Exam 12: Dealing With Union and Employeemanagement Issues

The first national labor organization in the United States was the:

On-site child-care remains the only acceptable way for firms to meet the child care concerns of their employees.

The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor were actually very similar in their aims, tactics, and membership. The only major difference was in the effectiveness of their leaders.

The first national labor organization, the Knights of Labor sought to gain enough political power to restructure the entire U.S. economy.

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the workplace.

The concept of comparable worth holds that people who do jobs that require similar levels of education, training and skills should receive equal pay.

The vast majority of grievances filed by union members are negotiated and resolved by shop stewards and supervisory managers.

In the late 1930s management at Bodenger Industries agreed to hire only those workers who were already members of the Steelworkers Union. Bodenger had agreed to a type of arrangement known as a(n):

Abraham was an unskilled worker who toiled 10 hours a day on an assembly line during the early and mid 1930s. His hours were long, his wages were low and his working conditions were unsafe and unpleasant. Abraham would probably be more sympathetic to the views of John L. Lewis than to those of Samuel Gompers.

Recently a disgruntled employee walked into a large grocery chain's mid-west distribution center and opened fire on his fellow workers. He killed or injured several people before being killed by the local police. The grocery chain is very concerned about the threat of workplace violence in the future. One way to deal with this threat is for management to hold focus groups to invite employee input. Another way is to make certain that the company hires managers with good interpersonal skills.

The number of sexual harassment complaints filed annually with the Equal Opportunity Commission:

Small firms often offer innovative child-care programs as a way of competing for qualified employees.

Which of the following statements about collective bargaining is most consistent with the views of Samuel Gompers?

You've been on your lunch break for less than 45 minutes when your boss orders you to return to work immediately or be docked an hour's pay. You complain that the current labor contract specifies a full hour for your lunch break and you still have over 15 minutes left. Your boss stands firm on his order for you to return to work. Under protest, you return to work, but plan to file a grievance. The first step you should take is to contact a(n):

A(n) occurs when management temporarily closes a business to deny employment to workers.

The AFL-CIO has supported offshore outsourcing as a method of increasing work opportunities for union members.

The National Labor Relations Act gave employees the right to form and join labor organizations and the right to engage in activities such as strikes and boycotts.

The Knights of Labor was the first truly national labor organization in the United States.

A cooling-off period is when workers in a critical industry return to their jobs while the union and management continue negotiations.

The most potent weapon currently available to management when collective bargaining breaks down is the use of yellow-dog contracts.