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
Supreme Court likely to decide fate of federal unions
A matter likely to end up before the Supreme Court soon is the right of federal government employees to form unions. Whether they retain that…
Blog
‘With you or without you’ – The growing rift between unions and Democrats
A rift is growing between the Democratic Party and the labor movement. It was caused in large part by the party’s inability to move the…
News Release
Economy adds 139,000 jobs in May, labor market growth slows: CEI analysis
May added 139,000 jobs to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying unchanged at 4.2 percent. Trump’s policies, namely his mission to shrink the…
Search Posts
Blog
Virginia Sells Naming Rights to Highway Rest Stops
Faced with budget shortfalls and a steep $20 million annual operating cost, this week Virginia decided to sell naming rights to its 42 highway…
Citation
US Supreme Court Hears Massive Wal Mart Discrimination Case
Op-Eds
The Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart is as Meritless as it is Massive
As a lawyer who used to bring class-action discrimination lawsuits for a living, I am puzzled by press sympathy for the massive, meritless class-action lawsuit…
Blog
Maine Gov. LePage Looks to Reform for Balanced Budget
Governor Paul LePage and Maine have skirted the public attention present in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan that have proposed budget reform bills. Maine has proposed…
Op-Eds
Is Obama Pro-Immigration?
A persistent myth about President Obama is that he is pro-immigration. Obama’s rhetoric may be pro-immigration, but his actions reveal that he is the most…
Blog
Wisconsin Judge’s Strange Ruling Blocking Limits on Collective Bargaining Surprises Legal Observers
Wisconsin legal observers were “surprised last week when Madison-based judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Gov. Scott Walker’s bill…
Blog
Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution
In the latest example of big government run amok, several politicians think they ought to be in charge of which applications you should be able…
Blog
Obama Administration Understated Deficits by $2.3 Trillion; Resists Spending Cuts Needed to Stem Deficits
The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Obama administration understated budget deficits “by more than $2.3 trillion over the upcoming decade,”…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Open Market Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A…
Blog
The Hidden Costs of State Workers’ Early Retirement
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin could not have foreseen how his Budget Reform Bill may backfire and contribute to larger pension liabilities. A structural…
Blog
High-Speed Rail Follies: International Edition
Over at the excellent NewGeography.com, Wendell Cox has an article about the battle over high-speed rail investment in Britain. As we've seen in the…
Blog
America Doesn’t Need More College Graduates at Taxpayer Expense
President Obama says that “the best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates.” No doubt this is best for colleges, which have been…
Op-Eds
GOP Lawmakers Seek Labor Reform in Michigan
While most of the nation focused on the Wisconsin government union fight in recent weeks, Michigan has been pushing major labor reforms in both the…
Blog
Steve LaTourette Wants More Federally Funded Transit (Highway-User Robbery)
Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), vice chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, essentially told…
Blog
Rail Transit and Transportation Waste
Over the weekend, I appeared on Fox Business Network’s “Tom Sullivan Show,” along with John Charles of the Cascade Policy Institute, to discuss…
Blog
What *The Economist* Got Right, Got Wrong About NYC Bike Lanes
New Yorker econ writer John Cassidy created quite a stir last week with this blog post that attacked bike lanes in New York City.
News Release
CEI Launches Labor Policy Congressional Scorecard
Washington, D.C., March 15, 2011 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute has released the first set of grades from the new CEI Labor Policy…
Blog
Wisconsin tolls the bell for public-employee unions
The Examiner Nothing so pleases the ear as the howl of liberals getting a taste of their own medicine. Take the liberal outrage over Wisconsin…
Op-Eds
Texas’ Sanctuary City Law a Solution in Search of a Problem
Texas’ proposed anti-immigration law, HB 12, had its first public hearing last week. Introduced by Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, HB 12 is supposed to prevent…
Letters
Coalition Letter Against Mandatory Implementation of E-Verify
Full Document Available in PDF We, the undersigned free-market advocacy groups and public interest organizations, write to share our concerns…
Blog
Mission Creep
Andy Greenberg reports that the TSA would like to expand its scanning operations to pedestrians and train passengers.
