Opinion ID: 433601
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Termination of the Job Bidding Procedure.

Text: 18 The Company asserts that despite Rowan's intemperate remarks, it did not unilaterally terminate the contractual job bidding procedure, but indicated only that it would not permit down bidding. The Company contends that the prohibition on down bidding does not violate sections 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act because the collective bargaining agreement neither requires nor permits it. 5 The Board concluded that Article VIII of the contract clearly allowed unrestricted bidding, including down bidding on jobs. The Board's interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement is entitled to deference when, as here, it has a reasonable basis in the contract terms, the policies of the Act, and the Board's expertise. See, e.g., NLRB v. United Ass'n of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, Local No. 741, 704 F.2d 1164, 1166 (9th Cir.1983); NLRB v. C.K. Smith & Co., Inc., 569 F.2d 162 (1st Cir.1977), cert. denied, 436 U.S. 957, 98 S.Ct. 3070, 57 L.Ed.2d 1122 (1978). Moreover, the Board's interpretation is reinforced by the fact that the Company honored down bids on several occasions in August and September of 1981. 19 With regard to the Company's assertion that it did not terminate the job bidding procedure, the Board notes that certain jobs posted for bids before September 30, 1981, were never awarded. Given Rowan's explicit repudiation of further job bidding 6 and the Company's expressed dissatisfaction with the consequences of the procedure, substantial evidence supports the Board's conclusion that the Company violated sections 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act by unilaterally terminating the job bidding procedure on September 30. 20 For the foregoing reasons, the Board's application for enforcement of its September 29, 1982 order is granted.