Common fodder for labor relations seminars is whether employers must bargain with a union over the employer’s discontinuance of providing workers with a Christmas ham (or my personal favorite, whether bargaining is required before changing the chips in a vending machine). Here, the issue was whether the employer’s change in a Christmas gift policy violated…

A past practice is a pattern of prior conduct consistently undertaken in recurring situations to the point that it evolves into an understanding between the company and the union that the practice is the appropriate course of action. A past practice can be used to clarify ambiguous language in a contract and can be used…