Labor Relations Final Review for Unit Two
When cost of labor is a large proportion of total unit cost, the elasticity for demand for labor is high
$0.20/$1.00=$0.50/$1.00 the 50 cents is more labor intensive b/c higher proportion total unit cost, the 20 cents more capital intensive b/c lower cost. If you raise wages 10% proportion of total unit cost is high.
What criteria does the NLRB use to determine if an appropriate bargaining unit has been established?
-Interest of employees and employers -Commonality of wages, working conditions, training, and skill -History of collective bargaining either at the location in question or another facility owned by the company -Transfers of employees among various facilities -Geography and physical proximity of the workplaces -Employer's administrative or territorial divisions -Degree of separation (or distinctiveness) of work or integration (or interrelatedness) of work
What are the legal constraints the NLRB places on parties attempting to form a bargaining unit?
-Professional employees cannot be included in a unit composed of both professional and nonprofessional employees -A proposed craft unit cannot be ruled inappropriate simply because a different unit has been previously approved by the NLRB -Plan guards cannot be included in any bargaining unit that has nonguard employees in the unit because of potential conflict of interest -Supervisors and managers are not considered employees covered under the act.
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Discuss the "union's wage preference paths" for periods of expansion and decline.
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Discuss the substitution of capital for labor and its impact on collective bargaining.
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How does barriers to entry and exit impact the collective bargaining process?
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How does foreign competition impact the collective bargaining process?
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How does the bargaining structure impact the ability of management or union to take-wages-out-of-competition?
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How does the elasticity for demand for labor impact the bargaining process? (Be able to define elasticity for demand for labor)
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How does the level of unionization in the industry impact the collective bargaining process?
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How does the number of direct competitors the employer has impact the collective bargaining process?
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How does the number of substitutes available for the producer's product or service impact the collective bargaining process?
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What are the most common actions that unions takes during the representation election campaign?
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When supply curves for other inputs (capital) are highly elastic, the demand for labor becomes highly elastic.
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union or management, centralized or decentralized?
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What are the various types of petitions that can be filed with the NLRB?
1) RC-Certification of Representative 2) RM-Representation (employer petition) 3) RD- Decertification 4) UD- Withdrawal of Union Shop Authority 5) UC-Unit Clarification 6) AC-Amendment of Certification
What are the three possible routes a union may take to gain the right to represent employees?
1) Voluntary Recognition 2) NLRB Directives 3) Secret-ballot Elections
What is Coalition Bargaining?
A process where more than one employer negotiates with the union. The unions must reach a certain percentage agreement on issues to approve a change.
What is Coordinated Bargaining?
A type of bargaining in which multiple unions negotiate simultaneously at different locations to refrain from settlement until all are ready to settle on the terms almost same in substance. It is a practice in which either several employers or several unions form a committee to develop common bargaining objectives to be obtained during negotiations.
Financial condition of the organization is _____________?
Ability-to-Pay
a form of union security agreement where the employer may hire union or non-union workers, and employees need not join the union in order to remain employed. However, the non-union worker must pay a fee to cover collective bargaining costs.
Agency Shop
Based on the belief that employees might seek collective action to relieve their feelings of alienation is?
Alienation Theory
What is industry-wide Bargaining?
All employers with in a single industry. Common in interstate trucking. Operates similar to multi-employer bargaining, but ignores local conditions.
What is an authorization card and its normal use?
An authorization card is a form signed by an employee to designate a union as his or her bargaining agent. The union authorization card is legally binding on the employee, despite any claims the union may make to the contrary. Union authorization cards legally authorize a union to represent an employee for the purposes of collective bargaining with an employer.
The greater the elasticity in demand for a product, the greater will be elasticity for demand of labor.
As you negotiate a wage increase, a price increase must follow, thus demand for labor decreases which leads to more elastic demand for labor.
To defer to a later date as wages, benefits, or costs is ______________?
Back-loaded
When both parties enter into negotiations with a range of acceptable positions that give them some room for maneuvering, these positions can be given priorities and grouped into a __________, one for management and the other for union.
Bargaining Range
Employees and employers who will be bound by a negotiated labor agreement is _________?
Bargaining Unit
What are the most common actions that management takes during the representation election campaign?
Captive audience speeches
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Centralized Bargaining
a place of work where membership in a union is a condition for being hired and for continued employment.
Closed Shop
An election for union representation agreed to by management, employees, and the unions. The NLRB oversees the election is ?
Consent Election
An index of the variation in prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items on a monthly basis is _________________?
Consumer Price Index
Specifies that a valid, signed agreement for a fixed period of three years or less will bar any representation election for the life of the agreement is a ?
Contract Bar Doctrine
It is lawful for two or more separate bargaining units to share information with each other about bargaining priorities, strategies, or employer-specific information is __________?
Coordinating Bargaining
Imposes a contractual obligation on an employer to change rates of pay in accordance with a collectively bargained formula and appears in approximately 14 percent of labor contracts is _______________?
Cost of Living Adjustment
Negotiated in multi-year contracts to provide some adjustment in base wage rates beyond the first contract year is ______________?
