HRIR 3450 Test 1 Questions and
Answers18
Function of Canadian labour congress - ANSWERS--lobby the federal government to ensure the
labour and employment relation legislation is working pro-class
-pursuing economic and political policies that are favourable to the workers at the federal level
-managing jurisdictional disputes between national unions
-ensuring Canadian labour congress code of ethics is being implemented (enforced)
-education
-managing links with labour movements across the world
labour council functions - ANSWERS-political activities, training and education, community
work, assist local unions on strike
factors influencing union density - ANSWERS-union density= total employees in industry that
are union members/total number of employees in the industry
In Canada, union density is higher than the USA because - ANSWERS--Political environment
-Legal environment
-Employer opposition is much more severe in the US, not so much in Canada
-Union organization effort is greater in Canada compared to US
about 28% in Canada in union 12% in US
Income equality Canada vs US - ANSWERS-lower in Canada
How many union members from public sector, private sector - ANSWERS--70% public
,-30% private
Female vs male membership in unions - ANSWERS-50/50, females slightly above 50%
T or F? A non-union employee might file a complaint with the appropriate labour relations
board, and the Board might order the employer to reinstate the employee. - ANSWERS-False:
the non-union employees can sue the employer in the court of law and the court of law in most
jurisdictions does not have the power to force the employer to give the employee the job back.
T or F? A collective agreement provides that any work done on a Sunday will be paid at the
overtime rate. A union might be required to waive this term of the agreement to meet its
obligations under human rights legislation. That is, the union might be required to agree to an
employee working on Sunday and not be paid overtime if the employee cannot work on
Saturday because of his or her religious belief. - ANSWERS-True, due to the duty to
accommodate
T or F? Some employers attempt to avoid unionization by paying non-union employees wages
that are equivalent to the wages of unionized employees. - ANSWERS-True: to threaten the
effect of the union
T or F? A government may pass back-to-work legislation ordering an end to a strike in the public
sector; however, strikes in the private sector cannot be ended by back-to-work legislation. -
ANSWERS-False: the government can ask the private sector employees to also go back to work
in the name of public inconvenience.
T or F? Over the past 30 years the percentage of employees who are represented by Unions has
dramatically declined in both Canada and the US. - ANSWERS-False: the percentage of union
members has drastically declined in the US but not that much in Canada
T or F? When a union attempts to organize employees, there is always a vote held to determine
if the employees wish to be represented by a union. - ANSWERS-False: it depends on
jurisdiction, for example in Alberta there is a need for representation vote.
, T or F? Collective agreements can provide that employees are required to become union
members. Accordingly, an employer could be forced to terminate an employee who refused to
join the union. - ANSWERS-True: under the concept of union shop, the employer can hire
anyone but upon joining the employee has to become a union member or else relinquish the
job. The U of M follows the union shop philosophy (student workers and for sessional
employee)
T of F? When an employee takes a complaint to his or her union— for example, the employee
alleges termination without cause— the union is required to pursue the matter with the
employer. - ANSWERS-False: the ownership of the grievance lies with the union, not the
employee.
T or F? In the course of negotiation of a collective agreement, the employer may be required to
reveal information to the union even though the union has not requested it. - ANSWERS-True:
known as the duty of bargaining in good faith
T or F? When a vote is held to authorize a strike, all employees in the group that would be on
strike are entitled to vote. That is, both union members and employees who are not union
members are entitled to vote. - ANSWERS-True: as long as the job of all employees are being
impacted they are all entitled to vote
T or F? Some public sector employees have the right to strike, provided essential services are
maintained for the public by having some employees continue to work. - ANSWERS-True:
maximum number of union members in Canada work for the public sector.
T or F: unions reduce profitability and productivity - ANSWERS-False: it is known that unionized
firms are less profitable than non-unionized firms, but that does not mean the cause of low
profitability are the unions. In fact, the responsibility of making profit belongs to management.
