Globe HR315 midterm exam

Question 1

1. "Employees’ often represent the least significant participant category in the labor relations process since their actions are controlled by union leaders and/or management officials.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 2

1. Arbitrators, unlike mediators do not have authority to make final and binding decision concerning labor disputes.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 3

1. Mediators have binding legal authority to require the parties to settle an interest dispute, but they often first restrict themselves to offering advice to help each party to clarify their own priorities and assessment of costs or risks associated with failing to reach a voluntary agreement.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 4

1. The negotiation of compensation for and number of intervals for bus drivers reflects which technological component?

   		a. Tasks to be performed.
   		b.Equipment used.
   		c.The pace of work.
   		d.none of these
   		e.all of these

3 points

Question 5

1. When the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) was passed, it:

   		a. substantially lowered the wages of Mexican employees, such as truck drivers, in comparison to their U.S. counterparts.
   		b.contained a 25-year phase-in to increase tariffs between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
   		c.was unsuccessfully opposed by organized labor.
   		d.all of these
   		e.contained a 25-year phase-in to increase tariffs between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and substantially lowered the wages of Mexican employees, such as truck drivers, in comparison to their U.S. counterparts.

3 points

Question 6

1. The CIO split from the AFL because of the CIO’s emphasis on:

   		a. Employee Representation Plans.
   		b.having Gompers “lead CIO unions into greatness.”
   		c.organizing craft workers.
   		d.Republican party politics.
   		e.organizing employees in mass-production industries.

3 points

Question 7

1. The Pullman Strike:

   		a. reflected the importance of international forces in labor disputes.
   		b.increased the membership and strengthened the power of the ARU.
   		c.showed that rival unions such as the AFL and the ARU can pull together on significant labor disputes.
   		d.illustrated that a small union like the ARU can overcome a large employer if members rally to a common cause.
   		e.largely resulted in the elimination of an AFL rival, namely, the American Railway Union (ARU).

3 points

Question 8

1. Two major bargaining issues since World War II have been adjustments to technological change and safeguards against inflation.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 9

1. The AFL under Gompers’ leadership believed the existing social system should be dramatically changed by any means possible, including revolutionary methods if necessary.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 10

1. The "criminal conspiracy" doctrine means that union organizing prior to 1842 could result in an injunction against the union organizers.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 11

1. An employee alleging unlawful discharge is under affirmative duty to seek comparable employment to mitigate the respondent employer’s potential back-pay liability while awaiting a final determination of the merit of the ULP charge.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 12

1. The NLRB mediates cases and awards damages or fines where it deems necessary.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 13

1. Employee rights are guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act; thus, the National Labor Relations Board investigates companies on its own to assure that the rights are protected.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 14

1. Labor relations law has been derived from which of the following:

   		a.judicial decisions and interpretations
   		b.legislative branch
   		c.executive orders
   		d.statutes
   		e.all of these

3 points

Question 15

1. The main reason the Clayton Act did not prove to be organized labor’s Magna Charts was that:

   		a. labor unions were considered to operate in interstate commerce.
   		b.labor of a human being was interpreted by the Courts to be an article of commerce.
   		c.employer activities, such as blacklisting of employees and discharge of union leaders, were not illegal.
   		d.it made it easier for employers to seek injunctions against unions. e.all of these
   		d.it made it easier for employers to seek injunctions against unions. e.all of these

3 points

Question 16

1. In larger companies, at the operations or plant level, the plant manager and plant labor relations manager play the key roles in certain labor relations activities, such as contract administration, grievance handling, and monitoring labor relations activities.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 17

1. Congress, through the Landrum-Griffin Act, has attempted to strengthen the union democratic process by giving power to union members to protect themselves against irresponsible leaders.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 18

1. While corruption within unions receives much media coverage, the facts indicate that unions compare favorably with other segments of society in complying with the laws.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 19

1. The reason(s) local meetings is/are poorly attended include:

   		a. meetings start late and last too long.
   		b. material presented at meetings (reports of treasurer, project leaders, and committee chairs) is not interesting to the typical member.
   		c. individuals frustrate the group by tying up meetings with personal grievances.
   		d. all of these
   		e. material presented at meetings is not interesting to the typical member and meetings start late and last too long.

3 points

Question 20

1. Between conventions, the governing body of the AFL-CIO is the:

   		a. General Board.
   		b. Executive Council.
   		c. standing committees.
   		d. state central bodies.
   		e. National Council.

