The fight against the IEC-opposed Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) (H.R. 5408) has moved to a new battlefield––the U.S. Senate.
Despite strong opposition from IEC and a broad coalition of organizations, the House approved the FLCA on June 9 by a bipartisan vote of 230-193. The legislation advanced after supporters successfully employed the rarely used discharge petition process to bypass committee consideration and force a vote on the House floor.
IEC is now shifting its advocacy efforts to the Senate, where the legislation faces a far more uncertain path.
A Fundamental Change to Federal Labor Law
The FLCA would make one of the most significant changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) since its enactment nearly 90 years ago.
The FLCA’s binding interest arbitration framework is not a new concept. It originated as one of the most controversial provisions of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and is now being advanced as standalone legislation.
Under current law, employers and newly certified unions are required to bargain in good faith over a first collective bargaining agreement. If either party refuses to bargain, the National Labor Relations Board already has authority to investigate and remedy those violations.
The FLCA would replace that flexible bargaining framework with a rigid federal timetable. Employers would have just 10 days to begin bargaining after receiving a request from a newly certified union. If no agreement is reached after 100 days, federal mediation would begin. Thirty days later, unresolved negotiations would be turned over to a government-appointed arbitration panel empowered to impose the terms of a binding labor agreement.
IEC believes this approach replaces voluntary negotiation with government intervention and undermines one of the foundational principles of American labor law—that labor agreements should be negotiated by employers and employees, not imposed by Washington.
Among IEC’s chief concerns is that contracts imposed through arbitration would not require employee ratification, potentially binding workers and employers to agreements neither side approved.
Why It Matters to Merit Shop Contractors
For merit shop electrical contractors, the stakes are significant.
IEC members compete in a highly competitive marketplace where labor costs, workforce flexibility, and project schedules are essential to delivering projects on time and on budget.
Allowing federal arbitrators—rather than the parties themselves—to establish wages, benefits, work rules, and other employment terms creates uncertainty for contractors bidding projects months or years in advance. It also risks producing contract terms that fail to reflect the unique operational realities of the electrical construction industry.
IEC also believes the legislation could discourage meaningful bargaining by creating an incentive for parties to hold out for arbitration rather than work toward mutually acceptable agreements.
House Vote Highlights Organized Labor’s Bipartisan Strategy
The FLCA reached the House floor after Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), an IBEW member, successfully gathered the 218 signatures needed on a discharge petition to bypass normal committee consideration.
During the floor vote, the FLCA received support from 20 House Republicans, underscoring organized labor’s growing efforts to build bipartisan support for selected labor priorities.
Those Republicans included Don Bacon (Neb.), Robert Bresnahan (Pa.), Mike Carey (Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.), David Joyce (Ohio), Nick LaLota (N.Y.), Nick Langworthy (N.Y.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), Max Miller (Ohio), Riley Moore (W.Va.), Michael Rulli (Ohio), Maria Salazar (Fla.), Chris Smith (N.J.), Pete Stauber (Minn.), Michael Turner (Ohio), Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), and Derrick Van Orden (Wis.).
Notably, 16 of the bill’s 17 Republican cosponsors voted in favor of the legislation, while several Republican supporters also signed the discharge petition that allowed the bill to bypass committee consideration.
Their support reflects organized labor’s ongoing effort to build bipartisan coalitions around selected labor priorities heading into the 2026 midterm elections
Grassroots Campaign Shifts Focus to the Senate
Although the House has completed its work, the legislative battle is far from over.
The FLCA has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), where Republicans hold a narrow 12-11 majority. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) serves as chairman, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is the ranking member.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Senate companion FLCA (S. 844). HELP Committee member Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) joined as a cosponsor, along with Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and 14 Senate Democrats.
As a result, grassroots engagement will be particularly important as senators determine whether to advance the legislation.
Last month, IEC launched a nationwide grassroots campaign urging members to contact their senators and oppose Senate consideration of the FLCA.
IEC is encouraging members—particularly those represented by the following senators—to make their voices heard: Hawley (Mo.), Marshall (Kan.), Moreno (Ohio), Banks (Ind.), Capito (W.Va.), Collins (Maine), Husted (Ohio), McCormick (Pa.), Murkowski (Alaska), Sullivan (Alaska), and Warner (Va.), the only Democratic senator who did not cosponsor the PRO Act.
The FLCA will likely require 60 votes to advance in the Senate before it can be sent to President Trump’s desk. While the White House has not publicly taken a position on the legislation, Senate Republicans and the White House continue to face significant lobbying from organized labor and business groups as debate over the bill intensifies.
Take Action
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and its members, including IEC, have intensified their education, media, lobbying, and grassroots campaigns to defeat the FLCA in the Senate.
IEC members are encouraged to contact their U.S. senators through the IEC Action Center and urge them to oppose the Faster Labor Contracts Act. Every message helps reinforce that America’s merit shop contractors support worker choice, free enterprise, and labor policies built on voluntary negotiation—not government-imposed contracts.
IEC will continue monitoring the legislation and provide updates as the Senate considers its next steps.