Chapter 11--Managing Labor Relations Key

1. The process of dealing with individuals in a company who are represented by a union is called:
A. labor relations.
B. benchmarking.
C. total quality management.
D. management by objectives.
E. negotiated contracting.

2. ____ is the process by which managers and union representatives negotiate the terms and conditions of
employment.
A. Benchmarking
B. Total quality management
C. Negotiated contracting
D. Management by objectives
E. Collective bargaining

3. Which of the following acts required management to bargain with labor unions in good faith?
A. Taft-Hartley Act
B. Wagner Act
C. Landrum-Griffin Act
D. Sherman Act
E. Union Shop Act

4. Which of the following acts required labor unions to bargain with management in good faith?
A. Taft-Hartley Act
B. Wagner Act
C. Landrum-Griffin Act
D. Sherman Act
E. Union Shop Act

5. Overall, union membership since 1955 has been

A. holding steady.
B. increasing greatly.
C. constant.
D. erratic.
E. decreasing at an alarming rate.

6. The earliest unions to be developed in the United States represented specific types of workers and were
known as
A. professional networks.
B. job societies.
C. worker permit groups.
D. trade associations.
E. craft unions.

7. The first major union to have a significant impact in the United States was called the
A. American Federation of Labor.
B. Knights of Labor.
C. Congress of Industrial Organizations.
D. Captains of Workers.
E. Labor Club Organization.

8. The American Federation of Labor focused on what types of work?

A. Blue-collar jobs
B. Craft-based jobs
C. Professional-level jobs
D. Secretarial jobs
E. White-collar jobs

9. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed

A. union membership.
B. collective bargaining.
C. union shops.
D. union stewards.
E. union negotiations of working conditions.

10. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 requires national labor unions to elect new leaders every ____ years.
A. two
B. three
C. five
D. ten
E. fifteen

11. Which of the following is the MOST accurate statement?

A. Union-management relations are more hostile today than they were in the past.
B. Unions are more powerful today than in the past, compared to the power of employers.
C. Unions today rarely struggle with traditional, basic issues, such as wages.
D. As unions have become smaller, their power has diminished.
E. Employers today are controlled almost completely by powerful unions, due to increased regulation of
business.

12. Which of the following issues are receiving more attention from unions in recent years?
A. Wages and hours
B. Health benefits
C. Pension benefits and job security
D. Union membership
E. New labor legislation

13. Once a bargaining unit has been determined, what is the next step in the unionization process?
A. Getting 30 percent of eligible workers to sign authorization cards
B. Conducting a secret ballot election
C. Petitioning the NLRB to hold an election
D. Instituting grievance procedures for dispute resolution
E. Collective bargaining over a labor contract

14. Which of the following is necessary in order for decertification to occur?

A. The union must have served as the collective bargaining agent for the employees for at least one year.
B. No labor contract can currently be in force.
C. A majority of the members of the bargaining unit must vote for decertification.
D. All of these.
E. Both the union must have served as the collective bargaining agent for the employees for at least one year
and no labor contract can currently be in force.

15. Which of the following is NOT a mandatory subject of collective bargaining?

A. Wages
B. No-strike clauses
C. Pension benefits
D. Health benefits
E. Working hours

16. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (a union representing truck drivers and others) collectively
bargains with Univar, the largest distributor of chemical products in the United States. Prior to collective
bargaining, who should have the responsibility of examining the financial condition of Univar?
A. Univar
B. The Teamsters' leadership
C. Truck drivers who are members of the Teamsters
D. Both Univar and the Teamsters' leadership
E. Univar, the Teamsters' leadership, and truck drivers who are members of the Teamsters

17. Which of the following is the term given to items such as wages, working hours, and benefits?
A. Mandatory items
B. Permissive items
C. Negotiated items
D. Price-point items
E. Strike items

18. In negotiating a labor agreement, the union has decided that a pay raise of $1 per hour for every employee is
the minimum they will accept. If they are offered less than that, they will strike. This amount is called the
A. union resistance point.
B. management resistance point.
C. union target point.
D. management target point.
E. midpoint.

19. Which of the following tactics is illegal?

A. Picketing
B. Boycotts
C. Economic strikes
D. Lockouts
E. All of these

20. One difference between mediation and arbitration is that

A. arbitration occurs in a court of law; mediation does not.
B. arbitration is compulsory; mediation is not.
C. the recommendation of the arbitrator is binding; the recommendation of the mediator is not.
D. mediation is compulsory; arbitration is not.
E. the recommendation of the mediator is binding; the recommendation of the arbitrator is not.

