Laborc Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
i) Short Answer Questions
1. What are yellow dog contracts?
This is a form of contract where an employee promises their employer that they will not join any
form of a labor union or movement. This contract also applies when an employer forces an
employee who has already joined any union to forcefully leave or resign (Bennett and Harrison,
2012). These contracts were very common during the early 1950’s when employers felt
threatened that their workers would benefit from joining labor unions. What’s more, employers
felt that these unions would fight for the rights of workers and give them more powers than they
had. It also meant that they would be forced to increase their salaries, benefits, allowances and
add the amount of leave days that each employee was entitled to by the company (Fiorito et al
2005). Therefore, to avoid all these, employers found it safe to ask their workers to enter into a
yellow dog contract with them.
2. Describe the responsibilities of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). What is
a Ponzi scheme? Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
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The National Labor Relations Board or NLRB is a body created under an act of
government and is meant to protect employees from exploitation and mistreatment by employers.
Some of the responsibilities of the NLRB include educating employees on their rights and the
benefits of joining labor unions (Hass, 2006). In addition, it also gives employees the awareness
on the role of unions and how they give them a collective and bargaining voice when it comes to
speaking about things that create a hostile working environment. In addition, the NLRB is the
main body that is empowered to deal with unfair and oppressive practices by employers through
the enhancement of labor laws (Fiorito et al 2005).At the same time, the National Labor Relations Board also conducts regular elections so
that they can select or choose the best officials to represent the unions. This body is also tasked
with the duty of listening to unfair practices within labor unions and then administers the right
course of action. Therefore, the NLRB ensures that the rights of employees are observed at all
times in their respective places of work. This also means that employees are covered and
protected from joining Ponzi schemes, which aim at defrauding people of their money since they
do not earn any profits on investment. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
3. What are the steps involved in the formation of a union?
The first step in forming a union begins with employees showing interest where the
NLRB requires a minimum of 30% of the employees should be willing to join or form a union
(Darlington, 2014). This is then followed by filing an election petition that gives the employees
the right to elect labor officials. The election date is then set by the National Labor Relations
Board or NLRB where a union member and a company representative are selected to oversee
this process. Elections are then conducted through a secret ballot where employees choose the
person they want to represent them (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). After this, negotiations are
held in order to deliberate on the outcome of the election and discuss whether the employees are
comfortable with their choice. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay. Finally, ratification procedures follow where officials of the
company meet and discuss certain demands and requirements of the union (Bennett and
Harrison, 2012). The end of this process marks the beginning of the union and officials are
presented to the respective employees of the company.
4. What are wildcat strikes? When are they subject to unfair labor practice charges?
This is a form of strike where employees and members of staff demonstrate through an
illegal process against issues that they do not like in the company (Bennett and Harrison, 2012).Wildcats are actually illegal strikes because they do not follow the proper procedure according
to the law. This means that for a strike to be legal, the employees must obtain majority approval
through a union ballot. Hence, if employees take part in a wildcat strike, the employer has the
right to fire all employees who took part in the strike and even sue them for any damages they
caused to the firm (Jansen, 2014). Wildcats are only allowed if an employer does not obey the
rules and obligations of labor unions such that employees do not have the voice to speak out their
complaints through the union. In such a case, the only solution would be to hold a wildcat strike
so as to get the employer’s attention. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
5. What are "right to work states?" Name any two such states.
These are states where employees have the right to choose whether or not they want to
join a labor union or not. These states do not force employees to join unions but instead give
them the freedom to decide individually on what they want (Pencavel, 2014). Most of the
employees who join unions within these states are those that belong to risky jobs such as
working for the mining, railway or processing industries. There are more than twenty five states
in America where the right to work law has been enforced. Two examples of such states include
Arizona and Texas. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
6. In what ways did the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 curb union abuses and excesses?
The Taft-Hartley Act was created as a form of amendment to the National Labor
Relations Board or NLRB so as to take care of the growing number of labor unions (Bennett and
Harrison, 2012). This act ensured that employees were protected from unfair and unjust practices
by their employers. This act was formed when many works complained about being overworked,
being underpaid, working under risky and unsafe environments and even lack of insurance from
employers (Fiorito et al 2005). Hence, this union minimized these abuses in excess by instructing companies to improve their working conditions for workers, increase their basic pay and also
compensate them in case of any injuries (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). These rules were effected
through their inclusion in the act. Hence, employers had no option but to ensure they obeyed
these requirements to avoid any penalties or action taken against them.
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7. What is a Ponzi Scheme?
This refers to an illegal form of investment where certain individuals plan to open up a
savings and investment organization that promises to offer its customers returns and dividends
but does not do so. Instead, these Ponzi schemes end up defrauding their customers because they
generate returns on investments from the new members who join the scheme (Fiorito et al 2005).
