HRM 4570 ILR Homework 1

HRM 4570 ILR Homework 1 (Chapter 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)

 

Fall 2020

 

 

 

Name:______________________________

 

Student Number: ____________________

 

 

HOMEWORK 1 (3%)

 

1. Please download Homework 1 (3%) from Blackboard.

 

2. Rename Homework 1 as “HRM 4570 ILR Homework 1 First Name Last Name” Please type your name.

 

3. Complete Homework 1 while studying the online lectures. Fill in the blanks / type the correct answers. You should be able to find all answers from the lecture slides.

 

4. Upload / attach your completed Homework 1 on Blackboard Homework 1.

 

5. Late submission of homework (by email) will result in a penalty of 1% (out of 3%) per day. Late work submitted more than three days after the due date will not be accepted and will receive a grade of zero.

 

6. Submit your paper on BlackBoard “Homework 1”. Homework 1 is due on Oct 5 by 11:59pm.

 

 

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 1 Contemporary Labor Relations: Objectives, Practices, and Challenges

Labor union: _______ of workers who join together to influence the _______________

Union density: The percentage of workers who are ______________________

In __________, the overall union density in the United States is __________.

Public-sector union density in the United States is __________.

Private-sector union density in the United States is__________.

 

Objectives of labor relations:

 

· _____________: Productive use of scarce resources for _______________________

· Examples: profitability, productivity, competitiveness, economic prosperity.

 

· _____________: Standard of ____________________________for employees

· Examples: living wages, workplace safety, nondiscrimination, health and retirement security

 

· _____________: The ability of employees to have meaningful input into _____________________________.

· Examples: consultation, unions, self-determination, employee free speech.

 

Union contract: The provisions of a bargain that are written down and bound into a

____________________________________

 

Reasons for Union Decline

· Decline in traditionally unionized industries such as ______________

· Regional and _______________ shifts

· Faster employment growth in ____________ states

· Increased numbers of _________in the workforce

· Increased education and _______ levels

· Demand for union __________ has declined

· Increased protective legislation has provided a _______________ for unions

· Employer resistance or __________________

· Other reasons: Union corruption; Rigid work rule; HRM as substitutes for unions; Loss of political influence. Inadequate union lobbying efforts; Individualist culture; Dominance of business unionism. U.S. labor movement was not perceived as a social movement

 

What is the “representation gap” in the United States? _________ %

 

Labor Relations Application

Take the Employment-at-Will Quiz

For each of the following scenarios, indicate whether you believe a court of law would find the discharge to be lawful or unlawful, NOT what you would like the result to be. In each case, the employee is not represented by a union and was not discharged because of his or her race, sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability.

1. Company discharges Employee in order to hire another person to do the same job at a lower wage. Employee’s job performance has been satisfactory. The discharge is:

Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

2. Company discharges Employee because of unsatisfactory job performance.

The discharge is:

Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

3. Employee is discharged because Company mistakenly believes Employee has stolen money. Employee is able to prove in court that Company is mistaken. Employee’s job performance has been satisfactory.

The discharge is:

Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

4. Company discharges Employee because there is no longer enough work. The discharge is:

Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

5. Employee is accused of dishonesty. Supervisor knows that Employee is not dishonest, but discharges him anyway, because he dislikes Employee personally. Employee’s job performance has been satisfactory. The discharge is:

Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

6. An employee discovers that Company has been violating the law by charging customers for services which were not actually provided. Employee is discharged because he refuses to participate in Company’s illegal billing practices. The discharge is: Lawful ____________ Unlawful _____________

 

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 2 Labor Unions: Good or Bad?

 

Four Schools of Thought about Labor Unions

In Each School of Thought	Labor Unions are …
The Mainstream Economics School   Underlying cause of the labor problem: market failures	Bad · Unions are___________ because they are ____________ that impair economic efficiency · Threatening to strike for raise of wages above their competitive levels. · Unions are seen as interfering with the discipline of the market by protecting lazy workers. · Market competition results in wages equal to workers’ marginal productivity (i.e., the value of their work).
The Human Resource Management School Underlying cause of the labor problem: poor management	Unnecessary · Believes that the labor problem stems from ______________ · Effective management policies are best. · Also, unions add unproductive conflict.
The Industrial Relations School Underlying cause of the labor problem: unequal bargaining power	Important · The labor problem stems from _______________ __________________ between corporations and individual workers · Necessary to counter corporate bargaining power and to balance efficiency, equity and voice in democratic, capitalist societies.
The Critical Industrial Relations School Underlying cause of the labor problem: the domination of labor by the capitalist class	Important but inadequate · One key vehicle for aiding labor’s struggle against capitalists and for protecting workers; but because of capitalism’s ____________________ greater sociopolitical changes are needed for reform.