Deferred Wage Increase
Guarantees a specified dollar benefit payment per month to a covered employee on retirement and is typically funded by the employer is ______________?
Defined Benefit Pension Plan
A retirement plan in which a certain amount or percentage of money is set aside each year by a company for the benefit of the employee is _______________?
Defined Contribution Pension Plan
A measure of the proportion of total operating costs comprised of labor costs is __________________?
Degree of Labor Intensiveness
The proportion of an employer's total operating costs comprised of labor costs is ________________?
Degree of Labor Intensiveness
A term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons, or political party that they desire to see elected. This happens if the union and management officials cannot agree to a consent election, the NLRB will investigate the petition, hold a hearing, and then hold the ? if it finds that there is substantial interest in union representation.
Directed Election
Views the two parties' interests as being in conflict, making the negotiation process a win-lose (zero sum) exercise is__________?
Distributive Bargaining
Evenly distributed wages, benefits, or costs is __________________?
Even-loaded
The bargaining unit members who choose not to join or financially support the union representing them for purposes of collective bargaining are referred to as ?
Free Riders
To distribute or allocate unevenly, with the greater proportion at the beginning of an enterprise or process is _____________?
Front-loaded
When companies make monetary payments to a specific group or groups of employees for producing more output or generating cost savings beyond some established goal is______________?
Gain Sharing Plan
How does the consumer's demand [cyclical (i.e. seasonal) or secular (i.e trending up or down)] for the product of the employer impact the union-management bargaining process?
If demand for a product is high, it will be easy for the union to get a wage increase for its union employees If demand for product is low, it will be harder to get a wage increase
When the type of labor needed to produce product or services is essential and is in short supply, elasticity for demand for labor becomes more inelastic.
If raise wages for this group of employees that are essential to have, they won't get laid off because they are necessary and hard to find others to do their job so they can get wages raised and not have to worry about getting laid off.
In what situation can a signed authorization card be used as a vote for union representation?
If the union gets cards signed by 50% of the employees in an appropriate voting unit, it may request that the employer directly recognize the union as the bargaining agent of its employees without an election.
Involves proposals which violate the law, and there is no legal duty to bargain over such an issue is____________?
Illegal Bargaining Subjects
Improved productivity through sharing is_____________?
Improshare Plan
How does tariffs and free trade agreements impact the collective bargaining process?
Increases the price of the product, impacts direct competitors
A negotiation strategy in which parties collaborate to find a "win-win" solution to their dispute is ________________?
Interest Based Bargaining Mutual Gain and win win are the same thing
Refers to the negotiations that occur within each bargaining party as management and union negotiators attempt to achieve consensus within their respective organizations is ________?
Intraorganizational Bargaining
A process of systematically securing information and facts about the jobs to be evaluated is___________?
Job Analysis
A systematic way of determining the value/worth of a job in relation to other jobs in an organization is_____________?
Job Evaluation
Represents a measure of the value of output created relative to the hourly costs of the labor necessary to produce that output is _______________?
Labor Productivity
Requires each union-represented bargaining unit covered by an agreement to withhold final settlement until all involved unions are willing to settle. Ruled unlawful by the NLRB is____________?
Lock-in Agreement
Many management negotiations sought to bargain a more specific, detailed list of subjects over which management intended to reserve the unilateral right to control, such contract language became known as __________?
Long-form Management's Right Clause
A single payment of money, as opposed to a series of payments made over time is ________________?
Lump-sum pay
Subjects that may have a direct effect on bargaining unit members' wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment, including the willingness to meet at reasonable times for the purpose of negotiating and the willingness to reduce oral agreements to writing is ___________?
Mandatory Bargaining Subjects
Where a national product market exists, a ________ with one firm might be negotiated to cover all its facilities (such agreements have been negotiated in the steel, auto, rubber, aircraft and electrical appliance industries)
Master Labor Agreement
Involves more than one employer combining together to negotiate a single contract covering employees at each of the participating employer's firms who are typically represented by the same union is ___________?
Multi-employer Bargaining unit
What percentages of the bargaining unit are needed at various stages of the election procedures?
Must have 30-50% of employees sign authorization cards to file petition with NLRB. If at least 30% vote yes in NLRB election is held then there must be 50% or more votes yes to get union representation. If 50% or more is signed during authorization card process, can request voluntary recognition.
a system whereby employees in a place of work are not required to join a labor union.
Open Shop
When other inputs into production process can be easily substituted for labor, then the elasticity of demand for labor is or will become more elastic.
Other inputs: technology, capital, plants, machines
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Package Proposal
A process where a trade union gains a new and superior entitlement from one employer and then uses that agreement as a precedent to demand the same entitlement or a superior one from other employers is________?
Pattern Bargaining
What is whipsawing and how might it influence a party's decision on a preferred bargaining structure?
Playing one labor group against the other. Basically, management saying to labor group A "labor group b will do it for less money," so you must take a pay cut or else I will shift the work to them.
A defined contribution plan in which your employer has discretion to determine when and how much the company pays into the plan is_____________?
