Posts tagged mediator
The Faster Labor Contracts Act disempowers workers
June 1, 2026 // The bill’s most obvious defect is its egregious misnaming. Whatever is produced by statutorily compelled arbitration cannot be correctly characterized as a contract at all. A contract results from parties negotiating, compromising, and voluntarily agreeing to terms each can accept. That process is precisely what gives contracts legitimacy and durability. The Faster Labor Contracts Act abandons that principle. Under its framework, if the parties fail to reach agreement within the prescribed period, federal arbitrators impose terms neither side may actually want. This is not a contract; it is coercive government regulation.
OP ED: The FCLA is a Bad Deal for Both Workers and Employers
May 4, 2026 // This bill presumes that employers are acting in bad faith, but the National Labor Relations Board already has the authority to prosecute employers who genuinely refuse to bargain. This legislation goes far beyond existing law and creates an entirely new and unnecessary federal apparatus. For an employer who shows up to negotiate in good faith, that presumption is both unfair and costly. West Virginia is a right-to-work state — one that believes government should stay out of private-sector negotiations. The FLCA moves us in exactly the opposite direction.
Academic showdown: NYU professors launch strike authorization vote
February 4, 2026 // Contract Faculty United-UAW (CFU-UAW) said it would open the strike voting on Feb. 9, with balloting continuing through Feb. 20. The union represents close to 950 full-time non-tenure track professors and librarians across 12 New York University (NYU) schools, accounting for roughly half of the higher-education facility’s full-time faculty.
Washington Democrats propose collective bargaining for farmworkers
January 21, 2026 // Washington Farm Bureau director of government relations Breanne Elsey told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Jan. 19 that farmworkers are excluded from the federal law for good reasons. Untimely labor disputes would bankrupt farms, she said. “Striking during harvest could threaten the small window of time farmers have to produce their income for the entire year,” she said. SB 6617 would apply to housekeepers and employees of some small businesses, as well as farmworkers. Senate Bill 6045 and House Bill 2409 are confined to collective-bargaining rights for just farmworkers. Those bills are scheduled for initial hearings Jan. 20.
SFUSD Teachers Overwhelmingly Pass Strike Authorization Vote
December 7, 2025 // UESF has asked for a 9% raise for teachers and 14% raise for non-certificated staff over two years. They also asked for up to 100% health care benefit coverage and a new special education staffing model, among other demands.
IAM union modifies offer to Boeing after meeting with mediator
October 3, 2025 // In response to Boeing’s offers, IAM 837 members created their own proposed offer, featuring increased 401k contributions and improved raises for top of scale members, but was rejected by the company. Boeing and the union returned to the bargaining table on Monday with the inclusion of a federal mediator to help provide a new avenue to resolve the ongoing dispute. On Tuesday, the union modified its proposed offer to the company.
Canadian government forces Air Canada, flight attendants into arbitration
August 17, 2025 // Air Canada and its striking flight attendants were forced back to work and into arbitration Saturday by Canada's government after an early morning strike stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said now is not the time to take risks with the economy while announcing the intervention. It means the 10,000 flight attendants will return to work soon.
Sierra Club floats ‘best and final’ contract offer to staff union
June 24, 2024 // The green group’s management and one of its employee unions, the Progressive Workers Union, have clashed over the specifics of a new contract since the previous agreement expired at the end of last year. Sierra Club’s leadership sent what it called its “best and final offer” to the union this week and is now asking the union to participate in mediation, where an independent party would work with leadership and the union to hash out areas of compromise.
Hollywood actors’ union SAG-AFTRA votes to strike. ‘We are the victims here.’
July 14, 2023 // The studios said the union walked away from an offer that included “historic” increases in pay and residuals, as well as a “groundbreaking” proposal for AI protections. The group said its offer included a requirement for a performer’s consent for the creation and use of digital replicas or for digital alterations of a performance.
Hollywood studios racing to avoid actors’ strike at midnight
July 12, 2023 //