The Workers Who Built America Need a Say in Government
This summer, we’re not only celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. We’re also celebrating the 250th anniversary of the longest-lasting democracy in world history.
When the US was founded, the nations of the world were ruled by kings, who exercised absolute power. In countries where there was an elected parliament, voting was limited to the richest landowners. Working people had no say in how they were governed. The American Revolution didn’t just throw off English control of our affairs – it represented a completely new approach to government. For the first time, everyday citizens had the right to vote for their leaders – and just as importantly, to vote them out of office. Of course, not everyone was afforded those rights at the nation’s founding; it took years of organizing to win the vote for women and for many racial minorities. But the American story has been one of continually expanding rights and democracy, and it’s up to us to keep it that way.
Just as it took organizing to win voting rights for all Americans, it took serious political engagement to win the workplace rights we too often take for granted. There was no eight-hour day when the nation was founded. There were no overtime regulations, and no health and safety laws. At times, the very existence of labor unions was prohibited. Workers had to fight to pass laws guaranteeing our rights in the workplace, and that fight is never over. That’s why organized labor has always been involved in the political arena – not because we love politics, but because it’s where our rights are decided. We’re lucky to live in a democratic society, and we owe it to ourselves and our families to make the most of it and organize for laws that work for us.
A Rare Chance for Real, Bipartisan Labor Law Reform
On this 250th birthday of the United States, it sadly seems like Congress is paralyzed by partisan division, and unable to advance legislation by any means other than slender party-line votes. That’s why the bipartisan passage of the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) in the House of Representatives on June 9 was such a welcome reminder of how Washington can work when legislators put the American people ahead of political grandstanding.
Twenty Republicans – nearly ten percent of the party’s House caucus – joined all the Democrats to easily pass the FLCA after forcing a vote via discharge petition. A discharge petition allows a majority of members of the House of Representatives to force a vote on a bill even when the Speaker of the House refuses to schedule it for consideration.
Some observers may wonder why this bill garnered so much bipartisan support at a time when Republicans and Democrats appear to agree on almost nothing at all. The reason is simple – the FLCA represents a simple, common-sense improvement to labor law and workplace stability, one that only the most hardened anti-worker ideologues could oppose.
Today, workers negotiating for their first contract after forming a union routinely face lengthy delays caused by employer bad-faith bargaining. The average new union must wait over 450 days to win a first contract – if they ever get an agreement at all. In fact, nearly half of new unions (43%) lack first contracts after two years. The National Labor Relations Act requires employers to bargain in good faith, but that requirement is not self-enforcing, and there are no real penalties for refusing to bargain.
The FLCA will fix this failure by encouraging employers to get serious about bargaining with new unions. Under the FLCA, if negotiations don’t lead to a contract within 90 days, either party can request referral to mediation – and if 30 days of mediated bargaining don’t resolve differences, the matter will be put in front of a panel of arbitrators, who will craft a binding agreement based on objective factors. The ultimate goal of the bill is to encourage the parties to come to an agreement on their own before it is submitted to arbitrators. In fact, in British Columbia, where first contract mediation and arbitration are required by law, only one-half of one percent of first contracts have been imposed by arbitrators over the last thirty years.
As the preamble to the FLCA states, ‘in order for employees in the United States to fully enjoy the benefits guaranteed to them by Federal labor law, those employees must be able to promptly secure a first contract following the legal recognition or certification of a labor organization, and Federal labor law ought to facilitate this expediency.’ That simple truth is why House members set aside their differences to pass the bill – and it’s why the Senate must put the FLCA on the floor, pass it, and send it to the President for his signature. BAC will continue to push for passage of this critical bill.