The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the United States, sent a letter to senators on May 11 urging them to oppose the Senate version of the CLARITY Act. The union federation warned the bill could push digital assets into pension plans, retirement accounts, and the broader financial system under weak oversight. The warning came just after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill in a 15-9 vote.
What the AFL-CIO actually fears
The CLARITY Act is market-structure legislation, not a retirement law. It doesn't order pensions to buy crypto. But the AFL-CIO's concern is that the bill could reduce classification uncertainty for digital assets, making them easier to wrap into products that retirement-plan gatekeepers can evaluate under a more permissive Department of Labor posture. That posture has already shifted: in 2025, the DOL rescinded its 2022 crypto-specific warning to 401(k) fiduciaries, returning to a neutral ERISA process standard. Then in March 2026, the DOL proposed a rule to create process-based safe harbors for selecting alternative assets in 401(k) plan menus — including investment vehicles with digital-asset exposure.
The lobbying battle on the other side
Crypto advocates mobilized 300,000 emails to counter a banking campaign aimed at stripping stablecoin yield provisions from the CLARITY Act. Bankers sent 8,000 demand letters against those same stablecoin rewards provisions. The bill now faces over 100 amendments, a sign of the intense fight ahead.
What happens next
The Senate Banking Committee has advanced the bill, but with more than 100 amendments, floor debate could stretch for weeks. The AFL-CIO's opposition adds political weight on the labor side, even though the bill doesn't directly mandate crypto in retirement accounts. Senators will have to weigh the union's warning against the industry's push for regulatory clarity. The next concrete step is a full Senate vote, likely with a flurry of amendments on stablecoin provisions and investor protections.
