Workers During The Industrial Revolution

Many children did not have a chance to learn. Instead of learning at a school they were working hard in the mills and mines with the men and boys. Some were beaten in the mills. They really did not have much freedom at all. The only school they knew was Sunday school. Some were taught how to pray. Some of the children did not enjoy working in the mills and mines because the work was very hard. They often spoke about their experiences working in the Mills and the mines.

That being said, the worker's problems did not end once they found steady employment. Employers were harsh and unforgiving in how they treated their employees. For example, if an employee was one minute late they were penalized an hours pay. If they were 20 minutes late they forfeited their employment. Worse yet, if they were injured or hurt on the job the company takes no responsibility and the worker is forced to recuperate on their own time without pay

Throughout history, we can see that humans have developed quickly in almost all fields including advancements politically, scientifically, and morally. However, one of the greatest advancement, which to this day has not been fully achieved by humanity as a whole, is the equality between the two genders. Since the beginning of civilization, we come to see that all societies with an exception of a few, were mainly male dominated. Men were always seen as superior to women. Men were not just seen as the head of the household, but they were seen as the leaders and organizers of all political, social, and economic affairs for both men and women. However, as time progressed, so did women. Gradually, women were more involved in the work force due to many factors including wars and primarily due to the industrial revolution. Women took the role of nurses and hospitality workers during wars, and as the industrial revolution initiated, they began to work in factories for low pay. During the last half of the 20th century, women’s rights, referring to the social and human rights of women, became a very highly emphasized and recognized issue especially in the United States. By the 1960’s the role of women completely transformed. Women more than ever before, began to enter the paid work force, participated in protests demanding equal rights, and established organizations such as the National Organization for Women. Overtime, these feminist trends of the 1960’s that continued for the

The industrial Revolution led to a great book in factories, and therefore, factory workers. They usually preformed an industrial labor job each day. Previously this field was dominated by the cottage workers, who created entire products from their homes. Although it was believed that factories would improve the quality of the working class lives, this was not the case. Cottage workers had a better life when compared to factory workers.

There were child workers part of the Industrial Revolution and there were some kids that worked in mines, and after this time the Africans became part of the Berlin Conference. After the Berlin Conference Africa's lad became useless, and the Africans were left with nothing. During both these time the child workers were more negatively impacted.

The Industrial Revolution took away agricultural jobs and hand produced labor such as loom weavers, and they became declined and unemployed, further employment moved to more industrial areas. In this time of factories and industries the demand for workers are very high, widows with large families with children over 8 yrs old were wanted is some factories. Workers in factories are faced long working hours, repetitive tasks, low wage and dangerous working conditions.

The Labor Movement was necessary to protect the common interest of workers. The state of working environments during the Industrial Revolution produced a mandate for this movement. The Industrial Revolution served as a turning point for all western nations because of the influx of businesses and factories. America generally benefited from the revolution; however, it was at the expense of the workers. Industries were only interested in profit so workers were generally underpaid, worked long hours, and in unsafe conditions. Working conditions during the revolution were generally dreadful. And since there were copious amounts of people willing to work for any compensation, employers could set wages as low as they wanted. Labor unions arose because there were many who disagreed with how big businesses ran. A prime objective of labor unions is to make sure its members are paid fairly. Labor activists believe that employees and the company share its successes and that they should be rewarded for its productivity. Labor unions want to improve working conditions for their members. They demand reasonable working days along with safe working environments. Also, labor unions provide more than just job security and safety services. These services include provision of education and training to inform union members of their employment rights and to improve their basic skills. Labor unions are a group of employees who organize to provide a balance in negotiations between management and the

Europe relied heavily on the working class to support all the changes of the industrial revolution. The working class had an extreme influence on economic, political, and social structures. As the working class continued to grow, changes within politics were being reflected. With all the new changes, a new legislation and government policy was implemented. A variety of minority groups and immigrants made up the working class. Many of which resided in rural homes and were adapting to the modernizations of the city. As business owners tried to cut corners and labor costs to secure their profits, the working class became assertive. The working class rioted and held campaigns for better pay, shorter days, and better working conditions. The working

Labor unions can be defined as organizations of similarly skilled or unskilled workers organized to protect and improve the worker’s collective interests within an organization or industry. Organized labor unions grew out of the employees need for safer and better working conditions, better wages and reasonable work hours.

Through the multiple union labors forming as time passes, many labor leaders were trying to find other ways to improve the lives of the working class. At first, they turned to socialism which basically was the equal distribution of power and goods within a society. However, this was not supported at all due to the fact that it originated from communism, in which philosopher Karl Marx created to overthrow the American system of capitalism. Instead, the Industrial Workers of the World institution was created in the year 1905. Many workers from various industries were included, and it was led by William Haywood. Even though this labor union was not as successful compared to the American Railway Union and American Federation of Labor, it was a

Women and children are most often the ones affected by the cruelty of sweatshops. Child laborers in most countries serve to support their families to maintain the

The conditions in factories during the Industrial Revolution were very bad for the people during that time. The factories lacked many things that were beneficial to the people and the health department today would be all over it. Pay was a giant issue. There was very low pay. It could be as low as 1 shilling a day which would be worth a total of 35 cents today. These people who worked in the sweatshops did not have enough money to pay for themselves to live. They were very poor and could hardly afford anything. The workers had to work long, hard hours. They usually worked, anywhere from 5-16 hours a day working, depending on your age. Children had to work in the shops too if they were poor which was most of the population. You also worked when

"Many defenders, some of whom are Catholic, claim that by refusing to buy such merchandise, we harm the poor." They say due to boycotting, factories will go out of business and the people wont have jobs. In an article, "Governments should not boycott sweatshop production", written by Cheryl Grey, says, "Boycotting goods made by sweatshops labor only hurts the workers." "It's a painful fact that boycotting goods made by sweatshop labor only hurts the workers not the factory

In many developing nations across the world, women work in areas known as export processing zones, also known as EPZs. Some of these zones are located in parts of Central America, where women work in factories known as maquiladoras. In Naomi Klein’s book No Logo, she discusses the inhumane issues and mistreatment that goes on in such zones: . . . Employees are kept on twenty-eight-day contracts - the length of the average menstrual cycle - making it easy, as soon as a pregnancy comes to light, for the worker to be dismissed” (Klein 222-223). These zones attract companies like Nike, General Electric, and General Motors mainly because of their cheap skilled labor, minimum regulations and tax free incentives. EPZs usually are restricted areas that provide companies with their manufacturing needs for export. This is only one example that leads to our problem with consumerism. In The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard, she sheds light on the exploitation and mistreatment of our natural resources, like the deforestation of the rainforests due to the demand for lumber. Many Americans today have not come to realize the hidden costs such as: unseen problems like cheap labor that exploits poor individuals, and the harm it causes to third world societies by creating health hazards and violations of human rights as a result with our consumption. Benjamin Barber, from his book Consumed, as well as Liz Stinson, from her web article 12 Hidden Tricks Advertisers Use to Sell You Stuff, both

For the past few years there has been a rise of awareness of major western corporations that tend to exploit their workers in third world countries. On one hand it’s significantly cheaper having labor overseas than back home, but the treatment of these workers ' is unjust. All these major companies care about is making a quick buck, they could care less how these workers are treated, the conditions they work in, and how it is affecting their way of living. The way these major companies treat their workers not only affects them emotionally, but also affects their life in the social and economic aspect.