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
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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
One News Now
Missing: Alabama’s Latinos, Obama Must Act!
Blog
Unions: The new barbarians
The Washington Times In a recent address to a union rally in Ohio, Vice President Joseph R. Biden underscored the threat to organized labor posed by…
One News Now
Mad About Immigration? Blame the Federal Government
Alabama’s anti-immigrant law, HB 56, was recently upheld by a federal judge, giving hope to immigration restrictionists in other states. Indeed, Alabama…
One News Now
Unions: The New Barbarians
In a recent address to a union rally in Ohio, Vice President Joseph R. Biden underscored the threat to organized labor posed by the wave…
One News Now
Looking for regulations that burden economy? Look no further than the ADA
Blog
At Long Last, Congress Will Vote on Three Trade Pacts that Unions have Held Up
At long last both the House and the Senate are scheduled to vote on the three free trade agreements (FTAs) that have languished for…
One News Now
Needed: Skilled Immigrants
Oct. 1 marked the beginning of the new term for recently issued H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. H-1B visas are three-year, once-renewable, employer-sponsored…
Blog
The EDA Elimination Act: To Terminate the Economic Development Administration
Yesterday Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo introduced the “EDA Elimination Act,” a bill that would remove funding for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development…
Blog
Barone is Right: Appeasing Protectionists Is a Bad Idea
President Obama is finally sending three pending trade agreements — with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama — to Congress for a vote. The three trade…
Blog
Jerrold Nadler’s Fiscal Fantasies: Herbert Hoover Increased Spending, He Did Not “Slash the Budget” During the Great Depression
Attacking the idea of a Balanced Budget Amendment, "Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution," issued…
One News Now
Child Welfare/Protection Roundup
Blog
The Future of Air Travel?
First-generational suborbital crafts would reach 2,200 miles per hour, with an eventual goal of hitting 13,750 miles per hour. A trip from London to Sydney…
Blog
The Economic (Un)Development Administration
Last Friday Iain Murray and I published an op-ed in The Washington Times, which described how government spending fails to create economic growth. We show how the…
One News Now
Craig Becker and Boeing
Blog
The Legal Battle Over Honolulu’s Train to Nowhere
Rail transit advocates in Honolulu, Hawaii, have seen better days. Significant opposition is threatening the future of the proposed 20-mile, $5.5 billion elevated rail transit…
Blog
Local Union Will Appeal to Obama’s NLRB
Openmarket.org Minnesota based American Crystal Sugar employee lockout exposes the untenable nature of union contract negotiations. Yesterday, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers…
Blog
Local Union Will Appeal to Obama’s NLRB
Minnesota based American Crystal Sugar employee lockout exposes the untenable nature of union contract negotiations. Yesterday, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union’s…
DC Velocity
Freedom to Move: Interview with Marc Scribner
DC Velocity
