Deck 17: Governance and Collective Bargaining

Question 1

Identify the law that was passed in 1935 that allowed employees the right to self-organization and formation of unions for the purpose of collective bargaining.

A)American Labor Union Act
B)National Labor Relations Act
C)Employees Self-Determination Act
D)Right-to-Strike Law

Answer 1

National Labor Relations Act

Question 2

Identify a goal of collective bargaining that is often overlooked by management but is important to nursing.

A)Improved staffing and higher quality personnel
B)Better salaries and more benefits
C)Maintaining and promoting professional practice
D)Overtime pay and personal holidays

Answer 2

Maintaining and promoting professional practice

Question 3

What is usually considered to be an unfair labor practice?

A)Being fired because a physician does not like a nurse's attitude
B)Being passed over for promotion with an explanation of the rationale
C)Being assigned to work five weekends in a row when the policy states that nurses will be required to work as needed
D)Only being allowed 2 weeks of vacation during the first year of work.

Answer 3

Being fired because a physician does not like a nurse's attitude

Question 4

What is the most important advantage that a union has over an SNA as a bargaining unit for nurses?

A)The union has a good understanding of the complex needs of the profession.
B)The union has more power as a bargaining unit than an SNA.
C)Unions have skilled representatives with much experience in negotiating contracts.
D)Hospitals and nursing homes are more afraid of unions than SNAs.

Question 5

What is the primary role of the American Nurses Association (ANA) in relation to collective bargaining?

A)It is the primary bargaining unit for nurses across the country.
B)It is opposed to collective bargaining by nurses because it is unprofessional.
C)It recommends that nurses join powerful unions such as the AFL-CIO to maximize their power.
D)It actively supports the state nursing associations (SNAs) to function as bargaining agents.

Question 6

If mediation fails, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service may appoint a ________________to investigate the conflict and make recommendations.Multiple Response
Identify one or more choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.

Question 7

Select from the list below all items that are found in a good contract:

A)Description of the official collective bargaining group
B)Statement outlining the objectives of both management and employees
C)Description of grievance procedures
D)List of all the employees covered by the contract
E)List of what is expected of the professional

Question 8

In attempting to decide whether to go on strike, nurses are often concerned about the well-being of the clients in the hospital. What legal requirement helps alleviate this concern?

A)Hospitals are permitted to hire unlicensed personnel to substitute for the striking RNs.
B)Enough RNs are required to stay and work on the floors to maintain safe levels of care.
C)A 10-day notice must be given to the hospital before a strike takes place.
D)LPNs are permitted to function as RNs in strike situations.

Question 9

Identify the key element in the fee-for-service model of governance.

A)Clients are billed separately for nursing services.
B)All clients are billed the same amount for nursing services.
C)Nursing care is included in the overall room bill sent to the client.
D)A functional nursing model is required to implement fee for service.

Question 10

What is the primary role of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service?

A)To bring both sides together to work out a settlement
B)To prevent nurses and other health-care groups from going on strike
C)To develop a solution to the conflict that is binding on both sides
D)To force management into accepting the employee demands

Question 11

What is an important consequence of the Supreme Court ruling in 1991 concerning collective bargaining units for health-care providers?

A)It eliminated the right of nurses and other health-care providers to join unions.
B)It excluded nonprofit hospitals and their employees from coverage by the National Labor Relations Board.
C)It permitted all-RN bargaining units to be formed.
D)It defined 10 separate bargaining units that were appropriate for hospitals.

Question 12

What is the most likely reason that nurses have traditionally avoided joining unions and participating in collective bargaining?

A)The unions had little to offer nurses as far as pay and working conditions were concerned.
B)Unions were largely male-dominated organizations and wanted little to do with nursing.
C)Joining a union seemed to contradict nursing's image of dedication, service, and selflessness.
D)Nurses already had a great deal of control over their working conditions, salaries, and benefits.

Question 13

What is the most important feature of the shared governance model?

A)Nursing administration retains most of the power over nurses to better regulate practice.
B)Power and authority are transferred to the nursing staff rather than being located primarily in nursing administration.
C)Clients are billed for nursing care as a separate item similar to the way they are billed for physician services.
D)The nursing staff hierarchy structure is similar to the medical staff structure.

Question 14

Identify the most important factor in the initial negotiation of a contract.

A)Discussion of the important issues
B)Posturing and showmanship
C)Resolution of key conflicts
D)Lack of willingness to negotiate

Question 15

Identify the most important element to look for in a good contract.

A)Description of the official bargaining group
B)Description of the benefits included in the contract, such as wages, overtime pay, and holidays
C)Description of what is expected of the professional
D)Timeframe for the implementation of the contract

Question 16

Which statement about the power that employees have in an organization is most accurate?

A)Employees have more power than they realize because the organization depends on them to carry out its goals.
B)Employees have very little power in any organization because they are located at the bottom of the power structure hierarchy.
C)Individual employees can have a significant effect on management when they initiate change in the work setting.
D)Management has the ultimate power over employees because it is easy to replace unhappy employees with other individuals from the large pool of unemployed people.

Question 17

Select a practice that is an indication of failure to bargain in good faith.

A)Agreeing to meet at reasonable times
B)Sending individuals to negotiate who cannot make binding decisions
C)Unwillingness to negotiate on all issues
D)Exchanging lists of demands by both sides

Question 18

How can a nurse who belongs to a union best explain collective bargaining to a coworker?

A)It is a conflict-based power strategy used to equalize the power between labor and management.
B)It is the right of all workers to organize and strike to gain more benefits.
C)It is the ability of large numbers of workers to force management into recognizing them as valuable.
D)It is using picket lines and violence to achieve higher pay, better working conditions, and shorter hours.