When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of

Question

When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, he began a ten-year battle to win recognition from the Pullman Company, the largest private employer of Black people in the United States and the company that controlled the railroad industry's sleeping car and parlor service. In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group; eventually, Randolph helped to weaken organized labor's antagonism toward Black workers.

In the Pullman contest Randolph faced formidable obstacles.The first was Black workers'  understandable  skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. An additional obstacle was the union that Pullman itself had formed, which weakened support among Black workers for an independent entity.

The Brotherhood possessed a number of advantages, however, including Randolph's own tactical abilities. In 1928 he took the bold step of threatening a strike against Pullman. Such a threat, on a national scale, under Black leadership, helped replace the stereotype of the Black worker as servant with the image of the Black worker as wage earner. In addition, the porters' very isolation aided the Brotherhood. Porters were scattered throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities; their segregated life protected the union's internal communications from interception. That the porters were a homogeneous group working for a single employer with a single labor policy, thus sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well. But it was only in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative.

Not content with this triumph, Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor, where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions. He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.   1 
 C 
1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was

(A) unchanged except among Black employees of railroad-related industries
(B) reinforced by the actions of the Pullman Company’s union
(C) mitigated by the efforts of Randolph
(D) weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers
(E) largely alleviated because of the policies of the American Federation of Labor

2 
 D 
2. In using the word “understandable” (line 14), the author most clearly conveys

(A) sympathy with attempts by the Brotherhood between 1925 and 1935 to establish an independent union
(B) concern that the obstacles faced by Randolph between 1925 and 1935 were indeed formidable
(C) ambivalence about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920’s
(D) appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920’s toward unions
(E) regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers

3 
 B 
3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company’s own union?

(A) Few porters ever joined this union.
(B) Some porters supported this union before 1935.
(C) Porters, more than other Pullman employees, enthusiastically supported this union.
(D) The porters’ response was most positive after 1935.
(E) The porters’ response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.

4 
 C 
4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?

(A) It would have been more difficult for the Pullman Company to have had a single labor policy.
(B) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to control its channels of communication.
(C) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.
(D) It would have been easier for the Pullman Company's union to attract membership.
(E) It would have been easier for the Brotherhood to threaten strikes.

5 
 The best answer is A.

But it was only in the early 1930's that federal legislation  prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money  eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative.

Lines 34-38 indicate that in the early 1930's it became illegal for a company to maintain its own union with company funds.

Thus, the passage suggests that prior to 1930's a company was permitted to fund its own union.

1930’s :  legislation was passed that prohibited companies from self-funding unions

1920’s :  it was still legal for companies to self-fund unions

The last sentence in the third paragraph states that companies funded their own unions with company money and in the 1930’s, federal legislation was passed that ended this practice.

Choices B, C, D, and E describe practices that are not implied in the passage. 
5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to

(A) use its own funds to set up a union
(B) require its employees to join the company's own union
(C) develop a single labor policy for all its employees with little employee dissent
(D) pressure its employees to contribute money to maintain the company's own union
(E) use its resources to prevent the passage of federal legislation that would have facilitated the formation of independent unions

6 
 B 
6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?

(A) The steps he took to initiate the founding of the Brotherhood
(B) His motivation for bringing the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor
(C) The influence he had on the passage of legislation overturning race restrictions in 1944
(D) The influence he had on the passage of legislation to bar companies from financing their own unions
(E) The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor

MagooshExpert · Accepted Answer

Hi Poorvasha ! Carolyn from Magoosh here - I'll jump in for Mike

Let's start with question 2. First, let's take a look at the context: The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. Here, the author tells us that unions historically prevented Black workers from being members. And so, the Black workers were skeptical of the unions, for these reasons. The author says that this is understandable . So the author understands why the Black workers are skeptical of the unions -- or in other words, the author appreciates the skepticism of the Black workers. This matches with answer choice D. Now, for question 3, the relevant part of the passage is here: An additional obstacle was the union that Pullman itself had formed, which weakened support among Black workers for an independent entity. If the union that Pullman formed weakened support among Black workers, that means that at least some of the workers supported this union. Otherwise, this wouldn't be an obstacle. So there had to be some workers who supported this union before 1935. This fits with option B. Does that make sense? If you'd like more explanation about something here, let me know!

plumber250 · Answer

Hi Turtle, Let me see if I can help....

