Berman, Bowman, West, & Wart, Human Resource Management in Public Service, Sixth Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Study Questions
Chapter 11: Unions and the Government: Protectors, Partners, and
Punishers
1. How has the role of unions changed over the years in the United States? Why? (428–
429; 433–444)
2. Why are some employees positive about unions? (429–430)
3. Why are some employees negative about unions? (430)
4. Why are some managers positive about unions? (430–431)
5. Why are some managers negative about unions? (430–431)
6. How can management reduce chances of unionization? (430)
Berman, Bowman, West, & Wart, Human Resource Management in Public Service, Sixth Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2020
7. From the list of 15 ideas to improve relations between CEOs and union leaders, in your
opinion which three ideas do you think are best? (432)
8. From the 11 questions for employees regarding unions, which three questions are
most important to you? (435)
9. What are three paradoxes in labor–management relations? (435–436)
10. What is the free-rider problem? (436)
11. Which three differences between unions and management are most important? (348)
12. How do union membership percentages differ in the public and private sectors? (438)
13. Why have private sector union memberships declined? (438–439)
14. Why haven’t public sector union memberships declined? (439–440)
15. What did the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 do? (442)
16. In what ways do changes in the FLRA and NLRB influence regulatory decision-
making? (442–443)
17. What is the trend in work stoppages? (444)
18. Which of the arguments pro or con do you find most persuasive concerning public
sector strikes? Why? (444–445)
19. What were the issues in the PATCO strike? (444–445)
20. Why did it fail? (445–446)