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
April adds 177,000 jobs to economy, tariff policies yet to majorly shakeup labor market: CEI analysis
The job numbers for April show 177,000 jobs were added to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying steady at 4.2 percent. While job growth…
Blog
CEI suggests DOT put the brakes on train two-person crew rule
The Transportation Department recently asked the public for comments on how to reduce the regulatory burden. One thought that the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
News Release
Escalating trade war with China won’t fix the need for reform: CEI analysis
On Monday, China vowed to retaliate against nations that corporate with President Trump’s tariffs against Beijing, putting potential trade deals between the US and other…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
Card check: the key to union control
Organized labor spent heavily to elect a Democratic Congress in 2006. With the presidency at stake, unions are expected to spend up to…
Op-Eds
Union Pension Funds Go Green — But It’s Not the Color of Money
Labor unions are endangering their members' retirement security by using their pension funds for environmental activism.
Products
CEI Planet: September – October 2008
View the new Montly Planet by downloading the PDF of the issue. Below you’ll find previews of the articles in this issue:…
Op-Eds
What Big Labor Wants
In honor of Labor Day…
Newsletter
Offshore Drilling, Union Corruption and Power Politics in Russia
Santa Barbara County, California considers supporting oil drilling off its coastline. Corruption charges against leaders of the Service Employees International Union crop up in yet…
Newsletter
West Nile, Union Corruption and Federal Courts
The West Nile Virus has infected individuals in 28 states so far this year. The Los Angeles Times publishes a 3-part series on corruption allegations…
Citation
The $50 Billion Bipartisan AIDS Boondoggle
Blog
Virginia Legislators Throw Principles Away in Transportation Deal
Virginia’s legislature is trying to raise money for transportation needs. But Virginia legislators of both parties are giving up economically sensible principles they once followed, in the…
Study
The United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Deserves a Vote
Sound trade and foreign policy is being held hostage to politics.
Newsletter
Drilling for Oil, Regulating Wall Street and Speaking Out On Unions
One million Americans sign a petition urging Congress to allow offshore drilling for oil and gas. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls for the Federal Reserve…
Newsletter
Gas Prices, Cafeteria Politics and Carbon Rationing
Average gas prices rise past $4 a gallon. Senators vote to turn their money-losing dining facilities over to management by…
Citation
Suing Over What Your Co-Workers Listen To
Citation
Too Fat to Fire?
Op-Eds
Cementing Ecuador’s Poverty by Decree
During my pro-mining mission to Ecuador weeks ago, I visited the Tres Chorreras exploration project and witnessed how a single company can…
Blog
Video: Railroaded in Denver
The Independence Institute just sent an email alerting us to a new video they produced on Denver’s local transportation authority and its history of violating…
Blog
Crazy Immigration Rules Revisited
Earlier, I wrote about how immigration authorities were poised to deport Saman Kareem Ahmad because he belonged to a group that rose up against Iraqi dictator Saddam…
Op-Eds
The Television Writers Strike: Was It Worth It?
This winter’s strike by television writers interrupted the TV-watching habits of millions of people worldwide. But why did it happen, and did the…
Op-Eds
Sexual Harassment: A Strange, Vague ‘Tort’
On Wednesday, I discussed how the courts can be downright hostile to employers in sexual harassment cases, playing a game of bait-and-switch regarding whether…
Op-Eds
Sexual Harassment Bait and Switch
In sexual harassment cases, many courts play a game of bait and switch with employers. When they want to hold the employer liable, they…
Op-Eds
Prejudice and Double Standards in Sexual Harassment Cases
Earlier, I discussed how judges in the New York area, such as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, enforce discriminatory double standards in sexual…
Op-Eds
Double Standards at Duke—and in the Courts
Recently, Stuart Taylor wrote about sexual double standards at Duke University. Duke paid $3,500 to finance a performance by strippers and prostitutes…
Op-Eds
What Race to the Bottom?
