Made in Dagenham

Workers became “more numerous, better organized, more disciplined, and more successful” even though employers tried to stop them (Who Built America 113). Many of these workers led strikes for better hours, better wages and better conditions. When comparing the 1800s to today, we see that strikes were very effective, an example of this is shown in the 8-hour movement. Unions helped win “more than 60 percent of the strikes waged in 1889 and 1890” (Who Built America 113). Due to these workers, employees now face fewer obstacles. Whenever workers felt as though they were being taken advantage of they could “refuse to work, if they withdraw their cooperation, every social institution can be brought to a halt” (Brecher 5). Without workers, the employers will have no one to complete products therefore not being able to make a profit. Subsequently, employees will have leverage over the employers so they can finally sit down and negotiate their conditions. This was shown in the Michigan Central Railroad where workers fought for their wages to increase by two dollars. The workers exhibited their resistance when “streetcars, wagons, and buggies were stopped; tanneries, stoneworks, clothing factories, lumberyards, brickyards, furniture factories, and a large distillery was closed in response to roving crowds” (Brecher 31). The result of this strike was “victorious, and 2 dollars a day became the standard wage in Galveston” (Brecher 31). This strike was important because it exhibited to others that if they unite then they can achieve better conditions. If the workers did not unionize they would not have achieved equality in the workforce and better wages and conditions. Without resistance, these workers would have never gotten negotiations or the necessities they need. Even if workers lost because of outside interference they eventually had the power to change the minds of

When women started working in factories, they faced hardships in working conditions. There were dangerous fumes and explosive dangers. There was always the risk of accidental explosions. It was even harder for mothers because there were not any child care policies offered by many companies. Women soon began making unions, such as the National Women’s Trade Union League, where women met and found ways to help raise women wage and have better work

1,400 women at Bryant & May matches then went on strike, led by Annie Besant, in protest of the poor wages and dangerous conditions in the matchstick factory. This lead to the security of the first successful equal pay resolution at Trades Union Congress.

For social reform, the Women’s Trade Union League was on the foremost authority, organizing protests and working against prostitution, white slavery, and other social problems that many women faced (15). For political and labor reform, Frances Perkins was on the vanguard of political protests and building regulations. Not only did she get the attention of Tammany Hall, and helped push it to become more progressive, and pass the fifty-four hour law, which took 20 hours off a worker’s week, but she eventually became the first female cabinet member and pushed for Charles Murphy to endorse voting (218). After the Triangle Factory Fire, “she quickly mastered the details of the sprinkler systems, fireproof stairways, fire drills, and more. She knew, in an intellectual way, that New York Factories were extremely vulnerable” which was invaluable in pushing for more building regulations (195). As for economic opportunity, the overall strikes of the women who had been protesting eventually got the attention of the government, and a minimum wage was established in the early 1930’s. Clara Lemlich was one of the leaders of these strikes for pay raises and better factory conditions, and despite being beaten, she led many strikes and became one of the foremost figure in the labor reform movement. She was, “a new sort of

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was influential in creating a progressive environment which would contribute to creating a fairer world for all. The Act was instrumental in changing the thought process of Americans at the time, and is responsible for supporting equal pay in the workplace. Gender equality pay is an issue people have been fighting over for years, but when the Equal Pay Act of 1963 passed, it certainly aided in the fight for equality for all. (Salem Press Encyclopedia)

Woman along with the children were affected while working during the industrial revolution. During 1834 and 1836 Harriet Martineau, a British feminist and abolitionist, visited America and enthusiastically embraced the social implications of the Industrial Revolution, (DTA, 223). Martineau compared the lifestyle of women to slaves and said the United States contradicted the principles of the Declaration of Independence. She did believe though with some progress that it could become New England’s new industrial order. One of the Mill factories Martineau visited, Waltham Mill, was a prime example of the scheduled lifestyle of women mill workers. Women Mill workers of all ages worked at Waltham Mill, which I compared to a boarding school because of their strict schedules. The ladies had a time to wake up, to be at work, to eat, and to go to school. A lot of women did not mind the harsh conditions they lived and worked in because they fought for their equality of rights for a long time now.

