Vocab for Final Test Flashcards
Administrative
Law Judge
An employee of the National Labor
Relations Board who issues decisions in
cases in which an unfair labor practice
has been charged.
Advisory
Arbitration
A form of arbitration in which the person chosen to examine facts and decide a dispute recommends a solution; however, this settlement is not binding on the parties.
American
Arbitration
Association
(AAA)
A private, nonprofit agency that encourages arbitration as a means of settling disputes. This organization maintains panels of arbitrators in large American cities.
Apprentice
Training
An arrangement whereby an employee enters
into an agreement with an employer and a union,
and sometimes vocational school authorities, to
learn a skilled trade by work experience and
technical instruction
Arbitration
A method of settling a labor-management dispute by having an impartial third party, known as an arbitrator, render a decision that is binding on both the union and the employer.
American Federation Of Labor-Congress Of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
This organization
is not a bargaining agent, rather its primary functions are
education, lobbying, and assisting constituent unions in
organizing efforts. In 2008 the federation represented 11
million of the nation’s 16.1 million union members (68.3%).
Authorization
Card
A form signed by individual employees,
solicited by a union during an organizing
drive.
Award
The settlement or final
decision of an arbitrator,
binding on both parties to
the dispute.
Back-Loaded
The practice of deferring a greater wage or benefit increase to the latter part of a multiyear agreement as defined by contract. Compare with Front-Loaded
Back
Pay
Wages due an employee
Back-To-Work
Movement
A return of strikers to their jobs before
their union has declared an end to the
strike
Bargaining
Agent
A union that possesses the sole authority to act
on behalf of all the employees of a particular
type, both union and nonunion, in a company or
bargaining unit
Boycott
An organized refusal by employees and their
union to deal with an employer; used to win
concessions
Bargaining
Unit
A group of jobs in a firm, plant, or industry with
sufficient commonality to constitute the unit
represented in collective bargaining by a
particular bargaining agent.
Blacklist
A list of names circulated among employers
containing the names of workers considered
troublesome. Workers whose names are listed
are often fired from their jobs or not hired in new
jobs.
Boulwareism
this bargaining strategy attempts to bypass the union and persuade employees that an initial offer is in their best interest. However, that employer changes their offer if they receive new information or persuasive arguments from the union.
Bumping
A practice allowing a worker laid off
from a job for lack of work to
displace some other worker with
less seniority in the same plant.
Burden
Of Proof
In an arbitration proceeding, the responsibility placed on one of the parties to prove to the arbitrator’s satisfaction the correctness or truth of the allegations made
Bureau Of
Labor Statistics
(BLS)
A unit of the United States Department of Labor that collects and publishes information on the cost of living, the volume of employment and unemployment, labor turnover, industrial disputes, and other matters relating to the world of work.
Business
Agent
A full-time officer of a local union who handles grievances, helps enforce contracts, and performs other tasks in the day-to-day operations of a union.
Call-Back
Pay
Compensation paid to workers who
are called back on the job after
completing their regular shift; this
pay is often paid at higher rates.
Call-In
Pay
Compensation guaranteed to a
worker who reports for work even if
they find there is insufficient work to
do.
Certification
Determination by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) or an appropriate state agency that a particular union is the majority choice and hence the exclusive bargaining agent.
Check-Off
The procedure whereby an employer deducts union dues, assessments, and initiation fees from the pay of all union members and transmits these funds to the union.
Closed
Shop
A bargaining unit covered by an agreement between an employer and a union that, as a precondition of employment, all employees must belong to that particular union.
Coalition
Bargaining
A form of collective bargaining in which several
different unions representing different categories
of employees of a single employer attempt to
coordinate their bargaining.
Collective
Bargaining
A method of negotiations between
representatives of the employer and union
representatives to regulate workplace conditions
and determine terms and conditions of
employment for all workers in a bargaining unit.
Collective
Bargaining
Agreement
A written contract resulting from negotiations
between an employer or a group of employers
and a union or group of unions, which sets the
terms of employment and working conditions
(examples include: wages, hours, fringe benefits,
etc
Collusion
Secret cooperation or conspiracy by an employer and the certified representative of his or her employees to defraud the employees represented while providing the semblance of a genuine bargaining relationship
Company
Union
An employee organization, usually of a
single company, that is dominated or
strongly influenced by management.
