Argentum is continuing its advocacy push to oppose H.R. 5408, the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), which would impose mandatory arbitration on the private sector and allow the federal government to mandate terms of contracts between unions and companies.
We are working closely with businesses and organizations to oppose both the bill and measure to force a vote on the bill in the House through a discharge petition. The legislation already has the support of 17 Republicans, and if each of them join the discharge petition, the bill would have more than enough votes to pass the House. Should it pass the House, it would almost certainly be blocked from consideration in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to advance, and only one Republicans Senator, Josh Hawley, has supported it.
Under the FLCA, after a union organizing campaign, the parties would have less than 150 days to reach a first contract. If no agreement is reached, a government-appointed arbitrator would dictate the terms, to include overriding private-sector labor negotiations and imposing contract terms on workplaces. We strongly believe that the FLCA does not protect workers, but silences them and would force an unelected government-appointed bureaucrat to set wages, benefits, workplace safety standards, and pensions, without a vote by workers, no consent from the employer, and no meaningful judicial review.