WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act by a vote of 230 to 193. The legislation requires employers to begin contract negotiations within 10 days of a successful union election.
The bill allows the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to intervene if no agreement is reached within 90 days of negotiations. If mediation fails to produce an agreement within an additional 30 days, a three-member arbitration panel would settle the dispute. Arbitrated labor agreements would remain binding for two years or until both parties negotiate alternative terms. The panel would evaluate the employer's financial status, the employees' cost of living, and wages and benefits at comparable companies.
Representative Donald Norcross, a Democrat from New Jersey, served as the bill's primary sponsor. Twenty Republican representatives joined all voting Democratic representatives in supporting the bill. The legislation reached the House floor through a discharge petition signed by seven Republicans.
Norcross said, "No more stop the steals. You got an election, you can get a contract." Data indicates that the average duration for workers and employers to reach a first contract after unionization is 465 days. Employees at a Buffalo, New York location unionized in late 2021 without yet securing a contract, and employees at a Staten Island, New York warehouse unionized in spring 2022 without yet securing a contract.
Sean O'Brien, a labor union president, said, "This is one of the most consequential labor bills to come before Congress in generations. It has the potential to hold Corporate America accountable for endlessly dragging out negotiations and denying workers the first union contracts they deserve." The bill has advanced to the Senate for further consideration. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, is a Senate co-sponsor of the legislation.
Gregory Hoff, an association general counsel, said, "Sometimes contract negotiations do take time, as frustrating as it is. It is very, very important to get these things right the first time." He also commented on the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's ability to handle the increased workload, saying, "I think the idea that they could handle all this is highly optimistic." The agency has approximately 90 employees remaining after staff reductions initiated under the Trump administration.