Deck 12: Impasses and Their Resolution

Question 1

A short strike may be a relatively low-cost investment in gaining large future demands.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Under the Taft-Hartley Act,if the parties are at an impasse and the contract has expired,the union is free to strike.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In present-day fact-finding,the blame is fixed on one party rather than finding the underlying causes of the dispute.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Mediation helps parties settle on their own terms when they have been unable to do so without assistance.

Question 5

While mediation assists the parties to reach their own settlement,arbitration hears the positions of both and decides on binding settlement terms.

Question 6

When negotiations have broken down,mediators who act aggressively achieve settlements more frequently.

Question 7

A slowdown most often involves working to rules.

Question 8

Private sector fact finders are the most successful on distributive bargaining issues.

Question 9

Where represented employees cross picket lines,the union's bargaining power is increased.

Question 10

Coordinated campaigns simultaneously pressure the employer on several fronts,occurring instead of a strike or in reaction to a lockout.

Question 11

A study of the correlates of the willingness to strike found that propensities to strike were negatively related to integrative bargaining views.

Question 12

If an employer violates the law,the employees' right to strike in protest and to be reinstated at its end is absolutely protected by the NLRB and the courts.

Question 13

Employers that are diversified across industries can usually take a longer strike.

Question 14

Mediators' concern is not what either party achieves;thus,they are unlikely to influence the direction of the outcome.

Question 15

Third parties are used more frequently in the public sector,because most public sector employees are prohibited from striking.

Question 16

A local union does not need the national's approval to strike.

Question 17

Strikes increase as unemployment rises and inflation falls.

Question 18

In lockouts,the union informs the public about the dispute and appeals to others to stop doing business with the employer during the dispute.

Question 19

Hiring strike replacements jeopardizes strikers' jobs,increasing the possibility of violence.

Question 20

Of the three methods of third-party involvements,only fact-finding guarantees resolution.

Question 21

Boycott effects end as quickly as strike effects.

Question 22

Of the different methods of third-party involvements,only _____ guarantees resolution.

A) arbitration
B) mediation
C) fact-finding
D) negotiation

Question 23

Which of the following observations concerning interest arbitration is true?

A) It is most frequently used in the private sector.
B) It is similar to mediation and fact-finding.
C) It assists the parties to reach their own settlement.
D) It decides on binding settlement terms.

Question 24

What do the four major types of strikes have in common?

A) Employees' refusal to work
B) Labor law violations
C) Unauthorized stoppage during the contract
D) Employers' refusal to budge

Question 25

Rates of return on shares of struck companies decline in value before a strike occurs.

Question 26

Strikes last longer where union members have relatively low debt-to-income ratios.

Question 27

A mediator uses reflexive tactics to _____.

A) attempt to simplify agenda
B) suggest a particular settlement
C) clarify the needs of the other party
D) avoid taking sides in important issues

Question 28

_____ arbitration deals with situations in which the parties have an interest in the terms of the agreement because the contract will specify future rights.

A) Rights
B) Gains
C) Mutual
D) Interest

Question 29

How does mediation facilitate settlement?

A) Increasing hostility through focusing on a single party's objectives
B) Reducing understanding of the opponent's position
C) Keeping away from risk involved in exploring new solutions
D) Contributing to face-saving that facilitates concessions

Question 30

Some firms use bankruptcies to escape existing contracts without negotiating.

Question 31

Which of the following happens under the Railway Labor Act (RLA),once the National Mediation Board (NMB)declares an impasse?

A) Parties enter into a 30-day cooling-off period
B) Parties are not allowed to negotiate further
C) The union is free to strike immediately
D) The employer has the implied right to lock out employees immediately

Question 32

In mediation,a neutral _____ tries to assist the parties to reach an agreement.

A) business agent
B) contract employee
C) third party
D) steward

Question 33

What were the mediation strategies most often cited by unions for hastening settlement?

A) Discussions of costs of disagreement
B) Suggestions of face-saving proposals
C) Gains in the parties' trust
D) Devising an improved negotiating framework

Question 34

The _____ Act requires that parties notify the FMCS 30 days before the expiration of a contract when negotiations are under way and an agreement has not been reached.

