Deck 5: Why and How Unions Organized

Question 1

The company may actively assist employees who are interested in launching a decertification campaign.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An employee's vote in favor of the union in an election is mainly because employee believes the union will help him/her obtain what she/he wants from employment.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Signed authorization cards are accurate predictors of the number of votes for the union in elections.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Authorization cards signed by employees may be used by the NLRB to determine whether the union should be certified.

Question 5

In the last decade, decertification elections have nearly doubled.

Question 6

The "captive audience" rule states that an employer who presents a "captive audience" speech must allow the union the opportunity to conduct its own "captive audience" speech.

Question 7

The NLRB has upheld the right of the union to discipline union members who actively participate in the campaign to decertify the union as long as the action does not affect employment status.

Question 8

The NLRB prohibits the showing of films to discourage employees from joining a union.

Question 9

The union organizer typically creates job dissatisfaction in the work force before the campaign begins.

Question 10

For a union to win an election, it must receive favorable votes from a simple majority of all employees in the bargaining unit.

Question 11

Union instrumentality is a concept meaning employees perceive the union as instrumental in attaining desired outcomes, such as higher wages.

Question 12

Alienation theory is a driving force behind unionization in the U.S. today as a result of mechanization.

Question 13

After a decertification petition is filed with the NLRB, the employer is free from bargaining with the union until the question of representation is resolved.

Question 14

Employer questioning of an employee to discern union sentiment is an automatic violation of NLRA section 8 (a)(1).

Question 15

Within seven days after the regional director of the NLRB has approved a consent election, the employer must file a list of names and addresses of all eligible voters with the regional director of the NLRB.

Question 16

If employees choose to decertify their union, there cannot be another representation election for twelve months.

Question 17

Illegal discharge of employees who are union advocates often successfully frustrates unionization proceedings.

Question 18

The union must obtain signed authorization cards from a majority of the bargaining unit employees before the NLRB will hold an election.

Question 19

Employees' previous experience with a union is a strong predictor of their attitudes toward unions and their decision to join one.

Question 20

Management is allowed to present "captive audience" speeches on the day of the election.

Question 21

Which of the following union tactic(s) has(ve) a positive effect (union wins) on election outcome?

A) house calls
B) small group meetings
C) committees of employees
D) demonstration of solidarity
E) all of these

Question 22

The legal duty of the exclusive bargaining agent after winning a representation election is to:

A) represent all employees in the bargaining unit.
B) represent all employees who voted in the election.
C) represent all union members in the bargaining unit.
D) represent all employees of the Company.
E) represent all employees who voted in the election and all union members in the bargaining unit.

Question 23

Which of the following groups are not considered "employees" covered under the NLRA?

A) craft employees
B) professional employees
C) office employees
D) long-distance truck drivers
E) supervisors

Question 24

After the NLRB regional director has approved a consent election, the employer has to file a list of names and addresses of all eligible voters.

A) 24 hours
B) 7 days
C) 14 days
D) 30 days
E) 60 days

Question 25

NLRB data show that about ____ percent of the eligible voters usually participate in NLRB elections.

A) 50
B) 60
C) 75
D) 85
E) 90

Question 26

A grouping of jobs or positions in which two or more employees share common employment and conditions is designated by the NLRB as a/an:

A) union shop.
B) craft shop.
C) appropriate bargaining unit.
D) open shop.
E) closed shop

Question 27

Which of the following would not be a barrier to a representation election?

A) only 40 percent return of signed of authorization cards
B) an election held within the previous twelve months
C) a group of employees already covered by a contract and already members of a legally certified union
D) the contract bar doctrine
E) all of these

Question 28

The "Twenty-Four Hour" Rule means that:

A) there can be no handbilling before 24 hours of the election.
B) the NLRB will, as a rule, investigate an election petition within 24 hours after receipt.
C) the employer cannot make a "captive audience" speech within 24 hours of the election.
D) the election must take place within a 24-hour period to assure that everyone has an opportunity to vote.
E) all of these

Question 29

A valid, signed agreement for a period of up to three years will bar any representation election for the life of the agreement is specified by the NLRB's:

A) contract bar doctrine.
B) three-year election rule.
C) life-of-the-contract doctrine.
D) election time-out rule.
E) exclusionary election rule.

Question 30

Under the NLRA, the group of employees that has a choice on whether to be included in a mixed bargaining unit is:

A) supervisors.
B) plant guards.
C) independent contractors.
D) professionals.
E) confidential employees.

Question 31

The contract bar doctrine can extend the statutory limitation on representational elections to how many years?

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six

Question 32

Whenever employees believe that the union is not representing the interests of the majority, employees may initiate:

A) decertification process.
B) reelection process.
C) deunionization.
D) "raid" election.
E) all of these

Question 33

The path(s) that workers may mobilize along to take collective action and support the union include(s):

A) the ''threat'' or an ''attack'' that results when the employer takes away or threatens to take away something the workers already have.
B) the ''frustration'' which results when workers try to act on their own behalf.
C) a ''rational calculation,'' which does not involve anger, but the workers become convinced that the benefits of unionization outweigh its costs.
D) all of these
E) threats, attacks, and rational calculations.

Question 34

What percent is needed for a petitioning union to show that substantial interest in the union exists?

A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 40%
D) 50%
E) greater than 50%

Question 35

The person who developed the "Scarcity Consciousness" theory is:

A) Karl Marx
B) Samuel Gompers
C) George Meany
D) Selig Perlman
E) John L. Lewis

Question 36

When employees are required to attend a meeting to hear a presentation by the employer during a pre-election union campaign, the meeting is called:

A) shop talk.
B) captive audience.
C) union discussion.
D) closed audience.
E) open audience.

Question 37

Unions are improving their organizing capabilities through the training of union organizers at the ___________:

A) Institute for Unions.
B) Campaign and Election Tactics Program (CETP) Center.
C) George Meany Center.
D) Union Training Association.
E) all of these

Question 38

Under the law, which of the following advantages does the employer have to counter unionization efforts?

A) instant and prolonged access to the employees
B) ability to inform employees of the possibility of improvement without cost and without the creation of a new bureaucracy
C) use of the fact that most people find the thought of substantial change in their lives frightening
D) all of these
E) instant and prolonged access to the employees and ability to inform employees of the possibility of improvement without cost and without the creation of a new bureaucracy

Question 39

When the NLRB establishes an appropriate bargaining unit, it constitutes the "community of interests." Which of the following factor(s) does the NLRB consider?

A) commonality of wages, working conditions, training, and skill
B) history of bargaining
C) physical proximity of the world locations
D) transfers between facilities
E) all of these

Question 40

Method(s) by which a union can attain exclusive bargaining agent status is/are:

A) secret-ballot elections.
B) NLRB directives.
C) voluntary recognition
D) all of these
E) secret-ballot elections and NLRB directives.