Opinion ID: 521923
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the terms of the expired agreement were binding

Text: 21 ESI's first defense is raised rather obliquely in this enforcement proceeding. We address it for the sake of completeness. ESI was obligated to make these payments under the CBA notwithstanding the fact that the agreement expired in October 1983. The Supreme Court has held that it is a violation of the duty 'to bargain collectively' imposed by Sec. 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act for an employer, without first consulting a union with which it is carrying on bona fide contract negotiations, to institute changes regarding matters which are subjects of mandatory bargaining under Sec. 8(d) and which are in fact under discussion. 8 NLRB v. Katz, 369 U.S. 736, 737, 82 S.Ct. 1107, 8 L.Ed.2d 230 (1962). An employer may not make changes in the terms and conditions of employment reflected in an expired collective bargaining agreement. Stone Boat Yard v. NLRB, 715 F.2d 441, 444 (9th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 937, 104 S.Ct. 1910, 80 L.Ed.2d 459 (1984); see NLRB v. Carilli, 648 F.2d 1206, 1214 (9th Cir.1981); Clear Pine Mouldings, Inc. v. NLRB, 632 F.2d 721, 729 (7th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 984, 101 S.Ct. 2317, 68 L.Ed.2d 841 (1981). Instead, the employer must maintain the status quo after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement until a new agreement is reached or until the parties bargain in good faith to impasse. Southwest Forest Indus., Inc. v. NLRB, 841 F.2d 270, 273 (9th Cir.1988); see NLRB v. Harvstone Mfg. Corp., 785 F.2d 570, 581 n. 12 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 821, 107 S.Ct. 88, 93 L.Ed.2d 41 (1986); Stone Boat Yard, 715 F.2d at 444; Carilli, 648 F.2d at 1214. The parties have not alleged that they reached an impasse or that negotiations were discontinued. We thus conclude that there is substantial evidence to support the Board's finding that, by unilaterally ceasing to make payments under the terms of the agreement, ESI committed an unfair labor practice in violation of sections 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act. 9 22