A) Norris-La Guardia
B) Taft-Hartley
C) Landrum-Griffin
D) Clayton

Question 35

_____ arbitration involves the interpretation of an existing contract to determine which party is entitled to a certain outcome or to take a certain action.

A) Rights
B) Gains
C) Mutual
D) Interest

Question 36

In a single-employer negotiation,there is a dire need to defend against a whipsaw.

Question 37

The failure to reach an agreement is called _____.

A) bankruptcy
B) logrolling
C) collusion
D) an impasse

Question 38

Why are mediators unlikely to influence the direction of an outcome?

A) Because they increase hostility through focusing on a single party's bargaining objectives
B) Because they are not rewarded for gaining agreements
C) Because their concern is not what either party achieves
D) Because they decrease understanding of the opponent's position

Question 39

Which of the following is true of mediation?

A) It facilitates settlement by keeping away from risks involved in exploring new solutions.
B) It is an active process for keeping the parties together by using a partial approach to bargaining.
C) It helps the parties settle on their own terms when they have been unable to do so without assistance.
D) In mediation,the two parties are forbidden to communicate any bargaining issue to a third party.

Question 40

Which of the following is true of fact-finding?

A) In present-day fact-finding,it is used to fix blame on one party.
B) It leaves parties with no other choice but to adopt the published findings.
C) It has been used primarily in Taft-Hartley emergency disputes.
D) It has a short history in U.S.labor relations.

Question 41

Which strike occurs when one union strikes to support another union's strike?

A) Pressure
B) Wildcat
C) Sympathy
D) Loyalty

Question 42

Which of the following firms might find it feasible to persist to operate using supervisors and other nonproduction workers?

A) A labor-intensive firm
B) A firm in which maintenance demands are high
C) A firm in which processes are not automated
D) A firm with continuous-flow operations

Question 43

Which of the following observations concerning multiple-use site picketing is true?

A) It is easiest to picket a primary employer without disrupting secondary businesses.
B) The struck employer has usually leased the site from another company that owns the multiple-use site.
C) It is easy to legally picket a multiple-use site.
D) The Supreme Court has held that passive picketing to inform the public about a dispute can interfere with other multiple-use sites.

Question 44

_____ strikes protest employer labor law violations.

A) Economic
B) Wildcat
C) Sympathy
D) Unfair labor practice

Question 45

A(n)_____ strike is called after a contract expires and usually after there is an impasse to pressure the employer to settle on the union's terms.

A) economic
B) wildcat
C) sympathy
D) unfair labor practice

Question 46

In a _____,the union exerts pressure where the employer might be vulnerable to support a collective bargaining objective.

A) sympathy strike
B) corporate campaign
C) lockout
D) bankruptcy

Question 47

Which type of strike involves unauthorized work stoppage during the contract?

A) Economic
B) Wildcat
C) Sympathy
D) Unfair labor practice

Question 48

An initiative explores a company's business activity to uncover possible regulatory violations,tries to identify closely linked corporations,and analyzes its financial statements.The second phase involves publicizing items detrimental to the employer's interests that support the union's demands.This initiative is an example of a(n)_____.

A) sympathy strike
B) corporate campaign
C) interest arbitration
D) mediation

Question 49

Propensities to strike were seen to be positively related to _____.

A) strike hardship
B) education
C) seniority
D) pay rate

Question 50

If the subcontractor to whom a struck company has contracted work is unionized,its employees legally can refuse to perform the work.Such refusals are allowed under the _____.

A) sympathy doctrine
B) ally doctrine
C) Mackay decision
D) Landrum-Griffin Act

Question 51

Which of the following is NOT a result of a shutdown?

A) Highly negative consequences for future labor relations
B) Lost production revenues
C) Competitors gearing up to take over the lost production
D) Possible reduction in the struck company's market share

Question 52

A(n)_____ employer is one involved in a dispute.

A) primary
B) neutral
C) secondary
D) external

Question 53

Eighty-five percent of renegotiation strikes are attributed to _____.

A) economics
B) working conditions
C) job security
D) plant administration issues

Question 54

Which of the following is the reason why employees can seldom be disciplined in a slowdown?

