After suffering a countercyclical decline in the prosperous 1920s, the

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 329, Date : 14-Sep-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

After suffering a countercyclical decline in the prosperous 1920s, the American labor movement grew in fits and explosive starts during the Great Depression and had finally come of age by 1940. Initially, the sole major organizational vehicle organizing unionized workers in the nation was the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which,  carrying on the legacy of Samuel Gompers, was reluctant to take steps that might instigate government counteraction , and which therefore failed to exploit completely the growing unrest of American workers. Some AFL leaders, such as John L. Lewis of the Miners, had more aggressive views to push unionization into industries it had not yet substantially occupied, but these individuals were the exception in the organization, not the norm. A shift was precipitated by an act of legislature, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1932, whose clause 7a guaranteed workers a choice of union and compelled employers to deal with those unions. The clause unleashed a wave of unionization, both spontaneous and driven by the AFL. Membership in the AFL surged, but the organization's conservatism--its orientation toward skilled labor, in particular--left it ill-equipped to organize and harness the energy of the mass of relatively unskilled workers clamoring to join the movement. In light of this roadblock (which actually caused the AFL to lose members), John L. Lewis formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) of ten of the more aggressive AFL unions. Within a year of its inception, the member unions of the CIO were expelled from the AFL and stood in the CIO as a distinct organization, at that point newly unhampered it its aggressive and sometimes violent pursuit of membership from unskilled labor. The CIO's tactics were effective, so that, by the time the AFL and the CIO reconciled in 1940, total union membership had risen to 8.5 million, from barely 3 million in 1929.   1 
 E 
 1. The passage suggests that the AFL differed from the CIO in which of the following ways?

A. The AFL believed that the labor movement required a single national organization, whereas the CIO believed that two major organizations were needed to advance the movement.
B. The AFL believed that unskilled laborers would join the labor movement of their own accord, whereas the CIO believed that a campaign was necessary to court unskilled laborers to join unions.
C. The AFL believed that government counteraction of labor efforts could be avoided, whereas the CIO believed such counteraction was inevitable.
D. The AFL was primarily concerned with avoid government counteraction of labor efforts, whereas the CIO was primarily concerned with provoking government counteraction.
E. The AFL believed that a more conservative approach would yield the best results for the labor movement, whereas the CIO believed the best approach was to pursue union growth aggressively.

2 
 A 
 2. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the viewpoint attributed to Samuel Gompers in the highlighted portion of text?

A. If the AFL had taken steps sufficiently aggressive to induce government counteraction, legislation such as clause 7a of the National Industrial Recovery Act would never have come to pass.
B. If the AFL had been quicker to promote unionization in unskilled labor, the labor movement would have suffered a blow to its public image that would have ultimately impeded the growth of the organization.
C. If the AFL had been quicker to organize and harness the energy of unskilled workers, it would not have had to suffer the split with the CIO.
D. The pursuit of new union membership, whether in skilled or unskilled labor, sometimes merited violent measures.
E. The labor movement was both initially and ultimately judged by its membership numbers, and for that reason a course of action that increased membership was generally a superior course of action.

3 
 B 
 3. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. critiquing various groups' proposals for action within a social movement
B. describing opposing viewpoints and groups in the evolution of a movement
C. tracing the series of events through which a social problem was eventually solved
D. describing the reasons for popular adoption of a growing social movement
E. evaluating the arguments of various groups concerning promotion of a specific cause

Source:  GMAT Free  (15)
Difficulty Level:   700

PallabiKundu · Answer

Can someone please explain Question 2? I gave the answer as C , though A is correct

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the viewpoint attributed to Samuel Gompers in the highlighted portion of text?

Explanation

This question asks about the key view attributed to the AFL by this passage: the idea that they, drawing on Gompers, were  "reluctant to take steps that might instigate government counteraction."  So we want a point indicating that the AFL was right not to be more aggressive.  Choice (A)  fits that idea.

Choice (B)  seems to fit it equally well, at first. Looking back at the exact language, note that view in question involves  "government counteraction,"  which excludes  (B). Choices (C) through (E)  are out on similar grounds.

The correct answer is (A).

Hope it helps

RITESH24 · Answer

PLEASE EXPLAIN THE QUESTION NO-3 REASONING I MARKED IT C....

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. The passage is primarily concerned with

Explanation

We can and should predict the answer to a general question such as this one. We might predict:  "The passage describes conflicts within the labor movement during a particular period during a time of growth."  Even a mediocre prediction, if it's not flawed, will speed our evaluation of the answer  choices. (B)  fits our prediction.

The passage does not offer strong opinions, so  (A)  is out. Although unions were formed to address issues, the passage doesn't describe problems or solutions, so  (C) is out.  The passage doesn't describe many reasons for adoption of labor (the only one is the Act, probably), so  (D)  is out. And  (E) , like  (A) , involves a level of opinion not expressed by the passage.

The correct answer is (B).

Hope it helps

Tuputuki · Answer

Question no. 1
Why B will not be the answer?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The passage suggests that the AFL differed from the CIO in which of the following ways?

Explanation

We already have an answer in mind to this question: the AFL was more conservative, the CIO more aggressive. Let's see what answer choices are consistent with this idea.  (C), (D),  and  (E)  are all in the vicinity of our expectation.

For  (C) , we can scan and confirm that we have no idea whether these groups thought conflict could be avoided, based on the passage. So  (C)  is out.

Somewhat similarly, in  (D) , we don't have knowledge that the CIO wanted to provoke the government as a goal. They wanted to use more aggressive recruitment methods. That doesn't fit  (D) , but it fits  (E) , which looks correct.

(A)  is wrong; the CIO left the AFL because it was kicked out.

(B)  is inaccurate, because the AFL wasn't targeting unskilled laborers whatsoever.

The correct answer is (E).

VerbalBot · Answer

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