Factory Simulation

Learning in Progress!

Labor Conditions Primary Images• Use the blue Photo Analysis Worksheet as

a guide to investigate each image. Let’s Practice!

Image 2

Image 3

Labor and Urbanization

Factory Work• Most of the people took

jobs in factories despite low pay and long hours– Usually every member

worked

– Children left school at the age of 12 or 13 to work

Ordinary Day• 12 hours long

• 6 days or longer

• Paid by the number of finished pieces –Piecework

Factory Work• Discipline was strict• The work was boring

and the noise of the machines was deafening

• Lighting and ventilation were poor

• Despite harsh conditions, factories were jammed with people desperate for the opportunity to work

Impact on Women and Children• Women were excluded from the most skilled and highest

paid jobs• Working in unhealthy factories, many children became

stunted in growth– There were no government regulations for child labor in

the early 1900s

100 Year Anniversary:Triangle Factory Fire

• Was the Triangle Factory a sweatshop?

Factory Whistle Blowers• Muckrakers= investigative

reporters aimed at bring injustice to light– Ida Tarbell= exposed the

corruption and monopoly of Standard Oil

– Upton Sinclair= The Jungle

– Jacob Riis= How the Other Half Lives

Food For Thought…Gap Between Rich and Poor

• The 1890 census: The richest 9% of Americans held nearly 75% of the national wealth

Solution to Unequal Wealth• Socialism

–Created by Karl Marx, a German philosopher who criticized capitalism

–Many Americans disagreed with the socialist theory• They felt it threatened the

American ideals free enterprise

Labor Unions• Unions became a way for workers to demand

shorter workdays, higher wages, and better working conditions

The illustration on the right was a VERY uncommon solution to labor disputes!

Friction Between Labor and Employers

• Employers disliked and feared unions– Employers outlawed

union meetings and fired union organizers

– New employees had to sign “yellow dog” contracts: promise to never join a union or participate in strikes

Labor Pains: Tension in the American Market

• In the last part of class you will be presented with facts about the manufacture of modern American products.

• Keep in mind what we just learned about labor in the 1900s and determine what (if anything) has changed about the way America consumes goods.

Basics of American Buying: A Discussion

• Where do most goods purchased in America come from?– Why this location?

• How has American buying changed in the last 100 years?– Location of manufacture?– Price?– Quality?– Method of purchase?

• When buying something, what are some things people are looking for in a product?

Inside the Mall of America

The Facts:The Conference Board, New York Times

POV: Made in LABackground to Documentary:

• In 2001, garment workers from different factories in Los Angeles joined forces with the Garment Worker Center to file wage claims against retailer Forever 21.

• Forever 21 said it wasn’t responsible for the workers’ complaints because the workers were employees of subcontractors, and not Forever 21.

• The workers were able to eventually negotiate a labor settlement with Forever 21 that improved labor conditions.

Sweatshop conditions continue to exist in many U.S. factories, however, indicating that there is still progress

to be made.

POV: Made in LA• Complete graphic organizer as you watch

each of the clips from the documentary–Clip 1- Maria

• Mexican immigrant Maria talks about how she became a garment worker and about the conditions that she worked under. 

–Clip 2- Pyramid of Power • Garment worker and organizer Lupe builds a "Pyramid

of Power" to illustrate how workers can become powerful by uniting together.

POV: Made in LA– Clip 3- Who is Responsible?

• Garment workers announce a lawsuit against clothing retailer Forever 21 demanding unpaid minimum wages. A lawyer for the workers argue that the retailer systematically demanded and perpetuated sweatshop conditions.

– Clip 4- Modern Sweatshop • Workers at the Garment Workers Center, who make clothes for the

retailer Forever 21, talk in detail about their pay, which is below minimum wage, and the poor working conditions of their factories.

– Clip 5- Lupe visits Ellis Island • Garment worker and organizer Lupe visits the Museum of

Immigration on Ellis Island and learns more about the history of immigration and sweatshops in the United States.

Changing the Way America Buys?

Trailer for documentary “What Would Jesus Buy?”

Changing the Way America Buys?• Buy Nothing Day

– November 25, 2011

• Homemade Holidays– Buynothingchristmas.org

• Facebook Boycotts

• Will these strategies work to change the way America consumes?

Adbusters.org