Chapter 17

Question 1

Typical goals of a labor union in the United States include

Answer 1

higher wages, better working conditions, and more job security.

Question 2

Unions may lower real wages in the nonunion sector because

Answer 2

workers who are displaced by higher wages in the unionized sector increase the labor supply in the nonunion sector.

Question 3

Union work rules may restrict productivity in all of the following ways except

Answer 3

requiring a maximum number of workers for a certain task.

Question 4

Labor supply can be defined as the

Answer 4

willingness and ability of people to work specific amounts of time at alternative wage rates in a given period of time, ceteris paribus.

Question 5

Because firms are willing to hire additional workers at lower wages, the market labor demand curve is

Answer 5

downward-sloping.

Question 6

The equilibrium wage rate is determined by

Answer 6

market labor supply and market labor demand.

Question 7

In determining how much labor union workers will offer, the union concerns itself mainly with the

Answer 7

marginal wage curve.

Question 8

A union evaluates job offers based on the

Answer 8

collective interests of its members.

Question 9

From a union’s perspective, the optimal level of employment is determined by the intersection of the

Answer 9

marginal wage curve and the labor supply curve.

Question 10

A union shop is an employment setting in which workers

Answer 10

must join the union within 30 days after being hired.

Question 11

The United Farm Workers have been unsuccessful for decades in their attempts to organize California’s strawberry pickers because the workers

Answer 11

know that replacement workers are readily available.

Question 12

In the last 10 years, private union membership has

Answer 12

decreased, while public union membership has increased

Question 13

A monopsony

Answer 13

is a market in which there is only one buyer.

Question 14

A market with one buyer and one seller is a

Answer 14

bilateral monopoly.

Question 15

In a bilateral monopoly, wages and employment are determined by

Answer 15

negotiation.

Question 16

Collective bargaining

Answer 16

involves direct negotiations between labor unions and employers.

Question 17

The refusal to work by unionized labor is an example of

Answer 17

a strike.

Question 18

When a strike or a lockout occurs, then

Answer 18

both labor and management suffer.

Question 19

When management shuts down a plant and does not allow workers to perform their jobs, there is a

Answer 19

lockout.

Question 20

Union work rules may restrict productivity in all of the following ways except

Answer 20

requiring a maximum number of workers for a certain task.