Deck 14: The Dynamics of Labour Relations

Question 1

Strategies to remain union-free include all of the following EXCEPT which one?

A) institute formal procedures to resolve employee complaints
B) give attention to employee growth and development needs
C) allow supervisors to adopt their own approaches to employee motivation and job design
D) offer competitive wages and benefits

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following conditions and/or actions may result in labour relations boards imposing a union on an employer in some Canadian jurisdictions, even with as few as 5 percent of the authorization cards signed?

A) Threats by other unions to go on strike if the workplace does not get its own union.
B) Unfair labour practices committed by the employer in the organizing process.
C) The need by government for labour relations peace in workplaces.
D) Advice from the International Labour Office.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is the strongest reason to join a union?

A) dissatisfaction with wages, benefits, and working conditions
B) personal preference for a union and social pressure to join
C) the need to fraternize with similar employees and assert personal leadership skills
D) favouritism shown by supervisors in promotions, shift assignments, and transfers

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In which organizing step does the collection of signed authorization cards play a major role?

A) initial organizational meeting
B) application to the labour relations board
C) formation of in-house organizing committee
D) employee/union contact

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT one of the key reasons why workers join unions in Canada?

A) to earn higher pay
B) to fulfill social needs
C) to get a voice in their work lives
D) to change the government

Question 6

Mary Hart works for the federal government in the immigration department. Her office is located in Toronto. Which piece of labour legislation applies to her workplace?

A) the Ontario Labour Relations Code
B) the City of Toronto Labour Code
C) the Ontario Labour Relations Act
D) the Canada Labour Code

Question 7

Louis, a union organizer in Ontario, needs what minimum percentage of signed authorization cards before the union can apply for a certification election?

A) 40 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 30 percent

Question 8

Which of the following groups initiates most organizing campaigns?

A) employees
B) union organizers
C) rival unions
D) Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Question 9

Labour boards generally have representatives from which of the following groups?

A) third-party representatives and managers
B) academia and management
C) academia and public servants
D) labour and management

Question 10

The majority of workers in Canada are governed by legislation at which level/jurisdiction?

A) provincial
B) international
C) municipal
D) federal

Question 11

Jason Thomas recently joined ABC Inc. to work on the shipping wharf as a loader. He has been told that he must join the union as a condition of employment. What is this employment provision called?

A) a union shop
B) a bully provision
C) an agency shop
D) an unfair labour practice

Question 12

According to Canadian labour relations legislation, all of the following employer actions are prohibited EXCEPT which one?

A) threatening to close the business
B) stating the employer is ready to listen to employees and discuss any issue
C) increasing wages during the certification process
D) promising increased vacation if the employees vote for no union

Question 13

Yorkville Tire Manufacturing Company has been experiencing really bad management-employee relations for almost two years. Jack Spratt, one of the leaders among the employees, wants to help in unionizing the employees. He has met with most of the employees. What should he do next?

A) ask the workers to go on strike to put pressure on the company
B) form an in-house organizing committee
C) appeal to a broader community-including academics and international agencies-to put pressure on the employer
D) ask the labour relations board to intervene

Question 14

Who is responsible for administering the union certification elections in Canada?

A) the labour relations board
B) the Canada Elections Commission
C) the union
D) the employer

Question 15

According to federal labour law, which tactic can employers use in opposing unionization?

A) review union authorization cards
B) attend union meetings
C) bargain in good faith
D) change working conditions of employees who work for the union

Question 16

In certification elections in Canada, how many employees must vote in favour of unions for them to become certified in workplaces?

A) 50 percent, plus one
B) 40 percent, plus one
C) 41 percent
D) 51 percent

Question 17

Employees indicate their willingness to be represented by a union by signing which of the following?

A) a selection card
B) an agreement card
C) an authorization card
D) a stipulation card

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a duty of labour relations boards?

A) to hear complaints related to unfair labour practices
B) to remedy violations of collective bargaining legislation
C) to amend labour relations legislation
D) to determine if bargaining was done in good faith

Question 19

Mary works in the basement of her employer's home sewing pants. What is one of the biggest challenges facing workers like Mary in becoming unionized?

A) they do not have any political party to help them with organizing
B) they work in scattered locations
C) they are satisfied with their working conditions
D) they are satisfied with their pay

Question 20

According to the text, in terms of employment relations, which of the following is a key reason why employers may begin employee involvement and empowerment programs?

A) to satisfy employment relations legislation
B) to satisfy their obligation for good faith bargaining
C) to avoid collective action by employees
D) to consolidate decision making

Question 21

Approximately what percentage of Canadian public employees are unionized?

