WASHINGTON — Companies negotiating labor contracts with unions would be barred from drawing out that negotiation process under a bill New Jersey Democrat Donald Norcross, a trained electrician and labor leader, shepherded through the House.
Every New Jersey lawmaker but Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who is missing with an undisclosed health matter, voted for the bill, which cleared the House by a 230-193 vote on Tuesday. Twenty Republicans voted with 210 Democrats for the bill, which has support from the AFL-CIO, the Teamsters and United Steelworkers, among other national labor groups.
“When the Democrats are in the minority, we’ve historically gotten virtually zero labor legislation through,” Norcross said in an interview with NJ Spotlight News after passage. “Something as substantial as this is long overdue, and I’m glad we could push it along.”
Passage in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, remains uncertain and President Donald Trump is unlikely to sign it if the bill does pass. Norcross worked with Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, who has made overtures to labor for years, on the legislation. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is an original co-sponsor.
Unusual maneuver
One of the most significant labor bills to advance this Congress, the bill would accelerate the timeline for negotiating labor contracts. To get it passed in the House, Norcross forced the vote with an unusual procedural maneuver: He filed a “discharge petition” — a method that until recently was an obscure pathway for the minority to move bills to the floor.
In a separate recent move, Norcross successfully whipped support for an amendment of his to be included in an annual military policy bill. The amendment would protect collective bargaining rights for Department of Defense employees, after Trump signed an executive order in 2025 to strip such rights.
“This is not a level playing field. Every statistic shows that the bottom half of working Americans is getting crushed.” — Rep. Donald Norcross
Considered a “must-pass” piece of legislation, since it sets Pentagon rules and authorizes military operations, the military policy bill advanced last week from the House Armed Services Committee. During a marathon committee meeting, Norcross drew enough Republicans onboard to pass his amendment.
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News weeks ago, Norcross, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351, was cautiously optimistic that his bill could become law and provide a modicum of help for workers. He was working the House and the Senate, he and a staffer said.
“This is not a level playing field,” Norcross said off the House floor Wednesday. “Every statistic shows that the bottom half of working Americans is getting crushed.”
Under his legislation, negotiations on a contract would have to start within 10 days, after a union election is certified. Then after 90 days, management or labor can request mediation. “It’s like marriage counseling: You both go in, you give your side of the equation and they make recommendations,” Norcross said.
The bill would also mandate the Government Accountability Office, the investigative nonpartisan arm of Congress, to perform a study to determine the average length of time for unions to reach a contract after their election is certified.
Speaking on the chamber floor Tuesday, Norcross said companies increasingly try to drag out contract negotiations.
“It takes an average of 458 days for an employer to agree with a union to get their first contract. That’s just the average,” he said. “Those workers are getting screwed, plain and simple.”
‘Under the thumb’
Republicans derided the bill as a way to empower federal officials in U.S. workplaces.
“It is the latest attempt to put workers under the thumb of federal bureaucrats,” Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House labor committee, said during floor debate. “We do not need government-imposed contracts.”
“I can tell you firsthand that the hard-working Georgians I represent want no part of this,” said Rick Allen of Georgia.
During a vote in the spring, Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) and Chris Smith (R-4th) froze floor proceedings when they crossed Republican House leadership to vote against legislation an Iowa Republican offered that would have required workers to attend work-related trainings without pay.
The New Jersey Republicans were part of a small bloc to vote with Democrats, ultimately sinking that bill. Kean voted for it.
“I have lots of good friends that are union, and I’ve always supported that all the way,” Van Drew said in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “New Jersey’s always been a pro-union, pro-labor state, even the Republicans.”
Smith noted the tactic some companies deploy to drag out contract talks. “This gets it accelerated,” Smith said, adding that’s been a pro-union Republican since he came to Congress in the 1980s. “I’ve done that in my whole life here.”
Workers organizing a union at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island shocked the labor world in 2022 when they won an election to unionize. “They have no contract. They’re still waiting to negotiate,” Norcross said.
“The key is that these employers, these business owners, try to run out the clock as long as they can, knowing they can put a lot of pressure on the workforce. The longer they take, the longer the process goes,” said Reb. Herb Conaway (D-3rd) in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.
For this bill to become law, Norcross and his allies will need GOP votes, Conway said. “There are labor Republicans and we certainly need them as this process goes forward.”
