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
Modest job numbers signal slow economic growth: CEI analysis
Just 29,000 jobs were added to the US economy in September 2026, according to the latest monthly government report, while the unemployment rate rose…
Blog
Diagnosing unemployment
The unemployment rate is a symptom, not a diagnosis. When it rises or falls, it shows that something is changing in the labor market,…
Blog
Reading the fine print on unemployment
When politicians talk about unemployment, it is worth remembering an old principle: buyer beware. The unemployment rate is a statistic, but politicians can transform…
Search Posts
Manhattan Institute
Storm Clouds Ahead: Why Conflict with Public Unions Will Continue
News Release
E-Verify Hill Briefing: Video & Highlight Reel Now Available
Washington, D.C., November 1, 2011 — On Monday, October 24, the Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on E-Verify, the controversial electronic employment…
Blog
Yes, Regulation Does Keep Unemployment High
Over at RealClearMarkets, my colleague Wayne Crews and I argue that the law of demand holds. Hard to believe that's actually controversial, but that's Washington…
Manhattan Institute
LIRR Disability Pension Scam
CEI's Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio discusses the public pension fraud investigations in the Long Island Rail Road.
Manhattan Institute
GOP Jobs Plan: Rein in ‘Rogue’ NLRB
In the wake of a Senate failure for the president’s jobs bill, Republicans are advancing their own plans in the House of Representatives. On Wednesday…
Blog
For the Children
The people of Illinois don’t expect their government to be corrupt; they insist on it. That’s why nary an eyebrow was raised when it recently…
ACLU
I Went to Washington and Democracy Broke Out
ACLU
“Verbal Brawl” Erupts at House E-Verify Briefing
The Hill
This Week in Tech
SCPR
E-Verify Briefing Turns Into Shouting Match
SCPR
Vincent Vernuccio on Verizon Worker Protests
CEI Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio discusses the situation at Verizon with union workers protesting their company's leadership.
SCPR
Contentious Talks: UAW Ratifies Contract with Ford, Workers Say Better for Union than Members
The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) is the winner in the recently-concluded Ford contract negotiations. While its rank and file members will not see pay…
Blog
Liberal Indifference to the Jobless in the Private Sector
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claims that joblessness is not a problem in the private sector, where huge numbers of people have lost their jobs,…
Blog
Truck Drivers Don’t Need a Revised Hours-of-Service Rule
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is poised to enact a revised hours-of-service (HOS) rule that would greatly impact commercial motor vehicle operators.
Blog
The Unemployment Discrimination Myth
The defunct American Jobs Act, which Hans skewered so well a while back, contains a provision to end “discrimination against the unemployed.” Apparently, there…
Blog
Cut the Capital Gains Tax and Government Spending to Create Jobs and Promote Technological Advances
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Amity Schlaes notes that cuts in the capital gains tax were one of the key factors that paved the…
Blog
Revolting Youth in Revolt
Conservatives who are enjoying a chuckle over the protesters occupying Wall Street (and an increasing number of public spaces across the country) would do well…
Study
A FAIR Criticism
A recent report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform argues for increased immigration restrictions as a way to address the federal budget deficit. However,…
Blog
Postal Service Disputes “Principals of Fairness”
Openmarket.org Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office released a report concerning the grim financial future of the Postal Service. It may not come as a shock, but…
One News Now
NLRB Delays Poster Rule
One News Now
Missing: Alabama’s Latinos, Obama Must Act!
Blog
Unions: The new barbarians
The Washington Times In a recent address to a union rally in Ohio, Vice President Joseph R. Biden underscored the threat to organized labor posed by…
One News Now
Mad About Immigration? Blame the Federal Government
Alabama’s anti-immigrant law, HB 56, was recently upheld by a federal judge, giving hope to immigration restrictionists in other states. Indeed, Alabama…
One News Now
Unions: The New Barbarians
In a recent address to a union rally in Ohio, Vice President Joseph R. Biden underscored the threat to organized labor posed by the wave…
One News Now
Looking for regulations that burden economy? Look no further than the ADA
Blog
At Long Last, Congress Will Vote on Three Trade Pacts that Unions have Held Up
At long last both the House and the Senate are scheduled to vote on the three free trade agreements (FTAs) that have languished for…
One News Now
Needed: Skilled Immigrants
Oct. 1 marked the beginning of the new term for recently issued H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. H-1B visas are three-year, once-renewable, employer-sponsored…
Blog
The EDA Elimination Act: To Terminate the Economic Development Administration
Yesterday Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo introduced the “EDA Elimination Act,” a bill that would remove funding for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development…
Blog
Barone is Right: Appeasing Protectionists Is a Bad Idea
President Obama is finally sending three pending trade agreements — with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama — to Congress for a vote. The three trade…
Blog
Jerrold Nadler’s Fiscal Fantasies: Herbert Hoover Increased Spending, He Did Not “Slash the Budget” During the Great Depression
Attacking the idea of a Balanced Budget Amendment, "Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution," issued…
One News Now
Child Welfare/Protection Roundup
Blog
The Future of Air Travel?