The country had no choice but to have the women in the factories. They needed their help and were not going to complain about it. They knew with extra hands that, that was going to be an easier way to win the war. The government called on to the women and without hesitation, they went. They answered to whatever work that needed to be done. They worked a 52 hour week at 68 cents per hour. They were all prepared and knew that their “summer jobs” would end soon. There work dominated their nights and days. Most of their work was outdoors as well. Even though some women would much rather be at home helping there families other ways they still managed to get their other job complete as well.

went on strikes. Although the workers had created many strikes and labor unions, they were at the least

One strike that helped to further this feeling was the Pullman strike. When the workers shut down the railroad it shut down the western half if the country and stopped the economy. This brought dislike from government, businesses, and the people. Document A shows one side of the story, with an editorial from the New York Times. Within this article it said that the riots were nothing but “rash and spiteful demonstrations.” This editorial also showed the other side of the argument calling the workers bold and determined for standing up and trying to make their lives better. Many people did not agree with the stikes and the violent scenes that often took place after. Most disagreed with the sentiments of Samuel Gompers and the leaders of other unions. In Document H, Samuel Gompers talks of how the factories are constantly changing and making improvements and if the employees do not strike how they will be left behind and walked upon. He talks of how the United States was not created without suffering and struggling and so the workers must fight for what they wanted. Finally, as shown in Document E, the people did not take kindly, to the labor unions and what they were trying to do. They saw that they all had different goals and were all trying to get

When the 1909 general strike broke out, the garment workers found themselves with unexpected allies. A number of women from some of the wealthiest families of the Gilded Age kindly supported the strikers. They paid fines and put up their mansions as collateral for bail; a few even picketed and were jailed. They had names like Vanderbilt,

Reformers’ participation in the strike benefit the strikers; before, doubts plagued them that their cause would have been extinguished if not for “progressive money” (70). However, frustration arose amongst picketers as these progressive women transform a strike based on class struggle into a “broader feminist revolt” (68). Anne Morgan blames the immigrants’ foul treatment in the factory on women’s inability to vote (67), not their inability to unionize, which is one of the main pillars of their movement. An unnamed waist maker retorted, asking how the ballot could possibly improve the conditions of the factory, for the “right of men to vote does not prevent strikes” (70). When Triangle’s head honchos, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, offer the strikers higher wages and shorter hours, Lemlich, along with other socialists, refuse and hold out for union recognition.

At a time when labour unions were gaining in memberships, organization, and bargaining power, women in the workforce made marginal gains during this period considering the booming economy. Sociologically, a healthy economy should in theory provide the framework for change. When citizens have low unemployment and more money in their pockets, time and attention is less directed at bread and butter issues like sustenance and poverty, and aimed at equality and social progress. For women unfortunately, this was not necessarily the case. Their battle with employers was still a struggle between classes than gender parity. Male union leadership would naturally further male worker interests first,8 and this shows a culture of sexism in the workplace that was clearly difficult for working women to overcome. Even union-dues paying women rarely openly questioned their subordination as a sex.9 They were most likely outnumbered and the consequences of being a whistle blower did not want to be entertained. In the mindset of women who worked however, was a developing identity as female wage earners and unionists.10

It was a turning point in women’s activism.” Even though their strike ended, they still got their demands. They were getting acknowledged by getting their demands met. Even though they were not acknowledged in the union the strike changed the way that women were getting paid and their working conditions.

Two years after the infamous Triangle fire, 20,000 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts; angered over wage cuts and deplorable conditions went on strike, prompting the twin reactions of police brutality and press coverage (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). “As a result of the strike, not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor” (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, p. 132). It is doubtful that working conditions would have evolved to the level of equity we find today, without the sacrifice and activism of unions and their members.

When the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, membership brought with it few requirements in the field of employment regulation. The Treaty of Rome contained an article committing member states to enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work between men and women, but this was already in the process of being introduced in the UK at that time.