GMAT Reading Comprehension- After Suffering a Countercyclical Decline in the Prosperous 1920s

Reading Passage Question

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.

“After suffering a countercyclical decline in the prosperous 1920s”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The AFL believed that government counteraction of labor efforts could be avoided, whereas the CIO believed such counteraction was inevitable.
4. The AFL was primarily concerned with avoid government counteraction of labor efforts, whereas the CIO was primarily concerned with provoking government counteraction.
5. 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. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the viewpoint attributed to Samuel Gompers in the highlighted portion of text?

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The pursuit of new union membership, whether in skilled or unskilled labor, sometimes merited violent measures.
5. 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. The passage is primarily concerned with

1. critiquing various groups' proposals for action within a social movement
2. describing opposing viewpoints and groups in the evolution of a movement
3. tracing the series of events through which a social problem was eventually solved
4. describing the reasons for popular adoption of a growing social movement
5. evaluating the arguments of various groups concerning promotion of a specific cause

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