House passes labor bill after 20 Republicans break ranks

House Democrats and 20 Republicans pushed a labor-friendly bill through the chamber Tuesday, bypassing GOP leadership to approve legislation that would speed negotiations on first contracts for newly formed unions.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act passed 230 to 193 after supporters used a discharge petition to force a floor vote. The procedural move allows House members to circumvent leadership if they secure 218 signatures. Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey, the bill’s sponsor, launched the petition in late April, and it reached the threshold within a month with help from seven Republicans.

The measure would amend the National Labor Relations Act and require employers to begin contract negotiations with newly certified unions within 10 days of receiving a written request. If no agreement is reached after 90 days, either side could bring in the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If there is still no deal after another 30 days, the dispute would move to a three-member arbitration panel.

Under the bill, the panel would consider factors including the employer’s financial status, employees’ cost of living, and wages and benefits at comparable companies. The resulting agreement would be binding for two years or until the two sides reach another deal.

Supporters say the legislation addresses a longstanding complaint from unions: that employers can delay first contracts long after workers vote to unionize. NPR reported that workers and employers take an average of 465 days to reach a first contract, according to Bloomberg Law. In some cases, negotiations have stretched even longer. NPR reported that Starbucks baristas in Buffalo, New York, who unionized in late 2021, and Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island who unionized in spring 2022, still do not have contracts.

“Right now, employers can delay negotiations on first contracts for years,” Norcross said in an April statement, adding that his bill “will force employers to act in good faith and come to the negotiating table quickly.”

At a press conference last fall, Norcross, a union electrician, framed the measure more bluntly: “No more stop the steals. You got an election, you can get a contract.” He has said the legislation would be the most significant new protection for workers since before World War II, a claim echoed by labor leaders.

“This is one of the most consequential labor bills to come before Congress in generations,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement earlier this year. “It has the potential to hold Corporate America accountable for endlessly dragging out negotiations and denying workers the first union contracts they deserve.”

Republican opponents criticized the bill as federal overreach. During debate, Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan said it would fast-track “government intrusion into private workplaces” and erode “workers’ rights faster than we have ever seen before.” He called the arbitration process “the latest attempt to put workers under the thumb of the federal bureaucrats.”

The CHRO Association, which represents chief human resource officers at 350 large corporations, called the measure “draconian” in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Gregory Hoff, the association’s general counsel, told NPR that contracts can run hundreds of pages and remain in effect for years.

“Sometimes [contract negotiations] do take time, as frustrating as it is,” Hoff said. “It’s very, very important to get these things right the first time.”

Hoff said the association supports some changes to speed negotiations but opposes giving government arbitrators authority to impose a contract so soon after a union election. He also raised concerns about whether the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service could handle the added workload after being reduced to about 90 employees under the Trump administration.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a companion bill in March 2025 that has two Republican and 13 Democratic cosponsors.