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"Here was a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation, and





dependant for its oppurtunities of life upon the whim of men every bit as brutal and unscrupulous as the old time





slave drivers; under such circumstances, immorality was exactly as inevitable and as prevalent as it was under the





system of chattel slavery. Things that were quite unspeakable went on there in the packing houses all the time, and





were taken for granted by everybody."(Sinclair 109) This was the scene in Chicago, as well as New York and





other large cities during the early 1900's. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, came the rise of the





Sweatshop. A sweatshop is a factory in which the employees, mostly children and immigrants, were put to work





for long hours in unsanitary and often dangerous conditions, for very little pay. Sweatshops have become common





around the world, promoting poor working conditions, slavery and abuse. The growing number of sweatshops





has become a serious problem throughout the years. Today, with our attention turned towards other things, most





uf us have forgotten about this problem that has beseeched us.I think it is important for people to know about





sweatshops and there horrible conditions, the locations, the workers, why sweatshops are still around and what is





being done about them.





Imagine the dirtiest place you have ever been. Chances are a sweatshop during the 1900's was far





worse. In order to stay hidden from the public, sweatshop owners in New York set up factories in they're





apartments and tenemant buildings that were often very small, and had barely enough space for the workers. Thes





factories were very dirty as well. Windows, if there were any at all, were caked in grime, allowing very little light





into the factories. Dirty, run-down toilets spilled excrements into the hallways, producing rancid smells that linger





in the air. If the workers wanted a drink, they would either have to drink the warm, dirty water provided to them,





or go thirsty.(Woog 30) Sweatshops became worse as the seasons changed. During the winter, the factories were





freezing, with heat coming only from a single stove.Winters were uncomfortablly cold, and the opposite could be





said about the summer. Unbearably hot temperatures gave the factories theyre nickname, sweatshops.(Woog 30)





Unfortunately, the cramped, filthy rooms were'nt the only problems the workers faced; long work days and low





pay made life for the workers even tougher. A typical work schedule for a sweatshop was 20 or more hours per





day for 7 days a week. This added up to about 140-160 hours a week.(Greenhouse 1) The pay wasn't much





better. Average pay was about $5 a week, and $250 a year. (Woog 34) The workers could barely afford food





on their salary. Still, this was not the end of it, abuse is very common in sweatshops. Abuse can be either verbal,





or physical. Jivaj, a present day Sweatshop worker in West Bengal has stated in interviews, "Some of the boys in





the sweatshop had been badly beaten" and continued on to say, "If any of us cried, we were hit with a rubber





pipe. Some of the boys had oiluy clothes stuffed in their mouths as punishment."(Mcdougall 2) The working





conditions of sweatshops are some of the worst in the world, and have not gotten better since the 1900's;





sweatshops today are just as dirty as they have ever been.





Sweatshops are not exclusive to America. In fact, the United States has only the third largest





population of sweatshop workers. The factories were more common in the early 1900's in New York City and





Chicago. Presently, New York City and Los Angeles have the most sweatshops in America.(Szumanski 1) The





second largest population of workers belongs to South America/ Middle America. Sweatshops can be found in





countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. South American sweatshops are said to have some of the





worst condition of all sweatshops.(Harkin 39) The largest population of workers belongs to Asia. Countires like





China, India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh are all homes to a number sweatshops.(Harkin 39)





Who would work in a sweatshop? The horrible conditions would normally turn a lot of people away.





However, most workers have no choice, they are forced into this business. Modern day sweatshops all around





the world employ large numbers of children, almost all against their will. Amitosh, a 10 year old worker in New





Delhi, was sold into the sweatshop business by his parents. (Mcdougall 1) Child labor is a big part of sweatshops,





and part of the reason they are so iniquitous. In Asia, 11% of all sweatshop workers are children while in South





America, children make up 26% of sweatshop workers.(Harkin 38) Another large group of workers, mainly in





the U.S., are immigrants. (Szumaki 1) There are around 5-10,000,000 immigrants employed in the United States.





(Harkin 39) The immigrants are usually poor and have left they're hoping to find a job in the U.S. Once they reach





America, the sweatshop operaters employ them, and the migrants work, hopeing to earn enough money to pay





back those who smuggled them into the country.(Szumaki 2)





Though less common than they were in previous years, sweatshops are still around today for a few





reasons. Cost being one of the biggest. During the Reagan and Bush administrations, devastating budget cuts





severeley limited the policing of sweatshops. as of now, there are only 800 inspectors employed by the





Department of Labor to inspect 6 million work sites in the U.S. alone.(Szumaki 1) I would reccomend that the





DOL hire more workers to keep up with number of sweatshops. However, all the workers in the world couldn't





help you if you can't locate the factories. Sweatshops are mobile operations, making them incredibly difficult to





locate. All the equipment needed to run a succesful sweatshop are a few sewing machines, so the factories can





move as frequently as needed. Sweatshops are still around manily because factories are constantly moving and





Unions have declined. (Szumaki 1)





Many laws, acts and bans have been put into place to help prevent and shut-down sweatshops in the





U.S. Many groups and unions have been formed as well. These unions are aslo active overseas where





sweatshops have become a large problem. The International Labor Organization (ILO), based in Geneva,





Switzerland has employed officers around the world, and has received the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.





(Harker 38) The International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) was once the second largest labor





unions in the U.S. and a key part of the labor history of the 1920's and 30's.(Szumaki 1) The National Labor





Committee (NLC), a non-profit organization, works to expose labor and human rights abuse.(Szumaki 1) Acts





such as the Child Labor Deterrance Act, The stop Sweatshops Act, and the Fair Labor Standards act, have all





been put into place to prevent child labor, and shut down sweatshops. (Szumaki 2)





Sweatshops have become a serious problem in the U.S. and over seas. The operaters of these





factories are getting away with abuse and slavery, and we need to do more to prevent it. Next time you're





shopping for clothesthink twice about where that garment might have come from and the hardships the peson





making it had gone through.|||You really should use the double-space button in your word processor rather than adding extra lines by hand. You should also run spell check (it's spelled "deterrence", for example).





The actual content of your paper isn't bad. 1 page?