If you’re reading this, you are likely aware that the U.S. House recently passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) by a vote of 230 to 193 and forwarded it to the Senate. Yet if employers aren’t concerned about how this bill could detrimentally affect their businesses, they should be.
Make no mistake, the FLCA is a “Teamsters-led bill” and the pride and joy of Sean O’Brien. This legislation would fundamentally change how first contracts get negotiated by giving employers only 10 days to start bargaining after a union election. A federal mediator would take over 90 days later, and 30 days after that, a government-appointed arbitration panel would set about imposing a binding two-year contract.
Sounds unreasonable, right? That doesn’t even account for how workers wouldn’t get a ratification vote, and neither workers nor employers will get an appeal process for the imposed contracts that follow.
LRI Consulting Services, Inc.’s own research proves the mythical lengths that unions have gone to push this legislation, but before the Senate can vote, there’s a way to make your voice heard.
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is fighting this bill
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), a longstanding employer advocacy group on labor policy, is speaking out against the FLCA. The coalition strongly cautions that the bill could end good-faith bargaining as we know it. Rather, warns the CDW, this legislation “creates perverse incentives for bad-faith bargaining” that will make “stable labor relations” all but impossible, since both sides can wait out the clock regardless of how willingly the other party comes to the table.
In turn, a government arbitrator with zero knowledge of an employer’s finances or operations will take the wheel. No mechanism for accountability or guarantee of industry expertise exists in this process, so it’s easy to see, as CDW points out, how the FLCA is “a recipe for disaster.”
How to take action
The CDW has set up a page where employers and workers can send a letter directly to their senators opposing the FLCA before union lobbyists have a chance to gather 60 votes in support of passage.
Business groups are lining up against the FLCA
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce gathered reactions from at least 350 business and employee advocacy groups from a vast array of industries. Here’s a preview of where they stand:
- Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, in a letter signed by 376 organizations, argues that the bill sidesteps employer and employee consent and “amounts to an unconstitutional taking.”
- The Retail Industry Leaders Association warns that FLCA’s rigid statutory deadlines will lead to increased conflict within large retail bargaining units and will do everything but serve workers’ interests.
- National Association of Manufacturers and Associated General Contractors of America express concern about the damage that will be done to workplace relationships and point to industry-specific bargaining norms that will be upended by government arbitrators.
- The National Restaurant Association is urging Congress to avoid rushing into passing this “sweeping change to private-sector labor law,” which would inevitably lead to arbitration decisions that are “impractical, inflexible, or inconsistent with the realities” of sustainable business operations.
That’s only the beginning. Read more here from concerned parties who are sounding the alarm with similar worries. The FLCA is neither pro-worker nor pro-employer, and as the CDW declares, “only creates a broken system where government-imposed arbitration replaces voluntary agreement.” Learn more about how to send a letter to your senator here.
