Workers in the late 1800s to early 1900s

By: Renaja Pringle & Alandra Rangel

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
November 4, 2015

PLIGHT OF WORKERS! AS INDIVIDUALS

AND FAMILIES AND THE SIDE OF THE
EMPLOYERS

1
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The plight of workers--families and employers

The dangerous, difficult and unfortunate situations for the workers, families and
employers have broken the news scale. The situations are getting worse by the
minute. Conditions for the workers are of course, nasty, solitary, and hard. Women
and children starting to have to work, to help out with income. Now, because of this,
early unions are starting to form. The Knights of Labor were organized as of 1896,
known as a Noble and Holy Order. These Knights are a secret protestant group,
banded together by Uriah Stephens. This group, are firm reformers of equal pay for
equal work. Next came the American Federation, led by Samuel Gompers. They are
somewhat like the Knights, But on a more, limited level. They looked to the Knights
for some guidance, and were more about enforcing shorter hours for better wages.
Groups and movements have formed, because of the plight of these workers. They
are demanding a better way of life, because what they have now is not right. The
jobs that these workers--women, children, and men--are working in tend to be
extremely dangerous. The food the immigrants eat on a daily bases is contaminated
with fecal matter, urine, and the contents of dead animals such as: rats, dogs, etc
People fall ill from eating this stuff, and living in what theyre eating--human
excrements and dead animal meat--making them not as healthy when they work.
Talk about a living hell.

2
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The problems with Industrialization

Recently, problems with industrialization have surfaced. Industrialization itself isnt
the issue, its the way its being brought about. Workers are being paid very little,
theyre not being properly supplied/looked after. The pay is so lousy, it is to the
point where entire families are going in, to work--women and their young children.
Many children are being injured and killed on the job because of these dangerous
machines and lack of surveillance. The hygiene, and neighborhoods are just down
right disgusting. Since the making of factories, cities, and neighborhoods have just
gotten nastier and nastier. Human excrements fill the streets as well as the
carcusses of animals. The food that is sold, is has fecal matter and blended rat meat
all over it. The hygiene is horrible, and no one has tried to clean up this repulsive
mess. Its really sad, these workers have to face these harsh conditions, and then

3
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

dont even get paid enough to feed half of a person. The problems we face in this
situation are the unfair loan sharks. These loan sharks suck the money from the
poor and end up being rich without having to work for it. While immigrants break
their backs to get by, there are the loan sharks who run everything while just
watching the workers suffer without a care in the world. They make money off of the
backs of the poor and wont try to help the situation with it. thats the biggest
problem we face.

The Environmental impact of Industrialization

Due to the excess smoke constantly driving into the air, pollution has
started to take effect, limiting the natural use of the environment. Most of
the environment is now starting to be occupied, by factories. As most
should know, smoke is damaging to the environment. It will and has now
become harder to find land and water that has not been polluted by the
oil, gas and smoke. Since these factories are lined up by rivers, and

4
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

streams, and powered by water, the oils and gas have started to seep into
the once fresh water making it not as healthy to drink. without good,
healthy water, then it will now be harder to farm and grow crops. However,
dont get it wrong, although there are still perfectly, unaffected
environmental areas, the ones we currently occupy are polluted. the
better environments are miles upon miles away, and in this situation, that
would be too draining to the economy having to spend all that money for
the transportation of goods.

The impact of massive immigration and or

movement of into an area resulting in cheap
labor
Since the drastic amount of immigrants allowed into America so far, the minimum
wage for workers, has gone down enormously. This is because there are too many
people with jobs, and not enough money, to give everyone a reasonable amount.
That would just leave everyone else bankrupt and poor. There is also not enough

5
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

places to live, and the workers are now, only being paid enough to get them by--
living. The flood of workers impacts the employers as well. They have two choices.
Since they dont want to go poor, they pay the workers very little, but the workers
arent happy with it and quite, leaving the employer with no work force, costing
even more money and possibly putting the employer out of business. Or the
employer can pay the immigrants/workers a lot of money, leaving even more
overcrowdedness, and sapping the money from the employer. The movement of
immigration, has put everyone else, in a pretty tough spot, to help the immigrants,
and themselves.

6
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The Purpose of labor Unions

THE REBELLIONS HAVE STARTED! Recently there have been outbreaks, of
workers going on violent strikes against their employers. Demanding that
they get paid, and treated better. Workers--as the public should know--are
treated as servants. They live in poorly structured/tended to homes a.k.a
tenements. Often times workers get injured and killed during their jobs in
the factories, because no one looks after them. While also being paid
barely enough to even feed themselves, let alone their families. Thus the
labor unions are forming. These rebellious groups come up with ways to
go on strike, forcing their employers, to either fire the entire work force,
(everyone in the workforce usually goes on strike, and they threaten the
people who would take their places in order to make it so that the

7
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

employer wont have anyone left to hire) which would drive them out of
business, or raise their paychecks. The choice is obvious. To try and
prevent this, employers are hiring guards to fight back, but the workforce
keeps growing.

Is The American Dream a real thing or is it a

Myth?
Some folks might question, is the American dream real, or is only a dream that can
not be achieved? Well like all dreams, the only way to make them a reality, is to
work for, and that is what makes it real. Just as anything else, what you want
doesnt just fall in your lap. You have to work towards that goal. The American
Dream is real because everyone all over the world comes to U.S to have a better life
and have better things. This dream becomes real when they--immigrants--hop on
that boat or train or walk to the U.S to make their lives into better ones. It all

8
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

depends on if they want to work for it, because--as we all should know--things do
not come easy. These people want to be better, in order to have/save a family or to
feed one. They absolutely can be better if they really wanted to. Most of the
immigrants that come to the U.S are poor so they want to go bigger and better. I
mean who doesnt, right?