[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4013-H4017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OFFER MOTION TO DISCHARGE COMMITTEE ON RULES
FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE RESOLUTION 1140
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(c) of rule XV, I rise
to provide notice of my intent to offer a motion to discharge the
Committee on Rules from the further consideration of House Resolution
1140.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Did the gentleman sign the petition?
Mr. NORCROSS. I did.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will now recognize the gentleman
from New Jersey to offer the motion just noticed.
Does the gentleman offer the motion to discharge?
Mr. NORCROSS. I do, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey calls up a
motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration
of House Resolution 1140.
The Clerk will report the title of the resolution.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Norcross) will be recognized for 10 minutes, and the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) will be recognized for 10
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a motion to discharge H.R.
5408, the Faster Labor Contracts Act. I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the motion, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, the Faster Labor Contracts Act creates a
fair and reliable time frame for workers and employers to reach their
first contract.
Workers in this country are guaranteed the right to organize and
collectively bargain. Together, by passing this bipartisan bill, we can
close one of the biggest loopholes undermining their ability to get an
actual contract.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New
Jersey to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration
of House Resolution 1140.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 220,
nays 199, not voting 11, as follows:
[Roll No. 212]
YEAS--220
Adams
Aguilar
Amo
Ansari
Auchincloss
Bacon
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bell
Bera
Beyer
Bishop
Bonamici
Boyle (PA)
Bresnahan
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bynum
Carbajal
Carson
Carter (LA)
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Conaway
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Dexter
Dingell
Doggett
Elfreth
Escobar
Espaillat
Evans (PA)
Fields
Figures
Fitzpatrick
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Friedman
Frost
Garamendi
Garcia (CA)
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Gillen
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gonzalez, V.
Goodlander
Gottheimer
Gray
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy (NY)
Khanna
Krishnamoorthi
LaLota
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latimer
Lawler
Lee (NV)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Liccardo
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Mannion
Matsui
McBath
McBride
McClain Delaney
McClellan
McCollum
McGarvey
McGovern
McIver
Meeks
Mejia
Menefee
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Miller (OH)
Min
Moore (WI)
Moore (WV)
Morelle
Morrison
Moskowitz
Moulton
Mrvan
Mullin
Nadler
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Olszewski
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pelosi
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Pingree
Pocan
Pou
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Randall
Raskin
Riley (NY)
Rivas
Ross
Ruiz
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
[[Page H4014]]
Sewell
Sherman
Simon
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Subramanyam
Suozzi
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Tran
Underwood
Van Drew
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Vindman
Walkinshaw
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Whitesides
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
NAYS--199
Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei (NV)
Arrington
Babin
Baird
Balderson
Barr
Barrett
Bean (FL)
Begich
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs (AZ)
Biggs (SC)
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Buchanan
Burchett
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Comer
Crane
Crank
Crawford
Crenshaw
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Downing
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Evans (CO)
Ezell
Fallon
Fedorchak
Feenstra
Fine
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Fuller
Garbarino
Gill (TX)
Gimenez
Goldman (TX)
Gooden
Gosar
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Hamadeh (AZ)
Haridopolos
Harrigan
Harris (MD)
Harris (NC)
Harshbarger
Hern (OK)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Hinson
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Hurd (CO)
Issa
Jack
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (PA)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy (UT)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley (CA)
Kim
Knott
Kustoff
LaHood
Langworthy
Latta
Lee (FL)
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luna
Luttrell
Mackenzie
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McDowell
McGuire
Messmer
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Moolenaar
Moore (AL)
Moore (NC)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Murphy
Nehls
Newhouse
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Onder
Owens
Patronis
Perry
Pfluger
Reschenthaler
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rouzer
Roy
Rulli
Rutherford
Salazar
Scalise
Schmidt
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Shreve
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smucker
Spartz
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stutzman
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner (OH)
Valadao
Van Duyne
Van Epps
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Westerman
Wied
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke
NOT VOTING--11
Baumgartner
Dunn (FL)
Graves
Houchin
Joyce (OH)
Kean
Mace
McDonald Rivet
Norman
Palmer
Strong
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining.
