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Founded at the dawn of the modern industrial era, the nearly forgotten Women

游客2025-04-06  32
问题     Founded at the dawn of the modern industrial era, the nearly forgotten Women’s Trade Union League(WTUL)played an instrumental role in advancing the cause of working women throughout the early part of the twentieth century. In the face of considerable adversity, the WTUL made a contribution far greater than did most historical footnotes.
    The organization’s successes did not come easily; conflict beset the WTUL in many forms. During those early days of American unions, organized labor was aggressively opposed by both industry and government. The WTUL, which represented a largely unskilled labor force, had little leverage against these powerful opponents. Also, because of the skill level of its workers as well as inherent societal gender bias, the WTUL had great difficulty finding allies among other unions. Even the large and powerful American Federation of Labor(AFL), which nominally took the WTUL under its wing, kept it at a distance. Because the AFL’s power stemmed from its highly skilled labor force, the organization saw little economic benefit in working with the WTUL. The affiliation provided the AFL with political cover, allowing it to claim support for women workers; in return, the WTUL gained a potent but largely absent ally.
    The WTUL also had to overcome internal discord. While the majority of the group’s members were working women, a sizable and powerful minority consisted of middle-class and upper-class social reformers whose goals extended beyond labor reform. While workers argued that the WTUL should focus its efforts on collective bargaining and working conditions, the reformers looked beyond the workplace, seeking state and national legislation aimed at education reform and urban poverty relief as well as workplace issues.
    Despite these obstacles, the WTUL accomplished a great deal. The organization was instrumental in the passage of state laws mandating an eight-hour workday, a minimum wage for women, and a ban on child labor. It provided seed money to women who organized workers in specific plants and industries, and also established strike funds and soup kitchens to support striking unionists. After the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire of 1911, the WTUL launched a four-year investigation whose conclusions formed the basis of much subsequent workplace safety legislation. The organization also offered a political base for all reform-minded women, and thus helped develop the next generation of American leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of many prominent figures to emerge from the WTUL.
    The organization began a slow death in the late 1920s, when the Great Depression choked off its funding. The organization limped through the 1940s; the death knell eventually rang in 1950, at the onset of the McCarthy era. A turn-of-the-century labor organization dedicated to social reform, one that during its heyday was regarded by many as "radical, " stood little chance of weathering that storm. This humble ending, however, does nothing to diminish the accomplishments of an organization that is yet to receive its historical due. [br] Which of the following best characterizes the American Federation of Labor’s view of the Women’s Trade Union League, as it is presented in the passage?
选项 A、The WTUL was an important component of the AFL’s multifront assault on industry and its treatment of workers.
B、Because of Eleanor Roosevelt’s affiliation with the organization, the WTUL was a vehicle through which the AFL could gain access to the White House.
C、The WTUL was to be avoided because the radical element within it attracted unwanted government scrutiny.
D、The WTUL offered the AFL some political capital but little that would assist it in labor negotiations.
答案 D
解析 正如短文所表述的那样，以下哪种观点最能代表美国劳工联合会对妇女工会联盟的看法?妇女工会联盟为美国劳工联合会提供了一些政治资本，但向它提供了非常少的有利于劳资谈判的政治资本。第二段最后两句说，由于美国劳工联合会的权力源自非常熟练的工人，因此，该机构在与妇女工会联盟的协作中看不到多少经济效益。该分支机构为美国劳工联合会提供政治资本，允许它为女工人索取援助。作为回报，妇女工会联盟得到一个强有力的、却名不副实的支持者。
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