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 lawsAmerican 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 (labor contract) / Union security clause
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;