Resort Nursing Home v. National Labor Relations Board

**Resort Nursing Home v. National Labor Relations Board (2004)** This case involved two nursing homes that tried to back out of a union contract after their employer association had already negotiated it. Resort Nursing Home and Kingsbridge Heights Rehabilitation Care Center belonged to a group of employers that bargained collectively with a union on behalf of all member facilities. After the association reached a deal with the union, these two nursing homes attempted to withdraw from the group and avoid following the new contract terms. The court sided with the National Labor Relations Board and ruled that the nursing homes could not escape their obligations under the collective bargaining agreement. The court found that once the multi-employer association began negotiations, individual employers couldn't simply walk away when they didn't like the results. The nursing homes were legally bound to honor the contract their association had negotiated. This decision protects workers by ensuring that employers can't play games with union negotiations. When companies join together to bargain collectively, they must stick to the agreements their representatives make. This prevents employers from undermining the bargaining process by threatening to withdraw whenever negotiations don't go their way, which helps preserve workers' negotiating power.