Deck 4: Unions and Management: Key Participants in the Labor Relations Process

Question 1

Double-breasting is a practice employed by a company with a "union-avoidance" strategy.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Unions as organizations are built on the assumption that power,authority,and legitimacy flow downward from the owner or stockholders through management.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Craft union members,higher skilled,higher seniority,and better-educated members are less likely to attend local union meetings.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In larger companies,at the corporate level,the plant manager and plant labor relations manager play the key roles in certain labor relations activities,such as contract administration,grievance handling,and monitoring labor relations activities.

Question 5

While corruption within unions receives much media coverage,the facts indicate that unions compare favorably with other segments of society in complying with the laws.

Question 6

If you are a member of an AFL-CIO affiliated union,then you are a member of the AFL-CIO.

Question 7

Craft unions have less independence from their national union headquarters than industrial unions.

Question 8

Congress,through the Landrum-Griffin Act,has attempted to strengthen the union democratic process by giving power to union members to protect themselves against irresponsible leaders.

Question 9

Joint councils,such as the building trade councils,involve groupings of conference boards that have common goals,employers,and interests.

Question 10

The processes in democratic unions,such as officer elections,make the union leaders less responsive to the membership.

Question 11

Because craft union members may work on several job sites for several employers,craft unions have decided to expand the scope of their labor agreements to national coverage.

Question 12

The supreme governing body for the international union is its convention.

Question 13

The convention makes use of the delegate system,in which the number of delegates allowed depends on the number of members in the local.

Question 14

The international union representative may be the first person on the job or the most senior employee.

Question 15

The business agent is a key position in a craft union and provides many of the same services of a local union president in a large industrial union.

Question 16

In some cases,double-breasting appears to be a deliberate strategy designed to maximize company opportunities.

Question 17

The local union meeting is considered the local union's single most important governmental activity.

Question 18

Most union presidents have restricted authority to appoint their staff,regulate locals,and direct the activities of the national union

Question 19

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)now includes all of the major U.S.labor unions.

Question 20

The potential advantages of a merger of two unions,compared with the risks of not merging,suggest that mergers of unions will continue in the future.

Question 21

The position in a craft union in which the holder is the chief administrator of the union hiring hall is the:

A) Union president.
B) Shop steward.
C) Union committee chairman.
D) Business agent.
E) International union representative.

Question 22

With Republicans having the largest number of state lawmakers since 1920,emphasis will be places on__________"right-to-work laws.

A) ​Amending.​
B) Repealing.
C) ​Tabling.​
D) Passing.
E) Rejecting.

Question 23

Representatives (number of delegates)for the AFL-CIO convention are chosen in the following manner:

A) Every union local gets only one vote.
B) Direct proportion to size of union local.
C) In relation to size of the union local but not in direct proportion.
D) Seniority within the union.
E) By degree of skill.

Question 24

Although unions claim to operate under a democratic ideal,in reality,the typical union member has less say in the way the union operates than most citizens have in their governments or most stockholders have in their corporations.

Question 25

The supreme governing body of an international union is the:

A) Membership.
B) Constitution.
C) Board of directors.
D) Convention.
E) National Council.

Question 26

Participation in a typical local union meeting usually varies between:

A) 5 and 10 percent.
B) 0 and 5 percent.
C) 10 and 15 percent.
D) 15 and 20 percent.
E) More than 20 percent.

Question 27

Certain union security provisions cannot be negotiated in states with right-to-work laws.

Question 28

The shop steward:

A) Assists in local union negotiations.
B) Assists in grievance administration at local union levels.
C) Assists in arbitration at local union levels.
D) Is employed by the international union.
E) Usually the most senior employee.

Question 29

Free riders are employees who don't receive benefits from the union,but still have to pay union dues.

Question 30

Between conventions,the national union is led by the:

A) General Board.
B) Executive Council.
C) Standing committees.
D) State central bodies.
E) National Council.

Question 31

Which of the following did not encourage union mergers?

A) Decline of some US industries
B) Executive preference
C) Avoidance of external controls
D) Jurisdictional disputes
E) Economics of scale.

Question 32

Motivated by a need for stronger bargaining positions,a desire to avoid jurisdictional disputes,the decline for some U.S.industries,and the need for self-preservation,unions choose to:

A) amalgamation.
B) affiliation.
C) absorption.
D) conglomeration.
E) affiliation,amalgamation,and absorption.

