AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce, which overturns decades of precedent following Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc.:
The AFL-CIO condemns today’s decision, which awards authority to the judiciary that should stay with policy experts in the federal government. Extremist politicians and their corporate allies have schemed for decades to undermine regulatory agencies, and this disheartening decision is a huge gift to those same interests. Today, a right-wing supermajority on the Supreme Court has eroded the federal government’s ability to ensure that the law is enforced and that working people are protected. This ruling paves the way for corporate challenges to the actions of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, and other agencies with a duty to protect workers’ lives and rights, which would allow employers to get away with retaliation, union-busting and maintaining dangerous workplace conditions.
Congress set up agencies with deep expertise in studying and regulating ways to protect America’s workers. This ruling constitutes a brazen power grab by the Supreme Court to have judges rewrite the rules. The AFL-CIO remains committed to protecting the health, safety and rights of workers, and we will continue the fight to advance the interests of all working people over corporate interests.
Contact: Riley Lopez, 202-637-5018