Deck 11: Managing Labor Relations

Question 1

The earliest unions in the United States represented specific types of workers and were known as _____.

A) professional unions
B) job unions
C) worker groups
D) trade associations
E) craft unions

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The process of dealing with individuals in a company who are represented by a union is called:

A) labor relations.
B) benchmarking.
C) unionization.
D) mediation.
E) negotiated contracting.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A _____ requires firms to hire individuals who are already union members.

A) union shop agreement
B) mediation
C) lockout
D) closed-shop agreement
E) final-offer arbitration

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In arbitration, it is agreed in advance that the key parties involved will agree to the recommendations of an independent third-party arbitrator.

Question 5

Which of the following legislations gives workers the legal right to form unions and engage in group activities such as strikes to accomplish their goals?

A) The Taft-Hartley Act
B) The Wagner Act
C) The Landrum-Griffin Act
D) The Sherman Act
E) The Union Shop Act

Question 6

Which of the following legislations outlawed the closed-shop agreement?

A) The Taft-Hartley Act
B) The Wagner Act
C) The Landrum-Griffin Act
D) The Sherman Act
E) The Union Shop Act

Question 7

The American Federation of Labor focused on _____.

A) limiting union practices
B) improving working conditions
C) controlling the supply of skilled labor
D) organizing employees by industry
E) implementing labor laws

Question 8

Each local union has an important elected position called the _____.

A) shop steward
B) executive head
C) department head
D) ​mediator
E) arbitrator

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the decline in union membership in the United States?

A) Changing composition of the workforce
B) High labor costs
C) Aggressive antiunionization strategies by businesses
D) Reduction in the unionization of the service sector
E) Employee-friendly work environments

Question 10

The _____ requires national labor unions to elect new leaders every five years.

A) Wagner Act
B) Taft-Hartley Act
C) Landrum-Griffin Act
D) Sherman Act
E) Smith Act

Question 11

A positive settlement zone in a negotiation process refers to the zone of overlap between an organization's and a union's demands in a bargaining zone.

Question 12

Since the mid-1950s, labor unions in the United States have experienced decreasing difficulty in attracting new members.

Question 13

To request a union certification election, at least 30percent of the eligible workerswithin a bargaining unit should sign authorization cards.

Question 14

A slowdown occurs when an employer denies employees access to a workplace.

Question 15

Local unions are usually coordinated by a regional officer.

Question 16

The collective-bargaining process involves two sides: the management which represents an employer and the labor union which represents workers.

Question 17

An impasse is a situation in which all parties involved in a negotiation eventually reach an agreement.

Question 18

A boycott occurs when union members agree not to buy products from a targeted employer.

Question 19

For a union to be decertified, it is mandatory that the union must have served as the official bargaining agent for the employees for at least one year.

Question 20

_____ is the process by which managers and union representatives negotiate the terms and conditions of employment.

A) Benchmarking
B) Total quality management
C) Negotiated contracting
D) Unionization
E) Collective bargaining

Question 21

Idalia, a member of a labor union, has a disagreement with her supervisor about overtime pay.She goes to Nancy, her shop steward, with the complaint.Which of the following courses of action can Nancy take?

A) She can suggest that the supervisor be disciplined.
B) She can call for workers to strike.
C) She can offer to serve as an arbitrator for Idalia.
D) She can advise Idalia that the supervisor's decision is appropriate.
E) She can request a secret ballot election.

Question 22

Which of the following is true of labor unions in the twenty-first century in the United States?

A) They vehemently oppose technological advances in industry.
B) They encourage the employment of contingent workers.
C) They enjoy credibility as the guardians of middle-class jobs.
D) They promote prison labor and spread awareness about it.
E) They share an adversarial relationship with management.

Question 23

Before negotiating a labor agreement, a labor union decides that a pay raise of $1 per hour for every employee is the minimum it will accept from its employer.The union members decide to go on a strike if their employer refuses to accept this demand.In this scenario, a raise of $1 known as the _____.

A) union resistance point
B) management resistance point
C) union target point
D) management target point
E) arbitration point

Question 24

In the context of collective bargaining, a union's resistance point refers to the:

A) maximum concession it can reasonably expect to getfrom management.
B) expectations about what management is likelyto accept.
C) minimum acceptable limit on what itwill take from management.
D) maximum amount management is willing to pay.
E) management's desired results on items being negotiated.

