Chapter 12: Dealing with Employee–Management Issues

Question 1

agency shop agreement

Answer 1

Clause in a labor–management agreement that says employers may hire nonunion workers; employees aren’t required to join the union but must pay a union fee.

Question 2

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Answer 2

An organization of craft unions that championed fundamental labor issues; founded in 1886.

Question 3

arbitration

Answer 3

The agreement to bring in an impartial third party (a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators) to render a binding decision in a labor dispute.

Question 4

bargaining zone

Answer 4

The range of options between the initial and final offer that each party will consider before negotiations dissolve or reach an impasse.

Question 5

certification

Answer 5

Formal process whereby a union is recognized by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the bargaining agent for a group of employees.

Question 6

closed shop agreement

Answer 6

Clause in a labor–management agreement that specified workers had to be members of a union before being hired (was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947).

Question 7

collective bargaining

Answer 7

The process whereby union and management representatives form a labor–management agreement, or contract, for workers.

Question 8

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Answer 8

Union organization of unskilled workers; broke away from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1935 and rejoined it in 1955.

Question 9

cooling-off period

Answer 9

When workers in a critical industry return to their jobs while the union and management continue negotiations.

Question 10

craft union

Answer 10

An organization of skilled specialists in a particular craft or trade.

Question 11

decertification

Answer 11

The process by which workers take away a union’s right to represent them.

Question 12

grievance

Answer 12

A charge by employees that management isn’t abiding by the terms of the negotiated labor–management agreement.

Question 13

industrial unions

Answer 13

Labor organizations of unskilled and semiskilled workers in mass-production industries such as automobile manufacturing and mining.

Question 14

injunction

Answer 14

A court order directing someone to do something or to refrain from doing something.

Question 15

Knights of Labor

Answer 15

The first national labor union; formed in 1869.

Question 16

lockout

Answer 16

An attempt by management to put pressure on unions by temporarily closing the business.

Question 17

mediation

Answer 17

The use of a third party, called a mediator, who encourages both sides in a dispute to continue negotiating and often makes suggestions for resolving the dispute.

Question 18

negotiated labor–management agreement (labor contract)

Answer 18

Agreement that sets the tone and clarifies the terms under which management and labor agree to function over a period of time.

Question 19

open shop agreement

Answer 19

Agreement in right-to-work states that gives workers the option to join or not join a union, if one exists in their workplace.

Question 20

primary boycott

Answer 20

When a union encourages both its members and the general public not to buy the products of a firm involved in a labor dispute.

Question 21

right-to-work laws

Answer 21

Legislation that gives workers the right, under an open shop, to join or not join a union if it’s present.

Question 22

secondary boycott

Answer 22

An attempt by labor to convince others to stop doing business with a firm that’s the subject of a primary boycott; prohibited by the Taft-Hartley Act.

Question 23

sexual harassment

Answer 23

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct (verbal or physical) of a sexual nature that creates a hostile work environment.

Question 24

shop stewards

Answer 24

Union officials who work permanently in an organization and represent employee interests on a daily basis.

Question 25

strike

Answer 25

A union strategy in which workers refuse to go to work; the purpose is to further workers’ objectives after an impasse in collective bargaining.

Question 26

strikebreakers

Answer 26

Workers hired to do the jobs of striking workers until the labor dispute is resolved.

Question 27

union

Answer 27

An employee organization that has the main goal of representing members in employee–management bargaining over job-related issues.

Question 28

union security clause

Answer 28

Provision in a negotiated labor–management agreement that stipulates that employees who benefit from a union must either officially join or at least pay dues to the union.

Question 29

union shop agreement

Answer 29

Clause in a labor–management agreement that says workers don’t have to be members of a union to be hired, but must agree to join the union within a prescribed period.

Question 30

yellow-dog contract

Answer 30

A type of contract that required employees to agree as a condition of employment not to join a union; prohibited by the Norris-LaGuardia Act in 1932.