Chapter 12 – Dealing with Union and Employee–Management Issues
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243. Art B.Traytor, a member of the American Arbitration Association and long-standing
faculty member of the business school of a large university is heading out on the next
plane for Detroit, Michigan where he will serve as an arbitrator between members of the
United Auto Workers union and management of a major auto manufacturer. His
responsibilities will deal with:
A. certifying union representation at the Michigan manufacturing sites.
B. certifying union representation and collective bargaining at all manufacturing sites that
the auto manufacturer currently has in operations, including any in Mexico and Canada (in
accordance with NAFTA).
C. listening to both sides of an unresolved dispute between labor and management and
render a binding decision on the problem.
D. protecting the interests of management and staving off a strike by the auto workers.
Feedback: Arbitration is a more extreme form of negotiation as compared to mediation. The
arbitrator will listen to the perceptions and problems of both parties and workout a binding
solution to the dispute. Both sides must preliminarily agree that they will accept the
arbitrator’s decision.
244.
Chapter 12 – Dealing with Union and Employee–Management Issues
As a management executive left the meeting between his team and the company’s union
representatives and headed straight for the CEO’s office, he reviewed where things
seemed to breakdown. Union reps came to the table with three different offers to resolve
the insurance and vacation benefits problems laborers were experiencing. Management
offered its own resolutions – two different ones, to be exact. The problem was that a
bargaining zone did not emerge. Neither side was willing to consider each other’s
alternatives. As he reached the CEO’s door, he was ready to concede that the negotiations
were probably headed to ________________.
A. collective bargaining
B. arbitration
C. a vote
D. mediation
Feedback: Labor and management were proceeding with collective bargaining, however, they
had reached an impasse because there was no bargaining zone. The next step is to enter into
mediation, where an impartial third party listens to disagreements and solutions offered by
both sides, encourages the talks to continue, and makes suggestions for alternative solutions
leading toward resolution.
245. Historically, the most potent union tactic when collective bargaining efforts break
down has been the:
A. strike.
B. lockout.
C. court injunction.
D. primary boycott.
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266. Almost overnight, several police persons, all members of the police force of the
growing suburb of Mayberry called in sick. As the dispatcher took those calls – one right
after the other, she speculated that there could be more to this story than she was hearing.
In fact, she thought it might be related to the emotional banter she heard the night before
in the locker room as several members of the force were leaving their shifts. The group
was not happy with the recent changes in scheduling, the excessive over-time hours, and,
management’s reluctance to begin negotiations on a new benefits package. She heard one
person saying, “It’s time for a mental health day!” Although it is illegal for police to strike,
they may be claiming to have ________.
A. Saturday nite fever
B. the blue flu
C. a lockout
D. a shutterbug
Feedback: Even though they can unionize, it is illegal for public safety officers such as the
police and firefighters to go on strike. When negotiations breakdown between these officers
and their management, some may group together and call-in sick, as a way of boycotting work
and demonstrating to management that they are not agreeing to the their work conditions. This
is called the “blue flu”.
267.
Chapter 12 – Dealing with Union and Employee–Management Issues
The Food Source Grocery chain stocks the products of Vegi-Delite Food Company at all
of their supermarkets. The Teamsters Union is currently involved in a labor dispute with
Vegi-Delite. The union has already encouraged its members and the general public not to
buy Vegi-Delite products. Now it is threatening Food Source with the possibility of a
boycott if it continues to carry the Vegi-Delite line. The union is threatening Food Source
with a(n):
A. primary boycott.
B. secondary boycott.
C. jurisdictional boycott.
D. informational boycott.
Feedback: A secondary boycott is an attempt to discourage other organizations from doing
business with a firm that is the subject of a primary boycott. Secondary boycotts are
prohibited by the Taft-Hartley Act.
268. A large number of striking workers are currently picketing at the plant entrance to a
Memphis Tire and Rubber plant. Because the pickets have threatened people entering the
plant and have vandalized some company property, Memphis’ management believes it has
just cause to ask the courts for a(n) __________ placing limits on the number of pickets
and their actions while picketing.
A. preemptive judgment
B. writ of contention
C. arbitration judgment
D. injunction
Feedback: A court order directing someone to do something, or to refrain from doing
something is called an injunction. Courts will only issue injunctions in labor disputes if the
company can show just cause such as the possibility of violence or the destruction of
property.
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271. A few years back, west coast dockworkers were locked out of their jobs in 29 west
coast ports. Because many consumer goods used in the U.S. are transported from Asia to
the U.S. through these ports, the lockout could have damaged the U.S. economy and
security if allowed to continue. The President ordered the dockworkers back to work and
both sides were ordered back to the bargaining table. Which of the following statements is
the most accurate conclusion about the outcome of the labor dispute between the
dockworkers union and shipping companies on the west coast? The dispute between the
dockworkers and shipping companies showed that:
A. the only effective weapon unions now have in labor-management disputes is the threat
of a strike.
B. arbitration is the only effective way to settle labor-management disputes in industries
that are critical to the nation’s safety or security.
C. the Taft-Hartley Act must be invoked when there is a risk to national security.
D. unions have become so powerful that they can shut down the entire U.S. economy.
Feedback: To help settle this dispute the President stepped in, using the provision of the Taft-
Hartley Act that applies to critical industries such as transportation, to get both sides to the
bargaining table during a “cooling off” period. (The final result was a new six-year contract
that allowed both sides to achieve much of what they wanted.)
272.
Chapter 12 – Dealing with Union and Employee–Management Issues
In July 2009, London Met University workers went on strike and formed picket lines to
oppose management’s continued restructuring and the elimination of jobs. It was reported
that London postal workers who belong to the Communication Workers Union refused to
deliver mail to any building on the London Met campus, in respect of the picket lines and
in honor of their fellow trade union members. Essentially, the courtesy that the postal
workers gave to the striking employees was a:
A. primary boycott
B. secondary boycott
C. tertiary boycott
D. service industry boycott
Feedback: A primary boycott occurs when the striking union discourages its members and the
general public from buying the products and services of the organization they are striking
against. A secondary boycott occurs when other organizations are encouraged to stop doing
business with the organization that is the focus of the primary boycott. In this situation, the
postal workers voluntarily agreed to boycott the university by refusing to provide their service
to the school.
273. When AT&T anticipated that 20,000 mobility workers were planning to strike to show
their solidarity against concerns of unfair compensation, management was already calling
staffing agents to temporarily employ persons to cover for striking employees.
Traditionally, these workers are called ___________.
A. mobile temps
B. picket busters
C. strikebreakers
D. boycotters
Feedback: Strikebreakers are persons who are temporarily hired to replace striking
employees.
