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Head'em Off At The Impasse: A Victory For Management In The War To Implement Its Last Best Offer - Mountain Valley Educational Ass'n V. Maine Sad No. 43, Thomas C. Albus

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The impasse doctrine in collective bargaining allows limited unilateral action by an employer when a good-faith deadlock in negotiations is reached between the employer and employees' representatives. This doctrine is a judicial invention used to reconcile the dual mandate of the National Labor Relations Act: to enforce the duty of good-faith bargaining while not compelling parties to accept agreements or make concessions. Traditionally, the impasse doctrine has been viewed as a tool to promote an ongoing bargaining process; more recently, it has been viewed as a terminal point in the negotiation process. By broadening the definition of impasse, courts ascribing …