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
https://www.realclearpolicy.com/2024/05/01/cas_20_fast_food_minimum_wage_is_a_regressive_tax_1028781.html
CA’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage Is a Regressive Tax
California’s new $20 an hour minimum wage for fast food restaurants has turned into a regressive tax on the state’s low-income residents. People who wanted…
https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/05/the-biden-administration-is-working-overtime-to-make-work-less-flexible/
The Biden Administration Is Working Overtime to Make Work Less Flexible
The Biden administration has been putting in extra hours to quash the burgeoning trend of employment flexibility, and its latest effort is overhauling overtime rules. It may…
News Release
April adds 175,000 jobs, signaling economic stress test: CEI analysis
The US economy added 175,000 jobs in April, a significantly lower number than economists were anticipating and signaling a major economic stress test has…
Search Posts
News Release
U.S. Economy Adds 678,000 Jobs in February, but Inflation, Russia, Government Mandates Remain a Problem
The U.S. economy added 678,000 jobs in February, according to newly released government figures. CEI economic and labor policy experts praised the good news…
Citation
AUDIO: Sean Higgins Joins the Bob Harden Show
Research Fellow Sean Higgins joins the Bob Harden Show to discuss unions.
Blog
What Do Workers Want?
Pundits and politicians are talking about how to get back to normal as COVID (hopefully) winds down into an endemic disease like the cold or…
The Hill
You’re the Boss: Unionized Staff Would Force Democrats to Take on Management’s Role
A group of congressional Democratic staffers are attempting to form a union. It might not be a bad idea. A major problem with Congress is…
Blog
The One Area Where Voting Rights Isn’t Sacred: Union Elections.
There is one area of voting rights where many Democrats don’t seem to want every voice to be heard: union elections. Democratic lawmakers have accepted…
Blog
Unions Likely Received $36 Million in Improper PPP Loans
It is possible that labor unions improperly received more than $36 million in “loans” under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The program was intended…
News Release
U.S. Economy Added 467,000 Jobs in January 2022, Signaling No Need for Govt Meddling
The good news jobs gain in January gives President Biden and Congress ample reason to step back and let businesses and workers chart a…
The Washington Times
American Consumers See Drop in Restaurant, Retail Quality from Labor Shortage, Study Finds
The Washington Times cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on costs of pandemic to restaurant business: Sean Higgins, a research fellow specializing in labor and…
The Boston Globe
Workers Organizing at McLean Hospital Face Staunch Resistance
The Boston Globe cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on union membership: Given that only 6 percent of the private-sector workforce is organized, many employers…
Real Clear Policy
This Biden Nominee Could Restrict Worker Freedom
Real Clear Policy cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on Biden nominee David Weil: The AI broadened the scope of wage and hour…
Blog
Even Most Democrats Favor Right to Work Laws
For being so controversial, right to work laws are pretty popular. A majority of states, 27, have them and even Democrats will give…
Blog
Rising Pay Undermines Push for Increasing the Minimum Wage
A Department Labor report released Friday shows wages rising 4.5 percent, evidence that the Biden administration’s plan to raise the federal minimum wage…
Blog
Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Is Still a Bad Idea Even If Properly Enacted
The best that can be said about the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw the executive order for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate and instead try to…
The Tribune-Democrat
There are Better Ways than Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to Boost Workers’ Pay
Twenty-five states raised their minimum wages this year, but the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009. Is it time…
Blog
Better Ways to Fight Poverty than the Minimum Wage
Every January, states and cities across the country raise their minimum wages. There are also calls to raise the federal minimum wage, which has stayed…
Blog
As Numbers Stagnate, Unions Continue to Look to Congress For Salvation
The Department of Labor’s latest statistics confirm that the union movement in the U.S. remains stagnant and slowly declining. Only 10.3 percent of U.S.
