Quiz – Labor Unions

Quiz – Labor Unions

How can unions secure economic gains? Explain the ramifications

Labor unions play a significant role in the compensational and work-life of both unionized and non-unionized workers. The main purpose of labour unions is to champion the rights and welfare of workers. There are many ways unions secure economic gains for both the workers and the nation at large. First, unions negotiate wages with employers on behalf of the workers, and the available statistics reveal that unions have been able to raise the workers’ pay compensation by at least 20%. Without unions, employers can exploit workers through low pay and bad working conditions (Alquist, 2017). The second way unions promote economic gains for workers is by setting wage standards that nonunion workers follow. Therefore, the presence of unions helps even non-unionized workers to be paid fair wages. Unions negotiate for better retirement benefit plans for the members, and the guaranteed pension plans help the retirees to live a better life in their retirement days.

Briefly explain why organized labor was opposed to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)      

Organized labor unions opposed NAFTA due to the perceived imperfect environmental and employee safeguards in Mexico. The employers had not followed the rules regarding workplace safety, and thus, the unions were sure that the members would be working in a bad workplace environment (The Guardian, 2015). Secondly, the unions feared that Mexico’s competitive advantage could be gained through lower costs of production. Unions also argued that the employers in Mexico would not eat and to employees’ welfare and lack of pollution controls. (The Guardian, 2015).  However, a more significant concern was the considerable wage gap between the Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. wages.

List the forms that union political action can take.          

Labor unions are heterogamous and are undergoing evolution over time. Some labor unions are organized around the workers sharing a standard set of skills, such as engineers or medics, while some unions are organized in a firm or industry into a single entity (Alquist, 2017). Labor unions often resolve disputes through negotiations. However, when negotiations do not work, they take industrial actions such as going to court, strike, picketing, go-slow, and overtime bans.

Briefly explain endorsements and get-out-the-vote drives.

Endorsement is the formal way people mobilize a group of people or instance workers to support a particular candidate in the political seat. “Get out the vote” is an effort to increase the voter turnout in a particular election (The Guardian, 2015). This initiative attempts to mobilize the voters’ registration and then get them out to vote for a particular candidate. Labor Unions like engaging in the “get out the vote” initiative when they are eyeing specific political candidates they believe would address their concerns.

Explain the debate over union dues being used for political activities.

Union dues are the regular payments made by union members as a cost of membership. Many unions utilize union dues to fund political activities, and this has triggered debates about whether unions should use dues in politics or not (Streeck & Hassel, 2003). Those supporting the issue of no union dues in political activities argue that unions are free to use the monies in activities that seek to strengthen and benefit the workers. They say that using the dues to support a particular candidate who would later help the unions and the members to grow is a justified course (Streeck & Hassel, 2003).  Those who are against it argue that union dues should not be used for political activities because it is not guaranteed to win the seats.

List the factors that the NLRB considers when determining a bargaining unit.

The National Labor relation board considers factors in determining the bargaining unit are; first, whether the workers are organized into different groups, there are distinct skills, training, and job functions. The board will also consider the functional integration with other employees. The bargaining unit must also have distinct terms and conditions p of employment.

Explain the communication-related rule during organizing campaigns.

One communication-related rule in campaigns is TIPS, which means threats, interrogation, promises, and surveillance. Threats mean threats are prohibited; interrogation means it is illegal to ask employees about their support (Purdie & Rhollans, 2016). Promises mean that a business cannot interfere with the organizing efforts; surveillance means that the appearance of spying should be avoided.

Explain the process and implications of Union Representation Election certifications.

The process of union representation involves secret voting in ballot elections, and the employers should recognize the election before the collective bargaining can start. Thus, the election certifies a particular union as the bargaining representatives of unit employees are voted by the majority of the votes cast. Those who get majority votes are certified to be the representatives of others employed in the union.

References

Alquist, J. (2017). Labor Unions, Political Representation, and Economic Inequality. Annual Review of Political Science Volume 20, 2017 Ahlquist, pp 409-432

Every CRS Report.com. The Use of Labor Union Dues For Political Purposes: A Legal Analysis.

Purdie, C & Rhollans, J. (2016). Union Communication Guidance: TIPS and FOE. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/labor-relations/pages/tips-foe.aspxssoar-19510

Streeck, W., & Hassel, A. (2003). Trade unions as political actors. In J. T. Addison, & C. Schnabel (Eds.), International handbook of trade unions (pp. 335-365). Cheltenham et al.: Elgar. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-

The Guardian. (2015). Unions oppose the free trade deal 20 years after losing the battle to stop NAFTA.  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/13/unions-oppose-free-trade-deal-battle-stop-nafta

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This quiz contains 8 short answer questions on topics from Chapters 5 and 6 of your text. Your answers should be 1- 3 paragraphs long and will be worth a total of 100 points.

In order to avoid timing out when you take the quiz, prepare answers to the following essay questions in a document ahead of time.
How can unions secure economic gains? Explain the ramifications.
Briefly explain why organized labor was opposed to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
List the forms that union political action can take.
Briefly explain endorsements and get-out-the-vote drives.
Explain the debate over union dues being used for political activities.
List the factors that the NLRB considers when determining a bargaining unit.
Explain the communication-related rule during organizing campaigns.
Explain the process and implications of Union Representation Election certifications.