Maybe the management is weak, that is why they are unable to make a profit. After all, they
succumbed to being unionized whereas other aggressive managements like those of Amazon,
Walmart, McDonald's never allow unions to be formed (Apple, Facebook, Google)
Answers18
Function of Canadian labour congress - ANSWERS--lobby the federal government to ensure the
labour and employment relation legislation is working pro-class
-pursuing economic and political policies that are favourable to the workers at the federal level
-managing jurisdictional disputes between national unions
-ensuring Canadian labour congress code of ethics is being implemented (enforced)
-education
-managing links with labour movements across the world
labour council functions - ANSWERS-political activities, training and education, community
work, assist local unions on strike
factors influencing union density - ANSWERS-union density= total employees in industry that
are union members/total number of employees in the industry
In Canada, union density is higher than the USA because - ANSWERS--Political environment
-Legal environment
-Employer opposition is much more severe in the US, not so much in Canada
-Union organization effort is greater in Canada compared to US
about 28% in Canada in union 12% in US
Income equality Canada vs US - ANSWERS-lower in Canada
How many union members from public sector, private sector - ANSWERS--70% public
,-30% private
Female vs male membership in unions - ANSWERS-50/50, females slightly above 50%
T or F? A non-union employee might file a complaint with the appropriate labour relations
board, and the Board might order the employer to reinstate the employee. - ANSWERS-False:
the non-union employees can sue the employer in the court of law and the court of law in most
jurisdictions does not have the power to force the employer to give the employee the job back.
T or F? A collective agreement provides that any work done on a Sunday will be paid at the
overtime rate. A union might be required to waive this term of the agreement to meet its
obligations under human rights legislation. That is, the union might be required to agree to an
employee working on Sunday and not be paid overtime if the employee cannot work on
Saturday because of his or her religious belief. - ANSWERS-True, due to the duty to
accommodate
T or F? Some employers attempt to avoid unionization by paying non-union employees wages
that are equivalent to the wages of unionized employees. - ANSWERS-True: to threaten the
effect of the union
T or F? A government may pass back-to-work legislation ordering an end to a strike in the public
sector; however, strikes in the private sector cannot be ended by back-to-work legislation. -
ANSWERS-False: the government can ask the private sector employees to also go back to work
in the name of public inconvenience.
T or F? Over the past 30 years the percentage of employees who are represented by Unions has
dramatically declined in both Canada and the US. - ANSWERS-False: the percentage of union
members has drastically declined in the US but not that much in Canada
T or F? When a union attempts to organize employees, there is always a vote held to determine
if the employees wish to be represented by a union. - ANSWERS-False: it depends on
jurisdiction, for example in Alberta there is a need for representation vote.
, T or F? Collective agreements can provide that employees are required to become union
members. Accordingly, an employer could be forced to terminate an employee who refused to
join the union. - ANSWERS-True: under the concept of union shop, the employer can hire
anyone but upon joining the employee has to become a union member or else relinquish the
job. The U of M follows the union shop philosophy (student workers and for sessional
employee)
T of F? When an employee takes a complaint to his or her union— for example, the employee
alleges termination without cause— the union is required to pursue the matter with the
employer. - ANSWERS-False: the ownership of the grievance lies with the union, not the
employee.
T or F? In the course of negotiation of a collective agreement, the employer may be required to
reveal information to the union even though the union has not requested it. - ANSWERS-True:
known as the duty of bargaining in good faith
T or F? When a vote is held to authorize a strike, all employees in the group that would be on
strike are entitled to vote. That is, both union members and employees who are not union
members are entitled to vote. - ANSWERS-True: as long as the job of all employees are being
impacted they are all entitled to vote
T or F? Some public sector employees have the right to strike, provided essential services are
maintained for the public by having some employees continue to work. - ANSWERS-True:
maximum number of union members in Canada work for the public sector.
T or F: unions reduce profitability and productivity - ANSWERS-False: it is known that unionized
firms are less profitable than non-unionized firms, but that does not mean the cause of low
profitability are the unions. In fact, the responsibility of making profit belongs to management.
Maybe the management is weak, that is why they are unable to make a profit. After all, they
succumbed to being unionized whereas other aggressive managements like those of Amazon,
Walmart, McDonald's never allow unions to be formed (Apple, Facebook, Google)
