Tex-Cal Land Management, Inc. v. Agricultural Labor Relations Board

Petitioner, Tex-Cal Land Management, Inc. (hereinafter Tex-Cal), seeks review of an order of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (hereinafter Board) finding that Tex-Cal committed an unfair labor practice when it refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement to which Tex-Cal and real party in interest, United Farm Workers of America (hereinafter UFW), had assented. Tex-Cal’s sole contention is that its refusal to sign the agreement was justified because agreement had not been reached on a contract term permitting Tex-Cal to subcontract certain crops exempt from the pact.

The central issue is whether a party can be deemed guilty of an unfair labor practice per se if that party refuses to execute a formal collective bargaining agreement because of a good faith belief that the formal writing does not reflect the true agreement of the parties. It should be emphasized that we are not concerned with contractual reformation in general or with enforcement of a contract.

Facts

In June 1977 the UF^/ was certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of Tex-Cal’s agricultural employees. The parties thereafter *909 negotiated a collective bargaining agreement which…