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.

Labor Laws

• After worker protests the government established labor laws including:

• 8 hour day• Limited child labor• Improved safety• Allowed workers to

organize unions