{time} 1450
So the motion to discharge was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated against:
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been
present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 212.
Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I missed a series of votes today. Had I been
present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 212.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 1140
Resolved, That immediately upon adoption of this
resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in
the House of the bill (H.R. 5408) to accelerate workplace
time-to-contract under the National Labor Relations Act. All
points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order
against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on
any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Education and Workforce or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX and clause 8 of rule XX
shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 5408.
Sec. 3. The Clerk shall transmit to the Senate a message
that the House has passed H.R. 5408 no later than three
calendar days after passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I am a union electrician by trade and a
proud member of IBEW Local 351. I have spent my entire life fighting
for workers to get a fair shake from their employers. I am proud to
rise in support of what would be the most impactful protection for
workers' rights in nearly 100 years, my Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Whether it is safer working conditions, better pay, or even something
as simple as getting the weekend off from work, unions have been making
people's lives better for generations. They do so by helping workers
get a seat at the table with companies that control the purse strings.
One of the most important tools a union has to get that seat is the
right to collectively bargain.
Workers' right to negotiate their contracts together has been the law
of the land for almost a century. Yet, for that entire time, there has
been a glaring loophole in the system that allows employers to prevent
unions from ever securing their first contract. Simply put, workers
have no real option if their bosses hold out in negotiations
indefinitely.
That is exactly what employers have done. They have run out the
clock.
It can already take 1 year for workers to win and certify an election
and to actually be unionized, and that is when the start of the clock
begins. It takes an average of 458 days for an employer to agree with a
union to get their first contract. That is just the average. Roughly
one-third of all those workers are forced to wait over 3 years before
they can sign on the dotted line.
Companies have every incentive to drag out this waiting game. For
starters, delaying a new contract ensures that their profits don't have
to be shared with their workers. Employers also know that if they can
hold up negotiations long enough, there is a chance their employees
might get frustrated and decide this process simply is too long. For
some of the largest corporations, making collective bargaining as
painful as possible might just prevent their other branches from trying
to unionize in their workplace.
Let's be clear: Union-busting is illegal and wrong, and it has been
for generations. With the dirty tactics of indefinite delays, many
employers are working relentlessly to kill their employees' unions.
If you live in America, Mr. Speaker, you have likely crossed paths
with many of those workers who were hurt by their employer's waiting
games. Let's talk about the father in the Amazon delivery van dropping
off home goods in an ice storm. Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the
young woman at Starbucks who knows your coffee order by heart, or the
kind senior bagging your groceries at Trader Joe's, or the hiking
expert going that extra mile for you at REI.
Those workers are getting screwed, plain and simple. Many of them are
also getting screwed by bosses like Jeff Bezos, who in a short time has
accumulated more wealth than any human in the history of the world.
At Amazon, the company Bezos helped found, there are currently over
5,000 warehouse workers in Staten Island who voted to form a union in
2022. For 4 years, they have been waiting. They have been waiting for
Amazon to negotiate in good faith, and they are still waiting.
Mr. Speaker, if your partner gave you an engagement ring but didn't
show up for 4 years at the altar, you would think there is a problem.
Well, folks, we do have a problem.
I believe workers deserve to hold their employers to those same
standards. My Faster Labor Contracts Act offers a simple, three-step
solution to turn endless negotiation delays into fair contracts for
workers.
First, following the certification of a union election, it would
require employers to begin contract negotiations with their new union
within 10 days.
Second, if a new agreement is not reached after 90 days, my bill
would give workers or their employers a choice to refer the
negotiations to an independent mediation.
Finally, if mediation takes longer than 1 month, workers or the
employer could ask for an arbitration panel to render a decision on a
first contract.
