House Passes Union Contract Bill, Bucking Republican Leaders

WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday approved a Democratic bill aiming to fast-track contract negotiations between employers and newly created unions, after 20 Republicans defied their leaders to force it to the floor and push it to passage.

The measure, which passed on a 230-193 vote, faces a slim chance in the Senate and would be all but certain to be vetoed by President Donald Trump even if it were to reach his desk. Still, the vote was the latest reflection of Speaker Mike Johnson’s weak hold on his narrow majority, whose members have steered around him time and again and teamed with Democrats to win passage of legislation that he has toiled to block.

On Tuesday, a sizable bloc of Republicans, including several from competitive districts who are slogging through tough reelection fights, joined with Democrats to push through a pro-union bill. It would impose an initial 90-day deadline on contract negotiations for new unions and their employers, along with paths to mediation and arbitration if the parties reach an impasse.

Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., the sponsor of the bill, said he had written it to speed up workplace contract negotiations so that employers could not drag them out in the hopes of undercutting workers’ leverage.

“Union busting is illegal, and it’s wrong and it has been for generations,” Norcross said. “But with the dirty tactics of indefinite delays, many employers are working relentlessly to kill their employees’ unions.”

While several Republicans supported the legislation from the outset, party leaders declined to act on it. So Norcross turned to a procedural maneuver known as a discharge petition, which allows lawmakers to circumvent House leaders and force a bill to the floor if a majority of members sign on in support.

Seven GOP lawmakers did so and even more joined Democrats on Tuesday, in voting in favor of the legislation. Among the Republicans who banded together with Democrats to force action on the measure, several are seeking reelection in competitive districts, including Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, and Brian Fitzpatrick and Rob Bresnahan Jr. of Pennsylvania. Another, Rep. Don Bacon, who represents a center-leaning district in Nebraska, is retiring.

Some other swing-district Republicans joined them Tuesday night in backing the bill, including Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida.

Historically, discharge petitions have rarely been successful, but this Congress has been an exception, as Johnson has been unable to stop Republicans from straying from the party line on a wide variety of issues. Democrats successfully employed the tactic to win passage of legislation directing the Justice Department to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which became law, as well as another labor-related bill aimed at overturning Trump’s executive order stripping federal workers’ union protections, which has stalled in the Senate. Last week, they used it to win approval of a bill with new aid for Ukraine that also would impose new sanctions against Russia, defying both Johnson and Trump.

The trend reflects growing frustration among Republicans toward Johnson and party leaders as the midterm elections loom. Before the vote, Fitzpatrick wrote on social media that the tactic had succeeded so many times only because Republican leaders were shirking their responsibilities by blocking popular policies.

“A successful discharge petition is clear and direct evidence of a poorly managed House Floor — because it demonstrates that the will of the majority of the People is being thwarted by the privileged few,” he wrote.

The vast majority of House Republicans on Tuesday opposed the bill. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., described the legislation as “a massive expansion of Washington’s power over American workers and job creators.”

“It is the latest attempt to put workers under the thumb of federal bureaucrats,” Walberg said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Olivia Diaz/Haiyun Jiang
c. 2026 The New York Times Company