Originally from Collective Bargaining: How it Works and Why - 3rd Edition

IN THIS SECTION the “arsenal of peacemaking weapons” is explored and contrasted.

Impasse

An impasse occurs at that point in the collective bargaining process when either or both parties make the determination that no further progress toward reaching an agreement is possible. It must be noted that often one party believes that negotiations have reached an impasse while the other party may not. As Section 8(d) of the Taft-Hartley Act states, the obligation to bargain in good faith “does not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.” Thus, hard bargaining—taking and strongly adhering to one position—may not be acting in bad faith or creating an impasse per se.

As noted in the previous section, society, interested in stability, is vitally concerned that the parties reach contract settlement and thus will not let an impasse continue when the consequences to society of industrial strife are too severe. To end an impasse, society calls forth what has been termed “an arsenal of peacemaking weapons”; that is, a variety of dispute resolution techniques that will be utilized until the impasse is resolved and the parties have reached an agreement.