Deck 16: Public Sector Labor Relations

Question 1

Duty-to-bargain laws substantially increase unionization beyond other public policy measures favorable to public sector unions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Final-offer arbitration has been implemented in some states to encourage the use of arbitration.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Multilateral bargaining is more frequent where there is internal conflict in the positions of management bargainers,the union is politically active,and where the union attempts to use a variety of impasse procedures.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Most states deny collective bargaining for police.

Question 5

Prospects for pro-labor legislation are reduced by management opposition and single-party dominance of the legislature.

Question 6

The "customer" group affected by outcomes in public sector labor relations is generally much larger than is the case in the private sector.

Question 7

One way interest arbitration and rights arbitration differ is that many contracts and statutes permit parties to alter final offers and to settle after the process begins.

Question 8

Bargaining is more fragmented in the private sector than in the public sector.

Question 9

Some laws that require arbitration at impasse apply more often to uniformed services and are considered to be a quid pro quo for prohibiting strikes.

Question 10

A primary end result sought by the fact-finding process is the suppression of the disputed issues.

Question 11

In the United States,public sector labor relations are similar across the 50 states.

Question 12

In the private sector,only blue-collar unionization was associated with greater productivity.

Question 13

The role of fact-finding for a legislature is not very appropriate in the public sector since the legislature is often a party in the dispute.

Question 14

It is mandatory for public sector locals to obtain approval from the national unions for contract ratifications and strikes.

Question 15

Free-riding in the federal sector increases the financial viability of the unions.

Question 16

Fact-finding,which began in the public sector,is presently far more prevalent in the private sector.

Question 17

In New York,fact-finding follows mediation for police and firefighters.

Question 18

Most states that permit bargaining for teachers also confer exclusive recognition on a majority union and impose a mutual duty on both the employer and the union to bargain.

Question 19

Federal employees can bargain on wages and benefits,participation in political activities,position classification,missions or budgets of agencies,hiring or promotion,or subcontracting.

Question 20

Some public sector bargaining representatives began as professional associations and were primarily involved in establishing standards and occupational licensing requirements and lobbying for improved funding and facilities.

Question 21

Which of the following is true about public sector employees?

A) Like those in the private sector,public sector employers are only bargainers and not legislators.
B) Their duties as legislators are often in direct conflict with their bargaining agendas.
C) They pass the laws under which they bargain.
D) The degree of public employee union coverage in a state is not related to pay levels.

Question 22

Which of the following states allows firefighters to strike?

A) Alaska
B) Idaho
C) Delaware
D) Kentucky

Question 23

Which of the following occurs when interests beyond management and the union are injected into bargaining?

A) Whipsawing
B) Final arbitration
C) Expedited conflict resolution
D) Multilateral bargaining

Question 24

Which of the following was created to deal with representation and unfair labor practice questions?

A) National Academy of Arbitrators
B) American Arbitration Association
C) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
D) Federal Labor Relations Authority

Question 25

_____ in the federal sector is a big problem for unions,reducing their financial viability and decreasing their ability to provide representational services to bargaining-unit members.

A) Free-riding
B) Logrolling
C) Vote trading
D) Fair-sharing

Question 26

It is comparatively convenient for bargainers to determine an appropriate settlement point where third-party interventions exist.

Question 27

In states where collective bargaining is not permitted,initiatives aim at cutting _____.

A) wages
B) post-retirement benefits
C) cost of raw materials
D) employment

Question 28

A comprehensive law on public sector bargaining:

A) legally increases management's use of contract rejection.
B) legitimizes unions.
C) legally increases management's refusals to bargain.
D) increases management's costs of recognition.

Question 29

Bargaining-unit composition depends on the:

A) interests of the organizing union
B) degree of union-management cooperation
C) qualification of the union organizers
D) interests of the management

Question 30

Public sector unions,in general,have a strong interest in promoting social programs,education,municipal services,and uniformed protection because:

A) the probability of positive bargaining outcomes is usually high in these areas.
B) greater focus on these areas leads to greater public sector employment.
C) there is less scope of dispute in these areas.
D) this is an effective way of competing with private sector unions.

Question 31

Strikes are increased when lost school days are not rescheduled.

Question 32

Pro-public sector bargaining legislation is positively related to:

A) smaller proportions of nonwhite employees
B) the spread of laws from neighboring states
C) high public sector wages relative to the private sector
D) single-party dominance of the legislature

Question 33

Arbitration should serve to raise management offers,particularly in final-offer selection states.

Question 34

Which of the following is true in the context of management organization for bargaining?

