The
factory, like most factories during the time that this story takes place, failed to meet the
physical and emotional needs of its workers.
Let's start with physical
needs. The factory is a dangerous place to be, and it is hard on the body. For example, the
machines are so loud that deafness is actually a realistic possibility. The factory did not
provide any kind of ear protection. The air quality was atrocious too. Girls in the mills
would frequently have lung problems. Proper ventilation could have cut down on a lot of those
problems. Additionally, the girls were generally worked for such long hours with few breaks
that they were operating on the borders of exhaustion. People make dumb mistakes when they are
working tired. That's what happened to many of the girls. It even happened to , which is why
she eventually injured her hand.
The very fact that so many girls were
willing to risk being blacklisted in order to get better working conditions means that the
factories were not meeting the emotional needs of their workers. If the workers were happy with
their work or their pay, there wouldn't be a petition. Happy workers don't petition for
changes.
No comments:
Post a Comment