In December 2021, baristas at a Buffalo Starbucks voted to form a union. Almost five years later, they still don't have a contract. Neither do the Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island who won their election in the spring of 2022. Across the country, the average wait for a first contract is now more than 450 days, and for plenty of workers it stretches far longer than that.

Federal law says employers have to bargain, but it never says how fast, and there's almost no penalty for stalling. So companies challenge the ballots, appeal the certification, litigate the size of the bargaining unit, and cancel bargaining sessions for years. All the while the union that just won can't collect dues, which means no organizers, no staff, and no capacity to keep fighting.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act fixes this. It requires employers at the table within 10 days, brings in a federal mediator if there's no deal after 90 days, and sends the dispute to neutral arbitration 30 days after that. It passed the House on June 9 with votes from both parties, and now it's sitting in a Senate committee. Committees schedule votes on bills when enough constituents make it clear they're paying attention.

This Labor Day, tell your Senator to fight for workers and co-sponsor and pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act!