This three-step plan would give both parties multiple opportunities
to advance stalled contract discussions if they choose to. That is
because right
[[Page H4015]]
now there are no opportunities if the other stops negotiating in good
faith.
My bill's clear timeline for contract negotiations would ensure
workers can start benefiting from their new union contract in months,
not years. I am also confident that not every negotiation will require
outside help because hundreds of employers already do this process the
right way each day. Problem employers will be forced to sit down at the
table when they know they are not allowed to run out the clock.
Unions fight for American workers of all political stripes. That is
why my Faster Labor Contracts Act has attracted bipartisan support.
Especially during this nasty era of politics, I am grateful for Members
on both sides of the aisle who are willing to stand up with workers
together.
{time} 1500
Mr. Speaker, I am also grateful to my friends in the broader labor
movement for long calling out bad-faith negotiations by employers.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record letters
by several of these partners in support of the Faster Labor Contracts
Act, including the Teamsters, AFL-CIO, IBEW, International Federation
of Professional and Technical Engineers, United Steelworkers, and
International Association of Machinists.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Washington, DC, June 5, 2026.
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 1.3 million members
of the Teamsters Union, I urge you to vote ``YES'' on H.R.
5408, the Faster Labor Contracts Act and H. Res 1140
providing for consideration of the bill.
Under current law, workers have the right to establish a
collective bargaining agreement after they elect to form
their union. Unfortunately, the National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) is full of loopholes that allow companies to drag out
the negotiation process for years. On average, it takes 458
days after a successful union election to secure a first
contract.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act establishes a fair and
reliable first contract bargaining timeframe of approximately
130 days. The bill provides both mediation and arbitration
mechanisms to employers and employees if a first contract
cannot be established after a certain period. I want to be
very clear on the following points:
The provisions of the bill only apply to first contract
negotiation.
At any point in the established process both parties may
elect together to forgo mediation or arbitration and continue
to bargain in good faith.
If a first contract is reached under the terms of this bill
via binding arbitration, that contract will be in effect for
a term of no more than two years.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act represents good faith
negotiation and compromise between political parties and
issue stakeholders. Ironically, the frenzied and disingenuous
opposition to H.R. 5408 by corporate special interest groups
exists precisely because the Faster Labor Contracts Act is
good policy. Unlike the thousands of messaging bills
introduced every year in Congress to elicit rage and
conflagration, H.R. 5408 provides a fair and thoughtful
solution to a real problem. It is a good bill that can become
law.
All over this country, every year, hundreds of thousands of
men and women elect to form a union with their co-workers for
the first time. It isn't easy to win a union election.
Standing in solidarity with your co-workers to demand the
true worth of your labor from your employer is not without
risk. When workers take that step together, they do it for
the protection, wages and benefits, safety and respect
granted by a union collective bargaining agreement. The
Faster Labor Contracts Act levels the playing field by
addressing inequity in current law which grants favor in
first contract negotiations to the party with unlimited time,
resources and appetite for litigation.
As General President of the Teamsters Union, my priority
has been to dispense with preconceptions about what is
politically possible; build unexpected coalitions; and find
common sense bipartisan solutions to fixable problems. The
Faster Labor Contracts Act is a product of that mission. I
urge you to stand with Teamster members and workers across
the country in their fight to invest in and provide for
themselves, their families and their community by voting
``YES'' when H.R. 5408 comes to the floor.
Sincerely,
Sean M. O'Brien,
General President.
____
AFL-CIO,
June 5, 2026.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 15 million workers
and 65 affiliate unions of the AFL-CIO, we urge you to vote
YES to pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R. 5408), the
bipartisan legislation led by Representatives Donald Norcross
and Pete Stauber.
