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
Court rejects New York bid to take over federal labor enforcement
An effort by the New York legislature to usurp the role of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency,…
Law & Liberty
America’s Hidden Judiciary
Unbeknownst to most Americans, federal regulatory agencies have their own court system for adjudicating disputes that businesses and citizens have with regulators. These agencies rely…
Blog
New York, California make a play for federal labor law enforcement
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency, currently lacks a quorum to act. Ordinarily, that type of federal…
Search Posts
Blog
U.S. Swipes at Colombia’s Sovereignty with Onerous Labor Requirements
AEI’s Claude Barfield posted an insightful comment on the new labor requirements the U.S. foisted on Colombia in connection with the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade…
Op-Eds
Why Can’t Obama and Congress See That Our Poor Immigration Policies Punish American Companies Who Want to Hire Skilled Immigrants?
On April 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) began accepting petitions for H-1B visas for 2012. H-1Bs are temporary employer-sponsored work visas for highly…
Op-Eds
A Tale of Two Bridges
What do you do if you lose 25 percent of your population in a decade, bringing your city to a 100-year low, and…
Citation
A Slightly Different Take on Prosser-Kloppenburg
Op-Eds
Obama Administration Covers Up Union Welfare Program
The Obama administration is more than a year late in releasing an important report on federal government union costs. Clauses within collective bargaining agreements require…
Op-Eds
Wisconsin Supreme Court: A Referendum that Wasn’t
Big labor attempted to turn yesterday’s election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court into a referendum on Governor Scott Walker’s budget policies, but,…
Op-Eds
Solis’ Pro-Union Bias
Speaking to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., Labor Secretary Hilda Solis admitted she was biased toward unions. Unions only account…
Citation
Collective Bargaining – a “Privilege”
Citation
Wisconsin Supreme Court: A Referendum that Wasn’t
Blog
Unions Use Civil Rights for Own Ends
Openmarket.org Yesterday, AFL-CIO held nationwide events to promote the solidarity between the union protests over collective bargaining and the rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,…
Blog
Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal is Half the Answer
This morning, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) unveiled a bold proposal to trim trillions off America’s bloated budget. It represents the only serious proposal out there…
Blog
Unions Use Civil Rights for Own Ends
Yesterday, AFL-CIO held nationwide events to promote the solidarity between the union protests over collective bargaining and the rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and…
Blog
Entrepreneurship Dips: The New York Times Admits Small Business is Important
Yesterday's NYT cautions that "jobs are scarce" in small business as American entrepreneurship declines: Here's the explanation the NYT includes from the pessimistic chart's…
Blog
CEI Podcast for April 5, 2011: Reforming the Railway Labor Act
Russ Brown, a vice president at the Labor Relations Institute and a CEI Adjunct Analyst, talks about recent changes made to the Railway Labor Act…
Blog
Union Officials Exploit Tragedy to Increase Membership and Dues
Openmarket.com Union officials have a long history of propagating tragedy to enforce their pro-union agenda. Big Labor is able to accomplish this effect as efficiently…
Blog
Union Officials Exploit Tragedy to Increase Membership and Dues
Union officials have a long history of propagating tragedy to enforce their pro-union agenda. Big Labor is able to accomplish this effect as efficiently and…
Citation
Wal-Mart v. Dukes [Lawyers] Ask Courts To Fix The World
Blog
House Rejects Obama-Backed, Pro-Union Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Bill
This afternoon, the House passed the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011. Perhaps the most contentious issue debated was a provision of the legislation that…
Citation
Translation Services Not Required: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Does Not Require Special Accommodations for Limited English Proficiency Individuals
News Release
Victory for Worker Freedom
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Nicole Ciandella, 202-331-2773 UPDATE: CEI House of Representatives Labor Scorecard Washington, D.C., April 1, 2011 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Meritless, Massive Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart Should Be Dismissed
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…
Citation
Costly Union Worker Special Favor Barely Survives With Help of Two Michigan Republicans
News Release
CEI Vote Score Alert: Official Time Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Act
What: Gingrey Amendment # 29 to the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 H.R. 658 CEI Position: Yes The Competitive Enterprise Institute announced today…
The American Spectator
Unionization Through Regulation
Changing election rules to favor one side is something we usually associate with dictatorships. Yet a U.S. federal agency did just that recently, as…
News Release
CEI Vote Score Alert: FAA Amendment on Union Election Rule Change
What: LaTourette – Costello Amendment # 3 to the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 H.R. 658 CEI Position: No Washington, D.C., March 30,…
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…
The American Spectator
US Supreme Court Hears Massive Wal Mart Discrimination Case
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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.
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
Twisting Test Scores
The American Spectator
Labor Disputes Infecting TSA, Multiple States
The American Spectator
Difference Between Virginia and Wisconsin
The American Spectator
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…
The American Spectator
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:…
