International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 19-70651 (9th Cir. 2020)
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The Ninth Circuit affirmed the NLRB's decision that PSAV did not violate the Act by failing to produce documents responsive to Local 15's first document request. At issue in this collective bargaining case was whether PSAV effectively retracted its claim of inability to pay the union's wage and benefits proposals, thereby limiting its obligation to produce financial documents to the union, and whether PSAV failed to bargain in good faith.
The panel held that substantial evidence supported the Board's findings that PSAV did retract its inability-to-pay claim. In this case, PSAV did not refer to financial nonviability after retracting its inability-to-pay claim, nor does the larger context of the parties' negotiations suggest that PSAV’s position was based on a lack of financial viability. The panel also held that PSAV's conduct both at and away from the bargaining table did not establish that it acted in bad faith in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
Court Description: Labor Law. The panel affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s findings that: (a) the employer, Audio Visual Services Group d/b/a PSAV Presentation Services, effectively retracted its claim of inability to pay the union’s wage and benefit proposals, thereby limiting its obligation to produce financial documents to the union; and (b) PSAV’s conduct did not constitute bad faith bargaining in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 15 (the “Union”) is the certified collective-bargaining representative for PSAV’s employees. At issue in this collective bargaining case was whether PSAV effectively retracted its claim of inability to pay the union’s wage and benefits proposals, thereby limiting its obligation to produce financial documents to the union, and whether PSAV failed to bargain in good faith. The panel held that substantial evidence supported the NLRB’s finding that the substance of PSAV’s bargaining position was an unwillingness to pay, rather than an inability to pay, the Union’s demands. The panel concluded that substantial evidence supported the NLRB’s finding that PSAV retracted its inability-to-pay claim, and PSAV’s failure to produce documents responsive to the Union’s first document request did not violate the Act. IATSE LOCAL 15 V. NLRB 3 The panel rejected the Union’s arguments that PSAV bargained in bad faith. First, the panel held that the fact that PSAV never changed its wage proposal did not itself establish that it acted in bad faith; and on this record, the panel could not conclude that PSAV’s position on benefits was evidence of bad faith either by itself or in conjunction with its overall bargaining posture. Second, PSAV’s employee discipline proposals did not evidence its bad faith. Third, PSAV’s behavior away from the bargaining table did not demonstrate its bad faith. Fourth, PSAV’s withholding of documents did not evidence PSAV’s overall bad faith. Finally, PSAV’s refusal to bargain before May 2016 did not evidence overall bad faith bargaining.
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