Today, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) and 376 undersigned organizations sent a letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to oppose the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408), which is being brought to the House floor via a discharge petition (H.Res. 1140). The FLCA would empower the federal government to dictate the terms of contracts between unions and companies, strip workers of their right to ratify the agreements governing their wages and working conditions, and impose an unconstitutional expansion of federal power at odds with the Trump administration’s effort to rein in the federal bureaucracy.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The FLCA is big government at its worst. Under the bill, if the parties fail to reach a first contract on an artificially compressed timeline, a federal arbitration panel gains the power to dictate wages, benefits, and nearly every other condition of employment—with no “ability-to-pay” floor, no worker ratification vote, and no appeal. Business owners and workers would have no recourse against the government if the arbitrator guesses wrong on what terms are affordable. The result could be companies forced to close and workers left without jobs. The FLCA is all about increasing union leverage even if it harms workers, and it would encourage unions to bargain in bad faith in order to position themselves favorably before arbitrators.
“Hundreds of employer organizations representing industries across the country have united in opposition to this bill, because they know what it would mean in practice. The economic record is clear: when unchecked union bargaining power operates without the market discipline that voluntary agreement provides, the result is layoffs, business closures, and harm to the very workers the bill claims to help. The FLCA also violates the Constitution and is an unprecedented intrusion against Americans’ right to contract for themselves. Members of Congress who support this bill are not standing up for workers—they are cutting workers out of the very process that is supposed to protect them. We urge Congress to reject the Faster Labor Contracts Act.”
On June 4, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) sent a letter to the House Education & Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions for its hearing, “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the NLRB.” Drawing on an analysis from LRI Consulting Services of 190,743 unfair labor practice charges filed from 2016 to 2026, the letter documents how the enforcement and policy decisions of former General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and the former Board majority produced a historic case backlog that tripled the inventory of open employer charges, collapsed settlement rates, and drew repeated, pointed rebukes from federal appeals courts. CDW urged Congress to clear the backlog, confirm President Trump’s Board nominees, and reverse the Abruzzo-era decisions that continue to burden employers and employees alike.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“Jennifer Abruzzo and the former Board majority broke the NLRB. Their radical, ideologically driven agenda sowed confusion across the regulated community, was repeatedly discredited by federal courts of appeals, and left behind a historic backlog that delayed relief for employees and saddled employers, especially small businesses, with years of legal uncertainty and excessive litigation costs.
“General Counsel Crystal Carey has moved decisively to undo that damage, but the recovery she has begun cannot succeed without a fully functioning Board. We urge the Committee to use its oversight authority to help the agency clear the backlog, restore stability, and begin overturning the most legally untenable precedents of the Abruzzo era.”
On June 1, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) released a white paper on the perils of the Faster Labor Contracts Act, legislation pending a House floor vote via a Democrat-led discharge petition. CDW’s white paper, The Arbitration Trap: Why the Faster Labor Contracts Act Is Bad for Workers, Employers, and the American Economy, explains how the FLCA would produce perverse economic incentives, reward bad-faith bargaining, and generate unchecked labor costs that could destroy jobs and shutter facilities. Moreover, the bill strips workers of the democratic right to ratify or reject their own contracts, violates the foundational principle of freedom of contract, infringes on workers and employers’ Constitutional rights, and creates a mechanism by which the political demands of organized labor’s most aggressive locals can be nationalized into binding employment agreements without worker or employer consent.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The Faster Labor Contracts Act is big government at its worst. As our white paper explains, mandatory arbitration crushes genuine labor-management negotiations and worker voice and replaces it with a system that rewards bad faith tactics, expands the federal bureaucracy, and could result in economically ruinous contracts for businesses and employees alike.
“The House of Representatives is on the verge of voting on this bill. CDW hopes the representatives take a serious look at the consequences this bill will have on their constituents before placing their vote.”
On April 20, a discharge petition was filed on the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would allow the bill to bypass the committee and go straight to the floor for a vote. The FLCA would allow federal government-appointed arbitrators to set the terms of first contracts between unions and companies if the parties do not voluntarily come to an agreement on terms within very short time frames. CDW urges members of Congress not to sign the discharge petition.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“We urge every member of Congress to refuse to sign the discharge petition on the Faster Labor Contracts Act. The FLCA is big government at its worst. The bill would allow government arbitrators to impose contract terms on private parties without any accountability. Business owners and workers would have no recourse against the government if the arbitrator guesses wrong on what terms are affordable, which could result in companies being forced to close up shop or workers getting laid off. Small business owners and workers will be the ones left holding the bag.
“The FLCA is all about increasing union leverage even if it harms workers, and the bill would encourage unions to be unreasonable in order to position themselves favorably before arbitrators. A recent study by Mercatus outlines in clear terms the real consequences for employees of union overreach at the bargaining table – best exemplified by the recent fallout of UPS’s contract with the Teamsters. According to Mercatus, UPS ‘has eliminated 48,000 operational jobs, announced plans to cut another 30,000 positions, and closed or consolidated more than 100 facilities’ since signing its 2023 ‘historic’ contract.
“The FLCA also violates the Constitution and is an unprecedented intrusion against Americans’ right to contract for themselves. Members of Congress who sign this discharge petition are not standing up for workers; they are cutting workers out of the very process that is supposed to protect them. We urge Congress to reject this petition and protect workers, employers, and the American economy from this unprecedented expansion of federal power.”
