Look for the Labor Union Trivia Quiz

Answer: National Education Association

The NEA represents over 2.5 million education employees, mostly public school teachers. The Service Employees (SEIU) is second, representing 1.8 million public employees, healthcare workers and janitors. The Teamsters have about 1.4 million members and the Auto Workers under 1 million.

Answer: Industrial Workers of the World

The IWW was strongest in the early twentieth century. They were one of the first unions to push for equal rights for immigrants, women and African-Americans. Their membership included miners and lumberjacks and colorful characters such as Joe Hill and Big Bill Haywood.

Answer: Sally Field

SAG, one of the most star-studded unions, represents actors in television and film. Sally Field starred in the union drama "Norma Rae," in which she organized a textile mill, she but was never president of SAG.

Answer: Cesar Chavez

In the 1960s, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the United Farm Workers. A. Phillip Randolph was president of the Sleeping Car Porters, one of the first unions which had a predominantly African-American membership, Walter Reuther was president of the Auto Workers and Sidney Hillman was president of the Clothing Workers' Union.

Answer: Congress of Industrial Organizations

In 1935, a group of unions that wanted to organize American's major industries broke off from the AFL and formed the CIO. The CIO oversaw the unionization of the auto, steel and textile industries. It was more aggressive than the AFL and more political. Where the AFL had generally remained politically neutral, the CIO encouraged its members to become active in politics and worked to elect union-friendly candidates to office.

In 1955, the CIO merged back into the AFL, forming the AFL-CIO.

Answer: False

The AFL-CIO is an umbrella organization for labor unions. Membership is voluntary and carries some benefits, but is not required. The largest union in the United States, the National Education Association, has never been an AFL-CIO member. In 2005, several large unions, including the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters, left the AFL-CIO to form the Change to Win Federation.

In addition, many smaller or regional unions are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

Answer: 1953

In 1953, 32.5% of the workforce were union members. The number has been declining steadily since that time. By 2002, only 13.2% of the workforce were union members. The decline can be attributed to many factors, including the decline of the industrial manufacturing sector, the passage of anti-union legislation, the failure of unions to aggressively organize and the use of increasingly savvy anti-union tactics by employers.

Answer: Garbage workers

King came in support of the 1968 garbage workers strike. King was a supporter of rights for workers, but unions were divided on the civil rights movement. While some unions took up the cause of civil rights, notably the United Auto Workers and United Farm Workers, many stayed neutral and some opposed the movement.

Answer: Because it refused to purge Communists from its leadership

Led by the legendary Harry Bridges, the Longshore Workers (ILWU) aggressively represented the workers on the docks of the west coast. The Taft-Hartley Act, passed in 1947, required union leaders to declare they were not members of the Communist Party. Several unions, including the ILWU and the United Electrical Workers, refused to do so on principal.

In 1949, the CIO expelled 11 such unions. The ILWU eventually was allowed to rejoin the AFL-CIO.

Answer: Because it was controlled by organized crime

The AFL-CIO alleged that Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters Union was fostering criminals. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Teamsters engaged in a prolonged battle with the federal government over allegations of corruption and ties to organized crime, and several of the union's presidents went to prison. Hoffa disappeared in 1975, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

In 1998, Hoffa's son, Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., was elected president of the Teamsters.