Question 33

A feature that distinguishes the business agent of a craft union from the president of an industrial union is that he/she:

A) Serves as chief administrative official of local union.
B) Assists in handling grievances.
C) Leads the local union negotiations.
D) Administers the union hiring hall.
E) Serves as the union's international representative.

Question 34

Union participation in local union activities is lower:

A) Before a strike vote.
B) During negotiations.
C) During agreement ratification.
D) When voting for officers.
E) When meeting location is inconvenient.

Question 35

The Act passed by Congress which reflected its concern with union abuse and the potential misuse of union power was the Landrum-Griffin Act.

Question 36

A company's labor relations strategy is NOT determined by:

A) Managerial philosophy.
B) Economic conditions.
C) Management ethics.
D) Competition in the industry.
E) Administration supervisors.

Question 37

If a company desires to develop a program of positive human resources management,which of the following practices would the company utilize?

A) Hiring specialized experienced supervisors from outside the company.
B) Reserved parking spaces for managers.
C) Have the human resources manager report directly to top management.
D) Enlarge the size of individual company facilities.
E) Lower employee voice.

Question 38

The largest percentage of money paid to the national union goes to:

A) Administration,operational,and salary expenses.
B) Retirement and strike fund.
C) Convention,publication,and retirement fund.
D) Political lobbying efforts.
E) Monthly payments of outstanding union loans.

Question 39

The craft unions and the industrial unions differ in a number of areas.Which of the following is not one of those areas?

A) Scope of the labor agreement
B) Attendance at and participation in meetings
C) Job characteristics
D) Leadership roles
E) Members differ in skills.

Question 40

The reason(s)local meetings is/are poorly attended include:

A) Meetings start late and last too long.
B) Material presented at meetings (reports of treasurer,project leaders,and committee chairs)is not interesting to the typical member.
C) Individuals frustrate the group by tying up meetings with personal grievances.
D) Inconvenient location of meeting place.
E) Material presented at meetings is not interesting to the typical member and meetings start late and last too long.

Question 41

More and more companies are finding that their labor relations strategies are driven by their need to adapt to new,more competitive business conditions and:

A) ​Staying neutral.
B) ​Gain-sharing.
C) ​Economic choices.
D) ​Encouraging strikes.
E) ​Company paternalism.

Question 42

The employees who receive the benefits from the union,but who pay no dues are called:

A) ​Agency shop employees.
B) ​Free riders.
C) ​Shop stewards.
D) ​Business agents.
E) ​Part union members.

Question 43

The act which has six titles covering union government and operations is the:

A) Labor-Management Relations Act.
B) National Labor Relations Act.
C) Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
D) Labor Law Reform Act.
E) Union Governance Act.

Question 44

A factor often overlooked in union mergers which includes how union members are affected and behave as the result of a merger is called:

A) ​Amalgamation absorption.
B) ​Layoff therapy.
C) ​PTSD.
D) ​Behavioral dimensions.
E) ​Post-merger depression.

Question 45

__________has become the single most important political force that has supported government programs to help the socially and economically disadvantaged.

A) Overall corporate strength
B) Absence of symbols of rank and status
C) Promotion from within
D) Competitive pay and benefits
E) Organized labor.

Question 46

The manner in which union dues are collected wherein the union member agrees to a payroll deduction of union dues,which are collected by the employer and paid directly to the union is called the:

A) ​Bookkeeping system.
B) ​Distribution of funds.
C) ​Fee collectors.
D) ​Funding assessors.
E) ​Dues check off system.

Question 47

The AFL-CIO is very active in the political arena.However,which of the following are NOTactions of the AFL-CIO?

A) Publishes voting records of legislators at federal and state levels
B) Lobbies aggressively for favorable legislation
C) Attempts to influence presidential appointments
D) Proclaims ties to a national political labor party
E) The AFL-CIO performs all of these

Question 48

Which of the following is not a goal of the union?

A) for the company to receive a favorable return on investment
B) for the company to survive and remain competitive
C) for the company to attract,retain,and motivate employees
D) to obtain commitment that there will be no lockout
E) all of these are goals of the union

Question 49

In a unionized company setting,decisions such as wages,hours,promotion,layoffs are made:

A) ​Unilaterally,by management.
B) ​Bilaterally,through negotiations.
C) ​By sit-down strikes.
D) ​By gain-sharing.