Human Resource Management, 14e, Global Edition (Dessler)
Chapter 15 Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
1) About ________% of people working in the United States belong to unions.
A) 5
B) 12
C) 20
D) 34
2) Costco is primarily known as “the anti-Walmart” because the firm ________.
A) negotiates contracts with unions
B) pays above the minimum wage
C) offers employees health benefits
D) refuses to accept union contracts
3) Which of the following best explains why union membership has fallen since the 1970s?
A) Legislation provides workers with protections that were once exclusive to unions.
B) Union members earn less on average compared to non-union members.
C) Union membership is too expensive for most blue-collar workers.
D) Foreign-owned manufacturers will not hire union members.
E) Unions are considered largely ineffectual.
4) Which of the following is most likely a false statement about union membership?
A) Union members work in both blue-collar and white-collar industries.
B) Insurance plan benefits are better for union workers than for nonunion workers.
C) Union workers receive more holidays and unpaid leave than nonunion workers do.
D) Employers prefer nonunion workers, so they pay them higher wages than union members.
5) Which of the following best describes the closed shop form of union security?
A) A company can hire nonunion people if they agree to join the union.
B) Union members receive higher wages than nonunion employees.
C) Union members receive preferential treatment in hiring.
D) A company can hire only union members.
6) The ________ form of union security means that the company can hire only union members.
A) closed shop
B) union shop
C) agency shop
D) preferential shop
7) Which type of union security was outlawed by Congress?
A) agency shop
B) closed shop
C) union shop
D) maintenance of membership
8) Which type of union security accounts for almost three-fourths of union contracts?
A) maintenance of membership
B) closed shop
C) union shop
D) agency shop
9) The ________ form of union security means that the company can hire nonunion people, but
those people must join the union within a prescribed period of time and pay dues.
A) closed shop
B) union shop
C) agency shop
D) open shop
10) Which form of union security requires employees who do not belong to the union to pay
union dues on the assumption that the union’s efforts benefit all workers?
A) union shop
B) agency shop
C) open shop
D) maintenance of agreement
11) Which of the following best defines the preferential shop form of union security?
A) A company can hire nonunion people, but they must then join the union.
B) Union members must maintain membership for the contract period.
C) Employees who do not belong to the union must still pay dues.
D) A company gives hiring advantages to union members.
12) With the maintenance of membership arrangement of union security, how long must union
members employed by a firm maintain union membership?
A) until the union disbands
B) until negotiations are over
C) for the contract period
D) for at least one year
13) The term ________ describes statutory or constitutional provisions banning the requirement
of union membership as a condition of employment.
A) termination at will
B) right to work
C) open shop
D) free labor
14) Right to work laws inhibit union formation by ________.
A) banning any form of union security
B) making union membership a requirement
C) leaving the question of union affiliation up to each company
D) leaving the question of union security up to each company
15) In which human resource activity does a typical labor agreement NOT give the union a role?
A) recruitment
B) selection
C) dismissal
D) appraisals
16) Which of the following best describes the AFL-CIO?
A) voluntary federation of national and international labor unions
B) local union for automobile workers in Detroit, Michigan
C) federation of firms that fight unionization in their plants
D) regional branch of the National Labor Relations Board
17) Which of the following best describes a “yellow dog” contract?
A) As a condition of employment, an employee agrees not to picket.
B) Employers agree to give union members preference in hiring.
C) As a condition of employment, an employee agrees to not join a union.
D) Employers agree to abide by the guidelines of the local labor unions.
18) Prior to 1930, employers attempted to limit the influence of unions using all of the following
methods EXCEPT ________.
A) spying on workers
B) firing union agitators
C) requiring yellow dog contracts
D) engaging in collective bargaining
19) Which of the following guaranteed each employee the right to bargain collectively without
interference, restraint, or coercion?
A) National Labor Relations Act
B) Norris-LaGuardia Act
C) Davis-Bacon Act
D) Taft-Hartley Act
20) Which of the following bans five unfair labor practices and provides for majority rule and
secret ballot elections?
A) Landrum-Griffin Act
B) Norris-LaGuardia Act
C) Taft-Hartley Act
D) Wagner Act
21) Which of the following was established by the Wagner Act?
A) Labor Management Relations Board
B) National Labor Relations Board
C) Knights of Labor
D) AFL-CIO
22) Which of the following was passed in 1935 to amend the Norris -LaGuardia Act?
A) Taft-Hartley Act
B) New Deal Act
C) Wagner Act
D) Landrum-Griffin Act
23) Which of the following best describes the purpose of the Wagner Act?
A) guaranteeing each employee the right to bargain collectively free from interference and
coercion
B) banning unions from preventing employees from exercising their guaranteed bargaining rights
C) allowing secret-ballot elections for determining whether a firm’s employees would unionize
D) making it illegal for a union to refuse to bargain in good faith with the employer
24) The National Labor Relations Board was primarily established for the purpose of ________.
A) establishing branches in right-to-work states
B) negotiating contracts on behalf of local unions
C) investigating unfair labor practice charges
D) overseeing the establishment of local unions
25) Which of the following was NOT designated an unfair labor practice by the Wagner Act?
A) bribing employees
B) using company spy systems
C) requiring yellow dog contracts
D) moving businesses to avoid unionization
26) Which of the following is the most likely reason for the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act?
