bloomberg News: A year from…
Blog
Driving Continues to Decline in 2011
October 2011 marked the eighth straight month [PDF] of declining year-over-year vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. Compared to October 2010, driving was down…
Blog
Pension Tsunami, Record Federal Spending Increase U.S. Debts by $4.2 Trillion; State Debts Explode
Massive budget deficits and mushrooming pension, Social Security, and Medicare obligations increased the federal government's long-term obligations by $4.2 trillion in 2011 -- more than three…
Hot Air
Georgia’s Anti-Capitalist Immigration Law
Portions of Georgia’s new anti-immigration law will go into effect on January 1. The law is part of a recent state-level…
Business Insider
Minnesota Battle Over Proposed Childcare Union Heats Up
Blog
America’s Businesses Get It: Immigration Is Good
Anti-immigration advocates believe that harsh new laws will drive illegal immigrants out of the United States. They ignore the fact that the primary victim…
Blog
Obamacare Stifles Job Creation, Causes Layoffs
At Bloomberg News, Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., explains how the 2010 healthcare law is preventing jobs from being created and resulting…
Blog
Washington Post: “Obama’s Green Technology Program was Infused with Politics at Every Level”
The Obama administration’s green-energy programs were driven by politics, not the public interest or sound policies. As The Washington Post recently noted in discussing…
Blog
Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Big Labor)
National Right to Work Committee Trey Kovacs looks at Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s quest to empower union bosses by any means necessary: Minnesota State Senator…
Business Insider
UAW Speaks More Softly, Still Carries Big Stick
United Auto Workers President Bob King announced a change in strategy earlier in December, saying that his union would not target specific automakers in right-to-work…
Blog
Businessmen: Obamacare Stops Them from Hiring
Journalist John Stossel describes how "three successful businessmen came on" his TV show last week "to explain how Obamacare is a reason that unemployment stays…
National Right to Work Committee
Gov. Mark Dayton: D-Big Labor
Blog
Governor Dayton’s Baleful Influence on Labor Relations
Openmarket.org Minnesota State Senator Mike Parry (R-Waseca) recently caused a stir with strong accusations against Governor Mark Dayton. “It’s no secret that the labor…
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