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
Free the Economy podcast: Questioning the AI jobs doomsday with Sean Higgins
In this week’s episode we cover making home appliances great again, fighting price controls on health care, research on AI-fueled…
Blog
Why Big Tech is postponing the AI jobs doomsday
The heads of big tech have recently changed their tune regarding artificial intelligence’s effect on jobs. The emerging technology will bolster the workforce,…
Study
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
Search Posts
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Blog
Governor Dayton’s Baleful Influence on Labor Relations
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 unions helped…
National Right to Work Committee
Behind the UAW’s Aw Shucks Smile
Bob King’s pants are on fire. Or they would be if the old saying (“liar liar…” ) were true. The United Auto Workers (UAW) President…
News Release
Labor Rules Revamped by NLRB, Workers and Businesses Have Less Time to Make Big Decisions
Washington, DC, December 21, 2011 – The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday announced a new rule aimed at rushing elections for union-organizing, whittling down…
Blog
Obama Administration Betrays America’s Friends Overseas
America is now “turning its back” on Iraqis who helped the U.S., contradicting Obama’s rhetoric on the campaign trail. Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical Anti-American…
The American Spectator
Obama’s Big Labor Wins a Big One
Unions have been disappointed by the Obama administration's inability to move their agenda forward. But they finally won a victory last week. This is bad…
Blog
Useless Law School “Educations” Shielded Against Improvement and Competition by Special-Interest-Driven Regulations
The New York Times featured an excellent news story Sunday by David Segal on the costly white elephant that is legal education in America.
Blog
Media Neglect NLRB Overreach
The notorious Boeing vs. NLRB lawsuit is settled. Unfortunately, only Big Labor and the Obama administration gain from the Boeing and IAM agreement. Boeing chose…
The American Spectator
Iowa Compact: A Way Forward on Immigration?
With the national spotlight on the Republican Iowa caucuses, a group of prominent Iowans are also entering the immigration fray. On Tuesday they produced…
Blog
Crushing Student Loan Debt to Pay for Useless “Educations” that Provide Only Paper Credentials, Not Knowledge
Student loan debt is rising at an exponential rate, as an illustration at the Daily Dish shows (at this link). A college tuition…
Blog
CEI Podcast for December 15, 2011: Drilling for Roads
Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner looks at House Republicans' "drilling for roads" proposal and finds it wanting.
The American Spectator
Employment Law Roundup
Blog
NTSB Recommends Useless National Ban on All Mobile Phone Use while Driving
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday called on all states to ban "the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed…
Blog
Immigration is Good for Natives
Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia are joining the list of states with tough anti-immigration laws. On January 1, most of those laws…
Blog
Medicaid Payments Go to Dead People, As Do Food Stamps and Stimulus Package Money
The State of Maryland spends millions of Medicaid dollars on dead people, “about half of it from the federal government,” notes The Washington Examiner.
Blog
In a Nation of Immigrants, Being Anti-Immigration is a Loser
As most of the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination try to outdo each other in blasting undocumented immigrants, they should take a break to…
Blog
Phoenix Government Unions Look for More Money for Nothing
Openmarket.org Recently, the Goldwater Institute filed suit against the city of Phoenix for inappropriately subsidizing government unions. The complaint alleges that collective bargaining agreements between the…
The American Spectator
Boeing Double-Teamed by Union, NLRB
Blog
Phoenix Government Unions Look for More Money for Nothing
Recently, the Goldwater Institute filed suit against the city of Phoenix for inappropriately subsidizing government unions. The complaint alleges that collective bargaining agreements between…
Blog
The GOP Response to TSA Strip-Searches
The TSA has allegedly strip-searched an elderly woman for wearing a back brace. They wrongly suspected it was a money belt. This search was security-unrelated;…
Blog
Dept. of Labor to Send Ag-Youths A’packin’
Regulatory war has been waged against another job-creating sector of the American economy. The U.S. Department of Labor has set forth new proposals restricting children…
Blog
Second Major Labor Group Condemns Occupy Movement’s Planned West Coast “Solidarity” Port Shutdown
The Occupy movement is planning to force a shutdown of West Coast ports, claiming they are standing in solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse…
Blog
Federal Spending on Student Financial Aid Drives Up College Tuition, Shrinks Economy
At Bloomberg News, Virginia Postrel writes about how federal subsidies intended to make college more affordable have instead encouraged rapidly rising tuitions, in a column…
Blog
NLRB Drops Case against Boeing – Finally
Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it has decided to drop its case against Boeing, over the airplane manufacturer’s opening of…
Blog
Don’t “Drill for Roads”
Over at National Review Online, I have an op-ed up explaining why fiscal conservatives should oppose House Republicans’ plan to direct oil and gas…
News Release
Big Labor, Obama Administration Drop Attack on Boeing, But Threat Lingers Over U.S. Businesses
Washington, DC, December 9, 2011 – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced today that it is dropping its much-publicized case against Boeing,…
Blog
PATTERSON: Labor unions and communism
The Washington Times Trade unions are a school of communism. –Vladimir Lenin L labor leader Andy Stern has seen the future. There’s no freedom there,…
The American Spectator
Is the Joke on the SEIU or Us?
