For nearly two decades, I have dedicated my career to caring for Oklahoma’s seniors and supporting the professionals who make their long-term care possible. As co-owner of Bison Health Management, Executive Director of West Wind Assisted Living, and owner and COO of Refuge Care, I see firsthand the challenges of building strong teams and running businesses in a heavily regulated field. Add to that my experience as a small business owner and former Oklahoma state senator, and I have learned one thing above all: when government oversteps, workers and businesses both suffer.
That’s why I am deeply concerned about the so-called Faster Labor Contracts Act recently introduced in Washington. On its face, the bill claims to streamline negotiations between employers and newly certified unions. In reality, it hands unprecedented power to government bureaucrats at the expense of Oklahoma workers and businesses.
If this bill becomes law, employers would be required to start bargaining with a new union in just ten days. If both sides can’t reach an agreement in 90 days, they are forced into mediation. Finally, if the details aren’t worked out 30 days after that, the dispute is sent to binding arbitration. In other words, an outside arbitrator would decide the contract rather than Oklahoma employees and business owners. That first contract could dictate wages, benefits, and working conditions for years to come, regardless of whether workers approved of the terms.
This heavy-handed approach upends the balance Congress established nearly 90 years ago with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under current law, employers and unions must bargain in good faith but are not forced to make concessions or agree to a proposal. That balance respects the rights of both sides and ensures that contracts are the product of free, uncoerced negotiation. According to Bloomberg Law, it currently takes an average of 458 days to reach a first contract. This reflects the reality that deciding wages, hours, and workplace conditions is complicated and should not be rushed.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act ignores those realities. By setting rigid deadlines and threatening government intervention, it all but guarantees that workers and businesses will be pressured into agreements that don’t fit their needs. Oklahoma workers could find themselves locked into multi-year contracts imposed by Washington bureaucrats without ever having had a real say.
American voters agree this is wrong: a September 2025 survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 90% of voters oppose government-mandated union contracts without worker approval.
The best solutions come from empowering people, not government meddling. Oklahomans know how to negotiate, compromise, and solve problems without Washington looking over our shoulders. Our federal lawmakers should therefore reject the Faster Labor Contracts Act and stand up for the principles of freedom, fairness, and local control. I urge Senator Markwayne Mullin to vote against this misguided bill and tell his colleagues to do the same.
Union contracts take time to get right. The last thing workers and business owners need is Washington rushing the process.
About the author: Jessica Garvin is co-owner of Bison Health Management, Executive Director of West Wind Assisted Living, owner and COO of Refuge Care, and a former Oklahoma state senator who represented District 43 from 2020 to 2024.