American Center for Int’l Labor Solidarity v. Chavez-Deremer

For decades, Congress has authorized and appropriated money for the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to enter cooperative agreements to support workers’ rights programs around the world. These programs protect workers and companies in the United States against unfair competition from companies and governments that violate workers’ rights to free association and collective bargaining, and otherwise use forced labor, child labor, or other labor rights violations, to gain an unfair advantage in the global marketplace.

In March 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) terminated all of ILAB’s cooperative agreements en masse. DOL and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made clear in public statements that DOL does not plan to reallocate on another program or otherwise spend the money that Congress specifically appropriated to combat unfair labor practices or support workers’ rights abroad.

Representing three nonprofit organizations that operate programs through cooperative agreements with ILAB—American Center for International Labor Solidarity  (Solidarity Center), American Institutes for Research, and Global March against Child Labour—we filed suit challenging the cancellation of all of ILAB’s cooperative agreements. The complaint alleges that DOL’s actions are ultra vires, contrary to law, and arbitrary and capricious.