You Work for Change

You have always enjoyed writing, and are proud when several of your articles are published in the newspapers. You even get some letters printed in a paper backed by the corporations. Your letters help persuade 2,000 workers in Lowell to sign a petition asking the legislature to regulate working conditions in the mills. Your first demand is for a ten-hour work day. Legislators receive petitions signed by over 10,000 workers all around the state, so many that they hold hearings at the State House in Boston. This is the first time ever that a state legislature has held hearings in response to workers' grievances.

The testimony you and the other workers gave to the legislators does not persuade them to limit the workday to ten hours. They decide that the legislature should not interfere in conflicts between mill owners and their employees. The only result of your efforts is that public pressure forces the mill owners to give workers 30 minutes more for meals. You are lucky. Your decision to testify does not get you on the blacklist, but the overseer barely speaks to you and watches every move you make.

While testifying at the hearings, you discover that, although it frightens you to speak in public, you are surprisingly good at it. You want to use your speaking and writing skills to help people fight for the rights of workers, slaves, and others in need.

Your next choice is:

Copyright ©2003 Tsongas Industrial History Center, 400 Foot of John St., Lowell, MA 01852. E-Contact: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu.