Deck 12: Grievances: Functions, Resolution, and Prevention

Question 1

Which of the following does not have a significant implications for the future development of the grievance process??

A)Grievances are rarely settled in the middle stages of internal grievance procedures.
B)Middle- level managers and union officials tend to pass grievance matters to upper- level managers and officials.
C)Grievances were most likely to be granted in industries with a negative industrial relations climate.
D)Grievances are more likely to be settled in the early stages of an internal grievance procedure.
E)Higher status employees were more likely to have their grievances granted than lower- status ones.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Politicization of the grievance process can lead to all but which one of the following?

A)increased union intraorganizational conflict
B)greater difficulty in distinguishing individual problems from broader political issues
C)increased union support for the NDP
D)management stonewalling
E)increased union- management conflict

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is not an emerging trend in Grievance arbitration?

A)Recognition of the employer's duty to accommodate.
B)The application of external standards to the collective agreement.
C)The increasing trend for courts to overturn arbitrator's decisions on the basis of unreasonableness.
D)The consideration of tort- based claims by arbitrators.
E)The increased settlement of grievances at the middle stage of an internal procedure.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

In the U.S.,grievance mediation has proved extremely successful in this notoriously strike- prone industry:

A)meatpacking.
B)steel.
C)autos.
D)coal mining.
E)rubber tires.

Question 5

The grievance process can best be described as a substitute for which of the following?

A)arbitration
B)the mid- term strike
C)conciliation
D)mediation
E)the end- of- term strike

Question 6

In most cases,the most significant effect of three- person panels including union and management representatives is that the panels

A)cut costs.
B)waste time and money.
C)lead to improved union- management relations.
D)make for a more entertaining hearing.
E)result in better decisions than single arbitrators would produce.

Question 7

In addition to providing individual workers with some measure of workplace voice,the grievance process does all but which one of the following?

A)maintains the integrity of the agreement by ensuring that its terms are adhered to
B)helps resolve union and management intraorganizational conflict
C)ensures that all cases are dealt with by an arbitrator in timely fashion
D)serves as a forum for supplementary negotiations over items left vague in the agreement
E)serves as a pressuring voice to induce management to address issues not covered in the agreement

Question 8

A special feature of Newfoundland's preventive mediation program is

A)joint supervisor- steward training in collective agreement administration.
B)grievance mediation.
C)negotiation skills training.
D)relationship by objectives.
E)establishing a labour- management committee.

Question 9

Under Ontario's expedited arbitration procedure,arbitrators are

A)not named until grievance mediation has been tried and has failed.
B)standing umpires agreed on by the parties with the help of a labour board facilitator.
C)retired judges.
D)chosen by the parties according to the usual collective agreement procedure.
E)drawn from a list maintained by the labour ministry.

Question 10

The growing legalism of the arbitration process has led to all but which one of the following?

A)delays in writing awards
B)greater use of precedents
C)greater sensitivity,within the legal profession,to labour relations matters
D)awards which are more difficult to understand
E)higher costs to the parties

Question 11

The port of Vancouver's dockside arbitrator reduces wildcat strikes because

A)s)he can bring all shipping activity in the port to a halt until the problem in question is resolved.
B)s)he can provide immediate rulings on disputes which in the past would often have led to strikes.
C)the parties know that any strike would be a disaster for all concerned.
D)s)he is usually a relative or close friend of the labour board chair.
E)s)he undercuts longshoring workers' legal right to refuse unsafe work.

Question 12

You can speed up the arbitration process by doing all but which one of the following?

A)adhering strictly to the agreement's time limits
B)agreeing not to use legal counsel
C)reducing the use of precedents and allowing oral decisions in straightforward cases
D)allowing the union's grievance committee to have a say in the choice of arbitrator each time a case is sent through to arbitration
E)agreeing on a standing umpire who will hear cases at a set time each month

Question 13

All but which one of the following things has happened to the grievance process since the early postwar period?

A)It has become costlier.
B)It has become more legalistic.
C)It has become lengthier.
D)It has entailed less government intervention.
E)It has become more formal.

Question 14

A major function of grievances is that the grievance process provides workers with a certain measure of

A)workplace voice.
B)fringe benefits,such as more days off.
C)social status.
D)wealth.
E)perks,such as those enjoyed by management.

Question 15

A comparison of arbitrators' decisions sorted by the arbitrator's professions,reveals that

A)lawyer arbitrators had wildly different outcomes than industrial relations- arbitrators.
B)the quality of decisions varied greatly depending on the arbitrator's background.
C)lawyer arbitrators had wildly different outcomes than economist- arbitrators.
D)age of the arbitrator was a significant factor.
E)there was little difference in the outcomes between cases decided by arbitrators from different professions.

Question 16

As applied to grievance mediation,the term "without prejudice" means

A)both sides' witnesses must be representative of the Canadian population with respect to gender,race,age,and ethnic origin.
B)no precedent created by the settlement may be used to help decide any future cases.
C)mediators must avoid making remarks which cast aspersions on any group.
D)the government will require that mediators be drawn from a pool that is representative of the Canadian population with respect to the variables listed in A,above.
E)settlements may not discriminate against any of the groups listed in A,above.

Question 17

Which of the following best sums up the difference between the rules of evidence in arbitration cases and those applied to formal court cases?

A)Standards are generally much more relaxed in arbitration cases.
B)There is no difference.
C)Standards are sometimes,but not always more relaxed in arbitration cases.
D)Standards are generally stricter in arbitration cases.
E)There is no discernible relationship.