A) 70 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 90 percent

Question 22

Unlike many unions in Europe, most of the bargaining and decision making for unions in Canada occurs at which of the following levels?

A) the provincial level
B) the local level
C) the international level
D) the national level

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a usual effect of unions in the workplace?

A) restrictions on unilateral human resource policy
B) increases in accident rates and sabotage
C) increases in wages
D) restrictions on management rights

Question 24

What is a key difference between unionized and nonunionized work in Canada?

A) Nonunionized workers get higher wages and benefits.
B) Unionized workers get higher wages and benefits.
C) Unionized workers get more benefits but less in wages.
D) Unionized workers get better pay but less in benefits.

Question 25

Which of the following labour organizations is most likely to provide professional and financial assistance during organizing drives and strikes, help negotiate labour agreements, and train union leaders?

A) a local union
B) the Department of Labour
C) Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
D) the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)

Question 26

Developing likely union proposals, lists of demands, and a contingency plan for operating in the event of a strike are part of which of the following?

A) compulsory binding arbitration
B) an employer's bargaining strategy
C) a union's bargaining strategy
D) good faith bargaining

Question 27

What is interest-based bargaining based upon?

A) the identification and resolution of mutual interests
B) a give-and-take philosophy
C) suspicion and compromise
D) the area within which union and management are willing to concede

Question 28

Who has the major responsibility in negotiating and administering the labour agreement and working to resolve problems arising in connection with it?

A) the bargaining agent
B) the shop steward
C) the national union executive
D) the business agent

Question 29

What is an employer required to do once a union becomes certified?

A) notify employees of the bargaining relationship
B) deduct union dues from the employees' paycheques
C) begin negotiations leading toward a collective agreement
D) sign a collective agreement

Question 30

The full-time professors at McMaster University are usually represented by a group of nonunionized faculty in wage negotiations with management. What is this group of faculty called?

A) a certified union
B) a craft union
C) an employee association
D) a negotiations association

Question 31

Omar Mohammed represents the interests of union members in their relations with their immediate supervisors and other members of management. What is Mr. Mohammed's most likely job title or role?

A) mediator
B) union steward
C) union leader
D) conciliator

Question 32

The creation of a relationship for the future based on trust, understanding, and mutual respect is the basis of which of the following?

A) interest-based bargaining
B) adversarial bargaining
C) good faith bargaining
D) traditional bargaining

Question 33

Assume that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)is representing essential workers in a hospital. The hospital's administration and the union are deadlocked in negotiations. What is a likely solution to this impasse?

A) decertification of CUPE
B) compulsory binding arbitration
C) a strike
D) counselling

Question 34

Which group may represent professional and white-collar employees?

A) a management rights association
B) the Canadian Labour Congress
C) a professional agency
D) an employee association

Question 35

In the United States, the key central federation of unions is called the AFL-CIO. In Canada, what is the name of the organization that does similar work?

A) the Canadian Auto Workers Union
B) the Canadian Labour Congress
C) the Labour Organization
D) the Trades Union Congress

Question 36

Within a bargaining unit, how many workers must vote against the union so as to decertify it?

A) 41 percent
B) 40 percent, plus one
C) 51 percent
D) 50 percent, plus one

Question 37

Which of the following is a requirement of interest-based bargaining?

A) an agreement must be reached within a reasonable amount of time
B) each side's negotiators meet at any time and a reasonable place to discuss issues
C) each side's negotiators meet at any time and place to discuss issues
D) each side's negotiators meet at a reasonable time and reasonable place to discuss issues

Question 38

Tony Lee has been involved on behalf of the national union with negotiating the collective bargaining agreement with the employer for Local 1240. What is Mr. Lee's most likely job title or role?

A) a negotiator
B) a union agent
C) a business agent
D) a union steward

Question 39

Strikes, boycotts, lockouts, and plant closures may all be included in which of the following?

A) negotiation preparation
B) compulsory binding arbitration
C) public-sector bargaining
D) the collective bargaining process

Question 40

In the bargaining model, what is the area within which the union and employer are willing to concede when bargaining?

A) bargaining team
B) bargaining committee
C) bargaining zone
D) contingency operating plan

Question 41

What do dues checkoff, the union shop, and the agency shop represent?

