LABOR LAW- COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONTRACT AS BARRING QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION OF EMPLOYEES

The employer entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the employees as represented by Union A, recognizing Union A as the exclusive bargaining agent and giving it a closed shop. The contract was entered into in September, 1940, and was to last until September, 1942, with a provision for certain modifications before that time. Pending negotiations for modifications, a large number of the members of Union A decided to transfer affiliation to Union B. On September 24, 1941, Union B filed a petition under the Wagner Act to be certified as the sole bargaining agent. Union A resisted the claim on the ground that the collective bargaining agreement of September, 1940, was still in force and had a year yet to run.

Held, this closed-shop contract is for a reasonable duration and is a bar to the present proceedings for certification. In re Owens-Illinois Pacific Coast Co., 36 N. L. R. B. 990 (1941).