Comparable
Worth
The notion that wages and benefits should be
based on the worth of the job to the employer
rather than on circumstances dictated by the
vagaries of the labor market.
Concession
Bargaining
This negotiation tactic refers to instances
when unions agree to surrender or
modify terms in the existing contract in
exchange for other benefits.
Confidential
Employee
An employee who, although he or she may have
no supervisory responsibilities, may have access
to information about an organization’s labor
relations policy and is therefore ineligible for
inclusion in a bargaining unit or coverage by a
bargaining agreement.
Conspiracy
Doctrine
Developed under English common law, this doctrine holds
that certain acts that are lawful when performed by an
individual (e.g., a worker’s demand for an increase in pay)
are unlawful when performed by a group (e.g., several
workers acting in concert to demand an increase in pay).
Cooling
Off Period
A period of time to allow further consideration or
negotiation. This required (fixed by federal or state law)
period of delay follows legal notice of a pending labor
dispute. During this time, there can be neither a strike nor a
lockout
Cost-of-Living
Adjustment
Wage and general benefit increases are affected
by increases in the cost of living as measured by
the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In labor law,
employee wages and benefits can be changed
according to fluctuations in this measurement.
Cost-of-Living
Index
This indicator is a set of measurements
used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to
track how much consumers are paying
for everyday necessities.
Craft
A manual occupation that requires
extensive training and a high
degree of skill.
Craft
Union
A trade union that limits its membership to
workers who are skilled in a particular craft, but
who may work for various employers at different
locations.
Discouraged
Worker
An individual of legal employment age who does not actively seek employment because he or she found no suitable employment options or were met with lack of success when applying
Economic
Strike
A work stoppage resulting from a dispute over
wages, hours, or other working conditions.
Employment-at-Will
The doctrine that employment may be terminated by either
the employee or the employer at any time and for any
reason, except an illegal one.
End
Run
A negotiation approach whereby a
bargaining agent circumvents one level of
management and approaches a higher
authority with the objective of negotiating
a more advantageous agreement.
Exempt
Employee
The amount a nonmember is compelled
to contribute to a union by a provision in
the collective bargaining agreement.
Fact-Finding
Investigation of a labor-management dispute by an impartial individual, board or panel having the purpose of discovering and establishing the facts of an issue.
Final Offer
Arbitration
Used to incentivize both parties in a dispute to make a reasonable offer, this practice requires both sides to submit their final offer. After review, the arbitrator must select the position of one of the parties and cannot select a compromise position.
Featherbedding
This is the practice of (1) hiring more workers than are
needed to perform a given job or (2) adopting pointless
work procedures merely to employ additional workers. Also
known as “make-work,” this method is usually promoted by
unions even though it can be inefficient or unprofitable for
the employer.
Federal
Mediation and
Conciliation
Service
An independent federal agency created in 1947,
which provides mediation services for
private-sector, disputes around the country.
Flextime
An alternative work-scheduling system that allows worker to
vary their arrival and departure times without changing
either the overall work requirements or the required number
of total hours employees must work.
Free
Rider
A worker in a bargaining unit who is eligible for
union membership but does not join the union.
Fringe
Benefits
A collection of benefits provided by an employer to their
employees in addition to their regular pay.
Front-Loaded
The practice of providing a greater wage
increase in the early period of a
multiyear, collective bargaining
agreement than in the later period.
Full Crew
Rule
A regulation stating the minimum number of
workers required for a given operation. Originally
designed as a safety precaution for both workers
and the public, opponents now allege that such
staffing requirements are used to protect workers
in non-essential jobs.
General
Strike
A strike action in which a significant proportion of the total labor force in a geographic area (city, region or nation) participates; generally involves entire communities.
Good Faith
Bargaining
The duty of negotiating parties (1) to meet and discuss (2) at reasonable times (3) with open minds to reach reconciliation on applicable disagreements.
