Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 5408: Faster Labor Contracts Act

119th Congress · introduced 2025-09-16 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Received in the Senate.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

Faster Labor Contracts Act

Plain summary

Faster Labor Contracts Act This bill establishes mandatory deadlines for parties negotiating an initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and provides for mediation and arbitration to finalize CBAs. Under the bill, CBA negotiations must begin within 10 days after an employer receives a written request from a newly recognized or certified bargaining representative. The bill provides that parties must make every reasonable effort to conclude and sign a CBA. Further, the bill provides that, if the parties have not reached an agreement after 90 days, either party may request mediation by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The bill directs FMCS to use its best efforts to secure an agreement. If mediation does not result in an agreement within 30 days (or an additional period agreed to by both parties), FMSC must refer the parties to an arbitration panel to render a decision settling the dispute. The panel must consider specified factors, including the employer's financial prospects and employees' cost of living. The resulting CBA is binding on the parties for two years. (Parties may agree to amend the terms during the two-year period.) The bill specifies that (1) an employer must maintain current wages, hours, terms, and conditions of employment during negotiations; and (2) an employer's duty to collectively bargain continues even if a representative has been decertified. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress regarding the average number of days between the certification or recognition of a bargaining representative and the date the initial CBA was executed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] · 110 cosponsors

Money: No cost estimate published yet. No linked contracts or vendors yet.

Recorded votes

• House roll call 216 (2026): On Passage, H R 5408 (2026-06-09): Passed

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119hr5408.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr>

Record fed-us-cong119-hr5408 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills