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Human Resources Final
Intro to labor relations and labor law
64
Business
Undergraduate 4
09/21/2014

Additional Business Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
labor union
Definition
 a formal or informal group of workers who join together to influence the nature of their employment; in other words, collective workplace protection, influence, and voice.
Term
efficiency
Definition
the productive use of scarce resources for economic prosperity
Term
equity
Definition

the provision of fair labor standards for both material outcomes and personal treatment 

--for example a decent wage and respectful, nondiscriminatory treatment

Term
voice
Definition
the ability of employees to have meaningful input into workplace decisions
Term
collective bargaining
Definition
when representatives of the employer and the employees negotiate the terms and conditions of employment that will apply to the employees
Term
union density
Definition
the percentage of workers that are union members
Term
conspiracy doctrine
Definition
the view that workers joining together and refusing to work unless their terms are met is an illegal conspiracy because it was a collective effort by workers that harmed the community and deprived others of their rights
Term
injunction
Definition
court ordered restraints on action to prevent irreparable harm or damage to someone else. a popular method for preventing and ending strikes before 1932.
Term
open shop movement
Definition
a concerted drive by employers and their employer's associations in the early 1900's to create and maintain union-free workplaces. 
Term
yellow dog contract
Definition
a promise by a worker not to join or support a union; refusal to agree to such conditions meant either termination or not being hired.
Term
danbury hatters case
Definition
after a failed strike, the united hatters of north america initiated a nationwide boycott hats made by a danbury, connecticut, nonunion company in 1902. the supreme court ruled that the union boycott violated the sherman antitrust act. it also determined that individual union members were liable for damages. 
Term
norris- LaGuardia act
Definition
this 1932 act seeks to protect unionization efforts by forbidding federal courts from issuing injunctions that interfere with strikes, payment of strike benefits, publicizing a dispute, peaceful picketing, and workers joining unions. 
Term
railway labor act
Definition
the primary purpose of this 1926 act, still in effect today for the railroad and airline industries, it to avoid strikes and other forms for labor-management conflict that disrupts interstate commerce and weaken the economy. the act protects the rights of employees to form labor unions, provides for government mediation of bargaining disputes, and established adjustment boards to solve grievances. 
Term
the wagner act
Definition
also know as the national labor relations act; this 1935 act grants 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. this is the most important law for private sector U.S. labor relations and created employer unfair labor practices and the national labor relations board. 
Term
exclusive representation
Definition
a basic principle of U.S. labor relations such that with majority support, a union is the only representative of that small group of workers. there cannot be another union, even a company union, representing some of the employees in the group. 
Term
unfair labor practices
Definition
major element of the wagner act in which employers are prohibited from interfering, restraining, coercing, or discriminating against employees who are trying to form a union. companies may not dominate a labor organization. and lastly it is illegal for an employer to refuse to bargain with a certified union. the taft hartley act added union unfair labor practices. 
Term
national labor relations board
Definition
an independent federal agency created by the wagner act that is devoted to conducting representation elections and adjudicating unfair labor practices. 
Term
Taft- Hartley Act
Definition

also known as the labor management relations act, this piece of legislation significantly amended the wagney act in the following ways

--excludes supervisors and independent contractors

--expands and restructures the NLRB

--guarantees employees the right to decline participation in union activities

--outlaws the closed shop

--defines six unions unfair labor practices

--grants employers the right to express views and opinions except for threats and promises

--requires good faith bargaining, but does not require an agreement

--specifies secret ballot elections for determining questions of majority support for both certification and decertification cases

--allows states to pass right-to-work laws

--created the federal mediation and conciliation service to provide voluntary mediation

--empowers the president to petition a court to suspend a strike that is deemed a national emergency strike

--viewed by critics of the wagner act as a way to re-balance the excesses of the wagner act

Term
closed shop
Definition
a provision negotiated into a collective bargaining agreement in which a company agrees to only hire union members
Term
union shop
Definition

a provision negotiated into a collective bargaining agreement in which a company can let anyone to join the company but to remain employed workers must join within a certain amount of time