Grandfather
Clause
A contract provision exempting persons or other
entities already engaged in an activity from rules
or legislation affecting that activity.
Grievance
An official statement of
complaint; a real or imagined
wrong or other cause for
complaint or protest.
Grievance
Arbitration
A method of adjudicating a grievance, in which
the grievance is submitted to an arbitrator for a
final and binding resolution of disputes that arise
over the interpretation, administration or alleged
violation of a collective bargaining agreement,
work practice or terms and conditions of
employment.
Grievance
Procedure
The process steps spelled out in a collective
bargaining agreement for the handling of
grievances. The first step usually occurs at the
shop level, where most grievances are settled
Hot Cargo
Provisions
The required process to introduce change in
conditions of employment in a union
environment. Before implementing a change,
management must provide the union reasonable
advance notice of the intended change.
Impasse
In negotiation, when two sides are unable to
reach an agreement and no progress is possible
Increments
A series of successive additions to salary,
provided for in a salary schedule.
Industry-wide
Bargaining
A form of multiemployer bargaining that results in a master agreement negotiated for all employees in an industry by one or more unions representing their workers across an entire industry.
Injunction
A court order restraining individuals or groups from
committing acts the court has determined will do irreparable
harm.
Initiation
Fees
A payment to a union required of all new
members or members who have left the
union and want to return.
Interest
Arbitration
This form of arbitration provides a method for resolving
disputes about the terms to be included in a new contract.
International
Labor
Organization
An international body, this specialized agency of
the United Nations is dedicated to improving
labor conditions and living standards worldwide.
International
Union
The national organization of a labor union, so
called because many unions have affiliates in
Canada
Job
Action
A work slowdown, work-to-rule
or other organized action used
by employees as a means of
protest
Job
Security
Generally, the quest to retain
one’s job.
Journeyman
A craft worker who has completed apprenticeship training and been admitted to full membership in a craft, but is not yet a master.
Judicial
Review
An important part of constitutional law, this court procedure is used to determine the legality of decisions issued by a labor-relations board or an arbitrator.
Just
Cause
The standard that management must adhere to when
disciplining, discharging or managing an employee.
Jurisdictional
Dispute
A conflict between two or more unions
over (1) the right of their memberships to
perform certain types of work or (2) union
representation.
Labor
Force
The actual number of people available for
work; this group includes both the
employed and the unemployed.
Layoff
Temporary discharge or separation from work,
usually due to slack season, shortage of
materials, temporary decline in the market, or
other factors over which the worker has no
control
Local
Union
The organization of a locally-based
trade union organization, which
forms part of a larger union.
Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act)
A federal statute, passed in 1959, designed to rid unions of corruption and to
ensure internal union democracy
Lockout
A suspension of work initiated by
the employer as the result of a labor
dispute
Maintenance-of-Standards
Clause
A clause in a labor contract that requires all
existing conditions of employment, except those
specifically changed by the contract, to be
continued during the term of the new contract.
Master
Agreement
A collective bargaining agreement
covering a number of companies and one
or more unions or covering several plants
of a single employer.
Maintenance-of-Membership
Clause
A provision in a collective bargaining agreement requiring employees to maintain membership in the union for the duration of the contract
Management
Prerogatives
Employer’s or management’s unqualified-authority to
exercise its discretion in certain areas without discussions
with or the agreement of a union.
Med-Arb
A form of arbitration in which the
arbitrator starts as a mediator, but in the
event of an impasse, the arbitrator
imposes a binding decision
Mediation
An attempt by a third party, usually a government
official, to bring together the parties to an
industrial dispute.
Multiemployer
Bargaining
Collective bargaining involving
more than one company in a given
industry and resulting in a master
agreement.
National Labor
Relations Act
(Wagner Act)
A federal law passed in 1935 that had the effect of generally strengthening
the position of organized labor.
National Labor
Relations
Board
The board’s
primary duties are to hold elections to
determine representation and to interpret
and apply the law concerning unfair labor
practices
Negotiation
A discussion aimed at reaching an
agreement.
Occupational
Safety and
Health Act
(OSHA) of 1970
A statute developed to assure safe and healthful
working conditions for men and women.
