Weak labor laws. Strong-arm management tactics. Firings. Union busting lawyers. All are significant hurdles for workers hoping to gain representation on the job.
Add to that slow-walking administrative maneuvers and today’s barely functional National Labor Relations Board, and it’s hard to see how workers ever win union contracts, even after voting yes.
Zoom in: Ask Tenth District organizer Shannon Davis, who is still waiting for a contract nearly a year and a half after an election involving a 70-employee bargaining unit at the Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corp. in Tennessee.
The big picture: Broken labor law is one reason that Rep. Donald Norcross introduced the Faster Labor Contracts Act last September. The bill, which has bipartisan support, would prevent employers from stalling at the bargaining table by setting firm timelines for first contract negotiations.
Norcross, a journeyman wireman and member of Folsom, N.J., Local 351, said the legislation will compel employers to act in good faith and come to the bargaining table quickly.
“The right of workers to form a union and collectively bargain is crucial to improving wages, hours, working conditions, and so much more. I know because I’ve lived it,” said Norcross, who is co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus.
Davis, a lineman, worked at the middle Tennessee co-op from 2000 until he was fired in 2007, during an earlier organizing campaign. He knows the unit, and how tough the employer is when it comes to organizing.
State of play: After the 2024 vote, management challenged the composition of the bargaining unit, arguing several employees shouldn’t have been included in the NLRB vote. The case is before the NLRB in Washington, which is clearing a backlog after the Trump administration fired a member in 2025 and hobbled its ability to function.
“My heart goes out to the workers,” said Davis, who still lives in the community. “This legislation could be a godsend for organizing.”