Opinion ID: 3052811
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: “Clear and Unmistakable” Waiver

Text: The Board argues that because “the dues-checkoff provision itself contains clear language linking dues-checkoff to the duration of the collective-bargaining agreements, as opposed to general duration language elsewhere in the agreement,” the Union explicitly bargained away its rights. We disagree. [4] Although a general durational clause, without more, does not defeat the unilateral change doctrine, Honeywell Int’l, Inc. v. NLRB, 253 F.3d 125, 131-32 (D.C. Cir. 2001), such language within a specific contractual provision does not necessarily establish that the Union bargained away its rights. The Board’s precedent has plainly and consistently distinguished between language that states a particular provision applies “during” the contract term, and language that states the relevant benefit will “terminate” at the end of the contract term. Only where the provision states that the benefit will “terminate” has the Board found a clear and unmistakable waiver. In Cauthorne Trucking, the intra-provision language explicitly stated that all employer obligations under the pension agreement would “terminate” on expiration of the contract. 256 NLRB at 722.12 The Board determined that this adopted by the Seventh and First Circuits. See Dep’t of Navy v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth., 962 F.2d 48 (D.C. Cir. 1992); NLRB v. United States Postal Serv., 8 F.3d 832 (D.C. Cir. 1993); Chi. Tribune Co. v. NLRB, 974 F.2d 933 (7th Cir. 1992); Bath Marine Draftsmen’s Ass’n v. NLRB, 475 F.3d 14, 25 (1st Cir. 2007). We have not adopted the “contract coverage” standard and neither party has suggested that we now do so. 12 The relevant provision stated, “It is understood and agreed that at the expiration of any particular collective bargaining agreement by and LOCAL JOINT EXECUTIVE BD v. NLRB 11863 language expressed a clear intent to relieve the employer of any obligation to make payments after contract expiration. Id. The Board argues that its position in this case is “consistent” with Cauthorne Trucking because, even though the text of the dues-checkoff clauses is not identical to that found in Cauthorne Trucking, the parties’ intent is nonetheless similarly clear. [5] This argument is not persuasive. First, as a matter of plain interpretation, the contractual language that an obligation will “terminate” on expiration of an agreement is simply not equivalent to contractual language that an obligation “shall be continued” “during” the agreement. The latter says nothing about what happens after the agreement expires. Second, subsequent Board decisions explicitly reject such elision. In a series of cases, the Board has distinguished Cauthorne Trucking and established that a clear and unmistakable waiver of the obligation to continue providing benefits requires explicit contract language authorizing an employer to terminate its obligations. In KBMS, Inc., the Board found that language requiring that contributions be made “as long as a Producer is so obligated pursuant to said collective bargaining agreements” did not meet the standard under Cauthorne Trucking because this language did not “deal with the termination of the employer’s obligation to contribute to the funds.” 278 N.L.R.B. 826, 849 (1986) (emphasis omitted and added).13 Similarly, in Schmidtbetween the Union and any Company’s obligation under this Pension Trust Agreement shall terminate unless, in a new collective bargaining agreement, such obligation shall be continued.” Cauthorne Trucking, 256 N.L.R.B. at 722. 13 The Board’s attempt to distinguish KBMS on the basis that the same trust article explicitly provided that it was not intended to alter the applicable CBA is not persuasive, because the KBMS Board specifically found that the text of the relevant provision “does not purport to deal with the termination of the employer’s obligation to contribute to the funds.” 278 N.L.R.B. at 849 (emphasis added). 11864 LOCAL JOINT EXECUTIVE BD v. NLRB Tiago Constr. Co., 286 N.L.R.B. 342, 366 (1987), the Board found no contractual waiver and adopted the ALJ’s finding that the case could be distinguished from Cauthorne Trucking because the language requiring that employer contributions to the pension fund be “in accordance with” a Pension Agreement “does not on its face . . . specifically state that Respondent’s obligation to contribute to the pension trust fund ends with the expiration of the current collective-bargaining contract.”14 See also id. at 345 n.7. In Natico, Inc., 302 N.L.R.B. 668 (1991), the Board again did not find a waiver on the basis of language almost identical to the language in this case. There, the provision stated that the parties agreed that the pension program “will remain in effect for the term of this agreement.” Id. at 684 (emphasis added). The Board adopted the ALJ’s finding that “[t]he contractual language does not state that the pension program will terminate on the expiration of the contract. It appears that language to that effect is required either in the collective-bargaining agreement or in the underlying pension agreement to satisfy a waiver condition.” Id. at 685 (emphasis added). [6] Further, the Board has refused to infer termination when the provisions at issue have included language that extends benefits for a specified period beyond the term or duration of the contract. In NLRB v. General Tire and Rubber Co., 795 F.2d 585, 588 (6th Cir. 1986) (per curiam) (enforcing Gen. Tire, 274 N.L.R.B. at 592-93), the court affirmed the Board’s position that where a provision allowed for “the benefits . . . [to be] provided for ninety (90) days following termination,” such language could not be understood as a clear and mistakable waiver with respect to the continuation of benefits beyond the ninety-day period. The Board found that the rele14 The Board also attempts to distinguish Schmidt-Tiago as falling short of a clear and unmistakable waiver on the basis that the relevant analysis continued, “[m]oreover . . .” and listed additional reasons that the waiver was not clear and unmistakable. The import of Schmidt-Tiago here, however, is how the durational language was treated. LOCAL JOINT EXECUTIVE BD v. NLRB 11865 vant provision “is silent on the matter of payment of benefits following the ninety-day period.” Id. (emphasis added). In other words, far from drawing the inference that after ninety days the benefits would be terminated, the Board found that the provision could stand only for the proposition that “the company would provide an additional ninety days of coverage beyond the expiration of the agreement.” Id.; see also Gen. Tire, 274 N.L.R.B. at 593 (“Nowhere in this contract provision is there mention of what is to occur to these supplemental benefits after the 90 days have expired. In these circumstances, we find no clear and unmistakable waiver of the right to bargain over these supplemental benefits after the 90-day period.”). [7] In light of the text of the Agreements’ durational provisions and the Board’s clear and consistent position on similar provisions, the Board’s interpretation of the Agreements here does not withstand de novo review. The dues-checkoff provisions do not state that checkoff will terminate on expiration of the Agreements, and the Board’s own precedent demonstrates that it has refused to infer such termination—even where those provisions purport to continue benefits only for a limited period of time following the contract expiration. The durational clauses here simply do not amount to a clear and unmistakable waiver of the Union’s statutory rights.