Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), a Teamsters-led bill that could become the strongest new labor legislation for American workers. The legislative bill is now awaiting passage in the Senate.
“The Faster Labor Contracts Act is the most consequential labor bill to come before Congress in decades. Its bipartisan passage out of the House of Representatives is a significant milestone for millions of American workers,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The 1.3-million member Teamsters Union has worked tirelessly to build a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are committed to improving the lives of working people. Millions of workers at Amazon and other major companies who are fed up with being overworked, underpaid, and undervalued are organizing their unions today in record numbers. We can no longer tolerate a broken system that allows corporations to corruptly drag out negotiations and shirk their legal obligations to bargain fair first union contracts. The FLCA has a real shot to right generations of wrongs and level the playing field for workers. The Teamsters are eager for the Senate to take up this urgent legislation and ensure it lands on the President’s desk.”
The FLCA would amend the National Labor Relations Act to require employers to bargain with newly organized workers within 10 days of voting to form their union. Establishing a reasonable timeline for all parties to negotiate in good faith, the legislation provides a path to mediation if no agreement is reached within 90 days and a referral to arbitration to ensure first contracts can be fairly resolved.
The Senate version of the bill, introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), continues to gain strong bipartisan support – awaiting a green light in the Senate.
“The Senate must schedule its own markup and pass the FLCA as soon as possible.” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman.
