Deck 2: Labor Unions: Good or Bad

Question 1

An independent union is one that has the power to elect its own leaders, and make all financial and strategic decisions regarding its operations.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Despite the poor working conditions and low wages, one safeguard that employees had in the early part of the 20^th century, was stability in employment because legally employers needed a good reason to fire someone.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The mainstream economic perspective holds that efficiency, equity and voice in the employment relationship are maintained through competitive markets which lead to a fair price where labor is paid equal to the value of its contribution.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

As long as competition exists in a market, the mainstream economics school of thought would suggest that there is no "labor problem" even if wages are low, work hours are long, etc.

Question 5

According to the human resources school, unequal bargaining power is the primary cause of the labor problem.

Question 6

According to the mainstream economics school of thought, the role of the government is to protect individual worker rights through legislation such as minimum wage laws, safety and health laws, and income protection benefits (e.g., unemployment compensation).

Question 7

Proponents of the human resource management school would argue that scientific management and mass production were representative of poor management practices that contributed to the labor problem.

Question 8

According to the mainstream economics school of thought, unions are able to manipulate and control the supply of labor to a market just like monopolies control the supply of products to a market.

Question 9

The "labor problem" can be defined as undesirable outcomes created out of an employment relationship which is inequitable, contentious, and exploitive.

Question 10

The number of strikes in the U.S. is actually much higher than typically portrayed by the media.

Question 11

Mass manufacturing can be at least partially blamed for the labor problems that existed in the early 20^th century U.S. labor markets.

Question 12

Human resource professionals have greater influence in organizations where the threat of unionization is high.

Question 13

Media portrayals of unions refute stereotypes that unions are corrupt, motivated by greed, and protect mostly unproductive and poor employees.

Question 14

The "labor problem" is characterized by long hours, low wages, unsafe working conditions and job insecurity stemming from management's ability to exploit and oppress workers.

Question 15

The labor problem of the early 20^th century was largely a worker or human rights problem and not a business problem. From a practical standpoint, these practices actually made very good business sense.

Question 16

The media generally report employment issues from the perspective of a typical worker, as opposed to the consumer or business leader's perspective.

Question 17

According to the human resource management school, the problem with today's labor unions is not that they interfere with competition in the market, but rather that they interfere with the development of a healthy working relationship between management and employees.

Question 18

The saying, "You get the union you deserve" best fits the human resources school of thought.

Question 19

According to the industrial relations school, unequal bargaining power is the primary cause of the labor problem.

Question 20

The solution to the labor problem, according to the human resource management school, is to align worker interests with those of the employer.

Question 21

According to the critical industrial relations school, the most successful labor unions are those that take a very pragmatic, business-like approach to bargaining for better wages, hours and working conditions.

Question 22

The key belief that distinguishes the mainstream economics school from the institutional labor economics school (or industrial relations school) is the notion that labor markets can live up to the ideal of perfect competition.

Question 23

According to the industrial relations school of thought, there is an inherent conflict of interest between employers and employees and that conflict is over how to split profit between them.

Question 24

During the recent recession, many companies have instituted wage freezes, dropped health care coverage, and increased hours of work to maintain profitability. According to the industrial relations school, the competitive forces of the economy, and employees' rights to quit and find another job, provide a sufficient "check and balance" system to ensure that other employers do not take advantage of the poor economy simply as a way to decrease the share of profits that are paid to labor.

Question 25

In 1904, the Nernst Lamp Co., located in Pittsburgh, PA, established a committee of employees who were assigned the task of representing other employees' concerns to management. This type of committee is an example of what is meant by the term "labor union".

Question 26

According to the critical industrial relations school, conflict between employers and employees is primarily a conflict over how to distribute the profits generated by business.

Question 27

According to the industrial relations school, market imperfections create a significant imbalance of power to the point that employers can exercise a vast degree of control and influence over their employees.

Question 28

The term "socialist" has been used widely in the mainstream press lately. Socialism describes a movement that would encourage and utilize revolution as a way to replace capitalism with worker control.

Question 29

The key distinguishing feature separating an employee representation committee from a labor union is the fact that labor unions are elected and run completely independent of the employer and its management team.

Question 30

The notion that management and labor have common goals and that there is no inherent conflict of interest between them is consistent with a unitarist view of the employment relationship.

Question 31

From the perspective of the critical industrial relations school of thought, U.S. unions offer a model that should be imitated by other unions because it holds long term potential for eliminating class divisions.

Question 32

According to the critical industrial relations school, the cause of the labor problem is that the capitalistic class has control over both society's institutions and the means of production.

Question 33

If you believe that labor cannot be treated like other commodities but that there is no inherent conflict of interest between capital owners and laborers, your beliefs are most consistent with the human resources school of thought.