American workers are being squeezed. Real wages of working
people are not keeping up with rising costs, and labor's
share of GDP relative to profits has reached a record low,
not because there is no room for wages to grow, but because
too many workers have been denied the ability to organize and
bargain collectively. More than 50 million workers say they
would join a union if they could. Union contracts close race
and gender wage gaps, build the middle class, and lift wages
across entire industries. Unions help ensure safety on the
job, win working families access to high quality, affordable
health care, and set the standard for a secure and dignified
retirement. For all the obvious benefits that union contracts
confer on workplaces and the economy as a whole, the law
should make it easier, not harder, for workers to exercise
their rights to form unions and collectively bargain.
Yet even when workers successfully win union
representation, victory is too often followed by years of
bad-faith delay. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
imposes no time limit on reaching a first contract, and
employers exploit that gap to stall negotiations, with first
contracts currently averaging 458 days according to Bloomberg
Law. The same companies that make deals for multibillion-
dollar mergers in a matter of weeks can take months to offer
a counterproposal on the simplest labor provision. This is
not an accident; it is a strategy.
H.R. 5408 closes that loophole. The bill amends Section
8(d) of the NLRA to require employers to begin negotiating
within 10 days of a union election. If no agreement is
reached after 90 days, the dispute goes to mediation. If
mediation fails after 30 days, it moves to binding
arbitration. Evidence from comparable frameworks shows
arbitration is rarely invoked; the possibility of a binding
decision from an arbitration is itself a powerful incentive
for good-faith bargaining.
Passing H.R. 5408 is an important first step toward the
broader and needed labor law reforms contained in the full
PRO Act. In the meantime, this bill will make an immediate
difference for workers fighting to make their lives better
and will help end the dilatory tactics of union busters.
Please vote YES on H.R. 5408, including all procedural votes
necessary to bring it to the floor.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine,
Director, Government Affairs.
____
International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers,
Washington, DC, June 5, 2026.
To: All Members of the United States of House of
Representatives
Re Vote Yes on H.R. 5408, The Faster Labor Contracts Act.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 887,058 active and
retired members of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (IBEW), I am writing in support of H.R.
5408, the Faster Labor Contracts Act. A successful House vote
on the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act would be an
important first step to reform the broken federal labor law
system.
Research shows that, on average, it takes 465 days to sign
a first union contract after a union wins an election. The
Faster Labor Contracts Act would amend Section 8(d) of the
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), to require that:
After workers vote to form a union, employers must begin
negotiating with the new union within 10 days
If no agreement is reached after 90 days, the dispute will
be referred to mediation
If mediation fails after 30 days, or additional periods
agreed upon by both parties, the dispute will be referred to
a binding three-member arbitration panel to secure an initial
contract
The Government Accountability Office (GA) commission a
report on average workplace time-to-contract one year after
enactment
When workers vote to form a union, they should not have to
wait years, or even months, to get a fair contract while
employers stall. It is why the IBEW is requesting you to vote
yes on H.R. 5408, an important labor law reform that is long
overdue. Because of the critical impact this legislation will
have on IBEW members, it will be included on the IBEW
scorecard.
Sincerely yours,
Kenneth W. Cooper,
International President.
____
International Federation of Professional & Technical
Engineers,
Washington, DC, June 9, 2026.
Dear Representative: As the executive officers of the
International Federation of Professional and Technical
Engineers (IFPTE), a labor union representing upwards of
90,000 employees in North America, including over 30,000
workers covered under the National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA), we urge you to vote today to pass the Faster Labor
Contracts Act, H.R. 5408. We also request that you vote in
favor of H. Res. 1140, the resolution providing for
consideration of H.R. 5408.
The bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act will help repair
a broken process for negotiating first contracts after
workers have successfully voted to form a union in the
private sector. Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor
Relations Education Research Director Kate Bronfenbrenner
testified before
[[Page H4016]]
the House Committee on Education and Workforce in 2022 that a
random sample of 753 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
election wins showed that 36 percent of unions and employers
had a first contract within one year, 22 percent more reached
contracts within two years, leaving 44 percent of first
contract negotiations dragging past 2 years or longer.