Question 18

In the Employer's view,a discharge for conduct amounting to sexual harassment,should only be overturned by an arbitrator if

A)the grievor's behaviour was not such as to indicated that he was beyond rehabilitation.
B)the grievor offered an apology for his behaviour.
C)there are tangible and identifiable mitigating factors.
D)the grievor's past disciplinary record was not for serious offences.
E)the grievor had many years of seniority.

Question 19

Which of the following statements best sums up the rationale for the arbitrator's award in the IKO case discussed in the text?

A)The company's sexual harassment policy was worded too broadly.
B)Lacelle did not intend to sexually harass Ms M.
C)Sexual harassment should never be a cause for dismissal.
D)Progressive discipline procedures must always take priority over sexual harassment complaints.
E)The severity of Lacelle's conduct,coupled with his seniority leads to a lengthy suspension as the more appropriate punishment.

Question 20

Arbitration hearings normally include all but which one of the following?

A)cross- examination of witnesses
B)initial ruling on preliminary objections
C)calling and questioning of witnesses
D)opening statements
E)closing statements

Question 21

What are the three different types of grievances?

Question 22

Is someone who has been discharged for theft a great deal more likely to lose at arbitration than someone discharged for a reason not related to dishonesty?

Question 23

Why are policy grievances generally initiated at a late stage of the grievance procedure?

Question 24

To what extent is it possible for a party to obtain judicial review of an arbitration decision?

Question 25

A group grievance involves the application of the collective agreement to a series of individual grievances seeking the same outcome.

Question 26

The grievance process is probably the second most important reason why workers join unions,next to which of the following?

A)medical and dental plans
B)pensions
C)social events
D)greater job security
E)higher wages

Question 27

What is a grievance?

Question 28

What changes in the grievance process since the early postwar period made it significantly more difficult for aggrieved workers to obtain satisfactory redress.?

Question 29

Briefly discuss the pros and cons of using legal counsel at arbitration hearings.

Question 30

The sample grievance procedure outlined in the text includes all but which one of the following?

A)referral to arbitration
B)oral discussion
C)mediation
D)filing of the written grievance
E)discussion between senior management and union officials

Question 31

What is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the IKO case?

A)It took place in the construction industry.
B)The case went to arbitration.
C)An outside investigator was needed to address the complaints of sexual harassment.
D)The employer didn't seem sure of it's own harassment policy and procedure.
E)The grievor had his daughter write his letter of apology for him

Question 32

What is the most significant difference between single arbitrators and panel arbitrators?

Question 33

How has human rights legislation affected the grievance procedure?

Question 34

Why is the grievance procedure important to the Canadian IR system?

Question 35

The purpose of privative clauses is

A)to limit judicial review of arbitration.
B)to expand labour board powers in the area of arbitration.
C)to allow courts to micro- manage arbitrators' interpretations of collective agreements.
D)to ensure that arbitration awards are enforced.
E)to deprive grievors of a portion of their rights.

Question 36

What are some consequences of failure to address grievances in a timely fashion?

Question 37

How can grievance mediation reduce the number of cases taken through to arbitration?

Question 38

Do certain stages of the grievance process appear to be more productive than others?

Question 39

All but which one of the following are among the leading causes of dismissal?

A)dishonesty
B)insubordination
C)poor work performance
D)abuse of alcohol
E)physical disability

Question 40

What's the purpose of preventive mediation?

Question 41

Arbitrators require the same standard of proof for all types of cases.

Question 42

The time for settling grievances using conventional arbitration is decreasing.

Question 43

An arbitrator will normally rule on any preliminary objections filed by either party before proceeding to hear the case itself.

Question 44

The arbitral standard of progressive discipline applies to all types of offenses for which a worker may be discharged.

Question 45

Your previous disciplinary record is more apt to determine whether you're reinstated after a dismissal than the type of offense for which you were dismissed.

Question 46

In discharge cases,the type of offence committed is equally as important as the grievor's past disciplinary record.

Question 47

The use of three- person arbitration panels generally results in better decisions than the use of single arbitrators.

Question 48

Discharge and discipline are the issues most commonly grieved.

Question 49

The grievance process has an increasingly positive role to play in improving union- management relations relations.

Question 50

Outline some of the major problems with the conventional grievance arbitration system and indicate briefly how expedited arbitration,grievance mediation,and preventive mediation can help address some of these problems.

Question 51

What is the concept of progressive discipline and why is it important in IR?

Question 52

Finding ways to speed up the grievance process and reduce the number of grievances going to arbitration can be a "win- win" for both sides.

Question 53

Requiring arbitrators to apply external standards to collective agreements is a new development in grievance cases.

Question 54

If less were asked of the Canadian grievance process,it might be more effective.

Question 55

These days,if an employer were to discharge someone for repeated absenteeism,s)he would normally be expected to have offered the worker employee assistance or counselling of some kind.

Question 56

Courts will only overturn an arbitrator's decision in cases of patent unreasonableness.

Question 57

Only the parties themselves can establish a system of expedited arbitration.

Question 58

Briefly discuss the typical stages in an arbitration hearing.Why is the often included semi- official step of regular management- union review meetings important?

Question 59

Of the purposes served by the grievance process,which is the most important? Why?

Question 60

Including tort- based claims in the jurisdiction of arbitrator's has simplified their job.

Question 61

What are the effects of unions' "ownership" of the grievance process?

Question 62

Discuss the concept of expedited arbitration and describe a number of ways in which the arbitration process can be speeded up.