Chapter 3 Labor Relations

By the end of 1940s, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) unions were becoming centralized. What followed this movement?

A shift from community-based to workplace-based unionism

True or false: Generally, the 1980s are believed to represent the return of a much less adversarial labor-management climate compared to the previous decades.

False

What is the significance of the National Labor Union in the context of U.S. labor organizations?

It created a precedent for the labor movement by integrating different unions into a single federation.

Identify a true statement about the National War Labor Board (NWLB) that was created by President Roosevelt.

It developed fringe benefits such as shift differentials, holiday pay, and health insurance benefits to work around wage controls.

What was the mission of the "One Big Union," which was the objective of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)??

To involve in a class struggle with capitalists

True or false: The Knights of Labor emphasized cooperation and education to achieve its goals.

True

Question Mode Multiple Choice Question By the end of 1940s, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) unions were becoming centralized. What followed this movement?

A shift from community-based to workplace-based unionism

Identify the events that followed the crashing of the stock market on October 24, 1929. (Check all that apply.)

Farmers were out of business because of weak farm prices. The economy plunged into the Great Depression.

Which of the following are effects of the postwar model of union representation? (Check all that apply.)

Grievance resolution became more formal. Injury rates increased.

Which of the following were part of the watershed General Motors sit-down strike of 1936? (Check all that apply.)

In the Battle of the Running Bulls, police were repulsed by fire hoses and strikers who threw two-pound car door hinges at them from the roof. Food was provided to the strikers by outside union members and the women's auxiliary.

What were the functions of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)? (Check all that apply.)

It acted as a support organization for the independent labor unions. It resolved jurisdictional disputes when multiple unions wanted to represent the same group of workers.

In the context of labor relations in the 21st century, which of the following is true about Wisconsin Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill? (Check all that apply.)

It asked for annual votes of unionized workers to maintain certification. It banned dues collection through paycheck deduction.

Identify a true statement about the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

It did not have the formal power to force rulings on the member unions.

Identify the true statements about the Wagner Act of 1935. (Check all that apply.)

It enacted legal protections for workers. It supported unionization.

Which of the following were the efforts of the National Labor Union, founded in 1866? (Check all that apply.)

It favored the establishment of a national labor political party. It supported currency and banking reform and women's suffrage.

Identify a true statement about a general labor union.

It frequently represents diverse occupations and industries.

Identify a true statement about the Knights of Labor.

It placed emphasis on secrecy to prohibit employers from breaking it.

Identify a feature of revolutionary unionism that was followed by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

It rejects, or tends to reject, the existing institutional order, especially individual ownership of production means, and the wage system.

Which of the following is true of Wisconsin Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill?

It repealed collective-bargaining rights for some public sector employees.

Identify a true statement about the Great Strike Wave of 1945-46.

It resulted in major changes in the Wagner Act through the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act.

Identify a true statement about the business unionism philosophy, which was followed by the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

It seeks to win labor's fair share of profits through collective bargaining supported by the threat of striking.

Identify a true statement about the National Labor Union.

It was the first national labor federation in the United States that represented unions from various occupations or industries.

Which of the following shows the significance of the Knights of Labor as a labor organization?

It was the most powerful labor union in the United States with 700,000 members in 1886.

Which of the following events is associated with the Haymarket Tragedy, which was the most famous event associated with the Knights of Labor? Multiple choice question.

Numerous strikes occurred in 1886 to support the May 1 deadline, established by the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor as the effective date for the eight-hour working day.

Which of the following events are part of the Great Uprising of 1877? (Check all that apply.)

Opposing a 10 percent wage cut, workers on railroads went on strike. Thousands of workers went on general strikes that shut down many businesses in Chicago and St. Louis.

Identify an event that is part of the Memorial Day Massacre, which is associated with the recognition of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC).

Outside Republic Steel in Chicago, the police defied the courts by arresting peacefully picketing workers.

In 1981 President Reagan fired the air traffic controllers during the illegal _____ and hired replacement workers.

PATCO strike

What were the results of the Memphis sanitation strike? (Check all that apply.)

Promotions based on seniority rather than racism A nondiscrimination clause Improved wages

What were the causes of the Great Strike Wave of 1945-46? (Check all that apply.)

Reduced employee earnings with the inevitable postwar production slowdown A renewed drive by management to reassert its workplace control and cost discipline

Which of the following formed the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) to unionize the steel industry?

The Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO)

Which of the following is a difference between the Knights of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)?

The IWW did not overlook short-term advances in working situations.

Which of the following is considered the biggest victory of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)?

The Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile workers' strike in 1912

_____ is usually used to show the extent to which employers would go to maintain an open shop.

The Ludlow Massacre

Which of the following events is directly associated with the recognition of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC)?

The Memorial Day Massacre

Identify the collective activities of the Citizens Alliance that were being publicly vilified as "un-American" when conducted by workers and their unions. (Check all that apply.)

The business community threatened to boycott firms that agreed to a union's terms when dues payments used to provide financial assistance to struck employers were not enough. Employers often succeeded in using court-ordered injunctions to break employee strikes.

Which of the following statements refers to the situation of labor relations in the 21st century?

The density of private-sector unions has dropped to less than 10 percent.

Which of the following shows the condition of the United States by 1933 after the stock market crashed on October 24, 1929?

The gross national product reduced by 29 percent.

What was the practical element to the emphasis of the top leadership of the Knights of Labor on education over strikes and boycotts?

The leaders remembered labor's defeats as part of the Great Uprising of 1877.

Which of the following was clearly revealed in the 1919 steel strike?

The mismatch between craft unionism and the emerging modern workplace

Which of the following was a primary concern of the Knights of Labor?

The moral value, not merely the material wealth, of a worker

Identify a true statement about company unions.

They were not allowed to force management to discuss specific issues.

What was the objective of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)?

To create "One Big Union" that accepted all workers across all industries

What was the ultimate objective of the Knights of Labor?

To replace capitalism with a system of producer cooperatives in which producers would own and manage businesses

True or false: Based on one's viewpoint, welfare capitalism signifies either a sophisticated managerial strategy to control the workplace and prevent unionization, or the beginnings of today's strategic human resource management and high-performance workplaces.

True

True or false: The beliefs and strategies of Samuel Gompers, the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and its member unions dominated U.S. labor relations until the Great Depression in the 1930s.

True

True or false: The largely bureaucratic nature of U.S. unions was cemented in the late 1940s and 1950s when opposition groups within the major Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) unions were driven out under the guise of rooting out communists during the beginnings of the Cold War.

True

Which of the following was part of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at General Motors during the Great Strike Wave of 1945-46?

Walter Reuther, the leader of the UAW, wanted General Motors to open its financial books when it claimed that a 30 percent wage increase is unaffordable.

In the context of the General Motors sit-down strike, which of the following events ended the Battle of the Running Bulls?

Women broke through the police lines and joined the picket line in front of a Chevrolet plant.

Which of the following was an effect of the movement of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) unions from community-based to workplace-based unionism?

Women were downgraded to marginal roles.

A feature of company unions is that they _____.

functioned as an open channel of communication with management and a platform to present grievances

Question Mode Multiple Choice Question To the public, the open shop movement illustrated an ideology of _____.

individual freedom

As part of the open shop movement, employers used the rhetoric of individual liberty to argue that _____.

labor unions should be restricted from interfering with management's control of its business

The drive for individual liberty under the open shop movement was conducted by ____

sophisticated local and national associations of powerful employers and employers' associations

The drive for individual liberty under the open shop movement was conducted by _____.

sophisticated local and national associations of powerful employers and employers' associations

The direct action philosophy of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is known as _____.

syndicalism

The visible radical and militant approach adopted by labor leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was in response to _____.

the violent repression of strikes and labor demonstrations that were publicly labeled as radical by judges and the armed forces

Which of the following resulted from the functioning of the National War Labor Board (NWLB) that was created by President Roosevelt?

A bureaucratic form of unionism was formed. In return for enhanced workplace security, organized labor essentially traded its right to strike.

Which of the following was part of the strikes in 1934 in which workers clashed with employers who refused to recognize their independent unions?

A successful strike for recognition at a Toledo auto parts plant resulted in an extended battle between strikers and the Ohio National Guard.

In response to the perceived failure of the Knights of Labor's leadership to address everyday working issues, representatives from 25 national unions created a new labor federation in December 1886 called the _____.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

What contributed to the failure of the 1919 steel strike?

Attempting to organize the industry along craft lines with 24 different unions

What led to the passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959? (Check all that apply.)

The presence of mafia-infiltrated local unions Fears of union corruption

What led to the recognition of the United Auto Workers (UAW) that ended the General Motors sit-down strike?

The refusal of the governor to order the National Guard to forcibly evacuate the Chevrolet plants

Differences within the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) on the issue of how to reverse labor's declining influence led seven large unions that favored organizing over political activity to break-away in 2005 and form a new labor federation, the _____ federation.

Change to Win

Which of the following philosophies reflected the industrial world of a half-century earlier: small shops, a simple technology, and the highly skilled workman?

