diff --git a/.github/scripts/labels-reconcile.sh b/.github/scripts/labels-reconcile.sh
index c43e1cf..65328f8 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/labels-reconcile.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/labels-reconcile.sh
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 HUMAN="${HUMAN_REVIEWER:-danmt}"
 BOTS=(claude-bot-andresmgsl codex-bot-andresmgsl grok-bot-andresmgsl)
-STATES=(state:building state:bots-reviewing state:addressing state:needs-human)
+STATES=(state:building state:needs-rebase state:bots-reviewing state:addressing state:needs-human)
 STALE_AFTER=$((48 * 3600))
 
 log() { printf 'labels: %s\n' "$*"; }
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ run() { # every mutation goes through here — DRY_RUN=1 logs instead of doing
 #   HEAD_SHA     the PR's current head commit
 #   REQUESTED    newline-separated logins with a review currently requested
 #   REVIEWS_JSON JSON array of submitted (non-PENDING) reviews
+#   MERGEABLE    MERGEABLE | CONFLICTING | UNKNOWN  (GitHub's own verdict)
+#   CHECKS       SUCCESS | FAILURE | PENDING | NONE (the check rollup)
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 requested() { grep -qxF "$1" <<<"$REQUESTED"; }
@@ -85,22 +87,52 @@ human_request_needed() { # 0 when needs-human requires a FRESH human request
 
 decide_state() { # → the one state:* label this PR should carry
   if [ "$DRAFT" = true ]; then echo state:building; return; fi
-  # an explicit human request outranks the bot rounds — it is the final
-  # gate, and a maintainer pulling a PR to themselves early counts too
-  if requested "$HUMAN"; then echo state:needs-human; return; fi
+
+  # state:needs-human means ONE thing: a human could merge this right now.
+  # Anything that makes that false outranks the request that put it there —
+  # otherwise the board invites a merge that cannot or must not happen, and
+  # nothing else on the page contradicts it (#136).
+  #
+  # A conflicted or red branch is the agent's to fix, not the human's to
+  # merge. UNKNOWN is deliberately NOT treated as unmergeable: GitHub reports
+  # it for a minute after every merge while it recomputes, and flapping every
+  # open PR through needs-rebase on each merge would be worse than the bug.
+  # An unknown mergeability simply does not trigger this arm; the next sweep
+  # sees the settled value.
+  # Both default to the "do not know" value: an unset global (older fixture,
+  # a failed fetch) must never invent a verdict it did not read.
+  case "${MERGEABLE:-UNKNOWN}" in CONFLICTING) echo state:needs-rebase; return ;; esac
+  case "${CHECKS:-NONE}" in FAILURE) echo state:needs-rebase; return ;; esac
+
   local b v verdicts=""
   for b in "${BOTS[@]}"; do
     if requested "$b"; then echo state:bots-reviewing; return; fi
   done
   for b in "${BOTS[@]}"; do
     v="$(bot_verdict "$b")"
-    if [ "$v" = MISSING ]; then echo state:bots-reviewing; return; fi
+    if [ "$v" = MISSING ]; then
+      # No verdict at all from this bot. An explicit human request still
+      # outranks an unfinished bot round — a maintainer pulling a PR to
+      # themselves early is a deliberate act, and the original precedence.
+      if requested "$HUMAN"; then echo state:needs-human; return; fi
+      echo state:bots-reviewing; return
+    fi
     verdicts="$verdicts $v"
   done
+  case "$verdicts" in
+    # STALE = a verdict for an older head. Unlike MISSING, this outranks the
+    # human request: every approval was invalidated by a push, so NOBODY has
+    # reviewed this tree. Handing that to the human is the #136 case where
+    # everything reads green — mergeable, CI passing, "waiting on the human" —
+    # over code no reviewer has seen. The agent owes a re-request.
