Part A
1) Company A wants to discourage unionization through the United Technical Workers of America. True or False: In order to do so, it can initiate an organizing campaign for the Technical Employees Union instead.
2) True or False: A union must wait for an existing employee to contact it before trying to organize the workers to support the union.
3) True or False: Elections under the NLRA were intended to replace the need for striking in order to have a union recognized.
4) True or False: Companies can voluntarily acknowledge a union through a card check recognition process if it appears to have 30% support.
5) Cindy, an employee of Stellar Snowboard Manufacturing, has just signed an authorization card during a union organizing campaign by Local 79 of the Teamsters Union. Cindy has agreed with which of the following statements:
A. I am requesting the NLRB hold a representation election at my employer's place of business.
B. I authorize Teamsters Local 79 to be my collective bargaining agent in negotiations with Stellar Snowboard.
C. I authorize Stellar Snowboard to deduct union dues for Teamsters Local 79 from my paycheck.
D. I authorize Teamsters Local 79 to use a portion of my union dues money for the purpose of political lobbying.
Use this scenario to answer questions 6 - 8: Jack is a 2nd level manager at Johnson Controls. His department includes 2 supervisors, 5 night shift security guards, 5 technical workers, 10 janitorial staff, and 25 manufacturing floor 2nd shift assembly workers. The United Auto Workers would like to represent the employees in this company. It has almost secured a sufficient number of authorization cards; all of them come from the assembly workers. The other employees have declined to sign.
6) True or False: In order to win, the UAW would propose to restrict the bargaining unit to assembly workers and Jack would propose to define the bargaining unit as technical workers, janitors, and assembly workers.
7) True or False: The security guards can elect to be part of the same bargaining unit since they have a sufficient community of interest with the assembly workers.
8) True or False: If the UAW wins and a 2-year contract is signed, the employees who opposed the representation or the contract provisions can file for a decertification election in 6 months after ratification.
9) True or False: Managers who foster a cohesive culture among the non-management staff in order to increase team productivity could also be creating a dynamic that encourages individuals to vote for a union.
10) True or False: The NLRB evaluates whether an election campaign is fair by assessing the conditions in the workplace to see if employees need a union.
11) True or False: An employer could violate the laboratory conditions doctrine without committing an unfair labor practice, which would cause the election results to be dismissed and a new election to be held.
12) Joan, age 40, is dissatisfied with her job. Martin, age 25, is satisfied with his job but thinks the union could provide better benefits beyond the associated costs. Most research studies about individual voting decisions would predict that, of the two:
A. Joan is more likely to vote for a union because she is older.
B. Martin is more likely to vote for a union because men do more than women.
C. Joan is more likely to vote for a union because she is frustrated.
D. Martin is more likely to vote for a union because he sees economic opportunity in the representation.
13) True or False: Determining the bargaining unit occurs before certification is obtained whereas determining the bargaining structure occurs after, but both strategic decisions influence the power of the party.
14) True or False: Negotiators can influence the perceived cost of agreeing as well as the perceived cost of disagreeing and the other party will likely accept the proposal when it is more expensive to disagree.
15) True or False: Research suggests that a party with an attractive BATNA will likely receive a more positive outcome if it hides the information from the other side.
16) True or False: The winner's curse and anchoring biases can be reduced by adequately preparing to bargain.
17) During a negotiation, the union proposes a 25 cent per hour wage increase across the board. Management says it cannot afford that. Management has just:
A. Reached an impasse
B. Established an obligation to share corporate financial information with the union
C. Provided a counter offer and should wait for the union to propose something else
D. Revealed its BATNA
18) True or False: Good faith bargaining requires the parties to come to an agreement about both mandatory and permissive items.
19) Which of the following is most likely to be considered an example of surface bargaining?
A. An employer, unsatisfied with the contract terms being offered by the union, negotiates directly with an influential employee who is not on the negotiating team in the hopes that she will convince other employees to agree to the terms.
B. An employer refuses to give the union financial information it has requested after telling the union that their demands are unreasonable in light of the company's tentative financial position.
C. An employer uses delay tactics such as scheduling conflicts, withdrawing items that were already settled, and delaying the release of information important to negotiations.
D. An employer decides to implement the terms of their final offer in the hopes that employees will like the contract and pressure the union to settle.
20) True or False: Collective bargaining agreements made between labor's negotiators and the employer's negotiators are tentative and subject to rank and file approval.
Part B - Case Analysis.
Use the Winn-Dixie vs. UFCW case on p. 264 of Budd for the following questions.
1. True or False: The company's bargaining strategy was integrative because it invited the union to post a joint announcement.
2. True or False: If the company has more than one warehouse in northern Florida and only the Jacksonville site is unionized, the company's BATNA and bargaining power is greater than if only one warehouse exists.
3. True or False: The company can legally dismiss all the items the Union listed in the May 6 letter because those are not covered by the NLRA.
4. Assume the company used surface bargaining. True or False: The July 7 action is legal under the NLRA because the company says an impasse exists.
5. True or False: If the union agrees to the company's offer as is, the union's theatrical role will be undermined in the ratification process.