15-1. Why have labor and management tended to treat each other as adversaries in the U.S. labor relations system?

15-2. How can management’s collective bargaining tactics be influenced by the company’s labor relations strategy? Provide examples.

15-3. It is often said that “good pay and good management” are the keys to successful union avoidance. Spell out the kind of policies and practices companies should develop if they want to keep their workers from unionizing. Do you think the employee relations practices you’ve mentioned are less costly or more costly than working with unionized labor?

15-4. Assume that a union has organized the faculty at the university or the college where you are a student. What impact would you expect the union to have on the faculty? Which faculty would you expect to support the union? To not support the union? How would a faculty union affect the students’ educational experience? Explain.

15-5. Some experts in the field of labor relations believe that when a union can pose a credible threat of a strike to management in the collective bargaining process, both parties—union and management—are motivated to move in the direction of a settlement and reach a labor agreement. They also claim that without a credible strike threat, the two parties are less likely to arrive at a joint agreement. What is the basis for this justification for giving the union the privilege of exercising its right to strike? Do you agree or disagree with this argument? Explain your reasoning.