--often 30 days

Term
agency shop
Definition
similar to a union shop in that a company can hire anyone, but rather than being required to join the union as required by a union shop provision, workers must just pay dues as a condition of continued employment. 
Term
landrum-griffin act
Definition
this 1959 act creates a bill of rights for union members that guarantees all union members equal rights or participation in internal union affairs including voting and expressing views. democratic standards for the election of union officers are also established. the main goal of this legislation was to fight union corruption. 
Term
civil service reform act
Definition
this act protects most federal workers except supervisors, the military, security agencies, the post office, and others. similar to the NLRA the act calls for exclusive representation with majority support, certification elections, employer and union unfair labor practices, and an agency that administers elections and unfair labor practice charges. however, strikes are prohibited, wages and benefits are excluded from bargaining, and unions with minority but not majority support have consultation rights. this 1978 act codified the piecemeal efforts at protecting federal sector unionization that started in the 1960's. 
Term
employment law
Definition
distinguished from labor law in that it pertains to individual employment rights. examples include the civil rights act and the family and medical leave act. since 1960, new laws have focused on employment rather than labor law. 
Term
NLRB representation election
Definition
election to determine who, if anyone, employees want to represent them. this includes certification and decertification elections supervised by the NLRB. 
Term
authorization card
Definition
preprinted form containing something like, "I authorize (union name) to represent me for the purposes of collective bargaining" that all employees fill out and sign. ______ _____ can be used to show the employer that a majority of employees want union representation, and are the most important way of demonstrating to the NLRB that there is sufficient to have an election. 
Term
card-check election
Definition
a method for determining majority representation based on checking authorization cards without going to an election. a neutral party can examine authorization cards and determine if more than 50 percent of the employees signed the cards. if so the employer agrees to recognize the union and is then obligated to bargain with the union. 
Term
certification election
Definition
an election supervised by the NLRB in a nonunion location to determine if a majority of employees want to become unionized and designated a specific union as their bargaining agent. 
Term
decertification election
Definition
an election supervised by the NLRB to determine if a majority of unionized employees no longer wish to be represented by their union. 
Term
appropriate
Definition
NLRB- determined occupations and geographical locations
Term
bargaining unit
Definition
included in a certification election. this unit can then vote in an election and will be represented by the union if the union wins the election. the appropriate _____ _____ is usually determined by looking at what occupations share a community of interest. 
Term

