Deck 8: Impasse, Strikes, and Dispute Resolution

Question 1

After all national emergency strike procedures have been exhausted and no agreement has been reached,Congress has the power to legislate a settlement or force the parties to go to final and binding arbitration.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

It is an unfair labor practice for unions to fine or otherwise punish workers (union or nonunion)who cross a picket line.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Unions usually give up their right to strike over grievances in exchange for a final and binding arbitration clause.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

An economic strike is a strike that occurs when workers are unhappy with a country's general economic conditions and seek to apply pressure to government officials to improve the economy.

Question 5

Annually,only around 1 percent of the contracts that are opened for negotiations end up in a strike.

Question 6

Interest disputes are conflicts over the terms and conditions of employment.

Question 7

Regardless of the type of strike,all strikers have the same rights under the NLRA.

Question 8

If the President thinks a strike will be dangerous to the national health or safety,the Taft-Hartley Act empowers the President to halt a strike while an arbitrator investigates and issues a final and binding decision.

Question 9

A recognition strike occurs when a union strikes to force an employer to assign work to its members.

Question 10

If the NFL football players went out on strike to support the referees in their negotiations over wages and working conditions,it would be considered a sympathy strike.

Question 11

Regardless of whether workers strike over "mandatory" or "permissive" bargaining issues,the NLRA protects their right to strike and they cannot be discharged or disciplined for their strike activity.

Question 12

It is illegal for picketers to block an entrance to an employer's place of business.

Question 13

When it comes to the legality/illegality of strikes,the rights of strike replacements,and the rights of strikers,all strikes are treated the same.

Question 14

Rights disputes occur over the application and interpretation of contract language in a particular situation.

Question 15

Striking to support other workers who are on strike (for example,by not crossing their picket line)is a sympathy strike.

Question 16

In the 1950's,approximate number of lost days due to strike activity in the U.S.was 1/5^th of the total working days.Today it is less than 1/100^th of the total working days.

Question 17

Workers cannot be disciplined or discharged for participating in unfair labor practice strikes even if the NLRB ultimately determines that the employer is innocent of any wrong-doing.

Question 18

The purpose of a strike is to increase the employer's cost of disagreeing with the union's demands by depriving the employer of its profit-generating ability.

Question 19

Public sector strikes are often not allowed in part because it is believed that they have the potential to seriously harm the public interest.

Question 20

It is illegal for employees to cross their own union's picket line.

Question 21

Unions frequently use picketing to publicize a boycott.

Question 22

At the end of the NFL lockout of referees,the NFL could have kept the replacement referees on staff without hiring back the union referees if they had wanted to do so.

Question 23

A defensive lockout occurs when an employer refuses to allow employees to work to prevent losses from an expected strike.

Question 24

The frequency with which a union goes out on strike is a good measure of the bargaining strength of that union.

Question 25

One explanation for the decline in strike activity in the U.S.is that,since employers are more likely to use strike replacements and the use of strike replacements has become more acceptable to the public,the potential cost of the strike to workers is greater than to employers.

Question 26

The main reason that strike activity has declined since 1980 is because labor's bargaining power had declined.

Question 27

Regardless of the nature of the strike,employers are allowed to hire permanent strike replacements if they deem it necessary to preserve their business.

Question 28

Preston Beverages is engaged in a labor dispute with its manufacturing employees.To show their support for the employees,Preston's drivers generate a campaign to boycott Preston's sodas and flavored waters.The drivers are engaged in a secondary boycott.

Question 29

Due to the fact that strikes are often held to be illegal,unions have begun to use alternative tactics to pressure employers such as boycotts and work slowdowns.

Question 30

The PATCO strike in 1981 is commonly recognized as a turning point for labor in that it marks the start of a rise in the use of permanent strike replacements as a way to break a union.

Question 31

It is estimated that strike replacements were used in 10-20 percent of strikes during the 1980s.

Question 32

The Mackay doctrine holds that employers can hire permanent strike replacements as well as temporary strike replacements in an economic strike.

Question 33

Most industrialized countries allow employers to use permanent strike replacements.

Question 34

It is legal for an employer to hire permanent strike replacements during a lockout.

Question 35

Bayfield & Berry's,a large retail company,enters into negotiations with a union in September.With the holiday season a mere 3 months away,the company is fearful of a strike.To preempt such a strike and pressure the union into a favorable settlement,they decide to stage a lockout in October.This is an example of a defensive lockout.

Question 36

According to economists,a key reason that strikes occur is that the parties to a dispute do not have perfect information.

Question 37

Bargaining power and the threat of a strike should affect the extent to which bargaining outcomes favor labor or management but not the occurrence or frequency of strikes.

Question 38

According to standard economic thought,strikes are irrational because it is rare for a union to "win" in a strike.

Question 39

Preston Beverages is engaged in a labor dispute with its manufacturing employees.To show their support for the employees,Preston's drivers generate a campaign to boycott the stores that sell Preston's sodas and flavored water.The drivers are engaged in a secondary boycott.

Question 40

The Supreme Court has ruled that at the conclusion of a strike,employers must offer available jobs to the former strikers before hiring any brand new employees.

Question 41

The goal of third party dispute resolution systems is to avoid costly strikes.

Question 42

In 2012,the pressure that NFL fans,coaches,and players put on the owners to settle their dispute with referees could be considered a "corporate campaign."

