Advocacy News – June 11, 2026
What’s happening: The Michigan Chamber recently joined a coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposing the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408), federal legislation that represents dangerous government overreach, requiring binding arbitration if employers and newly formed unions cannot reach a first contract within a specified timeframe.
Why it matters: Supporters argue the bill would prevent negotiations from dragging on for months or even years after workers vote to unionize. Opponents contend the legislation would replace voluntary bargaining with a government-imposed process that could dictate wages, benefits and workplace rules without approval from either side.
How it would work: Under the proposal:
- Parties would have 90 days to negotiate a first contract.
- If no agreement is reached, mediation would be required.
- After 30 days of mediation, a federal arbitration panel could impose a binding contract.
- The contract would take effect without ratification by employees or approval from the employer.
What we’re saying: The Chamber’s concerns include:
- Worker voice: Employees could be bound by a contract they never had the opportunity to vote on.
- Business realities: Government-appointed arbiters are not required to take a business’s ability to afford the contract into account, meaning that every time the mechanism was utilized a business could be facing financial distress or bankruptcy.
- Free enterprise: The legislation shifts decision-making authority away from workers and employers and into the hands of government-appointed arbitrators, destroying the foundational tenet of U.S. labor law: the voluntary agreement between employer and employee.
The bottom line: The MI Chamber supports good-faith collective bargaining and believes contracts should be negotiated by the parties directly affected by them. We will continue working with federal policymakers to oppose this legislation that replaces voluntary agreement with government-imposed outcomes.
For Qs or more information, contact Mike Alaimo.