Princeton RC - Retrieval question

[karthikpandian19]

Throughout their histories, feminism and organized labor, both of which took hold as major social movements during the rise of progressivism at the turn of the twentieth century, have shared common concerns and objectives. Some of the most militant and high-profile leaders of the early U.S. labor movement were women, and early women's rights groups often worked in conjunction with trade unions to campaign for a variety of issues affecting women workers, such as pay equity, child care, and improved working conditions. The relationship between labor and women's rights groups, however, was not always cooperative. To feminist labor activists, the interests of women and workers were inherently intertwined, but, as a number of recent labor historians have observed, many early trade unions did not share this view. Some unions made a concerted effort not only to exclude women from membership but also to keep them out of the workforce altogether. Many male union leaders saw the growing number of women who worked outside the home as competition, flooding the market and taking men's jobs. Women were often seen as unskilled labor driving down wages, or as potential strike breakers. Yet, rather than harming the cause of labor, female-dominated unions staged some of the largest and most effective strikes of the early 1900s. Although a large portion of female workers were unskilled, the sweatshop conditions many such workers faced may have provided them with a greater incentive to act aggressively on behalf of their unions.





The view mentioned in line xx of the passage refers to which of the following?


Some union members' desire to exclude women from membership in trade unions


Activists' belief that trade unions and women's rights advocates should work together toward common goals


Activists' opinions about how to oppose the sweatshop conditions faced by unskilled workers


Certain recent labor historians' observation that trade unions and women's rights groups have not always worked in alliance with each other


Some union leaders' fears about the adverse effects of large numbers of women joining the workforce