Profit-sharing Plans
Essentially holds that all rights to manage the firm are reserved to management except to the extent management has voluntarily agreed to limit or restrict such rights through language found in a labor agreement is_____________?
Reserved Rights Doctrine
The point beyond which a party would prefer no settlement to settlement on unacceptable terms represents that party's ___________ on a particular bargaining issue.
Resistance Point
The point beyond which the other party would prefer no settlement on the other party's proposed terms is_________?
Resistance Point
The Act allowed individual states to abolish the union's ability to force non-union employees to pay the union for the privilege of working for their employer. Such state laws are called ?
Right-to-Work Laws
Based on the change in the ratio between labor costs and dollar value added is_____________?
Rucker Plan
A group plan for sharing labor cost savings that was developed by former union leader joseph scanlon in the late 1930's is______________?
Scanlon Plan
Many employees, particularly manual workers, strongly believe they are living in a country of limited opportunity and become scarcity conscious-- the employees collectively believe that jobs are difficult to obtain and retain.
Scarcity Consciousness Theory
What is a runoff election? Procedures?
Second election conducted by the NLRB in which no choice receives a majority of the ballots in the first poll. Allows a selection between the choices receiving the largest and second largest number of votes cast in the original ballot.
This person may be the first person on the job or a senior employee, handles employee grievances, represents the business agent on the job, and contacts the business agent if anything goes wrong.
Shop Steward
Employer retains all rights to manage, direct, and control its business in all particulars, except as such rights are expressly and specifically modified by the terms of this agreement or any subsequent agreement is _____________?
Short-form Management's Rights Clause
The difference in wages between workers with different skills in the same industry or between those with comparable skills in different industries or localities is _______________?
Skill Pay Differential
Systems that base compensation on the skills or knowledge an employee is______________?
Skill-based Pay
Provides pay in addition to unemployment compensation to which the individual would be entitled and is found in 10 percent of labor contracts is ________________?
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan
What is meant by craft severance?
The desire of a group of craft employees to break away from an existing union or one that has traditionally represented them.
Guides the NLRB interpretations of unfair labor practice behavior and essentially means that isolated incidents such as campaign speeches must be considered within the whole of the general circumstances of the campaign and with the possibility that other specific violations have occurred is ?
Totality of Conduct Doctrine
This legal doctrine states that even though individual acts, when viewed separately, do not constitute a bargaining violation, such acts may constitute an unfair labor practice when viewed as a pattern of conduct in the totality of the circumstances surrounding the negotiations is _____________?
Totality of Conduct Doctrine
Contract language that specifies a newly hired employee will be paid less than other employees performing a similar job is_____________?
Two-tier Pay Plan
Employees' perception of whether the union will be instrumental in attaining desired outcomes, such as higher wages, improved working conditions, job security, and protection from arbitrary treatment by management is ?
Union Instrumentality
A labor union tactic involving the act of getting a job at a specific workplace with the intent of organizing a union. A person so employed is called a "salt". This is known as ?
Union Salting
makes it easier for the union to enroll and retain members is a ?
Union Security Clause
a place of work where employers may hire nonunion workers who must join a labor union within an agreed time.
Union Shop
Those for which an employer or labor organization may choose to bargain, but are not required to do so is___________?
Voluntary Bargaining Subjects
Clause written to permit wages to be renegotiated at a specified point in time during the term of the contract or whenever some predetermined event occurs is _____________?
Wage Re-opener
Represents the internal distribution of the proposed or negotiated wage increase to the bargaining unit employees is________________?
Wage Spread
In wage negotiations, wage rates in one bargaining unit should be equal or related to the wage rates in comparable bargaining units is ______________?
Wage comparability
What is a Consent Election?
When both sides agree to the appropriate bargaining unit; voter eligibility; ballot; and date, time, and place for the election
What is a Consent-stipulated Election?
When management and union agree on everything but who gets to vote. (example of when mgmt. doesn't want some people to vote)
What is a Board-directed Election?
When the union and management officials cannot agree to a consent election, the NLRB will investigate the petition, hold a hearing, and then direct an election (directed elections) if it finds that there is substantial interest in union representation.
What is Multi-employer Bargaining?
Where there is 6 different employers and 3 are involved with one large union Common in retail/wholesale trades, grocery stores. Allows large numbers of relatively small employers to achieve uniform labor costs in theory passing labor costs to the customer without affecting competitive structure. The dark side: large companies in the region with a greater ability to pay can afford to grant concessions that smaller competitors can ill afford.
An employer's use of the terms of an agreement with one bargaining unit as leverage in negotiating with other bargaining units is______________?
Whip-saw Bargaining Strategy
Why are Globe Elections held and what are the procedures?
Why- to determine if people will or will not be unionized Procedures-
What is Company-wide Bargaining?
all employees within a single company
How does the elasticity of the demand for the product affect the bargaining process? (Be able to define elasticity in the product marker)
cant raise wages as much
If management objects to a consent election, they generally do so for the purpose of ________.
delaying the election process
What is a Single-plant Structure?
one local union and one plant