(Sources: Boone, Louis E. and Kurtz, David L Contemporary Business, 1997 and
Academic
American Encyclopedia. Deluxe Library edition.
Grolier Incorporated. 12th volume (K-L).
A labor
union is a group of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals
about wages, hours, and working conditions. In the
·
A craft union joins skilled
workers in a specific craft or trade, such as carpentry, painting, printing,
and heavy-equipment operating.
·
An industrial union combines
all workers in an industry, regardless of their craft, trade, or skill levels.
Industrial unions include the United
Steelworkers, United Auto Workers,
Amalgamated Clothing Workers, and United Transportation Union.
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A1.
What is a labor union?
A2.
How many types of labor unions are there in the
A3.
What type of union do carpenters and painters belong to?
A4.
What type of union is the United Auto Workers?
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The first union was the Knights of Labor, founded
shortly after the Civil War ended, by Uriah Stephens, a
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B1.
What was the first union?
B2.
Who was the Knights organizer?
B3.
How many factions did the Knights split into?
B4.
What does AFL stand for?
B5.
Who was the first president of the AFL?
The Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) joined the workers who were excluded from the elitist AFL, which became
less and less representative of
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C1.
What does IWW stand for?
C2.
Who does IWW represent?
C3.
After what event was the IWW driven out of existence by government?
C4.
What does CIO stand for?
C5.
After what event did the AFL and CIO unite?
C6.
Who was the president of the AFL during this time? And from
the CIO?
C7.
What two parties supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's political campaign?
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A national union is a large labor organization
composed of numerous local unions. So, a local union is the branch of a
national union representing members in a specific area that receives its
charter from the national union and operates under the national union’s
constitution, by laws and rules. An international union is a union with members
outside the
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D1.
What is a national union?
D2.
What is a local union?
D3.
What is an international union?
D4.
What is a federation?
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A wave of strikes over wage demands led Congress to
pass the Labor-Management Relations Act, or Taft-Hartley Act, over President Truman’s veto. This Act outlaws unfair
practices of unions such as refusal to bargain with the employer, striking
without 60 days’ notice, most secondary boycotts, featherbedding, or demanding
pay for workers who don’t work, and the closed shop, an illegal policy
requiring a firm to hire only current union members.
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E1.
What’s another name for the Labor-Management Relations Act?
E2.
What does this act outlaw?
E3.
What is featherbedding?
E4.
What is a closed shop?
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A union shop is an employment policy requiring
nonunion workers to join a union that represents a firm’s workers within a
specified period, normally 30 days. An agency shop is an employment policy
allowing workers to reject union membership, but requiring them to pay fees
equal to union dues. The open shop makes union membership voluntary for all
employees. Open shops are mandatory in those states of the United States that
have right-to-work laws.
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F1.
What is a union shop?
F2.
What is an agency shop?
F3.
What is an open shop?
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The Norris-LaGuardia Act, which had limited the
power of the federal courts to issue injunctions to stop peaceful strikes, was
followed by the National Labor Relations Act, or Wagner Act. The act granted
workers the right to organize and bargain collectively through representation
of their own choosing, and the right to strike. It also established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to
conduct elections among employees wishing to organize a union.
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G1.
What did the Norris-LaGuardia Act limit?
G2.
What’s another name for the National Labor Relations Act?
G3.
What did it grant to workers?
G4.
What does NLRB stand for?
G5.
What’s the function of the NLRB?
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Before workers can form a union, they must conduct an
organizing drive to collect the signatures of at least 30 percent of their
fellow employees on special authorization cards. If the drive secures the
required signatures, the union can then petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election. If more than
50 percent of the employees vote in favor of union representation, the union is
certified. Once a majority of a firm’s workers accept a union as their
representative, the National Labor Relations Board certifies the union and the
firm’s management must recognize it as the legal collective bargaining agent
for all employees.
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H1.
What percentage of employees’ signatures do you need to petition the
NLRB for an election?
H2.
How many votes do you need to certify a union?
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A collective bargaining is the negotiation between
management and union representatives concerning wages and working conditions.
The resulting labor contracts are typically quite large, written documents that
both parties agree to honor and enforce. Agreements generally include the
following sections:
·
Wage provisions: Additionally, contract provisions cover paid
vacations, holidays, minimum weekly (or daily) rates of pay, and “overtime.”
·
Job rights: Workers have the right to a “just cause” explanation for
dismissal, and redress.
·
Union rights: Employers are prohibited from bargaining directly with
any individual employee or employee group.
·
Management rights: “Right to manage.” This right includes control of
production scheduling, hiring, promotion outside the bargaining unit, and
discharge for cause.
·
Remediation: Any disagreements that arise are subject to remediation
under the enforcement provisions of the agreement, which generally specifies
arbitration as a mechanism for dispute resolution without resort to strike.
