Deck 7: Working Class: Estranged From Entitlement

Question 1

In the country's early years, worker worked

A) as independent laborers
B) until they had families
C) between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm
D) most of their waking hours

Answer 1

D

Question 2

During the mid-nineteenth century, the working class consisted of all but which of the following?

A) bourgeoisie
B) artisans
C) unskilled laborers
D) factory workers

Answer 2

A

Question 3

At the start of the twentieth century Henry Ford was so worried about attracting a stable workforce for his automobile plants that he offered

A) a five-dollar-per-day minimum wage
B) free childcare in factories
C) increased opportunities for job promotions
D) opportunities for women to work alongside men in his plants

Answer 3

A

Question 4

One reason U.S. unions differ from many unions in Europe, is that the latter have

A) advocated on behalf of working-class citizens as a whole
B) advocated only for those union members who have paid their dues
C) advocated for political party status
D) never been directly involved in political parties' policy decisions

Question 5

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan, in response to an air traffic controllers strike did the following

A) fired 11,500 air traffic controllers
B) jailed 1,500 air traffic controllers
C) jailed leaders of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization
D) fired all flight attendants and pilots
E) a and c
F) b and d

Question 6

Women and minority unionized workers have experienced

A) less in weekly earnings than their nonunion counterparts
B) less in weekly earnings but more days off than their nonunion counterparts
C) increased weekly earnings and more opportunities to hold elevated union offices
D) increased weekly earnings than their nonunion counterparts

Question 7

Media images of the working class depict them as all but which of the following?

A) "white trash"
B) lowlife inept men and socially adept women
C) incompetent husbands and fathers and intelligent wives and mothers
D) all of the above

Question 8

Parents of working-class children

A) are more likely to be involved with their children's schools than middle-class parents
B) do not allow their children to hang out with family or friends
C) treat their children as though they are in the military by giving terse commands or using only a few words
D) strongly encourage them to join in activities where they could develop skills and gain experience

Question 9

A skilled-labor job includes individuals who

A) are librarians
B) are accountants
C) are bankers
D) are roofers

Question 10

Blue-collar temp work involves which three steps?

A) working temp, hired full-time, and retiring early
B) waiting for work, on a ticket, the revolving door
C) quitting a temp job, returning for a new placement, being hired permanently
D) waiting for work, getting a permanent job, job advancement

Question 11

Most outworkers were young children.

Question 12

The earliest efforts at union organizing in the U.S. was among women workers.

Question 13

The Taft-Hartley Act passed by Congress in 1947 eliminated the closed shop and the sympathy strike.

Question 14

Unions in some European countries have had more substantially more support than their counterparts in the United States.

Question 15

While advancement among the union ranks have not always provided equal opportunities, union membership has generally offered increased wages for gender and racial equality.

Question 16

Skilled-labor jobs are working class positions that require specific knowledge and sometimes specialized training.

Question 17

Advancing technology has resulted in increasing and stabilizing working-class jobs

Question 18

An apprenticeship for the skilled trades can be difficult to obtain.

Question 19

Apprentices agree to work for free while teaching themselves online the skills they will need in the workplace.

Question 20

Describe the child-rearing traits of children in working class families and compare them to those of children in middle-class families.

Question 21

How do blue-collar temp agencies work? Who benefits from them and how? Who is the "loser" in the arrangement and why?

Question 22

Discuss the role of unions and working-class workers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. How have unions risen and fallen? How has unionization in the U.S. differed from unionization in many European countries?

Question 23

Describe the employment opportunities and barriers for blue-collar workers. How do these differ for those who have skilled-labor jobs and those who do not?