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On June 9, 2026, the US House of Representatives passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) (HR 5408) with a bipartisan vote of 230 – 193. The bill, introduced by Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for the first time in more than 50 years. If enacted, the FLCA would fundamentally alter how parties reach initial collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) after union certification, imposing strict timelines on bargaining and, where those fail, requiring binding arbitration to resolve outstanding disputes over bargaining topics.

The bill has garnered significant labor support, including an official endorsement from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien has called the Faster Labor Contracts Act “the most consequential labor bill to come before Congress in decades.” Employer groups, however, have voiced strong opposition. Below, we summarize the bill’s key provisions, the path forward in the Senate, and practical considerations for employers.

The FLCA would compel timely completion of negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement after workers vote to unionize. The bill’s legislative findings acknowledge that a union certification vote does not immediately lead to a contract and that “often the negotiation process is difficult and protracted, taking a year or longer.”

The bill cites a Bloomberg Law study finding that the average time to sign a union’s first contract is 465 days. The legislative findings note that these delays in processing initial CBAs “primarily benefit employers opposed to representation by the union” and declare that “[f]ederal labor law ought to facilitate this expediency.”

The full text of the bill is available at H.R. 5408 (119th Congress).

Facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements

The bill amends Section 8(d) of the NLRA to establish the following framework governing negotiation of an initial CBA after certification or recognition under Section 9(a).

Commencement of bargaining. The parties must meet and begin bargaining no later than 10 days after the employer receives a written request to bargain (or within a period the parties mutually agree upon). Both sides “shall make every reasonable effort to conclude and sign a collective bargaining agreement.”

Mediation. If the parties fail to reach agreement within 90 days of commencing bargaining (or a mutually agreed period), either party may notify the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to request mediation assistance.

Referral to arbitration. If 30 days pass after the mediation request (or a mutually agreed period) and the FMCS cannot bring the parties to agreement through conciliation, it must then refer the dispute to a three-member arbitration panel.

Panel composition. The arbitration panel consists of one member selected by the labor organization, one selected by the employer, and one neutral member chosen by mutual agreement. Members must be selected within 14 days of referral; if the parties fail to do so, the FMCS assigns them.

Timeline. The maximum span from the initial bargaining request through seating of the arbitration panel is 144 days, allowing up to 120 days of bargaining and mediation before the dispute is referred to arbitration.

Binding effect. The panel’s decision binds the parties for two years thereafter, unless they both consent in writing to amend the terms.

Factors for arbitration. The panel’s decision must be based on the following considerations:

• The employer’s financial status and prospects
• The size and type of the employer’s operations and business
• The employees’ cost of living
• The employees’ ability to support themselves, their families, and their dependents on the wages and benefits they earn
• The wages and benefits other employers in the same business provide their employees

Opposition

The bill has drawn opposition from employer advocacy groups. The CHRO Association, which represents chief human resources officers at more than 350 major companies, has labeled the bill “draconian.” Opponents are deeply skeptical that federal mediators, whom critics dismiss as Washington bureaucrats, can grasp the nuances of individual workplaces well enough to impose fair contract terms. They further argue that workers’ bargaining power would be diminished under a regime of mandatory bargaining.

These concerns are compounded by questions of capacity. According to FMCS’s own FY2027 congressional budget submission, the agency’s FY2026 enacted staffing level is listed as 95 full-time-equivalent positions, and the administration’s FY2027 budget request proposes reducing that further to just eighteen (18) full-time employees. This reduced capacity raises practical questions about whether the agency can handle the high volume of mediations and arbitration referrals the FLCA would generate.

Legislative outlook

The FLCA now moves to the US Senate, where an identical companion bill (S 844) has been introduced with bipartisan co-sponsors. The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by the president to become law.

Notably, House passage came after Rep. Norcross filed a discharge petition to force a floor vote, after Speaker Johnson’s leadership had declined to schedule the bill for a vote through ordinary channels.
Senate passage presents a materially higher hurdle. Because the FLCA is not proceeding through the budget reconciliation process, it would need 60 votes to invoke cloture and overcome a filibuster before any final vote on passage.

The White House has not yet issued a statement of administration policy on the legislation, leaving its position uncertain. The bill’s bipartisan House passage and strong labor support, juxtaposed against traditional employer opposition and the 60-vote Senate threshold, leave the bill’s prospects difficult to predict.

Whatever its fate, the bill’s passage through the House with bipartisan support represents a significant milestone. If enacted, it would be the first amendment to the NLRA in more than 50 years, fundamentally reshaping the landscape for initial contract negotiations between employers and newly certified unions.

Practical considerations

Employers should begin preparing now for the possible enactment of the FLCA. Key steps include the following:

Assess exposure. The bill’s triggering event, a written request to bargain, could come at any point after union certification or bargaining-unit recognition. Employers should evaluate whether their current labor relations infrastructure would let them bargain effectively within a 90-day bargaining window, and organizations with pending representation petitions or recently certified bargaining units should gauge their readiness for accelerated negotiations. In particular, employers should assemble a bargaining team immediately upon certification, as the 10-day clock to commence negotiations leaves little room for delay. Employers with pending representation petitions should also carefully evaluate whether to pursue any available challenges to the election process, as the window to resolve these disputes narrows considerably under the bill’s bargaining timelines.

Prepare data for potential arbitration. Because the arbitration panel would have to weigh the specific set of statutory factors, employers should begin assembling the relevant data in case arbitration is triggered. This consists of current financial statements and projections, operational data on the size and nature of the business, cost-of-living figures for the relevant workforce, and comparable wage and benefit data from similarly situated employers in the same industry. Ideally, information-gathering efforts should begin well in advance of any bargaining request. Once the negotiations are triggered, there will be little time to compile the detailed financial and operational data that an arbitration panel would be required to consider.

Review bargaining strategies. Employers with unionized workforces, or those facing potential organizing activity, should revisit their bargaining strategies in light of the compressed timelines the bill contemplates. The 90-day window before mediation can be triggered marks a sharp departure from current practice, where initial contract negotiations regularly run well beyond a year. This compressed timeline takes on added significance when considered alongside the current expedited election rules that shorten the period between an organizing petition and a certification vote. Taken together, these developments could significantly reduce the overall timeline from initial organizing activity through a binding first contract, leaving employers with a substantially narrower window to prepare and respond at each stage of the bargaining process.

For assistance in understanding the implications of the Faster Labor Contracts Act and preparing for potential compliance obligations, please contact McDermott Will & Schulte’s Employment Practice Group.