City Journal
The Pandemic Job Shuffle
Policymaking involves tradeoffs. As the Covid-19 pandemic started in the U.S. in early 2020, governments chose to impose lockdowns and other restrictions in an effort…
Blog
Comments on Department of Labor Pension ESG Rule
At the end of last year, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking to rewrite rules on pension fund…
News Release
December’s Disappointing Job Numbers Show Government Should Loosen Restrictions on Economy
On Friday, the Biden Administration released the jobs report for December 2021, showing the U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs. The number was far short of…
World News Group
Pandemic Pileup
World News Group cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on the current supply chain crisis: Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
Consumer Spending Growth Slows: COVID, Inflation, Supply Networks Are Factors: CEI Statement
On news today that inflation rose again in November, CEI Senior Fellow Ryan Young urged policymakers to do their part by spending less: “Consumer spending grew…
Blog
Can Pensions Be Saved from Political Mismanagement?
The Department of Labor is currently working on a new rule that would give pension fund managers greater leeway in considering non-financial criteria when…
News Release
Disappointing Job Gains for November 2021 Speak to Government Barriers to Economic Recovery
The U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in November, far short of what economists expected. CEI experts say government mandates and restrictions remain a big part…
Blog
The Bizarre Logic of the NLRB’s Decision in the Amazon Union Case
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) order overturning the workers’ rejection of a union at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, and ordering…
News Release
Thankful for Good Economic News on Jobs, Consumer Spending: More to Do
During Thanksgiving week, jobless claims dipped to 199,000, their lowest level in 52 years, when the country’s population was less than two thirds of…
Blog
The Invisible Hand, Not Washington, Is Easing the Supply Chain Crisis
The supply chain crisis is showing signs of receding. This is happening not because of any action by the White House or Congress. The market…
The Washington Times
Economic Pressures Boost Thanksgiving Turkey Prices by 20%
The Washington Times cites Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on Thanksgiving prices: Iain Murray, a senior analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Blog
Build Back Better’s $1.5 billion Gift to Unions
Hidden in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan is a provision that amounts to a $1.5 billion gift to unions. It is intended to…
Blog
We Wanna Negotiate This – Unions Cool to Biden Vaccine Mandate
The nation’s top unions have reacted coolly to the Biden administration’s proposed vaccine mandate, with many rejecting the administration’s unilateral approach and saying that workers…
News Release
US Economy Added 531,000 Jobs in October, but Biden Vaccine Mandate, Govt Spending Pose Real Threat
The American economy added 531,000 jobs in October, according to the U.S. Labor Department. CEI experts pointed to Covid declines but also warned that…
Inside Sources
Minimum Wages Don’t Create Jobs
There are more than 10 million job openings in America right now. The worker shortage is contributing to goods shortages, rising prices and supply network…
Blog
How to Fill 10 Million Vacant Jobs
Would raising the minimum wage help to fill the more than 10 million job vacancies currently open? It makes some intuitive sense—higher pay will attract…
News Release
OSHA Vaccine Mandate — Trouble for Employers, Rough Time in Courts
The Biden administration today published its much-anticipated vaccine mandate for businesses that employ 100 or more people. This “emergency temporary standard” by the Occupational…
Blog
A Note on Politicized Investment Policy
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a change in its pension rules. DOL announced that it intends to incorporate political…
The Washington Examiner
Longshoreman Union Boss Sits on Long Beach Harbor Commission Making Policy
The Washington Examiner cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on the current supply chain crisis: Sean Higgins, a supply chain expert with the Competitive Enterprise…
National Review
The Real Culprit in Our Supply-Chain Crisis
The supply chain for an Apple iPhone crosses an international border more than 600 times, and if it didn’t, you probably wouldn’t have one —…
Blog
There Is Less to Biden’s Ports Deal than It Appears
President Biden on Wednesday announced that the two main ports on the West Coast will start operating 24 hours a day to help address…
News Release
Jobless Claims Just Fell, but Government Barriers Remain a Problem
The number of new jobless claims fell below 300,000 for the week ended Oct. 9 — the first time since COVID-19 hit. Continuing claims…
News Release
Jobs Added to U.S. Economy in September Show Signs of Hope and Hesitancy: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 194,000 jobs added in September, and unemployment dipped. CEI experts Ryan Young and Sean Higgins say this is encouraging because it…
Blog
Why Don’t U.S. Ports Operate 24/7? Ask the Unions
There has been a massive backlog for months now of cargo ships waiting to drop their goods at West Coast U.S. ports. As I…
Blog
America Needs More Truckers on the Road
Severe backups and bottlenecks in the nation’s ports, particularly on the West Coast, have created severe logistical and supply problems throughout the country. This is…
Blog
Fighting Income Inequality Won’t Help Workers
I just learned of the latest forthcoming study focusing on the issue of income inequality, this one promising to explain how regulations can exacerbate…
Blog
Are Unions Losing Hope for the PRO Act?
