Opinion

National Labor Relations Board v. Nenry Heide, Inc.

  • 219 F.2d 46
  • 35 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2378
  • 1955 U.S. App. LEXIS 4461
Court
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Filed
Jan 19, 1955
Status
Published
Author
Hand
On the bench
Clark, Hand, Frank
Cited by
16 cases

The opinion

L. HAND, Circuit Judge

(concurring).

The Board’s order directed Heide to stop (a) refusing to bargain with Local 50; (b) recognizing Local 452; (c) performing its agreement of January 1953 with Local 452, until the Board had certified it; (d) and (e) assisting or encouraging Local 452 or discouraging Local 50; and (f) interfering with its employees in their right to bargain collectively. The “Grounds” for these three directions were, (a) that Heide had refused to bargain with Local 50 during a period in 1952 when Local 452 and itself had filed petitions to disestablish Local 50; (b) that after these petitions had been dismissed as premature, in its dealings with Local 50 Heide in bad faith had refused to make any contract beyond the end of the certified year (Oct. 9, 1952); and (c) that it had refused to recognize Local 50 after that time. I am not satisfied with the reasons given by the Board for finding that Heide’s refusal was in bad faith. The first reason is that it had refused to bargain with Local 50 during the pendency of its petition and Local 452’s to revoke Local 50’s certification. I can see no connection between that and its good faith in supposing that after Oct. 9, 1952, Local 50’s right to bargain might have ended. Besides, it was a natural enough mistake to think that the pendency of the petitions tolled Local 50’s authority. The second reason is even less plausible: i. e. that Heide conditioned “any further bargaining on Local 50’s acceptance of that provision.” It was no evidence of Heide’s belief that Local 50 might have already ceased to represent the employees that it “adamantly” refused to make a contract which would go beyond the year. It is not bad faith to be inflexible in asserting your doubts. “Grounds” (a) and (c) of the Board’s decision support all the provisions of its order; and I would enforce it in toto because of them, but of them alone.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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