Deck 13: Labor Relations in the Public Sector

Question 1

While strikes have been outlawed for most public employees, they still occur in some states.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Favorable public-sector labor laws appear to be a significant factor encouraging growth in public-sector labor relations.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

If a governmental unit privatizes a government service to a private business, the private employer is likely to be covered under the Labor Management Relations Act.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Supervisors and managers have been granted the right to engage in collective bargaining in some states.

Question 5

Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the President may waive employee and union rights granted under the Civil Service Reform Act.

Question 6

Public-sector unionization is highest in the Northeastern, Northern, and Western regions of the United States.

Question 7

The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) makes it an unfair labor practice for a party to refuse or fail to cooperate in impasse procedures.

Question 8

Like the private sector, federal sector labor relations has adopted the exclusive bargaining representation principle.

Question 9

Union negotiators have more difficulty determining "who speaks for management" in public-sector bargaining as compared to private-sector negotiations.

Question 10

The so-called "free rider" issue is of little concern for public-sector unions.

Question 11

Under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA), management is prohibited from assisting a labor organization.

Question 12

The Federal Service Impasse Panel (FSIP) investigates any negotiation impasse presented to it but is not authorized to take any action to settle the dispute.

Question 13

A major advantage of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) was that it established the framework for labor relations in the federal government by legislation, instead of by Executive Order.

Question 14

Like in the private sector, the market economic system controls the price, quality, and availability of most services in the public sector.

Question 15

The "sovereignty doctrine" means that elected officials retain the authority to make decisions.

Question 16

The threat of a strike seems to encourage voluntary settlement efforts at the bargaining table while the availability of interest arbitration may reduce such incentive producing a "chilling effect" on negotiations.

Question 17

The budget tends to play a more conspicuous role in private-sector collective bargaining than it does in public-sector bargaining.

Question 18

If a subject of collective bargaining is permissible, both parties are required to negotiate in good faith, even though an agreement may not be reached.

Question 19

Under final offer arbitration (FOA), the arbitrator selects the best package settlement presented by the union or management or proposes a compromise of both positions by splitting the difference.

Question 20

A majority of teachers, firefighters, and police are represented by public-sector unions.

Question 21

Which of the following is a responsibility of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)?

A) conducting arbitration in the federal sector
B) leading all negotiations in the federal sector
C) representing federal government managers in court
D) supervising elections in the federal sector
E) all of these are responsibilities of the FLRA

Question 22

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) was established by:

A) the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
B) Executive Order 11838.
C) the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
D) a joint venture between Congress and union leaders.
E) Congressional Order 56552.

Question 23

What is the labor relations term used to describe the involvement of multiple parties in the collective bargaining process, particularly applicable to state and local level public sector bargaining?

A) Transpartite bargaining.
B) Sunshine bargaining.
C) Sovereignty bargaining.
D) Multilateral bargaining.
E) End-run bargaining.

Question 24

The designation granted to a labor union by the federal government that indicates that the union has been selected by secret ballot of employees to be the exclusive representative of a group of employees is called:

A) exclusive recognition.
B) multilateral bargaining.
C) amalgamation.
D) national consultation.
E) empowered representation.

Question 25

Which of the following is true about privatization?

A) Privatization of public-sector jobs was begun in the 1980s under the Reagan administration.
B) Where employees lacked collective bargaining rights in the public sector, privatization of their jobs has provided many of them with the opportunity to be represented by a union in the private sector.
C) The Bush administration has proposed privatizing up to half of all federal public-sector jobs.
D) Public-sector jobs are more likely to be privatized when the public sector union-management relationship is adversarial.
E) All of these are true.

Question 26

Which of the following is true about labor-management partnerships in the federal government.

A) President Clinton formed the National Partnership Council (NPC) in 1993 to make recommendations concerning methods for empowering federal employees.
B) It has been found that federal labor-management partnerships improve labor-management communications.
C) President Bush dissolved the NPC in 2001 and revoked all of its standing rules and orders.
D) A number of successes from federal labor-management partnerships have been documented.
E) All of these statements are true.

