YourVoice.Now Summary
Workers & JobsTransparency & AccountabilityIf your workplace unionizes, contract talks would have to start in 10 days — and a panel could set terms if they stall.
Workers & Jobs
No law today says how fast an employer must come to the table after a union wins. The bill starts a 10-day clock when the union asks in writing.
Employers could not change wages, hours, or working conditions while bargaining goes on. The bill puts that duty right in the law's meaning of good-faith bargaining.
The duty to bargain would keep running until an election removes the union. An employer could not just stop dealing with the union on its own.
One member is picked by the union, one by the employer, and one is agreed on by both. The panel weighs pay at similar employers and what it costs workers to live.
Transparency & Accountability
The watchdog arm of Congress would count the days between a union win and a first contract. Its report would be due one year after the bill becomes law.
More about this bill
If your coworkers vote to unionize, your employer would have to start talks within 10 days of a written request. After 90 days with no deal, either side could call in federal mediators. If 30 more days pass and talks are still stuck, a three-person panel would decide the contract terms. That decision would bind both sides for two years. The panel would weigh the employer's finances, what workers need to live on, and pay at similar companies. Your current pay and hours could not be changed while talks go on. The bill cites a 2021 study: 465 days, on average, from union vote to first contract. The new deadlines cover first contracts only, not later renewals. The House passed it in June 2026. The Senate has not acted, so nothing changes yet.
Congressional 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.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Passed House
- Action Date
- 2026-06-09
- Date Added
- 2026-06-24
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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