Homework Assignment

HRMD 620

Week 4 -- Graded

Fall 2015

Using the “Selection of Bargaining Team Members” case on pages 201-202, please answer the following questions. There are two parts to this exercise.

Part A: Value = 14 questions worth 5 points each. Total = 70 points.

Note: Please use the provided Answer Sheet. Post Part A only in your assignment folder. Do not post it in the discussion forum.

1. True or False: As we already learned, 90% of employers accept the results of a union election and shift their energy into preparing to negotiate the first contract in good faith.

2. True or False: The Employee Free Choice Act, which has not passed Congress, proposes methods to complete first contracts when a conflict arises between the parties.

3. The labor law that governs the collective bargaining rights for employees in the organization in this case is:

a) Wagner Act

b) Railway Labor Act

c) Federal Labor Relations Act

4. True or False: Selecting a bargaining team is an important strategic element for a party that relates to one of the key ground rule decisions.

5. True or False: When the union claims the company committed an unfair labor practice, it means that the employer has acted illegally and, as such, the union can point to a specific labor law provision that has been violated.

6. According to Principled Negotiation, the company’s position is:

a) It needs to have an efficient operation of its call center.

b) It requires union negotiators to use PDO (personal day off) time.

c) It needs to maintain consistency in administering policies that are already adequate to the task.

d) It is helpful to show employees that the union has limited power.

7. True or False: Per Principled Negotiation concepts, the union provided objective criteria for its position.

8. The Union assumes its BATNA is to:

a) Pay bargaining team members who participate by taking leave without pay.

b) Meet outside normal work times.

c) Restrict which bargaining unit members can serve on the team.

d) Charge the Company with an unfair labor practice.

9. True or False: Because the company’s PDO policy was in place before the union won the election and the company has administered the policy consistently, the rules for collective bargaining do not apply to the policy.

10. True or False: To support its claim that it is not interfering with the Union’s ability to select bargaining team members, the Company can say that it is not preventing the employee representatives from trading shifts with coworkers.

11. According to Common Writing Issues, which of the following is the best introductory sentence for this assignment?

a) The Company and the Union have reached a critical conflict in the beginning of the collective bargaining process.

b) The issue in this case is the fact that the union and the company are trying to reach an agreement on a time that employee members of the union’s negotiating team should attend negotiations.

c) In order to determine whether the Company committed an unfair labor practice, both the Union’s and the Company’s views of the action will be analyzed.

d) This case study involved an Information System Company that provides call-in services of financial and/or legal matters, substance abuse programs, and mental health to bargaining employees.

e) Negotiations between management and unions can be a very tense and difficult issue.

12. True or False: According to Common Writing Issues, the “it’s” and “its” in the following sentence are properly used.

In it’s effort to win the case, the Company argued that its ready to approve all PDO time for bargaining team members.

13. According to APA, which of the following is incorrect in this reference:

Carrell, M. R., & Heavrin, C. (2013). Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining: Private and Public Sectors

(10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

a) Publisher’s name

b) Book title

c) Location

d) Authors’ names

14. According to APA, for the Carrell & Heavrin text, which of the following in-text references is correct for a first citation?

a) Carrell, 2013, p. 60

b) Carrell, M. R. & Heavrin, C., 2013, p. 60

c) Carrell & Heavrin, 2013, p. 60

d) Carrell et al, 2013, p. 60

Part B: Value = 30 points NOTE: Post Part B both in your assignment folder and in the discussion forum.

In this case, did the Company commit an unfair labor practice? Yes or No. In one or two very concise sentences explain why you think that is the answer. In other words, explain the pivotal point in your decision, not the whole rationale. An introduction and summary are not needed. A Turnitin score is not required.

Grading:

50% = Content (the logic of your key determining factor)

50% = Presentation (including brevity and grammatical correctness)