Exam 12: Dealing With Union and Employeemanagement Issues

The Taft-Hartley Act gives the president the power to require striking workers in any industry to return to their jobs for a cooling-off period while representatives of management and the union continue to negotiate.

The __________ was set up as a federation of many separate craft unions.

Workers at the West Fenton plant of Malzone Industries have gone out on strike. Management believes it could continue operating the plant during the strike by hiring replacement workers. If the company hires nonunion workers to continue its operations, it will be violating a recent Supreme Court ruling that declared hiring replacement workers as a violation of the Wagner Act.

Under the Wagner Act, the National Labor Relations Board can establish a labor union in an organization if it finds evidence of substantial labor abuse within that organization.

It is estimated that firms lose ___________ annually in productivity, absenteeism, and employee turnover due to caring for aging parents.

Samuel Gompers believed that collective bargaining was likely to be an ineffective way for unions to achieve their objectives.

Tom Dash works as a researcher studying the effects of alcohol and drug abuse at a large research university on the east coast. The alcohol center's mission statement reads, "Our mission is to conduct, coordinate, and promote basic and clinical research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of alcoholism and alcoholic disease." Looking forward, which of the following statements are you likely to agree with?

Because of the need to cut costs, fewer large U.S. companies now provide some sort of child care for their employees than ten years ago.

Yogi believes that an agency shop is the most desirable union security arrangement. Which of the following statements would be most likely to represent Yogi's views?

___________ is the use of a third party to encourage labor and management to continue negotiating in an effort to settle a labor dispute or achieve a mutually acceptable labor-management agreement.

Harassment that creates an intimidating or offensive work environment falls under the type of sexual harassment known as a(n):

Mini-Case The workers at Endrun Corporation are not affiliated with a union. Until recently, the workers felt they were well paid and treated fairly by the company, so they had little interest in seeking union representation. However, worker morale at Endrun has declined steadily since the board of directors fired the old CEO last year and replaced him with Ty Runt, a no-nonsense, autocratic manager with a reputation for cutting costs. As soon as he took over, Ty fired other members of the old top management team and replaced them with people who shared his views. Together, the new management team made a series of moves that did not sit well with Endrun's workers. First, they announced changes in work procedures designed to speed up the production line. Many workers complained that the new methods cut corners and were unsafe, but management refused to listen. A few months after changing work methods, the company told workers that it was reducing their health benefits. This led to even greater worker unrest. Finally, just a few weeks ago, workers received word that the wages of all production-line employees would be cut by 6 percent. Many employees felt this was the last straw, especially since the company's board of directors recently approved big salary increases and more lucrative stock option plans for Ty and his management team. A spokesperson for the board explained that the raises were justified because of the management team's "outstanding efforts to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve the company's profits." Several disgruntled employees, led by Ima Striker and Boyd Cotter, now believe it is time to obtain union representation. Top managers at the company have hinted that workers who actively participate in the union campaign may be among the first workers laid off if the company decides to downsize. Ima and Boyd are not intimidated by these management threats. "I wish we didn't have to do this," Ima recently told many of her fellow workers at the plant. "But someone has to stop Ty Runt and his team from ruining our jobs." -Ima, Boyd, and their fellow employees at Endrun work on an assembly line and do not have a specialized skill. If they are successful in their quest to set up a union, they would probably be represented by a(n) ________ union.

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.

An assessment of elder care needs in the United States suggests that:

In the past, a variety of professionals have served as mediators. If a labor dispute were to break out between the management at an auto manufacturer and the local union that represents workers at the auto manufacturing plant, it would be highly unusual for a university professor who has studied labor relations to be asked to mediate. The disputing parties would save his time for something more serious like arbitration.

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

Which of the following statements is the most accurate assessment of the historical role of the AFL in the labor movement? In its early years the AFL:

_____________ is the process by which representatives of a union meet with representatives of management to negotiate a contract for workers.

If you work for a foreign company doing business in the U.S., you are subject to the same sexual harassment laws as anyone working in the U.S.

The process by which a union is recognized by the NLRB as the authorized bargaining agent for a group of workers is called collective bargaining.