Labor Relations Midterm Flashcards

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Efficiency

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An objective of the employment relationship focused on economic performance, productivity, and organizational competitiveness. It emphasizes cost control and effective use of resources, sometimes creating tension with equity and voice goals.

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Equity

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An employment objective concerned with fair wages, safe working conditions, and nondiscriminatory treatment. Equity aims to ensure workers receive just compensation and protections, often requiring regulation or collective action.

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Voice

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The employee objective that emphasizes workers’ meaningful input into decisions that affect them. Voice mechanisms include unions, grievance procedures, and participation in workplace decision-making, balancing power between labor and management.

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Labor Union

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A group of workers who unite to influence wages, benefits, and working conditions through collective action. Unions provide representation, negotiate contracts, and organize members to increase worker bargaining power.

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Collective Bargaining

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The negotiation process between unions and employers over terms and conditions of employment. It produces contracts governing wages, benefits, work rules, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

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Union Density

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The percentage of workers who are union members within a given workforce or economy. It is used to measure union strength and trends in union representation over time.

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Representation Gap

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The situation where some workers want union representation but remain nonunion, indicating unmet demand for collective voice. Causes include employer resistance, legal barriers, and organizing challenges.

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Neoliberal School

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A school of thought that emphasizes free markets, efficiency, and profits, treating labor as a market commodity. It views unions as monopolistic distortions that reduce economic efficiency and competitive outcomes.

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Unitarist School

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Also called the Human Resource Management school, it sees employers and employees as sharing common interests and views the labor problem as resulting from poor management. Well-designed HR policies are believed to reduce the need for unions by aligning worker and firm goals.

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Pluralist School

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The Industrial Relations perspective that accepts inherent conflicts of interest between employers and employees and sees unions and collective bargaining as necessary to balance power. It provided the intellectual foundation for U.S. labor law such as the Wagner Act.

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Critical School

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A Marxist-oriented view that focuses on power imbalances rooted in class conflict and sees unions as instruments for challenging or transforming capitalist structures. It emphasizes systemic inequality rather than just managerial failures or market imperfections.

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Wage Premium

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The average difference in pay where unionized workers earn more than comparable nonunion workers, often cited around 15%. This premium reflects unions’ bargaining power in securing higher wages and better benefits.

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Voice and Representation

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Union-provided mechanisms like grievance procedures and protection against unfair dismissal that increase employees’ ability to influence workplace outcomes. Representation reduces individual vulnerability and institutionalizes worker input into disputes and policies.

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Profit Impact

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Research finding that union presence can reduce employer profits because a larger share of economic surplus is transferred to labor. The magnitude depends on bargaining outcomes, labor costs, and firm conditions.

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National Labor Union

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One of the first national federations in U.S. labor history that emphasized political reform and the eight-hour day. It represented a shift from local craft organizations to broader national coordination.

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Knights of Labor

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A late 19th-century labor organization known for inclusive and uplift-oriented unionism that sought broad social reforms. Its influence declined after events like the Haymarket affair and internal challenges.

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American Federation of Labor

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Abbreviated AFL, a federation that focused on businessunionism for skilled craft workers, prioritizing bread-and-butter issues such as wages and working conditions. The AFL emphasized pragmatic collective bargaining over radical change.

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Industrial Workers of the World

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Abbreviated IWW, a revolutionary union that sought to organize all workers across industries and often used militant tactics. It advocated industrial unionism and broader social transformation of labor-capital relations.

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Closed Shop

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A workplace arrangement in which only union members can be hired, effectively closing employment to nonmembers. Closed shops were later outlawed under reforms like the Taft-Hartley Act.

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Open Shop Movement

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An employer-driven campaign to keep workplaces nonunion and preserve management control over hiring. The movement aimed to prevent unions from gaining bargaining power by promoting nonunion employment practices.

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Welfare Capitalism

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Employer strategies offering benefits, improved conditions, and paternalistic programs to reduce worker militancy and make unions less attractive. It combined managerial control with incentives to foster worker loyalty and efficiency.

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Common Law

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Law based on custom and judicial precedent, used historically to address issues like conspiracy, contract disputes, injunctions, and due process. Common law shaped early judicial responses to labor disputes before statutory labor protections.

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Statutory Law

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Legislation enacted by legislatures, including business law, labor law, and employment law, as well as regulatory rulings by bodies like the NLRB. Statutory law can override or refine common-law doctrines in labor relations.

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Conspiracy Doctrine

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A common-law theory historically used to prosecute collective worker actions by treating them as conspiracies to restrain trade or harm property. It limited early union organizing by framing strikes and combinations as illegal conspiracies.

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Injunctions

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Court orders that restrain or compel actions to prevent harm or damage, historically used to limit strikes and picketing. Legal reforms like Norris-LaGuardia curtailed courts’ ability to issue injunctions against labor activities.

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Sherman Antitrust Act

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A federal statute originally intended to outlaw monopolies and prevent harmful economic concentrations. It was historically applied to labor at times, leading to friction between antitrust enforcement and collective worker action until later reforms clarified scope.

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Norris-LaGuardia Act

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A 1932 law that limited federal courts’ ability to issue injunctions against strikes and made yellow-dog contracts unenforceable. The act marked a shift toward greater legal protection for collective labor activity.