On March 12, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and several other employer organizations filed a petition for rulemaking with the NLRB urging the Board to issue a rule rescinding its Cemex decision and restoring the pre-Cemex framework for union-representation procedures.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The Cemex decision was contrary to the NLRA, Supreme Court precedent, and the basic tenets of workplace democracy. It gave the Board the authority to force a union on workers without a secret-ballot election based solely on unreliable authorization cards. Just a single, unintentional violation of the Act could result in forced unionization. The mere existence of this decision chills Constitutionally-protected free speech.
“Board members take an oath to uphold the Constitution, and they are bound by decisions out of the Supreme Court. Cemex directly conflicts with multiple long-standing Supreme Court decisions. The Board has a duty to reverse this decision as soon as possible — whether by rulemaking or adjudication.”
The other employer organizations on the petition were Associated Builders and Contractors, American Hotel & Lodging Association, CHRO Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, Independent Electrical Contractors, International Franchise Association, International Foodservice Distributors Association, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Federation of Independent Business, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, National Retail Federation, and Restaurant Law Center.
On March 12, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) and several employer organizations submitted a petition for rulemaking asking the Board to issue a regulation on mandatory meetings in which employers discuss unionization with their employees.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The Board’s Amazon decision was a clear attempt to silence employers during union organizing campaigns. It violated employers’ free speech rights and left workers without a full understanding of what unionization could mean for their lives and workplaces. The Supreme Court, Congress, and the Board itself have all recognized and protected employers’ right to hold these meetings, but the Board ignored that history when it issued Amazon.
“Board members swear an oath that they will uphold the Constitution, but Amazon clearly conflicts with the First Amendment. The Board, therefore, has an obligation to reverse this decision as soon as possible.”
The other employer organizations on the petition were Associated Builders and Contractors, American Hotel & Lodging Association, CHRO Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, Independent Electrical Contractors, International Franchise Association, International Foodservice Distributors Association, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Federation of Independent Business, National Retail Federation, and Restaurant Law Center.
On March 9, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and several other employer organizations filed an amicus brief before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in SEIU’s flawed lawsuit challenging the NLRB’s joint employer final rule. Our brief explains that the SEIU’s petition should be dismissed for the court’s lack of jurisdiction or denied on the merits.
The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“The SEIU’s petition is severely flawed. Their preferred approach to joint employer status would destabilize labor relations across the economy. The NLRB’s joint employer rule, on the other hand, is supported by the common law, provides clarity and predictability to the regulated community, and ensures the appropriate entities are held responsible for the actions they take against their employees. The court should uphold the rule and its common-sense approach to joint employer liability.
“The petition also fails to explain why a federal circuit court should be the first to hear a challenge to the Board’s rule. District courts have original jurisdiction over challenges to NLRB rulemakings, making the SEIU’s decision to file its petition before the DC Circuit baffling. The court lacks jurisdiction to hear this challenge, and the petition should dismissed.”
On March 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit issued its decision in Brown-Forman, striking down the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Cemex decision. The court ruled that the NLRB had overstepped its authority, finding that the Cemex standard “was not created as a means to resolve the parties’ dispute or undo the effects of the parties’ violative conduct” — and therefore constituted an improper use of the Board’s adjudicatory power.
CDW had previously urged the Board to seek public input before issuing the Cemex decision. When the Board rejected that request and proceeded anyway, CDW filed an amicus brief with the 6th Circuit in April 2025, arguing that “the Board unlawfully adopted this radical new standard within the confines of a single case adjudication” and that the decision was “a classic example of improper rulemaking in the guise of adjudication.” The Brown-Forman case has been remanded back to the NLRB for further review.
CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen issued the following statement:
“CDW applauds the court for rejecting the Biden Labor Board’s attempt to rewrite more than 50 years of Supreme Court precedent while bypassing federal rulemaking procedures. The Cemex decision was an attack on employees’ right to secret ballot elections, and the Board should immediately act to restore prior precedent.”
On February 11, 2026, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, the Independent Work Coalition, American Bakers Association, American Hotel & Lodging Association, American Trucking Associations, Associated Builders and Contractors, Independent Bakers Association, International Franchise Association, International Warehouse Logistics Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Retail Federation, New Jersey–New York Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association, and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council filed a petition for rulemaking with the National Labor Relations Board urging the Board to use the notice-and-comment process to establish a clear independent contractor standard under the National Labor Relations Act. The petition calls on the Board to issue a new rule based on its 2019 SuperShuttle decision and federal court precedent.
CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen explained, “For too long, policy around the independent contractor standard under the NLRA has swung wildly with each change in administration, creating unnecessary confusion and threatening the livelihoods of entrepreneurs across the country. The regulated community needs policy stability to plan for the future and thrive. That stability can only be achieved with a well-reasoned rulemaking that follows Congressional intent and can withstand judicial scrutiny.”
“Independent contractors play an integral role in nearly every sector of the economy, and the coalition of organizations on this petition for rulemaking demonstrates the broad array of industries concerned about the worker classification standard under the NLRA,” said Independent Work Coalition Chair Katie Farrell. “Federal labor policy should preserve the rights of individuals and businesses who wish to enter into legitimate contracts. The Board should set a clear independent contractor standard that supports entrepreneurs, provides stability for the regulated community, and protects against bona fide misclassification.”
On January 23, CDW and several other employer organizations filed an amicus brief in a case before the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit challenging California’s recently enacted law prohibiting employers from discussing religious or political topics, including unionization, with their employees during mandatory meetings.
The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:
“California’s law is a clear violation of the First Amendment. It prohibits employers from engaging in their constitutionally protected right to free speech, simply because the state doesn’t like their viewpoint. This law will silence speech, violating employers’ rights and leaving employees without critical information about their workplace and livelihood. The District Court has already recognized the law’s illegality, and we urge the 9th Circuit to agree.”