Question

Read the excerpt from a letter about the early trade union movement.

The trade union movement came into being as a movement of hunger. It was made necessary by conditions. It was in the beginning formed in response to a hunger for enough to eat . . . As it became possible to secure more food, other hungers demanded satisfaction . . . The demands were for more and better food, for better clothes and for better homes. It required a struggle to satisfy these needs . . . [A]t every step of the way it was necessary to overcome the stubborn opposition of employers who were resolved not to recede and not to relinquish any of the powers and privileges which they possessed.

—Samuel Gompers, 1920

What does the author believe about factory owners?

They struggle just as workers do.
They earned their privileges.
They are greedy and selfish.
They are stubborn but hardworking.

Answer 1

They are greedy and selfish. The author calls employers a "stubborn opposition" who refuse to "relinquish any of the powers and privileges" they possess, implying selfishness.