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

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

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.

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."[/i]

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

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

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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

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!

Question 2 seems to have stumped a lot of folks, so let me try my hand at this one.


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


This is a function/purpose question. Why did the author use the word "understandable" here?

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

What does the author achieve by using the word "understandable"?

Through this word, the author indicates to us that as per him/her, the skepticism that black workers had towards unions is something he/she can understand. This means that the author understands where this skepticism is coming from, and so as per him/her, the skepticism is justified at some level (if you do not understand the reason for the skepticism, you would feel it is not justified, you cannot appreciate it).

Without this word, we would not know the author's opinion about the skeptical attitude. Does he agree with it, or disagree with it? Through "understandable", the author indicates that yes, this skepticism is definitely justified at some level, and so, it is therefore something that he/she appreciates. Option D is therefore the correct answer.

Useful practice: When trying to find the purpose of a word, remove it and see what happens. How does the meaning change without the word? It will give a clue as to why the word is there.


Regards,
Harsha

Question 6

I'm late to the party here, but I'll add my two cents, just in case it helps somebody out there.

The first sentence that you've quoted shows what Randolph HOPED to accomplish by joining the AFL -- he wanted to pressure other unions to drop race restrictions.

The second sentence tells us that these race restrictions were found to be unconstitutional in 1944.

We don't know that Randolph's efforts were the reason that race restrictions were found to be unconstitutional, or even that the other unions were influenced at all by the Brotherhood. Maybe the ruling on race restrictions happened independently of the Brotherhood joining the AFL. Maybe the other unions in the AFL didn't feel any pressure at all from the Brotherhood, and were very unhappy with the court ruling. We can't say that the Brotherhood was actually successful in influencing other unions, because we're not given that information in the passage.

For that reason, you can eliminate (E) for question 6.

I hope that helps!

This isn't terribly helpful, but, if you haven't already, you might try using the approach explained in our beginner's guide to RC, or in the RC videos listed here.

In particular, you'll want to read for structure and purpose without obsessing over details. This is perhaps especially true with tougher passages. If you can come to a high-level understanding of the purpose and structure, then hopefully you'll be able to answer a couple of the questions correctly and move on without wasting too much precious time. Remember, this is an adaptive test, and part of the battle is learning to move on when you are stumped.

I hope that helps a bit!

One of the primary meanings of "appreciation" is "full/deep/intuitive understanding (of a concept or point of view)".
E.g., Many people do not appreciate the importance of a supportive family until they have weathered a crisis without having such support readily available.

This is the meaning of "appreciate" that's used here.

("Appreciate" can also mean "to increase in value"—e.g., for a stock or other investment—but I doubt there's any risk that you'll confuse this meaning with others.
If you were thinking of the way you'd use "appreciate" in exchanging courtesies—e.g., Thank you for the favor; I really appreciate it—I think it's somewhat less likely that you'll see this form in formal writing; you'll probably see some other, more formally acceptable equivalent instead, e.g., is/are grateful for....)

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.

can some one please explain the Q3 why the OA B. why the option E is incorrect ?

Regards

Hi altairahmad,

Let me explain this doubt.

If you read this question carefully, the question is about complete passage.
The line you quoted represents a part of passage.
In option E,

Does passage is really talks about "success" of Brotherhood ?

Take option B,
If you read passage as a whole,it seems Randolph was highly motivated for bringing the Brother hood into American Federation of Labor.
Every actions he took was driven by motivation to implement Brotherhood.
Thus option B is correct.
Hope it helps

Para1: to start the passage by stating how Randolph devote his effort on Brotherhood-porter union in wrestling with the Pullman corporation and on the way to eliminate the racism against black workers

Para2: follow by para1, the author take two obstacles as the ordeals Randolph face when he struggles to win recognition from Pullman

Para3: here the author praise Brotherhood, with its own strength, has done a great
move and how the union porters contribute to Brotherhood, which one was later being identified with another one

Para4: still not satisfied, the last paragraph state the greater triumph Randolph achieve, in that how he helps attain the goal to amend the race discriminate constitution

Hi tt147,

That point appears to be for something else in the passage.


Q4 (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?) is about the next point.


We can say that if they didn't share the same grievances the Brotherhood would not have had this advantage, but we can't say anything about their communications on the basis of this point.

Hi JaxHammer,

The passage doesn't mention anything about "the steps he took to initiate the founding of the Brotherhood". It starts with "When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters", and then moves on to what he did next.

Hi AjiteshArun,

Thanks

I agree with you on passage mentioning about what he did next. I guess I lost it with my logic of how its too its vague considering the answer for question "passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph" is in last paragraph.

I guess I mistook that Randolph founded the brotherhood, after re-reading passage following your reply, I see that he just took leadership, not the founder

Question 5

A prohibition was not lifted in the 1930's -- a prohibition was put in place in the 1930's. The 1930's legislation prohibited companies from funding their own unions.

That means that before the 1930's, companies WERE allowed to fund their own unions. So (A) is correct for question 5.

I hope that helps!