Samuel Gompers is famous because he

 

CORRECT: started the modern labor movement in the United States.

EXPLANATION: The labor movement fundamentally changed the relationship between workers and employers.

 

2. Someone who works in an industrial job, often in manufacturing, and who receives wages is a(n)

 

CORRECT: blue-collar worker.

EXPLANATION: Blue-collar workers are so-called because traditional work shirts worn by laborers were blue; laborers wore darker clothing that didn't show the dirt associated with hard physical labor in a factory.

 

3. Why was the Taft-Hartley Act passed?

 

CORRECT: to curb union power

EXPLANATION: Unions became so powerful in the 1940s that they began to abuse their power to the point where companies were hindered from increasing efficiency to stay competitive. This and other problems prompted Congress to pass the Taft-Hartley Act.

 

4. A settlement technique in which a neutral mediator meets with each side to try to find a solution that both sides will accept is

 

CORRECT: mediation.

EXPLANATION: Collective bargaining sometimes results in a deadlock at which time a third-party mediator is called in to help find solutions and thereby prevent a strike.

 

5. The process in which union and company representatives meet to negotiate a new labor contract is called

 

CORRECT: collective bargaining.

EXPLANATION: Labor contracts usually last from two to five years, after which time a new contract must be negotiated. Unions often engage in collective bargaining with company representatives to negotiate new labor contracts.

 

6. What tactic, involving a work stoppage, do unions use to force employers to address their demands?

 

CORRECT: strikes

EXPLANATION: A strike is an organized work stoppage that can shut down a workplace.

 

7. What is the name for a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides?

 

INCORRECT: a right-to-work law

CORRECT: arbitration

EXPLANATION: If collective bargaining and mediation have failed to produce an agreement between a union and an employer, then they might be willing to designate a neutral third party to make the final decision as an arbitrator.

 

8. In the early years of the labor movement, what was one of the main reasons workers wanted to organize?

 

CORRECT: Factories were dangerous places to work.

EXPLANATION: Workers in the 1800's were injured at a high rate, and disabled workers often lost their jobs. The prospects of finding another job were very small once a worker was injured.

 

9. Someone in a professional or clerical job who usually earns a salary is considered to be a(n)

 

CORRECT: white-collar worker.

EXPLANATION: White-collar workers are so-called because the men who held those jobs in the past usually wore white shirts and ties to work.

 

10. Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

 

CORRECT: to pay homage to the American worker

EXPLANATION: In 1882, labor leader Peter J. McGuire suggested a day celebrating the American worker. The idea took hold, and Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.

 

1. Which is an example of a semi-skilled worker?

 

CORRECT: lifeguard

 

2. The decision that a mediator reaches during settlement talks is

 

CORRECT: non-binding.

 

3. When an employer believes that job applicants are intelligent and hardworking based upon their completion of college, it is an example of

 

CORRECT: the screening effect.

 

4. Which of the following workers is likely to earn the highest wage?

 

CORRECT: a professional worker

 

5. When is there an equilibrium wage?

 

CORRECT: when there is no excess in the demand for workers or in the supply of workers

 

6. The law that set the minimum wage is the

 

CORRECT: Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

 

7. What type of work is growing fastest in the United States?

 

CORRECT: information-related

 

8. The Taft-Hartley Act in 1947

 

CORRECT: allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.

 

9. What was one reason union membership rose in the 1930s?

 

CORRECT: Congress passed pro-union laws.

 

10. Another name for temporary work is

 

CORRECT: contingent employment.

 

11. What is meant by productivity?

 

CORRECT: the value of output

 

12. A labor union is an organization that

 

CORRECT: tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members.

 

13. Which of the following most accurately describes the change in average weekly earnings since 1980?

 

CORRECT: Average weekly earnings have risen for college-educated workers only.

 

14. Which of the following people is considered part of the labor force?

 

CORRECT: a person who has lost a job but is looking for one

 

15. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the United States Department of Labor

 

CORRECT: surveys households to assemble information on the workforce each month.

 

16. The invisible barrier that exists when highly skilled women are continually denied promotions to high-level positions in an industry dominated by men is called

 

CORRECT: the glass ceiling.

 

17. Which job is categorized as professional and would most likely earn a salary?

 

CORRECT: teacher

 

18. _______________ founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886.

 

CORRECT: Samuel Gompers

 

19. Collective bargaining means that

 

CORRECT: representatives of unions and companies negotiate new labor contracts.

 

20. There is a high equilibrium wage when the

 

CORRECT: labor supply is low and the demand is high.