In today’s news and commentary, a majority of House Representatives sign a discharge petition for the Faster Labor Contracts Act, and the House Transportation Committee adopts a railroad safety amendment in the Build America 250 Act.

A majority of House Representatives have signed a discharge petition for the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), reaching the 218-member threshold necessary to bypass House leadership and put the bill directly on the House floor. The Act, introduced in September of last year, would require employers and unions to engage in mediation if they fail to come to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) within 90 days of bargaining. If mediation fails, an arbitration panel will render a final decision on the terms of the CBA. This would radically alter the NLRA’s current bargaining process, under which the National Labor Relations Board cannot compel parties to agree to substantive contractual provisions. With employers facing few consequences for “surface bargaining” and prolonging negotiations, just over a third of new bargaining units achieve an initial CBA within a year. The FLCA maintains a degree of bipartisan support unusual for labor legislation. While the FLCA’s discharge petition enjoys the support of the vast majority of House Democrats, seven Republican Members also signed to support the bill. In the Senate, the Act’s sponsor is Missouri Republican Josh Hawley. The discharge petition will force the House to vote on the bill in the coming weeks. If it passes, the FLCA will face a Republican-majority Senate.

Also on the Hill, the House Transportation Committee adopted an amendment to the Railroad Safety Act to the BUILD America 250 Act that mandates two-person crews in freight trains. The Act, which provides over $500 billion to fund federal highways, bridges, and transit programs, now also includes new safety requirements for shipments of hazardous materials and increases federal oversight measures over trains. Bipartisan Congressional support for railway safety measures is largely due to the 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that spilled toxic chemicals over East Palestine, Ohio. Unions including the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) applauded the amendment, with the IAM declaring it a “major step forward in the fight to strengthen freight rail safety protections for railroad workers.” With the Act advancing from the Transportation Committee on Friday, it now faces review from several other House Committees before it may be introduced to the House floor.