Nlrb v. C & C Plywood Corp., 385 U.S. 421 (1967)

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Syllabus

Respondent, employer, was charged with an unfair labor practice for inaugurating a premium pay plan during the term of a collective bargaining agreement without prior consultation with the union representing its employees, in violation of §§ 8(a)(5) and (1) of the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB issued a cease-and-desist order, rejecting respondent’s claim that its action was authorized by a provision of the agreement. The agreement provided for grievance machinery, but not for arbitration. The Court of Appeals refused to enforce the order, reasoning that a contract provision which "arguably" allowed respondent to institute the premium pay plan divested the NLRB of jurisdiction to entertain the unfair labor practice charge.

Held:

1. The NLRB was not without jurisdiction to adjudicate the unfair labor practice charge merely because its decision required the interpretation of a provision of the collective bargaining agreement relied on as a defense by the employer. Pp. 425-430.

2. The NLRB’s conclusions that the agreement gave respondent no unilateral right to institute the premium pay plan and that the union had not forgone its statutory right to bargain about the plan, reached in the light of its experience with labor relations and the Act’s clear emphasis on the protection of free collective bargaining, were not erroneous. Pp. 430-431.

351 F. 2d 224, reversed and remanded.