Deck 6: Negotiating the Labor Agreement

Question 1

In some cases a specific,single action by an employer constitutes an unfair labor practice in bargaining,called a per se violation.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Unions do not place upper limits on their bargaining ranges because they maintain,"nothing ventured,nothing gained."

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A profit-sharing plan represents a mandatory subject of bargaining.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Possible government intervention in a labor dispute is a factor which could alter a union's or management's perception of their relative bargaining power in that labor dispute.

Question 5

"Voluntary" (also called permissive or non-mandatory)issues involve proposals which violate the law,and there is no legal duty to bargain over such an issue.

Question 6

Approaching the bargaining process as a mutual problem-solving exercise is a characteristic of distributive bargaining.

Question 7

The resistance point is the minimum concession acceptable by a party in a negotiation.

Question 8

Management would probably prefer centralized bargaining if it had three separate manufacturing facilities (bargaining units),each making the same product.

Question 9

It is unlawful for an employer to refuse to comply with a union's request to furnish information,such as basic financial information,which is relevant and necessary for the union to represent bargaining unit members in contract negotiations or grievance handling duties.

Question 10

Where there is substantial continuity in a unionized firm's operation after transfer of ownership occurs,the purchaser of the business would be classified as a new employer for the purpose of determining the employer's legal duty to bargain.

Question 11

The proportion of an employer's total operating costs comprised of labor costs is termed the degree of labor intensiveness.

Question 12

Generally,high unemployment reduces the union's cost of disagreeing with management because strikers could find it difficult to find employment at other firms.

Question 13

Collective bargaining is an activity whereby union and management officials attempt to resolve conflicts of interest by exchanging commitments in a manner intended to sustain and possibly enrich their continuing relationship.

Question 14

Pattern bargaining is used to describe a situation where union or management negotiators informally attempt to extend a negotiated settlement from one group to another.

Question 15

Smaller-sized (suggested size of nine)bargaining teams are generally preferable to larger bargaining teams to enhance bargaining effectiveness.

Question 16

Any failure to reach an agreement on contract language concerning a mandatory bargaining subject represents a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.

Question 17

Gains made by a party using the distributive bargaining approach come at the expense of the other party.

Question 18

Centralized (multi-employer)bargaining is frequently found in the healthcare and auto industries.

Question 19

A dispute between union and management representatives over what the terms and conditions of employment will be is termed an interest dispute.

Question 20

When a distributive bargaining approach is used to negotiate labor contract terms,the same party always wins (gains more)on every bargaining issue.

Question 21

Which one of the following would not be a characteristic of a distributive bargaining approach? Win-lose negotiations results.

A) A focus on maximizing your own party's interests
B) A focus on cost/benefit analysis to determine the acceptability of contract proposals
C) An attempt to structure communication patterns during negotiations to maintain focus on your own party's proposals
D) An effort to identify multiple alternatives capable of achieving a mutually satisfactory bargaining outcome rather than focusing on narrowing the gap between each party's established position on issues in dispute
E) ​

Question 22

The agreement which prohibits any union-represented bargaining unit from reaching a final contract settlement until all unions who bargain contracts with the same employer are willing to settle is called:

A) A Collective bargaining agreement.
B) A centralized agreement.
C) A supplemental agreement.
D) A zone of potential agreement.
E) A lock-in agreement.

Question 23

A whipsaw bargaining strategy involves a negotiating team attempting to extract large,similar,concessions from multiple opponents.

Question 24

The labor relations term for estimate of the total cents-per-hour costs of employer benefit items affected by a change in the straight-time hourly wage rate is the

A) Magnifier effect.
B) Acceleration factor.
C) Booster effect.
D) Roll-up factor.
E) Progressive cost factor.

Question 25

Under the bargaining power model,when is the union's bargaining power increased?

A) It costs more for management to disagree than agree with the union
B) It costs more for management to agree than to disagree with the union
C) It costs more for the union to agree than disagree with management
D) It costs less for the union to agree than disagree with management
E) It costs less for management to disagree than to agree with the union

Question 26

The bargaining unit is the team formed by management to solve labor issues within the company.

Question 27

The hard bargaining approach developed by a vice president at GE meant to circumvent the union was found to be a violation of good faith bargaining primarily because it attempted to bypass the employees' exclusive bargaining agent was called:

A) Boulwarism
B) Gomperism
C) Interdependent bargaining.
D) Intensity bargaining.
E) Mutual-gain bargaining.

Question 28

Which one of the following should not be a relevant consideration when selecting members for a management negotiating team?

A) Whether the individual occupies a line or staff managerial position within the firm
B) Perceived need for an individual's skills and abilities
C) Political considerations
D) Having a sense of humor.
E) Consciousness of social cues.

Question 29

Which one of the following is NOT a mandatory bargaining subject?

A) Tax deferred (e.g. ,401[k])savings plan.
B) Job promotion criteria and procedure.
C) Employee stock ownership plan.
D) Management unions
E) Lump-sum pay.

Question 30

In the Chamberlain and Kuhn bargaining power model,one party's bargaining power can be conceptualized as equal to the other party's cost of _____ the proposed settlement terms divided by their cost of _____ to such terms.

A) Agreeing with;disagreeing
B) Disagreeing with;agreeing
C) Seeking to arbitrate;seeking to mediate
D) Seeking to mediate;seeking to arbitrate
E) Aagreeing with;seeking to arbitrate

Question 31

The minimum concession acceptable by a party in a negotiation is called the:

A) End point.
B) Termination point.
C) Preference point.
D) Resistance point.
E) Break-even point.

