Collective Bargaining - Answers Process that involves the negotiation, drafting, administration, and
interpretation of a written agreement between an employer and a union for a specific period of time
Captive-Audience Doctrine - Answers Management's right to speak against a union to employees on
company time and to require employees to attend the meeting
Bargaining Unit - Answers Group of employees in a plant, firm, or industry that is recognized by the
employer, agreed on by the parties to a case, or designated by the NLRB as appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining.
Consent Elections - Answers Union elections in which the parties have agreed on the appropriate
commonality.
Community of Interest - Answers Concept by which the NLRB makes a bargaining unit decision based
on area of employee commonality.
Informational Picketing - Answers Patrolling at or near an employer's facility by individuals carrying
signs to publicize the fact that the union is requesting an election to become the bargaining agent for
the employees of the organization.
Gizzel Bargaining Orders - Answers Situations in which the NLRB orders management to bargain with
the union; named after a lanmanrk Supreme Court decision, NLRB v. Gissel Packing Company.
12-month Rule - Answers Provides that no election can be held in any bargaining unit within which a
valid election has been held within the preceding 12-month period.
Certification Bar - Answers Condition occurring when the NLRB will not permit another election in the
bargaining unit within 12 months of a union's certification.
Recognition Bar - Answers Condition occurring when the NLRB prohibits an election for up to 12
months after an employer voluntarily recognizes a union.
Contract Bar Doctrine - Answers Doctrine under which the NLRB will not permit an election in the
bargaining unit covered by a contract until the contract expires, up to a maximum of three years.
Good-Faith Bargaining - Answers Sincere intention of both parties to negotiate differences and reach
a mutually acceptable agreement.
Boulwarism - Answers Named after General Electric vice president; occurs when management makes
its best offer at the outset of bargaining and firmly adheres to the offer throughout the bargaining
sessions. The NLRB has rules that this is not good-faith bargaining and is therefore illegal.
Coordinated Bargaining - Answers A form of bargaining in which several unions bargain jointly with a
single employer.
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) - Answers Independent agency within the federal
government that provides mediators to assist in resolving contract negotiation impasses.
Mediation - Answers Process whereby both parties invite a neutral third party (called a mediator) to
help resolve contract impasses. The mediator, unlike an arbitrator, has no authority to impose a
solution on the parties.
Arbitration - Answers Process whereby the parties agree to settle a dispute through the use of an
independent third party (called an arbitrator). Arbitration is binding on both parties.
Conventional Interest Arbitration - Answers Form of arbitration in which the arbitrator listens to
arguments from both parties and makes a binding decision, which can be identical to the position of
either party or different from the positions of both parties.
Final-Offer interest arbitration - Answers Form of arbitration in which the arbitrator is restricted to
selecting the final offer of one of the parties.
Union Shop - Answers Provision in a contract that requires all employees in a bargaining unit top join
the union and retain membership as a condition of employment; most right-to-work laws outlaw the
union shop
Agency Shop - Answers Contract provisions that does not require the union but requires them to pay
the equivalent of union dues as a condition of employment.
Maintenance of membership - Answers Contract provision that does not require an employee to join
the union but does require employees who do join to remain members for a stipulated time period
Checkoff - Answers Arrangement between an employer and a union under which the employer
agrees to withhold union dues, initiation fees, and assessments from the employees' paychecks and
submit this money to the union.
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) - Answers Contract provision that ties wage increases to rises in the
Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index.