News Release
Free Market Coalition Warns Against E-Verify Mandate
Washington, D.C., March 10, 2011 — The House Judiciary Committee is currently considering a law that would require all private employers in the United…
Citation
Union Wages Drive Up Costs, Increase Tax Burden for Louisiana Resident
Blog
Collective Bargaining and the Individual
The debate over the government employee protests in Wisconsin has skipped over a fundamental question: Why does collective bargaining exist in the first place? Equality…
Op-Eds
The Truth About Wisconsin
The fundamental issue in Wisconsin — and states considering similar budget cuts — is not whether government employees should contribute more (in Wisconsin’s case, more…
Blog
How Do Unions Work — Trade or Theft?
In his work The State, sociologist Franz Oppenheimer draws a distinction that has been widely adopted among libertarian intellectuals. Oppenheimer outlines two methods of acquiring…
Blog
Connecticut Legislation Seeks to Unconstitutionally Restrict Political Speech by Employers
A Connecticut legislator is seeking to restrict the speech of employers on “religious or political” topics in pending legislation (House Bill 5460). The bill…
Blog
What Comes with Public Sector Collective Bargaining
The left has been successful in framing Governor Walker's efforts to end collective bargaining rights in the public sector as an assault on…
Blog
Did Wisconsin Police Violate the First Amendment through Selective Enforcement of Limits on Protests?
Ordinarily, protesters who tried to occupy the Wisconsin Capitol Building would be swiftly arrested and removed. But this weekend, police in Madison, Wisconsin, not only…
Blog
Human Achievement of the Day: Flying Cars
Whenever some new, ground-breaking technology makes headlines there is invariable the observer who seems only mildly impressed and then asks when we’re going to get…
Citation
WI, IN Dem Lawmakers Still Hiding to Block Votes on Unions Bills
Blog
TreeHugger’s Non-Arguments in Favor of High-Speed Rail
Following George Will's article on high-speed rail as a shiny new object for wealthy liberals comes this remarkably poor defense from a TreeHugger…
Blog
Privatizing Education the Fix for Collective Bargaining Debate
The collective bargaining debate in Wisconsin has elucidated one critical point: The federal, state, and local government should not be involved in industries that can…
Blog
Labor Secretary Admits Union Bias
Speaking to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis admitted she was biased toward unions.
Op-Eds
Labor Secretary Admits Union Bias
Speaking to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis admitted she was biased toward unions.
Blog
Bogus Statistic from Wisconsin Union Backers Spreads Despite Repeated Debunking
"A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has time to put its boots on" -- like a…
Citation
Slamming Virginia
Blog
Wisconsin Union Backers Defame Virginia and Spread Bogus Statistics
Virginia schools have better-than-average test scores. Virginia obviously doesn't rank an abysmal 44th in the nation on SATs and ACTs, as…
Blog
Senate Democrats: House’s Modest 2% Budget Cut Is Too Big
The budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2011 is projected to be a staggering $1.645 trillion, out of a budget of $3.819 trillion. The…
Citation
Twisting Test Scores
Citation
Labor Disputes Infecting TSA, Multiple States
Citation
Difference Between Virginia and Wisconsin
Citation
Difference Between Virginia and Wisconsin
News Release
CEI Experts Call for Reform of Union Election Rules
Washington, D.C., February 25, 2011—Until recently, the Railway Labor Act (RLA) enabled a union to organize a bargaining unit of a transportation company if the…
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 24, 2011: On, Wisconsin
Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray discusses the labor reforms that have led a thousands-strong protest in Madison, Wisconsin.
Blog
Obama’s Transportation Agenda Continues to Get Worse
Over at the National Journal's Transportation Expert blog, Fawn Johnson asks whether or not the Obama administration's transportation agenda, as laid out in…
Blog
Will TSA Unionization Jeopardize Air Safety?
Pajamas Media For his part, Pistole assures lawmakers that he “won’t allow anything to happen that will adversely affect security,” and even says he would…
Study
The Case for Reform of the Railway Labor Act
End Unionization through Regulation and Allow Workers to Decertify Unions…
Op-Eds
Wisconsin Union Backers Defame Virginia, Flunk Basic Math, Spread False Factoids
Virginia schools have better-than-average standardized test scores. Virginia obviously doesn’t rank an abysmal 44th in the nation on SATs and ACTs, as supporters of Wisconsin government-employee…
Blog
No, Wisconsin’s Budget Deficit Wasn’t “Manufactured” by Walker and the GOP
Wisconsin is one of the most heavily taxed states in the country, and its government employees are paid much better than the state’s…
Huffington Post
What Is the Real Agenda of the Budget-Cutters?
