Exam 12: Dealing With Union and Employeemanagement Issues

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that same sex harassment is prohibited by sexual harassment laws.

A key to the future growth of unions will be their ability to adapt to a labor force that is becoming more culturally diverse.

According to the Legal Briefcase, "Paying for Incompetence", businesspersons understand that the capitalist system has no choice but to tolerate huge disparities between a CEO's salary and a regular employee.

The Industrial Revolution slowed the growth of unions by creating a rapidly rising standard of living for most workers.

Today, more than 55 national and international labor unions are affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

Outspoken critics of today's labor unions believe that these organizations have lost their focus. They contend that they no longer represent the rights of workers, as much as they are concerned with the vitality and strength of the union itself.

Although workers and managers often know that their firm has a policy against sexual harassment, they seldom have a clear understanding of what the policy actually says.

In a(n) shop, workers do not have to belong to a union before they are hired, but they must join a union within a specified period (usually 30, 60, or 90 days) in order to keep their job.

The largest labor organization in the U.S. is the National Education Association (NEA).

Comparable worth primarily is concerned with:

Until passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, under a closed shop agreement, a company could only hire workers who already belonged to a union.

Tactics used by management when collective bargaining breaks down include injunctions and lockouts.

As reported in the New York Times in November, 2008, Ron Gettelfinger, President of the U.A. W. (United Auto Workers Union) testified with auto executives in front of the U.S. Congress, saying, "The U.A.W. can't be the low-hanging fruit…While we're at the table, we're asking that others come in and sacrifice as well." Mr.Gettelfinger was referring to the several that the autoworkers' union had agree to over the past few years in order to save jobs and particularly keep retiree benefits intact.

Hector is philosophically opposed to unions. "Why should I be required to join an organization I don't agree with, or pay a fee to support it financially?" he asked some of his buddies who belong to the union. "I thought this was a free country, but I don't feel very free when I'm told that I'll lose my job if I don't join the union. It just isn't fair." Hector's comments suggest he favors a(n) shop arrangement.

Even in their infancy, the main goal of most labor unions was to provide members with increased management power.

The presence of formal labor organizations in the United States dates back to the late 1700s.

Since 1945, the unionized share of the workforce has:

The lockout is the most common tactic used by management today to deal with labor management disputes.

A few years back, west coast dockworkers were locked out of their jobs in 29 west coast ports. Because many consumer goods used in the U.S. are transported from Asia to the U.S. through these ports, the lockout could have damaged the U.S. economy and security if allowed to continue. The President ordered the dockworkers back to work and both sides were ordered back to the bargaining table. Which of the following statements is the most accurate conclusion about the outcome of the labor dispute between the dockworkers union and shipping companies on the west coast? The dispute between the dockworkers and shipping companies showed that:

sexual harassment refers to situations in which an employee's submission to unwanted conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or is used to influence employment decisions affecting the worker's job status.