Question 27

State laws that allow citizens to observe the collective bargaining process are referred to as:

A) blue laws.
B) sunshine laws.
C) sunset laws.
D) watergate laws.
E) fishbowl laws.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT considered an unfair labor practice under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA)?

A) Restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights
B) Refusing to negotiate over a "permissible" bargaining subject
C) Encouraging or discouraging union membership
D) Controlling or assisting a labor organization
E) Refusing to negotiate with a designated labor organization

Question 29

Using the _______________ approach, an arbitrator chooses the entirety of either the union's or management's final offer covering all disputed issues.

A) whole issue SOL
B) issue-by-issue final offer arbitration (FOA)
C) whole issue final offer arbitration (FOA)
D) bottom line final offer arbitration (FOA)
E) total package selection final offer arbitration (FOA)

Question 30

Each of the following subjects is permissible in federal-sector negotiations except:

A) management rights such as determining mission, budget, and internal security practices.
B) types and grades of positions assigned to any organizational unit.
C) tour of duty.
D) use of technology in the workplace.
E) methods and means of performing work.

Question 31

Which one of the following organizations consists of one chairperson and at least six members appointed by the President that investigate any negotiation impasse presented and is authorized to take any necessary action to settle the dispute?

A) Federal Trade Commission
B) Federal Service Impasse Panel
C) National Labor Relation Commission
D) Federal Labor Relations Authority
E) Federal Negotiations Service

Question 32

The impasse resolution procedure that is acclaimed as the oldest and most frequently used in the public sector is:

A) fist-fighting.
B) arbitration.
C) fact finding.
D) mediation.
E) referendum.

Question 33

The highest percent of public-sector employees who are union members exist at what level of government?

A) international
B) federal
C) regional
D) state
E) local

Question 34

Which of the following has NOT contributed to the growth of public-sector unionization?

A) The establishment and success of impasse procedures to resolve public-sector labor disputes
B) The general public's somewhat favorable attitude toward public-sector unionization
C) Favorable public-sector labor laws
D) Privatization and downsizing of public-sector jobs
E) All of these have contributed to the growth of public-sector unionization

Question 35

Which one of the following strategies is NOT a strategy that is commonly used to increase a public employer's cost of continuing to disagree with a union bargaining proposal?

A) A threat to conduct a recall election.
B) A threat to "blow the whistle" on a questionable management practice.
C) A threat to withdraw the political support of union members
D) Malicious obedience or "working to rule" in order to slow down work
E) All of these are commonly used strategies.

Question 36

The federal government agency that administers the federal relations program and adjudicates unfair labor practices is the:

A) National Labor Relations Board.
B) Federal Labor Relations Board.
C) Civil Service Reform Board.
D) Federal Labor Relations Authority.
E) Federal Reserve System.

Question 37

Which of the following statements is false about the differences between the public and private sectors?

A) Monopolistic conditions frequently exist in the public sector.
B) There are frequently no good substitutes available for the products/services offered by the public sector.
C) Market forces act to constrain union and management negotiators in the public sector in much the same way that market forces constrain their private sector counterparts.
D) Productivity bargaining is especially difficult because it is so difficult to measure productivity when it comes to many public-sector services.
E) All of these are false statements.

Question 38

Which of the following statements about the rights and obligations of public-sector employees is NOT correct?

A) Public-sector employees' political activities and off-the-job behavior are regulated more closely than most private-sector workers.
B) Because citizens indirectly pay public-sector workers' salaries, employers have to be mindful of the image that employees project.
C) A public-sector employee's rights to expression and association cannot be limited any more than the similar rights of private-sector workers.
D) Tenured public-sector employees have the right to be informed of the charges against them and have an opportunity to respond before they can be fired.
E) A public-sector employee's First Amendment right to expression cannot be overruled simply by the employer's need for efficient work operations.

Question 39

A criticism of conventional interest arbitration is that it:

A) has a "narcotic effect" on the parties.
B) has no finality.
C) ends with a recommendation only but is not binding.
D) should be more formalized.
E) can go on almost indefinitely.

Question 40

The public-sector employee group most likely to participate in strikes is:

A) police.
B) garbage collectors.
C) educators.
D) public utility workers.
E) mass transit workers.