Questions and Answers of Business Process Management

3. Would the issue of whether the case was arbitrable be considered procedural or substantive?Why? Issue Was the grievance filed by Clinton Rowlett on May 5, 1996 processed in a timely manner in
2. Assess the meaning of the last sentence in the Grievance procedure that states: ‘‘The time limits on the various steps of the grievance and arbitration procedures will be suspended during
1. To what degree does the Grievance procedure in this case meet the requirements for an effective Grievance procedure? Issue Was the grievance filed by Clinton Rowlett on May 5, 1996 processed in a
4. Grievance Mediation and the EEOC. Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)that is offered by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as an alternative to the
3. Alternative Dispute Resolution and the USPS.The United States Postal Services alternative dispute resolution mediation program, REDRESS (Resolve Employment Disputes, Reach Equitable Solutions
2. Shop Stewards. Find the section of the Web site for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) that discusses the rights of shop stewards. What are the ‘‘Weingarten rules’’
1. Examples of Union Grievance Procedures. The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW) and the United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU) merged in 1999 to form PACE, the
5. Briefly discuss the broad judicial guidelines concerning unions’ fair representation obligations to members. Also discuss the reasoning behind these obligations, furnishing some appropriate
4. Why is it difficult for union and management officials to resolve each grievance on its own merits?
3. Why does a typical grievance procedure have so many steps when the employee is either right or wrong and a one- or two-step procedure would save time and money? In your answer, discuss the various
2. Discuss two reasons grievances might be filed, furnishing examples of these reasons other than those found in the text.
1. A thin line differentiates employee grievances and employee complaints. Discuss the problems involved in defining a grievance, indicating why a broad definition of employee grievances is both
2. Should the merged product doctrine be applied in this case to declare that the union’s product picket action was unlawful?Explain your reasoning. A union engaged in a lawful economic strike
1. Would the Stop and Shop grocery store in this case be classified as a neutral, secondary employer, or business ally of the Brown Bag Company? Explain your reasoning. A union engaged in a lawful
3. If the employer did propose a waiver of sympathy strike rights in the future, would this bargaining issue likely represent a high, medium, or low priority item for the union and its membership?
2. When the current contract governing the Michigan plant expires, would you advise the employer to negotiate specific contract language as part of a no-strike agreement clearly waiving bargaining
1. Should the arbitrator uphold the union’s grievance and find that the company’s withdrawal of medical benefits from striking workers violated their contractual right to receive such benefits?
2. Did the company make a lawful reinstatement offer to the two employees, thus terminating the employer’s backpay liability after 15 days from their original termination date? Explain your
1. Did the strike on September 13 by the two employees represent an economic or unfair labor practice strike? On September 13 two employees went on strike to protest their employer’s refusal to
3. Did the employer unlawfully discharge the four truck drivers who never returned to work?Explain your reasoning. Seven of the employer’s 11 concrete truck drivers met several times during the
2. What is the difference between the reinstatement rights of an unfair labor practice striker and an economic striker? Seven of the employer’s 11 concrete truck drivers met several times during
1. Does the work stoppage by the truck drivers in this case represent an economic strike or an unfair labor practice strike? Seven of the employer’s 11 concrete truck drivers met several times
4. Did the supervisors’ removal of the posted union material and threats to discipline union members for reposting the ‘‘Definition of a Scab’’ constitute an unfair labor practice under the
3. Since the union is already recognized as the exclusive bargaining unit representative and the new contract terms have been settled, how or why does Section (8)(a)(1)apply to this case? On August
2. Why was the union so insistent on having the ‘‘Definition of a Scab’’ posted on the bulletin board? On August 6, the collective bargaining agreement between the company and the union
1. How does a union gain the right to use bulletin boards on a company’s premises? On August 6, the collective bargaining agreement between the company and the union expired. Two days later, the
5. Definitions of Labor Terms. Search the Web to find the definitions of the following terms used in labor relations. Be sure to use a credible Internet source with a glossary of labor terms or check
4. Mediation. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an ‘‘independent agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation.’’ Locate the Code of
3. Professional Sports Strikes and Lockouts. Return to the Web site for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Search for the following articles written by Paul Staudohar and published in the Monthly Labor
2. Collective Bargaining and the U.S. Code. Title 29 is the section of the U.S. Code that contains Federal law on labor. Go to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute and search Title 29 for the
1. Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports on Collective Bargaining. Go to the Collective Bargaining Agreements page on the BLS site and read the summary of the most recent annual Major Work
9. Reviewing the information presented in the ‘‘Labor Relations in Action’’ segment on the Goodyear strike, could the terms of the final contract settlement have been achieved by the parties
8. Should employees engaged in lawful strike activity be protected from permanent replacement? Explain your reasoning.
7. Define and discuss the various types of economic pressure tactics union members may use during a primary labor dispute which could affect a secondary employer.
