Opinion ID: 2581016
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The National Labor Relations Act is inapplicable.

Text: When interpreting the provisions of the Act in the past, we have sought guidance from decisions interpreting the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), [44] on which the Act was based. [45] But in contrast to the Act, the NLRA does not require that labor contracts include a grievance procedure that culminates in binding arbitration. [46] While we recognize the instructive value of the NLRA and the many cases interpreting it, we cannot rely on federal precedent to resolve whether grievance-arbitration must be available for all mandatory subjects given that the NLRA does not require that a grievance procedure be included in a labor contract. [47] The legislature clearly intended to diverge from the NLRA on this point. We therefore conclude that it would be inappropriate to rely on NLRA precedent to determine whether grievance-arbitration must be available for all mandatory subjects of bargaining pursuant to AS 23.40.210(a).