Here is the whole sentence:

The first was Black workers' understandable( 15) skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. 
 
 This sentence is talking about black workers were SKEPTICAL of the unions because of HISTORIC reasons. And our author is saying that is UNDERSTANDABLE.

So... Answer D, is in my eyes correct. Because it says that the author APPRECIATES (another word for UNDERSTANDS) the attitude of black workers.

The question is a tricky one, because this sentence is saying something very differnt to the section preceeding it, which talks about the fight for recognition, and the attitudes of the unions and employers. We need to ignore this and just focus on the specific section in hand...

Hope that helps...

James

ontheway · Answer

1.C 2.E 3.A 4.C 5.A 6.B

1. According to the passage, by 1935 the  skepticism  of Black workers toward unions was
C mitigated by the efforts of Randolph
 >> Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group.

2. In using the word "understandable" (line 14), the author most clearly conveys
E regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers.
 >>The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward  unions , which  had historically barred Black workers from membership.

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company's own union?
A Few porters ever joined this union.
 >>The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward  unions , which  had  historically barred Black workers from membership .

4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?
C It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.
 >> sharing the same grievances  from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and  encouraged racial identity and solidarity  as well.

5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to
A use its own funds to set up a union
 >> in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money

6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?

A The steps he took to initiate the founding of the Brotherhood
Nowhere talked about the steps to initiate rather obstacles he faced
B His motivation for bringing the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor
 >> Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor , where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions.  He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position  to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions

ontheway · Answer

Hmmm... That's a blow ...

I don't agree with all the OAs and here is my reasoning, eagerly waiting for experts' comments:

1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was:
OA: D weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers.

In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group;

He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.

Last sentences clearly state that until 1944 unions practiced race restrictions. HOW can we say that skepticism of Black workers toward unions was weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers. Which unions opened the doors for black workers before 1935. This way only Randolph that made this change happen.

2: OK! Even I was thinking no to opt for such a strong opinion as Regret.
But still A to be the OA .....
understandability is about the skepticism of black workers towards unions and not about the brotherhood.

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company's own union?
OA: E The porters' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.

Who are porters': (1) black workers (2) workers with black workers as majority (3) workers with non-black workers as majority
Porters were scattered throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities;
I can not justify (1) and (3) from the passage but at least (2) from the passage.
OA could be right if majority of the workers were non-black workers then we would say that non-black workers' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions. But if porters' are dominated by black workers then how this can be OA.

>>The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership.

This clearly states that porter's were barred from union membership therefore Few porters ever joined this union. Few because some porter's could be non-black who joined unions.

4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?
OA: B It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to control its channels of communication.

Yes, this was a tempting answer and on first go, I opted for B but then I had a deep look and found it irrelevant to the question. Passage states that physical scattering through various cities helped porters' to control their communication and not because they had the same grievances from city to city. It is absurd to say that because porters' had the same grievances from city to city therefore they were able to protect their communication channel.

>>sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well.

We can see because porters' had the same grievances from city to city that strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well. So we can conclude that if porters' did not have the same grievances from city to city
It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.

5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to
OA: C develop a single labor policy for all its employees with little employee dissent.

First of all there is no mention if single labor policy was implemented by any company in 1920. Only thing mentioned is about 1928 that Pullman Company had a single labor policy. With this information we can not conclude if companies were doing so in 1920 too. Second problem with this answer is "with little employee dissent", there is no mention at all about this.

>> in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money
Therefore we can conclude that before 1930 companies were able to maintain its own unions with their own money and Pullman Company was doing the same.

6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?
OA: E The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor

May be I mis-interpreted motivation for intentions.

Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor, where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions. He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.

But to be honest, I'm still not happy with the OA. If Randolph was the successful to influence other unions' policy is far fetched conclusion. My feel is still with B.

StrivingTurtle · Answer

2. In using the word "understandable" (line 14), the author most clearly conveys

A sympathy with attempts by the Brotherhood between 1925 and 1935 to establish an independent union.
B concern that the obstacles faced by Randolph between 1925 and 1935 were indeed formidable
C ambivalence about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920's.
D appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920's toward unions.
E regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers.

