Exam 15: Working With Organized Labor

Additional Case 15.2 TimeTable, Inc. plans to expand its manufacturing facilities. It is considering expansion either here in the United States or in Europe-Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, or France. It may also look at Japan or China, but those are currently second-tier choices. In selecting a country, the CEO wants to avoid political involvement. While friendly toward unions, he doesn't want a union that is politically oriented. In fact, the CEO of TimeTable was once a union official. He went through a career change, earned an MBA, and moved into the executive management ranks about ten years ago. TimeTable has a strong positive working relationship with its union. Management feels the NLRB is wrong in its ruling about the Wagner Act and is aggressively building labor-management teams. The CEO of TimeTable is even considering giving the union a seat on the board of directors. -Refer to Additional Case 15.2.Based on TimeTable's CEO's attitudes about politically active unions,which country would be LEAST appropriate?

Additional Case 15.3 Wear and Tear is a large manufacturer with about 250 employees. At the moment, they are in new contract negotiations with their union. Cole, the firm's labor relations specialist, is heading the negotiations for management. Natalie is labor's representative. Cole doesn't know if he likes working with Natalie. He was able to make her predecessor agree to his terms whenever they negotiated contracts. Natalie is tougher to deal with. She tends to emphasize what bad things can happen to Wear and Tear and to him if her point isn't granted. Negotiations have been going on for several days. Cole tells Natalie that if they will accept wage concessions, the company will give employees stock to compensate for the loss in wages. Natalie declines the offer and is unwilling to negotiate further. She reminds him that the contract expires in two days and that the workers will strike if they don't have a new contract by that time. -Refer to Additional Case 15.3.Natalie's refusal of Cole's offer and of further negotiations is most likely:

The ability to get the other party to agree to the bargaining party's terms is:

The ________ is a law designed to regulate labor relations in the transportation industry.

The Railway Labor Act allows Congress and the President to intervene in a labor dispute if interstate commerce is disrupted.

In the U.S.,workers' economic benefits have historically been established by:

French labor unions tend to be more politically than economically focused.

Recently,employees walked out of their jobs at Sonnet Industries.They learned about some serious discipline meted out by the company against one of their co-workers and believed it to be unfair.The workers spontaneously quit work and went home.This action is known as a(n):

Additional Case 15.1 Billiards, Inc. makes collapsible pool cues and other billiard products. Tegau, the general manager, has called a management team meeting with Tammy, the director of HR; Gary, the VP of operations; Ramonia, the employee relations specialist; and Ryan, a labor relations consultant. Tegau wants ideas from her management team about what to do concerning the possible unionization of their workers. Tammy suggests that they do nothing, let the union conduct its vote, and if certified, treat it as a legitimate worker representative of the workers. Gary says the firm should begin aggressively opposing union organization. He thinks first-line supervisors should be brought in and told that if workers in their areas vote for the union, the supervisors will lose their jobs and the company might sell off the unionized part of the business. Ramonia suggests that Billiards, Inc. tell the employees about their current plans to upgrade employee benefits and working conditions-a project she's worked on for the last six months. Management decides to mildly oppose the union but the union is certified anyway. Tegau is now in her first contract negotiation. Ryan explains to the union that if they will accept flexible work rules, the employees can have more fulfilling jobs, the company will save money which it can spend on benefits, and the union will start with a positive relationship with the company. The union representative says "No way. We go on strike in ten days." -Refer to Additional Case 15.1.Tammy's suggestion is most likely a(n)________ strategy.

The labor relations process has three distinct phases: organizing,bargaining,and administering.Discuss briefly the key elements of each phase and how they work together.

Which of the following would most likely be considered a breach of good faith in labor contract negotiations?

Which type of compensation would most likely be given in a unionized firm?

In ________,one party focuses on convincing its counterpart that the cost of disagreeing with its terms is very high.It is often used when laborers are willing and able to sustain a long strike that will hurt the company.

Pay rates,usually made across the board,that are tied to such inflation indicators as the consumer price index,are referred to as ________.

Which of the following is specifically prohibited by the Taft-Hartley Act?

Three key laws - the Wagner Act,the Taft-Hartley Act,and the Landrum-Griffin Act - govern labor-management practices in union settings.Describe the major points of each act.

In order for a company to hold a union certification election,the National Labor Relations Board requires a union to show that at least ________ of a company's employees want to be represented by a given union.

Business unionism focuses on improving the economic well-being of workers.

A union acceptance strategy is typically characterized by flexible contract negotiations and positive labor-management relationships.

Bargaining that focuses on convincing the other party that the cost of disagreeing with the proposed terms would be very high is referred to as ________.