Occupational
Safety and Health
Administration
(OSHA)
An agency within the United States Department of Labor established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to adopt and enforce workplace safety and health standards.
Open
Shop
A shop, factory, or business establishment in which employees are not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment.
Past
Practice
A process or action that has been recognized
and accepted by all parties as accepted
behavior.
Pattern
Bargaining
Negotiation in which key terms reached in a
settlement in one company is closely followed by
negotiations in other companies.
Permanent
Umpire
An arbitrator who is selected by both
union and management to serve for a
specified period of time, most often for
the duration of the contract.
Portal-to-Portal
Pay
An employee’s earnings from the time
they step foot on their employer’s
property until they leave at the end of
their workday.
Preferential
Hiring
A policy agreed to by an employer to hire
qualified and available union members
with the understanding that nonunion
workers may be hired without being
required to join the union when the union
cannot supply additional workers.
Picketing
A form of protest in which demonstrators gather outside of a place of work
with placards that announce the nature of the dispute in an attempt to
dissuade other workers or customers from going in.
Premium
Pay
A rate of pay that is greater
than the regular rate of pay
because of inconvenience or
unpleasantness.
Production
Worker
worker connected directly with manufacturing or operational processes in industry, as contrasted with a supervisory or clerical workers.
Productivity
Bargaining
The process of reaching an agreement
through collective bargaining whereby the
employees of an organization agree to
changes which are intended to improve
productivity in return for an increase in
pay or other benefits.
Professional
Employee
An employee whose work is predominantly
intellectual, who has undergone advanced
specialized training, and whose work requires
the exercise of independent judgment.
Quickie
Strike
A strike action that is not authorized
by a union or that is against the
collective bargaining agreement.
Recognition
A formal acknowledgment by an employer that the majority of his or her employees in a given bargaining unit want a specific union to represent them in collective bargaining.
Reopening
Clause
A provision in a collective bargaining agreement stating circumstances under which wages and other negotiation issues can be rediscussed prior to the term of the contract.
Representation
Election
A referendum held among employees in a bargaining unit to determine by voting majority what bargaining agent, if any, will represent them for collective bargaining purposes
Retroactive
Pay
- Delayed wage payment for work done
previously at a lower rate. 2. Income due to
workers when a new contract provides for a
wage increase for work completed prior to the
time the contract goes into effect, often dating
back to the expiration of the previous contract.
Rights
Dispute
A controversy over the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of the terms and conditions of an existing collective bargaining agreement.
Right to
Work Laws
State laws prohibiting union shop, maintenance-of-membership clauses, preferential hiring, or any other contract provisions calling for compulsory union membership.
Runaway
Shop
A practice when a unionized business
moves to another location to escape
union labor regulations or state laws
Scab
The term used to refer to (1) a worker who refuses to go on strike with his co-workers or (2) a worker who is hired to replace a striking worker
Seniority
A measure of an employee’s position or status
as determined by length of continuous
employment.
Service
Worker
A worker whose job is to provide
personal assistance, protective
service, or current maintenance for
buildings and residences
Scope of
Bargaining
deemed appropriate to be negotiated
for a collective bargaining agreement. Most statutes oblige
the parties to negotiate over terms and conditions of
employment, which me
Severance
Pay
Compensation granted to a worker upon
permanent termination of employment. While
there is no requirement in the Fair Labor
Standards Act, it is often based upon length of
employment.
Shop
Committee
A body of employees elected by fellow workers or appointed by union officials to represent the bargaining unit in considering grievances and related matters.
Shop
Steward
The elected union representative of a group of
workers who acts as the agent of the union in the
workplace and carries out union duties in the
plant or shop
Slowdown
A deliberate reduction of output by workers in an attempt to win concessions from an employer.
Speedup
Speedup An increase in
production without a
compensating increase in
wages to workers;
Stretch-Out
A situation in which workers are required to
assume additional work duties, such as tending
more machines, without additional
compensation, and possibly with even less
compensation.
Strike
Benefits
Compensation and benefits offered by a
union to striking workers during a strike
action.
