U.S. House Passes the Accelerating Labor Contracts Act to Speed Up Union-Employer Negotiations

Core Overview

• The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act on Tuesday, a bill aimed at speeding up the negotiation process between workers who have voted to form or join a union and their employers.
• If the bill becomes law, it would set deadlines for certain negotiations and provide dispute resolution avenues for workers, tilting the balance of power toward unions and other labor organizations in labor-management disputes. A contractor industry association called the potential law a "disgrace."
• When workers vote for union representation, subsequent negotiations can drag on for a long time. The bill cites 2021 Bloomberg Law research data showing that the average time from vote to final contract approval is 465 days.

In-Depth Analysis

If the Faster Labor Contracts Act passes the Senate and is signed into law by the president, employers must begin contract negotiations within 10 days after workers vote. If no agreement is reached within 90 days, either party can contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an agency that handles labor disputes. If another 30 days pass without results, a three-person arbitration panel would step in.

Although the bill is not yet in effect, Trent Cotney, a partner and construction team leader at the law firm Adams and Reese, said employers should pay attention to the potential impact of such laws.

"Labor rates and terms in collective bargaining agreements directly relate to matters such as project pricing and scheduling," Cotney told Construction Dive. "Therefore, the accelerated timeframes set by FLCA should raise alarm in the industry."

The Associated Builders and Contractors dismissed FLCA as a "disgrace" and criticized 20 Republican lawmakers for crossing party lines to support Democrats in advancing the bill. ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman said the bill would destroy "voluntary agreements and good-faith labor negotiations," placing contract decisions in the hands of the government rather than private parties.

"FLCA sets arbitrary and unrealistic deadlines for employers to complete negotiations with newly elected unions, or face 'mandatory interest arbitration for first contracts,'" Bellaman said. "In practice, this means that for the first time in U.S. history, federal government bureaucrats would designate individuals to dictate the specific terms of contracts between two private negotiating parties."

He called on the Senate and President Donald Trump to veto the legislation.

On the other hand, Chad Rink, assistant to the general president of the Iron Workers International union, called on the Senate to "get the job done" in a statement provided to Construction Dive. Rink said the time between election and contract negotiation is too long, and workers' votes need to have real meaning.

"Workers who vote to organize should not wait a year and a half or more to get the contract they already won at the ballot box," Rink said. "Too many hard-fought victories are currently stalled by objections and reviews, and time is passing that should be spent at the bargaining table reaching agreements."

Meanwhile, Daniel Hogan, CEO of The Association of Union Constructors, praised the bill in a statement provided to Construction Dive.

"TAUC appreciates the bipartisan passage of the Faster Labor Contracts Act in the House," Hogan said. "Strong labor-management relations are the cornerstone of the union construction industry, and our industry performs best when both parties sit down at the bargaining table and seek practical solutions."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Chad Rink.