A) management rights
B) union security
C) management prerogatives
D) unfair labour practices

Question 42

Scenario 14.1
Boat Xpress, a Canadian shipping firm, has been treating employees unfairly for decades. Employees work full-time hours but are hired as part-timers with no benefits other than 4 percent vacation pay. Health and safety standards are nonexistent, and the list goes on. Employees have tried to organize before, but management fired them and threatened the remaining workers. A new employee decided that the working conditions are intolerable and wants to get other employees organized in order to obtain union representation. All employees now believe that their interests will be better served with collective agreements.
Refer to Scenario 14.1. Employees are very concerned about the repercussions of the company finding out that they are seeking union representation. Boat Xpress can legally do which of the following?

A) attend union meetings and spy on employees
B) threaten or terminate employees because of their union affiliation or beliefs
C) change the working conditions of employees because they actively work for the union
D) voluntarily recognize and accept a union

Question 43

Pickets may prevent trucks and railcars from entering a struck business because of which of the following?

A) Picketing during a strike carries a legal obligation on the part of the employer to cease operations, including delivery of goods and materials.
B) Unions often refuse to cross another union's picket line.
C) The union has a legal right to obstruct the business of the employer the union is striking against.
D) Operators of trucks and railcars must get permission from the picketing union to enter the premises.

Question 44

How can the bargaining power of a union be exercised?

A) lockout or relocation
B) striking, picketing, or boycotting
C) union merger
D) legal injunction

Question 45

What is the term for a neutral third party who resolves labour disputes by issuing a final decision that the parties must accept?

A) a mediator
B) a conciliator
C) an arbitrator
D) a union steward

Question 46

In which of the following situations is grievance handling most successful?

A) in nonunionized businesses
B) in unionized businesses
C) when supervisors are formally trained in the terms of the labour agreement and the development of counselling skills
D) when union stewards are selected by management

Question 47

What action is compulsory before a strike or lockout in all Canadian jurisdictions?

A) mediation
B) communication
C) arbitration
D) conciliation

Question 48

If a manager or supervisor violates a labour law, an appropriate defence is that he or she was not familiar with labour legislation.

Question 49

Unions influence labour legislation and HR policies and practices.

Question 50

The factors that arbitrators use when deciding cases are the wording of the labour agreement, the submission agreement, the testimony and evidence offered, and which of the following?

A) the truthfulness of witnesses
B) the preferences of the grievant
C) arbitration criteria or standards
D) the concept of reasonable doubt

Question 51

What is the arbitrator's responsibility in a dispute?

A) to interpret the intent of the labour agreement
B) to get the parties to work together to solve their differences
C) to mandate how the grievance will be resolved
D) to decide the case without passing judgment

Question 52

Scenario 14.2
Calendar "R" Us Ltd. produces calendars for middle and high schools in Ontario. Calendar started back in 2006 and today has over 60 employees. About two years ago, the employees organized and obtained union certification. To date, the union has not successfully negotiated a collective agreement. Employees are not happy with the progress the union has made, and much of the concerns they have had (wages, benefits, training, etc.)have not been addressed. Calendar "R" Us employees feel that the union is more interested in serving the needs of the company and are looking to find a replacement.
Refer to Scenario 14.2. Calendar "R" Us employees want to change their union. Before they can decertify, all of the following must be in place EXCEPT which one?

A) determine whether bargaining was done in good faith
B) determine whether the union has failed to bargain
C) determine whether employees want to be represented by another union
D) decision by the majority of bargaining unit members that they do not want to be represented by the union

Question 53

Scenario 14.1
Boat Xpress, a Canadian shipping firm, has been treating employees unfairly for decades. Employees work full-time hours but are hired as part-timers with no benefits other than 4 percent vacation pay. Health and safety standards are nonexistent, and the list goes on. Employees have tried to organize before, but management fired them and threatened the remaining workers. A new employee decided that the working conditions are intolerable and wants to get other employees organized in order to obtain union representation. All employees now believe that their interests will be better served with collective agreements.
Refer to Scenario 14.1. Which step is NOT part of the organizing process before Boat Xpress employees can choose to become unionized?

A) employee/union contact
B) initial organizational meeting
C) formation of an in-house bargaining committee
D) application to a labour relations board

Question 54

Scenario 14.2
Calendar "R" Us Ltd. produces calendars for middle and high schools in Ontario. Calendar started back in 2006 and today has over 60 employees. About two years ago, the employees organized and obtained union certification. To date, the union has not successfully negotiated a collective agreement. Employees are not happy with the progress the union has made, and much of the concerns they have had (wages, benefits, training, etc.)have not been addressed. Calendar "R" Us employees feel that the union is more interested in serving the needs of the company and are looking to find a replacement.
Refer to Scenario 14.2. What are the steps in the collective bargaining process that the union and Calendar "R" Us need to go through?

