Byron White

“ The challenge of the employer, in brief, is that ordering the payment of infringe benefits reserved in the contract inserts the Board into the enforcement of the collective bargaining agreement, contrary to the policy and scheme of the statute. ”

“ National Labor Relations Board v. Strong
Argued: Dec. 10, 1968. --- Decided: Jan 15, 1969
The Roofing Contractors Association of Southern California, of which respondent was then a member, negotiated a collective bargaining contract with the Roofers Union [1] effective August 15, 1963, establishing compensation levels for the employees of member firms for the next four years. On August 20, 1963, respondent sought to withdraw from the multiple employer bargaining association which had negotiated this agreement. He then refused repeated demands from the union that he sign the contract. ”

“ It does not authorize punitive measures, but ' (m) aking the workers whole for losses suffered on account of an unfair labor practice is part of the vindication of the public policy which the Board enforces.' Phelps Dodge Corp. v. NLRB, 313 U.S. 177, 197, 61 S.Ct. 845, 854, 85 L.Ed. 1271 (1941) . Back pay is one of the simpler and more explicitly authorized remedies utilized to attain this end. [2]
Here the unfair labor practice was the failure of the employer to sign and acknowledge the existence of a collective bargaining agreement which had been negotiated and concluded on his behalf. ”