This means that this body does not make any profit and only earns returns if new members join.
Ponzi schemes are known to be scams that rarely yield any returns if there is no new membership
(Bennett and Harrison, 2012). Hence, they end up collapsing because they base their existence
upon the presence of new members and if this stops, then the scheme can no longer continue.
Ponzi schemes have been known to defraud people a lot of money because most employees
invest in them with very little knowledge on how they are managed. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
8. What is the difference between debt securities and equity securities?
Debt securities and equity securities are both forms of securities that act as an investment.
Debt securities are characterized by the fact that they are normally represented by banknotes and
other forms of currencies (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). On the other hand, equity securities are
normally represented by instruments that can qualify as assets. This includes stocks, shares,
bonds and treasury bills where each stock that is sold represents a form of ownership to the
corporation that is making the sales. Stocks are the most common form of equity securities as
their ownership can be represented by a stock certificate (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). In the modern age, the stock certificate can be obtained electronically in a form known as a non-
certificated stock.
9. Discuss the following statement "Not all public offerings of securities must be registered
with the SEC."
The above statement is used in reference to exempt securities to imply that there are some
offerings that are allocated to specific individuals only. An example is the case where some
offerings are filed under Regulation D exemption (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.The latter means
that the offering is only being made to a selected group of people who are mainly accredited
investors. Such offerings are usually of a limited share or size and that is why they are restricted
to a few individuals (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). This statement mainly applies to companies
and corporations that wish to make maximum advantage of the Regulation D exemption
10. What are some of the criticisms of Sarbanes-Oxley?
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act or SOX was created in the year 2002 as a federal law that was
meant to deal with the mushrooming number of scandals in the accounting sectors of most
corporations. This act was enacted so that it could create uniform standards for the accounting
firms. Directors, managers, and executives who were operating on American soil (Bennett and
Harrison, 2012). However, some people criticize the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because in their
opinion, it did not handle cases of embezzlement or corruption in a competent manner. In
addition, other people felt that the SOX identified companies and organizations that were
involved in scandals, but did not proceed to persecute them in a court of law (Bennett and
Harrison, 2012). Hence, this resulted in mismanagement, where investments were lost due to
poor corporate governance. ii) Professional Development Questions
1. Bennina Industries is non-union, but wants to stay that way. In an effort to do so, it
wants to be proactive about employee concerns. Bennina tells some of the more popular
employees it thinks they should meet after work and hash out some of their issues and
present them to management. Does this violate the law? Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
This is a huge violation of the law because employees have the right to choose whether
they want to join a labor union or not. The employer should not force any worker or intimidate
them into not joining a union (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). In this case, Bennina Industries
could be described as being guilty of luring employees into entering a yellow dog contract with
them. This is because it asks its employees to meet later after working hours so that they can
discuss the issues that are affecting them in the workplace. However, the right way to solve this
issue is to form a labor union where employees can voice their complaints and concerns through
a fellow employee and the company would keenly listen and obey their demands.
2. Inventco, Inc had applied for a patent for one of its inventions and learned that it was
going to be issued. Inventco suspected that its stock would increase once the patent was
announced. Elaine, the president's secretary, overheard his conversation with the
company attorney and called her husband telling him about the impending stock increase.
Her husband, hearing an opportunity to make some money, purchased as much of the
company's stock as possible. As anticipated, the stock increased and Elaine and her
husband made a considerable sum on the Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
This form of investment could be described as a Ponzi scheme because the beneficiaries
made more returns based on the new investment that were made (Bennett and Harrison, 2012). The violation in this case is that the secretary of the corporation leaked crucial information that
only benefited her husband only and not other members of Inventco. Hence, Elaine and her
husband could be easily prosecuted for gross misconduct since the colluded to defraud the
company from a possible investment opportunity.
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References
Bennett-Alexander, D., & Harrison, L. F. (2012). The legal, ethical, and regulatory environment
of business in a diverse society. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin
Darlington, R. (2014). Strike Waves, Union Growth And The Rank-And-File/Bureaucracy
Interplay: Britain 1889–1890, 1910–1913 And 1919–1920. Labor History, 55(1), 1-20.
Doi:10.1080/0023656x.2013.871476
Fiorito, J., Jarley, P., & Delaney, J. T. (2005). National Union Effectiveness In Organizing:
Measures And Influences. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 48(4), 613-635
Hass, M. E. (2006). The legal, ethical, and regulatory environment of business. Cincinnati, OH:
South-Western College Pub. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.
Jansen, G. (2014). Effects Of Union Organization On Strike Incidence In Eu Companies.
Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 67(1), 60-85
Pencavel, J. (2014). The Changing Size Distribution Of U.S. Trade Unions And Its
DescriptionBypareto's Distribution. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 67(1), 138-170. Labor Relations, and Securities Regulation Essay.