Can someone please explain the OA for this question. In my opinion the answer should've been C or E. But the OA is D. 
 How can understandable convey appreciation of the attitude of many black workers ...

AryamaDuttaSaikia · Answer

Passage 2 talks about 2 things : One about generic information about unions (where barred black members were barred from membership) and Second about the Pullman's own union ( which weakened the support among black workers for an independent entity) before 1935. This may be (one of the reasons) because of the support of some porters to this union (as mentioned in option B).

The idea is about the weakening in the support rather than the numbers joining the union.

Hope this helps.

The idea is about the weakening in the support rather than the numbers joining the union.

Hope this helps.

abhimahna · Answer

Paragraph 1 - Randolph's leadership in Pullman Co , largest co of US employing Black labors , named Brotherhood..... , helped transformation of the attitude of the blacks towards them.

Paragraph 2 - Obstacles faced in the process - (a) Blacks skepticism towards Unionism (b) support for independent identity

Paragraph 3 - Breakthrough strike against Pullman Co attracted porters for the common cause which also affected them.

Paragraph 4 - Randolph brought it to other 105 unions to exert pressure against unions practicing Race restrictions. Finally such restrictions were declared unconstitutional.

1. In using the word “understandable” (line 14), the author most clearly conveys

Go through the passage - " In the Pullman contest Randolph faced formidable obstacles. The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. "

The following line talks about an obstacle and the reason for the skepticism , since it barred membership of Black workers.

(A) sympathy with attempts by the Brotherhood between 1925 and 1935 to establish an independent union

Not relevant

(B) concern that the obstacles faced by Randolph between 1925 and 1935 were indeed formidable

Possible 
(C) ambivalence about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920’s

Not true since the black workers are doubtful ( according to the passage ) about the formation of an Union for the black , since they were barred from membership in such Unions.

(D) appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920’s toward unions

The passage doesn't mention it , rather they were skeptical.

(E) regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers

There isn't any evidence of regretting in the passage .

Hence (B) is the best option.

2. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company’s own union?

Check the passage -

" In 1928 he took the bold step of threatening a strike against Pullman."

" In addition, the porters' very isolation aided the Brotherhood. Porters were scattered throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities; their segregated life protected the union's internal communications from interception. That the porters were a homogeneous group working for a single employer with a single labor policy, thus sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well. "

(A) Few porters ever joined this union.

The passage talks about the support of the porters against the practices of the employers and it is well expected that many joined the Union.

Further the author states -

"........eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative. "

Which clearly contradicts , hence this option can be negated.

(B) Some porters supported this union before 1935.

Nothing is explicitly stated in this regard , however the author mentions that Randolph took a bold step to strike against Pullman in 1928 which gained support of the porters as well later on.

So , this option might be possible - Let's keep it for now and check the other options as well to determine the best one.

(C) Porters, more than other Pullman employees, enthusiastically supported this union.

Porters supported the Union but the author didn't mention who supported more. This can be rejected straightaway.

The author simply mentions -

"But it was only in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative. "

This statement can not be used to prove that the porters supported more since it was caused by Federal Legislation.

(D) The porters’ response was most positive after 1935.

Porters response were positive after the first strike by Randolph against Pullman against Pullman Co in 1928.

(E) The porters’ response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.

Not at all true the author mentions obstacles which Randolph faced in the following lines -

"In the Pullman contest Randolph faced formidable obstacles. The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership."

Hence B seems to be better than the other available options...

DmitryFarber · Answer

The author isn't expressing ambivalence toward unions. Rather, he or she is describing the skepticism of black workers. It's a common trap for the GMAT to give an answer that describes the opinion of someone other than the person we're talking about.

pininfarina · Answer

I would like to hear detail explanation on #5.
Everyone is using "in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money" is the evidence. However, doesnt "that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with companey money" mean it was already prohibited in 1930, meaning they were not able to establish union with theirown?

DmitryFarber · Answer

pininfarina , watch out for the time frame. The question asks about the 1920's, but the legislation wasn't passed until the early 1930's. This allows us to know for sure that the practice of creating unions with company money was still legal throughout the 1920's.

pininfarina · Answer

Thanks DmitryFarber,
Actually, I first thought so...but doesn't the  present participle  "prohibiting" mean it was already prohibiting in the early 1930?
So I thought this sentence wouldn't be a ground for what was happening in 1920's.
(I can see that the legislation  allowed  for the first time  the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative  , but I still don't understand, from the grammer perspective, that the prohibition began in 1930.)

