Deck 9: Strikes and Dispute Resolution

Question 1

The Canada Labour Code refers to "concerted activity on the part of employees in relation to their work that is designed to restrict or limit productivity." What term is used for this activity?

A) strike
B) wildcat strike
C) lockout
D) work to rule

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Worker efforts to reduce productivity can be considered a type of strike.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Industrial dispute statistics include both strikes and lockouts.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What do strike frequency statistics examine?

A) the number of workers involved in a strike
B) the person-days not worked
C) the percentage of working time lost due to a strike
D) the total number of strikes

Question 5

An examination of national strike trends across industries since the mid-1970s suggests that which of the following has a relatively high strike rate?

A) wholesale industries
B) manufacturing industries
C) real estate and financial industries
D) retail industries

Question 6

Grievance mediation is a nonbinding, voluntary process in which a neutral third party examines a grievance

Question 7

A recent strike was said to occur because the union executive focused on job security issues while union members wanted wage increases rather than job security. This is an example of an intra-organizational cause of a strike.

Question 8

Which strike statistic do the textbook authors feel is the best to use when examining strike trends over time?

A) strike frequency
B) number of workers affected
C) length of strike
D) person-days not worked

Question 9

Strikes are less likely to occur when the economy is doing well.

Question 10

All countries record strike statistics in the same way to enable international comparisons.

Question 11

Who initiates a lockout?

A) management
B) union
C) labour council
D) shop stewards

Question 12

Which of the following is a work stoppage initiated by a union?

A) work to rule
B) lockout
C) strike
D) grievance

Question 13

Wildcat strikes are legal as long as they do not occur during the term of the collective agreement.

Question 14

Grievances are less likely to occur in firms with strict management practices.

Question 15

In which of the following situations do employees only perform the minimum standard required in their job?

A) work to rule
B) lockout
C) strike
D) wildcat strike

Question 16

On a global scale, Canada has one of the highest levels of strikes.

Question 17

What is a typical management response to a wildcat strike?

A) fire striking workers
B) ask for a court order to send workers back to their jobs
C) deduct wages for each lost day of work
D) suspend collective bargaining indefinitely

Question 18

Which of the following is a common strike statistic reported by HRSDC?

A) management overtime incurred
B) cost of lost production
C) person-days not worked
D) unresolved dispute days

Question 19

In final-offer arbitration, the arbitrator must craft his/her own resolution to a grievance.

Question 20

An examination of national strike trends since the mid-1970s suggests that these trends are consistent across which of the following?

A) time
B) union
C) industry
D) revenue

Question 21

What do international strike statistics tell us?

A) It is easy to compare countries' strike activity.
B) Canada has relatively high lost time due to strikes.
C) The OECD keeps standardized strike statistics.
D) Strikes of 100 or more days are common.

Question 22

A union argues that an arbitrator should reduce a sanction from termination to suspension in light of the employee's long and unblemished record of employment. What type of argument is this?

A) just cause
B) nonculpable behaviour
C) mitigating factors
D) negotiations

Question 23

Which of the following is a final, binding third-party process used when there has been a violation of a collective agreement?

A) interest arbitration
B) rights arbitration
C) public-sector arbitration
D) third-party arbitration

Question 24

A recent newspaper article reported that errors made by the chief negotiators at the bargaining table caused a healthcare strike. Which strike theory explains this situation?

A) total joint costs theory
B) negotiator error theory
C) Hicks theory
D) asymmetric information theory

Question 25

What has been the general trend in Canadian strike statistics over the past thirty years?

A) a reduction in lost time
B) steep increase in person-days not worked
C) rising strike frequency
D) stable statistics across Canada

Question 26

Management demonstrates that an employee was aware of job requirements, was capable of performing these requirements, and chose to do otherwise. What does this prove?

A) employee is culpable
B) mitigating factors exist
C) violation of the collective agreement
D) alleged event took place

Question 27

Union members walked off the job immediately after they learned that management would no longer provide safety boots for free. This is an example of which cause of strikes?

