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
Pardon me boys, is this the Special Interest Express?
The Washington Post published a smart editorial on Monday on why the proposed Railway Safety Act is a bad idea. The legislation is…
News Release
21st Century Worker Act Aims to End Worker Classification Confusion
Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the 21st Century Worker Act, a much needed practical step to clear up persistent confusion surrounding worker classification under…
News Release
92,000 jobs were lost in February, turbulent labor market continues: CEI analysis
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report shows 92,000 jobs were lost in February, indicating a turbulent labor market. Given today’s report, attention will…
Search Posts
News Release
CEI: Tell Americans NOW How Much Time Govt. Workers Spend On Union Duties
Washington, D.C., Dec. 6, 2012 – Federal employees spent about 3.4 million hours performing union duties while on the clock in 2011, according to an…
Blog
Victory For Small Business: Lawsuit-Spawning Disabilities Rights Treaty Blocked
"By a vote of 61 to 38 with two-thirds needed, the U.S. Senate" Tuesday "failed to ratify the far-reaching Convention on the Rights of Persons…
Blog
Anti-Immigration Group Repudiates Free Market Principles
My last blog post pointed out the anti-immigrant charge that “massive infusions of cheap foreign labor” impoverishes the country is fundamentally anti-people. After all,…
Blog
If You Can’t Beat Him, Join Together
Wisconsin’s largest teachers unions may be joining forces. The WEAC, an affiliate of the National Education Association, and the AFT-Wisconsin, affiliate of the American Federation of…
National Review
Sneaky Stuff
Some Democrats are trying to sneak through legislative amendments that would, by overturning a number of Supreme Court decisions, both codify and expand disparate-impact causes…
Blog
Official Time: Officially Outrageous
Would you be upset if you learned that your local tax dollars were funding a rival sports team in another state? Of course, but that, thankfully, is…
Blog
Official Time: Officially Outrageous
Openmarket.org Would you be upset if you learned that your local tax dollars were funding a rival sports team in another state? Of course,…
Blog
Anti-Immigrant? Or Just Anti-People?
What economists call “labor,” most of us just call “people.” Without people, there is no economy -- no producers, no consumers, no supply, and no…
Project M
Great lowered expectations
The final bill would in turn be partially funded by the $7 billion in federal tax revenues gained as a result of corporations’ reduced tax-deductible…
Blog
Looting The Future: Union Bosses Violate Spirit If Not Letter Of The Law
Openmarket.org Hostess’ union-induced shutdown captures the essence of the modern labor movement–more anti-employer than pro-worker. Workers are taking notice of unions’ negative impact on employers,…
Blog
Looting The Future: Union Bosses Violate Spirit If Not Letter Of The Law
Hostess’ union-induced shutdown captures the essence of the modern labor movement–more anti-employer than pro-worker. Workers are taking notice of unions’ negative impact on employers, for…
Blog
Immigration Reform Is Not A Zero Sum Game
Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on Republicans’ first post-election attempt at pro-immigration reform. But their bill, the STEM Jobs Act (H.R. 6429),…
News Release
STEM Jobs Act a Step Backward on Immigration Reform, Warns Free Market Group
WASHINGTON D.C., Nov. 29, 2012 – This Friday, the House of Representatives will vote on the STEM Jobs Act (H.R. 6429). The bill would…
Blog
L.A. Public Pension Problem A Microcosm Of California’s Financial Woes
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan abandoned efforts this week to gather signatures for a ballot initiative to reform the city’s public pension plan.
Blog
Guest Workers Can Help End Illegal Immigration
The debate over immigration reform has focused on its long-term effects on America’s culture as well as its economy. But that obscures the fact that…
Blog
Union Fail: Walmart Survives Labor-Driven Intimidation Campaign
Openmarket.org Well, that was pitiful. Union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Walmart had planned a massive, nationwide strike/protest campaign against the retail…
Blog
Union Fail: Walmart Survives Labor-Driven Intimidation Campaign
Well, that was pitiful. Union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Walmart had planned a massive nationwide strike/protest campaign against the retail giant designed…
Project M
Walmart employees striking locally, nationally on Black Friday
“The union may say they’re not engaged in an organizing effort here,” said Matt Patterson, speaking for the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “But the truth is…
Blog
PATTERSON AND BROWN: Demise of the Twinkie reveals unions’ true priorities
The Washington Times Is there a more iconic American snack than the Twinkie? The long-ubiquitous “golden sponge cake with cream filling” has been around…
Blog
Profile: The Union Behind Black Friday Walmart Protests
As the union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making a Change at Walmart gear up to make a statement this Black Friday, the company took…
Blog
CEI Podcast For November 21, 2012: Will Hostess Survive?
Senior Fellow Matt Patterson breaks down the controversy surrounding confection maker Hostess' perilous position.
