## Facts

- General Electric Company (GE) employed workers represented by numerous unions; the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE) represented a nationwide unit of GE employees.
- IUE and seven other unions formed a Coordinated Bargaining Committee (CBC) to coordinate strategy for upcoming negotiations with GE.
- Before formal bargaining began, CBC sought exploratory discussions with GE; GE refused to meet with the CBC as a coalition.
- When negotiations for a successor IUE agreement were to commence, IUE expanded its bargaining committee to include seven officials from the other CBC unions.
- IUE stated the added officials were nonvoting participants, present only to assist IUE, and that IUE was not bargaining for employees represented by other unions.
- GE refused to negotiate while the non-IUE officials remained, asserting the arrangement amounted to impermissible coalition bargaining without GE’s consent.
- IUE filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging GE unlawfully refused to bargain in violation of NLRA § 8(a)(5) and § 8(a)(1).
- The NLRB found GE committed an unfair labor practice and ordered GE to bargain with IUE despite the presence of the other-union representatives; GE petitioned for review and the NLRB sought enforcement.

## Issues

1. Whether GE violated NLRA § 8(a)(5) and § 8(a)(1) by refusing to bargain with IUE because IUE’s bargaining committee included representatives of other unions as nonvoting advisers.
2. Whether the NLRB could treat a mixed-union union bargaining panel as permissible absent bad faith or an improper motive, making GE’s refusal to meet an unfair labor practice.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit denied GE’s petition for review and granted enforcement of the NLRB’s order.
- The court held GE unlawfully refused to bargain under § 8(a)(5) and § 8(a)(1) by conditioning bargaining on the removal of the other-union representatives from IUE’s bargaining committee.
- The court accepted the Board’s finding that IUE remained the exclusive representative and that the added participants did not convert the negotiations into coalition bargaining.
- GE showed no concrete harm (such as a demonstrated threat to confidential information) that would justify refusing to bargain based on the panel’s composition.

## Legal Principles

- A certified union generally may select its bargaining representatives, and the employer must bargain with the union’s designated committee even if it includes officials from other unions, so long as the certified union retains exclusive-representative authority under NLRA § 9(a).
- A mixed-union bargaining committee is not unlawful per se; the employer must show bad faith, improper motive, or a concrete threat to legitimate interests to justify refusal to bargain on that ground.
- An employer lacks a statutory veto over the union’s choice of bargaining agents; disapproval of the individuals present is not, without more, a lawful basis to refuse bargaining.
- A refusal to bargain may be justified only in limited circumstances where the presence of outsiders creates a demonstrable, serious risk to the bargaining process (e.g., a specific threat to confidentiality or similar tangible harm).

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit enforced the NLRB’s order, holding that GE violated the NLRA by refusing to bargain with IUE solely because IUE included other-union officials as nonvoting advisers on its bargaining committee, absent proof of bad faith or a concrete risk to GE’s legitimate interests.


Gen. Elec. Co. v. NLRB, 412 F.2d 512 (2d Cir. 1969)