Question 25

Which of the following tactics of resolving an impasse is illegal under all circumstances?

A) Picketing
B) Boycott
C) Slowdown
D) Lockouts
E) Wildcat strike

Question 26

_____items have to be included as part of the collective-bargaining process if either party expresses a desire to negotiate one or more of them.

A) Permissive
B) Mandatory
C) Provisional
D) Special
E) Intellectual

Question 27

Whenworkers representing aunion march at the entranceto an employer's facility withsigns explaining their reasonsfor striking, it is referred called _____.

A) lockout
B) picketing
C) boycott
D) wildcat strike
E) slowdown

Question 28

Which of the following issues forms a significant part of contemporary bargaining situations between managements and unions?

A) Wages and hours
B) Health benefits
C) Job security
D) Union membership
E) New labor legislation

Question 29

One of the biggest challenges that advanced technology presents to labor unions is that:

A) younger workers suffer a disadvantage.
B) telecommuting gains popularity.
C) work can be performed with fewer employees.
D) disabled workers need reasonable accommodation.
E) prison labor gains significant popularity.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of labor unions in the United States?

A) They prefer working against management rather than working with them.
B) They have completely lost their significance as companies adopt employee-friendly measures.
C) They rarely struggle with traditional, basic issues such as wages.
D) Theyopt to fight against wage cuts rather thanstrive for wage increases.
E) They limit their membership to white males in blue-collar jobs.

Question 31

Which of the following is true of the negotiation process in collective bargaining?

A) Its final outcome is independent of the bargaining power of the parties involved.
B) It needs to be concluded and executed within a specified period of time.
C) The outcome of the negotiation process is binding on both the parties involved in negotiation.
D) It involveseachparty trying to discover the other's resistance point withoutrevealing its own.
E) Both management and a labor union have the same target point while negotiating an agreement.

Question 32

When there is a difference of opinion between an employee who is a union member and his or her supervisor, the employee can take his or her complaint to the _____.

A) union president
B) executive president
C) shop president
D) union arbitrator
E) shop steward

Question 33

A(n) _____ is a situationin which at least one party involved in a negotiation believes that reaching anagreement is not imminent.

A) arbitration
B) lockout
C) mediation
D) impasse
E) slowdown

Question 34

Which of the following is the next step in the unionization process once a bargaining unit has been determined?

A) Getting 30 percent of the eligible workers to sign authorization cards
B) Conducting a secret ballot election
C) Petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election
D) Instituting grievance procedures for dispute resolution
E) Bargaining for the first labor contract

Question 35

Under _____, the parties involvedbargain until impasse.

A) target-point arbitration
B) domestic arbitration
C) party-directed arbitration
D) neutral arbitration
E) final-offer arbitration

Question 36

Which of the following is a prerequisite for decertifying a labor union?

A) A majority of the union members must have signed authorization cards asking for an election.
B) The union must have served as an official bargaining agent for at least 5 years.
C) At least 50 percent of the members of a bargaining unit should have signed the decertification cards.
D) The union should have completed its official term in office.
E) No labor contract should currently be in force.

Question 37

_____ items are included in the collective-bargaining process if both parties involved agree to negotiate on them.

A) Mandatory
B) Oblique
C) Permissive
D) Progressive
E) Negotiable

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a reason for labor unions' opposition to prison labor?

A) Prisoners experience difficulty in adapting to advanced technology.
B) Prison labor displaces low-wage workers in the economy.
C) Prison labor does little to prepare prisoners for re-entry into the workforce after their release.
D) Prisoners are exploited because their wages are low.
E) Prison labor is extensively employed as the number of prisoners is increasing.

Question 39

Which of the following statements reflects the current trend in union-management relations in the United States?

A) Union-management relations have deteriorated owing to the increasing influence of unions over laborers.
B) Basic issues like wages and benefits do not figure in union-management negotiations.
C) Labor unions have negligible power over management in the automobile and steel industries.
D) The relation between labor unions and management is essentially adversarial in nature.
E) Labor unions prefer working with management to working against management.