The joke was on the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) this week. On Tuesday, a fake press release claimed SEIU had voted to revoke…
The American Spectator
Why the GOP Should Pay Attention to What California Republicans Are Up To
Fiscal conservatism, free trade, individual liberty, a strong national defense, and traditional family values are at the heart of the Republican and conservative platforms.
The American Spectator
Spending More Has Never Worked!
The American Spectator
As Strike Deadline Looms for Unionized Rail Workers, Congress Prepares to Intervene
Railroad traffic could grind to a halt as early as next week, as union rail workers on the nation’s freight railroads decide whether to walk…
Blog
NLRB Tempers Quickie Elections, Not Overreach
Openmarket.org Yesterday, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce issued a statementdescribing the proposed rule changes to the union election process. The changes were expedited…
Blog
NLRB Tempers Quickie Elections, Not Overreach
Yesterday, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce issued a statement describing the proposed rule changes to the union election process. The changes were…
The American Spectator
Ambush Election Prevention
Imagine voting in a presidential election where one candidate can campaign for a year and the other is only told he is running a week…
Blog
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Continues to Advance Dangerous Big Labor Agenda
Openmarket.org Yesterday, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis wrote an indignant blog post titled, “Long Overdue: Winning Back Pay and Benefits for Workers,” in which…
Blog
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Continues to Advance Dangerous Big Labor Agenda
Yesterday, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis wrote an indignant blog post titled, “Long Overdue: Winning Back Pay and Benefits for Workers,” in which she…
News Release
Congress, NLRB to Vote on “Ambush Elections”
Washington, D.C., November 29, 2011 — Tomorrow may be a game-changing day for labor policy in America. The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R.
Blog
Hidden Regulations Stifle Job Creation; EEOC Kills Jobs By Promoting Lawsuits
When reporters write stories about the cost of regulations, they only focus on regulations found in formal codes of regulations. But most regulations aren't formal…
Blog
Update on FMCSA’s Proposed Hours-of-Service Rule
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency tasked with writing and enforcing safety regulations for large trucks and buses, is due today to…
Blog
Government Meddling Won’t Create Jobs
The Hill recently ran my letter to the editor responding to Sen. Tom Harkin’s column, “Republican attacks on workers’ rights won’t create jobs.” I make…
Hot Air
Minnesota Governor Orders Unionization of Child Care Providers
Hot Air
Fairness in Union Elections
CEI Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio explains the proposed NLRB change to union elections that would favor Big labor…
Blog
Government meddling won’t create jobs
The Hill A recent op-ed in The Hill by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) (“Attacks on workers’ rights won’t create jobs,” Nov. 15) highlights the need…
Blog
Amtrak Bans 12-Year-Old Unaccompanied Child Riders
In Japan, 6-year-old children are not only allowed to ride the train by themselves, but are eligible for a special fare. Not so in America,…
Blog
Longshoremen’s Union Rejects Occupy Oakland’s Call for “Solidarity” West Coast Port Shutdown
After briefly shutting down their [adopted] city's port earlier this month, Occupy Oakland is calling for a December 12 shutdown of all West Coast…
Blog
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Orders Unionization of Child Care Providers
Openmarket.org The NLRB’s pro-union bias and penchant for overstepping legal precedent has spread to Minnesota. Governor Mark Dayton (DFL) issued an executive order calling…
Blog
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Orders Unionization of Child Care Providers
The NLRB’s pro-union bias and penchant for overstepping legal precedent has spread to Minnesota. Governor Mark Dayton (DFL) issued an executive order calling for…
Blog