In a sign that unions are losing hope that the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act can pass Congress, they are now…
Blog
Unions on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate: That’s Not in Our Contract
President Biden’s vaccination mandate announcement on Friday has drawn a notably cool reaction from unions. While none appear to have come out against it, few…
Blog
Jobless Claims Are Down, but Tensions Remain in COVID Recovery
Jobless claims are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic; 310,000 people filed first-time claims last week, down roughly 95 percent…
The Hill
PRO Act limits worker rights
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act bears the interesting distinction of being supposedly “pro-worker” legislation that mostly rolls back individual workers’ rights. The legislation’s…
Inside Sources
New AFL-CIO Leadership Should Orient to Worker Recruitment Strategies, Not Politics and Laws
The American labor union movement has a unique opportunity to choose a leader to transform unions into dynamic, responsive representation that will attract new members.
Blog
The Cost of Uncertainty in Dealing with the Pandemic
If there is one thing that businesses want more than anything else when it comes to regulations, it is predictability. That’s one case where what’s…
News Release
Disappointing August Job Gains Tied to Covid Restrictions, Politics
Competitive Enterprise Institute experts commented on today’s disappointing news about August job gains, urging policy makers to reject restrictions and politics and look for ways…
Blog
Mexican Workers Deserve Secret Ballot Elections; So Do U.S. Workers.
Today, U.S. labor leaders applauded Mexican workers for getting rid of an allegedly corrupt union at a General Motors (GM) plant in Silao, in…
News Release
Jobless Claims Drop to Pre-Pandemic Level but Congress Spending Binge Threatens Recovery
The federal government today reported a drop in seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims to the lowest level for this average since March 2020. CEI…
National Review
Why Richard Trumka Failed
The legacy of the late Richard Trumka, longtime leader of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, is of a union movement firmly…
News Release
July Jobs Analysis: More Spending, Restrictions from Congress Won’t Help
The U.S. economy added 943,000 jobs in the month of July, with a decline in unemployment to 5.4 percent according to government numbers released…
Blog
Weil Is a Poor Choice to Lead Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division
Lawmakers should reject President Biden’s choice to serve as administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, a major federal law enforcement…
Blog
The Meaningless Symbolism of Raising the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
The Biden administration is planning to increase the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour, but there is much less to this than…
Blog
With PRO Act, Congress Readies National Version of California’s AB5 Fiasco
California’s AB5 law, which was meant to prevent worker misclassification, faced a popular backlash when it disrupted the livelihoods of freelancers and gig…
Blog
Does DOL Nominee David Weil Believe in Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
David Weil, a Brandeis University professor and President Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division seems to believes that protecting…
Blog
Biden Is Right to Call for Rolling Back Occupational Licensing and Non-Compete Agreements
President Biden’s executive order today calling for occupational licensing and employment non-compete agreements to be rolled back is a good idea that could benefit…
News Release
CEI Experts React to President Biden’s Wide-Ranging Executive Order on Competition
President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy today, which the White House claims is aimed at enhancing…
Blog
