Deck 6: Collective Responses to Work

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the Industrial Workers of the World?

A)The Wobblies had a strong sub-culture.
B)The Wobblies opposed strikes.
C)The Wobblies favored social revolution.
D)The Wobblies constituted a general union.
E)The Wobblies believed in public protest.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a way that companies currently use to discourage union participation?

A)black-listing
B)spies
C)yellow dog contracts
D)scabs
E)hiring anti-union consultants

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Wagner Act

A)exempted labor unions from anti-trust laws.
B)restricted injunctions against strikes.
C)prohibited compulsory union membership.
D)made illegal the firing of employees for organizing unions.
E)mandated notification of workers before plant closings.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Strikes involving several trades simultaneously are called

A)mass strikes.
B)secondary boycotts.
C)general strikes.
D)gridlock strikes.
E)sit-down strikes.

Question 5

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is also known by what name?

A)Taft-Hartley
B)Wagner
C)Sherman
D)Clayton
E)Norris-LaGuardia

Question 6

Unions in the U.S.first developed

A)during colonial times.
B)after the Revolutionary War.
C)after the Civil War.
D)after World War I.
E)after World War II.

Question 7

Which of these unions have the two largest memberships in the U.S.?

A)National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
B)National Education Association (NEA) and United Automobile Workers (UAW)
C)Teamsters (IBT) and United Automobile Workers (UAW)
D)National Education Association (NEA) and Teamsters (IBT)
E)Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Service Employees (SEIU)

Question 8

An employee is LEAST likely to belong to a union in which of the following industries?

A)government
B)service
C)mining and manufacturing
D)construction
E)transportation

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a gain made by the labor movement?

A)safer working conditions
B)shorter hours
C)higher wages
D)institutionalized negotiation in the workplace
E)a, b, c, and d are all gains made by the labor movement

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true of the Knights of Labor?

A)It was basically a self-improvement and social reform society.
B)Like many early unions, it excluded working women.
C)The Knights officially opposed strikes.
D)The Knights favored social and political reform.
E)It was a general union.

Question 11

A "scab" is

A)a medical term.
B)the left-hand column of a table.
C)someone who crosses a picket line.
D)a manager who refuses to bargain in good faith with a collective bargaining agent.
E)a worker who abandons his or her union.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the key roles of unions today?

A)collective bargaining
B)organizing strikes
C)negotiating corporate buyouts
D)political lobbying
E)organizing new union locals

Question 13

The motto of the Wobblies was:

A)"A fair day's wage for a fair day's work!"
B)"More, More, More!"
C)"Abolition of the wage system!"
D)"FAIR work, or NO work!"
E)"If we work, the system works!"

Question 14

In collective bargaining,

A)the union bargains for its members only.
B)only the union must negotiate in good faith.
C)the union must first win a certification election.
D)management waives all rights.
E)no federal laws apply.

Question 15

Which of the following is the oldest labor organization in North America?

A)AFL
B)NFL
C)NBA
D)UAW
E)HUD

Question 16

The Knights of Labor had as their main goal

A)improving the position of the "direct producers" through education and social reform.
B)the 8-hour workday.
C)encouraging working-class solidarity through strikes organized across trades.
D)eliminating religious discrimination in hiring procedures.
E)developing employee-owned businesses.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT on the current agenda of the labor movement?

A)forming an independent political party
B)national legislative goals
C)organizing low-wage workers
D)improving the public image of unions
E)innovative programs in the manufacturing sector

Question 18

Which is among the fastest growing areas of union organizing?

A)the public sector
B)manufacturing
C)agricultural workers
D)mining
E)There is no area of growth; union membership in all areas is on the decline.

Question 19

Unions' work promoting health and safety of workers includes

A)supporting "right to know" legislation.
B)providing free health screenings to workers.
C)requiring union members to quit smoking and to exercise regularly.
D)lobbying for free universal health care.
E)promoting awareness of the effect of working conditions on workers' mental health.

Question 20

What was the general organizing goal of the National Labor Union organized by Bill Sylvis of the Iron Molders?

A)child labor laws
B)the 8-hour working day
C)health benefits
D)the right to strike
E)an end to job discrimination

Question 21

Right-to-know legislation requires

A)that workers know how much union dues will be.
B)that workers know how much their bosses are paid.
C)that workers know the chemicals with which they work.
D)that workers know how to join a union.
E)that workers know how their health insurance is managed.

