BACKGROUND

The union became the certified bargaining representative for the employees at St. Matthew’s Hospital. The company was contacted by the union on December 2, 1990. The union stated that it would like to begin contract negotiations as soon as possible. The representatives for the company responded to the union’s request, stating that they would not be ready to negotiate for the next two months but could possibly begin in March 1991. The union responded that the waiting period was too long and the negotiations should start sooner or the union would file an unfair labor practice charging the company representatives with refusal to bargain. The company then reluctantly agreed to begin negotiations on December 15, 1990. The two sides met and set forth their initial demands. The company initially refused to bargain on the union’s proposal. The company’s initial proposal was extremely low, cutting back on benefits that the employees had received previously. For counterproposals, the company hardly moved from its initial proposals. During negotiations the union would state a demand and provide supporting statistics, primarily data from other hospitals. Management would ignore the union’s proposal and bring up an entirely unrelated issue. On the union’s wage proposal, the company responded with an outright no. The chief negotiator said there was no way the company could come close to accepting the proposal. The only wage proposal offered by management was the current wage rates, and it was stated that there was no room for negotiation on this item. The union requested financial information from management, and management negotiators said they would be happy to furnish all relevant financial data to the union. Three weeks later the company gave the following information from the previous year: Revenue 5 $3,596,700; Operating Expenses 5 $2,700,000; Fixed Expenses 5 $560,000. The union requested a further breakdown, which the company never furnished. The union requested a final meeting in which both sides would sincerely attempt to settle, or the union would call a strike. They met and again could not agree on anything. The union called a strike.

Questions concerning the information above:

Has the employer committed an unfair labor practice? Why or why not and what could they have done differently to avoid the strike?