6. What are some potential costs or risks parties face during a work stoppage, and how may such costs or risks be reduced or minimized?
5. What types of preparation do management and union leaders need to engage in prior to a work stoppage?
4. To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘‘Strikes are an intrinsic and essential element of the collective bargaining process.’’ Explain your reasoning.
3. Why is interest arbitration used so infrequently in the private sector?
2. What specific qualities should a mediator possess?Why do these qualities facilitate impasse resolution?
1. Define the major types of third-party interest dispute resolution procedures. How do they differ, and how are they similar?
3. If you had been advising JTI on the safety bonus issue, would you have recommended the company retain half the bonus money for the purposes described by the company (i.e., buy safety equipment and
2. Was the decision by JTI to award only half of the safety bonus money available to its truck drivers a lawful employer decision? Bob Dale and Sam Brady were employed as truck drivers by Jackson
1. Was the discharge of Dale and Brady a violation of Sec. 8 (a) (1) and (3) of the LMRA?If so, what should be the appropriate remedy? Bob Dale and Sam Brady were employed as truck drivers by Jackson
4. What, if any, legitimate business interest of an employer is served by agreeing to a so-called work preservation agreement with one or more unions? Rocket Motor Corporation(RMC) entered into a
3. Is it legitimate for a labor organization to negotiate a work preservation clause which seeks to encourage contractors to perform work on the job site using union labor by imposing an economic
2. Was the project labor agreement only meant to apply to work performed on the job site as BE contends, or could the terms of the project labor agreement also be applied to offsite work as well as
1. Is BE bound by the terms of the project labor agreement, which it did not directly sign, including the duty to submit this labor dispute to final and binding arbitration for resolution? Rocket
2. If an employer has some light-duty jobs in which individuals with injuries similar to Hand’s have been previously or are currently employed, could the employer be required to create such a job
1. Does Hand meet the legal definition of a qualified individual with a disability who, with a reasonable accommodation, could perform the essential job functions of the light-duty position he seeks
4. Labor Unions and the ADA. Go to the Web site for the Institute for Legal Research at Cornell. In the Employment and Disability Institute Collection, search for the document, ‘‘The ADA and
3. Electronic Monitoring. Following is a sampling of Web pages that offer publications on videotaping and use of e-mail and electronic communications as a way to monitor the activity of employees in
2. Safety and Health. Summarize the opinion from the Supreme Court case in 1991 involving Johnson Controls, Inc., United Automobile workers, and other unions (499 U.S. 1817). To locate the opinion,
1. WARN. What is the WARN Act and when was it enacted? Under what circumstances is an employer not required to give notice of a plant closing?Where in the Code of Regulations may the regulations
8. Consider an organization with which you are familiar. What are some actions that could be taken on various jobs to reasonably accommodate an employee with a disability without causing undue
7. To what extent are labor laws, such as those discussed in this chapter, still necessary today?What changes might occur if such laws were repealed?
6. Who has the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy work environment? Should it be the employer, union, employees, or government?
5. Explain why unions often place a priority on seniority in personnel decisions, whereas employers tend to emphasize ability to perform the job.
4. Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of using seniority as a factor to determine shift preference or overtime assignments.
3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of offshoring jobs.
2. Think of an industry or company with which you are familiar, and assume that you are the local union president. What types of clauses regarding technological issues would you attempt to negotiate
1. Why do unions’ reactions to technological change vary in accordance with their industry affiliation?
C. If asked to perform the same ranking task from an employer’s perspective, would your rankings change and if so, how or why?