Question 32

The selection of the number and type of individuals who will make up the bargaining team for each party is not an important decision that can affect the outcome of negotiations.

Question 33

"Mandatory" bargaining subjects:

A) Compose the bulk of the bargaining agenda during labor contract negotiations.
B) Must be negotiated until agreement is reached if one party raises the issue.
C) Do not have to be negotiated if one party raises the issue.
D) Mandates that a federal mediator will resolve the differences between the parties if they can't reach agreement on one or more bargaining subjects.
E) Mandates that a federal mediator must approve the agreement.

Question 34

The target point is the union leaders' realistic goal to work toward during negotiations.

Question 35

Good faith bargaining essentially means each party must demonstrate a sincere and honest intent to reach a labor agreement and be reasonable in their bargaining positions,tactics and activities.

Question 36

Integrative bargaining is also referred to as:

A) Distributive bargaining.
B) Interest-based bargaining.
C) Good-faith bargaining.
D) Intraorganizational bargaining.
E) Voluntary bargaining.

Question 37

The yearly cost of a one-cent-per-hour wage increase at a facility of 1,000 employees is:

A) $10,400.
B) $1,000.
C) $20,800.
D) $208,000.
E) $282,880.

Question 38

Bargaining power is more likely to be an important determinant of negotiated outcomes in which one of the following approach to bargaining?

A) Distributive bargaining
B) Mutual gain bargaining
C) Intraorganizational bargaining
D) Interest-based bargaining
E) Win-win bargaining

Question 39

Which one of the following bargaining tactics would be least likely to be used by either union or management negotiators because of the high credibility risks involved?

A) Attempting to appear more firmly committed to one's bargaining position than they are
B) Deliberate deception or falsification of information
C) Painting a picture of the economic loss to the other side
D) Imposing time pressure (e.g. ,strike deadline,proposal acceptance deadline)
E) Taking a recess during a negotiation meeting

Question 40

In anticipating union bargaining proposals,management can consider all the following factors except

A) Recent negotiations settlements.
B) Reviewing the proceedings of a national union's convention.
C) Collective bargaining agreements negotiated by other firms in the same geographical region.
D) Potential future grievances.
E) Gathering information from formal information sources.

Question 41

The area of overlap between the union's and management's bargaining ranges is called the:

A) ​Contract zone.
B) ​Bargaining range.
C) ​Target point.
D) ​Utility zone.
E) ​Intraorganizational bargaining.

Question 42

The result of the calculation of any contract item that can be obtained by dividing the annual total cost of the item by the number of bargaining unit hours worked during the year is called the:

A) ​Roll-up factor.
B) ​Cents-per-hour wage increase.
C) ​Cents-per-hour cost.
D) ​Costing contract proposal.
E) ​Contract zone.

Question 43

The strategy which attempts to use the most recent contracts in the industry as the starting point for achieving further concessions is called:

A) ​Pattern bargaining.
B) ​Whipsaw bargaining.
C) ​Leapfrogging.
D) ​Collective bargaining.
E) ​Surface bargaining.

Question 44

Which of the following does NOT pertain to new employer bargaining obligations?

A) The desire of the owner to operate on a nonunion basis
B) The degree of change in the firm's operation brought about by new ownership
C) Whether most employees remain the same after the ownership change
D) Whether the firm remains in the same location after the ownership change
E) All of these pertain to successor (new)employer bargaining obligations

Question 45

If an employer claims an inability to pay for a union's bargaining proposal,the union is entitled:

A) to receive stock options equal to the dollar amount the employer claims it is unable to pay.
B) to file an unfair labor practice against management's refusal to bargaining in good faith.
C) access to company financial information necessary to validate the employer's inability to pay claim.
D) to the same percentage wage and benefit increase planned for managerial employees.
E) to declare a bad-faith bargaining impasse.

Question 46

The activity whereby union and management officials attempt to resolve conflicts of interest by exchanging commitments in a manner intended to sustain and possibly enrich their continuing relationship is called:

A) ​Pattern bargaining.
B) ​Whipsaw bargaining.
C) ​Leapfrogging.
D) ​Collective bargaining.
E) ​Surface bargaining.

Question 47

When would management officials probably prefer centralized (multi-plant)bargaining?

A) When the products at each plant are interdependent (Plant A's product is necessary for Plant B's product).
B) When the products at each plant are independent of each other (Plant A's product is not necessary to produce Plant B's product).
C) When both plants' products are labor intensive
D) When neither plants' products are labor intensive
E) When both plants' products are independent and labor intensive

Question 48

The strategy which involves a negotiating team attempting to extract large,similar concessions from multiple opponents is called:

A) ​Pattern bargaining.
B) ​Whipsaw bargaining.
C) ​Leapfrogging.
D) ​Collective bargaining.
E) ​Surface bargaining.

Question 49

One party is willing to meet at length and confer but merely goes through the motions of bargaining.Proposals are made that cannot be accepted,an inflexible attitude on major issues is taken,and no alternative proposals are offered.This scenario best describes:

A) Bypassing the representative.
B) Dilatory tactics.
C) Imposing conditions.
D) Surface bargaining.
E) Intraorganizational bargaining.

Question 50

Actions such as changing the compensation or fringe-benefit package unilaterally during bargaining without having reached a good faith bargaining impasse are called:

A) Commission of unfair labor practices.
B) Imposing unreasonable conditions.
C) Unilateral changes in conditions.
D) Dilatory tactics.
E) Surface bargaining.