The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is one of the loudest and clearest voices in support of the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

We are right to be.

This bill is built around a simple idea: When workers organize a union, they should not have to wait any extended lengths of time to negotiate their first contract. Companies delaying or dragging out bargaining leads to workers losing hope and momentum.

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said it plainly when the union announced its support for the bill:

Their playbook is simple: stall, delay, and drag out negotiations to deny workers from securing the wages and conditions they deserve. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

That is exactly right.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act requires employers to begin bargaining with newly organized workers within 10 days. If the parties do not reach an agreement within 90 days, the process would move to mediation. If mediation does not resolve the dispute after another 30 days, the dispute could move to binding arbitration for a first contract.

Check out the one-pager by Representative Pete Stauber.

This framework exists because first contract delays are one of the most common anti-union tactics used by employers.

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The current playbook:

Workers win an election.

The employer says all the right things.

Then weeks turn into months.

Months turn into a year.

The committee loses steam. Workers get frustrated. Management hopes the union fades before a contract is ever signed.

That is why Teamsters support stronger timelines.

That is why the labor movement supports faster first contracts.

And that is why the IBT Staff Council is asking a fair question:

If the Teamsters believe newly organized workers deserve bargaining dates and a timely path to a first contract, why have IBT organizers waited more than 90 days without even receiving bargaining dates?

This is not a complicated demand.

We are not asking for special treatment.

We are not asking the IBT to do anything it would not demand from Amazon, UPS, Costco, DHL, or any other employer.

We are asking the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to live by the same standard it publicly supports.

The contradiction is hard to ignore.

Externally, the IBT says workers should not have to wait months or years for a first contract.

Internally, IBT organizers have already waited more than 90 days and still do not have bargaining dates.

Externally, the IBT says delay is a management tactic.

Internally, delay is being experienced by the people who spend their careers fighting that exact tactic.

Externally, the IBT supports a federal law that would force employers into mediation after 90 days without a first contract.

Internally, our officially recognized Staff Council has not even been given dates to begin bargaining.

That is not alignment.

And the Teamsters should want alignment.

Because this moment is bigger than one bargaining unit.

Every Teamsters organizer knows what delay does to a new union campaign. Delay creates confusion. Delay creates fear. Delay creates space for division. Delay sends a message that management is not taking the workers seriously.

When an employer refuses to move, workers understand the message.

That is why bargaining dates matter.

They are not just calendar entries.

They are proof of good faith.

They are proof that the employer recognizes the union, respects the workers, and is prepared to sit down and solve problems.

The IBT Staff Council is made up of staff organizers and lead organizers who help workers build unions every day. We know the importance of first contract urgency because we have seen what happens when employers drag their feet.

We have seen workers who won their union election forced to fight again just to get to the table.

We have seen companies use delay as a strategy.

We have seen employers claim they respect workers while refusing to bargain in a meaningful way.

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That is exactly why the Faster Labor Contracts Act matters.

But if the Teamsters are going to make that argument to Congress, to the public, and to workers across the country, then the same principle has to apply inside our own house.

A union cannot credibly say that employers should bargain quickly with newly organized workers while refusing to promptly schedule bargaining with its own newly organized employees.

The solution is simple.

Set dates.

Begin bargaining.

Move toward a fair first contract.

This can be a leadership moment.

The IBT can show the labor movement what it looks like when a union lives its values internally. It can demonstrate that the same urgency we demand from corporate employers applies when the workers are the organizers who build the union itself.

The Teamsters are right about the Faster Labor Contracts Act.

• Workers should not have to wait endlessly for a first contract.

• Employers should not be allowed to stall the process.

• Bargaining should begin quickly.

There should be clear timelines.

There should be accountability.

That is the standard the IBT supports publicly.

Now the IBT Staff Council is asking the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to apply that standard at home.

Give us bargaining dates.

Sit down with us.

Let’s get to work on a fair first contract.

Solidarity should not stop at the office door.

Teamster Organizers support
The Faster Labor Contracts Act for
ALL workers!

About the IBT Staff Council

The IBT Staff Council is the union representing staff organizers and lead organizers employed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Its members work across the country helping workers build power, organize unions, and win strong contracts. The Council is committed to securing a fair first contract and advancing the principles of dignity, democracy, and solidarity within the labor movement.

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