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Wagner Act

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Also called the National Labor Relations Act, it is the cornerstone of U.S. private-sector labor law that encouraged collective bargaining and created the NLRB. It outlawed employer unfair labor practices like interference with union organizing.

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National Labor Relations Board

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The federal agency established to administer the Wagner Act, determine appropriate bargaining units, and adjudicate unfair labor practice charges. The NLRB oversees representation elections and enforces collective bargaining rights.

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Taft-Hartley Act

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A 1947 amendment to the Wagner Act that addressed perceived union excesses by restricting certain union activities and expanding employer rights. It outlawed closed shops and allowed states to pass right-to-work laws, altering the balance between labor and management.

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Right-to-Work

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State laws, permitted by Taft-Hartley, that prohibit mandatory union membership or payment of union dues as a condition of employment. Right-to-work reduces unions’ financial resources and can affect union density.

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Landrum-Griffin Act

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A 1959 law focused on internal union governance, promoting union democracy, member rights, and financial transparency. It was a legislative response to corruption concerns within some unions.

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Janus Ruling

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A 2018 Supreme Court decision prohibiting public-sector agency-shop agreements that required nonmembers to pay fees, holding such fees unconstitutional for public employees. The ruling effectively made public-sector employment a right-to-work environment regarding dues.

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Employment Law

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Legal area that pertains to individual employee rights, such as discrimination, wages, and workplace safety, distinct from labor law which focuses on collective worker actions. Employment law complements labor law in protecting worker interests at the individual level.

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Business Unionism

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A traditional union strategy focused on collective bargaining for wages and benefits while accepting capitalism and the profit motive. It seeks a fair share of economic returns for workers through pragmatic negotiation rather than systemic change.

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Servicing Model

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A union approach where staff provide services to members—negotiating contracts and handling grievances—while members remain relatively passive consumers of benefits. It can lead to limited grassroots mobilization and member engagement.

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Job Control Unionism

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A union strategy emphasizing detailed work rules, seniority provisions, and standardized wages in contracts to protect workers from managerial abuse. It prioritizes job security and procedural protections over organizational flexibility.

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Organizing Model

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A union approach that emphasizes member activism, recruitment, and mobilization rather than relying primarily on union staff. It prioritizes building worker power through grassroots participation and collective action.

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Social Unionism

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An approach in which unions engage in broader political and social issues beyond the workplace, such as living-wage campaigns and community alliances. It links workplace struggles to wider social justice objectives.

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Employee Empowerment

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Union strategies or workplace practices that create formal procedures for worker participation and decision-making. Empowerment seeks to increase individual and collective influence over work processes and conditions.

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Local Unions

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The grassroots units that maintain day-to-day contact with rank-and-file members and handle grievances and local representation. Locals implement contracts on the shop floor and serve as the primary interface for members.

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National Unions

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Organizations that provide resources, research, legal support, and strategic guidance to local affiliates and bargaining units. They coordinate bargaining strategies, political activity, and organizing campaigns across regions or industries.

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Federations

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Umbrella organizations, such as the AFL-CIO, that coordinate political activities, set common goals, and provide collective resources for multiple unions. Federations amplify unions’ power through political lobbying and inter-union coordination.

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Organizing Drive

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A concerted effort to win union representation in a workplace, which can be employee-initiated, union-initiated, or illegally employer-initiated. Successful drives involve building support, documenting authorization, and potentially holding an NLRB election.

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Authorization Cards

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Signed cards by employees indicating support for union representation; collecting at least 30% signed cards is typically the threshold to file an NLRB petition for an election. They document support but do not themselves elect the union unless used for card-check recognition.

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Card-Check Recognition

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A voluntary recognition process where an employer recognizes a union if a majority of workers (often >50%) have signed authorization cards. It allows union recognition without a formal NLRB-conducted election when both sides agree.

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Representation Election

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An NLRB-administered vote to determine whether employees want union representation; the NLRB first ensures the bargaining unit is appropriate and then oversees a majority vote. A majority of votes cast determines whether the union is certified.

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Union Instrumentality

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The perceived degree to which an individual believes a union will be effective in improving workplace conditions. Higher perceived instrumentality increases the likelihood an employee will vote for unionization.

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Employer Campaign Tactics

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Methods used by employers to influence employees during organizing, including captive-audience meetings, one-on-one supervisory sessions, and highlighting union costs. Employers may present information and opinions but must avoid illegal threats or promises.

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FOE

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An acronym for legal employer communications: Facts, Opinions, and Experiences that employers may provide to employees during union campaigns. FOE is permissible so long as it does not cross into illegal coercion or promises.

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TIPS

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An acronym for illegal employer conduct: Threaten, Intimidate, make Promises, or Spy on workers to influence union choice. TIPS behaviors violate labor law and can lead to NLRB remedies if proven.

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Excelsior List

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An employer-provided list of employee contact information that must be given to the union after an NLRB election is scheduled. The list enables union outreach to employees during the campaign period.

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Captive Audience

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Mandatory meetings where employers present anti-union messages to employees during an organizing campaign. Such meetings are legal in many contexts but must not contain illegal threats or promises under labor law.

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Home Visits

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A union organizing tactic where union representatives or volunteers visit employees’ homes to discuss support, persuade undecided workers, and build personal relationships. Home visits are a common part of an organizing model emphasizing grassroots mobilization.