How the Unemployment Rate Rose While the Economy Added Jobs
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) seemingly contradictory report Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate had risen marginally to 5.9 percent, up 1/10th of a…
News Release
Government Can Further Jobs Gain By Continuing to Ease Restriction and Not Spending
The economy added 850,000 jobs in June, according to newly released numbers by the Labor Department. That exceeds the anticipated number of 700,00. And the…
Blog
Missouri Employers Must Jazz Up wages to Avoid St. Louis Blues
Employers are struggling to fill jobs in Missouri and that’s a good thing. It means wages and benefits in the state will rise and workers…
Blog
Justices Affirm that Collective Bargaining Rights Shouldn’t Trump other Rights
The Supreme Court was correct in its 6-3 ruling today in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid that a California regulation granting union organizers access…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Curtails California Privilege Wrongly Given to Labor Unions
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case concerning a California regulation giving special permissions to labor unions vis a vis access to private…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Asking Congress to Oppose Any Increase in the Federal Minimum Wage
Dear Members of Congress, We, the undersigned organizations representing millions of Americans nationwide, write in blanket opposition to any increase in the federal minimum wage,…
Blog
The Way to Maximize Worker Freedom: Combine Right to Work and Micro-Unions
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a pro-union bill currently awaiting action in the Senate, includes a lot ideas to coerce individual…
Blog
The PRO Act Would Erode Individual Workers’ Rights
Suppose a piece of legislation was presented as an expansion of rights, when in fact it narrowed those rights. That ought to stir up some…
News Release
Report: Workers to Lose Freedoms, Protections if Union “PRO Act” Passes
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report spells out the ways workers nationwide would lose freedoms and protections if Congress passes the “PRO Act.” “The…
Study
The Protect the Right to Organize Act Empowers Unions at Workers’ Expense
View the Full Document as PDF The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is touted by its supporters as advancing the rights…
Blog
The Paycheck Fairness Act’s Solution to the Gender Pay Gap: Make It Impossible to Defend Against Claims of Discrimination
Congress hit a wall this week on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which narrowly failed 49-50 on a Senate vote on Tuesday to break…
Inside Sources
How To Stimulate the COVID Recovery Without Trillions in New Spending
The COVID recovery is going well, but it could be going better. America’s unemployment rate is already down from double digits to under 6 percent.
Blog
New Job Numbers Show a Positive Trend
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) new jobs report is the latest proof that rolling back the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak remains the…
News Release
Jobs Numbers Show Rolling Back Covid-19 Restrictions Would Restore Resilience in U.S. Economy
The Biden Administration’s Labor Department reported today that the United States added 559,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.8%. CEI Senior…
The Center Square
Feds To Pay Hundreds Per Child To American Families; Critics Warn Of Economic Fallout
The Center Square cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on tax credits: “In and of itself, making the full child tax credit payments available to…
Blog
Railway Unions Want Minimum Crew Numbers
Cars are learning to drive themselves on U.S. highways. Unmanned aerial drones are fueling the expansion of e-commerce. Railways have been trying to…
Inside Sources
AFL-CIO Endorses Right to Work Protections … for Mexican Workers?