A) Operating managers are elected,while top policy makers are usually career civil servants.
B) Managers are uniformly barred from having their own bargaining units.
C) Over time,bargaining structures become increasingly centralized to gain budgetary control within a labor relations office.
D) Elected officials are prohibited from exercising pressure to modify positions toward or against the union.

Question 35

In the private sector,only agricultural workers,domestic workers,and _____ are exempt from Taft-Hartley or Railway Labor Act coverage.

A) supervisors
B) manufacturing staff
C) shop floor laborers
D) construction workers

Question 36

Which of the following represents a major mixed-sector union?

A) Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
B) International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
C) Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
D) American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)

Question 37

Where strikes are banned,grievance rates are higher,particularly on economic issues.

Question 38

Multilateral bargaining is more frequent where:

A) internal conflict is absent among management bargainers
B) the union is politically dormant
C) union membership is limited
D) the union attempts to use a variety of impasse procedures

Question 39

Strikes are very selectively permitted in the public sector.

Question 40

Which of the following is true about the federal relations law?

A) The Executive Order 10988 prevented unions representing a majority of federal employees within a unit from negotiating exclusive written agreements with an agency but only covered noneconomic and nonstaffing issues.
B) The federal government opposed union activities among its employees until the 1880s,when postal employees began to organize.
C) Before the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912,federal employees were forbidden to lobby Congress about their employment.
D) Union activities decreased in the 1930s,and President Roosevelt asserted that collective bargaining was not possible in the federal sector.

Question 41

Which of the following holds true when third-party interventions exist?

A) The probability of a win-win settlement increases.
B) The intervening party is instrumental in thwarting a win-win outcome.
C) It is difficult for bargainers to determine an appropriate settlement point.
D) The bargainers experience a greater level of cooperation.

Question 42

Why is the role of fact-finding for a legislature not very appropriate in the public sector?

A) It is difficult to galvanize public opinion.
B) It is not permissible under statutory law.
C) Legislature is inadequately equipped to educate the public.
D) Legislature is often a party in the dispute.

Question 43

At the state level,wages are positively related to _____.

A) private sector union density
B) household incomes
C) voluntary arbitration at impasse
D) right to strike

Question 44

Collective bargaining increases _____.

A) property taxes
B) total revenues
C) expenditures in city departments that are covered
D) total expenditures

Question 45

For _____,unionization leads to lower male/female and elementary/secondary pay differences,and pay increases are more often based on education level,years of experience,and years of experience in the district.

A) supervisors
B) teachers
C) firefighters
D) construction workers

Question 46

Bargaining outcomes in medium-sized municipalities were better for unions where _____.

A) a large,general unit of trades were involved
B) statutory penalty for striking existed
C) strike activity in the state was below average
D) the union was affiliated with a public sector national

Question 47

Which of the following is true about final-offer arbitration?

A) The process of final-offer arbitration results in an extreme contract the loser would do anything to avoid in the future.
B) The use of entire-package approaches is unknown in final-offer arbitration.
C) Final-offer arbitration has been implemented in some states to encourage the use of arbitration.
D) Where final-offer selection is available on an issue-by-issue basis,less unresolved issues reach the arbitrator.

Question 48

Which of the following is true about public sector pensions?

A) Since states are permitted to enter bankruptcy,accrued pension liabilities need not necessarily be paid.
B) In their constitutions,many states recognize that pension obligations are the least significant liabilities that they owe.
C) The financial crisis and associated recession that began in 2008 reduced the market value of assets that produce income to pay public pension.
D) The age at which public sector employees with sufficient service are entitled to full retirement benefits is often substantially higher than what most private sector employees experience.

Question 49

Fact-finding began in the private sector through the establishment of fact-finding boards in the Taft-Hartley Act and emergency board procedures in the _____.

A) Railway Labor Act
B) Arbitration Act
C) Lloyd-La Follette Act
D) Wagner Act

Question 50

Early evidence related to arbitration suggests a(n)_____ effect existed because negotiations in states providing for arbitration went to impasse more frequently.

A) epidemic
B) whipsaw
C) narcotic
D) positive

Question 51

Which of the following is true about impasse procedures?

A) Experience with bargaining impasses in the public sector primarily dates from the early 1930s.
B) There are almost negligible differences between states in how impasses are handled.
C) Over the last 25 years there have been too many changes among the states in public sector impasse resolution procedures.
D) The occurrence of impasses has decreased over time.

Question 52

Which of the following is a primary result of the fact-finding process?

A) Publication of a recommended settlement
B) A greater degree of union-management cooperation
C) Dispute resolution beyond doubt
D) Suppression of the disputed issue

Question 53

Which of the following is true about arbitration and maturing labor relations?

