rap2016_ch20

Quiz for Document 20–4: Conflicting Views about Labor Unions

Choose the best answer to each question.

1. Why did Thompson describe labor unions as “treasonable in their character”?

They were controlled by foreign-born immigrants.

They were dominated by former southern Confederates.

They were uniting across industries for the purpose of sympathy strikes.

They were formulating goals and policies that violated the Constitution.

2. What type of solution did Thompson propose for the problem of labor unions?

Armed resistance by federal troops

Cooperation among employers to fire union members

Laws prohibiting union organization

Increased government regulation of working conditions

3. What contradiction did Gompers identify in his argument for labor unions?

Companies were more consolidated, but workers were still expected to act only as individuals.

Industries with a predominantly female workforce were more open to unionization.

Opponents of labor unions ignored federal law granting workers the right to organize.

Many companies advertised worker-friendly policies, but did not actually implement them.

4. According to Gompers, what success had labor unions achieved?

Implementing a minimum wage

Abolishing all child labor

Reducing work to an eight-hour day

Winning worker safety regulations