Workers crammed into a small room sew clothing by hand.
The room's two windows provide most of the lighting and ventilation.
Dark Cramped shops made exhausting work still more
difficult and dangerous. Scraps of garments that
littered the floor were easy kindling for potential flame.
An Italian clothing worker in a Rochester New York Factory.
Many factory workers were Italian and Jewish immigrants.
On average weekly wages would start at $3.62
Employee use sewing machines in the Rosenthal Brothers
Waist and Dress Factory. Workers typically had the cost
of thread deducted from their salaries.
A twelve-year-old boy works at a thread puller in a New York clothing factory. It was not until 1904 that the National Child Labor Committee was formed with the intention of passing laws to protect child laborers
Even working 14 hour days, six days a week many
workers salaries afforded them meager accommodations.
Here men sleep on the floor of a shared lodging room.
The Industrial Revolution, first in Britain, and later in the United States allowed the fashion industry to produce on a scale that was unforeseeable. This surge let room for exploitation of poor immigrants who were attempting to begin their new lives in America and would work for low wage in hopes of sustaining their life in America. These workers often included small children as their small hands were useful in operating machinery. Work conditions were deplorable as there were no laws on workers safety. The imminent fear of fire was palpable as mere bucks full of water lines the walls in case of an emergency. Many fires and deaths will eventually bring changes to both public safety and workers rights and safety.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. Accessed April 10, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/photo-gallery/triangle/.
