Ken Dolin Published in National Law Journal
"Garden Ridge Mgmt."

Ken Dolin’s article, “Garden Ridge Mgt.,” was published in the July 16, 2007 issue of the National Law Journal. In his article, Ken looks to Garden Ridge Mgmt., 347 NLRB No. 13 (2006) for insights as to how the board analyzes evidence in the bargaining process. Specifically, Ken examines section 8 (d) of the National Labor Relations Act, which “requires that an ‘employer and the representative of the employees… meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.’” Ken notes that these “are two different obligations: The former obligation refers to the frequency of meetings under the circumstances; the latter refers to the willingness to reach an accord on bargaining the matters that are in dispute.” In this case, the employer and the union “negotiated on 20 occasions in the course of 11 months, reaching tentative agreement on 28 articles,” Ken noted.

The board affirmed the decision by the administrative law judge that the employer failed to meet with the union at reasonable times, but dismissed all other allegations. Ken points out that “[t]his case illustrates the methodical analysis of evidence this board undertakes when determining whether a party’s conduct at the bargaining table constitutes bad-faith bargaining and how it considers separately whether a party has satisfied its obligation to meet at reasonable times with respect to negotiating an agreement….”