Deck 5: Union Actions and Impacts

Question 1

A boycott is a

A)negative publicity campaign.
B)joke.
C)type of strike.
D)class action suit.
E)positive publicity campaign.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Why do many people on the left oppose any union participation in joint ventures with management?

A)Workers don't like the joint ventures.
B)Union members who take part in such ventures are forced to study things like economics,finance,and accounting.
C)The ventures never work.
D)The ventures are too costly.
E)In their view,participation amounts to a conflict of interest for unions,whose job it is to represent workers rather than co- manage enterprises.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Why do unionized workers tend to prefer to take a relatively big share of their total compensation in the form of fringe benefits?

A)Non- unionized workers have no interest in fringe benefits.
B)Benefits such as pensions can be purchased from private providers as cheaply.
C)Unionized workers do not feel a great need for health insurance and pensions.
D)Unionized workers in a higher tax bracket do not like non- taxable forms of compensation,like pensions.
E)Unionized workers are older.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Canadian unions engage in all of the following except

A)political coalitions with other progressive organizations.
B)publicity campaigns.
C)joint governance ventures with management.
D)business ventures.
E)genuine international unionism.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the relationship between free trade unions and democracy?

A)non- existent-no connection at all
B)uneven-the connection exists in some countries but not in others
C)weak-some relationship but fairly minimal
D)becoming weaker-it used to be strong but isn't any more
E)very close-the two go hand- in- hand

Question 6

Which one of the following is the primary method unions use to achieve their wage goals?

A)attempts to restrict entry to trades and professions
B)collective bargaining
C)attempts to change labour legislation or bargaining structures
D)support for higher minimum wages
E)support for increased immigration

Question 7

Which of the following statements about direct union wage impacts is true?

A)They're usually greater for more highly skilled workers.
B)They are uniform across the economy.
C)They are generally very large.
D)Calculating them may entail significant methodological difficulties.
E)They're usually greater in the public than in the private sector.

Question 8

All but which one of the following statements helps explain why 19th century unions often represented themselves as mutual insurance societies?

A)Union officials sold life insurance policies to their members.
B)Union benefit funds helped tide unemployed members over during periods of cyclical depression.
C)This was a way around criminal conspiracy laws against unions.
D)Union benefit funds helped provide for the families of workers killed on the job.
E)There was no publicly- funded health insurance or unemployment insurance at this time.

Question 9

Through their participation in politics,Canadian unions are responsible for all but which one of the following?

A)publicly funded medical care
B)public pension plans
C)unemployment insurance
D)food banks
E)collective bargaining legislation

Question 10

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the overall impact of unions on management of the organization?

A)Grievance processes provide workers with considerable protection against arbitrary dismissal and other forms of arbitrary management behaviour.
B)Unions bring clarity to otherwise arbitrary and chaotic management practice.
C)Union work rules hinder management's ability to run the enterprise as it sees fit.
D)Unions tend to stifle creative managers.
E)The nature of the individual union- management relationship is likely to be pivotal in determining this impact.

Question 11

According to the book,unions are significantly involved in labour- management committees covering all but which one of the following?

A)pay equity and other job evaluation issues
B)general labour- management issues
C)health and safety
D)production quotas
E)technological change

Question 12

Which of the following best explains why North American managers tend to oppose unions more strongly than European managers?

A)North American management rights clauses give managers the means to oppose unions more effectively.
B)Public opinion toward unions is less favourable in North America than in Europe.
C)North American managers are brought up with a more individualistic ethos.
D)North American collective agreements impose far more restrictions on management's ability to run workplaces than do most European agreements.
E)North American managers can rely on stronger employers' associations to help them beat down unions.

Question 13

All but which one of the following statements regarding unions' participation in joint governance arrangements is true?

A)They require union officials to learn new skills.
B)They may increase individual workers' job satisfaction.
C)They may reduce the union's workplace role.
D)Such arrangements require a fundamental shift in union officials' attitudes toward management.
E)If done right,they aren't at all risky for the union.

Question 14

Non- unionized workers whose wages fall due to unionization the so- called crowding effect)are more likely to be

A)highly- educated full- time white males.
B)in possession of scarce skills.
C)unskilled.
D)skilled technical workers.
E)professional workers.

Question 15

Union work rules do not restrict management's ability to do which of the following?

A)decide who will be laid off in the event of an economic downturn
B)decide how many students will be in a class
C)decide how many people are needed to do a given job
D)determine the basis for promotion
E)decide who has passed her probation period

Question 16

Which of the following comes closest to summing up unions' complete range of impacts?

A)positive in every respect
B)mixed at the workplace level,positive at the macro level
C)positive at the workplace level,mixed to negative at the macro societal)level
D)minimal except with respect to wages
E)negative in every respect

Question 17

All but which one of the following statements is largely or completely false?

A)Unions are irrelevant in the "just in time" workplace.
B)Most workplaces are so safe that unions' continuing efforts in health and safety are redundant.
C)Unions may need to change the approach they take to organizing and representing people in the workplace.
D)Unions aren't needed today because most workers are very well- paid.
E)Unions are no longer needed because management practice is generally enlightened,and few workers are abused.

Question 18

A secondary boycott is

A)a boycott of the ally of one's adversary rather than the adversary itself.
B)a boycott which takes place after the original action has been completed.
C)a boycott smaller than the original action.
D)a boycott of a product line different from the one originally targeted.
E)two boycotts being carried out simultaneously.