AFL- CIO

American Federation of Labor- Congress of Industrial Organizations

Definition
the ____ - _____ is a union federation that acts as a support organization that plays an important leadership role in the direction and coordination of the U.S. labor movement. however, most union organizing, negotiating, and grievance handling is done by local and national unions, not the ____-____. the _____-____ is like the United Nations--it provides overall leadership and important services, but membership is voluntary and it does not have the authority to compel its member to comply with its decisions. 
Term
mandatory bargaining item
Definition
specifically,wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment that employers and unions have an obligation to bargain over. 
Term
permissive bargaining item
Definition
items that are not mandatory or prohibited. employers and unions can bargain over these items but are not required to. 
Term
surface bargaining
Definition
occurs when an employer or a union appears to be going through the motions of bargaining but is not sincerely trying to reach an agreement. this violates the NLRA. 
Term
bargaining power
Definition
the ability to secure another's agreement one one's own terms, which in turn depends on the relative costs of agreeing and disagreeing. 
Term
neoclassical economics school
Definition
this school focuses on the economic activity of self-interested agents such as firms and workers, in competitive markets. unions are considered bad because they interfere with efficient operation of the economy.
Term
human resource management school
Definition
this school focuses on effective management policies that align the interests of employees and employers. unions are considered unnecessary if effective management are in place.
Term
industrial relations school
Definition
this school focuses on an inherent conflict of interest between employees and employers, and also on an inequality of bargaining power between corporations and individual workers. unions are considered necessary to counter corporate bargaining power and to balance efficiency, equity, and voice.
Term
critical industrial relations school
Definition
this school believes that the class or ideology that has the greatest power in society can design and control institutions to serve their own interests. unions are important for protecting workers and providing worker voice.
Term
two economic faces of unionism
Definition
economic model of unionism developed by harvard economists richard freeman and james medoff. the monopoly face view is that unions use their monopoly power in the labor market to raise wages for their members above the competition level which is harmful for everyone else. the collective voice face is the ability of workers to communicate with management and use collective action to change the nature of workplace employment conditions, which can be economically and socially beneficial.
Term
union wage premium
Definition
the wage difference between union and nonunion workers. unionized workers in the united states are generally estimated to have wages approximately 15% higher than nonunion workers.
Term
union avoidance
Definition
when management works toward remaining nonunion or becoming nonunion if already unionized.
Term
interest dispute
Definition
disputes that pertain to conflicts of interest such as higher wages versus lower labor costs, seniority-based layoffs versus merit-based layoffs, or broad union input into managerial issues versus strict management rights to conduct business without interference.
Term
unfair labor practice strike
Definition
a strike to protest an employer's unfair labor practice.
Term
recognition strike
Definition
a strike to compel the employer to recognize their union. these were common before the passage of the wagner act in 1935.
Term
economic strike
Definition
employees are striking to win better wages, benefits, and work rules. in other words, a strike over mandatory bargaining issues.
Term
lockout
Definition
an employer-initiated rather than worker-initiated work stoppage during a bargaining impasse.
Term
permanent strike replacement
Definition
replacement workers that continue in their positions after the strike ends.
Term
secondary boycott
Definition
boycotts that target secondary rather than primary employers, i.e. an organization that does not directly employ the workers who are involved in the dispute. ____ boycotts are generally illegal in the united states.
Term
work-to-rule campaign
Definition
slowdown in which employees do all of their work by exactly following all of the employer's rules, even if they are overkill for a particular situtation.
Term
corporate campaign
Definition
a union pressure tactic that seeks to increase labor's power against a company by generating negative publicity that causes outsiders such as other members of the business and financial community to pressure or withdraw support for the targeted company.
Term
mediation
Definition
dispute resolution process in which a neutral 3rd party--_____--helps negotiators avoid or resolve an impasse by reaching an agreement.
Term
interest arbitration
Definition
dispute resolution process in which a neutral 3rd party ____ resolves interest disputes by issuing binding rulings specifying new contractual terms governing wages and terms and conditions of employment.
Term
fact-finding
Definition
3rd party dispute resolution method in which a neutral 3rd party ___ investigates a bargaining impasse and issues nonbinding recommendations for a settlement.
Term
seniority
Definition
status based on when you were hired, with those that have been there for the longest having the highest status.
Term
grievance procedure
Definition
method for resolving rights disputes over the interpretation, application, and enforcement of union contracts.
Term
rights arbitration
Definition
also called grievance arbitration; involves a hearing before a neutral 3rd party who then issues a decision that is binding on the parties.
Term
just cause
Definition
the requirement that employees be disciplined or discharged only when there are valid, job-related reasons.
Term
weingarten rights
Definition
named after the initial supreme court decision, the right of an employee who believes that discipline will result from meeting with management to insist that a union representative be present.
Term
codetermination
Definition
an institutionalized system of employee voice in which employees are entitled to participate in workplace decisions making. common in germany in which ____includes works councils and employee representation on corporate supervisory boards.
Term
works council
Definition
a workplace level committee of employees elected to represent all of the workers (except senior executives) in dealing with management. this includes skilled and unskilled, blue collar and white collar, union members and nonunion members. common in germany where ___ ___ do not have the right to strike, but can sue over violations.
Term
enterprise union
Definition
this type of union only represents workers in single company (enterprise). there are close ties between management and the union leadership. supervisors are generally part of the ____ ____ and union leaders are often career-type employees who continue their promotions within the enterprise up through the management ranks after being a union leader. common in japan.
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