Evening star., 1946-02-01
Good Fuith' Held
Misunderstood Term
Agreements Not Mandatory in
Labor Bargaining, Says Writer

Labor Bargaining, Says Writer
By David Laurence
Much loose talk is being heard
about failure Of one party or the other
In a labor dispute to engage in collec-
tive bargaining Gin good faith"
An Interpretation sometimes given by
union leaders implies that the parties
must agree when a union makes
demand and that failure to accept such
demand is refusal to bargain In
good faith, This is erroneous reasoning.
In April, 1887, Chief Justice Charles
Evans Hughes wrote the majority
opinion Of the Supreme Court uphold
ing the constitutionality Of the Ma
tional Labor Relations Act, known as
the Wagner Law, and in that opinion
he said:
The act does not compel agreement
between the employers and the en-
ployes. 1t does not compel any agree
ment whatever. It does not prevent
the employer from refusing to make a
collective contract and hiring individ-
uaS on whatever terms the employer
may by unilateral action determine.
"The theory of the act Is, the free
opportunity for negotiations with ac-
credited representatives of employees is
likely to promote industrial peace and
may bring about the adjustments and
agreements which the act In itself does
not attempt to compel"
Obligation Limited.
There have been attempts made to
persuade the National Labor Relations
Board that employers in certain in
stances have refused to bargain in good
faith. Such instances relate usually to
refusal to meet with union representa-
tives in the beginning of negotiations
or to attempt to delay deliberately or
otherwise to impair the negotiations
themselves by moves that plainly show
no genuine desire even to consider the
issues from the outset. But once an
employer has met and considered the
demands of union and rejected them,
there Is no obligation to meet again and
again in order to record the same
rejection.
Often the rejection is accompanied
by counter-proposal or by the reiter-
alton of former proposal. Where two
parties, however, simply cannot agree,
there is no provision of law to make
them agree. The unions would be
quick to resent the exercise, directly or
indirectly, by any governmental body
OF any present provision Of law to
achieve that purpose, for it would mean
compulsory arbitration.
Those cases which are brought before
the NLRB with an obvious attempt to
penalize an employer who has rejected
demands during a negotiation, cannot
but introduce new shackles for labor,
too, If imposed on management.
Good Faith Not Stipulated.
The Wagner Law itself does not men
ton bargaining "in good faith" This
phrase is one which has been used by
the board to penalize those employers
who attempt to deal frivolously with
the collective bargaining process. But
there is difference between avoidance
of recognition or bargaining and re-
fusal to accept terms once the bargain
ing negotiations have begun. Neither
side is under compulsion to modify its
demands one iota from the original
proposals submitted in the first COL
lective bargaining conference. It is
the refusal to submit any proposals at
all or the avoidance of negotiations at
the outset which leads to a charge OF
failure to bargain in good faith.
Congress has not stipulated that
unions need bargain in good faith.
They can act as mischievously as they
like and even engage in acts of violence,
such as illegal picketing, but this does
not relieve the employer of his obliga-
ton to meet with and negotiate with
union representatives if they represent
a majority of his employees.
Since there are no penalties under
board rulings or decisions for union
failure to bargain in good faith, it would
be extremely difficult for a court to
determine the facts about anything as
abstract as good faith where an EN-.
ployer negotiated and presented his
proposals but failed to obtain accept
ance. When both sides have reached
a stalemate, it is not case of bad
faith. The Supreme Court has said
that negotiating an agreement does
not mean compulsion to agree. and
this is the essential point to be borne
in mind in examining the reports Of
cases of alleged refusal to bargain "in
good faith"
Reproduction RiShts Reserredl