 

What Do Unions Do? (Union Effects)

Dimension	Estimated Effects of U.S. Unions
Efficiency
Job Satisfaction	Union Workers are _______ satisfied on average
Turnover	___________ turnover.
Productivity	Mixed evidence.
Profitability	___________ profitability.
Equity
Wage levels	Union wage premium _________wages (15 percent higher on average).
Wage distribution	______________ (less unequal) wage structure.
Employee benefits	_____________ likelihood of benefits being offered (e.g. health insurance).
Just cause discipline and discharge	Nearly ________________ in union contracts; __________ elsewhere.
Public policies	____________________with exercising rights (e.g., workers’ compensation).
Seniority	___________________ importance of seniority provision in personal changes.
Voice
Collective negotiations	Management is ____________ to bargain with a certified union.
Grievance procedures	Nearly ________________ presence of formal grievance procedures with same level of due process and representation.

 

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 4 Labor Law

 

Labor law focuses on workers’ _____________ actions.

Employment law pertains to _____________employment rights.

 

The core of the Wagner Act (Section 7)

1. Employees shall have the right to self-organization / _________ unions

2. They may bargain ___________through representatives of their own choosing

3. They may engage in other ____________ activities for the purpose of ___________________________________________________.

 

The Wagner Act builds from earlier legislative failures and shortcomings in 3 ways

1. Specifying a _______________procedure for establishing whether a _______ of workers want union representation

2. Defining illegal ______________actions

3. Creating an independent agency, the _________________________________ (NLRB), to enforce the act

 

The Taft–Hartley Act was also known as the _____________________________ Act

The Taft–Hartley Act amends and adds to the Wagner Act

1. _______________ on union actions

2. _______________rights of individuals and employers

3. New _________________________ procedures

 

___________ shop agreement:

· Workers must ___________________________ within a certain amount of time

___________shop agreement:

· Rather than joining the union, workers must____________________________

 

The Landrum–Griffin Act, 1959 (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosing Act)

· focuses on unethical and illegal behaviors of _________ .

· Ensure democratic standards for unions and increase transparency of union financial activities

 

Public Sector Labor Law

· This act protects most federal sector workers, though supervisors

· Postal employees are covered under the NLRA

· There is no right to strike against the _______________by anybody, anywhere, any time

· Most public sector bargaining laws ________________ strikes for all public sector employees

 

 

Chapter 4 Labor Law

Labor Relations Application

Take the Section 7 Quiz

 

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the Wagner Act) guarantees employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,” as well as the right “to refrain from any or all such activities.”

 

Indicate whether each scenario is protected activity under Section 7:	Protected or not?
1. Trying to form a union to negotiate wages and working conditions.	Protected Unprotected
2. Going on strike and peacefully picketing for improved benefits	Protected Unprotected
3. Destroying company property while striking for improved benefits	Protected Unprotected
4. Discussing wages with coworkers	Protected Unprotected
5. Individually meeting with your supervisor to request improved lighting for you and two coworkers.	Protected Unprotected
6. Circulating a flyer among coworkers to build support for a plan for employees to buy the company.	Protected Unprotected
7. In a nonunion workplace, joining with several coworkers and refusing to work until the company provides a paid lunch break.	Protected Unprotected
8. Insisting that a coworker be present when you think you will be disciplined.	Protected Unprotected
9. Sending an e-mail message to coworkers pointing out the disadvantages of your employer’s new vacation plan.	Protected Unprotected
10. Form a home computer after work, posting commenting on Facebook about a coworker’s job performance and asking other coworkers to add their comments.	Protected Unprotected
11. Distributing obscene or malicious cartoons to protest a supervisor’s actions.	Protected Unprotected
12. Refusing to work under conditions that you and others reasonably believe pose a high risk of death or serious injury.	Protected Unprotected

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4 Labor Law

Examples of Employer Unfair Labor Practices (Read)

Section 8(a)(1): Interference, Restraint, or Coercion That Undermines Section 7

· Circulating and antiunion petition.

· Surveillance of union activities beyond what’s necessary for security of company property.

· Threatening employees with job loss or demotion or physical harm if they support a union.

· Interrogating employees about their union sympathies.

· Preventing employees from talking about a union or wearing union buttons when it doesn’t interfere with their work duties or customers.

· Note: All of the examples provided below for Sections 8(a)(2)-(5) also violate section 8(a)(1).

 

Section 8(a)(2): Domination of a Labor Organization (Company Union Ban)

· Initiating the formation of a union.

· Creating a nonunion employee representation plan

· Creating a labor-management committee that discusses wages and working conditions with some give-and-take with management, but in which managers retain decision-making power and control the committee’s agenda, structure, and continued existence.