The nation’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, came out recently in favor of “right to work” protections—but only for workers in Mexican factories. The AFL-CIO…
WORLD
Help wanted but hard to find
WORLD cites research fellow Sean Higgins on the workforce and COVID-19: Analysts point to different factors behind this conundrum. Sean Higgins, a research fellow…
Blog
California App Drivers Seem Happy that Proposition 22 Passed
Ever since Proposition 22’s lopsided November victory in California, critics of that ballot initiative have pushed the narrative that voters were confused by it…
Blog
Latest Jobs Report Shows – Again – that Economy Can Heal Itself
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest job numbers are being treated as gloomy news because overall unemployment marginally increased to 6.1 percent…
News Release
Some Good News in April 2021 Job Numbers
The unemployment rate didn’t budge much in April, according to just-released data from the Labor Department, but CEI labor policy expert Sean Higgins…
WORLD
PODCAST: Help Desperately Wanted
WORLD’s podcast, “Help Desperately Wanted,” cited Senior Fellow Sean Higgins on unemployment and COVID-19: Sean Higgins is a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
Letters
CEI and Other Organizations Oppose the PRO Act
Dear Member of Congress, We are writing in opposition to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The PRO Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby…
Blog
Biden Administration Says Lets Keep the Rules for Contract Work Vague and Confusing
In a move that surprised no one, the Biden administration announced today it was officially rolling back the Trump administration’s rule under the…
Blog
Is Biden Planning New Payroll Taxes?
President Biden will reportedly use address to Congress tonight to tout his American Families Plan, a major part of which is paid family leave.
Reason
When Joe Biden Talks About Worker Choice, He Means Only 1 Choice
President Joe Biden believes joining a union isn’t merely a right that workers have but something the federal government has an obligation to promote. He…
News Release
President Biden’s Pro-Labor Executive Order Goes Beyond Law’s Intent
President Joe Biden today signed an executive order establishing a new White House task force aimed at promoting labor unions. The White House Task…
The Washington Times
Biden Creates Task Force to Spur Unionization of U.S. Workforce
The Washington Times cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on pro-union steps taken by president Biden: Sean Higgins, a research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
The One Place Progressives Want the Vote Suppressed: Union Elections
Big business has a new weapon to use against organized labor: mailboxes. That is what the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) claims is…
Blog
DOL On Independent Contractor Rule: We Were Wrong but We Cannot Explain Why
The Biden administration put the Department of Labor (DOL) in the awkward position of having to withdraw its new rule regarding when workers…
Blog
Maybe Workers Just Aren’t That into You, Unions
Labor unions are second only to Donald Trump when it comes to crying foul over election outcomes they don’t like. The National Labor Relations Board…
Comment
Competitive Enterprise Institute Letter In Opposition To Withdrawal of Independent Contractor Status Final Rule
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit the following comments in response to the…
Forbes
The Growth-By-Deregulation Alternative To Joe Biden’s Cyclopean American Jobs Plan
Sandwiched between Joe Biden’s $1.9 American Rescue Plan and a promised American Families Plan is the American Jobs Plan (…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Supporting Kyle Fortson Renomination to National Mediation Board
Dear Leader McConnell and Ranking Member Burr, We write to urge you to support the renomination of Kyle Fortson to be a member of the…
News Release
U.S. Economy Added 916k Jobs in March 2021, Further Proof Lifting Govt Restrictions Helps Recovery
The U.S. economy experienced gains in March, due to states reopening and vaccines rolling out. Sean Higgins, CEI research fellow, urged governments to continue…
Reason
Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Would Overturn ‘Right-To-Work’ Laws in 27 States
Reason cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on the PRO Act: “The PRO Act does strengthen unions, but it does so mainly by giving unions…
Blog
Are Janus Violations a RICO Matter?
Ever since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME that public sector workers cannot be forced to financially support unions, labor groups…
Blog
The PRO Act’s Extremely Broad “Whistleblower” Provisions
The Senate confirmed former Boston Mayor and ex-union official Marty Walsh as the new Labor Secretary Tuesday by a vote of 93-2.
News Release
Biden’s Pick for Labor Secretary Has Union-First History
The Senate is expected to soon confirm President Biden’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Labor, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. CEI labor policy expert…
Blog
Yes, Let’s Debate Taking Rights Away from Workers
Legislation doesn’t get much simpler than the National Right To Work Act. Introduced by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson…
Blog
Biden Administration Wants to Decide When Freelancers Are “Legitimate”
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced Thursday, March 11 that it was rescinding a rule issued by the previous administration on when workers…