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

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Attendance at local union meetings often varies between five and ten percent of the membership.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

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

Answer 3

False

Question 4

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

Question 5

Because construction takes place throughout the nation, craft unions have decided to expand the scope of their labor agreements to national coverage.

Question 6

The practice of double-breasting is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act.

Question 7

Unions as organizations are fundamentally different from business organizations.

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

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

Question 10

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 11

In larger companies, at the operations or plant 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 12

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 13

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

Question 14

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations now includes all of the major U.S. labor unions.

Question 15

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

Question 16

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 17

Joint councils involve groupings of conference boards that have common goals, employers, and interests.

Question 18

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

The international union representative, in addition to organizing new unions, also helps the local unions in grievance administration and labor arbitration.

Question 21

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

A) assists in handling grievances.
B) serves as chief administrative official of local union.
C) leads the local union negotiations.
D) administers the union hiring hall.
E) serves as the union's international representative.

Question 22

Elements of a positive human resources management program include which of the following?

A) absence of symbols of rank and status
B) overall corporate strength
C) promotion from within
D) competitive pay and benefits
E) all of these

Question 23

The AFL-CIO established the Ethical Practices Committee in its efforts to control corrupt practices and racketeering of its member unions.

Question 24

An international union representative:

A) assists in grievance administration at local union levels.
B) assists in local union negotiations.
C) assists in arbitration at local union levels.
D) is employed by the international union.
E) all of these

Question 25

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

A) direct proportion to size of union local.
B) every union local gets only one vote.
C) in relation to size of the union local but not in direct proportion.
D) seniority within the union.
E) none of these

Question 26

Low attendance at union meetings should not be taken as the real measure of union participation because:

A) much membership participation takes place at an informal level.
B) low attendance may just indicate members are not concerned with any of the
Immediate issues facing the union.
C) stewards regularly attend meetings and they maintain the link to the members
They represent.
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 27

Between conventions, the governing body of the AFL-CIO is the:

A) Executive Council.
B) General Board.
C) standing committees.
D) state central bodies.
E) National Council.

Question 28

Which of the following did not encourage union mergers?

A) executive preference
B) decline of some US industries
C) avoidance of external controls
D) jurisdictional disputes
E) all of these

Question 29

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

A) shop steward.
B) union president.
C) union committee chairman.
D) business agent.
E) international union representative.

Question 30

The supreme governing body of an international union is the:

A) constitution.
B) membership.
C) board of directors.
D) convention.
E) National Council.

Question 31

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

A) for the company to survive and remain competitive
B) for the company to receive a favorable return on investment
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 32

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

A) reserved parking spaces for managers
B) hiring specialized experienced supervisors from outside the company
C) have the human resources manager report directly to top management
D) enlarge the size of individual company facilities
E) all of these practices

Question 33

Participation in a typical local union meeting usually varies between:

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

Question 34

The term(s) used to describe the merging together of two or more unions is/are:

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

Question 35

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

A) material presented at meetings (reports of treasurer, project leaders, and committee chairs) is not interesting to the typical member.
B) meetings start late and last too long.
C) individuals frustrate the group by tying up meetings with personal grievances.
D) all of these
E) material presented at meetings is not interesting to the typical member and meetings start late and last too long.

Question 36

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

A) attendance at and participation in meetings
B) scope of the labor agreement
C) job characteristics
D) leadership roles
E) all of these

Question 37

Union participation in local union activities is higher:

A) during negotiations.
B) before a strike.
C) when taking a strike vote.
D) for officer elections.
E) all of these

Question 38

A company's labor relations strategy is determined by:

A) economic conditions.
B) managerial philosophy.
C) management ethics.
D) competition in the industry.
E) all of these.

Question 39

The AFL-CIO is very active in the political arena. However, which of the following are not actions of the AFL-CIO?

A) lobbies aggressively for favorable legislation
B) publishes voting records of legislators at federal and state levels
C) attempts to influence presidential appointments
D) proclaims ties to a national political labor party
E) the AFL-CIO performs all of these

Question 40

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

A) retirement and strike fund.
B) administration, operational, and salary expenses.
C) convention, publication, and retirement fund.
D) political lobbying efforts.
E) monthly payments of outstanding union loans.

Question 41

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

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