Deck 18: Labour Unions and Collective Bargaining

Question 1

The Major League Baseball Players' and the National Football League Players' associations are both examples of industrial unions.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Picketing is a legal union tactic during a labour dispute as long as it is peaceful and the picketers don't prevent people who don't support the union's position from entering the business.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A labour union is a group of workers who have organized to work together to achieve common job-related goals, such as higher wages, better working conditions, and greater job security.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The first step in most grievance procedures is to hire an arbitrator to organize and oversee the grievance process.

Question 5

Although they help organize new local unions and provide locals with leadership training, national unions generally take a "hands-off" approach when it comes to the actual process of negotiating a labour contract.

Question 6

A craft union consists of workers who possess the same skill or are in the same profession.

Question 7

A lockout is a work stoppage initiated by workers when they see that the company will not agree to their demands.

Question 8

The Canada Labour Code covers labour-relations issues for all firms in all provinces.

Question 9

Arbitration is a process in which a neutral third party has the authority to resolve a dispute by rendering a binding decision.

Question 10

Jeff Ristos is a member of his union's collective bargaining team, and Sharon Balliol is on the management's bargaining team. As part of the negotiating process, Jeff and Sharon are working together to find ways to provide workers with more flexible work schedules and improve worker productivity. They hope to combine these two goals to create a win-win solution that can be incorporated into the new labour contract. This approach suggests that the two sides are using a tactic known as distributive bargaining.

Question 11

The industrial relations regulations cover issues such as the worker's right to join unions, how unions will be certified, and procedures for bargaining.

Question 12

The laws dealing with labour relations were based mainly on British law and later influenced by American laws.

Question 13

The fair employment section of the Canada Labour Code states that employers must hire people of the same religion.

Question 14

Union members are most likely to become involved in union activities through their local union.

Question 15

Rather than resort to strikes and lockouts when workers cannot agree with employers, the two sides may decide to bring in a neutral third party. This their party person is called a picketer.

Question 16

A grievance is a complaint by a worker that the employer has violated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Question 17

Distributive bargaining is the traditional adversarial approach to collective bargaining.

Question 18

In interest-based collective bargaining, the two sides explore the issues in depth and work together to find mutually acceptable solutions with a goal of creating a "win-win" outcome.

Question 19

As a labour tactic, a boycott occurs when a union and its supporters refuse to do business with an employer during a labour dispute.

Question 20

Union workers tend to earn higher wages and receive better benefits than non-union workers performing similar jobs.

Question 21

Why was there little unrest during the war even though wage increases were minimal if given at all?

A) because the police were arresting people who protested
B) because workers were fired for complaining
C) because workers and unions were asked to do their part for the war effort, and they generally did so
D) because unions had little pull and could not defend or support their union members

Question 22

Results of studies on productivity where unions are in place have been mixed. These mixed results suggest that productivity in improved when a firm employs a mix of union and non-unionized employees.

Question 23

What is suggested by a comparison of wages and benefits of unionized workers with those of non-union workers with similar qualifications and performing similar jobs?

A) Union workers have higher wages but non-union workers have better benefits.
B) Union workers tend to have both higher wages and better benefits.
C) Non-union workers have both higher wages and better benefits.
D) Non-union workers have higher wages but union workers have better benefits.

Question 24

Which of the following is a union composed of workers employed in the same industry?

A) industrial union
B) democratic union
C) diversified union
D) labour federation

Question 25

Which of the following is a complaint made by a worker accusing the employer of violating the terms of a collective bargaining agreement?

A) mediation
B) appeal notification
C) arbitration
D) grievance

Question 26

Which of the following is a union composed of workers who share the same skill or work in the same profession?

A) concentric union
B) industrial union
C) craft union
D) pure union

Question 27

Many heavily unionized industries in North America have lost jobs due to factors such as automation and steadily increasing foreign competition.

Question 28

Arun Sharma is a member of his union's collective bargaining team, and Beverly Shin is on the management's bargaining team. As part of the negotiating process, Arun and Beverly are working together to find solutions to some difficult issues involving the health care benefits the company offers employees. They hope to create a win-win solution that can be incorporated into the new labour contract. This suggests that the collective bargaining process is taking which type of approach?

