Hi everyone,

I just took the ECE Labor Relations exam this morning and thought I would post some feedback. First of all, I took my time and studied very hard for this one because it was the last exam I needed to take for my BS-Business degree and I certainly didn’t want to fail this exam, of all exams. So I was pleasantly surprised when the exam turned out to be much easier than I expected, and I sailed through it in only one hour! I felt confident that I had the correct answers for probably 95% of the exam, so I sat there grinning to myself, thinking “Boy, this was an easy A for me”!! Well…the “EC Exam Gods” didn’t like me being so cocky and awarded me with a….........…C!!!!
I couldn’t freakin believe it!!!!

This has now happened to me on both of the EC exams I have taken. When I took ECE Ethics last September, I also sat there feeling very confident that I had done well and would score an A, so I was very surprised when I scored a B (not that a B is bad, but hey…I wanted the A, darn it!). I’m just curious if anyone else out there has had a similar experience with an EC exam…when you thought you’d done well and then you were surprised by your score??

Study materials: I studied for this exam using the IC flashcards (thanks Steve for creating these just in time), and I read the recommended textbook “The Labor Relations Process” (8th ed.) by Holley and Jennings and prepared my own set of notes by following the exam content outline. I would be happy to share these notes with anyone who needs them; just send me a PM. One important note: Excelsior changes the content of this exam on October 1st every year, so if you’re planning on taking this exam after that, you may need additional information or resources for your version of the exam.

Misc. info: There are 130 questions and I found all of them completely straightforward (no trick questions).

Things to make sure to study and know about (based on my version of the exam):

Elements in the Labor Relations Process (20%)
What is the most important element in the labor relations process (employees)
Status of union membership today
Difference between a craft union & an industrial union
What a shop steward & business agent does
What special classification can a union give to the shop steward & business agent
Who governs the national union
Conventions & delegate system
What is a closed shop, a union shop, and an agency shop
How a union is formed (know all the steps and who does what, incl. who certifies results)
Union hiring halls (who would use the most)
Right-to-work laws
Know what type of union an educator would belong to
Would a “professional” be part of a union
What is amalgamation
What a company can do to discourage employees from joining a union.

Early Labor History (10%)
Knights of Labor (KOL)
What state the Haymarket Riot took place in
American Federation of Labor (AFL); Samuel Gompers (what were his beliefs);
What kind of union did AFL initially start out as?
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW); what helped them be successful
Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO); John Lewis; sit-down strikes
What happened with the unions in the 1920’s (i.e. lost membership?)
Issues facing unions after World War I

American Labor Law in the Private Sector (10%)
Common law
Employment-at-will
Commonwealth vs. Hunt 1842
Yellow-dog contract
Danberry-Hatters 1908
Clayton Act 1914
Railway Labor Act 1926
Norris-LaGuardia 1932 (several questions)
Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) 1935 – know well
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – know well
Taft-Harley Act 1947 (Labor Management Relations Act)
Unfair labor practice – know well
Workers Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) – how many days’ notice req’d

The Organizing Process (10%)
Why unions are formed
How organizing begins; activities of the union
Who determines appropriate bargaining unit (NLRB)
Secret ballot elections
Totality of conduct doctrine
24-hour rule (an employer cannot hold an employee meeting the same day as the union election)
If a company has 50 lawyers and 50 clerks, what has to occur for them to be combined as one single bargaining unit?

Collective Bargaining (20%) – Know this entire category very well
Pattern bargaining
Distributive bargaining approach
Integrative (mutual gain) approach
Splitting the difference
The most common reason that employees go on strike (over wages)
What guarantees that striking union employees will be paid while on strike
Voluntary bargaining subjects
Duty to bargain in good faith
Totality of conduct
New employer vs. successor employer
Income maintenance (union supplements unemployment benefits)
Scanlon plan
Two-tier plan
Contract ratification (know well)
Arbitration (know well, including what requirements are to be an arbitrator)
Mediation
Fact-finding
Mediation-Arbitration (separate from just mediation or just arbitration)
Economic strike
Unfair labor strike
Wildcat strike
Boycott
Lockout

Contract Administration (10%)
Job security issue
Definition of a grievance
Steps in grievance procedure
Featherbedding
Superseniority
Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers Local 1987
Just cause
Progressive discipline

Labor Arbitration (10%)
Steelworkers Trilogy 1960
Collyer case 1971
Alexander vs. Gardner-Denver Co. 1974
Gilmer vs. Interstate Johnson
Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS)
American Arbitration Association (AAA)
Employment arbitration
Common law of the shop
Parole evidence rule
Intent of the parties
Past practice
Know what factors an arbitrator will take into consideration when reviewing a case

Public Sector (5%)
Civil Service Reform Act 1978
Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
Similarities & differences between unions in Public and Private sectors
Sunshine laws
Impasse resolution
End-run bargaining
Public sector unions are most commonly AGENCY SHOPS
Who would be most likely to strike? (i.e., police, fire, etc.)
Laws/rules about the public sector & going on strike

Labor Relations Abroad (5%)
NAFTA (why Unions didn’t like)
Cuba
Western Europe
Germany
Japan
Know how U.S. labor unions compare against unions in other countries in terms of growth


I hope this helps any of you who are planning to take this exam. Just be WELL PREPARED!!

JoAnne

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Brian R. Fey Sr. +
M.S. - Psychology
B.S. - Criminal Justice
A.S. - Administrative Management