I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5408 
To accelerate workplace time-to-contract under the National Labor Relations 
Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 
Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. FITZPATRICK, 
Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Mr. 
BACON, Mr. RILEY of New York, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. RULLI, 
Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. LALOTA, Ms. RANDALL, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. 
LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 
BRESNAHAN, Mr. MAGAZINER, Mr. MOORE of West Virginia, Mr. 
MCGARVEY, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. STEVENS, and Mr. LYNCH) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To accelerate workplace time-to-contract under the National 
Labor Relations Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Faster Labor Con-
tracts Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Employees in the United States have a 
right to organize collectively in order to secure high-
er wages and other benefits, and regularly exercise 
that right by voting to be represented by a labor or-
ganization in their workplaces. 
(2) A successful vote in favor of representation 
by a labor organization does not immediately lead to 
an agreement between the parties. Often the nego-
tiation process is difficult and protracted, taking a 
year or longer. 
(3) Research indicates that these contracting 
delays are increasing over time. A Bloomberg Law 
study from 2021 found that the average number of 
days between a vote in favor of representation by a 
labor organization and a contract entered into be-
tween the parties was 465 days. 
(4) Delays in the processing of collective bar-
gaining contracts primarily benefit employers op-
posed to representation by the labor organization. 
The employers can use those delays to sap labor or-
ganization resolve and secure more favorable terms 
for the employer. 
(5) In order for employees in the United States 
to fully enjoy the benefits guaranteed to them by 
Federal labor law, those employees must be able to 
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promptly secure a first contract following the legal 
recognition or certification of a labor organization, 
and Federal labor law ought to facilitate this expedi-
ency. 
SEC. 3. FACILITATING INITIAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 
AGREEMENTS. 
Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 158) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (d)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 
respectively; 
(B) by striking ‘‘For the purposes of this 
section’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) For the purposes of 
this section’’; 
(C) by inserting ‘‘(and to maintain current 
wages, hours, and terms and conditions of em-
ployment pending an agreement)’’ after ‘‘aris-
ing thereunder’’; 
(D) by inserting ‘‘: Provided, That an em-
ployer’s duty to collectively bargain shall con-
tinue absent decertification of the representa-
tive following an election conducted pursuant to 
section 9’’ after ‘‘making of a concession’’; 
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(E) by inserting ‘‘further’’ before ‘‘, That 
where there is in effect’’; 
(F) by striking ‘‘The duties imposed’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(2) The duties imposed’’; 
(G) by striking ‘‘by paragraphs (2), (3), 
and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘by subparagraphs (B), 
(C), and (D) of paragraph (1)’’; 
(H) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’; 
(I) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(3)’’ each place 
it appears and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(C)’’; 
(J) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(4)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(D)’’; and 
(K) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) Whenever collective bargaining is for the pur-
pose of establishing an initial collective bargaining agree-
ment following certification or recognition of an individual 
or labor organization as a representative as provided 
under section 9(a), the following shall apply: 
‘‘(A) Not later than 10 days after receiving a 
written request for collective bargaining from an in-
dividual or labor organization that has been newly 
recognized or certified as a representative as pro-
vided under section 9(a), or within such further pe-
riod as the parties agree upon, the parties shall meet 
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and begin bargaining collectively, and shall make 
every reasonable effort to conclude and sign a collec-
tive bargaining agreement. 
‘‘(B) If after the expiration of the 90-day pe-
riod beginning on the date on which bargaining is 
commenced, or such additional period as the parties 
may agree upon, the parties have failed to reach an 
agreement, either party may notify the Federal Me-
diation and Conciliation Service that a dispute ex-
ists, and may request mediation. Whenever such a 
request is received, the Service shall promptly com-
municate with the parties and use its best efforts, by 
mediation and conciliation, to secure an agreement. 
‘‘(C) If after the expiration of the 30-day period 
beginning on the date on which the request for me-
diation is made under subparagraph (B), or such ad-
ditional period as the parties may agree upon, the 
Service is not able to bring the parties to agreement 
by conciliation, the Service shall refer the dispute to 
a 3-person arbitration panel established in accord-
ance with such regulations as may be prescribed by 
the Service, with one member selected by the indi-
vidual or labor organization, one member selected by 
the employer, and one neutral member mutually 
agreed to by the parties. The individual or labor or-
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ganization and the employer must each select the 
members of the 3-person arbitration panel within 14 
days of the Service’s referral; if the individual or 
labor organization or the employer fail to do so, the 
Service shall designate any members not selected by 
the individual or labor organization or by the em-
ployer. A majority of the 3-person arbitration panel 
shall render a decision settling the dispute and such 
decision shall be binding upon the parties for a pe-
riod of 2 years, unless amended during such period 
by written consent of the parties. Such decision shall 
be based on— 
‘‘(i) the employer’s financial status and 
prospects; 
‘‘(ii) the size and type of the employer’s 
operations and business; 
‘‘(iii) the employees’ cost of living; 
‘‘(iv) the employees’ ability to sustain 
themselves, their families, and their dependents 
on the wages and benefits they earn from the 
employer; and 
‘‘(v) the wages and benefits other employ-
ers in the same business provide their employ-
ees.’’; and 
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(2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘clause (B) of 
the last sentence of section 8(d) of this Act’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (d)(2)(B)’’. 
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT EXAMINING AVERAGE WORKPLACE 
TIME-TO-CONTRACT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report examining the average 
number of days between— 
(1) the date on which an individual or labor or-
ganization is certified or recognized as the represent-
ative of employees under section 9(a) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a)), following 
the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(2) the date on which the parties enter into an 
initial collective bargaining agreement. 
Æ 
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