A) interest-based bargaining
B) mediated bargaining
C) distributive bargaining
D) Waiver of Independence Negotiating (WIN)

Question 29

What do we call the level at which most members interact with their union?

A) a labour collective
B) a regional labour council
C) a labour cooperative
D) a local union

Question 30

Which of the following provide services to their local unions, including legal advice and leadership training, and also provide assistance to locals during collective bargaining?

A) labour action committees
B) union cooperatives
C) labour guilds
D) national unions

Question 31

What is the term for workers walking and carrying signs near the entrance of an establishment with which they have a dispute in order to publicize their position and concerns?

A) picketing
B) striking
C) blocking-out
D) boycotting

Question 32

Which of the following is the process by which representatives of labour and management attempt to negotiate a mutually acceptable labour agreement?

A) representational bargaining
B) unilateral bargaining
C) arbitration bargaining
D) collective bargaining

Question 33

Unions representing workers in construction trades and the National Hockey League Players' Association are examples of which of the following?

A) labour unions
B) industrial unions
C) union shops
D) craft unions

Question 34

Which of the following applies to non-union workers?

A) Their protection is not as extensive or well defined as it is for union workers.
B) Their jobs are more secure as management is not trying to push them out.
C) There is less conflict and discrimination from management toward non-union workers.
D) They have no defences against arbitrary dismissal.

Question 35

Which of the following involves bringing in an outsider who attempts to help two sides of a dispute reach an agreement?

A) distributive bargaining
B) arbitration
C) mediation
D) collective bargaining

Question 36

The fair employment section of the Canada Labour Code prohibits an employer from doing which of the following during the hiring process?

A) discriminating on grounds such as a person's race or religion
B) hiring a friend or relative for the job over others
C) offering an applicant the job while still in the interview
D) discriminating on the grounds that someone has been unemployed for a long time

Question 37

Which of the following is a group of workers who have organized in order to pursue common work-related goals, such as better wages and benefits, safer working conditions, and greater job security?

A) labour federation
B) labour union
C) labour collective
D) Cooperative

Question 38

The Canada Labour Code covers labour-relations issues for which firms?

A) all provincial-level firms
B) all privately owned firms with taxable income over $1,000,000
C) all non-profit firms operating at a national level
D) all firms operating under government jurisdiction

Question 39

The union representing hourly workers at the Hillsburgh Auto Plant is gearing up for negotiations. The negotiating team is working on a list of demands. They intend to use whatever tactics are necessary to get the company to accept these demands. For its part, the management team plans to push hard to get the union to give up many of its benefits in order to cut costs. The attitudes of the two sides suggest this negotiating process will be an example of which of the following?

A) distributive bargaining
B) the jawboning method of bargaining
C) interest-based bargaining
D) binding arbitration

Question 40

Under federal laws governing the process of collective bargaining, how are topics dealing with wages, benefits, and working conditions best described?

A) They are completely off limits, because these are determined by the application of federal laws rather than by negotiation.
B) They are mandatory subjects of bargaining, meaning that if either side makes a proposal about one of these topics, the other cannot legally refuse to discuss it.
C) They are negotiated only under the direction and supervision of a third party known as an arbitrator.
D) They are permissible topics of bargaining, meaning that the two sides are free to bargain about these subjects if they wish, but neither side can be required to do so.

Question 41

Describe the four main areas the Canada Labour Code addresses. Provide an example for each.

Question 42

Explain how labour contracts are negotiated. Disagreements about documents as long and complex as labour contracts are not unusual. Name and describe the procedure workers can follow if they feel their employer has not lived up to the collective bargaining agreement.

Question 43

Explain the types of topics discussed in a collective bargaining process.

Question 44

Evaluate the impact unions have had on their members' welfare and the economy as a whole, and explain the new challenges that today's unions face.

Question 45

What have studies concerning the impact of unions on labour productivity shown?

A) They suggested that unions actually have little or no impact on labour productivity.
B) They yielded mixed evidence about the impact unions have on labour productivity.
C) They suggested that unions reduce labour productivity.
D) They suggested that unions improve labour productivity.

Question 46

What is a labour union? What are the two basic ways that unions can be organized?