Question 22

Which of these tactics are used by unions to represent workers' needs on a global scale?
A)Supporting unions in developing nations.
B)Pressuring their own government to restrict goods from nations that violate basic workers' rights.
C)Pushing international financial organizations (such as WTO and IMF) to require nations to support workers' rights.
D)Lobbying for free trade laws.

A)A, B and D
B)A, B and C
C)B, C and D
D)B and C
E)A, B, C and D

Question 23

Recently there has been a renewed movement within unions to do all of the following EXCEPT

A)diversify membership demography.
B)seek to increasing workers' input in investment decisions.
C)organize corporate campaigns against hostile employers.
D)gain political power.
E)support free trade.

Question 24

Which of the following is a correct chronology of North American labor history?
A) establishment of national unions
B) establishment of general unions
C) establishment of working-class political parties
D) establishment of local craft unions

A)A->B->C->D
B)B->D->A->C
C)D->C->A->B
D)C->D->A->B
E)D->B->C->A

Question 25

Which of the following statements about union membership is NOT true?

A)Workers over 25 years old are more likely to be members than younger workers.
B)Full-time workers are more likely to be members than part-time workers.
C)White workers are more likely to be members than any other racial group of workers.
D)Men are more likely than women to be members.
E)The union membership rate in Canada is more than double the rate in the U.S.

Question 26

All workers benefit from unionization, even if they do not belong to a union, because

A)the unions influence public policy in favor of workers.
B)the unions promote safety and health.
C)higher union wages tend to bring up the prevailing wage.
D)both a and b
E)a, b, and c

Question 27

An important effort to organize workers has been undertaken at

A)McDonald's.
B)Starbucks.
C)Wendy's.
D)Wal-Mart.
E)General Mills.

Question 28

Mass-production workers used sit-down strikes as means of resistance.They could not withhold their labor because

A)they were not unionized yet.
B)they were considered to be easily replaceable.
C)their wage was too cheap to stop working.
D)family members employed by the same company would be fired.
E)strikes were illegal.

Question 29

Unions exert political power through all except one of the following.What is the exception?

A)registering voters
B)encouraging workers to vote
C)using union resources in political campaigns
D)lobbying for legislation favorable to workers
E)developing their own political party

Question 30

What is the role of shop stewards?
A) to negotiate with employers for workers
B) to inform workers of their contractual rights
C) to handle the workers' grievances about violation of their rights
D) to organize informal resistance against management

A)A & B
B)B & C
C)A & D
D)C & D
E)A & C

Question 31

Early local unions were formed by __________ workers and were based on __________.

A)skilled; individual self-interest
B)skilled; shared interests
C)semi-skilled workers; individual self-interest
D)semi-skilled workers; shared interests
E)political parties; political interests

Question 32

After World War II, the Taft-Hartley bill amended the National Labor Relations Act.Which of the following did these amendments NOT do?

A)They outlawed sympathy strikes.
B)They increased the number of prohibited union practices.
C)They permitted yellow-dog contracts.
D)They added a national emergency clause.
E)They allowed states to enact "Right-to-Work" laws.

Question 33

What is the difference between general and mass strikes?

A)General strikes are those in which the general population takes part; mass strikes involve a mass of different type of workers (e.g., different trade unions).
B)General strikes are those in which involve different types of workers (e.g., different trade unions); mass strikes are those in which the general population takes part.
C)There is no real difference between the two types of strikes except that general strikes often lead to mass strikes.
D)There is no real difference between the two types of strikes except that mass strikes often lead to general strikes.
E)General strikes originate from a general, rather than a specific workplace grievance; mass strikes arise in response to a mass of specific grievances.

Question 34

The 1894 Pullman strike involved a union tactic that is now illegal.What was the tactic?

A)Workers protested conditions in "Pullman Town."
B)The American Railway Union undertook a secondary boycott.
C)Pullman was a union shop.
D)Collective bargaining took place.
E)The union sought an injunction.