Free trade creates new opportunities, jobs, and value for consumers. Now will someone please tell Congress? As it begins its new session, Congress’s agenda…
Op-Eds
Unions Grasp for Influence Over Private Equity
Mention the names of certain large corporations, and many people think bad things—from ExxonMobil gouging drivers with high gas prices to Wal-Mart destroying city…
Op-Eds
Unions Grasp for Influence Over Private Equity
Summary: When private equity firms buy up companies they expect to avoid shareholder pressure campaigns—especially those devised by labor unions. Or so they hope.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. POLITICS The DC Examiner editorializes on the aggressive tactics labor unions are using to recruit public…
Blog
$1 a Year Man
Chrsysler, has hired former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli to run the now-private, once-again-American-owned automaker. Nardelli, of course, did a good job at Home…
Blog
At Last, Competition for Amtrak?
A small upstart company run by a Colorado multi-millionaire, GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, appears to have broken a major barrier and started providing scheduled, competitive…
Blog
They Can Have My Maserati When They Pry My Cold, Dead Hands off the Steering Wheel
Bloomberg’s Doron Levin presents a sad vision of Europe’s future – one in which high-performance sports cars are a thing of the past: If…
Op-Eds
Seeking to Expand Ranks and Increase Salaries, Not Improve Education
With Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, the nation’s teachers unions are certain to make major demands on their Capitol Hill…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Congress The House of Representatives takes up major energy legislation. CEI…
News Release
Workers Win As Senate Nixes Labor Union ‘Card Check’ Bill
Washington, D.C., June 26, 2007— The Senate today voted against shutting off debate on a key union balloting bill. The bill would have circumvented…
Op-Eds
It’s Miller Time
Union organizers never, ever intimidate workers whom they are trying to recruit. Believe me? Great! I've got a bridge to sell you. Sound…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Congress The Senate passes an energy bill, including efficiency, alternative fuel and anti-price gouging sections.
Blog
Cell Phones and Driving
Interesting new study from James E. Prieger of Pepperdine University and Bob Hahn at the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, looking at the…
News Release
Supreme Court Victory for Teachers’ First Amendment Rights
Blog
Are European Roads Safer Than America’s?
Marlo was just on an interview on CNBC where a question was asked about road accident rates. A Greenpeace spokesman said that European roads were…
Op-Eds
Crime’s Up
During the late 1990s, police superintendent Edward F. Davis III presided over epic crime reductions in Lowell, Massachusetts. Under his leadership, the city's crime…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Environment Rolling Stone magazine switches to “carbon neutral” paper, but still receives attacks from…
Blog
Of Gas Prices and Carbon Taxes
Iain, I found your post on how higher gas prices have reduced travel very interesting. In the short term, what you present is a…
Blog
Mises on Immigration
As long as I’m on the subject of immigration, a complex matter, I always find Ludwig von Mises always quotable, providing clarity in such…
Blog
A Free Market means a Free Labor Market
CEI's mission of "advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government" doesn't come with the caveat of "unless it costs too much under our…
Blog
But Maybe It’s the Best we Can do For Now
Hans, I disagree with some parts of your post on immigration and agree with others. On one hand, I’m in total agreement that we…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The U.S. Supreme Court rules against the EPA’s decision not to regulate carbon dioxide…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS The House of Representatives approves changes to union organizing rules. CEI Expert Available to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH The New York Times questions whether it is safe for women to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY Wisconsin’s governor proposes a special tax on oil companies amounting to over…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS The House Education and Labor Committee holds a hearing on changes…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Congress considers legislation changing the rules for union organizing. CEI Expert…
News Release
Subverting Democracy with Union Rules
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., February 7, 2007—Congress will consider dramatic changes to union organizing rules this week, when…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS “Politicians love the minimum wage. It is a perfect issue on which to demagogue, since…
Op-Eds
Big Labor’s Agenda for the 110th Congress, Part II: Card, Check, Trade Policy, and the NLRB
Last month, Labor Watch looked at the proposal to raise the federal minimum wage—a key item in the Democrats’ agenda for Congress. In this…
Op-Eds
The Immorality of the Minimum Wage
The Democratic juggernaut has slowed. The House has approved a minimum wage increase as part of the “100 hours” agenda. But a filibuster has blocked…
Study
This Liberal Congress Went to Market: a Bipartisan Policy Agenda for the 110th Congress
DO…
Op-Eds
Big Labor’s Agenda for the 110th Congress, Part I: The Minimum Wage
This month the first session of the 110th Congress begins with Democrats in control of both chambers for the first time since 1994. Control…
News Release
Assessing the Agenda for Congress’ First 100 Hours
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Assessing…
News Release
Who is Ripping Off U.S. Consumers?
