Picture this: You’ve poured your heart and soul into building your construction company. Maybe you’ve even bet your own personal assets to do it. You attract, develop and retain top talent with an industry-leading safety record and a history of consistent, high-quality project delivery.
Then, one day, you’re blindsided with the news of an upcoming union election. Rumors and untruths about your company run rampant in an effort to persuade your employees to “sign the card”—and before you know it, half of your employee roster has chosen union representation.
Now you’re required to negotiate a “first union contract,” which will completely rewrite how you manage your employees: how they’re paid, what they can or cannot do and how they can advance (or not) within your organization. It’s overwhelming, but you act in good faith to reach a win-win agreement in order to sustain your business, deliver value to your clients and help your employees achieve their career dreams. Reaching that level of mutual benefit in an agreement is complex and time-consuming—and if you don’t finish quickly enough, the government is now mandated to step in.
A three-person arbitration panel is appointed which, per the Faster Labor Contracts Act, “shall render a decision settling the dispute and each decision shall be binding upon the parties for a period of two years… Such decision shall be based upon the employer’s financial status and prospects; the size and type of the employer’s operations and business; the employees’ cost of living; the employees’ ability to sustain themselves, their families, and their dependents on the wages and benefits they earn from the employer; and the wages and benefits other employers in the same business provide their employees.” The arbiters’ decision is final—there is zero opportunity for you, your management, your business partners or employees to comment or edit.
Ask yourself: With these rules in place, are you willing to bet your personal balance sheet? Take action today and oppose Sen. Josh Hawley’s Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress and the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