Blog
States finally confront public-sector unions
The Examiner Wisconsin was the birthplace of American public-sector unionism, where in 1936 the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) first organized…
Huffington Post
State protests spread
Blog
Obama Fans the Flames in Wisconsin, Seeking to Block State Budget Reforms
State employees are paid better than people in the private sector. But government-employee unions refuse to make sacrifices to help close huge state…
Journal Sentinel
Madison Fight Remains in National Spotlight
Journal Sentinel
Madison Fight Remains in National Spotlight
The Journal Sentinel highlights CEI's Iain Murray and Vincent Vernuccio's article on unions for the Washington Times. Washington Times opinion writers Iain Murray and…
Journal Sentinel
Unions Bucking the Will of the People
If there was ever an “I told you so” moment on government unions becoming too powerful, this is it. The Wisconsin State Capitol is under…
Blog
Obama Instigating Disruptive Wisconsin Protests to Protect Union Privileges
In the Washington Examiner today, I discuss how Obama and his allies are helping orchestrate the disruptive Wisconsin protests that have shut down many…
Blog
You can now follow us on Twitter! @workplacechoice
Blog
Are the Wisconsin Protests Backfiring?
Protests in Wisconsin over public sector compensation cuts have been the big story this week. Over at the Daily Caller, I explain why some of…
Blog
Eliminate the Cap on H-1B Visas
My colleague Alex Nowrasteh has an op-ed in Investor's Business Daily where he makes the case for liberalizing the H1-B visa for skilled immigrants.
Blog
Obama’s Budget Philosophy: Life Is Short, Eat Dessert First
If a motto summed up the Obama administration, it might be, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” President Obama’s policies are all about self-indulgence in…
Blog
Dealing with Union Suffocation: Pro-Labor Legislation will Protect Laborers
In a Huffington Post editorial, the author makes claims of GOP assaults on unions and Democrats not standing up for Big Labor. The column…
Blog
Unions Bucking the Will of the People
If there was ever an “I told you so” moment on government unions becoming too powerful, this is it. The Wisconsin…
Journal Sentinel
Fixed Labor Game is Ending in Wisconsin
Across the nation, public-sector unions realize the game is up, and they aren’t happy about it. They’re doing everything in their considerable power to stop…
Blog
Florida Governor Rick Scott Wisely Rejects High-Speed Rail
Yesterday, Florida’s newly elected governor, Rick Scott, announced he was rejecting the $2.4 billion he had received from the federal government to subsidize the…
Blog
Public Workers in Wisconsin Rally to “Kill the Bill”
Schools were closed today in Madison, Wisconsin, because many teachers were planning to call in sick so they could protest at the state…
Blog
Foreign Automakers Beware! Sincerely, UAW Boss Bob King
Another day and the same story, UAW boss Bob King is threatening foreign automakers with unionization. Bob King, again, is going back on his 11…
Blog
SEIU Campaigns Against Public Perception
Over the weekend, the SEIU was hard at work preparing for an all-out assault on employers everywhere. The SEIU is preparing for an organizing and…
Journal Sentinel
Keeping Out Foreign Workers Is Crushing America’s Growth
It’s only February, but the U.S. government has already shut the door on applications for H-1B work visas for 2011. On Jan. 27, U.S.
Blog
Foreign Automakers Beware! Sincerely, UAW Boss Bob King
Another day and the same story, UAW boss Bob King is threatening foreign automakers with unionization. Bob King, again, is going back on his 11…
Blog
CEI monitoring labor regulations
One News Now A non-profit public policy organization that works to promote freedom and fairness by making good policy good politics has launched a new…
Blog
SEIU Campaigns Against Public Perception
Over the weekend, the SEIU was hard at work preparing for an all-out assault on employers everywhere. The SEIU is preparing for an organizing and…
Blog
New York Times Repeatedly Makes False Claims About Supreme Court and Court Rulings
In The Atlantic, former ACLU board member Wendy Kaminer discusses the New York Times’ refusal to correct repeated falsehoods in its editorials about the…
Blog
Hold the Sizzle: Chipotle, Immigrant Employees Get ICE’d
Chipotle boasts that it offers “food with integrity,” but the popular restaurant chain may want to consider an addendum in light of its recent actions:…
Blog
Education Cuts Needed; Massive Spending Fuels Waste, Deficits
Education expert Neal McCluskey earlier lamented the failure of House Republicans to propose meaningful cuts in education spending, “despite the fact that the ivory…
Blog
Will the players union sink the NFL?
