Sweatshops In The Workplace

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Imagine being cramped, forced to do one's job and not being able to get freedom. That is the everyday life of an employee in the 1900s, who worked in the dreaded place called sweatshops. It was extremely harsh to work in one, especially when technology was not fully developed. In order to truly understand how these workers were facing, we must know what a sweatshop is are and how it felt to work in one.
First of all, a sweatshop is a factory, where in most cases make clothing. They consist of employees who work in horrible conditions. In the 1900s, more and more sweatshops called for people to make clothing at New York’s Lower East side, the garment district (newworldencyclopedia.org). Most who were accepted into a sweatshop were lower class
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For example, Clara Lemlich in the New York Evening Journal on November 28, 1909 had also said that the owners and the guards were not pleasant. Workers heard terrible things said to them while working. Lemlich felt as if they were treated worse than slaves when the men said those things. The guards were cruel, selfish and inconsiderate of others. Besides being treated unfairly, sweatshops were unsanitary. Workers were cramped in small spaces and barely received fresh air, according to Lemlich. The places in which they worked in were terrible, some consisted of rats and was easy for a fire to start (trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu).
Despite the negative comments, and unfair treatment, the workers were able to continue their work. There were many boycotts against the treatment the workers in a sweatshop were in. This worried the workers, one might have thought that he or she would have to find another job else where, one that was even worse. Boycotts did help them improve the situation, such as the “Great Revolt” (heartsandminds.org). This was a benefit for all those working in harsh and brutal conditions.
Despite working in poor conditions and treated dishonorably, they managed provide their family with money. Their hard work was rewarded with little support for one’s family. Overall, these workers were brave and humble. Finally, understanding what workers faced helped us understand their