Major U.S. Unions Urge Senate to Reject Clarity Act

Five major U.S. labor unions, including the AFL-CIO and SEIU, sent a joint letter to senators on May 10-12 urging them to vote against the Clarity Act ahead of a Senate Banking Committee review scheduled for May 14. The unions argued the bill could expose public pensions and private 401(k) plans to risks from digital assets. Public and private retirement accounts together hold an estimated $39 trillion.

The letter said the legislation would allow “outsized risks” from cryptocurrencies to enter retirement accounts managed for millions of workers. It warned that changes in federal rules could make it easier for plan managers to allocate taxpayer-backed and private retirement funds to digital assets.

The American Bankers Association has raised similar concerns, saying the bill could weaken existing financial protections.

The Clarity Act would establish a federal framework for classifying, trading and supervising digital assets. Industry supporters, including Coinbase, contend the bill would encourage institutional adoption and spur product development. Michael Saylor described the legislation as ‘institutional validation for BTC’ and said it could enable new yield markets built around digital assets.

Opponents contend the bill would subject some crypto firms to a lighter regulatory regime than banks and other financial institutions, creating an asymmetry that could increase systemic risk if retirement fund managers expand digital asset holdings. The unions’ letter emphasized the scale of retirement assets and the potential impact on workers’ savings.

The unions delivered their objection in the days before the committee review. Senators on the Senate Banking Committee were scheduled to debate and vote on whether to advance the bill on May 14, and labor leaders and banking groups sought to influence that decision.

Background material notes that public pensions and private 401(k) plans hold about $39 trillion in assets. Supporters of federal crypto rules say clear standards would allow safer market access to those assets, while critics argue loosening standards for digital asset firms relative to banks could increase the risk of losses spreading into retirement systems.