The workers' association of the North Western Train Lines Co. has

Question

The workers' association of the North Western Train Lines Co. has decided to declare a strike unless all its members receive an immediate salary raise of 15% percent. This did not deter the chairperson of the board, who was quoted saying: "The chances of a strike remain slim. This is the third time in as many years that the worker's association has threatened to go on strike if we don't increase their wages, yet we haven't had a strike on that matter in half a decade."

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the chairperson's conclusion?

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the chairperson's conclusion?

A. A three day strike was held the year before last year after the chairperson refused to cancel a five percent pay cut following a warning by the workers' association that a strike would be inevitable.

B. Strikes are far more common in countries with large socialist parties than in capitalist countries such as the USA.

C. Unlike the last two years, in which the deliberation over the salary raise reached a stalemate, this year the governing board of the North Western Train Lines Co. decided to raise the salary throughout the organization by 5%.

D. Over the past three years, there has been an influx of 3% in the number of North Western Train Lines Co. employees.

E. Six years ago a strike was called over the board's refusal to raise the salaries by 10%.

This is a  CR Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects: 
 
   Data Sufficiency Butler 
   Problem Solving Butler  
   Sentence Correction Butler  
   Reading Comprehension Butler  
   Integrated Reasoning Butler

bv8562 · Answer

C IMO because from the stimulus we know that this is the third time the worker's association has threatened to go on strike, but they haven't gone on a strike on that matter in half a decade. From option C we come to know that in the last two years even when the organization did not increase their wages, the workers did not go on a strike. However, this year the board has decided to raise their wages by 5%, so their chances of going on a strike remain slim. Chances are slim because 5% increase in salary is still less than what they are demanding for.

harshitakukreja · Answer

Why can it not be E? Wouldnt it be a bold assumption to make that they are increasing salaries? Maybe they dont go on strike for different reasons.

bv8562 · Answer

harshitakukreja  How does E support the conclusion "The chances of a strike remain slim."? According to me, it makes it more likely that a strike would be called over if the board doesn't agree to increase their salaries by 15%.

VivekSri · Answer

Please read again it is saying half a decade means 5 years, what happened before that is not significant for us, this option is irrelevant.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The workers' association of the North Western Train Lines Co. has decided to declare a strike unless all its members receive an immediate salary raise of 15% percent. This did not deter the chairperson of the board, who was quoted saying: "The chances of a strike remain slim. This is the third time in as many years that the worker's association has threatened to go on strike if we don't increase their wages, yet we haven't had a strike on that matter in half a decade."

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the chairperson's conclusion?

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the chairperson's conclusion?

A. A three day strike was held the year before last year after the chairperson refused to cancel a five percent pay cut following a warning by the workers' association that a strike would be inevitable.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Strengthening question, first break down the argument. The first sentence is a premise which reports past events. The last sentence contains the chairperson's conclusion but also provides an additional premise:

Premise A: the workers are threatening to strike if they don't get a raise of 15%
 +
Premise B: the workers have threatened to strike for their pay rise 3 times in 3 years, but there has not been a strike in the last 5 years
 =
Chairperson's conclusion: there will probably not be a strike

Strengthening Data: ?

You are required to find data that supports the chairperson's conclusion that a strike is unlikely.

Since the conclusion revolves around the chances of a strike over demands for an increase in pay, a strike held over a refusal to cancel a pay cut is irrelevant and therefore neither strengthens nor weakens the conclusion.

B. Strikes are far more common in countries with large socialist parties than in capitalist countries such as the USA.

Incorrect.

This statement neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. The fact that strikes are more common elsewhere does not mean that there are no strikes in the USA at all, and that the workers' association's threat to strike will not be realized.

C. Unlike the last two years, in which the deliberation over the salary raise reached a stalemate, this year the governing board of the North Western Train Lines Co. decided to raise the salary throughout the organization by 5%.

This answer choice strengthens the chairperson's conclusion by adding information that may explain why the workers are unlikely to strike. According to this answer choice, this year, workers have even less motivation to strike, since the board has decided to grant the workers some of their wishes (a 5% raise).

D. Over the past three years, there has been an influx of 3% in the number of North Western Train Lines Co. employees.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. The number of employees is irrelevant to the chairman's conclusion as the strike deals with a pay raise across the organization, regardless of the number of employees.

E. Six years ago a strike was called over the board's refusal to raise the salaries by 10%.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the chairperson's conclusion because it provides a case where the workers were true to their word and went on strike for a salary raise.

The workers' association of the North Western Train Lines Co. has

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

The workers' association of the North Western Train Lines Co. has

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards