CHAPTER 12 - EMPLOYEE-MANAGEMENT ISSUES: UNIONS …



CHAPTER 12 – DEALING WITH EMPLOYEE-MANAGEMENT

ISSUES AND RELATIONSHIPS

LEARNING GOALS

After you have read and studied this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

2. Discuss the major legislation affecting labor unions.

3. Outline the objectives of labor unions.

4. Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts and discuss the role of unions in the future.

5. Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues such as executive compensation, pay equity, child care and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE

Listed below are important terms found in the chapter. Choose the correct term for the definition and write it in the space provided.

|Agency shop agreement |Givebacks |Right-to-work laws |

|American Federation of Labor |Grievance |Secondary boycott |

|Arbitration |Industrial unions |Sexual harassment |

|Bargaining zone |Injunction |Shop stewards |

|Certification |Knights of Labor |Strike |

|Closed shop agreement |Lockout |Strikebreakers |

|Collective bargaining |Mediation |Union |

|Congress of Industrial Organizations |Negotiated labor-management agreement |Union security clause |

| |(labor contract) | |

|Cooling-off period |Open shop agreement |Union shop agreement |

|Craft union |Primary boycott |Yellow-dog contract |

|Decertification | | |

1. The _______________________is the range of options between the initial and final offer that each party will consider before negotiations dissolve or reach an impasse.

2. A period of time known as the ____________________is a period when workers in a critical industry return to their jobs while the union and management continue negotiations.

3. The process known as ___________________ is one by which workers take away a union's right to represent them.

4. A charge by employees that management is not abiding by the terms of the negotiated

labor-management agreement is called a ____________________.

5. This tactic, known as a ___________________, is an attempt by management to put pressure on unions by closing the business.

6. A tactic called a __________________occurs when the union encourages both its members and the general public not to buy the products of a firm involved in a labor dispute.

7. An employee organization known as _________________ has the main goal of representing members in employee-management bargaining about job-related issues.

8. A clause in a labor-management agreement that says employers may hire nonunion workers who are not required to join the union but must pay a union fee is called an _____________.

9. Under ___________________a third party, called a mediator, encourages both sides to continue negotiating and often makes suggestions for resolving the dispute.

10. Known as __________________this includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile work environment.

11. A _____________________ was a type of contract that required employees to agree as a condition of employment not to join a union; prohibited by the Norris-LaGuardia Act in 1932.

12. _______________________ are union officials who work permanently in an organization and represent employee interests on a daily basis.

13. A provision in a negotiated labor-management agreement known as a ______________stipulates that employees who benefit from a union must either officially join or at least pay dues to the union.

14. An organization known as the _______________________consisted of craft unions that championed fundamental labor issues; founded in 1886.

15. Concessions made by union members to management or gains from labor negotiations given back to management to help employers remain competitive and thereby save jobs are

called ____________________.

16. Under this type of agreement, known as a(n) _______________________workers in right to work states have the option to join or not join the union, if one exists in their workplace.

17. Workers who are hired to do the jobs of striking employees until the labor dispute is resolved are called _____________________.

18. The formal process of a union becoming recognized by the NLRB as the bargaining agent for a group of employees is called ________________.

19. Labor organizations called __________________consist of unskilled and semi-skilled workers in mass production industries such as automobiles and mining.

20. This clause in a labor-management agreement called a ____________________, indicates that workers do not have to be members of a union to be hired, but must agree to join the union within a prescribed period.

21. The process known as __________________________is where union representatives, and management form a labor-management agreement, or contract, for workers.

22. The first national labor union was the ________________________, and was formed in 1869.

23. A ____________________________is an attempt by labor to convince others to stop doing business with a firm that is the subject of a primary boycott; prohibited by the Taft-Hartley Act.

24. The agreement to bring in an impartial third party to render a binding decision in a labor dispute is called _______________________.

25. The clause in a labor-management agreement known as a ______________specified that workers had to be members of a union before being hired; it was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act.

26. A _______________________is an agreement that sets the tone and clarifies the terms under which management and labor agree to function over a period of time.

27. Legislation that gives workers the right, under an open shop, to join or not join a union if it is present is called __________________.

28. A union strategy known as a _________________means that workers refuse to go to work; the purpose is to further workers’ objectives after an impasse in collective bargaining.

29. The __________________________is the union organization of unskilled workers that broke away from the AFL in 1935 and rejoined it in 1955.

30. An organization of skilled specialists in a particular craft or trade is a ____________.

31. A(n) _________________is a court order directing someone to do something or to refrain from doing something.

ASSESSMENT CHECK

Learning Goal 1

Employee-Management Issues

1. Why did workers originally form unions?

2. Labor unions were largely responsible for:

a. ________________________________

b. ________________________________

c. ________________________________

d. ________________________________

e. ________________________________

f. ________________________________

3. Why has union strength declined in the last 2 decades?

4. Most historians agree that today’s unions are an outgrowth of: ______________________

_____________________________________________________________________________.

_____________________________________________________________________________

5. Formal labor organizations date back to _________________________________________.

6. How did the Industrial Revolution impact the formation and growth of unions?

7. The first national labor organization was the: ______________________________________.

Its intention was to: ____________________________________________________________.

8. What was the AFL and why did the AFL limit membership?

9. Why was the CIO formed?

10. How was the AFL-CIO created?

Learning Goal 2

Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining

11 Five major pieces of labor-management legislation are:

a.______________________________________________________________________

b.______________________________________________________________________

c.______________________________________________________________________

d.______________________________________________________________________

e.______________________________________________________________________

12. The major elements of the Norris LaGuardia Act are that it:

a. _____________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________________________________

13. What are the major provisions of the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)?

14. The NLRB provides __________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________.

15. How would the Employee Free Choice Act benefit unions?

16. What did the Fair Labor Standards Act do for workers?

17. What act did the Taft-Hartley Act amend, and what does Taft-Hartley permit and prohibit?

18. What are the major elements of the Landrum-Griffin Act?

Learning Goal 3

Objectives of Organized Labor

19 How have the objectives of organized labor shifted with social and economic trends?

20. List the general topics covered in labor-management agreements.

a. ______________________________ g.____________________________

b. ______________________________ h.____________________________

c. ______________________________ i. ____________________________

d. ______________________________ j. ____________________________

e. ______________________________ k. ___________________________

f. ______________________________

21. Distinguish between:

Union security clause:

Union shop agreement:

Agency shop agreement:

Closed shop agreement:

Open shop agreement:

22. What areas will be the focus of union negotiations in the future?

a. ____________________________ d. _______________________________

b. ____________________________ e. _______________________________

c. ____________________________ f. _______________________________

Resolving Labor-Management Disagreements

23. What are generally the sources of grievances?

a. _______________________________ d. _______________________________

b. _______________________________ e. ________________________________

c. _______________________________

24. In the negotiation process, when does mediation become necessary? What is the job of a mediator?

25. How does arbitration differ from mediation?

Learning Goal 4

Tactics Used in Labor-Management Conflicts

26. What are the tactics used by labor (unions) in labor-management disputes?

a. ________________________________ c. _______________________________

b. _______________________________ d. _______________________________

27. What are the possible effects of a strike?

28. What is picketing and what is the purpose of picketing?

29. Why are public safety workers often prohibited from striking? What action is often taken as an alternative?

30. The tactics available to management in labor-management disputes are:

a._____________________________________ c. _______________________________

b._____________________________________

31. Under what conditions might management seek an injunction?

a. ____________________________________________________________________

b. ____________________________________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________________________________

32. For a court to issue an injunction management must: ___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________.

33. New issues that affect labor-management relations include:

a. __________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________

34. What is the state of union membership today?

35. How will unions have to change in order to grow in the future?

36. How are unions assisting management today?

Learning Goal 5

Controversial Employee-Management Issues

37. What is the central issues regarding executive compensation today?

38. What is the controversy surrounding using stock options as a form of compensation for CEOs?

39. What did management consultant Peter Drucker say regarding the level of executive compensation?

40. How does the pay of U.S. executives compare to executive pay in other countries? What may be an explanation for the difference?

41. Describe the issue of pay equity.

42. What explains the disparity between women’s pay and men’s pay, and how is the disparity changing?

43. In evaluating sexual harassment, a person’s conduct on the job could be considered illegal if:

a. ________________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________________

44. What is the difference between “quid pro quo” sexual harassment and “hostile environment” harassment?

45. What is a problem with implementing harassment policies?

What could companies do to help prevent lawsuits?

46. Child care issues raise the concerns of employers for two key reasons:

a. _________________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________________

47 What controversial questions surround child care in the public and private sector?

a. __________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________

48. List five kinds of programs companies are providing to help with child care concerns.

a. _________________________________________________________________________

b. _________________________________________________________________________

c. _________________________________________________________________________

d. _________________________________________________________________________

e. _________________________________________________________________________

49. What conditions illustrate why the issue of elder care has become important in today’s workplace?

50. What programs can businesses offer to employees dealing with elder care responsibilities?

51. What is expected to happen to the cost to companies of elder care issue in the United States?

52. What is the loss to business due to substance and alcohol abuse? What have companies done in response?

53. Describe the impact of workplace violence in the workplace.

54. What actions have firms taken to deal with the growing threat of workplace violence?

CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISES

Learning Goal 1

1. How do the issues that concerned the early crafts unions before and during the Industrial Revolution issues compare with modern day work issues?

Learning Goal 2

2. Five major pieces of legislation which have had an impact on the development of labor unions are:

Norris-LaGuardia Act 1932

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) 1935

Fair Labor Standards Act 1938

Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act) 1947

Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin Act) 1959

Identify which act is being discussed in each of the following:

a. ____________ Texas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas and 17 other states have passed right-to-work laws under this act.

b. ____________ The AFL-CIO and Teamsters file financial reports every year with the U.S. Department of Labor.

c. ____________ Union members picketed the Price Chopper grocery stores to protest the stores' use of non-union labor.

d. ____________ A retail store in Michigan is prevented from getting an injunction against a worker who is trying to organize a union.

e. ____________ Workers at a General Motors plant in Ohio went on strike, forcing closings at another plant that needed parts supplied by the striking plant.

f. ____________ A grocery store in Illinois carries products produced by a company the AFL-CIO is striking. Under this law, the AFL-CIO cannot call for a boycott of the grocery store.

g. ____________ Voter fraud was alleged in the election of a UAW union official, and is being investigated.

h. ____________ In an attempt to avoid a strike, union and management officials in the aeronautical industry begin negotiating a year in advance of the end of the current contract.

i. ____________ In July, 2009 the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25 an hour.

Learning Goal 3

3. There are four types of union agreements:

closed shop union shop

agency shop open shop

Identify each of the following:

a. ____________ When Tom Oswalt worked in an automotive factory for the summer in Michigan, he chose not to join the local union. However, he was still required to pay a fee to the union under a union-security clause.

b. ____________ After the Wagner Act was passed, unions sought security with this type of agreement. With passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, however, these types of shops were made illegal.

c. ____________ When Peter Tobler went to work at Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas, he was not required to join the union, and did not have to pay any fees to the union.

d. ____________ Gary Reese took a job with the Saint Louis plant of InBev-Anheuser-Busch in August. He had until October to join the union.

Learning Goals 2, 3

4. Several years ago, the National and American League baseball players went on strike, and ended the baseball season for the year without playoffs or the World Series. While player representatives continued to negotiate with team owners, (sporadically) the strike was still not resolved by the opening of the season in the spring of the following year. Even then- President Bill Clinton could not convince the owners and players to come to the bargaining table and talk to one another. What options are available to labor and management for resolving agreements, which could have been used before the players went on strike, or while they were on strike?

Learning Goal 4

5. When the collective bargaining process breaks down, both management and labor have specific tactics available to them to reach their objectives.

Management Labor

Injunction Strike

Lockout Picketing

Strikebreakers Primary boycotts

Secondary boycotts

Match the tactic being used in each of the following descriptions;

a. ___________ In the past, members of various unions have mounted campaigns to persuade consumers not to shop at Wal-Mart, because Wal-Mart does not use union labor.

b. ___________ When contract negotiations broke down, the owners of the national hockey clubs refused to allow players to play, and delayed the start of the season by several weeks.

c. ___________ While the hockey players were being prevented from working, the baseball players were refusing to work!

d. ___________ In order to start a season anyway, the baseball club owners hired replacement players, bringing many up from the minor leagues.

e. ___________ During a strike against producers members of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada attempted to raise public awareness and sympathy for their cause by gathering outside Broadway theaters in New York City carrying signs outlining their grievances.

f. ___________ To prevent a sympathy strike by its machinists, United Airlines obtained a court order making it illegal for the machinists to strike during a strike by the flight attendants.

g. ___________ Although it is illegal, the employees of an airline threatened this action against the railways in sympathy with the railroad strikers.

6. What might be the unions’ role in the concepts we have discussed in previous chapters, such as self-managed teams, continuous improvement, and so on?

Learning Goal 5

7. What justifications can you state for the high level of executive pay in the United States?

8. What are the negative aspects of the high level of executive pay in the United States?

9. The issue of pay equity centers on comparing the value of jobs traditionally held by women with the value of jobs traditionally held by men. What do comparisons of "men's jobs" with "women's jobs" show? How are things changing?

10. As more women have entered the workforce, the issue of sexual harassment has become increasingly visible. What are the problems surrounding this issue, and what are companies doing about it?

11. What are the issues surrounding:

Child care:

Eldercare:

Drug testing:

Violence in the workplace:

PRACTICE TEST

MULTIPLE CHOICE – Circle the best answer

Learning Goal 1

1. Workers originally formed unions:

a. as social organizations.

b. to protect themselves from intolerable work conditions and unfair treatment.

c. as a way to increase job security.

d. to have the rights to strike and to picket.

2. Most historians agree that today’s union movement is an outgrowth of:

a. the Great Depression.

b. the Civil War.

c. the Industrial Revolution.

d. the Revolutionary War.

3. The AFL was an organization:

a. of crafts unions

b. that promoted social, labor and economic issues

c. who’s intention was to gain significant political power.

d. that was one large union, encompassing workers in all trades areas.

Learning Goal 2

4. When Joe Kerr began working at his local bakery, he felt there was a need for the workers to sit down with management and talk about some of the problems facing the workers at their job. Joe found out there was a union representing the bakery workers, but that management didn’t take them seriously, and refused to sit down with the union and negotiate. After some research Joe found out that under the __________________, workers had the right to expect management to negotiate with them.

a. Norris-LaGuardia Act

b. Wagner Act

c. Fair Labor Standards Act

d. Taft-Hartley Act

5. Marriette Rene lives in Alabama and works in a factory making heating and air conditioning equipment. When she first got the job, she was afraid she was going to have to join a union, but soon found out that Alabama is a right-to-work state, and she can’t be required to join. This is because the _____________ permits states to pass laws prohibiting compulsory union membership.

a. Taft-Hartley Act

b. Landrum-Griffith Act

c. Norris LaGuardia Act

d. Wagner Act

Learning Goal 3

6. When Dave Sutton went to work for a printing shop, he thought he was going to have to join the union representing the shop. However on his first day of work he was told that while there was a union representing the workers, he was not required to join, and he didn’t have to pay any dues to the union if he chose not to join. Dave works in a(n) ___________ shop.

a. union

b. agency

c. closed

d. open

7. The sources of grievances are generally

a. overtime rules, promotions and layoffs.

b. money and company policies.

c. hours worked, other employees and contract negotiations.

d. items to be included in contract negotiations.

8. A bargaining zone is:

a. the location in which negotiations take place.

b. a type of legislation that gives workers the right to join or not join a union.

c. a contract that requires employees to agree not to join a union as a condition of employment.

d. the range of options between the initial and final offer that each party will consider before negotiations dissolve.

9. When baseball players went on strike, an individual was brought in to help resolve the dispute between management and players. This third party was involved to make suggestions, but legally could not make any decisions about how the players dispute should be settled. This is an example of:

a. arbitration.

b. grievance.

c. mediation.

d. a bargaining zone.

Learning Goal 4

10. When organized labor encourages its members not to buy products made by a firm in a labor dispute, it is encouraging a:

a. strike.

b. primary boycott.

c. secondary boycott.

d. injunction.

11. Which of the following is a tactic used by management in a labor dispute?

a. picketing

b. strikes

c. boycotts

d. injunction

12. Union membership has:

a. continued to grow as companies face worker discontent with overseas outsourcing.

b. been steady in the last decades, and is expected to grow very slowly in the next 10 years.

c. been steadily declining for many years.

d. has declined to near zero, and unions most likely will disappear in the next 10 yers.

13. For unions to grow in the future, they will have to:

a. continue to grant givebacks to management.

b. begin to organize foreign workers in overseas markets.

c. adapt to a more culturally diverse, white collar workforce.

d. take up the fight against continuous improvement and employee involvement.

Learning Goal 5

14. When compared to their European counterparts, U.S. corporate executives:

a. are making considerably more than executives in other countries.

b. are being paid much less than their counterparts, considering how much more they work.

c. are compensated better when times are good, but worse when the company isn’t

doing as well.

d. are at about the same level in terms of compensation.

15. The issue of pay equity deals with:

a. paying equal wages to men and women who do the same job.

b. equal pay for different jobs that require similar levels of training and education or skills.

c. assuring that men and women have equal opportunity in the job market.

d. ensuring that executive pay is not more than 20 times the pay of the lowest paid worker.

16. Which of the following is not included in a discussion of behavior that would be considered sexually harassing?

a. An employee must submit to a certain behavior as a condition of employment.

b. Submission or rejection of a behavior is used as a basis for employment decisions.

c. A behavior interferes with job performance or creates a hostile working environment.

d. Reporting of a behavior results in job dismissal.

17. Which of the following is true regarding the issue of child-care for workers?

a. Federal child-care assistance has declined considerably.

b. A major question is who should pay for child-care services.

c. A majority of major companies provide some kind of child- care services .

d. Parents have made it clear they will compromise on the issue of child- care.

18. Companies have responded to requests for assistance in child-care with all of the following except:

a. discount arrangements with national child care chains.

b. vouchers that offer payment toward the kind of child care the employee prefer.

c. on-site child-care centers.

d. increases in the number of allowable sick leave days for employees to use when a child is ill.

19. Elder care issues in the United States:

a. will continue to grow and become more costly as higher executives and managers begin to deal with the care of elderly parents and relatives .

b. has become less important as many women stay at home and can take on the care of elderly parents and relatives.

c. is becoming easier for companies to address.

d. have been addressed by many companies in the form of elder care programs and

benefits.

20. Which of the following is included as a major issue which companies will have to address in the coming years?

executive compensation

a. union growth and power

b. child care

c. violence in the workplace

TRUE-FALSE

Learning Goal 1

1. _____ Labor unions were largely responsible for the establishment of minimum-wage laws, overtime rules, worker’s compensation, severance pay, and more.

2. _____ The CIO, Congress of Industrial Organizations, grew out of the Knights of Labor.

3. _____ In the early part of the last century (the 1900s), it was common for workers to have an 80 hour work week.

Learning Goal 2

4. _____ The Taft-Hartley Act outlawed contracts forbidding union activities.

5. _____ The minimum wage was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

6. _____ Under the Wagner Act, labor was granted the right to collectively bargain, but was expected to bargain in good faith.

7. _____ In a decertification campaign, workers take away a union’s right to represent them.

Learning Goal 3

8. _____ A union security clause stipulates that union workers with seniority will be the last workers to be laid off.

9. _____ Under an agreement called an agency shop, companies can hire nonunion workers, who are not required to join the union, but who must pay a special union fee.

10. ____ In right to work states, workers may choose not to join a union, even if one exists to represent them in their work place.

11. ____ In the process of arbitration, an impartial third party will make a binding decision in a labor dispute.

Learning Goal 4

12. ____ Many states prohibit strikes by people in jobs such as police officers or fire fighters.

13. _____ “Just cause” must be shown when a union wants to go on strike.

14. _____ Unions have begun to assist management in training workers, redesigning jobs and helping to recruit and train workers who need special help to adapt to the job requirements of the new economy.

15. _____ A “cooling off” period requires that management must allow 30 days after a contract dispute before requiring that labor go back to the bargaining table.

Learning Goal 5

16. _____ In the past, the primary explanation for the disparity between men and women’s pay has been that women often aren’t as educated as men.

17. ____ “Quid pro quo” harassment exists when the employees submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment.

18. ____ The issue of elder care is expected to decline in importance in coming years.

19. ____ A key reason that child-care issues are important to companies today is that absences related to child care cost them billions of dollars annually.

20. ____ Individuals who use illegal drugs are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents and to file a worker’s compensation claim.

You Can Find It on the Net

Let’s take a look at the issues unions are considering in the 21st century. Visit the AFL-CIO website at

How are the topics featured related to what the text indicates are key issues for today’s unions?

Click on the “Corporate Watch” link, then on “Executive Paywatch” and scroll down to the CEO and You link. This link will show you how much your pay would be if you were a CEO. How much would you be making today if you were the CEO? Pick a company and find out what the CEO of that company made.

Enter one of the blogs and give your opinion about the topics that interest you on this page.

Go to At the time of this writing the U.S. automotive companies were in serious financial trouble – Chrysler had declared bankruptcy, and General Motors was close to doing the same.

How is the UAW addressing these problems?

What is the UAW saying about how they can help the U.S. economy recover?

ANSWERS

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE

|1. Bargaining zone |12. Shop stewards |22. Knights of Labor |

|2. Cooling off period |13. Union security clause |23. Secondary boycott |

|3. Decertification |14. American Federation of |24. Arbitration |

| |Labor (AFL) | |

|4. Grievance |15. Givebacks |25. Closed shop agreement |

|5. Lockout |16. Open shop agreement |26. Negotiated labor |

| | |management agreement |

|6. Primary boycott |17. Strikebreakers |27. Right-to-work laws |

|7. Unions |18. Certification |28. Strike |

|8. Agency shop agreement |19. Industrial unions |29. Congress of Industrial |

| | |Organizations (CIO) |

|9. Mediation |20. Union shop agreement |30. Craft union |

|10. Sexual harassment |21. Collective bargaining |31. Injunction |

|11. Yellow dog contract | | |

ASSESSMENT CHECK

Employee-Management Issues

Learning Goal 1

1. Workers originally formed unions to protect themselves from intolerable work conditions and unfair treatment from owners and managers. They also wanted to secure some say in the operations of their jobs.

2. Labor unions were largely responsible for:

a. the establishment of minimum wage laws

b. overtime rules

c. workers’ compensation

d. severance pay,

e. child labor laws

f. job safety regulations

3. It is suggested that the reasons for the decline in union strength/membership are global competition, shifts from manufacturing to service and high-tech industries, growth in part-time work, and changes in management philosophies. Others believe that the membership decline is related to labor’s success in seeing the issues it has promoted become law.

4. Most historians agree that today’s unions are an outgrowth of the economic transition caused by the Industrial Revolution. Workers who went from agricultural jobs to factory jobs found that strength through unions could lead to improved job conditions, better wages and job security.

The Industrial Revolution changed the economic structure of the United States.

5. Formal labor organizations date back to the time of the American Revolution, as early as 1792.

6. The Industrial Revolution changed the economic structure of the United States. Productivity increases from mass production and job specialization made the U.S. a world economic power.

This growth brought problems for workers in terms of expectations, hours of work, wages and unemployment. Workers who failed to produce lost their jobs. People had to go work when they were ill or had family problems. Hours of work were expanded, and an 80-hour work week was not uncommon. Wages were low, and the use of child labor was widespread.

7. The first national labor union was the Knights of Labor.

The intention of the Knights of Labor was to gain significant political power and eventually restructure the entire U.S. economy.

8. The American Federation of Labor, AFL, was an organization of craft unions that championed fundamental labor issues.

The AFL limited membership to skilled workers assuming they would have better bargaining power in getting concessions from employers.

9. The Congress of Industrial Organizations broke away from the AFL, and was formed to organize both craftspeople and unskilled workers.

10. The AFL and the CIO merged in 1955 after each organization struggled for leadership for several years.

Learning Goal 2

Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining

11. a. Norris-LaGuardia Act 1932

b. National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) 1935

c. Fair Labor Standards Act 1938

d. Labor Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act) 1947

e. Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin Act) 1959

12. The major elements of the Norris-LaGuardia Act are that it

a. Prohibited courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent union activities

b. Outlawed contracts forbidding union activities

c. Outlawed yellow dog contracts.

13. The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) gave employees the right to form or join labor organizations, and the right to collectively bargain in good faith with employers who were obligated to meet at reasonable times. It also gave workers the right to engage in strikes, picketing, and boycotts. The act prohibited certain unfair labor practices by management, and established the National Labor Relations Board. It also provided workers with a clear process to remove a union as its workplace representative.

14. The NLRB provides guidelines and offers legal protection to workers that seek to vote on organizing a union to represent them in the workplace. This process is called certification.

15. The Employee Free Choice Act would benefit unions in that it would make I easier for unions to organize workers. The legislation would replace the secret ballot now used with card check, whereby workers would approve union representation by simply signing a card.

16. The Fair Labor Standards Act set a minimum wage and maximum basic hours for workers.

17. The Taft-Hartley Act amended the Wagner Act. It permitted states to pass right to work laws, and set up methods to deal with strikes affecting national health and safety. The act also prohibits secondary boycotts, closed- shop agreements, and featherbedding.

18. The Landrum-Griffin Act amended the Taft-Hartley Act and the Wagner Act. It guaranteed individual rights of union members in dealing with their union, and required annual financial reports to be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. One goal of this act was to clean up union corruption.

Learning Goal 3

Objectives of Organized Labor

19. The primary objectives of labor unions in the 1970s were additional pay and additional benefits. In the 1980s the focus shifted to issues related to job security and union recognition. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the focus was again on job security due to global competition and outsourcing.

20. The general topics covered in labor-management agreements are:

a. Management rights g. Hours of work and time-off policies

b. Union recognition h. Job rights and seniority principles

c. Union security clause i. Discharge and discipline

d. Strikes and lockouts j. Grievance procedures

e. Union activities and responsibilities k. Employee benefits, health and welfare

f. Wages

21. Union security clause: Stipulates that employees who reap benefits from a union must either officially join or at least pay dues to the union.

Union shop agreement: Workers do not have to be members of a union to be hired for a job, but must agree to join the union within a prescribed period of time.

Agency shop agreement: Employers may hire nonunion workers, who are not required to join the union, but must pay a special union fee or pay regular union dues.

Closed shop agreement: Specified that that workers had to be members of a union in order to be hired. This practice was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act.

Open shop agreement: Gives workers the option to join or not join a union when one is present in the workplace.

22. In the future unions will focus on

a. child and elder care d. offshore outsourcing

b. worker retraining, e. employee empowerment

c. two-tiered wage plans f. and integrity and honesty testing

Resolving Labor-Management Disagreements

23. Sources of grievances are:

a. overtime rules d. transfers

b. promotions e. job assignments

c. layoffs

24. Mediation becomes necessary if labor-management negotiators aren’t able to agree on alternatives within the bargaining zone. The mediator evaluates facts in a dispute and makes suggestions for resolving the dispute.

25. In arbitration, an impartial third party will render a binding decision in the labor dispute. A mediator can only make a suggestion.

Learning Goal 4

Tactics Used in Labor-Management Conflicts

26 Tactics used by labor in labor-management disputes are:

a. Strikes c. Boycotts

b. Picketing d. Work slowdowns

27. A strike attracts public attention to a labor dispute and at times causes operations in a company to slow down or totally shut down. Strikes can lead to a resolution of a dispute, but have also led to violence and extended bitterness. Few labor disputes lead to a strike today.

28. When strikers picket, they walk around the outside of the organization carrying signs and talking with the public and the media about the issues in a labor dispute. Unions also use picketing as an informational tool before going on strike.

The purpose is to alert the public about an issue that is stirring labor unrest even though no strike has been voted.

29. Workers such as police officers or fire fighters are prohibited because of the potential for economic and social problems if those workers go off the job. As an alternative, many workers will engage in “sick-outs”, sometimes known as the “blue flu”, which is when workers arrange in groups to be absent from work and claim illness as the reason.

30. Tactics available to management in labor-management disputes include:

a. Lockouts c. Use of strikebreakers

b. Injunctions

31. Management might seek an injunction to

a. order striking workers back to work

b. limit the number of pickets that can be used during a strike

c. deal with actions that could be detrimental to the public welfare

32. For a court to issue an injunction management must show “just cause”, such as the possibility of violence or the destruction of property.

33. New issues that affect labor-management relations include:

a. increased global competition

b. advancing technology

c. offshore outsourcing

d. the changing nature of work

34. Membership in unions has declined from a peak of almost 36% in 1945 to just 12.4% today, and only 7.6% of workers in the private sector are unionized. Union membership varies by state. The largest union today is the National Education Association.

35. For unions to grow, they will have to include white collar, female, and foreign born workers.

36. Unions are helping management in training workers, redesigning jobs, and assimilating the new workforce. They are helping to recruit and train foreign workers, unskilled workers, and others who may need special help in adapting to the job requirements of the new economy.

Learning Goal 5

Controversial Employee-Management Issues

37. The central issue regarding executive compensation seems to be the level of executive pay. The average CEO of a major corporation makes 180 times the average hourly worker’s pay.

There is also considerable frustration about the fact that some CEOs are forced to resign due to poor performance, yet are still give considerable compensation upon leaving.

38. Stock options account for a major portion of executive pay, and a problem arises when executives are compensated with stock options even when the company doesn’t meet expectations.

39. Management consultant Peter Drucker suggested that CEOs should not earn much more than 20 times as much as the company’s lowest paid employee.

40. European executives typically earn about 40 percent of what U.S. CEOs make.

One explanation for the difference between the pay of American CEOs and that of European chief executives is that European companies often have workers who sit on the board of directors. Since boards set executive pay, this could be a reason why pay is less for European executives.

41. Pay equity goes beyond the concept of equal pay for equal work. Pay equity revolves around the concept of “comparable worth”, the idea that people in jobs that require similar levels of education, training, or skills should receive equal pay. It centers on comparing jobs that have traditionally been held by women with those that have traditionally been held by men.

42. In the past the primary explanation for the pay disparity between men and women was that women only worked a portion of their available years once they left school, whereas men worked all of those years. This explanation no longer applies. Now the explanation is that many working women devote more time to their families and so opt for lower paying jobs.

Studies have found that earnings of women with a college degree earn today close to what men earn.

43. Conduct can be considered sexually harassing if:

a. an employee's submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of employment or is the basis for employment decisions.

b. the conduct interferes with a worker's job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

44. “Quid pro quo” harassment could be a threat such as “go out with me or you are fired”, for example. This explicitly creates a term or condition of employment.

A “hostile environment” is created when an individual’s conduct interferes with a worker’s job performance or creates an intimidating or offensive work environment. A key term is “unwelcome”, which refers to behavior that would offend a reasonable person.

45. A major problem with implementing harassment policies is that workers and managers often know that a policy exists but have no idea what it says. Many companies have also set up rapid, effective grievance procedures and reacted promptly to allegations of harassment.

Companies could offer management training, and require sexual harassment workshops for all employees, which can be done on the Internet.

46. Child- care issues are important to employers today because:

a. It is estimated that child care related absences already cost American businesses billions of dollars each year

b. They raise the question of who should pay for child care services.

47. The questions surrounding child care today concern:

a. responsibilities for child- care subsidies

b child care programs

c. parental leave

48. Companies have responded to the need for safe, affordable day care by providing:

a. Discount arrangements with national child care chains.

b. Vouchers that offer payments toward whatever child care the employee chooses.

c. Referral services that help identify quality child care facilities.

d. On-site child care centers.

e. Sick-child care centers.

49. The issue has become important because the workforce in the U.S. is aging, and many workers are going to confront the problem of how to care for older parents. The number of households with at least one adult providing elder care has dramatically increased in the last two decades and is expected to continue to grow.

Current estimates suggest that companies are presently losing $11 billion a year in reduced productivity, absenteeism, and turnover from employees who have responsibilities with aging parents.

50. Companies can allow employees to move to flextime, telecommuting, part-time employment or job sharing. Certain companies offer employees employee assistance programs or elder care management services. However, few companies offer any type of elder care benefits programs.

51. It is expected that costs to companies will rise as more experience and high ranking employees become involved in caring for older parents and relatives. Estimates are that costs could go as high as $25 billion annually. Companies already realize that transfers and promotions are often out of the question for employees whose parents need ongoing care. The problem will continue to exist well into the 21st century.

52. Approximately 40 percent of industrial injuries and fatalities can be linked to alcohol consumption. Individuals who use drugs are three and a half times more likely to be involved in workplace accidents and five times as likely to file a worker’s compensation claim. According to the U.S. Department of Labor drug use costs U.S. companies $276 billion in lost work, health care costs, crime traffic accidents and other expenses, and over $140 billion in lost productivity annually.

In response, over 70% of major companies now test workers and job applicants for substance abuse.

53. There is a growing trend toward violence in the workplace. Workplace homicides account for 16 percent of all workplace deaths and are the number one cause of death for women in the workplace. One in six violent crimes in the U.S. occurs at work.

54. Many firms have begun to hold focus groups for employee input, have hired managers with strong interpersonal skills, and employed skilled consultants to deal with the growing employee/management issue of workplace violence.

CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISES

Learning Goal 1

1. The development of crafts unions, beginning in 1792 came about to discuss work issues such as pay, hours, conditions and job security. The Industrial Revolution led to changes, and problems for workers in terms of productivity, hours of work, wages and unemployment. If you failed to produce, you lost your job. Hours worked increased to as many as 80 hours per week. Wages were low and the use of child labor was common.

Unions today are focusing on job security and union recognition, just as the early crafts unions did. However, union negotiators today have also begun to address such issues as global competition, drug testing, benefits such as day care and elder care, violence in the workplace and employee stock ownership programs.

Learning Goal 2

2. a. Taft-Hartley f. Taft-Hartley Act

b. Landrum-Griffin g. Landrum-Griffin

c. Wagner Act h. Wagner-Act

d. Norris-LaGuardia i. Fair Labor Standards Act

e. Wagner Act

Learning Goal 3

3. a. Agency shop c. Open shop

b. Closed shop d. Union shop

Learning Goal 2, 3

4. There are three options available for resolving these disputes. The players union could have filed grievances against the owners before going on strike, in an attempt to resolve their differences without putting an end to the season. Either side could have brought in a mediator, before or during the strike. The mediator's job is to make suggestions for resolving the dispute. Lastly, arbitration could have been used. In arbitration, the parties agree to bring in a third party to make a binding decision, a decision that both parties must adhere to. The arbitrator must be acceptable to both parties. ( In fact, in this case, an arbitrator was discussed between the players and the owners, but neither side could agree on the choice of an arbitrator!)

Learning Goal 4

5. a. Primary boycott e. Picketing

b. Lockout f. Injunction

c. Strike g. Secondary boycott

d. Strikebreakers

6. The role of unions is likely to be much different from that of the past. Union leadership is aware of the need to be competitive with foreign firms. Unions have taken a leadership role in introducing such concepts as continuous improvement, constant innovation and employee involvement programs. In the future, unions will help management in training, work design such as self-managed teams, and in recruiting and training foreign workers, unskilled workers and others.

Learning Goal 5

7. U.S. executives are responsible for billion dollar corporations. They often work 70 or more hours per week. Many can show stockholders that they have turned potential problems into profitable success. Further, many top performers in sports, movies and entertainment are paid large sums, so is it therefore out of line that CEOs of major corporations should be compensated in the same way? Furthermore, there is not a plentiful supply of seasoned, skilled professionals to manage large corporations, especially through the difficult times we have experienced in the early 2000s.

8. The drawbacks of the high level of pay are most noticeable when an executive makes staggering sums, while the financial performance of the company may be lagging. Some question the compensation paid to a departing CEO whose performance forced them to resign their job involuntarily. Stakeholders could certainly question these practices in a business. In comparison to our global competitors, U.S. executives earn substantially more than their counterparts. In the U.S. the average CEO earns 180 times what the average hourly worker earns, while in Europe the CEOs of large corporations earn, comparatively, quite a bit less.

9. A comparison of jobs traditionally held by men with jobs traditionally held by women would show that women earn about 80 percent of what men earn, thought the differences vary by profession, job experience and tenure and the person’s level of education. In the past, disparities could be explained by the fact that women only worked 50 to 60 percent of their available years after they left school, whereas men worked all of those years. As fewer women left the work force for an extended period, this changed. Another explanation for the disparity may be that many women try to work as well as care for families, and thus do not move ahead in their careers as quickly as men. Others opt for lower paying jobs that are less demanding.

In today’s knowledge based economy, it appears that women will compete with men, financially, in such areas as health care, telecommunications and knowledge technology.

10. The major question surrounding the issue of sexual harassment is the fact that while managers and workers may know that their company has a sexual harassment policy they don't know what it says. Conduct becomes illegal when: 1) an employee's submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of employment, or an employee's submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis of employment decisions affecting the worker's status or 2) the conduct interferes with a worker's job performance or creates an unhealthy atmosphere.

Companies are becoming more sensitive to comments and behavior of a sexual nature. Suggestions are more management training, and mandatory sexual harassment workshops for all employees.

11. The issue of child-care will remain a concern in the 21st century. There are questions surrounding who should pay for child care, and around the cost of absences related to child care. The number of companies that offer child-care is growing, and some have begun to provide such benefits as discount arrangements with child-care chains, vouchers, referral services, on-site daycare and sick-child centers.

The elder care issue has arisen because the workforce of the U.S. is aging. Older workers are more likely to be concerned with finding care for elderly parents than with finding day care for children. Businesses do not seem to be responding to the need for elder care as quickly as they could, even though it is estimated that elder-care givers cost employers billions of dollars in lost output and replacement costs.

Companies feel that alcohol and drug abuse is a serious problem in the workplace because so many workers are involved. Drug testing is growing at a rapid pace.

Violence in the workplace is a growing trend. Still, many companies don’t offer formal training for dealing with prevention of violence in the workplace, because managers feel the issue is overblown by the media.

PRACTICE TEST

MULTIPLE CHOICE TRUE-FALSE

1. b 11. d 1. T 11. T

2. c 12. c 2. F 12. T

3. a 13. c 3. T 13. F

4. b 14. a 4. F 14. T

5. a 15. b 5. T 15. F

6. d 16. d 6. T 16. F

7. a 17. b 7. T 17. T

8. d 18. d 8. F 18. F

9. c 19. a 9. T 19. T

10. b 20. b 10. T 20. T

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