The NLRA requires that employers must bargain in good faith with unions regarding any mandatory subjects of bargaining. This obligation does not require an employer to agree to any specific proposals made by a union on any particular subject. So what does it mean? It means that the employer is required to meet with the union at reasonable times and places following a request by the union for bargaining; that the employer will not refuse to discuss any mandatory subjects of bargaining; that the employer will exhibit to at least some extent a “give and take” attitude in its discussions with the union; and that the employer will not make changes in wages, hours and working conditions of represented employees unilaterally without first discussion such matters with the unions. The good faith bargaining obligation also requires an employer that has reached agreements with a union on all mandatory subjects of bargaining involved in their particular negotiations to incorporate all of the agreements into a written document known as a collective bargaining agreement. A collective bargaining agreement is a legally enforceable contract.
Example of bad faith bargaining by an employer might include refusing to meet with a union to bargain upon request; an employer’s failure to modify any of its bargaining positions at all during negotiations; an employer making such outrageous demands that indicate it has no intention to reach an agreement with the union; or an employer reneging on matters agreed to during negotiation and refusing to sign a collective bargaining agreement containing those agreements.