Question 34

The term "workplace rules" is meant to include rules of behavior and performance as well as rules governing compensation and benefits within a particular workplace.

Question 35

The underlying theme of the critical industrial relations school of thought is that the class that holds the greatest power in society can dictate the rules and control institutions in ways that serve their own interests, hence keeping others from improving their lot in life.

Question 36

The pluralist view of conflict in the workplace says that there are no shared interests between employers and employees in the employment relationship.

Question 37

The declining unionization rates and increasing income inequality in the U.S. closely exemplifies predictions of the critical industrial relations school of thought.

Question 38

The mainstream economics perspective is the only school of thought that believes that labor and management truly have equal bargaining power in the labor market.

Question 39

Workplace governance refers to the method of ruling a particular workplace.

Question 40

Proponents of the industrial relations school of thought, are concerned with finding ways to increase workers' bargaining power through collective bargaining.

Question 41

The presence of unions is usually found to decrease company profits.

Question 42

Union workers tend to be less satisfied with their jobs and therefore have higher turnover rates than nonunion workers.

Question 43

U.S. labor laws governing workplace governance systems reflect the central belief that competitive markets will produce efficient outcomes for both employers and employees.

Question 44

According to the mainstream economics school of thought, market competition results in wages equal to:

A) workers' marginal productivity (i.e., the value of their work).
B) product revenues.
C) the value of a product.
D) the price of a product.

Question 45

News and other media portrayals of unions and union workers tend to:

A) Reinforce stereotypes of unions made up of greedy and lazy workers that engage in frequent and violent strikes.
B) Portray union workers as hard-working, self-sacrificing employees.
C) Provide a balanced view of workers and the organizations they work for.
D) Reinforce stereotypes of unions as champions of "the little guy," looking for social justice and workplace representation.

Question 46

According to the critical industrial relations school of thought, unions can be used as a way to suppress workers.

Question 47

From a business perspective, the poor working conditions endured by workers in the early part of U.S. industrialization were most problematic because:

A) Workers should have better lives than that.
B) Workers were willing to put up with anything to keep a job, thus turnover rates were too low.
C) Workers lacked purchasing power which kept product demand artificially low.
D) The government threatened to impose minimum wage and working conditions laws.

Question 48

In a perfectly competitive labor market:

A) Employees can never be paid below a subsistence level (i.e., they will always be able to make enough money to survive).
B) No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.
C) Employers can never make so little profit that they go out of business.
D) Both employer and workers will make enough money to survive.

Question 49

Research suggests that unionized firms are generally less profitable than nonunionized firms, unions reduce employment growth, and unionized workers are generally less satisfied than nonunion workers. Together, these facts provide strong evidence that unions are bad for workers.

Question 50

In an economic system of laissez faire, workplace rules will favor management when labor demand is high and labor supply is low.

Question 51

Collective bargaining is an example of a worker control governance system.

Question 52

Employee stock ownership plans are an example of worker control as envisioned by a socialist perspective.

Question 53

U.S. labor laws were written to reflect the central belief that unions are needed to counter corporate power following the labor problems of early industrialization and this support for bilateral decision-making has received strong, long-lasting support in the U.S.

Question 54

Individual evaluations of unions as "good" or "bad" are heavily influenced by the underlying assumptions one makes about the nature of markets and employment.

Question 55

Which of the following is not typically considered characteristic of the "labor problem" in the early 1900s?

A) Long work hours of 72 hours per week and more.
B) Unsafe and unsanitary working conditions.
C) Job insecurity and the constant fear of unemployment.
D) The high cost of health care and health insurance.

Question 56

In the human resource management school, workplace governance is believed to belong exclusively to management. Worker input is only important to the extent that an employer chooses to allow it.

Question 57

According to research, union workers make, on average, 15 percent more than nonunion workers.

Question 58

Workplace governance issues are generally very important to workers but have little effect on their spouses, dependents, and community.

Question 59

According to the human resource management school of thought, unions are helpful because they facilitate communication between management and the workers.

Question 60

The conditions associated with the "labor problem" were made possible in part due to a prevailing management attitude that labor was:

A) A valued resource that should be carefully managed.
B) An interchangeable and expendable factor of production.
C) Fully capable of speaking out for itself.
D) Protected by existing labor laws.

Question 61

In the mainstream school of thought, unions are:

A) necessary to correct market imperfections.
B) acceptable as a way to correct market imperfections.
C) irrelevant in that they have little effect on the competitiveness of the market.
D) monopolies that restrict market competition.

Question 62

According to the industrial relations school, the role of the government and legislation should be to:

A) Ensure that labor markets are competitive.
B) Stay out of labor markets completely.
C) Ensure that labor and management's relative power is balanced.
D) Regulate wages, hours and working conditions to ensure that they are fair to workers.

