The Public Sector

Question 1

The Pendleton Act (also known as the _____________ Act of 1883), created the federal merit system.

Answer 1

Civil Service

Question 2

Under the ___________, the Civil Service Commission was created to administer open competitive examinations for selecting federal employees. Also, the right of Congress was established to regulate the wages, hours, and working conditions of public employees. The merit principle was created and federal employees were no longer subject to being fired for failure to make campaign contributions.

Answer 2

Pendleton Act

Question 3

The original ______ Act prohibited government employees from raising funds, giving partisan public speeches, or volunteering for any candidate or party.

Answer 3

Hatch

Explanation:

Passed in 1939 following several big corruption cases involving FDR’s burgeoning post-New Deal bureaucracy, the Hatch Act limited the political activities of federal employees. This was done to shield workers from political pressure and ensure that the resources of the federal government were not used to favor a political party. The Hatch Act was amended in 1993 by President Clinton.

Question 4

The ____________________ was signed by President Nixon in 1970. It created the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as an Independent body within the executive branch of the federal government.

Answer 4

Postal Reorganization Act

Explanation:

The PRA was established in response to the requests of postal workers to have their labor management relations programs established by law. The postmaster general position was made separate from Congress.

Question 5

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established a new independent, neutral agency that enforced the federal labor relations program and investigated unfair labor practices. This agency was known as the Federal Labor Relations _________.

Answer 5

Authority

Question 6

The Federal Labor Relations Authority acts to determine appropriacy in bargaining units, to supervise and conduct elections, and to resolve ________ of unfair labor practices.

Answer 6

complaints

Question 7

Within the FLRA (Federal Labor Relations Authority), the Federal Services _______ Panel is made up of a chairperson and at least six president-appointed members. This panel is responsible for the investigation of any standoffs presented to them and is authorized to take necessary action.

Answer 7

Impasse

Explanation:

The Federal Services Impasse Panel is a specialist panel within the FLRA. When standoffs are presented, the panel must investigate and recommend procedures for resolution or provide assistance to the parties.

Question 8

In 1993, President Clinton issued an order that resulted in the formation of the National ___________ Council. The aim of the council was to promote labor-management cooperation.

Answer 8

Partnership

Explanation:

The motion for this arose from a performance review of the federal government that reported a hostile labor relations program. The National Partnership Council was formed in an effort to improve cooperation between labor and management.

Question 9

The ________ Security Act of 2002 included the statement that agencies involved in intelligence, national security, and investigative work would be exempt from the Federal Labor Relations Management Act.

Answer 9

Homeland

Explanation:

The Homeland Security Act was passed in 2002. It reaffirmed the President’s long-standing authority to make agencies involved in work related to national security exempt from the Labor Relations Management Act.

Question 10

There are key differences among provisions that are implemented for employees by __________ and jurisdiction such as teachers, police, firefighters, and state and local employees. In particular, the right to strike is governed by strict guidelines.

Answer 10

Occupation

Question 11

The __________ bargaining provisions for each of these public sector employees pertain specifically to the duties and requirements of the jobs. In many instances, the right to strike is granted, but falls within a strict set of guidelines.

Answer 11

collective

Question 12

Executive order _____, issued in 1962, provided collective bargaining rights for federal employees.

Answer 12

10988

Question 13

Presidential Executive Order 10988 was created by President _______ to create a unified pattern of procedures between the federal government and the many labor unions representing federal workers.

Answer 13

Kennedy

Question 14

Between both the private and public sectors, the ________________ settlement is largely dependent on a party’s ability to increase bargaining power. This is achieved by either increasing the cost of the opponent disagreeing or reducing the cost to the opponent of agreeing.

Answer 14

collective bargaining

Question 15

In the United States, public-sector workers are much more likely to belong to a union than are _______-sector employees.

Answer 15

Private

Question 16

__________ percent of public employees are union members compared to just 8 percent of private-sector workers. The percentage of American private-sector workers belonging to unions declined steadily beginning in the mid-1950s.

Answer 16

Thirty-seven

Question 17

A significant difference between private and public sectors may be seen in the ________ system, since many of the public services are provided at little or no cost and therefore the market finances will have no bearing on negotiations.

Answer 17

Economic

Explanation:

The market economy cannot operate within the public sector and therefore does not act as a constraint on either the labor union or management during discussion.

Question 18

Generally, the budget will have a much more significant role in ______ sector collective bargaining as the projected salaries for employees are recorded as separate line items in the budget.

Answer 18

Public

Explanation:

Although the direct implications of the budget on the public sector bargaining process is not clear, it is believed to have a more significant effect than on the private sector.

Question 19

The rights and obligations vary among employees of the private and public sectors. Political activities, ________ appearance, place of residence, and off-the-job behavior are much more heavily regulated in the public sector.