A) high unemployment rates
B) significant economic boom
C) major shifts in the workforce
D) numerous union strikes
27) The Taft-Hartley Act amended the Wagner Act in all of the following ways EXCEPT by
________.
A) prohibiting unfair labor practices
B) enumerating the rights of employers
C) limiting the power of the National Labor Review Board
D) allowing the U.S. President to bar national emergency strikes
28) Which of the following terms refers to an unfair labor practice in which a union requires an
employer to pay an employee for services not performed?
A) coercing
B) padding
C) ballooning
D) featherbedding
29) The Taft-Hartley Act prohibits all of the following union labor practices EXCEPT ________.
A) forcing an employer to fire a worker for failing to attend union meetings
B) refusing to bargain in good faith with an employer about wages and hours
C) restraining or coercing employees from exercising their guaranteed bargaining rights
D) demanding an employer to fire a worker who fails to pay union dues in a closed shop
30) You are a manager at a manufacturing facility, and you tell your subordinates that unions are
dangerous to the economy. Which law protects your right to express these views?
A) Wagner Act
B) Taft-Hartley Act
C) Norris-LaGuardia Act
D) Landrum-Griffin Act
31) Which law sought to protect union members from possible wrongdoing on the part of their
unions?
A) Norris-LaGuardia Act
B) Taft-Hartley Act
C) Wagner Act
D) Landrum-Griffin Act
32) According to the Landrum-Griffin Act, national and international unions must elect officers
at least once every ________ years.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
33) What is the first step in the union drive process?
A) obtaining authorization cards from employees
B) making initial contact with employees
C) holding an initial organization hearing
D) campaigning for employee votes
34) Which of the following is a union organizing tactic by which union members are placed on
nonunion job sites?
A) featherbedding
B) union salting
C) logrolling
D) picketing
35) What percentage of eligible employees in a bargaining unit must sign authorization cards in
order for the union to petition the NLRB for an election?
A) 20
B) 30
C) 40
D) 50
36) Union authorization cards serve all of the following functions EXCEPT ________.
A) subjecting the employee to union rules
B) stating that the employee has applied for membership
C) enabling employers to modify employment conditions
D) designating the union as a bargaining representative
37) Hyper-Tech Enterprises manufactures mechanical parts used in air conditioning and heating
units. The company employs over 300 workers at its Alabama facility. None of the Hyper-Tech
employees belong to a union; however, management believes that unionization is in the near
future. A representative of a local union has recently visited Hyper-Tech in an attempt to solicit
members and have them sign authorization cards. Enough eligible employees have signed
authorization cards to petition the NLRB for an election. Hyper-Tech’s top executives are
considering fighting the unionization efforts.
Which of the following questions is LEAST relevant to the decision by Hyper-Tech to fight
unionization efforts?
A) How many Hyper-Tech employees were hired within the last year?
B) What percentage of Hyper-Tech employees signed authorization cards?
C) What is the opinion of Hyper-Tech’s shareholders and creditors regarding unionization?
D) What are the laws regarding what Hyper-Tech managers can and cannot do during a
campaign?
38) Hyper-Tech Enterprises manufactures mechanical parts used in air conditioning and heating
units. The company employs over 300 workers at its Alabama facility. None of the Hyper-Tech
employees belong to a union; however, management believes that unionization is in the near
future. A representative of a local union has recently visited Hyper-Tech in an attempt to solicit
members and have them sign authorization cards. Enough eligible employees have signed
authorization cards to petition the NLRB for an election. Hyper-Tech’s top executives are
considering fighting the unionization efforts.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the argument that Hyper-Tech should contest the
union’s right to an election?
A) Managers believe that they may have inadvertently hired union salts, who most likely
instigated the unionization movement at Hyper-Tech.
B) The process outlined at Hyper-Tech for filing employee grievances differs from the grievance
procedures at other firms in the same industry.
C) Hyper-Tech management believes that if employees are provided with additional information
from the firm that they will revoke their authorization cards.
D) Hyper-Tech managers will soon be conducting annual employee performance appraisals and
determining what salary adjustments to make.
39) Which of the following terms refers to the group of employees the union will be authorized
to represent?
A) bargaining unit
B) mediating group
C) negotiating team
D) grievance committee
40) The union becomes the employees’ representative if it receives ________.
A) a majority of the votes cast by the bargaining unit
B) signed authorization cards from 30% of employees
C) written approval from the employer
D) a majority of the votes cast
41) Which of the following situations would most likely improve a union’s chances of winning a
certification election at Apex Enterprises?
A) geographic area with low percentage of union workers
B) high unemployment in the geographic area
C) a large portion of workers voting
D) small bargaining units
42) All of the following increase the likelihood that an employer will lose an NLRB election
EXCEPT ________.
A) focusing primarily on wage and benefits issues
B) appointing a committee to manage the campaign
C) distributing employee need and attitude surveys
D) delegating personnel relations issues to plant managers
43) Hyper-Tech Enterprises manufactures mechanical parts used in air conditioning and heating
units. The company employs over 300 workers at its Alabama facility. None of the Hyper-Tech
employees belong to a union; however, management believes that unionization is in the near
future. A representative of a local union has recently visited Hyper-Tech in an attempt to solicit
members and have them sign authorization cards. Enough eligible employees have signed
authorization cards to petition the NLRB for an election. Hyper-Tech’s top executives are
considering fighting the unionization efforts.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the suggestion that Hyper-Tech will lose an NLRB
election?
A) Hyper-Tech recently distributed employee surveys that indicated overall job satisfaction.
B) Hyper-Tech executives have decided that a committee should manage the campaign.
C) Hyper-Tech managers have been told to share their opinions about unions with subordinates.
D) Hyper-Tech managers have been told to avoid making promises to their subordinates.