+    *STALE*) echo state:addressing; return ;;
+  esac
+  # an explicit human request outranks the remaining bot outcomes — it is the
+  # final gate, and a maintainer pulling a PR to themselves early counts too
+  if requested "$HUMAN"; then echo state:needs-human; return; fi
   case "$verdicts" in
     # FEEDBACK = a comment with no verdict → the agent owes the round-reply.
-    # STALE = a verdict for an older head → the agent owes a re-request.
-    *BLOCK* | *FEEDBACK* | *STALE*) echo state:addressing; return ;;
+    *BLOCK* | *FEEDBACK*) echo state:addressing; return ;;
   esac
   # the bots all approve — but if the human's standing word is
   # changes-requested (and nobody re-requested them yet), the agent owes
@@ -125,7 +157,9 @@ bootstrap_labels() { # dispatch-only: ~20 upserts is too chatty for every cron t
 state:building|FBCA04|PR is a draft — the coding agent is still building
 state:bots-reviewing|1D76DB|Waiting on the bot reviewers to finish the round
 state:addressing|D93F0B|All bots reviewed — coding agent owes the single reply + fixes
+state:needs-rebase|B60205|Does not merge — conflicts or failing checks; the agent owes a fix
 state:needs-human|8250DF|All bots approve — waiting on the human reviewer
+merge-next|0E8A16|Head of the merge queue — merge this one next (set by hand/agent, cleared here)
 stale|B60205|No activity for 48h — needs a poke (sweep-managed)
 blocked|6A737D|Waiting on another PR or issue to land first
 release|0E8A16|Release flow and version/packaging work
@@ -174,6 +208,18 @@ reconcile_pr() { # $1 = PR number; relies on the globals set from its fetch
     fi
   fi
 
+  # ---- merge-next: cleared, never set ----------------------------------
+  # Queue order is INTENT — which PR should land first is a judgement about
+  # conflicts and dependencies that GitHub knows nothing about, so the
+  # reconciler must not guess it (LABELS.md's rule for `blocked`/`release`).
+  # What it CAN do is stop the label going stale the way needs-human did:
+  # the moment the PR is no longer the thing a human should merge next, the
+  # claim is removed. Setting it stays with whoever owns the queue.
+  if has_label merge-next && [ "$desired" != state:needs-human ]; then
+    run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-label merge-next >/dev/null
+    log "#$n: cleared merge-next (state is $desired, not mergeable-by-a-human)"
+  fi
+
   # ---- stale: real activity only, and blocked is legitimately quiet ----
   last_activity="$(
     {
@@ -216,6 +262,21 @@ main() {
       # PENDING reviews are unsubmitted drafts in someone's browser — not a verdict
       REVIEWS_JSON="$(gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/pulls/$n/reviews" --jq '.[]' \
         | jq -s '[.[] | select(.state != "PENDING")]')"
+      # mergeability + the check rollup, the two facts the state machine was
+      # blind to (#136). `gh pr view` rather than the REST PR object: the API's
+      # `mergeable` is a tri-state boolean that GitHub computes lazily, while
+      # this returns the same MERGEABLE/CONFLICTING/UNKNOWN string the UI shows.
+      # Failure to read them is NOT fatal and NOT treated as broken — an API
+      # hiccup must never flap every PR into needs-rebase, so both degrade to
+      # the "do not know" value that triggers nothing.
+      GH_VIEW="$(gh pr view "$n" -R "$REPO" --json mergeable,statusCheckRollup 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')"
+      MERGEABLE="$(jq -r '.mergeable // "UNKNOWN"' <<<"$GH_VIEW")"
+      CHECKS="$(jq -r '
+        (.statusCheckRollup // []) as $c
+        | if ($c | length) == 0 then "NONE"
+          elif ($c | map(.conclusion // .state // "") | any(. == "FAILURE" or . == "TIMED_OUT" or . == "STARTUP_FAILURE" or . == "ACTION_REQUIRED")) then "FAILURE"
+          elif ($c | map(.conclusion // .state // "") | any(. == "" or . == "PENDING" or . == "IN_PROGRESS" or . == "QUEUED")) then "PENDING"
+          else "SUCCESS" end' <<<"$GH_VIEW")"
       reconcile_pr "$n"
     ) || log "#$n: reconcile failed — continuing with the remaining PRs"
   done
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e5cc1dc..c6dc467 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -61,6 +61,45 @@ which records not just what changed but what each drill run proved.
