YOU BE THE JUDGE WRITING PROBLEM Plainville Ready Mix Concrete Co. was bargaining a CBA with the drivers’ union.

Negotiations went forward, on and off, over many months, with wages the major source of disagreement. Plainville made its final offer of

$9.50 per hour, with step increases of $.25 per hour in a year and another $.25 per hour the following year. The plan also included certain incentive pay. The union refused to accept the offer, and the two sides reached an impasse.

Plainville then announced it was implementing its plans. It established a wage rate of $9.50 per hour but eliminated the step increases and incentive pay. Was the company’s implementation of the wage increase legal? Argument for Plainville: The NLRA only requires the company to bargain in good faith, which we did.

The law does not obligate us to agree to anything.

Once the parties reached an impasse, Plainville could implement any plan it wanted.

Argument for the Union: When the parties reach an impasse, the employer is permitted to implement whatever it proposed at the bargaining table. It would defeat the purpose of collective bargaining if a company could implement plans it had never proposed.