Question 40

_____ items in the collective-bargaining process include wages, working hours, and benefits.

A) Mandatory
B) Permissive
C) Negotiable
D) Special
E) Provisional

Question 41

Trace the early history of labor unions in the United States and mention the significant contributions of early labor unions.

Question 42

Scenario 11.1
Qwerty Inc., a manufacturer of toys based in the United States, has recently shut down many of its production units in order to reduce costs.It has decided to outsource its production activities to developing countries where raw materials and cheap labor are readily available.Juan, an employee of the company finds out that the employees have never been unionized before and feels that a labor union is necessary to address employee issues.
Refer to Scenario 11.1.Which of the following will occur once a union is certified?

A) All the employees of Qwerty will express interest in favor of the union.
B) The organizers of the union will recruit members from the bargaining unit to join the union.
C) The National Labor Relations Board will form a bargaining unit from among the employees.
D) The management of Qwerty will cancel the existing labor agreement.
E) The employees of Qwerty will be asked to sign authorization cards.

Question 43

Scenario 11.1
Qwerty Inc., a manufacturer of toys based in the United States, has recently shut down many of its production units in order to reduce costs.It has decided to outsource its production activities to developing countries where raw materials and cheap labor are readily available.Juan, an employee of the company finds out that the employees have never been unionized before and feels that a labor union is necessary to address employee issues.
Refer to Scenario 11.1.Which of the following is the first step that Juan should take to initiate the unionization process?

A) Holda secret ballot election.
B) Ask the National Labor Relations Board to hold a certification election.
C) Call in a union organizer to stimulate interest in unionization.
D) Call for a boycott of Qwerty's goods until the employer unionizes the workers.
E) Ask the company for an arbitrator to decide the issue of unionization.

Question 44

Scenario 11.1
Qwerty Inc., a manufacturer of toys based in the United States, has recently shut down many of its production units in order to reduce costs.It has decided to outsource its production activities to developing countries where raw materials and cheap labor are readily available.Juan, an employee of the company finds out that the employees have never been unionized before and feels that a labor union is necessary to address employee issues.
Refer to Scenario 11.1.For the successful certification of a union, it is necessary that:

A) a majority of the workers in a bargaining unit must approve the union.
B) a majority of the workers who signed authorization cards must approve the union.
C) 30 percent of the workers in a bargaining unit must approve the union.
D) 30 percent of the workers voting in the certification election must approve the union.
E) a majority of the workers voting in the certification election must approve the union.

Question 45

Scenario 11.1
Qwerty Inc., a manufacturer of toys based in the United States, has recently shut down many of its production units in order to reduce costs.It has decided to outsource its production activities to developing countries where raw materials and cheap labor are readily available.Juan, an employee of the company finds out that the employees have never been unionized before and feels that a labor union is necessary to address employee issues.
Refer to Scenario 11.1.Which of the following issues is NOT likely to be a concern for Qwerty's employees in the present situation?

A) Child labor in some foreign countries
B) Increasing use of prison labor
C) Increasing rates of unemployment
D) Negative consequences of globalization
E) Exploitation of workers in Third World countries

Question 46

Briefly describe the steps in the unionization process and explain who is responsible for each action.

Question 47

Summarize the position of labor unions in the United States on the employment of prison labor and contingent workers.

Question 48

Describe the barriers to effective negotiation.

Question 49

Scenario 11.1
Qwerty Inc., a manufacturer of toys based in the United States, has recently shut down many of its production units in order to reduce costs.It has decided to outsource its production activities to developing countries where raw materials and cheap labor are readily available.Juan, an employee of the company finds out that the employees have never been unionized before and feels that a labor union is necessary to address employee issues.
Refer to Scenario 11.1.Which of the following is a prerequisite for conducting a union certification election?

A) The employees of Qwerty must file a specific grievance against the management.
B) The company must ensure that atleast 50 percent of the employees are willing to become union members.
C) The National Labor Relations Board must define a bargaining unit.
D) The management of Qwerty should cancel the current labor contract.
E) The employees must compulsorily sign authorization cards.

Question 50

Explain how a management and a labor union prepare for collective bargaining.