Opinion ID: 771581
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Contemporaneous Understanding of the Parties

Text: 52 Grinnell insists that an impasse existed on April 12, 1994, because, in its view, the Union would not accept an agreement whose terms differed significantly from those in the Union's new agreement with NFSA. Grinnell also asserts that the Union's only concern was to pre- serve uniformity within the industry by forcing Grinnell to agree to the same terms as those found in the NFSA agreement. According to Grinnell, the Union's strategy was to close the deal with NFSA first, and then demand that Grinnell accept the NFSA deal. Indeed, Grinnell argues that the Union was wedded to the agreement it had already signed with NFSA, and therefore could offer only the proposals and terms contained therein. Grinnell believes that this position is indicative of the Union's unwillingness to compromise, and therefore man- dates a finding of impasse. 53 Grinnell's depiction of the Union's position finds no objective basis in the facts determined by the ALJ and the Board. The Union never proposed that Grinnell simply accept the terms of the NFSA agreement. As the Board recognized, the Union continued to demonstrate its willingness to compromise by giving [Grinnell] proposals which differed from those in the NFSA agreement. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 2. Furthermore, the Board correctly found Grin- nell's contention undermined by the Union's refusal to accede to a most favored nation clause in the NFSA agreement. 13 By not agreeing to such a clause in the NFSA contract, Preuett would be able to give concessions to [Grinnell] without eroding the employees' terms and conditions of employment with NFSA employers. Grin- nell, 328 N.L.R.B. No 76 at n.4. 54 The record strongly supports the conclusions of the ALJ and the Board that the Union remained open and willing to negotiate on April 12, 1994. The Board, in reaching its determination in this regard, relied on the following: (1) during the final session on April 12, the Union continued to declare its intention to be flexible; (2) when Chatilovicz stated that Grinnell would treat a proposal offered by the Union at that point to be the Union's final offer, Preuett explicitly denied that assertion; (3) Preuett made specific inquiries about how far apart the parties were and in which states [Grinnell] needed movement on wage rates; (4) after Grinnell rejected the Union's proposal, Chatilovicz told Preuett that he would be in his office until 6:00 p.m., giving Preuett his telephone number if he wanted to talk further; (5) Preuett took Chatilovicz up on this offer, phoning him at 6:00 p.m. to request a meeting the following day; (6) during this conversation, Preuett expressed the Union's continued desire to have Grinnell raise its proposed wage rates; 14 and (7) Preuett suggested that the parties possibly resort to federal mediation. 55 The Board correctly observed that Grinnell's asserting of its final position did not, by itself, require a finding of impasse. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 1 (citing, inter alia, PRC Recording Co., 280 N.L.R.B. 615, 640 (1986), which held that for impasse to occur, both parties must be unwilling to compromise, enforced, 836 F.2d 289 (7th Cir. 1987)). Indeed, the Board reasoned that it would be both erroneous as a matter of law and unwise as a matter of policy for the Board to find impasse merely because the [Union] is unwilling to capitulate immediately and settle on [Grinnell's] unchanged terms. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 2. This conclusion is consistent with precedent such as Powell Elec. Mfg. Co., 287 N.L.R.B. 969 (1987), where the Board held that futility, rather than mere frustration, discouragement, or apparent gamesmanship, is necessary to establish impasse. Id. at 973. Put simply, Grinnell's argument of impasse is premised on its own unwillingness -- rather than that of the Union -- to compromise. As the Board stated, [A]ssuming arguendo that [Grinnell] has demonstrated it was unwilling to compromise any further, we find that it has fallen short of demonstrating that the Union was unwilling to do so. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 2. 15 56 Grinnell also argues that, despite Preuett's stated intention, further negotiations would have been futile, since important issues remained where no progress had been made. Furthermore, according to Grinnell, the olive branches offered by the Union on the last day of negotiations, i.e., incremental wage improvements, did not demon- strate a genuine willingness to compromise on the crucial issues. The Board has repeatedly held that inconsequential modifications that fail to address the heart of the employer's demands cannot forestall impasse. See Prentice-Hall, Inc., 306 N.L.R.B. 31 (1992); Times- Herald, 223 N.L.R.B. 505 (1976). Accordingly, Grinnell maintains that the Board's characterization of the Union's last offer as a significant concession was erroneous. 57 Grinnell, however, inappropriately downplays the importance of the Union's concessions to reach an agreement. As the Board found, these concessions constituted significant progress towards the goal desired by Grinnell -- lower wages for competitive commercial con- tracts. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 2. On April 12, 1994, the Union made a detailed proposal offering significant discounts varying by states, which Grinnell rejected. Preuett asked Grinnell to identify the states in which the company required a larger discount, but Grin- nell refused to consider this inquiry. Instead, Grinnell declared the existence of impasse, despite the Union's clearly expressed intentions to reach an agreement. Grinnell, 328 N.L.R.B. No. 76 at 2. 58 As the ALJ and the Board both found, Preuett earnestly desired to reach an agreement, believed an agreement could be reached, and continued to explore negotiations and options in pursuit thereof. Any suggestion to the contrary necessarily contemplates that Preuett made his statements of April 12 concerning the Union's desire for an agreement either in bad faith (contemplating the legal ramifications and trying to avoid impasse), or without actual understanding of Grin- nell's position. There is simply no support in the record for either such finding, and we decline to second-guess the ALJ and the Board by divining one.