A) They comply with the contract and company work rules
B) They refuse to follow procedures appropriately
C) They are ready to work overtime to make up for slow work
D) They take up tasks outside their job descriptions

Question 55

A(n)_____ employer is one affected by the picketing activity of the primary's employees.

A) principal
B) neutral
C) internal
D) external

Question 56

Which of the following bargaining units is associated with a high propensity to strike?

A) Southern
B) Urban
C) Female-dominated
D) Younger members

Question 57

The propensities to strike are negatively related to _____.

A) family employment stability
B) blue-collar background
C) integrative bargaining views
D) the labor relations climate

Question 58

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

A) Employer and union stability and stability in the employer's supplier market are associated with higher strike incidence rates.
B) Lower proportions of unionized employees in an industry are related to higher strike and wage levels.
C) Strikes are more frequent when the parties' relative risks have substantially changed since earlier negotiations.
D) Strikes decrease as unemployment falls and inflation rises.

Question 59

What does a slowdown most often involve?

A) Heavy picketing
B) Wildcat strikes
C) Refusing to work
D) Working to rules

Question 60

When is an ambulatory site picketing ruled legal?

A) When the object is currently on the secondary employer's site
B) When the primary employer discontinues working on its normal business
C) When the picketing is very distant from the strike object
D) When the picketing discloses that the dispute is with the site owner and not the struck employer

Question 61

List the different employer responses to strikes.

Question 62

Why are boycotts seldom used?

A) Minimum publicity is required to alert customers
B) Customers will respond even if there is no clear-cut social issue involved
C) Keeping a boycott from becoming a secondary boycott is sometimes difficult
D) Boycott effects end as quickly as strike effects

Question 63

Which of the following is true of wildcat strikes?

A) They involve only economic issues.
B) They are predicted by low unionization rates within the industry.
C) They are inhibited by the employer's likelihood of filing a ULP.
D) They are predicted by a low degree of bargaining experience.

Question 64

Explain the purposes of picket lines.

Question 65

How does mediation facilitate settlement?

Question 66

Explain the four different types of strikes.

Question 67

_____ strikes most frequently involve plant administration issues and generally last three days or less.

A) Renegotiation
B) Wildcat
C) Sympathy
D) Intracontract

Question 68

Employers use lockouts most frequently when faced with strikes involving _____.

A) industrial equipment manufacturing
B) nonperishable goods
C) multiemployer bargaining units
D) automobile manufacture

Question 69

Which of the following is true about the duration of strikes?

A) Strikes are shorter when companies are not performing well relative to competitors.
B) Strikes last longer where union members have relatively high debt-to-income ratios.
C) Strikes are longer if there is a lot of publicity about the negotiations.
D) Strikes last longer during high-performing economic periods.

Question 70

Under _____,the firm continues operations and gains protection from its creditors while trying to reorganize.

A) the Landrum-Griffin Act
B) the ally doctrine
C) Chapter 11
D) the Taft-Hartley Act

Question 71

Briefly explain the two classes of labor arbitration.

Question 72

While _____ are not impasses,some firms have used them to gain concessions or to escape existing contracts without negotiating.

A) bankruptcies
B) lockouts
C) pickets
D) whipsaws

Question 73

_____ are appeals to the general public not to purchase struck goods.

A) Boycotts
B) Pickets
C) Lockouts
D) Slowdowns

Question 74

Which of the following observations concerning boycotts is true?

A) A great deal of publicity is required to alert customers.
B) Boycotts generally have a huge economic effect.
C) Keeping a boycott from becoming a secondary boycott is easy.
D) Boycott effects end as quickly as strike effects.

Question 75

A union strikes only one employer and attempts to break the solidarity of the multiemployer bargaining unit.This is an example of _____.

A) logrolling
B) a whipsaw strategy
C) collusion
D) the ally doctrine

Question 76

Explain why boycotts are used infrequently.

Question 77

Compare and contrast the effectiveness of the three methods of third-party involvements.

Question 78

What is a slowdown? Why is it difficult to take action against employees protesting in this manner?

Question 79

What is an impasse? When does it occur?

Question 80

Explain how geographic,demographic,and psychological factors are related to strike incidence.