Providing for Consideration of H.R. Faster Labor Contracts Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Scott for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, when a union wins more fair pay and better working conditions for its members, it sets the bar higher for everyone. Even if you are not part of the union yourself, you can still thank organized labor for negotiating some of what is in your contract.

For millions of workers, the first contract can take years to negotiate if an employer decides to play the waiting game. Some negotiations collapse before the contract ever becomes law. In fact, that is exactly what many corporations are banking on.

If we can't count on billionaires negotiating ethically, and we can't count on existing rules to stop employers from running out the clock, what can we count on?

We can count on ourselves to fight back. My Faster Labor Contracts Act is what an unprecedented coalition of lawmakers, labor leaders, and workers across this great Nation are now fighting back with.

We are proposing that workers get a choice. If an employer won't meaningfully come to the table, my legislation would give workers and employers the option to invoke hard deadlines. It is an option. It is not mandatory. If the bill offers a clear path to a first contract, and it doesn't pass, this has an end to it.

It is a really simple change. Yet, by leveling the playing field, the Faster Labor Contracts Act would be the most significant new protection for workers since before World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Bobby Scott and my friends on both sides of the aisle for helping get this Faster Labor Contracts Act to this point. Let's pass it out of the House, get it over to the Senate, and send it to the White House to be signed.

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