Hard Times
Thank goodness you stayed away from the rally. You hear there was a big crowd of both men and women being addressed by women speakers. You have always believed that woman should take the lead in the home but for a woman to address an audience in public -- it can hardly be proper! The overseer has been praising you for your work; he keeps telling you not to get involved in that "protest business." He warns you that if your name gets on the blacklist for protesting, you will almost certainly lose this job and find it impossible to get another one.
You have managed to adjust to the faster looms better than most, but it has not been easy. You can't help but notice that many of your fellow workers are getting sick more and more often. Many girls are losing wages because they are too weak to work. You almost never have time to read the poems you tacked up on your loom last year, and you are so tired at night you no longer go to concerts or lectures. Yesterday you caught yourself humming the new protest song "I Will Not Be a Slave" as you worked. Luckily, the overseer was at the other end of the weave room and did not hear you. Friends who are members of the Factory Girls Association keep asking you to sign a petition demanding a ten-hour work day and better working conditions.
Your next choice is:
- Refuse to sign the petition and stay
on the overseer's good side.
- Sign the petition, even though it may mean losing your job. You worry about your own health and that of your fellow workers.
Need some advice?
Copyright ©2003 Tsongas Industrial History Center, 400 Foot of John St., Lowell, MA 01852. E-Contact: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu.
