Cortez Masto, Booker, Culinary Union Call on Senate to Pass Bipartisan Legislation to Speed Up Labor Contract Negotiations

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Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) joined leaders and members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 to call on the Senate to pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act, bipartisan legislation that would guarantee workers who vote to form a union a first contract without years of delay.

Currently, workers wait an average of 465 days for a first contract, and many never get one at all. The Faster Labor Contracts Act would require employers to begin bargaining within 10 days of a union's written request to negotiate, allow either party to request mediation from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service if no agreement is reached within 90 days, and refer the dispute to an arbitration panel if mediation fails to produce a contract within an additional 30 days.

"My father was a Teamster, so I know just how important unions are to ensuring one job is enough," said Senator Cortez Masto. "Unfortunately, bad actors are using every trick in the book to stall union negotiations, keeping wages low and working conditions poor. That's why I'm proud to stand along with the Culinary Union to urge my colleagues to immediately pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act."

"For too long, workers have voted to organize and then waited years for a company to bargain with them in good faith," said Senator Booker. "That's not how this is supposed to work. The Faster Labor Contracts Act sets clear, reasonable deadlines so that when workers speak up and vote to unionize, they actually get a seat at the table. I'm proud to stand with Culinary Union members today, and I'm calling on my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill without further delay."

The House passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act on June 9 by a vote of 230-193, with 20 Republicans joining every House Democrat. In addition to Senators Booker and Cortez Masto, the Senate version is led by Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and joined by Senators Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). It is endorsed by the AFL-CIO.

"For 17 years, Station Casinos has done everything it can to block workers from exercising their right to a union contract - from firing leaders who organized their co-workers to using the pandemic as a scheme to break their union support," said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union. "Workers at Station Casinos won their union through National Labor Relations Board elections and yet they've been dragged through endless delays, appeals, and bad-faith tactics by the company. Culinary Union and Station Casinos' workers demand justice, applaud Senators Booker and Cortez Masto for their continued leadership, and urge the swift passage of the Faster Labor Contracts Act. This legislation is needed because it puts real timelines and consequences on bad employers who stall. We stand with Station Casinos workers who are organizing and we won't stop fighting until we win strong union contracts."

"I've been working at Station Casinos since 1991, but I still have nothing to show for it," said Casiano Corpus Jr., a casino porter employed at Station Casinos' Palace Station Casinos for 34 years in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I wear my union button every day inside non-union Station Casinos and I'm proud because a union contract there could provide a better life for our families and give us a voice and representation. When I retire after two decades with this company, I don't have a retirement pension. I'm not a second class worker and I believe that we deserve the same pension and raises the Culinary Union members have. I will not stop until we finish this fight and I know for sure we will win a union contract at Station Casinos."

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

The proud daughter of a Teamster, Senator Cortez Masto grew up knowing the value of organized labor and has always fought for Nevada's working families. She has introduced legislation to protect workers' right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces and to implement federal workplace heat stress protections. The Senator works closely with the Culinary Union, and has joined them in the past to advocate for the extension of TPS protections for Salvadorans, push for the passage of her immigration reform bill, and call attention to the detrimental impacts of the Trump Administration's policies on Nevada's travel and tourism economy.

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