The Factory System The conditions of factory workers and the fight for a better life.
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Transcript of The Factory System The conditions of factory workers and the fight for a better life.
The Factory System
• In the 19th century factories were made to produce more goods efficiently
• Cloth, once made by hand, was now made in a textile factory
Factory Workers
• Men, women and children came to work in the factories
• Many came from the farms to get better jobs in the cities
Labor Conditions
• People usually worked six days a week, for ten to fourteen hours a day
• Many jobs were unsafe
• Children often worked, too
Labor Unrest
• Workers organized strikes against poor working conditions and low pay.
• A strike is when workers leave their jobs as a protest.
• In some cases workers formed unions, an organization of workers, to improve their pay and working conditions
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
• In 1911 a fire broke out in Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
• 146 people died in the in the blaze
• The factory doors were locked to prevent employees from leaving and theft
Knights of Labor
• The Knights of Labor formed after the Civil War
• The union organized both skilled and unskilled workers
• They fought for an 8 hour day and equal wages for women and an end to child labor
American Federation of Labor
• The AF of L was a craft union that organized skilled workers
• They worked to improve wages and working conditions through bargaining with employers.
• Their leader was Samuel Gompers
Women Workers
• Women workers formed a union for garment workers
• In 1912 immigrant women went on strike to protest low wages. In Lawrence Mass.
• The strike lasted two months, and the strikers won a pay raise and their other demands.