3 points

Question 21

1. Illegal discharge of employees who are union advocates usually does not frustrate unionization proceedings.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 22

1. Authorization cards signed by employees may be used by the NLRB to determine whether the union should be certified.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 23

1. After a decertification petition is filed with the NLRB, the employer is free from bargaining with the union until the question of representation is resolved.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 24

1. The "Twenty-Four Hour" Rule means that:

   		a. the NLRB will, as a rule, investigate an election petition within 24 hours after receipt.
   		b. there can be no handbilling before 24 hours of the election.
   		c. the employer cannot make a "captive audience" speech within 24 hours of the election.
   		d. the election must take place within a 24-hour period to assure that everyone has an opportunity to vote.
   		e. all of these

3 points

Question 25

1. Under the law, which of the following advantages does the employer have to counter unionization efforts?

   		a. ability to inform employees of the possibility of improvement without cost and without the creation of a new bureaucracy
   		b. instant and prolonged access to the employees
   		c. use of the fact that most people find the thought of substantial change in their lives frightening
   		d. all of these
   		e. instant and prolonged access to the employees and ability to inform employees of the possibility of improvement without cost and without the creation of a new bureaucracy

3 points

Question 26

1. Where there is substantial continuity in a unionized firm's operation after transfer of ownership occurs, the purchaser of the business would be classified as a new employer for the purpose of determining the employer's legal duty to bargain.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 27

1. Unions do not place upper limits on their bargaining ranges because they maintain, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."

   True

   False

3 points

Question 28

1. Any failure to reach an agreement on contract language concerning a mandatory bargaining subject represents a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 29

1. Bargaining power is more likely to be an important determinant of negotiated outcomes in which one of the following types of bargaining?

   		a. distributive bargaining
   		b. mutual gain bargaining
   		c. intraorganizational bargaining
   		d. interest-based bargaining
   		e. win-win bargaining

3 points

Question 30

1. The labor relations term for the increase in employee benefit costs that automatically occurs as the result of an increase in an employee's straight-time hourly wage rate is the:

   		a. magnifier effect.
   		b. acceleration factor.
   		c. booster effect.
   		d. roll-up factor.
   		e. progressive cost factor.

3 points

Question 31

1. Skill-based pay sets the wage rate according to a job's title (type).

   True

   False

3 points

Question 32

1. Unions generally favor the use of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) as a basic pension plan for employees.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 33

1. A higher degree of labor intensiveness increases management negotiators' resistance to bargaining proposals designed to increase wage rates.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 34

1. The labor relations term for a written clause in a labor agreement that adjusts wages periodically in accordance with some predetermined formula tied to the rise in consumer prices is:

   		a. Cost-of-living adjustment.
   		b. Wage re-opener.
   		c. Lump sum pay adjustments.
   		d. Wage spread.
   		e. Spillover effect.

3 points

Question 35

1. All of the following are group incentive plans except:

   		a. Improshare.
   		b. Scanlon plan.
   		c. Piece rate plan.
   		d. Rucker plan.
   		e. All of these are group incentive plans

3 points

Question 36

1. It is a generally accepted labor relations principle that management has the right to schedule work unless such right is restricted by the labor agreement.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 37

1. The LMRA, as amended, makes it unlawful for a union to engage in or encourage a work stoppage to force an employer to assign work to a particular union or craft.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 38

1. If union stewards and local union officials are granted superseniority, they will be the last individuals laid off in their seniority unit.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 39

1. Featherbedding may be characterized as:

   		a. requiring standby crews.
   		b. an exaggerated spreading of the work load among several workers to provide better job security
   		c. payment for unneeded workers.
   		d. jobs that duplicate other jobs already being done.
   		e. all of these

3 points

Question 40

1. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers of 100 or more employees to provide ________ of advance notice to workers of a plant closing or major layoff.

   		a. 30 days
   		b. 7 days
   		c. 60 days
   		d. 6 weeks
   		e. 6 months

3 points

Question 41

1. Management may not call a strike, but it may invoke certain practices that will cause a strike, because a strike sometimes works to its advantage.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 42

1. Med-arb and final-offer total package arbitration are similar in that the arbitrator does not make up his own contract but picks one of those that has been negotiated.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 43

1. A mediator who has separate meetings with management and union officials risks having his neutrality suspected by either side.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 44

1. An unfair labor practice strike is a strike in reaction to an employer’s refusal to bargain in good faith with the union.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 45

1. Which of the following are either illegal or in violation of the labor agreement?

   		a. wildcat strike
   		b. economic strike
   		c. unfair labor practice strike
   		d. secondary strikes
   		e. wildcat strike and secondary strikes only

3 points

Question 46

1. Unions are required to take each member’s grievance to arbitration to satisfy its duty of fair representation.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 47

1. Employers are not typically concerned about the fair representation issue since the union assumes full liability when it breaches this obligation.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 48

1. A union fulfills its fair representation obligation if it demonstrates that it considered the interests of all its members and takes its ultimate position honestly, in good faith, and without hostility or arbitrary discrimination.

   True

   False

3 points

Question 49

1. A(n) _________-relationship can occur when the union steward believes that grievances are "red flags" or indicators of poor supervision.

   		a. "power"
   		b. "empathetic"
   		c. "codified"
   		d. “dependent”
   		e. none of these

3 points

Question 50

1. First line supervisor answers employee grievance in writing. Which step of a typical grievance procedure is this an example of?

   		a. first step
   		b. second step
   		c. arbitration
   		d. third step
   		e. fourth step