Project M
Demise of the Twinkie reveals unions’ true priorities
Is there a more iconic American snack than the Twinkie? The long-ubiquitous “golden sponge cake with cream filling” has been around since 1930, when baker…
Blog
Hostess Bankruptcy Backstory: The AFL-CIO vs. SEIU Rivalry
The controversy over the impending shutdown of Hostess Brands — and who is to blame — has pitted two unions against each other. That…
Blog
New I-495 Express Lanes Present Challenges, But Remain Best Option
This past Saturday, the innovative I-495 Express Lanes opened on the Washington Beltway. The 14-mile high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes — which were built and are…
Blog
The Hostess Bankruptcy And The Threat Of A PBGC Bailout
On Friday, November 16, Hostess Brands announced it was shutting down operations after the Bakers, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), which rejected…
Blog
Eleventh-Hour Twinkie Reprieve?
Today, representatives from Hostess Brands and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) undertake an 11th-hour effort to negotiate a…
Blog
Hostess Negotiates With Union: Jobs And Twinkies Could Be Saved
On Monday, Hostess Brands asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for permission to close and liquidate all assets. But at…
Blog
Walmart: A Black Eye On Black Friday
Walmart has long been one of the left's favorite boogeymen, and no wonder -- the company stubbornly and successfully has resisted efforts by labor unions to organize its workforce for years.
Blog
Walmart: A Black Eye On Black Friday
Openmarket.org Walmart has long been one of the left’s favorite boogeymen-men, and no wonder — the company has stubbornly and successfully resisted efforts by labor unions to organize its…
Overlawyered
Discrimination Law Roundup
EEOC continues to pressure employers over use of criminal background checks in hiring process [Hans Bader, Daniel Schwartz, Jon Hyman, earlier]…
Blog
Profile: The Union That Took Down Twinkees
We all know it as the labor union that took down snack food company Hostess, but what exactly is the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers…
Blog
Binding Arbitration’s Threat To State And Local Governments
One reason Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's labor reforms are considered far-reaching -- by both supporters and detractors -- is the fact that they were structural.
Blog
Bad Economic Omens Since The Election
Since the election, the stock market has fallen substantially. The S&P 500 has fallen over 5 percent. The prospect of "Taxmageddon" (massive tax increases…
Blog
Unionization Bad For TSA, Worse For Passengers
Along with the rising cost of bag fees, the most notorious nuisance air travelers must endure before reaching the terminal is the security checkpoint…
Blog
Union Strike-Showdown Could End In Hostess Shutdown
They are messing with our Twinkies. Upset over cuts to pensions and salaries brought on by a new collective bargaining contract, employees of Hostess, which…
Blog
Immigration Reform Resurrected!
Nothing makes politicians see the light like losing. Even while immigration restrictionists reassure themselves that the GOP’s immigration message is fine despite losing as…
Overlawyered
Business Survival in a Second Obama Term
Obama is the president who delayed the Keystone XL pipeline and its bounty of jobs, pushed “cap and trade” as part of an overall war…
Blog
Big Labor Victory Exaggerated, Fight Continues
After the 2012 election, labor unions celebrated what was seen as an overall victorious election season for their organizations. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka bragged…
Blog
D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh Still Doesn’t Understand Driverless Cars
Last Sunday, The Washington Post published my op-ed criticizing the approach taken by Councilmember Mary Cheh's introduced legislation to legalize driverless cars in Washington,…
Blog
CEI Podcast For November 8, 2012: Election Wrap-Up
Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner explains why the election turned out the way it did, and what the results mean going forward for…
Blog
Alaska Gold Rush For The Laborers’ Union
The Alaska Policy Forum recently exposed that the state’s legislature in 2011 and 2012 appropriated millions of tax dollars to finance the facilities of a…
Blog
Alaska Gold Rush For Laborers’ Union
Openmarket.org The Alaska Policy Forum recently exposed that the state’s legislature in 2011 and 2012 appropriated millions of tax dollars to finance a Laborer’s…
Blog
Alabama Unions Vs. Privacy: Organized Labor’s War On The Secret Ballot
Openmarket.org Tomorrow, Alabamans will have the opportunity to enshrine the secret ballot into their state constitution. A proposal before voters called Amendment 7 would “provide that…
Blog
Alabama Unions Vs. Privacy: Organized Labor’s War On The Secret Ballot
By Matt Patterson and Crissy Brown Tomorrow, Alabamans will have the opportunity to enshrine the secret ballot into their state constitution. A proposal before voters called Amendment…
Blog
Auto Industry Expert: “Romney’s Plan Also Would Have ‘Saved’ Detroit”
Earlier, we noted that the auto bailouts temporarily look more successful right now than they likely will be in the long-run since Toyota's bogus safety issues,…
Blog
KOVACS: Police union puts bargaining rights ahead of public safety
The Washington Times On Nov. 6, Montgomery County voters will decide whether the police chief or the head of the police union should determine…
Blog
Never Look A Gift (Clause) Horse In The Mouth
Openmarket.org In America, it is impossible to snuff out money from politics. As long as government has the power to dish out favors to…
Blog
Never Look A Gift (Clause) Horse In The Mouth
In America, it is impossible to snuff out money from politics. As long as government has the power to dish out favors to politically connected…
Blog
Pro-Charter Is Pro-Choice
This November, Washington could become the 42nd state to authorize charter schools. Washington residents will vote on Initiative 1240, which if passed will “allow…
Washington Times
Police union puts bargaining rights ahead of public safety
On Nov. 6, Montgomery County voters will decide whether the police chief or the head of the police union should determine public-safety policy. The voter…
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