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Chapter 10: Unfair Labor Practices and Contract Enforcement
1. Unfair labor practices are certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the
________.
a. Servicemen’s Readjustment Act
b. Class Action Fairness Act
c. National Labor Relations Act
d. Secure Fence Act
2. The primary objective of the NLRA is to ________.
a. provide adequate compensation to injured employees
b. encourage collective bargaining
c. ensure job security for whistleblowers
d. ensure that workers are informed in advance about an impending layoff
3. With reference to the National Labor Relations Act, which of the following statements is true
of the employees’ right to solicit support for a union?
a. Employees are allowed to solicit support for a union from their fellow employees during
working times.
b. Employees are not allowed to solicit support for a union from their fellow employees on the
employer’s property.
c. Employees are allowed to distribute union literature at the workplace.
d. Employers in retail businesses can prohibit union solicitation by employees in areas where
the public is invited.
4. With reference to union solicitation, which of the following employer actions is considered
an unfair labor practice?
a. An employer refuses a nonemployee access to its property because there are other means to
reach the employees.
b. An employer implements a no-solicitation policy for employees during work or non-work
hours, and that policy extends to all types of solicitation.
c. An employer allows its employees to access its bulletin board, but prohibits union solicitation
material from being displayed on the board.
d. An employer prohibits the wearing of union buttons because it can cause damage to the
product.
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5. The NRLB protects the right of employees to distribute union literature ________.
a. during working times and at the workplace
b. during nonworking times and at nonworking areas
c. during working times and at nonworking areas
d. during nonworking times and at the workplace
6. An employer can implement a no-solicitation policy for employees during both work and
nonwork hours if that policy ________.
a. extends to all types of solicitation
b. is approved by the union
c. allows the distribution of union literature at the workplace
d. is applicable only to union solicitation
7. A long-standing NLRB precedent provides that an employer who entertains a good-faith
reasonable doubt whether a majority of its employees support an incumbent union can
________.
a. request a formal board-supervised election
b. appoint an employee team to replace the union
c. request that the NLRB accept the leadership of the union
d. implement a new contract without consulting the union
8. ________ in any form has been held a violation of the unfair labor practices section of the
National Labor Relations Act.
a. Discriminatory action
b. Union solicitation
c. Union election
d. Employee surveillance
9. Which of the following actions taken by union members is most likely to be condemned by
the NLRB?
a. distributing union literature among employees
b. soliciting support for a union from fellow employees
c. holding election-day raffles
d. wearing union buttons and insignias
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10. The 24-hour rule prohibits ________ within 24 hours of a scheduled election.
a. the distribution of union material in working areas
b. organizational campaign speeches on company time
c. access to employees by union representatives
d. surveillance of union members
11. Under which of the following circumstances is the NLRB most likely to overturn a
representation election?
a. Union organizers contact employees outside the workplace to solicit support.
b. The employer polls employees to determine if there is majority support for a union.
c. An employee who does not support the union is threatened by a union organizer.
d. The employer is in the process of acquiring another company.
12. Which of the following activities related to organizing a bargaining unit is an unfair labor
practice?
a. not letting nonemployees solicit union support outside of working time on employer’s
premise if union has any other access
b. not letting employees distribute union material outside of working time in nonworking areas
c. not letting employees solicit union support during working time on or off of employer’s
premises
d. not allowing use of a bulletin board and meeting halls for any non-job-related business
13. Which of the following activities related to election campaigning is a fair labor practice?
a. making campaign speeches on company time within 24 hours of an election
b. electioneering near the polls
c. promising or granting benefits during a campaign that are inconsistent with past practice
d. communicating general views about possible economic consequence of unionization
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14. In the Electromation case, the Supreme Court ruled that the employer-created work
committees comprising both employees and managers that met to discuss working conditions
were a violation of the ________.
a. National Labor Relations Act
b. Fair Labor Standards Act
c. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
d. Selective Training and Service Act
15. Which of the following statements is true regarding a labor–management team created to
consider employment issues in a unionized organization?
a. The creation of such teams is illegal when there is a union to represent the employees.
b. All the members of this team must be appointed by management.
c. Such a team can be created only when most employees support the incumbent union.
d. Such a team should contain more union members than management.