Washington, D.C., July 11, 2006— When big business gets its way in Washington, the result is higher taxes, stricter regulation, and bigger government all…
Op-Eds
UNITE-HERE on the Attack: Pioneer of Corporate Campaigns Pushes Harder Than Ever
Full document available in PDF America’s national hotel chains are bracing for union trouble. The UNITE-HERE labor union thinks it has found…
Op-Eds
Ignoring Limits on Harassment Liability
Back in 1999, in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, the Supreme Court laid down a test for when sexual harassment rises to…
Op-Eds
A License To Complain
Last Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that a worker alleging retaliation for complaining about discrimination may sue even if she has not suffered a…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL Homeowners who challenged the authority of the government to seize their property for economic…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BUSINESS General Motors goes forward with plans to fire salaried workers at 30 U.S. locations, cutting…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. SAFETY Congress considers legislation to standardize food labeling and safety warnings. CEI Expert…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LABOR The New York City Transport Workers Union’s executive board votes to approve a new…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LABOR The New York City Transport Workers Union ends its three day strike. CEI…
Op-Eds
Point, Counterpoint: Wal-Mart on DVD
Documentary film has long been mired in debates about objectivity. Once strived for amongst serious documentarians, the notion of an objective documentary slowly degraded as…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. GLOBAL WARMING Attendees to the U.N. climate conference in Montreal are unlikely to set…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. RETAIL In preparation for day-after-Thanksgiving shopping crowds, Wal-Mart promises to match any competitor’s advertised price on…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Sony is forced to withdraw dozens of CD titles from sale after its copyright…
News Release
Wal-Mart Critics Reading from an Old Script
Contact: Richard Morrison , 202.331.2273 Washington , D.C. , November 18, 2005—The success of retail giant Wal-Mart has generated criticism of its…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SBC and Verizon receive FCC approval for their multi-billion dollar merger. CEI Expert Available to…
Ideas in Action
LordD have MerCIe Vpon Vs
In some places in London, you can find scratched on old walls the imprecation, LorD haVe MerCIe Vpon Vs. The curious arrangement of the capital…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. AUTOMOBILITY Anti-car activists sponsor the 2005 observance of “World Car-Free Day.” CEI Expert…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. AUTOMOBILITY The Wall Street Journal editorializes on why tightening federal fuel economy standards would “trade blood…
News Release
Labor Regulations Suspended to Aid Hurricane Recovery
Washington, D.C., September 12, 2005—Last week President Bush, in order to speed the hurricane recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, suspended labor regulations…
Op-Eds
The New Face of Organized Labor
Any student of socialism will recognize that organized labor and leftist politics have marched hand in hand since their inception. Early labor union organizers saw their…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY The Bush administration moves to avert gas shortages in the wake of Hurricane…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY A power plant in Alexandria, Virginia, which serves customers in the District of Columbia and Maryland, may…
Op-Eds
Twenty-first Century Unionism?
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />WASHINGTON — The AFL-CIO's loss of two large unions this week hit Democrats and the labor federation…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TRADE Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby makes the case for passage of the Central American Free…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CIVIL LIBERTIES The House and Senate Judiciary Committees debate whether or not to reauthorize…
Op-Eds
SEIU Using Intimidation To Expand Membership Rolls
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Union membership has declined steadily for decades, but don't think…
Op-Eds
Air Sickness: Who’s to Blame? (Part 2)
Full study available in pdf format If management-labor relations at large airlines are preventing fair competition with newer airlines, to what extent…
Op-Eds
Air Sickness: Who’s to Blame? (Part 1)
Full document available in pdf format Business travelers, family visitors, tourists—all are affected by the airline industry’s woes. But who knows what…
Op-Eds
Bureaucrats upending NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) faces a revolt by its employees over new, draconian conflict-of-interest rules. They ban all consulting (paid or unpaid) for…
Op-Eds
New Agenda Fails to Address Problems
George Bernard Shaw once observed that: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the…
Ideas in Action
Dollar Billed
Study
Environmental Education in Wisconsin: What the Textbooks Teach
Full Document Available in PDF Introduction Our schools…