A) union proposals, management responses, management demands, limits of concessions
B) prepare for negotiations, develop strategies, conduct negotiations, formalize agreement
C) union demands, database to support management proposals, union responses
D) prepare for negotiations, review proposals, determine counteroffer

Question 55

Unions tend to hold strike votes to assess whether members are willing to go on strike for their demands. What does a high vote in favour of a strike (e.g., 95 percent)mean?

A) Management will most likely have to lock out the union.
B) The union will definitely go on strike because it has an overwhelming mandate to do so.
C) Management will lose in the bargaining.
D) The union will have strengthened its bargaining power.

Question 56

Scenario 14.1
Boat Xpress, a Canadian shipping firm, has been treating employees unfairly for decades. Employees work full-time hours but are hired as part-timers with no benefits other than 4 percent vacation pay. Health and safety standards are nonexistent, and the list goes on. Employees have tried to organize before, but management fired them and threatened the remaining workers. A new employee decided that the working conditions are intolerable and wants to get other employees organized in order to obtain union representation. All employees now believe that their interests will be better served with collective agreements.
Refer to Scenario 14.1. For which reasons do workers at Boat Xpress want to organize in a union?

A) economic reasons
B) political reasons
C) social reasons
D) ideological reasons

Question 57

Scenario 14.1
Boat Xpress, a Canadian shipping firm, has been treating employees unfairly for decades. Employees work full-time hours but are hired as part-timers with no benefits other than 4 percent vacation pay. Health and safety standards are nonexistent, and the list goes on. Employees have tried to organize before, but management fired them and threatened the remaining workers. A new employee decided that the working conditions are intolerable and wants to get other employees organized in order to obtain union representation. All employees now believe that their interests will be better served with collective agreements.
Refer to Scenario 14.1. Management does not have the right to fire employees for organizing. The right of workers to join unions was established back in 1948 by which of the following?

A) The Industrial Relations Disputes and Investigation Act
B) Ontario Labour Relations Act
C) Canada Labour Code
D) Labour Relations Board

Question 58

What is necessary for an employee's grievance to be considered formally?

A) It must be in direct violation of the collective agreement.
B) It must be filed with the labour relations board.
C) It must be expressed orally or in writing.
D) It must have resulted in loss of pay or economic benefit to the employee.

Question 59

What is the term for a union's use of radio and newspaper ads to discourage the purchase of an employer's products?

A) picketing
B) an unfair labour practice
C) a boycott
D) a bargaining zone

Question 60

Which clause holds that "management's authority is supreme in all matters except those conceded in the collective agreement or in those areas where its authority is restricted by law"?

A) the supreme rights clause
B) the defined rights clause
C) the management rights clause
D) the explicit rights clause

Question 61

Unionization restricts the freedom of management to formulate HR policy unilaterally.

Question 62

If an employee personally decides that the benefits will outweigh the costs of joining the union, then she or he is likely to join.

Question 63

Employees might consider organizing and joining a union an effective alternative to quitting a job in which they feel they are being treated unfairly.

Question 64

The first step in the labour relations process is a union organizing campaign.

Question 65

In Canada, a majority of unions are certified without a vote if the labour relations board finds that at least 50 percent of employees have signed authorization cards.

Question 66

Unionization may restrict the freedom of management in many areas.

Question 67

Employees are most likely to seek unionization if they believe that doing so will achieve results they cannot achieve acting individually.

Question 68

If employers interfere with the union certification process, the labour relations board can recognize a union regardless of the percentage of employees that have signed authorization cards.

Question 69

It is possible for a union to be decertified if the majority of bargaining unit members decide they would rather be represented by another union.

Question 70

As a manager of XYZ Company, you would most likely expect an organizing drive to be started by your employees rather than a union organizer.

Question 71

Labour relations boards are responsible for administering labour law.

Question 72

Management rights are those decisions over which management claims exclusive rights.

Question 73

Unions that represent skilled craft workers are called craft unions.

Question 74

The first step in organizing begins when employees and union officials meet to explore the possibility of unionization.

Question 75

Canadian employers tend to be supportive of union organizing drives.

Question 76

As long as employers do not object to unionization, they can influence employees to vote for one union rather than another.

Question 77

Both employers and unions can be accused of an unfair labour practice.

Question 78

Joining a union is a way for employees to put leadership skills to use.

Question 79

The minimum term of the first collective agreement after certification is three years.

Question 80

The Canada Industrial Relations Board administers and enforces the Canada Labour Code.