DmitryFarber · Answer

The passage states that it was only in the early 1930's that this legislation allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized. We don't know exactly when the legislation passed, but it seems most likely that it was passed in the the early 1930's (sometime between 1930 and 1934). I suppose it is theoretically possible that the legislation was passed earlier, but there's no indication of that, nor any reason to suspect that the legislation was passed long before it went into effect.

Also, don't read too much into the present participle. It simply serves as a modifier. If the sentence said "legislation that prohibited," the meaning would be the same.

Also, don't read too much into the present participle. It simply serves as a modifier. If the sentence said "legislation that prohibited," the meaning would be the same.

pininfarina · Answer

Hi Dmitry,

Thank you for the explanation.
I'm still a bit confused, but I guess that since the question stem says "The passage  suggests ", the argument doesn't have to deliver a clear fact.
Therefore, as you wrote, "theoretical possibility" is enough, right?

DmitryFarber · Answer

Yes, this is an inference question, so we are looking for an answer that is not directly stated in the passage. However, our answer should be more than a theoretical possibility. I was using that phrase to refer to the unlikely idea that the legislation was passed and took effect in 1920's, but only made the difference the author described until the 1930's. This is theoretically possible, but there is absolutely no reason to believe that it is true, and in fact it would be rather deceptive of the author to describe the situation the way they did if that was what happened. An inference should still be clearly supported by the passage, and this one is. If it wasn't until the 1930's that this change happened, then before the 1930's, things still ran the old way.

Poorvasha · Answer

Hi mikemcgarry , Request you to help with Q2 and 3 here. Thanks

aragonn · Answer

P1 - Mr P took a post, his challenges, what he did.
P2 - 1st problem, blacks dnt want union.
P3 - How black were against him. events.
P4 - what after some law passed and how it was helpful.

1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was

In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group;
 
(C) mitigated by the efforts of Randolph

-------------------------------------------

2. In using the word “understandable” (line 14), the author most clearly conveys

(D) appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920’s toward unions

--------------------------------------------

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company’s own union?

An additional obstacle was the union that Pullman itself had formed, which weakened support among Black workers for an independent entity.

In addition, the porters' very isolation aided the Brotherhood

(B) Some porters supported this union before 1935 --- overall above lines are pointing towards this.

-------------------------------------------------

4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?

thus sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well.

(C) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.

-----------------------------------------------

5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to

But it was only in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative.

(A) use its own funds to set up a union

-----------------------------------------------------

6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?

(B) His motivation for bringing the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor

chrtpmdr · Answer

GMATNinja , or any other expert.

Could anyone of you be so kind and explain the reasoning used to justify the answer choice of Q6? I really argued a long time before answering this question. 
Maybe it is a language problem with the phrase   "His motivation..."    but to me this conveys that the passage should present the reasoning and motivation which lead Randolf to iniate this union.

I eliminated this answer choice because the passage barely focussed on the iniator, also after re-reading I haven't found any indications that would provide me with something relatable to "his motivation ..." 
For this answer choice to be true I would have expected to spot the following information in the passage:

Randolf was a victim of race segregration working for company x ... therefore he iniated .... 
Randolf was a scholar of the important figure Y and formed his beliefs early on to fight for the rights of black workers ... 
Randolf grew up in a town that was heavily influenced by the railroad business, he saw the struggles of the porters early on and therefore went on to ...

Is my reasoning faulty?

Thank you in advance!

GMATNinja · Answer

Take another look at (B):
 
To choose (B), we need to verify that the passage supplies information about Randolph's motivation for a very specific action:  bringing the Brotherhood into the AFL.  That is different than his motivation for starting the Brotherhood in the first place.

In the last paragraph of the passage, we learn that Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the AFL because he believed that "as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions." This clearly shows his motivations for having the Brotherhood join the AFL, so (B) is the correct answere to question #6.

I hope that helps!

altairahmad · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja  and other experts.

I need help with Q6 choice (E).

The last two sentence of the very last paragraph read "He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.". This appears to be clearly supporting choice (E).

In light of this, can you please explain how (E) is not the correct choice.

When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of

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When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of

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