16. Which of the following actions by an employer is most likely to be considered a violation of
the NLRA?
a. not allowing employee use of a company bulletin board
b. providing financial support to a union
c. forming a joint labor–management team to consider employment issues
d. granting benefits during campaign consistent with past practice as to timing and amount
17. Which of the following terms refers to the employer’s conduct that is not motivated, or at
least not entirely motivated, by legitimate and substantial business reasons, but by a desire to
penalize or reward employees for union activity or lack of it?
a. sickout
b. concerted activity
c. antiunion animus
d. surface bargaining
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18. In a ________ discrimination case, the employer puts forth only the legitimate business
reason, but the complainant asserts that the prohibited reason is the true cause for the action.
a. dual-motive
b. pretext
c. two-point
d. systematic
19. With reference to union activities, a “salt” is ________.
a. an employee who switches support between two competing unions in a workplace
b. a union representative who solicits support for a union by threatening workers
c. a management representative who actively voices support for union activities
d. a paid union organizer who secures a job in a workplace in order to organize a union
20. Which of the following terms refers to any action by employees to legitimately further their
common interests pursued on behalf of or with other employees, and not solely by and on
behalf of an individual?
a. concerted activity
b. intrinsic activity
c. displacement activity
d. correlation activity
21. Which of the following is the most common form of concerted activity?
a. lockouts
b. surface bargaining
c. strikes
d. dual-motive discrimination
22. A ________ strike refers to an economic strike conducted by a minority of the workers
without the approval of the union and in violation of a no-strike clause in an existing contract.
a. wildcat
b. ground
c. sickout
d. general
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23. A partial strike involves ________.
a. a takeover of the employer’s property
b. work slowdowns or refusal to work overtime
c. striking without the approval of the union
d. all the employees calling in sick to work
24. When a strike is called because two unions are in dispute as to whose workers deserve the
work, it known as a ________ strike.
a. featherbedding
b. recognitional
c. jurisdictional
d. rolling
25. Which of the following types of strikes involves a union trying to pressure the employer to
make work for union members through the limitation of production, increasing the amount of
work to be performed, or other make-work arrangements?
a. featherbedding
b. recognitional
c. jurisdictional
d. rolling
26. ________ is a practice where union officials pressure organizers into disclosing sensitive
personal information. This information is recorded on a piece of paper and then the
organizers are strongly urged to tell their personal stories of abuse or neglect to workers they
were trying to organize in order to gain their support.
a. Featherbedding
b. Pink sheeting
c. Surface bargaining
d. Boulwarism
27. Which of the following indicates bad-faith bargaining on the part of an employer?
a. The employer develops its BATNA before the bargaining begins.
b. The employer refuses to make counter-proposals.
c. The employer does not disclose its true resistance point during the bargaining.
d. The employer insists on putting the agreement in writing only after all issues are agreed to.
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28. During a negotiation, in which of the following situations can an employer bypass the union
and communicate the offer directly to the employees?
a. The union representatives insist on taking the contract back for a vote of union members
before acceptance.
b. The employer provides financial support to the union.
c. The employer has a good-faith reasonable doubt about whether a majority of its employees
support the incumbent union.
d. The union refuses the final offer during the contract negotiation.
29. The ________ clause is a provision of a collective bargaining agreement that restricts either
party from requiring the other party to bargain on any issue that was not previously
negotiated in the agreement for the term of the contract.
a. opener
b. escape
c. zipper
d. severability
30. The zipper clause is also known as a ________ clause.
a. severability
b. wrap-up
c. scope
d. escape
31. Which of the following statements is true regarding an opener clause?
a. It is a negotiated contract provision of a collective bargaining agreement that restricts either
party from requiring the other party to bargain on any issue that was not previously
negotiated in the agreement for the term of the contract.
b. It is an agreement provision that allows future negotiations during the term of the contract on
specific mandatory issues such as wages or health care.
c. It is a negotiated contract provision stating that union members of one employer have the
right to refuse to handle nonunion or struck goods of other employers.
d. It is an agreement provision that protects the rest of the contract should one section come into
conflict with state or federal law.
