Online Exploration Exercises for Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, 4/e

Chapter 1

  1. Find a union contract online (or obtain an actual contract from a library, friend, or contact). What provisions increase efficiency? Decrease efficiency? Provide equity? Provide voice?
  1. As another example of individuals turning to collective action and solidarity, the National College Players Association was formed by college athletes“to provide the means for college athletes to voice their concerns and change NCAA rules.” Find their website and research their goals, strategies, and campaigns. How is this association like a labor union? How is it different from a union? What advantages does it have over a union? What disadvantages? Alternatively, find a website for an association of retirees and explore these same issues and questions. Some of these associations can be found on the website of the National Retiree Legislative Network.
  1. Search online for Papal encyclicals or statements about labor in other religious denominations. Are these good principles for the employment relationship? If so, how should society ensure that they are fulfilled? Note: the major encyclical on labor is “On the Condition of Workers” (Rerum Novarum, 1891) by Pope Leo XIII which was followed by “Reconstruction of the Social Order” (Quadragesimo Anno, 1931) by Pope Pius XI, “A Call to Action” (Octogesima Adveniens, 1971) by Pope Paul VI, and “On Human Work” (Laborem Exercens, 1981) and “The Hundredth Year” (Centesimus Annus, 1991) by Pope John Paul II.

Chapter 2

  1. <item id="id_0073404896_001_001339"<para id="id_0073404896_001_001340" page-num="">Explore the online exhibit about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (<url<emph type="italics">www. ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire</emph</url>). What were working conditions like? Search online for information on sweatshops in the 21st century. How do these compare to sweatshops of the early 20th century? If modern sweatshops are a problem, what should be done?
  1. </para</item<item id="id_0073404896_001_001341"<para id="id_0073404896_001_001342" page-num="">The major union federations in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain are the AFL–CIO (<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url>), Canadian Labour Congress (<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url>), and the Trades Union Congress (<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url>), respectively. Explore their sites, or those of individual unions, and look for examples of the different types of union roles outlined in this chapter<internalref idref="id_0073404896_001_001203" type="table"</internalref>. Compare the sites of the three major federations to that of the Industrial Workers of the World (<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url> or <url<emph type="italics"></emph</url>).

Chapter 3

  1. </para</item</orderedlist</exercises<bibliography id="id_0073404896_001_001343" type="unreferenced"<para id="id_0073404896_001_003014" page-num="">Explore some online labor history exhibits (for example, see <url<emph type="italics"<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url<emph type="italics">or</emph<url<emph type="italics">depts.washington.edu/labhist/strike/</emph</url>). To what extent did these events result from managerial choices? labor choices? the environment? How did they influence subsequent actions and events?</para</item>
  1. <item id="id_0073404896_001_003015"<para id="id_0073404896_001_003016" page-num="">Search online for events in labor history that occurred in your city, state, or region. How are these events consistent with and/or different from the major themes of the time periods of labor history outlined in this chapter? For inspiration, see .</para</item>
  1. <item id="id_0073404896_001_003017<para id="id_0073404896_001_003018" page-num="">Listen to some oral histories of workers (for example, see <url<emph type="italics"></emph</url> or <url<emph type="italics">depts.washington.edu/civilr/interviews.htm</emph</url>). How do the experiences of individual workers fit into the larger sweep of labor history?</para</item>
  1. While not a significant presence in today’s U.S. labor movement, the IWW still exists. Explore its web site at <url<emph type="italics"></emph</url> Are the beliefs, goals, and tactics different from the 1905–1920 period?

Chapter 4

  1. Find a state bargaining law online. Is this a comprehensive law? How is it similar to the NLRA framework? How is it different?
  1. Explore the sites of the National Labor Relations Board () and the National Mediation Board (). How are these agencies similar? Different?
  1. Whether or not graduate assistants are protected by labor law in terms of trying to organize unions and bargain collectively depends on whether the university is public or private, and for the public sector, what state it is located in. Explore the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions Web site (cgeu.org) to learn about the employment issues of concern for graduate students and the differing levels of legal coverage. Is it good or bad that there are such great legal differences across sectors?
  1. Search online for perspectives that support or challenge public sector bargaining rights. What are the important issues? Why? (Hint: good starting points include You Tube or and ).