B. List the factors that were most important to you in determining your ranking priorities among the benefits listed above (e.g., age, sex, current job, prior work experience, marital status, number
A. From an employee’s perspective, rank order the importance of the following employee benefits as a part of a compensation plan where 1 ¼ the most important benefit and 16 ¼ the least important
2. If an employer were found guilty of bad-faith bargaining in a case like this, should employees be entitled to a back-pay remedy? If so, how could the NLRB determine the appropriate amount to be
1. Does the company’s failure to make a wage adjustment consistent with past practice on July 1, 2002 constitute a violation of the employer’s duty to bargain in good faith? Explain your
4. Does the employer have a legal right to implement the change to a new insurance carrier (medical insurance plan) in this case without bargaining with the union? Why or why not? The employer
3. Is it the union’s job to represent the views of the majority of its members to management or try to change union member’s views to be consistent with management’s preferred business
2. In your opinion, was it reasonable for employees to oppose the new insurance plan because they perceived the prescription drug benefit would shift substantial new cost to them compared to the
1. In your opinion, was management’s request to change the insurance carrier (plan) reasonable?Explain your reasoning. The employer designs, installs, and maintains private telephone systems for
2. Circuit City employees are not represented by a labor organization and have no collective bargaining contract specifying terms and conditions of employment. How might Circuit City’s labor
1. Discuss your opinion regarding the merits of Circuit City’s labor cost-cutting strategy.How might the strategy affect the following competitive issues: ability to cut prices on goods sold,
4. Gain Sharing. Locate a working paper, ‘‘Productivity Gainsharing’’ by C. Bernolak on the Web site of the International Labour Organization and scan down to Chapter 3. Define ‘‘gain
3. NCS and OPR. Find the latest National Compensation Survey (NCS) published by the U.S. Department of Labor. What is the Employment Cost Index and when and why was it developed? In March 2007, what
2. Comparable Worth. Deborah Walker, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Market Processes at George Mason University, presents an argument against comparable worth policies in an article
1. Sources of Economic Data. It is important to know how to find information on economic indicators that affect wages and benefits. Using the Web site for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, answer the
9. Is early retirement (prior to age 62) still a realistic option for most employees to achieve without experiencing a substantial decline in their preretirement standard of living?
8. What type of control should an employee have over shares issued under an employee stock ownership plan? For example, should an employee have a right to sell their plan shares at any time or vote
7. To what extent can a union exploit benefit issues(e.g., health care insurance, pension, child-care benefits, and family leave) in an effort to organize more union members? Explain your reasoning.
6. Which type of pension plan would you prefer to be covered under (i.e., defined benefit, defined contribution, or cash balance) and why if you were an employee? An employer?
5. Assuming that a firm’s costs for employee benefits are 38 percent of payroll, why doesn’t the firm just let the union determine the manner in which the amounts are apportioned to various
4. For each of the wage criteria given in the chapter, state the union’s expected arguments and management’s expected counter-arguments, given the following conditions:a. High profits, a growing
3. Assume that labor and management are negotiating a labor agreement and the wage spread becomes an issue of disagreement—management wants a wider wage spread, and the union wants a smaller wage
2. Explain why job evaluation plans must take into consideration external and internal factors if they are to be successful.
1. List the main factors that may help to explain the wage differential between three jobs in an organization with which you are familiar.
2. Did the company’s refusal to bargain over the decision to relocate the hog-kill-and-cut operation from the Nebraska plant to a new plant in Illinois violate the employer’s duty to bargain in
1. What is the difference between so-called decision bargaining and effects bargaining? The employer operates a meat slaughtering, processing, and packing business at several U.S. plant locations,
1. Does the Company’s refusal to furnish the Union a copy of the RFP document represent a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith under Sec. 8 (a) (5) and (1) of the LMRA, as amended? If so,
3. Did management’s unilateral implementation of the two new work rules without providing the union with prior notice or an opportunity to bargain constitute a violation of the duty to bargain in
2. Which, if any, of the two new rules involve a mandatory subject of bargaining? Explain your reasoning. Over the years, the company had unilaterally implemented several plant rules (e.g., use of
1. What is the purpose of a zipper clause? Over the years, the company had unilaterally implemented several plant rules (e.g., use of company telephones, excused absences from work), including the
3. Was management’s refusal to bargain over the subject of surveillance camera usage in the workplace a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith under the LMRA, as amended? If so, what should
2. Can a union waive its right to bargain over a mandatory subject of bargaining? The company and union have had a bargaining relationship for more than 20 years. On July 11, bargaining unit member
1. What is a mandatory subject of bargaining? The company and union have had a bargaining relationship for more than 20 years. On July 11, bargaining unit member Allan Engle was performing his
Who has authority on behalf of the employer to grant or deny an employee’s funeral leave request? Taking into consideration the relevant interests of your assigned role and the advice contained
How far in advance must an employee request funeral leave to cover a period of absence from work?Taking into consideration the relevant interests of your assigned role and the advice contained in
What is the procedure an employee must follow to request funeral leave?Taking into consideration the relevant interests of your assigned role and the advice contained in Exhibit 6.3, prepare a
Must an employee offer any proof to verify a death has occurred in order to receive funeral leave? If so, what type of evidence or proof would be acceptable?Taking into consideration the relevant
Must an employee actually attend the funeral in order to receive funeral leave? If so, what might constitute adequate proof of an employee’s attendance at a funeral?Taking into consideration the
If paid leave is granted for a specified period of time, could an employee extend their leave time by using either other paid-leave time (e.g., vacation days, holidays, sickleave days) or by using

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