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
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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.
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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…
Citation
Twisting Test Scores
Citation
Labor Disputes Infecting TSA, Multiple States
Citation
Difference Between Virginia and Wisconsin
Citation
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…
Op-Eds
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…
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