First-generational suborbital crafts would reach 2,200 miles per hour, with an eventual goal of hitting 13,750 miles per hour. A trip from London to Sydney…
Blog
The Economic (Un)Development Administration
Last Friday Iain Murray and I published an op-ed in The Washington Times, which described how government spending fails to create economic growth. We show how the…
One News Now
Craig Becker and Boeing
Blog
The Legal Battle Over Honolulu’s Train to Nowhere
Rail transit advocates in Honolulu, Hawaii, have seen better days. Significant opposition is threatening the future of the proposed 20-mile, $5.5 billion elevated rail transit…
Blog
Local Union Will Appeal to Obama’s NLRB
Openmarket.org Minnesota based American Crystal Sugar employee lockout exposes the untenable nature of union contract negotiations. Yesterday, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers…
Blog
Local Union Will Appeal to Obama’s NLRB
Minnesota based American Crystal Sugar employee lockout exposes the untenable nature of union contract negotiations. Yesterday, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union’s…
DC Velocity
Freedom to Move: Interview with Marc Scribner
DC Velocity
Here We Go, Again …
Study
New Jersey’s Long Road Ahead
For years, union officials in New Jersey have gotten politicians from both parties to give in to their incessant demands for lavish taxpayer-funded benefits. Today,…
Blog
Justice Department Promotes Bad English in the Schools
Arizona can't require teachers to speak proper English anymore. The federal government claims that monitoring whether teachers mispronounce words racially discriminates against Latinos, despite two…
DC Velocity
New Jersey’s Public Sector Unions Are Bankrupting the State
Blog
Quantifying Capital Bikeshare’s Supposed “Success”
Last week, D.C.'s Capital Bikeshare program celebrated its millionth trip and one-year anniversary. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood celebrated the milestone with a…
Blog
Congress is Killing the Postal Service
Openmarket.org The United States Postal Service has lost over $8 billion in the past two years and going for a third year in the red.
Blog
Congress is Killing the Postal Service
The United States Postal Service has lost over $8 billion in the past two years and going for a third year in the red. Labor…
DC Velocity
Beat the Clock: Government Union ‘Cadillac’ Health Plans Preserved Before Tighter Controls Take Effect
News Release
CEI Labor Policy Expert Vincent Vernuccio Wins Prestigious “Buckley Award”
Washington, D.C., September 27, 2011 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute is proud to announce that CEI Labor Policy Attorney F. Vincent Vernuccio is…
Blog
Obama Administration Attacks Religious Freedom and Separation of Church and State
The Obama administration is attacking religious freedom in court, even as Obama depicts his policies as ordained by God. At a Congressional Black Caucus…
The American Spectator
Jersey Public Sector Unions: Still a Problem
The American Spectator
Debate Surrounding E-Verify Reignited
News Release
CEI Labor Expert to Present New Special Report on Public Sector Unions at Trenton News Conference
Washington, D.C., September 26, 2011—- F. Vincent Vernuccio, Labor Policy Counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, will present his new report on New Jersey’s…
Salisbury Post
Coble Gets Praise From Enterprise Institute
Salisbury Post
E-Verify E-Viscerates Labor Market
On Wednesday, September 21, the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to send Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885)…
The Dispatch
Coble Receives Perfect Grade on Free Market Issues
Blog
CEI Podcast for September 22, 2011: E-Verify
E-Verify is a program that checks the immigration status of new hires. The House is expected to vote on legislation that would make E-Verify mandatory…
Blog
Government Fines Businessman for Creating Jobs
A CEO recently told Congress about how he was fined for hiring too many people: “I incurred more than $500,000 in legal bills to…
Paul C. Broun
Broun Earns Perfect Pro-Worker Score
Paul C. Broun
CEI Names Congressman Denham a Pro-Worker Legislator
Gary Miller
Rep. Gary Miller Recognized by CEI for Supporting Worker Freedom
Steve King
King Honored for 100% Pro-Worker Voting Record
Howard Coble
Coble Receives Perfect Grade on Free Market Issues
Scott Tipton
Congressman Tipton Named Pro-Worker Legislator
Tim Scott
Standing Up for Pro-Worker Policies
CBS
Public Policy Group Honors Coble
News Release
CEI Thanks Pro-Worker Congressmen at Ceremony
Washington, D.C., September 22, 2011—Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute held an award ceremony for Members of Congress with the highest scores on the…
Blog
Looking at TAA Worker Eligibility Last Year — Some Observations and Questions
Now that reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is all but a done deal -- a quid pro quo from Republican leadership to President…
Michelle Bachman
Bachmann Accepts CEI’s 100% Pro-Worker Honor
Tim Huelskamp
Congressman Huelskamp Earns Pro-Worker Award