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32. Most contracts contain a ________ clause that protects the rest of the contract should one
section come into conflict with state or federal law.
a. escape
b. zipper
c. severability
d. opener
33. During ________, a union exerts economic pressure on a neutral party indirectly related to
the primary employer. The neutral party then exerts pressure against the primary employer.
a. a lockout
b. featherbedding
c. a secondary boycott
d. a wildcat strike
34. Appeals to replacement workers or delivery people not to cross a picket line or appeals to
employees of subcontractors not to continue work essential to the operation are examples of
activities included in a ________.
a. lockout
b. wildcat strike
c. sickout
d. primary boycott
35. What is a hot cargo agreement?
a. It is an agreement provision that allows future negotiations during the term of the contract on
specific mandatory issues such as wages or health care.
b. It is an agreement provision that protects the rest of the contract should one section come into
conflict with state or federal law.
c. It is a negotiated contract provision of a collective bargaining agreement that restricts either
party from requiring the other party to bargain on any issue that was not previously
negotiated in the agreement for the term of the contract.
d. It is a negotiated contract provision stating that union members of one employer have the
right to refuse to handle nonunion or struck goods of other employers.
36. Actions that interfere, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to unionize
or not to unionize are considered unfair labor practices.
37. According to the NLRA, employees are allowed to solicit support for a union from their
fellow employees during working times.
38. According to the NLRA, distribution of union literature at the workplace is not restricted in
anyway.
39. If an employer implements a no-solicitation policy for employees during work or non-work
hours then it will not be considered an unfair labor practice if that policy extends to all types
of solicitation.
40. Employees have no statutory right to use an employer’s bulletin board.
41. An employer can allow its employees access to its bulletin board, but prohibit union
solicitation material from being displayed on the board.
42. The 24-hour rule prohibits union members from attending large union assemblies within 24
hours of a scheduled election.
43. On election day, prolonged conversations between company or union officials and the voters
are prohibited.
44. Union picketing for recognition for longer than 30 days without filing an election petition is
an unfair labor practice.
45. Electioneering outside a 100-foot radius from polls is an unfair labor practice.
46. Employee teams who have the authority to make decisions, but act without obtaining
employer approval are illegal labor organizations.
47. If joint labor–management teams or committees are created to consider employment issues
and a union represents the employees, such teams should contain fewer union members than
management.
48. Employer support of one of two competing unions is considered a violation of the NLRA.
49. Discrimination against employees, based on their union activities, is an unfair labor practice.
50. Discriminatory acts by the employer in compliance with a union shop provision in a
collective bargaining agreement do not violate the NLRA.
51. Concerted activity must involve union leadership or membership to be protected.
52. Any retaliation against employees participating in a primary strike is an unfair labor practice.
53. During a strike, violent activity can result in the removal of the participants from the
protection of the National Labor Relations Act.
54. A sickout is a type of strike in which the employees take over the employer’s property.
55. A strike called because two unions are in dispute about whose workers deserve the work is
known as a featherbedding strike.
56. A union employee cannot refuse to attend a meeting with management without a union
representative.
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57. Replacing striking workers with permanent employees during an economic strike is an unfair
labor practice on the part of an employer.
58. Boulwarism is a collective bargaining approach in which management presents its entire
proposal as its final offer, holding nothing back for further negotiations.
59. The act by either party of simply going through the motions of negotiating without any real
intention of arriving at an agreement is known as arena bargaining.
60. Bypassing the bargaining representation by attempting to negotiate directly with employees is
often held as a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.
61. The obligation of the union representative to take a contract back for a vote of union
members before acceptance is not a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.
62. The opener clause is sometimes referred to as a severability clause.
63. A hot cargo agreement is an agreement provision that protects the rest of the contract should
one section come into conflict with state or federal law.
64. Violation of a provision of a collective bargaining agreement is not in and of itself an unfair
labor practice.
65. The NLRA gives employees the right to refrain from union activities.