In consolidated complaints and an application for consent to prosecute, the corporate respondents raised a preliminary issue challenging the validity of a 1973 accreditation decision and certificate, arguing it was a nullity due to jurisdictional errors.
The Board declined to permit the challenge, holding that a certificate of accreditation conclusively establishes bargaining rights until revoked or quashed, and that one panel of the Board should not act as an appellate body over another.
In a separate evidentiary ruling, the Board held that evidence of conversations with a mediator in the presence of both parties is admissible, but evidence of what a mediator said to one party in private is inadmissible to protect the confidentiality of the mediation process.