Sadly, the data lines up with too many workers' experiences
in organizing and bargaining first contracts, including IFPTE
members. America's existing private sector labor laws do not
effectively prohibit employers from using a variety of
delaying tactics throughout the union election and
negotiation process. While the IFPTE-endorsed Richard L.
Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act remains the
comprehensive legislative approach to reforming the NLM, the
Faster Labor Contracts Act would meaningfully stop untimely
and bad faith delays in first contract negotiations that
undermine the purpose of unionizing. By requiring first
contract bargaining to commence within 10 days of a request
from a newly certified union, guaranteeing mediation after 90
days if either party requests it, and binding arbitration if
needed, the Faster Labor Contracts Act would help workers and
employers secure an initial agreement within a reasonable
timeframe--in weeks and months, not years.
When working Americans won the legal right to form unions,
join together to bargain with their employers, and have a
voice at work through the passage of the NLRA in 1935, they
created the conditions for expanding the middle class,
increasing benefits, creating labor peace, and building the
economic power of the nation. Today, union households have
greater wealth and stability, higher rates of homeownership,
and stronger long-term economic security. Strong union
density also lifts standards across entire industries,
raising wages and improving conditions even for nonunion
workers.
Therefore, we urge you to strengthen and restore workers'
ability to effectively exercise their right to bargain a
first union contract by signing on to the discharge petition
for the Faster Labor Contracts Act and committing to voting
to pass this necessary legislation.
Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
Matthew S. Biggs,
IFPTE President.
Gay Henson,
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer.
____
USW,
Pittsburgh, PA, June 8, 2026.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Re United Steelworkers urges you to vote YES on H.R. 5408,
the Faster Labor Contracts Act, when it comes to the
floor.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 850,000 members of
the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing,
Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International
Union (USW), I urge you to vote YES on H.R. 5408, the Faster
Labor Contracts Act, when it comes to the floor.
As you likely know, late last month H.R. 5408 was
successfully discharged to the floor on a bipartisan basis.
This is the second time in six months that a pro-worker bill
has been discharged to the floor, underscoring the bipartisan
support for such legislation. We urge you to meet the moment
by voting YES on the bill.
A worker's right to form a union and collectively bargain
is a bedrock principle of our modern economic system, dating
all the way back to the 1935 National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA). However, in the more than 90 years since that bill's
original passage, subsequent labor law ossification and
changing precedent has only served to weaken American
workers' ability to freely and fully exercise their basic
labor rights.
One perfect example of our broken system relates to a new
union's ability to bargain a first contract. To take a step
back though, it's worth reminding ourselves the immense
challenges that workers face in even forming a union in the
first place. Employers will often engage in both legal anti-
union tactics (e.g. holding captive audience meetings) as
well as illegal actions (e.g., threatening, coercing, or even
firing workers who try to organize a union). On this latter
front, studies have found that employers violate labor law in
more than 40 percent of all elections.
Now even putting aside the massively imbalanced playing
field workers face when they try to form a union, the
situation does not get any better once they win an election.
Companies will deliberately drag out first contract
negotiations in an attempt to break the union. An analysis
from Bloomberg Law found that the average length of time for
a union to win a first contract was 465 days, or nearly 16
months after their election was certified. That same study
showed that in 53 percent of cases, a union did not have a
first contract after a year from their election win.
Why? Simply put, current labor law lacks any meaningful
incentives to push employers toward making a deal. The NLRA
does not allow for any financial penalties to be assessed on
employers who break the law. Furthermore, companies are
actually incentivized to wait at least one year because after
the year mark, they can officially try to bring a
decertification petition: killing the new union before it
even gets a first contract. From an employer's perspective,
undermining the new union by showing they cannot even obtain
a first contract is very useful in mounting a decertification
campaign.
