[Union Avoidance] Nadine Owned and Operated a Large Book Store

question 68

Multiple Choice

[Union Avoidance] Nadine owned and operated a large book store with 50 employees. She was aware of union organization attempts. She prohibited any discussion of the union and the distribution of literature at any time, including during employee breaks and lunches in the employee break room. She told employees that she would refuse to grant a raise to any employee who supported the union. Nadine was extremely unhappy when the union obtained enough signatures indicating an interest to be represented by the union. Nadine still refused to recognized the union, and the union organizers petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a representation election. At that point, she promised employees that she would give a $1,000 bonus to any employee who voted against the union. Surprisingly to Nadine, employees who voted overwhelmingly supported the union. On the other hand, employees who voted failed to constitute all employees of the book store. A number of employees were absent on the day of the election and did not vote. Nadine stated that it was her understanding that the union would not be certified as the bargaining representative of the employees because fewer than 50% of the total number of the store employees voted for the union. Nadine further stated that, in any event, she would not deal with the union under any circumstances.
-Which of the following is true regarding whether Nadine's prohibition of discussion regarding the union and the distribution of literature in support of the union was objectionable under federal labor law?

• A) Nadine could legally prohibit all discussion regarding the union as well as all distribution of literature in support of the union anywhere on her business premises.
• B) Nadine could legally prevent all distribution of union literature anywhere and anytime on her business premises, but she could not prevent any discussion regarding the union.
• C) Nadine could legally prohibit all discussion regarding the union anywhere and anytime on her business premises, but she could not prevent any distribution of union literature.
• D) Nadine could likely legally prohibit discussion regarding the union and the distribution of literature during work time, but not during nonwork time such as lunch periods in the employee break room.
• E) Nadine could not legally prohibit any discussion of the union or any distribution of literature on her business premises.

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Definitions:

Positive Reinforcement

The addition of a stimulus following a desired behavior that increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.

Negative Punishment

A behavior modification method where something desirable is removed to decrease the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring again.

Positive Punishment

A methodology in behaviorism where an undesirable outcome follows an unwanted behavior, with the aim of decreasing the frequency of that behavior.

Remove a Stimulus

Refers to the process of eliminating a particular stimulus, which can affect behavior by decreasing the likelihood of a conditioned response.