TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT - National Labor Relations Board

44 Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board
During the past year, the Board rercted contentions that it should
not apply its 2-year rule to contracts entered into prior to the announcement
of its new contract-bar rules in September 1958 Similarly,
it 'ejected a contention that the 2-year rule should not be applied
to a seasonal industry, and that contracts in such industry should be
considered a bar for two full operating seasons' The Board noted
that to adopt this lattei suggestion would add an element of uncertainty
in the area of contract-bar law concerning the timeliness of
petitions—an uncertainty which the Board expressly attempted to
eliminate in its most recent revision of its contract-bar rules 6
d Terms of Contract
To bar a petition, an asserted contract must contain substantial
terms and conditions of employment sufficient to stabilize the bargaining
relationship of the parties 7 In the Board's view, "real stability
in industrial relations can only be achieved where the contract
undertakes to chart with adequate precision the course of the bargainmg
relationship, and the parties can look to the actual terms and conditions
of their contract for guidance in their day-to-day problems"
Thus, contracts limited only to the recognition of a union,° "to wages
only, or to one or several provisions not deemed substantial" "
not constitute a bar Likewise, supplementary agieements which ale
merely ancillary to and dependent upon a master agi eement will not
bar a petition '1
(1) Union-Security Clauses
Under established Boai d rules,12 a contract will not be held a bar
if the conti acting union lacks statutory qualifications to make a unionsecurity
agreement, or if the terms of the agreement exceed the limitations
of the union-security proviso to section 8(a) (3) 13
Jay hay Metal Specialties Corp 129 NLRB 31, May Department Stores Co , above
Pickering Lumber Corp. 128 NLRB 144.3 The Board also re jected contention that
these contracts should be held a bar because they effectuated no changes in working conditions
until about 8 months after their execution, within 2 years of the petition It
ne%ertheless held the execution date determinative In these circumstances
' Pacific Coast A esn of Pulp and Paper Manufacturers, 121 NLRB 990, 993 (1958)
7 See Appalachian Shale Products Co • 121 NLRB 1160 (1058) , , Twenty fourth Annual
Report (1959), p 24
8 Ibul
' Central Coat, Ali; on d Linen Sc; vice, Inc., 126 NLRB 958 (1960)
• Appalachsan Shale Products Co. above Cf Jet Transportation Corp, 128 NLRB 780,
783
16 See Twenty-fifth Annual Report (1960), p 30
• See Paragon Products Corp., 134 NLRB No 86, decided after the fiscal year, over
ruling to the extent inconsistent Keystone Coat, Apron d Towel Supply Co , 121 NLRB
880 (195S), and Twenty-fourth Annual Report (1959), pp 24-26
'3 Once the contract-bar issue has been raised, it is the Board's policy to examine the
contract's union security provision on its own motion