21. Which of the following types of arbitration gives the parties the MOST incentive to reach a settlement on
their own?
A. Target point arbitration
B. Take-it-or-leave-it arbitration
C. Strike-based arbitration
D. Neutral arbitration
E. Final-offer arbitration

22. Who normally conducts the first level of dispute resolution between a union member and an employer?
A. The union president
B. A member of the board of directors of the union
C. The shop president
D. The sergeant at arms
E. The shop steward

23. Idalia, a union member working in a union shop, has a disagreement with her supervisor about overtime pay.
She goes to Nancy, her shop steward, with the complaint. What options does Nancy have to resolve this
dispute?
A. Nancy can suggest that the supervisor be disciplined.
B. Nancy can call for workers to strike.
C. Nancy can ask Idalia to serve as an arbitrator for the dispute.
D. Nancy can tell Idalia that the supervisor's decision is appropriate/inappropriate.
E. Nancy can request a secret ballot election.

24. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that labor unions oppose the use of prison labor?
A. It is very easy to deny prisoners the right to form a union.
B. Prison labor displaces low-wage workers in the economy.
C. Prison labor does little to prepare prisoners for re-entry into the workforce following their release.
D. Prisoners are exploited because their wages are so low.
E. There are more prisoners today, so more work is done though prison labor.

25. One of the biggest challenges that increased technology presents to unions is that
A. younger workers are at a disadvantage.
B. telecommuting is increasing.
C. work can be performed with fewer employees.
D. disabled workers need reasonable accommodations.
E. employees need training.

26. In negotiating a labor agreement, the union hopes to avoid any changes to health benefits. This is called the
A. union target point.
B. union resistance point.
C. management resistance point.
D. management target point.
E. midpoint.

27. A(n) ____ is simply a situation in which at least one party believes that reaching an agreement is not
imminent.
A. arbitration
B. mediation
C. strike
D. impasse
E. lock out

28. New electronic technology has been a(n) ____ for the U.S. labor movement.
A. huge help
B. obstacle
C. mixed blessing
D. threat
E. burden

29. Under U.S. labor laws, ____ workers are considered independent contractors or self-employed laborers.
A. knowledge
B. union
C. consultant
D. contingent
E. prison

30. ____ items may be included in the collective bargaining if both parties agree.
A. Mandatory
B. Oblique
C. Permissive
D. Progressive
E. Regressive

31. Scenario 11.1

During the Olympics, beach volleyball received prime time network coverage and the popularity of the sport
greatly increased. Some athletes discussed unionizing like other professional athletes. If they did that in the
US, our laws would apply.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. What is the first step that athletes should take to begin the unionization process?
A. Hold a secret ballot election.
B. Ask the National Labor Relations Board to hold a certification election.
C. Call in a union organizer to stimulate interest in unionization.
D. Call for a boycott of competition until the owners unionizes the athletes.
E. Ask for an arbitrator to decide the issue of unionization.

32. Scenario 11.1

During the Olympics, beach volleyball received prime time network coverage and the popularity of the sport
greatly increased. Some athletes discussed unionizing like other professional athletes. If they did that in the
US, our laws would apply.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. What percentage of athletes must request a certification election before petitioning the
National Labor Relations Board to conduct an election?
A. 15 percent
B. 30 percent
C. 40 percent
D. 50 percent
E. 75 percent

33. Scenario 11.1

During the Olympics, beach volleyball received prime time network coverage and the popularity of the sport
greatly increased. Some athletes discussed unionizing like other professional athletes. If they did that in the
US, our laws would apply.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. Before a certification election can be held,

A. the athletes must file a specific grievance against management.
B. a majority of the athletes must express an interest in unionization.
C. the National Labor Relations Board must define the bargaining unit.
D. the current labor contract must have expired.
E. 10 percent of the athletes must sign authorization cards.

34. Scenario 11.1

During the Olympics, beach volleyball received prime time network coverage and the popularity of the sport
greatly increased. Some athletes discussed unionizing like other professional athletes. If they did that in the
US, our laws would apply.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. For a certification election to succeed,

A. a majority of the athletes in the bargaining unit must approve the union.
B. a majority of athletes who signed authorization cards must approve the union.
C. 30 percent of the athletes in the bargaining unit must approve the union.
D. 30 percent of the athletes voting in the election must approve the union.
E. a majority of the athletes voting in the election must approve the union.

35. Scenario 11.1

During the Olympics, beach volleyball received prime time network coverage and the popularity of the sport
greatly increased. Some athletes discussed unionizing like other professional athletes. If they did that in the
US, our laws would apply.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. Negotiating a contract between athletes and management is called
A. arbitration.
B. striking.
C. collective bargaining.
D. locking out.
E. mediation.

