By Stacy M. Brown, BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) have introduced a bipartisan bill to accelerate contract negotiations for newly formed unions and prevent corporations from using delay tactics to weaken collective bargaining. The Faster Labor Contracts Act has drawn support from Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), signaling a rare bipartisan push to strengthen workers’ rights. The legislation targets a major obstacle for unionized workers—securing an initial contract. While current law requires employers to negotiate in good faith, it does not impose a timeframe for reaching an agreement. As a result, many new unions face lengthy delays, often exceeding a year, as corporations stall negotiations. A Bloomberg Law study from 2021 found that, on average, it takes 465 days for newly unionized workers to obtain their first contract.
“Americans deserve fair wages, safe workplaces, and good benefits in exchange for their hard work—and forming a union helps workers fight for fairness in their workplace,” Booker said. “Workers who vote to join a union have the right to form that union quickly, instead of facing years of delays from big corporations.” Hawley said corporate strategies to undermine collective bargaining must be addressed. “The status quo hurts workers,” he said. “Despite exercising their legal—and moral—right to bargain collectively, workers are often prevented from enjoying the benefits of the union they voted to form when mega-corporations drag their feet, slow-walk contract negotiations, and try to erode support for the union. It’s wrong.” The legislation would require employers to begin negotiating within 10 days of union certification. The dispute would refer to mediation if an agreement is not reached within 90 days. If mediation fails within 30 days, the case will move to binding arbitration. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to track workplace contract delays one year after enactment.
Merkley said the bill would help ensure fair treatment for workers. “When unions thrive, working families thrive. Our bipartisan effort is an important step forward to support hardworking Americans by making it easier to form a union, leading to better wages and benefits for all workers.” Peters said corporate interference has denied workers the ability to bargain for fair wages. “When employees stand together to organize their workplace, they deserve to get to the bargaining table as soon as possible,” he said. The Teamsters, a major labor union, backed the legislation. “Greedy corporations will stop at nothing to keep workers from getting a fair first contract. Their playbook is simple: stall, delay, and drag out negotiations to deny workers from securing the wages and conditions they deserve,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Teamsters are proud to support the Faster Labor Contracts Act—real labor law reform that forces employers to bargain in good faith and holds them accountable when they don’t.” In addition to pushing for faster union contracts, Hawley and Booker reintroduced legislation on Monday that would bar companies from receiving federal contracts if they have been found to have committed serious, repeated, or pervasive violations of child labor laws.
The bill’s timing coincides with the Senate confirmation vote for Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary. Hawley raised concerns about child labor violations during Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing and said companies benefiting from federal contracts should be held to a higher standard. “Companies that illegally employ children should not be rewarded with lucrative federal government contracts that make corporations millions,” Hawley said. “This bipartisan legislation would hold companies accountable for engaging in child labor exploitation and rightfully ensure offenders face consequences.” The proposal follows investigations from NBC News and The New York Times, which revealed that several American companies illegally employed young teenagers in hazardous jobs, many of whom were unaccompanied migrant children who entered the U.S. in recent years. Booker and Hawley’s bill would require federal contractors to disclose child labor violations from the past three years, with the labor secretary maintaining a list of ineligible companies. O’Brien said the legislation was long overdue. “This is about accountability. No company that profits from exploiting children should receive a dime of taxpayer money,” he said.