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **`state:needs-human` no longer appears on PRs a human cannot merge** (#136)
+  — `decide_state()` derived state from three inputs (draft flag, requested
+  reviewers, submitted reviews) and read *nothing* about mergeability or
+  checks. Combined with the `if requested "$HUMAN"` short-circuit at the top of
+  its precedence, the label was **sticky**: once the maintainer was requested,
+  the PR read `state:needs-human` through conflicts, through red CI, through a
+  force-push that staled every approval. Nothing demoted it.
+
+  Observed twice in one afternoon on this repo, in two different shapes. Three
+  PRs sat at `state:needs-human` while `CONFLICTING` for hours — the board
+  inviting a merge GitHub had already disabled. And #119, after a rebase, read
+  `MERGEABLE`, four green checks, `state:needs-human` — with **zero** reviews
+  bound to its head. Every visible signal said *merge me* over a tree no
+  reviewer had seen, and unlike the conflict case, nothing on the page
+  contradicted it.
+
+  The rule the label now keeps is that **`state:needs-human` means a human
+  could merge this right now**, so anything making that false outranks the
+  request that put it there. A `CONFLICTING` branch or a failing check is the
+  agent's to fix: new `state:needs-rebase`. Approvals staled by a push mean
+  nobody reviewed this tree: `state:addressing`, because the agent owes a
+  re-request. An *unfinished* round still yields to an explicit human request —
+  a maintainer pulling a PR to themselves early is deliberate, and `MISSING`
+  (nobody has reviewed yet) is a different fact from `STALE` (everyone reviewed
+  something else).
+
+  `UNKNOWN` mergeability is deliberately not treated as unmergeable: GitHub
+  reports it for about a minute after every merge while it recomputes, and
+  flapping every open PR through `needs-rebase` on each merge would be worse
+  than the bug. A failed read of either fact degrades to the same "do not know"
+  value for the same reason — an API hiccup must not relabel the board.
+
+  Also adds `merge-next`, because a correct `needs-human` still does not say
+  *which* PR to merge first, and order matters when they conflict through
+  `CHANGELOG.md`. Queue order is intent, so the reconciler never sets it — it
+  only **clears** it the moment the PR stops being mergeable-by-a-human, which
+  is precisely the staleness that made `needs-human` untrustworthy. Both live
+  shapes are pinned in `test/labels-reconcile.sh` (19 fixtures → 29).
+
 - **CI's shellcheck sweep never lints `.github/scripts/*.sh`** (#116) —
   `globstar` makes `**` descend into subdirectories, but a glob still does
   not *match* a dot-prefixed name, so `**/` never entered `.github/`. The
diff --git a/LABELS.md b/LABELS.md
index 612b38c..90ae453 100644
--- a/LABELS.md
+++ b/LABELS.md
@@ -17,12 +17,38 @@ single reply, and a human takes the final review.
 | `state:building` | `#FBCA04` | the coding agent, still building | PR opened as draft | marked ready + bot reviews requested |
 | `state:bots-reviewing` | `#1D76DB` | the reviewer bots to finish the round | ready with reviews requested, or fixes pushed and reviews re-requested | all three bots have reviewed the round |
 | `state:addressing` | `#D93F0B` | the coding agent to reply and push fixes | all bots reviewed the round, not all approved | the single round-reply is posted and fixes pushed |
-| `state:needs-human` | `#8250DF` | the human reviewer | the human review is requested — by the author when the round passes, or automatically on three formal head-current approvals | merged — or changes requested, which cycles back to `state:addressing` |
+| `state:needs-rebase` | `#B60205` | the coding agent to rebase or fix | the branch does not merge — GitHub says `CONFLICTING`, or a check has failed | it merges cleanly and checks are green again |
+| `state:needs-human` | `#8250DF` | the human reviewer | the PR **could be merged right now**: mergeable, checks not failing, three formal head-current approvals — and the human review is requested | merged — or changes requested, which cycles back to `state:addressing` |
 
 `bots-reviewing` and `addressing` are deliberately distinct: staleness in the
 first means *poke the bots*, staleness in the second means *the agent dropped
 the ball*. Collapsing them loses exactly the information a sweep needs.