A) Strikes are never permitted in the public sector.
B) Arbitration's effectiveness may depend on prehearing processes.
C) Fact-finding has increased,both statutorily and at the individual impasse level.
D) It's easy for bargainers to determine an appropriate settlement point where third-party interventions exist.

Question 54

In _____ arbitration,each party presents its positions,with the arbitrator required to choose one of the positions without modification.

A) conventional
B) expedited
C) final-offer
D) rights

Question 55

Which of the following is true about arbitral criteria?

A) Managements and unions always differ in their choice of an arbitrator.
B) The ability-to-pay issue may retard gains when revenues do not support wage demands.
C) Arbitrators are more concerned about the actual ability to pay than are elected officials.
D) Economic awards are most frequently shaped by cost of living.

Question 56

Where experienced negotiators are bargaining,_____ may be much more helpful in fashioning an acceptable settlement.

A) legislation
B) sickouts
C) final arbitration
D) mediation

Question 57

Management and union preferences tend to emphasize _____.

A) experience levels of the arbitrators
B) qualification of the arbitrators
C) the efficacy of third-party interventions
D) the efficacy of final-offer arbitration

Question 58

Which of the following was proposed as a "medicine" to cure parties from using arbitration?

A) Final-offer arbitration
B) Informal mediation
C) Conciliation
D) Rights arbitration

Question 59

Which of the following factors is likely to have caused a decrease in the occurrence of impasses?

A) Increase in the membership of women across unions
B) Increased experience in negotiating by the parties
C) Greater nonwhite representation in the unions
D) Greater union density

Question 60

In a private sector impasse,the fact-finder's role is to:

A) implement expedited arbitration to save time and costs.
B) issue a binding statement.
C) establish a reasonable position for settlement and prepare a report.
D) examine the merit of the case.

Question 61

The expected utility of arbitration to settle a dispute depends on the:

A) institution of third-party intervention.
B) perceived threat presented by arbitration to both sides.
C) outcomes of past arbitrations between the contending parties.
D) willingness of the arbitrator to concede to a win-win settlement.

Question 62

The duration of strikes is longest for _____ disputes.

A) school
B) police
C) firefighter
D) municipal

Question 63

Which of the following is true regarding the incidence of strikes?

A) Strikes appear to be used when they are prevented,as vehicles for increasing public employee bargaining power.
B) Threats of firing increase public sector strikes.
C) Permissive laws decrease the frequency of strikes.
D) For police,strikes occur less often when there is a provision for arbitration to settle impasses.

Question 64

Why is bargaining more fragmented in the public sector than in the private sector?

Question 65

While unions tend to prefer lawyer arbitrators,managements tend to prefer _____.

A) media persons
B) social leaders
C) economists
D) legislators

Question 66

What is the role of the fact-finder in a private sector impasse?

Question 67

Which of the following is true about public employee strikes?

A) Statutorily mandated reprisals,such as discharges,are frequently used in such strikes.
B) Most states do not prohibit such strikes legally.
C) Legally permissible steps to end these strikes are not invoked often.
D) The provision of injunctions is unavailable for prohibiting these strikes.

Question 68

What are the factors associated with the incidence and duration of school strikes?

Question 69

The higher the costs,the more likely parties are to negotiate their own settlement.Where this occurs,the less risk-averse party:

A) achieves higher outcomes.
B) favors third-party intervention.
C) favors final-offer arbitration.
D) is unduly compromised.

Question 70

Write a short note on teacher bargaining laws.

Question 71

Which of the following is a reason for the level and long duration of school strikes?

A) There is no provision for arbitration.
B) There is no provision for collective bargaining.
C) Days lost are never rescheduled.
D) School strikes are often essentially costless.

Question 72

Discuss briefly the public sector labor relations in the states of the union.

Question 73

Write a note on conventional arbitration.

Question 74

More days are lost from strikes by _____.

A) municipal employees
B) public school teachers
C) police
D) firefighters

Question 75

Explain the differences between entire-package and issue-by-issue basis final-offer selections.

Question 76

Write a short note on the expected utility of arbitration for the various parties.

Question 77

When does multilateral bargaining occur and what does it involve?

Question 78

What is the only cost incurred by the school or the teachers on account of strikes?

A) Lost teaching days
B) Delay in wages
C) Rescheduled work-days
D) Higher taxes

Question 79

Studies of teacher strikes suggest that:

A) strikes are used as defensive weapons to maintain a relative position.
B) strikes are used as offensive weapons to improve relative outcomes.
C) the duration of strikes is associated with student achievement.
D) the incidence of strikes is associated with student achievement.

Question 80

What is final-offer arbitration? What is its objective?