Question 63

Labor unions are considered the quintessential form of independent employee representation because:

A) They are most likely to take management's perspective into consideration.
B) They are partly influenced and operated by management.
C) They are independent of managerial authority.
D) They are independent of both employer and employee influence.

Question 64

According to the human resources school of thought, the labor problem stems from:

A) Market failures.
B) An imbalance of bargaining power between employers and employees.
C) Poor management.
D) Class divisions.

Question 65

The industrial relations school of thought rests on the assumption that labor market outcomes are determined by:

A) The laws of supply and demand.
B) The relative bargaining strength of parties to the employment relationship.
C) Government intervention and determination of outcomes.
D) Worker protests and militant actions.

Question 66

Referring to management, the saying "You get the union you deserve" best fits:

A) The industrial relations perspective
B) The mainstream model of economics
C) The human resources perspective
D) The critical industrial relations perspective

Question 67

The key distinguishing feature between the mainstream economics school and the institutional labor economics (or industrial relations) school is that the industrial relations school believes that labor markets:

A) Are not perfectly efficient.
B) Operate similar to other types of markets.
C) Have too few suppliers of labor (workers) but many purchasers of labor (employers).
D) Work only when there is a "working class" that is excluded from the "ownership class."

Question 68

According to the human resources school of thought, labor unions are:

A) necessary to correct market imperfections.
B) a sign of unhealthy HR practices and problematic because they promote adversarial management-labor relationships.
C) irrelevant in that they have little effect on the competitiveness of the labor market and are ineffective in improving HR practices.
D) monopolies that restrict market competition.

Question 69

According to the human resources school of thought, the solution to the labor problem is better management that emphasizes:

A) unions as a mechanism for employees to express their voice
B) alignment of the interests of workers and their employers
C) scientific management principles that improve efficiency
D) paying at the high end of the market wage scale

Question 70

According to the industrial relations school, the best method to increase bargaining power of workers in their relationships with management is to:

A) Regulate markets to ensure that they are competitive
B) Support the formation of individual labor unions and collective bargaining
C) Support the formation of employer and worker cooperatives
D) Prosecute and fine employers who mistreat workers

Question 71

In a perfectly competitive labor market, the best protection an employee has against exploitation by his or her employer is:

A) Other employees
B) The government
C) Other employers
D) Labor unions

Question 72

In the 1920's many employers who followed the human resources school of thought believed that nonunion representation plans were:

A) unnecessary if management was exercising good human resources
B) a threat to management's decision-making authority
C) helpful in promoting mutual respect, cooperation and loyalty
D) vital to protecting worker rights and interests

Question 73

The basis for the drive system that characterized management in the early 1900s was the core belief that:

A) Labor was like any other factor of production and should be driven to attain maximum production for the least cost.
B) Labor was driven by its own desires and needs and therefore should have a voice in how it was managed.
C) The drive to succeed was so high that workers would be willing to do anything to get ahead.
D) Automation and replacement of human labor with machinery was paramount to organizational success.

Question 74

According to the human resource management school, equity will be achieved only:

A) If employer actions are regulated by employment laws.
B) When workers produce to their maximum capabilities.
C) If employers become responsive to employee needs.
D) When market supply and demand are in balance.

Question 75

In the mainstream economic perspective, the role of the government is to:

A) Pass laws that protect worker rights and income.
B) Pass laws that protect employer interests.
C) Pass laws that promote competition.
D) Pass laws that promote good management policies.

Question 76

In the mainstream economics perspective, the role of the law is to:

A) Protect worker income security (e.g., minimum wage, unemployment compensation).
B) Protect employers from individual employee pressure.
C) Prohibit abuses of labor by management.
D) Protect individual freedoms that are necessary for competition (e.g., property rights).

Question 77

The saying, "the union makes us strong" best describes which school of thought:

A) Industrial Relations
B) Human Resource Management
C) Mainstream economics
D) Critical industrial relations

Question 78

In the mainstream economics school of thought, labor unions are:

A) Necessary to facilitate movement of supply and demand to the optimal market wage.
B) Monopolies that try to restrict the supply of labor and benefit only a few at the expense of others.
C) Create unproductive conflict.
D) Important tools for eliminating capitalism.

Question 79

In the critical industrial relations school, the primary aim of labor unions should be to:

A) Bargain better wages, hours and working conditions.
B) Improve human resource management practices.
C) Replace capitalism with socialism.
D) Do nothing; there is no useful role for unions in the critical industrial relations school.

Question 80

According to the critical industrial relations school, wealth and capital in society are created through:

A) Producer and consumer decisions to sell and purchase goods and services in a free market.
B) Free will of individuals that make decisions about buying and selling goods and services.
C) Powerful governments that control market prices and available supply of goods and services.
D) Laws that govern market transactions and social norms that dictate what buyers and sellers are allowed to do in the exchange of goods and services.