A) isolated groups
B) economic factors
C) intra-organizational factors
D) catalyst

Question 28

Lumber camp workers stage a wildcat strike because they are dissatisfied with the timing and frequency of trips out of camp to visit their homes and loved ones. This is an example of what strike cause?

A) catalyst
B) management indifference
C) isolated groups
D) economic factors

Question 29

Which of the following terms refers to past decisions in legal contexts such as arbitration?

A) precedent
B) guiding decisions
C) onus
D) jurisprudence

Question 30

Which of the following is an assumption of the accident theory of strikes?

A) strikes result in errors
B) parties try to penalize each other
C) negotiators are rational
D) bargaining teams hide information

Question 31

Which of the following causes of strikes suggests that employee dissatisfaction causes strikes?

A) isolated groups
B) satisfaction
C) frustration-aggression
D) intra-organizational factors

Question 32

A recent newspaper article reported that a transit union went on strike because they believed that the management team was not being truthful about their inability to afford wage increases. Which strike theory explains this situation?

A) total joint costs theory
B) asymmetric information theory
C) pay security theory
D) Hicks theory

Question 33

An employee grieving that he should have won a particular job posting is an example of which kind of grievance?

A) union
B) group
C) individual
D) policy

Question 34

Research suggests that grievors, relative to non-grievors, possess which of the following characteristics?

A) female
B) well-educated
C) hold positive views of management
D) unskilled

Question 35

In an arbitration hearing, the union argues that an employee has a spotless work record. What is this an example of?

A) culpability
B) remorse
C) provocation
D) mitigating factor

Question 36

The union files a grievance regarding recent changes to overtime allocation rules. This is what type of grievance?

A) action
B) group
C) individual
D) policy

Question 37

Which of the following is a formal complaint that a specific clause in the collective agreement has been violated?

A) strike
B) complaint
C) grievance
D) appeal

Question 38

According to a recent OECD report, which country has the highest average number of working days lost due to strikes?

A) Iceland
B) Italy
C) France
D) Canada

Question 39

To support its claim that discharge was appropriate, which type of evidence would management show?

A) residual rights
B) mitigation factors
C) closed shop
D) corrective action

Question 40

Research suggests that strikes can have a negative impact on which of the following?

A) union members' benefits
B) union members' job satisfaction
C) union members' seniority
D) union members' community involvement

Question 41

Name five common causes of strikes.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a possible outcome of a grievance arbitration?

A) grievance denied
B) grievance upheld
C) grievance suspended
D) grievance partially upheld

Question 43

Imagine that you are a union representative. One of your members has been discharged for excessive absenteeism (12% versus the company average of 5%). In looking at his file, you note that he has been employed at the company for 15 years, he has never received any form of discipline, and he is three years from retirement. You are also aware that other employees who have higher rates of absenteeism than he does have never been disciplined. Name and present three mitigating factors to argue that discharge was excessive in this case.

Question 44

List three questions used in determining just cause in discharge arbitration cases.

Question 45

In which form of interest arbitration can the arbitrator choose from the options presented or craft his/her own decision?

A) conventional interest arbitration
B) unconventional interest arbitration
C) rights interest arbitration
D) final-offer arbitration

Question 46

The long delays, high costs, and increasing legalistic nature of the grievance arbitration process have led to which of the following?

A) final offer arbitration
B) tripartite arbitration
C) conciliation
D) grievance mediation

Question 47

Which of the following is a final, binding third-party process used when parties cannot negotiate a collective agreement?

A) interest arbitration
B) rights arbitration
C) grievance arbitration
D) negotiations arbitration

Question 48

Assume that a plane piloted by John Doe skidded off the runway. The investigation ruled that the crash was caused by the pilot landing at a speed that was much too high. The pilot was aware of the recommended speed, and for several years had landed planes at the recommended speed. The investigation team detected no reason why Mr. Doe had to land at too high a speed. Is Doe's behaviour culpable? Why?

Question 49

Name and briefly describe the three common theories of strikes.

Question 50

Final-offer selection is a type of which of the following?

A) grievance arbitration
B) interest arbitration
C) negotiation strategy
D) management sanction