House passes faster labor contract bill with implications for Big Lots workers

The House passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act on June 9, putting a new clock on first-contract bargaining that could matter well beyond unionized retailers. The bill, H.R. 5408, passed 230-193 and would force employers to start bargaining quickly after a union request, with federal arbitration stepping in if a first contract is not reached on the timetable.

For Big Lots workers, the significance is less about Washington procedure than about how fast workplace fights can move. The House-passed text says first-contract talks can be difficult and protracted, sometimes taking a year or longer. Rep. Donald Norcross said the average first contract takes 458 days, and that roughly one-third of workers wait more than three years after voting to unionize before getting a contract.

Supporters say that delay is the problem the bill is trying to fix. Research cited by labor advocates says there is no single official government statistic on time from union recognition to first contract, but multiple analyses show long lags that can increase the odds a union never gets a contract at all. Cornell ILR School research has also found that employer opposition, including unfair labor practices and other delay tactics, can slow or block first-contract bargaining.

Retail industry leaders see the bill very differently. The Retail Industry Leaders Association urged the Senate to reject it, arguing that rigid federal timelines and binding arbitration would undermine collective bargaining, reduce worker choice, and produce unstable labor agreements. That fight now moves to the U.S. Senate, where the bill’s future will be decided.

Big Lots is already operating under unusual strain, which makes any change in labor rules feel more immediate on the ground. The company filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 9, 2024, and its case is being tracked in Delaware as Case No. 24-11967. Reporting in 2026 described a shrinking footprint, including 219 locations in one labor-focused report.

That matters because faster contract deadlines leave less room for delay, reset, or waiting out an organizing drive. For frontline workers, it can mean disputes over pay, schedules, discipline, and grievance handling move sooner into a formal process. For local managers, it raises the pressure to document decisions, respond faster, and treat labor relations as a live operational issue rather than a future possibility. In a retail chain already cutting back, the bill would not just change legal timing. It would change how quickly bargaining leverage can harden into a real contract.