Collective Bargaining Agreements

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss issues surrounding collective bargaining agreements. * * * Under section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act, an employer commits an unfair labor practice if it "refuse[s] to bargain collectively with the representatives of [its] employees." 29 U. S. C. § 158(a)(5). Under the NLRA, collective bargaining consists of a "mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment ...." Id. § 158(d). The subjects of mandatory bargaining are broad and the Supreme Court has explained that "Congress deliberately left the words 'wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment' without further definition, for it did not intend to deprive the Board of the power further to define those terms in light of specific industrial practices." First Nat'l Maint. Corp. v. NLRB, 452 U. S. 666, 675, 101 S. Ct. 2573, 69 L. Ed.2d 318 (1981) (quoting 29 U. S. C. § 158(d)). Intern. Longshore & Warehouse Union v. NLRB, 890 F. 3d 1100 (DC Cir. 2018).