This episode of America’s Work Force Union Podcast featured Matthew Bruenig, labor lawyer and publisher of the legal tracking platform NLRB Edge. Bruenig discussed his motivation for launching an accessible and affordable resource for tracking National Labor Relations Board rulings, and then discussed the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Bruenig has been a practicing labor lawyer since 2014 and has worked for the National Labor Relations Board, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Bruenig described NLRB Edge as a user-friendly, low-cost alternative to expensive legal publications, such as Law360 or Bloomberg Law, offering free or affordable access to labor law updates. Bruenig explained that the site summarizes NLRB developments for legal professionals, union officials and even rank-and-file members interested in labor relations.
Bruenig then discussed the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a proposal aimed at expediting first contracts after union elections. Bruenig broke down the core idea: after union certification, employers would be required to initiate negotiations within 10 days, proceed to mediation if no agreement is reached after 90 days, and if talks still stall, establish a binding contract through arbitration. He emphasized how the bill could shift the balance of power, discouraging employers from stalling negotiations and assuring workers they’ll see a tangible contract quickly. While the act has limited bipartisan support, Bruenig acknowledged that it faces long odds in the current political climate, noting that only a few Republican politicians, such as U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, have signaled support.
The conversation concluded with Bruenig discussing the NLRB’s effectiveness and future. He pointed out the board’s chronic underfunding and political pressures, observing that although conservatives may wish to weaken or abolish the board, leaving it under-resourced effectively serves management by weakening union enforcement. He highlighted the limitations of legal remedies when employers delay or bargain in bad faith, arguing that leverage still comes from workers’ organizing and economic actions, such as strikes. Ultimately, Bruenig’s advice to unions was this: legal processes are slow and limited, so collective action is essential for achieving fair contracts, particularly in the current political and funding climate for labor law in the United States.
For more from Bruenig, listen to the full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast above.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
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