Question 19

Why do some writers argue that unions have no choice other than to participate in joint cooperation and employee involvement schemes?

A)Because they believe union leaders are secret masochists.
B)Because if unions don't participate,management will introduce the programs anyway,without worker or union input.
C)All such programs are marvellous successes.
D)Workers all like the programs.
E)Because it's the union's job to do whatever management tells it to do.

Question 20

Which best describes the role trade unions play under communism?

A)partially free-they can carry out some operations in behalf of workers but not others
B)totally free-they can operate as they wish
C)none-they are outlawed
D)dictatorial-the unions run the government
E)no independent role-they are typically subsumed into the central state apparatus

Question 21

Overall,have unions tended to increase or reduce wage dispersion throughout the Canadian economy?

Question 22

Which one of the following does not explain why today's unions are engaging in an increasingly broad range of internal and external publicity campaigns?

A)increased availability of communication media.
B)the need to communicate with their members on a regular basis
C)the need to provide information to members and the public about what the union is doing on a particular issue
D)the desire to show support for allies
E)the need to draw public attention to government policies the union doesn't like,by criticizing those policies

Question 23

Whether or not to go along with a joint union- management participation scheme is generally a simple decision for a union leader.

Question 24

What's the major reason why unions have become more heavily involved in business ventures over the past fifteen years or so?

Question 25

All but which one of the following are goals which construction unions seek when they make Economically Targeted Investments?

A)affordable housing
B)small business growth
C)positive publicity
D)jobs for their members
E)community development

Question 26

Why is there greater resistance to unions by management in North America than in most European countries?

Question 27

Affiliation with a political party is necessary for social unionism because of all but which of the following?

A)Affiliation with a political party helps increase a union's chances of winning passage of favourable legislation.
B)Once elected,only political parties with direct union ties will consistently enact social unionism policies.
C)Ad hoc lobbying isn't good enough.
D)Social unionism means working for passage of a broad range of legislation.
E)Political parties "know the ropes" and can do better in the political arena than unions could on their own.

Question 28

Why do unions favour the use of reverse seniority as the criterion for layoffs?

Question 29

Why are labour- sponsored venture capital corporations such an important business activity by unions?

Question 30

Why is the calculation of the theoretically simple direct union wage impact a good deal more complex than it seems.

Question 31

Why have relations between the labour movement and provincial NDP and PQ parties been strained lately?

Question 32

What's the aim of boycotts,such as the United Farm Workers' grape and lettuce boycott of the late 1960s?

Question 33

How have parties such as the CCF,NDP,and PQ benefitted the Canadian labour movement?

Question 34

Institutionalists are most interested in studying which of the following?

A)unions' wage impacts
B)all effects of unions in today's workplace
C)unions' macro- level effect on Canadian society as a whole
D)unions' effect on management
E)positive productivity effects resulting from greater union member involvement in management

Question 35

Why do unionized firms,as well as unionized workers,tend to favour pensions and other forms of deferred compensation?

Question 36

Why are joint union- management cooperation schemes often a difficult sell for union leaders in today's economy?

Question 37

How have unions' collective bargaining activities changed since the time of the Webbs?

Question 38

Most Canadian unions and labour federations reject the need for a formal affiliation with a political party.

Question 39

In what ways do unions have an impact on the management of organizations?

Question 40

According to the book,CUPE has offered courses in all but which one the following?

A)accounting
B)specialized health and safety areas
C)contracting out and privatization
D)general health and safety
E)pay equity

Question 41

Discuss unions' larger,macro- level impacts on society as a whole.

Question 42

The question,"What effect do unions have on productivity?" may not be a very meaningful one in some cases.

Question 43

In calculating direct union wage impacts,you must assume that unionized workers and workplaces are the same as non- unionized ones.

Question 44

Interpretation of different collective agreements does not depend on the nature of the particular union- management relationship in question at all.

Question 45

Why have union publicity campaigns become a more important aspect of union action,especially in public sector unions,and what form do these campaigns take?

Question 46

Canadian unions have significantly decreased their range of activities in recent years.

Question 47

The NDP and the labour movement no longer need each other.

Question 48

Overall,do unions tend to reduce or increase productivity?

Question 49

The grievance process is the most significant means through which workers can achieve some measure of workplace voice and input into workplace decisions.

Question 50

Which benefits a union more,formal or informal affiliation with a political party?

Question 51

The relationship between such parties as the NDP and PQ and the labour movement has grown stronger over the past five years.

Question 52

Given today's troubled economy,unions' most likely response will be to hunker down and stick to core functions such as collective bargaining and grievance handling.

Question 53

The only reason unions go into business is to create or maintain jobs for their members.

Question 54

Unions generally use only negative publicity campaigns.

Question 55

The two different types of indirect union wage impact generally apply to different groups of workers.

Question 56

For most workers,unions' greatest effect on management of organizations is the grievance process found in all unionized establishments.

Question 57

Discuss the ways in which unions have expanded their range of activities since the time of the Webbs.

Question 58

Compare direct and indirect union wage impacts.Which are the more beneficial for workers as a whole?

Question 59

In the 19th century,unions carried out a number of functions now performed mainly by government.