Teamsters back bill to notify workers of labor rights, speed bargaining

If a Dollar General store posted the new notices and a union won an election, management would have to spell out workers’ federal rights and sit down to bargain within 10 days. That is the practical change behind two bills backed by the Teamsters on April 21, 2026: one to require clear labor-rights notices for workers and new hires, and another to speed first-contract talks.

The Know Your Labor Rights Act, H.R. 8418, was introduced in the House by Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and sent to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. It would require employers to post labor-rights notices in visible places and notify new employees at hiring about their rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, including the right to organize, join a union and bargain collectively. A Senate version was being led by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and would also carry penalties for noncompliance.

For Dollar General associates, the notice requirement would matter most in the places where confusion tends to start: onboarding, discipline meetings and everyday conversations about schedules, safety and pay. A clear notice would not raise wages on its own, but it would make it harder for an employer to keep workers guessing about whether talking together about staffing or representation is protected. That is especially relevant in a chain that has faced repeated labor scrutiny and often runs on thin staffing in smaller stores.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act would go further once workers voted for representation. Under the proposal, employers would have to begin bargaining within 10 days of a successful union vote. Congressional bill text says a 2021 Bloomberg Law study found the average gap between a successful representation vote and a contract was 465 days, a delay supporters say leaves newly organized workers stuck without a first agreement while employers stall.

The Teamsters pointed to Amazon as the clearest example of why that delay matters, saying Amazon Teamsters have waited more than four years for contract negotiations. The union also said it has organized more than 90,000 workers in the past four years, including 10,000 nurses at Corewell Health East in Michigan and nearly 10,000 Amazon workers.

Dollar General’s own record gives the issue sharper edge for its workforce. A National Labor Relations Board judge found in 2023 that the company violated federal labor law in a Connecticut union campaign, and a 2025 report said Dollar General had at least 13 open unfair labor practice charges as recently as April 2025. The chain also faced a 2024 OSHA settlement in federal proceedings. For workers trying to push for safer staffing, steadier schedules or a voice in discipline disputes, the fight over notice and bargaining timelines is about whether those rights are real, visible and enforceable.