One of Washington state’s industry advocacy groups says a bill being considered in Congress has the potential to remove employers and employees from contract discussions in exchange for quicker development of a deal.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) would, if approved, require employers and newly organized employees to reach a first contract within 120 days, or roughly four months. Failure to do so would then move the process to binding interest arbitration, with a federally-appointed panel determining wages, benefits, scheduling, safety policies and other workplace conditions, according to the Washington Retail Association.

“Supporters of the bill argue it could help workers reach agreements more quickly,” the association said in a statement. “Opponents, including many business groups, argue it could reduce the role of employees and employers in negotiating agreements directly and limit workers’ ability to approve or reject final contract terms.”

Under current labor law, collective bargaining is generally based on voluntary negotiations between employers and employees. 

The Teamsters union, which represents 1.3 million workers, backed the bill, calling it the strongest new labor legislation for American workers in generations.

“Millions of workers at Amazon and other major companies who are fed up with being overworked, underpaid and undervalued are organizing their unions today in record numbers. We can no longer tolerate a broken system that allows corporations to corruptly drag out negotiations and shirk their legal obligations to bargain fair first union contracts. The FLCA has a real shot to right generations of wrongs and level the playing field for workers. The Teamsters are eager for the Senate to take up this urgent legislation and ensure it lands on the President’s desk,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien in a statement.