 
+**`state:needs-human` means one thing: a human could merge this right now.**
+Anything that makes that false outranks the review request that put it there,
+because the label is the only signal a maintainer scanning the board (or a
+phone) actually reads — and a label that says "your turn" on an unmergeable PR
+is worse than no label at all. Two things therefore take precedence over an
+explicit human request:
+
+- **it does not merge** — `CONFLICTING`, or a failing check → `state:needs-rebase`
+- **nobody reviewed *this* head** — every approval staled by a push → `state:addressing`,
+  because the agent owes a re-request
+
+The second is the more dangerous of the two: with a conflict, GitHub at least
+disables the merge button, while a staled-approval PR reads green, mergeable
+and "waiting on the human" over code no reviewer has seen.
+
+`UNKNOWN` mergeability is deliberately **not** treated as unmergeable. GitHub
+reports it for about a minute after every merge while it recomputes, and
+flapping every open PR through `needs-rebase` on each merge would be worse than
+the bug this precedence fixes.
+
+An *unfinished* round still yields to an explicit human request — a maintainer
+pulling a PR to themselves early is a deliberate act. `MISSING` (nobody has
+reviewed yet) and `STALE` (everyone reviewed something else) are different
+facts and are treated differently.
+
 ## Cross-cutting (PRs and issues)
 
 | Label | Color | Meaning |
@@ -30,6 +56,7 @@ the ball*. Collapsing them loses exactly the information a sweep needs.
 | `stale` | `#B60205` | No activity for 48h. Sweep-managed, never hand-applied. `state:building` + `stale` is precisely a forgotten draft. |
 | `blocked` | `#6A737D` | Waiting on another PR or issue to land first. Quiet *legitimately* — the staleness sweep skips it. |
 | `release` | `#0E8A16` | Release flow, versioning, and packaging work. |
+| `merge-next` | `#0E8A16` | Head of the merge queue — **merge this one next**. Queue order is *intent* (which PR lands first, given how they conflict), so the reconciler never sets it: you or the agent maintaining the queue do. The reconciler only **clears** it, the moment the PR stops being something a human could merge — so it cannot go stale the way `state:needs-human` did. |
 
 ## Scope — which surface? (PRs and issues, any number)
 
@@ -69,7 +96,9 @@ missing label idempotently. To create them by hand (needs push access):
 gh label create "state:building"       --color FBCA04 --description "PR is a draft — the coding agent is still building" --force
 gh label create "state:bots-reviewing" --color 1D76DB --description "Waiting on the bot reviewers to finish the round" --force
 gh label create "state:addressing"     --color D93F0B --description "All bots reviewed — coding agent owes the single reply + fixes" --force
+gh label create "state:needs-rebase"   --color B60205 --description "Does not merge — conflicts or failing checks; the agent owes a fix" --force
 gh label create "state:needs-human"    --color 8250DF --description "All bots approve — waiting on the human reviewer" --force
+gh label create "merge-next"           --color 0E8A16 --description "Head of the merge queue — merge this one next (set by hand/agent, cleared here)" --force
 gh label create "stale"                --color B60205 --description "No activity for 48h — needs a poke (sweep-managed)" --force
 gh label create "blocked"              --color 6A737D --description "Waiting on another PR or issue to land first" --force
 gh label create "release"              --color 0E8A16 --description "Release flow and version/packaging work" --force
diff --git a/test/labels-reconcile.sh b/test/labels-reconcile.sh
index 10318a2..fb17d4a 100644
--- a/test/labels-reconcile.sh
+++ b/test/labels-reconcile.sh
@@ -146,5 +146,61 @@ REQUESTED="$HUMAN"
 expect "live human request suppresses re-request" not-needed "$(human_request_needed && echo needed || echo not-needed)"
 REQUESTED=""
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# #136: state:needs-human must mean "a human could merge this RIGHT NOW".
