Becca

Have you been working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a mill, garment factory or mine since you were 8 years old? When was the last time you ate corn bread with cottonseed oil (in place of butter) for breakfast before heading out the door with your entire family to work at 5am? Did your employer cut your wages by 10 percent when they found out you were saving that much out of every paycheck, trying to save for a house, farm or education?

These were common living and working conditions for working class families and children in the United State less than 100 years ago. Through much work and sacrifice, the labor movement of the late 1800s to early 1900s changed the culture and norms for working in the US and throughout the western world.