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The Official Guide for GMAT Review 10th Edition, 2003Practice QuestionQuestion No.: RC 107 ~ 112
Page: 354
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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
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; 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.
(A) unchanged except among Black employees of railroad-related industries
in the final part of para1, the attitude indeed has changed among Black workers toward unions, but the article doesn’t mention other industries beside railroad-related one so we cannot infer these information from the article
(B) reinforced by the actions of the Pullman Company’s union
nowhere in the passage mention about how Pullman's union done to address these skepticism
(C) mitigated by the efforts of Randolph
….correct, we could infer from para1: Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group
(D) weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers
here only one -Brotherhood Black Union is mentioned, not many unions…
(E) largely alleviated because of the policies of the American Federation of Labor
as we know in the last para, the American Federation of Labor is the organization that Randolph joins to help him on the elimination of race discrimination among other member union, nowhere talks about the skepticism toward union being alleviated
2. In using the word “understandable” (line 14), the author most clearly conveys
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.
(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
trap choice, …in para2, the purpose of the second sentence is just to exemplify the formidable obstacles in the first sentence, not as a way to show how the magnitude is the obstacle
(C) ambivalence about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920’s
the word “understandable” skepticism toward unions … is not mean to say “uncertain” about the significance of union’s attitude
(D) appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920’s toward unions
……correct, in this article the author’s attitude is quite lean toward Black worker’s side, add that to refer to para3 of what hostile movement Black workers have done, so we could infer why the author in para2 says the skepticism toward unions “understandable” is an action that could made sense of and is a tone of “appreciation” toward this action
(E) regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers
for (A) and (E), no tone of “sympathy or regret“ ever appear in the para2, which only list two examples to exemplify the obstacles Randolph faced
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.
in para3 we know that a quantity of porters indeed join this union
(B) Some porters supported this union before 1935.
……correct, notice there’re several time points-1935、1928 and the early 1930's in para3, at the time around 1928 porters were scattered throughout the country, their solidarity help strengthen the Brotherhood and its affiliate union, however it is until 1935 the Brotherhood formally became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. So it is true that “some” porter supported this union before 1935….
(C) Porters, more than other Pullman employees, enthusiastically supported this union.
porters is on the side of Brotherhood, which long stand against Pullman Company, thus Pullman will never support this union
(D) The porters’ response was most positive after 1935.
nowhere in the article mention the porters’ response, even not at any time they ever express “most” positive, its only in the final part of para3 that “just a little time after the early 1930's Brotherhood become recognized as the porters' representative” we could somewhat say its “more” positive
(E) The porters’ response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.
from sentence in para3, “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.” we could infer that porters’ sentiment was always closely connected with Black worker’s
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.
….correct, see sentence in para3: “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.”
(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.
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16 Nov 2019, 00:23
