On June 26, Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA) introduced the Employee Rights Act of 2025, which seeks to modernize federal labor law to align it with the 21st Century workplace.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“CDW applauds Rep. Allen for introducing this much-needed legislation. The bill protects workers’ rights by mandating the use of secret ballots in union representation elections, shielding workers from harassment, intimidation, and coercion during union organizing campaigns. It also protects workers’ privacy and their right to work without union representation. The bill harmonizes the independent contractor standard across federal labor and employment laws and codifies a common sense joint employer standard. The ERA will safeguard workers’ rights, create clear standards for the regulated community to follow, and modernize the nation’s labor and employment laws to more appropriately address the 21st Century workplace. CDW urges its passage.”
On May 12, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed comments with the Office of Management and Budget in response to its Request for Information on deregulation. CDW points to several regulations issued during the Biden administration by the National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor, and Federal Trade Commission that should be rescinded.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The regulations we flagged for OMB will have significant consequences for the economy, business community, and workers nationwide if allowed to remain in effect. The regulations attack successful business models that have fueled the economy and the American Dream, infringe on workers’ rights, and violate employers’ due process rights.
“OMB now has an opportunity to eliminate these regulations and restore commonsense to the regulatory landscape, provide certainty and stability to the regulated community, and protect workers’ rights in the workplace. CDW urges the agency to do so as quickly as possible.”
On April 24, 2025, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking the administration to clarify to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that it does not support the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel’s (GC) position with respect to the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision or the NLRB’s decision in Cemex Construction. This letter was sent in direct response to a brief that Acting General Counsel Cowen filed in NP Red Rock LLC with the DC Circuit in which he advocated for positions contrary to Supreme Court precedent. CDW also reiterated a previous request to the Attorney General to abandon certain Biden-era NLRB decisions.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The current Acting General Counsel’s attack on Loper Bright and continued defense of the Cemex ruling, despite Supreme Court precedent, is deeply concerning. It is time to end the confusion caused by the Biden-era Board and align the NLRB’s decisions with binding Supreme Court precedent. President Trump’s efforts to ensure accountability and consistency throughout the executive branch are the first step. We now ask Attorney General Bondi to declare Biden-era precedent as no longer binding and clarify that the Trump administration does not support the Acting General Counsel’s interpretations that disregard clear Supreme Court precedent.”
On April 17, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor, and Federal Trade Commission urging they consider rescinding regulatory activity pursued under the Biden administration as part of their review of all regulations under its purview as required by Executive Order 14219, Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative.
The letter highlights the following regulations:
As we explain in the letter, these regulations, if kept in effect, “would have devastating consequences for the economy, business community, and workers nationwide, including decimating successful business models, infringing on workers’ rights, and violating employers’ due process rights.” Moreover, each regulation falls under at least one of the seven categories of regulations that are unlawful and/or undermine the national interest as specified in the Executive Order.
On April 15, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and 44 employer organizations sent a letter to Congress urging they support the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Salting is an inherently deceptive practice that relies on misleading workers. Salts are hired by unions to seek employment with a company. They infiltrate the workplace, destabilize labor relations, and then push workers to unionize, all while never informing their colleagues that they are actually being paid by a union to persuade them. Employees should have a right to know the ‘coworker’ trying to persuade them to organize is being paid by the union.
“The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act requires employers to file reports when they pay a third party to speak directly to workers about unionization, but there’s no equal reporting for salts or the unions that pay them. The SALT Act would rectify this wrong and ensure workers have full transparency during union organizing drives. This is much-needed legislation, and we urge Congress to pass the SALT Act to protect workers, guarantee transparency, and ensure labor stability.”
On April 15, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and 32 employer organizations sent a letter to Congress in support of the Worker Enfranchisement Act, which would require a two-thirds participation rate in union representation elections.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Current labor law allows unions to become the exclusive bargaining representative of a workforce with bare minimum support from the workers. This is possible, because there is no participation rate requirement in the National Labor Relations Act. The Worker Enfranchisement Act would fix this oversight by requiring at least two-thirds of a potential bargaining unit participate in a representation election before the results can be certified. By requiring real participation from the impacted workforce, Congress can guarantee that workers’ desires on union representation are both heard and carried out. Unions would have to have true majority support before they can obtain exclusive representation over those workers. CDW urges Congress to pass this common-sense bill.”
On April 15, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and 20 employer organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Senate urging their support for — and quick confirmation of — Crystal Carey to serve as General Counsel on the National Labor Relations Board. Our past statement of support for her nomination can be viewed here.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Crystal Carey has proven throughout her illustrious career that she deeply understands federal labor law. She is well-qualified to serve and would be an asset to the Board in this role. She’ll help steer the Board towards more common-sense application of the National Labor Relations Act, and we urge support for her nomination.”
On April 14, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court urging the Justices to issue a stay in Wilcox v Trump to keep Gwynne Wilcox off the National Labor Relations Board while the litigation over her termination is pending.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Allowing Gwynne Wilcox to remain on the Board while the litigation is pending would result in regulated parties and the NLRB expending significant time and resources to participate in Board proceedings, despite the legal status of these proceedings being in doubt. If President Trump’s termination of Wilcox is upheld by the courts, these proceedings would have to be vacated and restarted. This would be a tremendous waste of resources and leaves the regulated community in a state of immense uncertainty about how to proceed. The Supreme Court should grant a stay in this case and provide stability to the regulated community.”
On April 3, 2025, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraging her, under Executive Order 14215, to direct the National Labor Relations Board to not treat certain decisions issued during the Biden administration as binding precedent. These decisions were unconstitutional, inconsistent with governing statutes, and poorly reasoned, and are not persuasive under the Supreme Court’s Skidmore decision.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“It time to turn the page on the Biden NLRB’s bad policy decisions – many of which are contrary to the US Constitution, the National Labor Relations Act, and binding court precedent. The Trump administration should immediately abandon these poorly reasoned Board determinations. Attorney General Bondi has the power under Executive Order No. 14215 to overrule the Biden Board decisions and reinstate prior rulings, many of which were made by the first Trump Board. We ask her to use that power to prevent further harm to workers, businesses and the US economy.”
On March 25, President Trump nominated Crystal Carey to serve as General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board. CDW strongly supports her nomination.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Crystal Carey is an excellent choice for NLRB General Counsel. She is well-qualified to serve and will be an asset to the Board in this role. Her illustrious career in labor management relations has resulted in a deep understanding of federal labor law. Carey will steer the NLRB towards common-sense application of the National Labor Relations Act. We strongly support her nomination and hope for a speedy confirmation.”