Question 43

When workers picket a site with multiple employers,such as a construction site or a shopping mall,it is known as common situs picketing.

Question 44

In the private sector,the use of third party dispute resolution is voluntary - both labor and management must agree to use it.

Question 45

When negotiators in the railway and airline industries reach an impasse in negotiations,they are required by law to try mediation.

Question 46

Med-arb is a third party dispute resolution system that allows the parties to choose between a mediation or arbitration to settle a dispute.

Question 47

In conventional arbitration,the arbitrator can look at the final offers of each party to a dispute and create any settlement he or she deems appropriate.

Question 48

The legality of corporate campaigns is determined by federal racketeering and corruption laws,rather than by labor laws.

Question 49

Mediation is similar to arbitration in that both require the parties to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution to their dispute.

Question 50

When unions and management in the railway and airline industries are unable to reach an agreement,the employer is allowed to implement any terms it wants as long as the contract has expired.

Question 51

When the National Mediation Board offers arbitration to negotiators covered by the Railway Labor Act,they are obligated to accept.

Question 52

In the midst of a contract dispute with Logan's Sports,the employees decide to picket outside Logan's main entrance.In addition,because Logan's is located in a shopping mall,the employees decide to picket at the main mall entrance.Both of these picketing actions are considered legal.

Question 53

The NLRA obligates private section parties to give prior notification to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service of pending contract negotiations.

Question 54

Work-to-rule campaigns are seldom successful because following all of the employer's rules to the letter is actually best for most business.

Question 55

A series of quick strikes,lasting a day or just a few hours,is known as an intermittent strike.

Question 56

A mediator has a high level of control over the outcome of negotiations but not over the way negotiations are conducted.

Question 57

Corporate campaigns are union strategies to pressure an employer into settling a contract by engaging in boycotts,intermittent strikes,and work slowdowns.

Question 58

Corporate campaigns,while highly successful tools against management,are considered illegal activity under the NLRA.

Question 59

The tendency of labor and management to take extreme positions in their final offers in the hopes that an arbitrator will "split the difference" between offers is known as the chilling effect.

Question 60

Mediators are typically more concerned with getting the parties to reach an agreement than they are with helping the parties to improve their relationship so as to avoid future conflict.

Question 61

A strike is fundamentally:

A)An expression of protest and dissatisfaction
B)An act of treason
C)A way for management to show its strength
D)A measure of the Union's bargaining competence

Question 62

After a lengthy negotiation involving a series of contract changes agreed to by management and the union,General Soft Drinks refused to make any further changes to the contract even though the union was ready to strike.The parties are:

A)committing an unfair labor practice in violation of the NLRA
B)negotiating in bad faith
C)at a bargaining impasse
D)ready for final and binding arbitration

Question 63

In the public sector where striking is often illegal,a(n)____________________ often triggers a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism such as mediation,arbitration,or fact-finding.

A)rights dispute
B)bargaining impasse
C)interest dispute
D)grievance

Question 64

Negotiators sometimes begin to rely too heavily on arbitration as a means of settling their contract disputes,rather than working hard to come to their own agreement.This is known as the chilling effect.

Question 65

In final offer arbitration,the arbitrator is not constrained in deciding the settlement terms and can create any terms he or she deems fair.

Question 66

Compulsory arbitration is generally effective in discouraging strikes.

Question 67

Interest arbitration is voluntary in the private sector but often mandatory in the public sector.

Question 68

Which of the following is not typically a key concern of private sector employers when it comes to bargaining impasse?

A)Loss of profits
B)Loss of customers
C)Bad publicity
D)Withdrawal of taxpayer support

Question 69

Research clearly shows that final offer arbitration is more effective in getting the parties to agree on contract terms than conventional arbitration.

Question 70

In med-arb,the same neutral third party first tries to get the parties to reach an agreement as the mediator and,if that fails,will deliver a final and binding arbitration decision.

Question 71

If the primary goal of a dispute resolution system is to improve the relationship between disputing parties to avoid future disputes,the best option is fact-finding.

Question 72

Compulsory arbitration laws for public employees are generally the same in all states.

Question 73

By withholding their labor,strikers seek to increase the employer's cost of disagreeing with them by depriving the employer of:

A)Their management rights
B)Profits
C)Public support
D)Access to credit

Question 74

(p270)Which of the following is not an interest dispute?

A)Wage levels
B)Seniority based layoff systems
C)Whether a particular employee has been properly disciplined
D)Whether employees should participate in management decision making

Question 75

When fact-finding fails to produce an agreement between disputing parties,the NLRB may step in and force an agreement upon the parties.

Question 76

If the primary goal of a dispute resolution system is to create pressure that will encourage the negotiators to settle their differences,arbitration is the best option.

Question 77

A fact-finder is a neutral third party responsible for investigating a labor dispute and issuing recommendations for a settlement which may or may not be adopted by the parties.

Question 78

Final offer arbitration is generally believed to encourage the parties to negotiate more than conventional arbitration because it is riskier for negotiators to present extreme final offers.

Question 79

In an economic strike,workers refuse to work until:

A)The employer meets their demands for conditions of employment.
B)The NLRB rules they must return to work.
C)The contract expires.
D)Their strike funds run out.

Question 80

Bargaining in good faith to an impasse:

A)Violates the NLRA.
B)Creates a mutual obligation to mediate the contract.
C)Means the current contract terms must stay in place.
D)Fulfills each side's bargaining obligation.