Answer 19

Personal

Explanation:

Through stringent regulation, employers often attempt to avoid negative publicity related to employees in sensitive or visible public positions. This applies to such occupations as police, teachers, and firefighters.

Question 20

The ___, the teacher union that is affiliated to the AFL-CIO, has almost one million members, compared to fifty thousand in 1959.

Answer 20

AFT

Explanation:

Teacher unions have grown considerably since the 1950s. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has grown into a trade union representing workers in education, health care, and public service.

Question 21

The NEA is the most popular independent _______ union with approximately 2.5 million members.

Answer 21

Teacher

Explanation:

In the 1950s, the National Education Association (NEA) was a professional association, not a union. Its leadership, reacting to the growth of the AFT, gradually transformed the organization into one that engaged in collective bargaining, union representation elections, and strikes.

Question 22

Union membership among __________ (16 percent) is much lower than union membership among teachers in public schools (44 percent).

Answer 22

Professors

Explanation:

Within higher education, the less prestigious institutions demonstrate a much higher tendency to unionize.

Question 23

In the professional and related occupations, approximately __ percent of workers are union members.

Answer 23

20

Explanation:

Historically unions have mainly been concentrated in the skilled trades and factory settings, but today the largest and fastest growing unions are those that represent professionals. Examples of professional occupations include: attorneys, scientists, engineers, technicians, administrative assistants, and auditors.

Question 24

Collective bargaining within ___________ is very decentralized and the negotiations are usually conducted on a single-employer basis. The chief administrator is usually the chief administrative officer of the municipality.

Answer 24

Governments

Explanation:

Collective bargaining within governments is very decentralized compared to private sector collective bargaining. Collective bargaining within the public sector is much less structured and usually occurs on a single-employer basis.

Question 25

Within the public sector, it is much more difficult to define the appropriate __________ unit due to variations in state laws and the lack of statutory regulation. Private sector legislation and administrative enforcement agencies provide direction for such units in that field.

Answer 25

Bargaining Explanation: At state and local levels, the public sector is subject to many different combinations of appropriate bargaining units. This makes defining an appropriate bargaining unit more difficult in the public sector than in the private sector.

Question 26

In the majority of states, people in managerial roles or considered to be confidential employees are ________ from unions.

Answer 26

Excluded Explanation: In the public sector, individuals in managerial roles or individuals who are confidential employees are often excluded from unions. However, there is variation between the states and the level of exclusion from the unions, as some states forbid supervisors while others will allocate a separate unit.

Question 27

The organizational structure of the public sector differs from that of the private sector as the chief __________ may lack the final authority on decision-making processes and forming agreements on behalf of the organization.

Answer 27

Negotiator Explanation: In the public sector, the principles of self-government make it difficult to appoint a person with the decision-making authority. Many government officials try to maintain their power on final decisions as they feel they hold a responsibility to the electorate.

Question 28

The listing of negotiable issues between the public and private sectors differs considerably. One such example is that _____ and position classifications of federal employees cannot be negotiated in accordance with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

Answer 28

wages Explanation: Items such as wages and position classification are frequently the topic of labor negotiations within the private sector. This is not the case in the public sector, where these issues are exempt from discussions in public collective bargaining.

Question 29

____________ bargaining at the state and local levels of the public sector involves numerous groups of community citizens, government officials, and the designated negotiators.

Answer 29

Multilateral Explanation: The multilateral organization of bargaining within the public sector differs from the bilateral relationship of private sector negotiations between management and union representatives.

Question 30

Unions within the public sector will often take advantage of _______ bargaining, in which they will make a direct appeal to the legislative body in charge of passing the final decisions in hope of a more favorable agreement.

Answer 30

End-run Explanation: The union will appeal either before, during, or after negotiations have occurred. In some instances, the media will aid this process when management and the union disclose their positions to the press rather than to the opposition.

Question 31

The underlying principle that the ________ are technically the owners of the public service has resulted in many of the negotiations being made open to the public under the sunshine laws.

Answer 31

Citizens Explanation: Through this process, the citizens are able to observe and add input to the collective bargaining process. This differs from the private sector where stockholders are excluded from the process.

Question 32

The grievance procedure coupled with arbitration is the means of conflict resolution in both public and private sectors. However, in the public sector, the grievance procedure is multi-step and there is a positive relationship between the number of steps and the number of cases taken to ___________.

Answer 32

Arbitration Explanation: In the private sector, grievances are usually settled at the first step, as opposed to the public sector where cases are usually resolved at the second or third step. The positive relationship indicates that the more steps there are, the more cases there are that are taken to arbitration.

Question 33

Due to the prohibition of striking among public sector employees, the _______ Resolution procedures play an important role in labor conflict resolution. The procedures include mediation, fact finding, and arbitration.

Answer 33

Impasse

Question 34

Impasse Resolution procedures usually involve a _____ party who seeks to resolve the issue without causing disruption to services or threatening public interest.

Answer 34

third