The Examiner “American Ills Not Caused by Unions,” screamed a recent headline in the Detroit News. Really? OK, forget about the union-strong-armed public-sector salaries and…
News Release
Obama Budget Fails On Regulatory Reform
Washington, D.C., February 14, 2011 — President Barack Obama has submitted a $3.73 trillion spending budget blueprint for fiscal 2012, blowing well past President George…
Blog
The Pitfalls of Unionizing the TSA
Robert Verbruggen wrote recently about the downside of unionizing the TSA in the National Review, taking issue with the Obama Administration’s decision to allow the…
Journal Sentinel
CEI Monitoring Labor Regulations
Blog
PolitiFact: Obama Made False Claims About Health Care, Taxes, and Court Rulings
PolitiFact, which earlier took Obama’s side about whether Obamacare is a government takeover of health care, now is criticizing President Obama for making…
One News Now
Unions advised to heed ObamaCare
Blog
Transparency Bill Proposed Solution to Public Employee Pension Problems
At a House subcommittee meeting discussing one proposed solution for public employee pensions, a transparency bill designed to trace federal and state funds set aside…
Blog
Common Sense: Making Union Officials Help Union Members
Recently, there have been numerous protests about Republican legislation that it is supposedly anti-union and limiting the rights of workers. I don’t buy it. Let…
Blog
Politicans Using Crisis for Political Gain
Here is a letter to the editor responding to the New York Times editorial “Their Real Agenda”: The author claims politicians are using the…
Blog
Another TSA Nightmare
The writer Andrew Ian Dodge shares his painful experience at the hands of the TSA at this link. The TSA inflicted prolonged pain on…
News Release
CEI Announces Launch of WorkplaceChoice.org
Washington, D.C., February 7, 2011 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute is proud to announce the launch of WorkplaceChoice.org, a new labor policy resource…
Blog
TSA Given Approval To Unionize
As the New York Times says, this is a debate that has been brewing for potentially a decade: the “right” for Transportation Security Administration…
Blog
The Double Edged Sword: How Union Leaders Support Policy that Hurts Union Members
In the 2008 and 2010 elections, labor unions were one of the largest contributors and supporters of President Obama and Democrats. Union officials applauded Obamacare…
Blog
When Unions Refuse To Take “No” for an Answer
By Barbara Comstock/Capital Research Center In November 2010, Delta Air Lines Flight Attendants voted against unionization. This was the third time that the employees have…
Blog
Arlington County Kills I-5/395 HOT Lanes Inside the Beltway
An innovative project that would have converted high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, increased highway capacity, reduced congestion, expanded transit, and improved…
One News Now
Leviathan
How many Americans work in government? That’s a difficult question to answer. Officially, as of 2009, the federal government employed 2.8 million individuals out of…
Blog
Smart-Growthers Still Upset by Introduction of Newfangled Horseless Carriages
As somewhat of an anti–“smart growth” groupie, I try to keep up with their various online writings. Everyday, it’s like finding buried treasure. Take yesterday,…
One News Now
Is the TSA More Interested in Airport Security Or Supporting Unions?
Blog
TSA Shuts Door on Private Airport Screening Program That Exposed TSA’s Inefficiency
The Transportation Security Administration has shut the door on a private airport screening program that was making the inefficient agency look bad by outperforming it…
Blog
Full Employment, Motherhood, and Apple Pie
These are not good economic times for labor unions, whose membership continues a long decline in the private sector. However, they remain a potent…
Blog
Thundersnow and the Nightmare Commute
Last night’s Surprise Snowpocalypse froze traffic in place for upwards of 13 hours. Check out this visual above for where the traffic accumulated, from…
Blog
Marketing and Transit Shelters
Here’s a great example of private entrepreneurship making public life a little sweeter. Caribou Coffee has launched a new campaign in Minnesota, touting warmed…
Blog
The Supreme Court is NOT Pro-Business
Once again ruling against America’s employers, the Supreme Court Monday broadened the reach of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s ban on retaliation. It overturned…
One News Now
