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Nlb Case

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All the proposed tests are necessarily vague and only designed as guides, with definite mandatory subjects being determined only on a case by case approach. However, when a subject has been determined to be a mandatory one, it is agreed that it may be bargained to an impasse so long as the bargaining is in good faith. Whether the subject of dues check-off is a “condition of employment” under the Act and thus a mandatory subject of bargaining has often been before the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) and the courts. The NLRB is given a great deal of flexibility in interpreting the Act in order to effectuate its policies as evidenced by congressional intent and the courts will normally interfere only if the Board abuses its discretionary …show more content…

Good faith has thus been defined as “an honest and sincere intent and purpose to explore all possibilities of settlement of the matters in dispute, until the exhaustion of all reasonable efforts and the arrival at a point where a definite decision is reached.” Dues check-off, of course is only a small part of the totality of a negotiating session. Yet, at times it can be a life or death issue for a union short of funds and in an unfavourable position for collecting its dues. The presentation of one large check representing the sum of its members’ dues is a great asset to a union which would otherwise have to seek out its members individually for payment. In the case of United Steelworkers (Roanoke Iron & Bridge Works) v. NLRB the court’s decision seemed to be the employer’s motive behind its adamant stand. It agreed that the avoidance of agreement on one issue is not necessarily bad faith but that the facts of each case must be assessed in the light of the statutory purpose. Thus, “entering or conducting negotiations with the intent to destroy the other party would appear to be the archetypal example of a violation of the requirement that the parties must act in good faith.” Merely putting the subject of check-off on the bargaining agenda and dismissing it as a matter of principle did not satisfy the good faith

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