Strikebreaker
A person who works despite an
ongoing strike
Strike
Fund
Money held by a trade union for allocation to
strikers during a strike action that would help to
cover the costs of strike benefits, legal fees, etc.
Strike
Notice
A notice filed with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service or appropriate state agency that the union has
rejected the company’s latest offer and a strike is
impending
Take-Home
Pay
The amount of pay the worker actually receives directly in his or her check: gross earnings minus federal and state income taxes, social security taxes, health insurance premiums, and other deductions.
Time-and-a-Half
Pay
loyee’s regular pay. The Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 made time-and-a-half pay
mandatory for all work performed beyond forty
hours a week b
Two-Tier
Wages
An arrangement whereby compensation
for new hires is substantially below that of
current employees doing the same work.
Unfair
Labor
Practice
Conduct on the part of either the union or
management that violates provisions of national
or state labor-relations acts or the collective
bargaining agreement.
Union
Label
An imprint attached to a product
indicating that article was made by union
workers.
Union
Organizer
Elected or appointed staff member of a local union or international union whose main function is to recruit new members under the organizing model.
Union
Shop
The process of establishing a unit of appropriate job titles
for the purpose of collective bargaining.
United States
Department of
Labor (U.S.
DOL)
A unit of the executive branch of the federal
government, this organization is charged with
preparing the American workforce for new and
better jobs, and ensuring the adequacy of
America’s work places.
Vesting
A strike, quickie strike, or wildcat strike. Such strike actions are often spontaneous and not sanctioned by unions.
Whipsaw
Bargaining
A bargaining technique used in
conjunction with a strike against only one
or a few employers in an industry.
Whipsaw
Strike
A strike technique focusing against only one
employer of a larger group, typically the weakest,
when the union could have struck them all
Wildcat
Strike
A work stoppage
violating the contract
and not authorized by
the union.
Wildcat
Strike
A negotiated stipulation in a labor contract that limits the conditions under
which management may direct the performance of labor
Work-to-Rule
nstead of striking, this type of job action
occurs whereby employees perform only
the minimum tasks required of them by
official rules or regulations.
Yellow-Dog
Contract
Sometimes used in the past by management to
try to combat unions, this employment
agreement required workers to promise not to
join a union or promise to resign from a union if
already a member instead of being fired.
Zipper
Clause
A standard provision in a negotiated contract that
attempts to preclude any negotiations of
employment conditions during the life of the
contract.
industrial
Pluralism
The idea that employees and employers ability to negotiate
workplace conditions as co-equals helps to control the
conflict between these two groups.
Employer
A legal entity that controls and
directs workers under an express or
implied contract of employment.
Employee
A person employed for wages or salary. Even
during times of dispute, a person remains an
employee if he or she is on strike for a contract
or fired as a result of an unfair labor practice.
The following are not employees
Supervisor
An employee with independent authority to regulate employees in their assigned or delegated tasks, recommend discipline or promotion activities (hiring, firing, adjusting grievances, assigning work and deciding pay increases) for employees in their department and administer a labor agreement.
Salting
A union practice to send out a member to get
hired in a particular job at a non-union company
while concealing his or her union membership.
After the union member is hired, he or she
openly or secretly attempts to organize the work
force. The salt usually violates the company’s
rules until he or she gets terminated. The union
then files an unfair labor practice charge alleging
that the company discriminated against the salt
because of his or her union activity.
Excelsior
List
A list provided by the employer to the union within seven days after plans for a union election have been directed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB
Agency
Fee
In an agency shop, which can hire union or nonunion workers, the nonunion workers must pay this fee to cover collective bargaining costs.
Certification
Election
The process of determining through secret ballot the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of all the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit for the purpose of collective bargaining
Greenfield
Operation
A newly-opened plant in a location in which no existing facilities are currently present. It is usually part of an employer strategy to avoid unions or reduce the proportion of represented employees
Agency
Shop
A bargaining unit covered by a union security clause in the collective
bargaining agreement stating that the nonunion employees in the unit must
pay the union a sum equal to union fees and dues as a condition of
continuing employment. The contract does not, however, require nonunion
workers to join the union.
