The Faster Labor Contracts Act: What’s at Stake for Collective Bargaining?

This summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a bill that would transform how unions and employers negotiate their first agreements. It would impose quick deadlines for negotiations, after which it would send the parties to mediation and eventually binding arbitration, where a panel of arbitrators would hear evidence and write the agreement themselves. Supporters call the bill a needed corrective to slow, sometimes futile negotiations; opponents say it will destroy the country’s voluntary approach to collective bargaining. Yet despite the elevated rhetoric, the bill has attracted supporters from both sides of the political aisle.Why has the bill attracted such attention? And why do its supports and critics see it in such stark terms? Our panel of experts will break it down.Featuring:Thomas Beck, Member, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations AuthorityProf. Sharon Block, Professor of Practice and Executive Director, Center for Labor and a Just Economy, Harvard Law SchoolG. Roger King, Senior Labor and Employment Counsel, CHRO AssociationDaniel Kishi, Senior Policy Advisor, American Compass(Moderator) Alex MacDonald, Shareholder & Co-Chair of the Workplace Policy Institute, Littler Mendelson P.C.