California Supreme Court Rejects Union Suit to Bar Private Contractors from Golden Gate Project
Last week, the California Supreme Court rejected a suit by a government employee union, the Professional Engineers in California Government, that sought to…
Blog
Obama Peddles Myths About the Great Depression: No, Hoover Didn’t Cut Taxes or Spending
Herbert Hoover increased marginal tax rates on the wealthy to 63 percent, and more than doubled government spending as a percentage of the economy. But…
FoxNews.com
VIDEO: Alex Nowrasteh on Highly-Skilled Immigrants
Educated, highly-skilled workers who immigrate to the United States are beneficial to our economy and society. CEI Policy Analyst Alex Nowrasteh explains the benefits of liberalisation…
Blog
High-Speed Fail: Even Left-Leaning Washington Post Criticizes Obama Administration Rail Boondoggles in California and Elsewhere
Even the left-leaning Washington Post, which has not endorsed a Republican for President since 1952, is getting fed up with the Obama administration's desire to…
Blog
House Republicans’ Shortsighted Proposal to Fund Roads through More Drilling
Recently, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed opening up more federal land and offshore areas to natural resource extraction. Such…
Blog
My Job Creation Proposal
Over at The American Spectator, I break down the debate over regulation's impact on the job market and propose one regulation that could create countless…
FoxNews.com
America Must Learn From Britain’s Failed Immigration Policy
This article was co-authored with Rohan Poojara of the American Enterprise Institute. In this time of deep economic malaise, Western leaders talk gravely about shared…
Steve Pearce
Congressman Pearce Awarded A+ Rating on Labor Scorecard
Steve Pearce
Obama’s Education Disaster
“We’re laying off teachers in droves,” President Obama told a crowd recently. “It makes no sense. It has to stop.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,…
Steve Pearce
Letter to the Editor: Government Meddling Won’t Create Jobs
A recent op-ed in The Hill by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) (“Attacks on workers’ rights won’t create jobs,” Nov. 15) highlights the need to…
Blog
Big Labor’s Ohio win doesn’t end states’ fiscal crises
The Washington Examiner Everyone knows state governments are swimming in red ink, but how deep exactly is the fiscal hole? The nonprofit watchdog group State…
Steve Pearce
Big Labor’s Ohio Win Doesn’t End States’ Fiscal Crises
Everyone knows state governments are swimming in red ink, but how deep exactly is the fiscal hole? The nonprofit watchdog group State Budget Solutions has…
Blog
Surface Transportation Board Rejects Misguided Push to Re-Regulate the Railroad Industry… For Now
Late last week, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) refused [PDF] to initiate a rulemaking (Ex Parte 711) proceeding that was petitioned by the shippers'…
Blog
Department of Labor Sells Out Union Members for Big Labor 1%
Openmarket.org The Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t need to loosen financial disclosure for union bosses to take advantage of union members’ dues. Yet, this is…
Blog
Department of Labor Sells Out Union Members for Big Labor 1%
The Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t need to loosen financial disclosure for union bosses to take advantage of union members’ dues. Yet, this is exactly…
Steve Pearce
Twenty-Five Years After Reagan’s ‘Amnesty’ Bill, Conservatives Should Support Increased Immigration
Twenty-five years ago, the Immigration Reform and Control Act became law. Most people know the act as the 1986 “amnesty” bill. Since then, conservative…
National Right to Work Committee
Department of Labor Sells Out Union Members for Big Labor 1%
National Right to Work Committee
Immigration Bill Splits House GOP
Huffington Post
40 Million Reasons to Celebrate
At least two population milestones have been reached in 2011. The most spectacular is that 7 billion people now live in the world. The…
Huffington Post
Official Time: Government Workers Perform Union Duties on the Taxpayers’ Dime
Title V of the U.S. Code allows federal government employees to do union work while on the job. This is known as “official time” and…
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
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