Today, a coalition of nearly 50 labor organizations sent a letter to lawmakers in Congress that outlines strong opposition to more than a dozen forthcoming Congressional Review Act (CRA) anti-worker resolutions, including an imminent vote to overturn the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ rule on minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes.
“Plainly, the CRA has become the latest weapon in a war on workers waged by special interests,” the organizations’ leaders wrote. “Each of the resolutions, some of which already passed the Congress, carry a threat of permanently undermining critical gains for working people across the country. It is absolutely critical that those who want to stand with workers do so united in their opposition to these attacks on pro-worker rulemaking. Each vote for one of these CRA disapproval resolutions is a vote against labor.”
The letter outlines several administration actions congressional Republicans are working to overturn, including the groundbreaking Nursing Home Staffing Rule, the Retirement Security and Overtime Rules, worker health and safety regulations, the right to a fair wage and overtime pay, student debt relief, and more. If passed, these resolutions would rob workers of the pay we have earned, return nursing home staffing requirements to the dangerously low levels we saw during the pandemic, create hazardous conditions on the job, among other harmful effects.
“We ask that you not allow private equity, the financial industry, multinational franchisors, unionbusters, or other special interests to use this tool to undo the progress that workers are making via federal rulemaking,” the leaders continued. “We strongly urge you to stand with working families and vote no on all such CRA resolutions.”
The Congressional Review Act, enacted in 1996, requires agencies to report rules to Congress and provides Congress with a special mechanism to overturn agency rules through a disapproval resolution not subject to Senate filibusters.
In the first 21 years since the CRA became law, it was used to overturn only one rule. It was only in the 115th Congress, when Donald Trump was in office with a Republican House and Senate eager to undo the Obama administration’s regulatory actions that use of this tool ballooned. In that Congress, the CRA was used to overturn 16 rules. At that time, those overturned rules included those that helped states provide retirement security for workers and requirements for employers to maintain accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses.
Read the full letter to lawmakers here.
The letter was signed by:
- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
- Service Employees International Union
- International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
- Transportation Communications Union/IAM
- American Federation of Government Employees
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts
- The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots
- Laborers’ International Union of North America
- Transport Workers Union of America
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
- Alliance for Retired Americans
- Department for Professional Employees
- United Mine Workers of America
- United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
- International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
- International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
- National Air Traffic Controllers Association
- Farm Labor Organizing Committee
- United Farm Workers
- North America’s Building Trades Unions
- International Union of Elevator Constructors
- Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
- Actors' Equity Association
- Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO
- United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters
- International Union of Operating Engineers
- United Steelworkers
- Communications Workers of America
- Office of Professional Employees International Union
- National Association of Letter Carriers
- National Federation of Federal Employees
- American Federation of Teachers
- Air Line Pilots Association International Union
- Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union
- Seafarers International Union of North America
- International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
- National Nurses United
- International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
- National Education Association
- International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
- Transportation Trades Department
- American Postal Workers Union
- American Federation of School Administrators
- Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
- Amalgamated Transit Union
- UNITE-HERE
- SMART
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Contact: Riley Lopez, 202-637-5018