36. Local unions are usually coordinated by a regional officer.

TRUE

37. Since the mid-1950s, unions have experienced z in attracting new members.
FALSE

38. The bargaining unit is the group of employees who are eligible for representation by the union.
TRUE

39. Mandatory items include wages, working hours, and benefits.

TRUE

40. Management can include a clause in the labor contract specifying that the union promises not to strike.
FALSE
41. Negotiating power is a function of negotiating skills, data on other settlements, and the financial resources
needed by the union to call for a strike or by management to survive one.
TRUE

42. The foremost barrier to effective negotiation between management and labor is a negative settlement zone.
TRUE

43. A boycott occurs when union members agree to not buy products from a targeted employer.
TRUE

44. Target has a no solicitation policy. That means that no employee can solicit other employees on company
time for any cause except United Way campaigns. It also means Karen cannot sell Girls Scouts cookies to her
coworkers.
TRUE

45. U.S. labor unions have become quite vocal in speaking out against child labor in Third World countries and
the general exportation of jobs to lower-paying countries. Union positions on these issues reflect their self-
interests.
TRUE

46. Summarize the early history of labor unions in the United States. What innovations did each new group
offer?

The first labor unions in the United States were craft unions, formed in the 1770s to represent workers in a
specific industry and region. The first national unions were also industry specific and emerged around the
mid-1800s. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, was the first national union that sought to represent workers
from different occupations. The group's radical politics and violent tactics led to its disappearance by 1900.
Founded in 1886, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was another national group representing various
trades but it did not have the political agenda of the Knights of Labor. It focused on working conditions and pay.
Also, the AFL was an umbrella group, with workers joining the unions that made up the AFL.

After the demise of the Knights of Labor, several other radical, politicized unions rose to power, such as the
Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies. However, these groups all faded away during the first half of the
twentieth century. The Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded in the late 1930s and it focused on
organizing employees by industry rather than by craft. This allowed the CIO to expand in size more rapidly than
any other union. In 1955 the AFL and the CIO merged, to create the AFL-CIO, the largest union in the United
States today. The modern AFL-CIO is an umbrella group representing a variety of trades.

47. Briefly describe each of the steps in the unionization process, including who is responsible for each action.
To start the process, employees at a workplace must be interested in forming a union. Sometimes the desire to
unionize develops internally and sometimes it is spurred by external events, management actions, or a
unionization effort by professional union organizers. Employees then ask the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) to define the bargaining unit, exactly which workers will be included in the unionization effort and
eventually, in the union.

Next, organizers (who may be professional organizers or interested employees) must get 30 percent or more of
the workers who are included in the bargaining unit to sign an authorization card, asking that an election be
held. If this happens, organizers petition the NLRB to hold an election. The NLRB sends representatives to the
workplace and conducts an election by secret ballot. If a majority of voters approve union certification then the
union becomes the official bargaining agent for all of the employees in the bargaining unit.

Following a certification, the union signs up members. The members then establish rules, select a meeting site,
and elect officers. The officers represent the workers in collective bargaining with the employer for the first
labor contract. The officers and employer representatives approve the contract by signing it.

48. How can management prepare for collective bargaining? How can a union prepare for collective
bargaining?

Management can prepare for collective bargaining in a number of ways. It should provide itself with a realistic
picture of what it can and cannot do in terms of wages and salaries for its employees. It should see what kinds
of labor contracts exist in similar companies and see what this particular union has been requesting and getting
in the past.

The union can prepare for collective bargaining by determining what kind of labor agreements have been
reached in other parts of the country and by finding out what kinds of contracts other divisions of the company
or other businesses owned by the same corporation may have negotiated in recent times.

49. What are some barriers to effective negotiation?

The foremost barrier to effective negotiation exists when the bargaining zones of the respective sides do not
overlap. A long acrimonious relationship between management and labor makes it difficult for the two sides to
negotiate in good faith. Negotiations can be complicated by inept negotiators and poor communication between
negotiators.

50. Summarize the positions of labor unions on prison labor and contingent workers.

Labor unions prefer positions that protect the interests of American workers, including higher pay and benefits,
greater job security, protection from foreign competition, and so on. Unions oppose the use of prison labor on a
variety of grounds. Unions argue that prison labor takes jobs away from minimum-wage workers and exploits a
cheaper source of labor, while giving little back to the prisoners. Unions oppose the use of contingent workers
in most cases, because these workers are not eligible to be members of unions and therefore, weaken the power
of unions if contingent workers replace union workers.