The bipartisan H.R. 5408, the Faster Labor Contracts Act,
addresses this imbalance by establishing a clearer timeline
for reaching a first collective bargaining agreement after a
union is certified. Specifically, the measure would require
bargaining to begin within 10 days of a certified union
election, move stalled negotiations into mediation after 90
days, and send unresolved disputes to binding arbitration
after 30 days in mediation.
In closing, we strongly support H.R. 5408, and are calling
on all members of the House of Representatives to vote YES
when it comes to the floor Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Roxanne D. Brown,
International President.
____
IAM Union,
Upper Marlboro, MD, June 8, 2026.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 600,000 active and
retired members of the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), I write to
again urge you to support H.R. 5408, the bipartisan ``Faster
Labor Contracts Act.'' it will be brought to a vote on
Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Championed by Representative Donald
Norcross (D-NJ), it is an urgently-needed piece of labor
reform that will end unfair delays in reaching a first
contract for new unions, thereby ensuring that when workers
exercise their legally protected right to vote to form a
union, a collective bargaining agreement follows in a timely
manner.
Collective bargaining is a fundamental right guaranteed to
most private-sector workers in the United States through the
National Labor Relations Act (the Act). The right of workers
to form a union and collectively bargain is central to
improving their wages, hours, working conditions, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
Once workers vote to form a union, they begin negotiating
an initial contract with their employer. But the process of
negotiating this first contract does not have any timeframe
under the law--so employers can unduly delay the process and
leave workers fighting for years to obtain this first
agreement. This makes workers lose faith in the legal process
that is supposed to enfranchise their rights to be heard by
their employers. The IAM has seen the results of these delay
tactics first-hand: workers grow frustrated and believe that
their voice and choice to form a union is being ignored.
That is why the Faster Labor Contracts Act is so important.
It will amend the Act to include timelines for meetings to
begin negotiations, mediating if the parties are stuck, and
have a binding arbitration panel to ensure a first contract
is secured.
We urge you to support this critical piece of labor reform
legislation and vote for its passage on Tuesday. This will
ensure that workers' voices are heard at a critical juncture
in their legally protected path towards representation in the
workplace. While more reforms are needed, this is a very
needed first step in the right direction to protecting
workers' rights.
Sincerely,
Brian Bryant,
IAM International President.
____
Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO,
Washington, DC, April 20, 2026.
Re Cosponsor and sign discharge petition for Faster Labor
Contracts Act (H.R. 5408).
Dear Representative: On behalf of more than 165,000 members
of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), I am writing
to encourage you to support H.R. 5408--the Faster Labor
Contracts Act. This important legislation would ensure that
once workers have voted to form a union, they can benefit
from a union contract as quickly as possible.
Private sector workers in the U.S. have a right to join a
union and to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits,
and working conditions. However, exercising this right is
incredibly difficult and it is far too easy for bad actors to
delay, stymie, or outright ignore workers? attempts to form a
union. Even after workers have successfully voted to join a
union, employers can refuse to bargain a contract--a bad
faith tactic that, while nominally illegal, is far too
common.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act would establish an expedited
process for workers to achieve their first contract after
organizing a union. The bill would establish a fair process
for binding arbitration to quickly settle labor disputes and
allow workers to access the full benefits of joining a union.
This important change is long overdue.
The TWU urges you to cosponsor H.R. 5408 and to sign the
discharge petition for this bill now open on the House floor.
American workers deserve more than a notional right to form a
union, they deserve the opportunity to collectively bargain
for a better future.
Sincerely,
John Samuelsen,
International President.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, the coalition we have built behind the
Faster Labor Contracts Act bridges political parties, blue-collar and
white-collar industries, young and old, and all walks of life. Our bill
reaffirms that collective bargaining is a fundamental right
[[Page H4017]]
even the richest billionaires must comply with. By advancing this
legislation, Congress can send a clear message that workers deserve a
level playing field. I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question are postponed.
____________________