Chapter 5

  1. Find some descriptions of national union structures on various union sites (on many sites there is a link for “About Union Name”). How similar are the structures? Can you find differences in structures that are related to differences in the environment? Here are some example sites: the American Postal Workers Union (), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (), International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) (), and the United Auto Workers (UAW) (). Additional union links can be found at and .
  1. Find the AFL–CIO state federation or central labor council closest to you (see ). What types of activities and issues is it emphasizing? How does this support the local labor movement?
  1. Find and explore the sites for the AFL–CIO and Change to Win, or follow them on Twitter. In what ways are the messages and strategies of the two federations similar? Different? Are workers better off when the labor movement has a single, unified federation or multiple, competing national federations?
  1. Identify a local company or some other business organization that is of interest. Search online to find information on the economic environment for that company. Try to find labor market information as well as company-level, industry-level, and economywide information regarding consumer demand and ability to pay. Are there trends in other dimensions of the labor relations environment that are relevant for this company?

Chapter 6

  1. <item id="id_0073404896_001_005785"<para id="id_0073404896_001_005786" page-num="">Search online for union avoidance management consultants (try searching for “union avoidance” or “union free”). Are these consultants good or bad for labor relations? What types of tactics are described on their sites? How do these tactics compare to those described by longtime consultant Martin Jay Levitt in his 1993 book <emph type="italics">Confessions of a Union Buster?
  1. </emph</para</item<item id="id_0073404896_001_005787"<para id="id_0073404896_001_005788" page-num="">Search for union sites that are focused on organizing new workers (<emph type="italics"</emph>search for “authorization card”), or try to find some relevant Twitter feeds. What types of issues are emphasized in the different campaigns? What tactics are used? What are the pros and cons of using online sites for organizing?</para</item>
  1. S<item id="id_0073404896_001_005789"<para id="id_0073404896_001_005790" page-num="">ites like<url<emph type="italics"<url<emph type="italics"></emph</url> feature online forums or bulletin boards for unorganized workers. Is this more consistent with a servicing or an organizing model of union representation? Is it ethical for a company to monitor these sites to see what its workers are saying?</para</item>
  1. <item id="id_0073404896_001_005791"<para id="id_0073404896_001_005792" page-num="">Download the “Boys and Girls” episode (first aired February 2, 2006, in season two) of the NBC comedy series <emph type="italics">The Office</emph>. Why do the warehouse workers want to unionize? How is it about more than just wages and benefits? Evaluate the reaction of Michael’s corporate boss (Jan) when she hears the news from Michael. Is it exaggerated or realistic? Evaluate her speech to the employees. Is it legal? A good approach?
  2. Find ads on You Tube that criticize the Employee Free Choice Act. What are the main criticisms? Are they valid? Why is it difficult to find criticisms of the provisions that would increase penalties for companies that violate the NLRA by illegally firing pro-union workers?</para</item</orderedlist</exercises<bibliography id="id_0073404896_001_005793" type

Chapter 7

  1. Search online for descriptions of integrative bargaining in practice (for example, search for “teachers and interest-based bargaining,” or some other occupation). What types of benefits are described? Are the areas of resistance consistent with Table 7.6 in the textbook?
  1. Go to the NLRB site (), navigate to the launch page for NLRB decisions (“Cases and Decisions”), and find the search box. Search for decisions containing the text “surface bargaining.” What types of negotiator behaviors were ruled to be surface bargaining? What behaviors were acceptable as fulfilling the good faith bargaining standard?
  1. Some unions use various social media tools to publicize their bargaining goals and to keep their members informed about the status of negotiations. An extensive example is . You can find other sites by using the search term “bargaining update.” What types of issues are emphasized on these sites? What issues seem common across different unions? What issues are specific to certain occupations? Do the sites suggest a more adversarial or cooperative bargaining relationship?
  1. Explore the Labor Project for Working Families site (). Why might labor negotiators need particular help in the area of work-family issues? In what concrete ways is this a useful site for labor negotiators? Can you find lessons that apply to other subjects of bargaining in addition to work-family issues?

Chapter 8

  1. Use labor news sites such as or , or other sources such as Twitter, to find out about current strikes in the United States and in other countries. What are the main issues? How similar are the main issues across different strikes? Across countries?
  1. Explore the site of Corporate Campaign, Inc. (). What types of pressure tactics are emphasized? How do they increase the cost of disagreeing for a company or a public sector agency? How is a corporate campaign “better” than a strike (where “better” means winning gains for workers)? How is it worse? Do your answers change if the definition of “better” is promoting industrial peace?
  1. Browse the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Web site (). What types of activities does this agency pursue in order to promote dispute resolution? Does your state have comparable agency for public sector collective bargaining (see /)? If so, how does it compare to the FMCS? If not, should your state have a comparable public sector agency? Why or why not?
  1. Insurance and legal disputes over a claim for damages or compensation can now be settled online through various Web sites. Explore to see how their process works. What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages? (Hint: think about the literature on arbitration to predict what counterproductive behaviors this settlement process might encourage.) Could such a system be used to settle labor disputes?

