American Manufacturing Co., Inc.

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