Question 35

What are the three major sets of activities of current unions?
A) collective bargaining
B) organizing strikes
C) political lobbying
D) developing welfare program for workers
E) developing internal democracy

A)A, B, & C
B)A, C, & E
C)A, B, & D
D)B, C, & D
E)B, D, & E

Question 36

In recent years, workers have been reluctant to strike because

A)they are basically satisfied with their jobs.
B)they can't afford to miss even a day's pay.
C)they find worker participation programs more effective
D)high unemployment has given management the advantage in strikes.
E)federal judges are not sympathetic to labor legislation.

Question 37

Why have working-class political parties been unsuccessful in the U.S.?

A)The concentration of population in the U.S.keeps workers mixed with non-workers.
B)The single-member, plurality electoral system of the U.S.discourages third parties.
C)During much of the unionization period, women were not permitted to vote.
D)Black and Mexican-American workers were denied the vote in many states.
E)Being a union member was a felony, and felons are not permitted to vote.

Question 38

The corporate campaign

A)represents an efforts by corporations to limit union activity.
B)represents union efforts to target a company's bankers and customers.
C)represents political efforts to relax labor legislation.
D)represents non-profit organizations' efforts to look more like corporations.
E)represents judicial efforts to limit corporate power over workers.

Question 39

A group of workers that was not organized until the late 1970s is

A)firefighters.
B)farm workers.
C)steelworkers.
D)truck drivers.
E)coal miners.

Question 40

"Solidarity Forever," a union inspirational song, was used

A)as an ineffective organizing tool.
B)to convince workers that their problems are shared by others.
C)as an illegal labor practice.
D)to persuade employers to recognize unions.
E)to persuade political parties to support unions.

Question 41

What has been the effect of international competition on American unions?

A)There has been greater solidarity in the international labor movement.
B)American unions have been successful in organizing new locals abroad.
C)Unions have begun offering their members classes in Japanese language and culture.
D)Collective bargaining has been weakened because of demands for wage concessions and plant closings.
E)Unions have ignored the effects of international competition.

Question 42

Union membership is declining because of

A)spillover benefits to non-union members.
B)shifts in employment away from traditional unionized industries.
C)international competition.
D)increased company resistance.
E)all of the above

Question 43

Management currently resists the organization of new unions by

A)Asking the President to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act.
B)Hiring thugs to intimidate labor.
C)Lobbying Congress for tough anti-union laws.
D)Paying company spies and using outside anti-labor consultants.
E)Hiring more minority workers.

Question 44

Transnational union strategies are important because

A)of the strength of the dollar versus other currencies.
B)health benefits are provided by the government in many countries.
C)production is international, but unions have been national.
D)the United Nations makes international labor law possible.
E)free trade is a union objective.

Question 45

Sit-down strikes were effective because

A)they generated unfavorable publicity for the company.
B)they disrupted production.
C)they prevented companies from bringing in strikebreakers.
D)skilled workers used them.
E)both b and c

Question 46

Why are unions in manufacturing sometimes suspicious of top-management sponsored participation programs?

A)Union workers do not want to participate in programs that will make them work harder.
B)The history of the labor movement and extreme employer resistance has made unions suspicious of management at all times.
C)Unions are afraid management will make use of workers' participation efforts and then move production overseas.
D)Unions are not interested in improving the efficiency of production, which is often a goal of participation programs.
E)Unions generally are not suspicious of top-management sponsored participation programs.

Question 47

Which of these is a reason for the increasing union organization in public institutions?

A)Public institutions are not free to intimidate their workers in the same ways private sector employers fight union organizing.
B)Public institutions prefer for their workers to be organized so workers' concerns can be addressed efficiently.
C)Organizing in the public sector does not have an effect on working conditions because elected officials manage the budgets of public institutions.
D)Workers in public institutions are particularly supportive of the social justice themes of unions and eager to organize.
E)None of the above-union organizing is not increasing in public institutions.

Question 48

The May Day strike of 1886 is considered to be one of the most significant mass strikes in U.S.history.The strike issue was

A)preventing wage cuts.
B)resisting firings.
C)obtaining an eight-hour work day.
D)health benefits for workers.
E)eliminating job discrimination.

Question 49

The "Justice for Janitors" program is an example of unions organizing

A)in service areas.
B)in the lower pay tier
C)in large cities
D)a and c
E)a, b, and c

Question 50

According to the text, which of the following groups is underrepresented in American unions?

A)teachers
B)Asian-Americans
C)African-Americans
D)manufacturing workers
E)Midwesterners