Chapter 9

  1. Various unions have contracts online and there are also databases of contracts (such as and lairs.opm.gov). Explore some of these contracts. Can you find the prominent clauses discussed in this chapter (such as a recognition clause, just cause discharge, seniority rights, union bulletin boards and access to the workplace, and management rights)? How similar are these clauses across different contracts? Try to also find unique clauses in some contracts—how do these relate to a specific occupation, industry, or location? How do various clauses serve efficiency, equity, and/or voice?
  1. Browse through some arbitration decisions at . What types of issues are being arbitrated? What pieces of evidence appear to have persuaded the arbitrator to rule the way s/he did? Did the arbitrator rely on any precedents (previous arbitration awards)?
  1. Find rules and codes of conducts for arbitrators on the site of the American Arbitration Association () and National Academy of Arbitrators (). What things are emphasized? Why? Is there anything missing?

Chapter 10

  1. Explore the Kaiser Permanente labor–management partnership site at www. lmpartnership.org. Is there anything surprising about this site? Now find the contracts. How do the contracts differ from traditional union contracts? What other supports (skills, practices, training, and the like) are used to support this partnership arrangement?
  1. President Clinton’s Executive Order 12871 (October 1, 1993) required U.S. federal agencies to create labor–management partnerships and partnership councils. President Bush revoked this requirement in Executive Order 13203 (February 17, 2001), so federal agencies are allowed to create labor–management partnerships, but partnerships are not required. Search online for materials on federal-sector labor–management partnerships. Putting aside political sympathies for either former President Clinton or former President Bush, is it better for these labor–management partnerships to be mandated or voluntary?
  1. The International Association of Machinists (IAM) takes a proactive approach to support high-performance work organizations (HPWO). Review their materials for local union leaders at . Does this seem like a good approach? What elements might a business leader object to? Why?
  1. Find sites for area- or industry-focused labor–management councils (search for “labor–management council”). What types of activities do these councils do? How do these activities support changing labor–management relationships for the 21st century?

Chapter 11

  1. Explore the sites or tweets of the International Trade Union Confederation () or of a global union federation such as Education International () or the International Transport Workers’ Federation (). What are some of the current campaigns? What campaigns can you find that pertain to collective bargaining? Is there a transnational aspect to this collective bargaining situation?
  1. Explore the sites for the Fair Labor Association () and the Workers Rights Consortium (). Is this an effective method for combating sweatshops in developing countries? Or is it a public relations scheme? Find the lists of participating colleges and universities. Does your school participate in either of these anti-sweatshop organizations? Should it?
  1. Compare the sites of the World Trade Organization () and other organizations that advocate free trade with the sites of the Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch () or other organizations that are more critical of free trade. Why are there such differences between the two groups?

Chapter 12

  1. Search online for union sites in other countries. How are they different and/or similar to union sites in the United States?
  1. Explore the sites of employers’ associations that engage in collective bargaining (for example, Gesamtmetall at or the Korean Employers Federation at ). What themes are emphasized by these associations? Why are employers’ associations less likely to be important actors in U.S. collective bargaining relative to some other countries? What are some advantages to greater participation in collective bargaining by employers’ associations?
  1. Browse the recent national reports or other articles at the European Industrial Relations Observatory online (). Are there commonalities in current labor relations developments across different countries?

Chapter 13

  1. Find the Report of the Dunlop Commission (the Commission on the Future of Worker–Management Relations) online. Are efficiency, equity, and voice well-served by this report? Outline an argument that the report does not go far enough to promote employee rights. Outline an argument that the report does not go far enough to promote competitiveness in the 21st century environment.
  1. Browse some union-related sites at random (hub.webring.org/hub/unionring/). Can you find examples of the different forms of unionism described in Table 13.1?
  1. The United States has one of the world’s freest labor markets. Explore the AFL–CIO’s Job Tracker database () to see some of the negative aspects of loosely regulated markets in your community. In contrast, what are the benefits of free labor markets? Is there a need for government regulation?

1