American Manufacturing Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 30, 1971

188 N.L.R.B. 290 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

290 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
St. Louis Cordage Mills, Division of American Manu-
facturing Company, Inc. and Local 695, Textile
Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO and St.
Louis Textile Workers Union of America, AFL-
CIO, Welfare Fund, Party in Interest . Case 14-CA-
.4222
January 30, 1971
ORDER ON REMAND
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING AND
BROWN
On March 8, 1968, the National Labor Relations
Board issued a Decision and Order' in the above-
entitled proceeding, finding that Respondent's refusal
to make payments into the Charging Party's Welfare
fund which it was obligated to make under its existing
collective-bargaining agreement with the Charging
Party constituted a violation of Section 8(a)(5) and (1)
of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended.
The Board ordered Respondent, inter alia, to make
the payments required by the collective-bargaining
agreement.
On April 21, 1970, the U.S. Court of Appeals,
Eighth Circuit, issued its decision 2 denying enforce-
ment and remanding the case to the Board for further
consideration and the entry of an appropriate order.
Having accepted the remand, the Board, on August
17, 1970, issued a notice granting the parties an oppor-
tunity to file statements of position and briefs with the
Board. Thereafter, such statements and briefs were
filed by all parties.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection
with this case to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the statements of posi-
tion and the entire record in this proceeding, and, for
the reasons set forth below, orders that the case be
closed.
' 170 NLRB No 7
2 424 F 2d 976 (C A. 8).
The court, in its decision, held that the Respondent
was not obligated under the collective-bargaining
agreement to make the welfare payments prior to the
existence of a welfare fund that met "all legal require-
ments" ; that the General Counsel had not met his
burden of proving that the fund met such require-
ments ; and that, hence, no violation of the Act had
been established. The court noted, however, that the
Respondent "has committed itself in its brief and at
oral argument to paying the amount it would have
paid into a valid Welfare Fund from February 1,
1967, to February 8, 1968 .... We therefore remand
this case to the Board for further consideration and
the entry of an appropriate order. The Board should
fashion a remedy which will require respondent to pay
the amount found due from it into a fund from which
respondent's employees will derive benefits."
The Board is persuaded that the manner in which
the above payment shall be made by the Respondent
and the nature of the benefits which the employees
shall derive therefrom are matters which can best be
accomplished by collective-bargaining between the
Respondent and the presently certified collective-bar-
gaining representative. Indeed, the good-faith bar-
gaining requirement of our Act would clearly appear
to require such a course of conduct by the parties.
However, in view of the court's finding that no viola-
tion of the Act occurred, the Board is of the opinion
that it is without authority to enter an affirmative
order in this state of the record. We therefore order
that this case be closed, without prejudice, of course,
to the filing of a new charge in the event Respondent
should fail or refuse to bargain in good faith concern-
ing the implementation of its commitment.
ORDER
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board hereby orders that the proceeding herein
be, and it hereby is, closed.
188 NLRB No. 48