The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied a Petitioner's request for review of the Regional Director's order dismissing a petition and withdrawing the notice of hearing in a case involving New York Paving, Inc. (Employer), Construction Council Local 175, Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (Petitioner), and Highway, Road and Street Construction Laborers’ Union 1010, of the Laborers International of North America, AFL-CIO (Intervenor).

The Petitioner argued that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the Employer and Intervenor on March 5, 2024, constituted a premature extension of collective-bargaining agreements drafted in 2017 and 2021. The Board rejected this argument. Even if the parties had adopted and were bound by the 2017 and/or 2021 agreements through their conduct, as the Petitioner contended, these agreements would not have barred petitions under the Board's contract bar doctrine because they were never signed by the parties. The Board reaffirmed the principle established in Appalachian Shale Products Co., that an unsigned contract cannot bar a petition, even if its provisions are put into effect.

Furthermore, the Board clarified that the premature extension doctrine does not apply unless the original agreement was in effect as a bar at the time the extension agreement was executed. This principle, derived from cases such as New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. and Cushman's Sons, Inc., means that a new contract signed during the term of a prior agreement that would bar a petition can only extend that bar for the remainder of the original contract's period. Therefore, the 2024 MOA could not have served as a premature extension that created a window period prior to the expiration of the alleged 2017 and/or 2021 agreements.

Significant Cases Cited

• Appalachian Shale Products Co., 121 NLRB 1160 (1958): This case establishes that an unsigned contract will not bar a petition, even if the parties consider it concluded and implement its provisions.
• New England Telephone & Telegraph Co., 179 NLRB 531 (1969): This decision holds that a premature extension of a contract can only prevent the processing of a rival petition for the remainder of the period when the prior contract would have been a bar.
• Cushman's Sons, Inc., 88 NLRB 121 (1950): This case supports the principle that a new contract signed during the term of a prior agreement that would bar a petition can only extend that bar for the duration of the original contract's term.

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