The Workers Rally
The protest rally is thrilling. You stand in a crowd of hundreds of workers, both men and women, and listen to the speakers. Several of them are women--something you've never seen before. The speakers demand that workers get more of the benefits of their labor. Why should all the profits go to the owners and stockholders?
The rally convinces you that workers must join together if they are going to have a chance of bringing about change. Excited by the opportunity to make things better, you join the Factory Girls Association and begin circulating a petition demanding a ten-hour work day and better working conditions. You collect lots of signatures, but the corporations do not respond.
The Factory Girls Association is meeting tonight to decide on what to do next. Some of the girls decide to protest by going out on strike. They say that the mill owners will make changes only when they begin losing money. But many others think that a strike is a bad idea. Times are hard, and there are lots of women who would be happy to have your jobs.
Your next choice is:
- Go to work as usual. You agree with
the strikers' demands, but you can't afford to lose your job.
- Join the strike. You are willing to risk losing your job and maybe never getting another one if if that's what it takes to change things.
Need some advice?
- Read a letter in the newspaper by a Lowell Factory Operative
- Get advice from Seth Bancroft.
- Get some advice from Benjamin Butler
Copyright ©2003 Tsongas Industrial History Center, 400 Foot of John St., Lowell, MA 01852. E-Contact: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu.