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J1.
What is a collective bargaining?
J2.
What is a labor contract?
J3.
What sections do an agreement generally include?
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A union contract covers a 2-year or 3-year period.
Once ratified by the union membership, the contract becomes a legally binding
agreement that governs all labor-management relations during the period
specified. Unions and management must agree on an indicator for the cost of
living. Usually they settle on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the
costs of such items as housing, clothing, food, and automobiles.
The chief weapons of unions are strikes, picketing,
and boycotts:
·
A strike is the employees’
temporary work stoppage until a dispute is settled or a contract signed. Since
a company doesn’t pay striking workers, the union generally establishes a fund
to provide workers’ wages, allowing them to continue striking without financial
hardship. Even though federal employees have been permitted to join and bargain
collectively, they are not allowed to strike. In these cases, federal employees
may still go on strike by calling in sick. An example would be when the
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, and President
Ronald Reagan fired 11,500
controllers, and in effect, decertified the union.
·
Picketing is when workers march at a
plant entrance to protest some management practice. As long as picketing
doesn’t involve violence or intimidation, it is protected under the U.S.
Constitution as free speech.
·
A boycott is an attempt to
keep people from purchasing goods and services from a company as part of a
labor dispute. In a primary boycott,
union members urge people not to patronize a firm directly involved in a labor
dispute. A secondary boycott is
intended to force an employer to stop dealing with a firm involved in a labor
dispute.
Management has its own weapons for dealing with
organized labor:
·
A lockout is a management
shutdown of a firm to pressure union members.
·
A strikebreaker is a nonunion
worker hired to replace a striking worker.
An injunction
is a court order prohibiting some union or management practice. This is
regulated by the Norris-LaGuardia Act.
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K1.
How many years does a union contract cover?
K3.
What is a strike?
K4.
Does a company pay striking workers? If not, who pays them?
K5.
Can federal employees go on strike?
K6.
What is picketing?
K7.
Is it protected by the U.S. Constitution?
K8.
What is a boycott?
K9.
What is a primary boycott?
K10.
What is a secondary boycott?
K11.
What is a lockout?
K12.
What is a strikebreaker?
K13.
What is an injunction?
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A1.
Group of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals about
wages, hours,
and working conditions.
A2.
Two types.
A3.
Craft unions.
A4.
Industrial union.
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B1.
The Knights of Labor.
B2.
Uriah Stephens.
B3.
Two factions.
B4.
American Federation of Labor.
B5.
Samuel Gompers.
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C1.
Industrial Workers of the World.
C2.
Mass of unskilled and semiskilled workers who were excluded from the
elitist
AFL.
C3.
After the Great Depression.
C4.
Congress of Industrial Organizations.
C5.
Civil Rights Movement.
C6.
George Meany (AFL), Walter Reuther (CIO).
C7.
The AFL and the CIO before they united.
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D1.
Large labor organization composed of numerous local unions.
D2.
Branch of a national union representing members in a specific
area.
D3.
Union with members outside the
D4.
Association of numerous national and international unions to serve mediation
and political
functions.
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E1.
Hartley Act.
E2.
Unfair practices of unions.
E3.
Demanding pay for workers who don’t work.
E4.
Illegal policy requiring a firm to hire only current union
members.
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F1.
Employment policy requiring nonunion workers to join a union that represents
a firm’s workers
within a specified period, normally 30 days.
F2.
Employment policy allowing workers to reject union membership, but
requiring them
to pay fees equal to union dues.
F3.
Makes union membership voluntary for all employees.
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G1.
The power of the federal courts to issue injunctions to stop
peaceful strikes.
G2.
Wagner Act.
G3.
The right to organize and bargain together through representation of their own
choosing, and
the right to strike.
G4.
National Labor Relations Board.
G5.
To conduct elections among employees wishing to organize a
union.
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H1.
30 percent.
H2.
Majority—More than 50 percent.
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J1.
Negotiation between management and union representatives concerning wages
and working conditions
J2.
Written documents that both parties agree to honor and
enforce.
J3.
Wage provisions, job rights, union rights, management rights, remediation.
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K1.
Two or three years.
K3.
Employees’ temporary work stoppage until a dispute is settled or a contract
signed.
K4.
No—the union establishes a fund to provide workers’ wages.
K5.
No.
K6.
When workers march at a plant entrance to protest some management
practice.
K7.
Only when peaceful.
K8.
Attempt to keep people from purchasing goods or services from a company as
a labor
dispute.
K9.
When union members urge people not to patronize a firm directly involved in
a labor
dispute.
K10.
Boycott intended to force an employer to stop dealing with another firm
involved in a
labor dispute.
K11.
Management shutdown of a firm to pressure union members.
K12.
Nonunion worker hired to replace a striking worker.
K13. Court order prohibiting some union or
management practice.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE: On your Scantron sheet, please fill in thoroughly the letter of the single best choice. TO CHANGE AN ANSWER, ERASE COMPLETELY. YOU MAY MARK ON THESE SHEETS, BUT TURN THEM IN WITH YOUR SCANTRON SHEET INSIDE THEM.
1. What does AFL stand for?
a) American Football League. c) American Federation of Labor.
b) Association of Feminists Lovers. d) Americans for Labor.
2. What does CIO stand for?
a) Commerce of International Organizations. c) Congress of Industrial Organizations.
b) Community In Occupations. d) None of the above.
3. Who was the first president of the AFL?
a) Robert Garcia. c) Walter Reuther .
b) Samuel Gompers. d) George Meany.
4. What type are the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the United Steelworkers?
a) Craft union. c) Both a and b, are correct.
b) Industrial union. d) None of the above
5. What two unions supported F.D.R. during his Presidential election?
a) AFL and CIO before they united.
b) United
Auto Workers (UAW) and the American Bar Association (
c) Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
d) Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the National Grange.
6. After what event did the AFL and CIO unite?
a) After the Civil Rights movement began. c) After the Constitution was written.
b) After World War II. d) After the Great Depression.
7. What does NLRB stand for?
a) National Literate Revolutionary Board. c) New Labor Relations Block.
b) New Literature Room Board. d) National Labor Relations Board.
8. What is the function of the NLRB?
a) To distribute the money earned by the union.
b) To conduct elections among employees wishing to organize a union.
c) To conduct presidential elections.
d) To organize employees so that they work better and faster.
9. Which act was passed over President Truman's veto?
a) Taft-Hartley Act. c) Both, a and b, are correct.
b) Labor Management Relations Act. d) None of the above.
10. What are the three weapons labor unions use against companies involved in labor disputes?
a) Strikebreaker, lockout, and boycott. c) Picketing, open shop, and closes shop.
b) Strike, injunction, and picketing. d) Boycott, picketing, and strike.
11. What is a strike?
a) Employees' temporary work stoppage until a dispute is settled or a contract signed.
b) When workers march at a plant entrance to protest some management practice.
c) Attempt to keep people from purchasing goods or services from a company as a labor dispute.
d) Management shutdown of a firm to pressure union members.
12. What kind of employees can't go on strike?
a) Grocery store employees. c) Federal employees.
b) Factory employees. d) Truck drivers.
13. What president fired 11,500 federal employees from the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization?
a) Ronald Reagan. c) William Clinton.
b) George Washington. d) George Bush.
14. Who pays striking workers?
a) The union. c) Nobody.
b) The company. d) The government.
15. What is picketing?
a) Court order prohibiting some union or management practice.
b) Nonunion worker hired to replace a striking worker.
c) When workers march at a plant entrance to protest some management practice.
d) Employees' temporary work stoppage until a dispute is settled or a contract signed.
16. What is a boycott?
a) Attempt to keep people from purchasing goods or services from a company as a labor dispute.
b) Weapon that unions use against the company involved in the dispute.
c) Both, a and b, are correct.
d) None of the above.
17. How many kind of boycotts are there?
a) Two c) Four.
b) Three d) Five.
18. What is a primary boycott?
a) Court order prohibiting some union or management practice.
b) Nonunion worker hired to replace a striking worker.
c) Management shutdown of a firm to pressure union members.
d) When union members urge people not to patronize a firm directly involved in a labor dispute.
19. What is a secondary boycott?
a) Negotiation between management and union representatives concerning wages and working conditions.
b) Illegal policy requiring a firm to hire only current union members.
c) Boycott intended to force an employer to stop dealing with another firm involved in a labor dispute.
d) Union
with members outside the
20. What are the weapons of management for dealing with organized labor?
a) Lockout and strikebreaker. c) Boycott, strike, and picketing.
b) Injunction, strike, and boycott. d) All of the above.
21. What is a strikebreaker?
a) Management shutdown of a company.
b) Negotiation between management and union representatives concerning wages and working conditions.
c) Nonunion worker hired to replace a striking worker.
d) When workers march at a plant entrance to protest some management practice.
22. What is a lockout?
a) Management shutdown of a firm to pressure union members.
b) Branch of a national union representing members in a specific area.
c) Unfair practice of unions.
d) Demanding pay for workers who don't work.
23. What is an injunction?
a) It makes union membership voluntary for all employees. c) Peaceful boycott.
b) Court order prohibiting some union or management practice. d) All of the above.
Answers
for the test:
1. c 11. a 21. c
2. c 12. c 22. a
3. b 13. a 23. b
4. b 14. a
5. a 15. c
6. a 16. c
7. d 17. a
8. b 18. d
9. c 19. c
10. d 20. a