Craft unionism

Which of the following statements shows the difference between the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Knights of Labor? Multiple choice question.

Each union that joined the AFL was explicitly granted the freedom to manage its own affairs.

In Memphis, over 1,000 black sanitation workers went on strike following the 1968 killing of two African American sanitation workers by an unsafe garbage compactor. Which of the following were demanded by the participants in the Memphis sanitation strike for two months? (Check all that apply.)

Enhanced wages and working conditions Civil rights and respect

True or false: In the 21st century, globalization continues to strengthen labor's bargaining power without putting domestic workers into competition with low-cost alternatives.

False

True or false: The Knights of Labor was directly involved in the Haymarket Tragedy.

False

True or false: The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in 1933 discouraged workers from forming unions.

False

True or false: The wave of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) energy was limited to the industrial centers of the Midwest.

False

What was the result of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at General Motors during the Great Strike Wave of 1945-46?

General Motors did not open its financial books.

One of the most violent examples of the struggle that revolved around employers' efforts to weaken the American Federation of Labor's (AFL's) desired level of workplace control was the _____ in 1892 at the steel mill owned by Andrew Carnegie in Pennsylvania.

Homestead strike

Which of the following events is part of the Ludlow Massacre that is often used to illustrate the extent to which employers would go to maintain an open shop?

In 1913 workers struck the Rockefeller-owned coal mines in southern Colorado for union acceptance and better wages and working conditions.

Which of the following is considered the effect of the radicalism of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)?

Increased employer hostility toward labor unions

From 1905 to 1925, the visible radical and militant approach adopted by labor leaders was that of the _____, often referred to by its nickname the "Wobblies."

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Identify the statements that refer to the significance of the Great Uprising of 1877. (Check all that apply.)

It demonstrated pent-up grievances of workers fighting with the forces of industrialization and the conflict between labor and capital. It illustrates the common concerns of workers and is frequently used to define the initiation of the modern era in U.S. labor relations.

In the name of individual liberty as part of the open shop movement, what were the collective efforts of the Citizens Alliance? (Check all that apply.)

It formed a trade school to educate skilled workers who were also educated about the importance of individualism. It had a functional network of hundreds of labor spies. It blacklisted people who supported labor unions.

In the context of welfare capitalism, identify a true statement about employee representation programs such as the Rockefeller Plan.

Managers and workers gather to discuss work issues, but they are instituted and often run by firms.

Which of the following events is associated with the Haymarket Tragedy, which was the most famous event associated with the Knights of Labor?

Numerous strikes occurred in 1886 to support the May 1 deadline, established by the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor as the effective date for the eight-hour working day.

What led to the recognition of the United Auto Workers (UAW) that ended the General Motors sit-down strike? Multiple choice question.

The refusal of the governor to order the National Guard to forcibly evacuate the Chevrolet plants

Which of the following events was part of the Homestead strike in 1892?

The steel mill owned by Andrew Carnegie in Pennsylvania was shut down when the union refused to accept 12-15 percent wage cuts.

Identify a true statement about the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO).

The unions formed under the CIO were suspended from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

What are the purposes of Working America, which is a community organization created by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)? (Check all that apply.)

To increase awareness of the procedure among nonunion workers so they can be more empowered on their jobs To help nonunion workers advocate for their rights through political mobilization

Which of the following is part of the postwar model of union representation?

Unions could not be involved in production decisions.

By 1941 union membership tripled to about 8.4 million, or 23 percent of workers. This explosion in union membership was certainly connected to the new legal protections of the _____ of 1935.

Wagner Act

In the context of the postwar model of labor relations, the expulsion of communist-controlled unions from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) _____.

led to raiding attempts as CIO unions tried to win bargaining rights in units represented by the dismissed unions

The most controversial attribute of welfare capitalism, then and now, was the attempt to _____.

provide employee voice or industrial democracy via employee representation programs or company unions

John L. Lewis and the leaders of seven other unions created the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) to _____.

pursue unionization of the mass manufacturing industries via industrial unionism

The craft unionism of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) emphasized _____.

skilled occupations such as printers, machinists, carpenters, cigar makers, and iron molders

Public attention to the labor movement in the 1950s largely centered on allegations of _____, as captured by the classic 1954 movie On the Waterfront.

union corruption

The open shop movement portrayed labor unions as _____.

violating individual freedom by denying workers the power to choose where to work and on what terms

A feature of the top leadership of the Knights of Labor was that they _____.

were against the use of strikes and boycotts

The watershed General Motors sit-down strike started in December 1936 when _____.

workers in Flint, Michigan, took over two Chevrolet plants by sitting down and refusing to work or vacate the plant