The Production of Cloth and Cloth Products

1
The Production of Cloth and Cloth Products

• Lowell, MA
• And Dilemmas of the Textile Industry

2
Spindle City

• Coming to Lowell
• Boardinghouses
• Mill Life
• Town regulations
• Emerging Discussions

3
Voices of Dissent

• 1824 First Strike Pawtucket, Rhode Island to stop
  wage cuts
• 1825 Women of United Tailoresses of NYC to
  increase wages
• 1833 Saugrass, MA increased wages for shoemakers
• 1834 Unsuccessful strike in Lowell, MA
• 1836 in four New England towns, women went months
  without pay to support textile strike

4
Voices of Lowell

• 1834 Lowell Strike does not succeed, but
  political pressures did ban building of any more
  boardinghouses and went to 11 hour days
• Creation of Lowell Female Labor Reform
  Association
• Sarah Bagley leader of mill strike, coerced from
  Lowell

5
Contextual References

• 1848 Seneca Falls Convention
• 1850 Harriet Tubman begins taking slaves north
• 1892 IL state limits paid labor work day of women
  to 10 hours
• 1919 Women get the vote

6
Since then

• 1920s dive in textile industry
• 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act excludes textile
  industries of south
• 1946 Fair Employment Practices Commission loses
  on filibuster
• 1946 CIO tries to unionize southern textile mills
  and defeated by careful maneuvering

7
Since then

• 1951 Fall of textile union in Danville, VA so
  wage regiment is ignored by New England mills
• 1964 Amalgamated Clothing Workers support civil
  rights
• 1964 increase in laws and legal action does not
  curb discrimination

8
Since then

• 1970s African American men now are factory
  managers and are just as bad as those of past
• 1970s factories get moved to become maquiladoras
• Now supporters such as Roger Milliken align try
  to find political support for heavy reign of
  textile industry, but unions remain strong