 

Section 8(a)(3): Discrimination to encourage or discourage union membership

· Firing a union supporter or someone trying to form a union

· Transferring a union supporter to a less desirable job or promoting a union opponent to a better job

· Refusing to hire someone because of past union sympathies or membership

· Closing part of a business for antiunion reasons.

 

Section 8(a)(4): Discrimination for filling charges or testifying under the NLRA

· Firing a worker who files an unfair labor practices charge

 

Section 8(a)(5): Refusal to bargain with a certified union

· Refusing to meet with a certified union

· Failing to bargain in good faith – that is without a sincere attempt to reach agreement.

· Never making counterproposals.

· Changing wages, benefits, or other terms of employment without negotiating first.

· Dealing directly with individual employees to circumvent the union.

· Refusing to provide relevant information.

· Refusing to bargain with certified union as the exclusive representative of all bargaining unit employees.

 

 

 

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 5 Labor and Management: Strategies, Structures, and Constraints

 

Table 5.1 – Traditional Union Strategies and 21st Century Alternatives

Business Unionism	Social Unionism
Strong ____________unions	Strong ___________unions
__________________is key	Workplace, ______, and _______action
_____________of capitalist institutions	___________of status quo
Equity through ___________________	Equity through ___________________
Voice through ____________________	Voice through ____________________

 

 

Servicing Model	Organizing Model
Pay dues in return for protection through collective bargaining and grievance procedures	Mobilize workers for empowerment and actions
Workers consume union services.	Workers participate in union and workplace activities including organizing

 

 

 

Job Control Unionism	Employee Empowerment Unionism
Focus on specific job rights.	Focus on creating procedures for empowerment.
Seniority and job classification are important	Skills are important
Equity through standardization and equal treatment	Equity through fair process
Voice through union representation	Voice through empowerment

 

 

 

Industrial Unionism	Craft or Occupational Unionism
Represent all workers in a single ____________.	Represent workers in a single ________ in _____________workplaces.
Bargaining power from _____________ __________________entire workplace.	Responsiveness to a ________________ ________________________

 

 

National union federations in the United States:

· _________________________–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO)

· _________________________ federation

 

 

Table 5.6 – Union Avoidance Tactics

 

#	Union Avoidance Tactics	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
1	Firing or harassing union supporters	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
2	Screening out pro-union applicants	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
3	Above-market pay and benefits	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
4	Opportunities for training and development	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
5	Plant closings or bankruptcy	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
6	Subcontracting or outsourcing	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
7	Respectful supervision	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
8	Complaint or grievance procedures	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
9	Investing in nonunion sites	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
10	Surface bargaining	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
11	Employment security	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
12	Attitude surveys	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
13	Using permanent strikes replacements	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
14	Facilitating decertification	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
15	Information sharing	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution
16	Consultation/ participation mechanisms	Union Suppression vs. Union Substitution

 

HRM 4570 ILR Lecture Notes

Chapter 6 Union Organizing

 

________________campaigns

· Organize a workplace and enhance representation of existing employees

________________campaigns

· Increase a union’s membership by organizing dissatisfied workers

True / False Questions: Strategic vs. Opportunistic campaigns

1.	When the Teamsters Union, one of the largest unions representing truck drivers and other cargo handlers, aggressively tries to organize semi-drivers who are nonunion, their campaign would be best described as strategic, rather than opportunistic, in nature.	True False	campaign
2.	If the U.S. Airline Pilots Association begins to organize a group of food service employees at the Chicago O’Hare airport that is very interested in unionizing, they are engaged in an opportunistic organizing drive.	True False	campaign
3.	The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents many grocery store employees across the country, decides to aggressively campaign to unionize Walmart employees. This organizing drive is best described as an opportunistic organizing drive.	True False	campaign

 

 

_______________ recognition: Recognition based on authorization cards

· Gathering signed cards from more than _____% of employees, can recognize union as bargaining agent

· A neutral party examines the cards and determines if truly more than _____% of the employees signed cards

· The employer can recognize the union and is then __________to bargain with the union. This is called ___________ recognition

 

Recognition strike: Strike to compel employer to ___________ their union

Certification election: Used in a nonunion location to ascertain if a___________ of employees want to become unionized

 

Appropriate bargaining unit:

· Group of __________ and __________ relevant to the certification election

· Employees excluded from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act include _______________, managers, confidential employees, and others.

 

Individual Voting Decisions

1. _________________________________

2. _________________________________ (Degree to which an individual thinks a union will be instrumental in improving the workplace)

3. _________________________________, and

4. _________________________________

Employer Campaigning Tactics

1. _________________ with employees

2. Employer ________________ on employees and union organizers

3. Union _____________ consultants and lawyers

 

Union Campaigning Tactics

1. Distributing _________________ and letters through mailings and handballing

2. Developing ___________________ relationships with workers such as house calls and small group meeting

3. Carrying out _______________________ and using workers as __________________ organizers

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