Supreme Court Rules on Massachusetts Employer's Disavowal of Labor Contract.(Originated from The Boston Globe)

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, June, 1996 by Lewis, Diane E.

Jun. 4--In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Massachusetts employer cannot disavow a new labor contract because it doubts the union has the support of a majority of workers.

The nine justices upheld a lower court ruling that Auciello Iron Works Inc. of Hudson unfairly withdrew its contract one day after its workers ratified the pact in 1988.

In defending their decision, officials at Auciello had noted that many of the firm's 23 production and maintenance workers signed forms saying they resigned from Shopmen's Local 501 or crossed picket lines during the month-long strike that preceded the labor agreement.

Writing for the court, Justice David H. Souter condemned that logic. "As Auciello would have it, any employer...

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