+# Both cases below were observed live in this repo on 2026-07-20, and both
+# showed state:needs-human while being unmergeable in different ways.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ALL_APPROVE="$(reviews \
+  "$(rev "$BOT1" APPROVED head1 "" t1)" \
+  "$(rev "$BOT2" APPROVED head1 "" t2)" \
+  "$(rev "$BOT3" APPROVED head1 "" t3)")"
+
+# -- flavour 1: not mergeable. The merge button is disabled, yet the board
+#    said "your turn" on #119/#120/#127 for hours.
+DRAFT=false HEAD_SHA=head1 REQUESTED="" REVIEWS_JSON="$ALL_APPROVE" MERGEABLE=CONFLICTING CHECKS=SUCCESS
+expect "a CONFLICTING PR is needs-rebase, not needs-human" state:needs-rebase "$(decide_state)"
+REQUESTED="$HUMAN"
+expect "...even with the human explicitly requested" state:needs-rebase "$(decide_state)"
+
+# -- red CI is the same claim: not something a human should merge.
+REQUESTED="" MERGEABLE=MERGEABLE CHECKS=FAILURE
+expect "a red PR is needs-rebase" state:needs-rebase "$(decide_state)"
+REQUESTED="$HUMAN"
+expect "...and a human request does not override red CI" state:needs-rebase "$(decide_state)"
+
+# -- UNKNOWN is NOT unmergeable. GitHub reports it for ~a minute after every
+#    merge while it recomputes; treating it as broken would flap every open PR
+#    into needs-rebase on each merge — worse than the bug being fixed.
+REQUESTED="" MERGEABLE=UNKNOWN CHECKS=PENDING
+expect "UNKNOWN mergeability does not trigger needs-rebase" state:needs-human "$(decide_state)"
+
+# -- flavour 2 (the dangerous one): mergeable, green, human requested, and
+#    NOBODY has reviewed this head. Observed on #119 after a rebase: every
+#    signal read "merge me" and nothing on the page contradicted it.
+MERGEABLE=MERGEABLE CHECKS=SUCCESS REQUESTED="$HUMAN"
+REVIEWS_JSON="$(reviews \
+  "$(rev "$BOT1" APPROVED oldhead "" t1)" \
+  "$(rev "$BOT2" APPROVED oldhead "" t2)" \
+  "$(rev "$BOT3" APPROVED oldhead "" t3)")"
+expect "stale approvals outrank the human request (nobody reviewed this tree)" state:addressing "$(decide_state)"
+
+# -- but an UNFINISHED round still yields to an explicit human request: a
+#    maintainer pulling a PR to themselves early is deliberate, and was the
+#    original precedence. MISSING differs from STALE — nobody has reviewed
+#    YET, versus everyone reviewed something else.
+REVIEWS_JSON="$(reviews "$(rev "$BOT1" APPROVED head1 "" t1)")"
+expect "an unfinished round still yields to an explicit human request" state:needs-human "$(decide_state)"
+REQUESTED=""
+expect "...and without that request it is still bots-reviewing" state:bots-reviewing "$(decide_state)"
+
+# -- the happy path survives all of the above.
+REVIEWS_JSON="$ALL_APPROVE" MERGEABLE=MERGEABLE CHECKS=SUCCESS REQUESTED=""
+expect "mergeable + green + three head-current approvals is needs-human" state:needs-human "$(decide_state)"
+# -- and a draft outranks everything, including a conflict.
+DRAFT=true MERGEABLE=CONFLICTING
+expect "a draft is building even when conflicted" state:building "$(decide_state)"
+DRAFT=false MERGEABLE=MERGEABLE CHECKS=SUCCESS REQUESTED="" REVIEWS_JSON='[]'
+
 printf 'labels-reconcile tests: %d passed, %d failed\n' "$pass" "$fail"
 [ "$fail" -eq 0 ]