News Release
E-Verify Bill Proposes Massive New Regulatory Mandate
Washington, D.C., September 21, 2011 — Today, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2885) which mandates use of the electronic employment…
Townhall
Michigan on Brink of Massive Education Reform
On Friday September 9, Michigan State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) announced he would introduce legislation giving teachers in his state right to work…
Blog
Sen. McConnell Introduces “Fast Track” Trade Authority; Hits Unions for Obstructing Trade Agreements
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made a gutsy statement on the Senate floor today, saying that he was introducing an amendment to give…
Legal News Line
CEI to Recognize Pro-Worker Members of Congress
Legal News Line
E-Verify Has Morphed Into a Monster
Legal News Line
Putting the Jobs Cart Before the Growth Horse
Among the colossal fallacies that keep our economy mired in unemployment, few loom as large as the notion that “creating” jobs leads to growth and…
News Max
Tennessee, Utah Least Favorable to Union Labor
News Max
Anti-Immigration Laws Hurt Economy
Arizona’s immigration laws — Senate Bill 1070 and the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) — were designed to drive undocumented immigrants out of the…
Blog
Congressional Vote to Halt NLRB Job-Killing Regulations
Openmarket.org President Obama and the Senate Democrats’ agenda will be put to the test. GOP senators have called for the vote on the Protecting Jobs…
Blog
Congressional Vote to Halt NLRB Job-Killing Regulations
President Obama and the Senate Democrats' agenda will be put to the test. GOP senators have called for the vote on the Protecting Jobs…
96.5 KPEL
Landry To Receive Honor
House.gov
CEI Awards Congressman Landry as Pro-Worker Legislator
News Release
CEI Awards Pro-Worker Legislators
Washington, D.C., September 15, 2011—The Competitive Enterprise Institute started a Labor Policy Scorecard for the 112th Congress on our labor website, WorkplaceChoice.org,…
House.gov
Congress to NLRB’s Becker: ‘Did You Write the SEIU Intimidation Manual?’
On September 12, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wrote to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Craig Becker, asking him what role he had in…
Blog
Obama Wants More Spending on Failed Federal “Job Training” Programs that Teach Welfare Recipients and Young People Bad Habits
In The Wall Street Journal, James Bovard, a former CEI Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow, takes aim at some of the billions in waste contained…
House.gov
Hatch to NLRB’s Craig Becker: ‘Did You Write the SEIU ‘Intimidation Manual?’
Blog
NLRB Decisions Diminishing Workers’ Rights
By Trey Kovacs/Openmarket.org Under the What We Do heading on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) website, the board states: “The National Labor Relations Board is an…
Blog
NLRB Decisions Diminishing Workers’ Rights
Under the What We Do heading on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) website, the board states: “The National Labor Relations Board is an independent…
Blog
Obama’s Job Creation Proposal Will Be Ineffective, Experts Say
Despite its massive price tag of $450 billion, President Obama's recently-proposed American Jobs Act seems like a useless dud to experts who've analyzed it, and the…
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Mich. GOP Lawmakers More Intimidated by Government Unions?
Errors of Enchantment
Big Labor Index: New Mexico Worst in the West
Citation
VIDEO: Legal Immigrants: Problem or Solution?
Alex Nowrasteh of the Competitive Enterprise Institute discusses immigration and job creation on RT TV’s The Alyona Show.
Knox News
TN Tops in Nation on ‘Big Labor vs. Taxpayers Index’
Knox News
Political Notebook: Conservative Group Gives TN High Score for Labor Laws
Blog
AP: Obama’s “Jobs” Plan Will Increase Deficit, Is Not “Paid For”
Associated Press fact checkers took issue with President Obama's claims about his new $450 billion federal "jobs" plan: President Barack Obama’s promise Thursday that everything…
Blog
Davis-Bacon, the Pork of the American Jobs Act Boondoggle
Openmarket.org President Obama made the astute observation in his speech that, “the millions of Americans who are watching at home right now, they don’t care…
Blog
Davis-Bacon, the Pork of the American Jobs Act Boondoggle
President Obama observed in his speech that “the millions of Americans who are watching at home right now, they don’t care about politics.” Obama harkened…
Knox News
Immigration is Not Charity
The biggest misconception about immigration is that it is a zero-sum game–that there is a finite number of jobs which immigrants “take” from the…
Knox News
A Plan Better than Obama’s to Create Jobs
Daily Paul
Competitive Enterprise Institute Web Site Measues Union Power in Each State
The Pelican Post
New Web Site Measures the Power and Influence of “Big Labor” in All 50 States
MNFMI
Minnesota Ranks #4 on List of Most Unionized Public Workforces
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