Flesh and Blood So Cheap

These factories replaced the segmented manufacturing process that made sweatshops possible and popular. In the garment industry, new-model factories combined all garment-making tasks under one roof, streamlining the process and resulting in hundreds of employees gathered in the same space. These factories are depicted in the book as technological innovations that allowed workers to bond over shared experiences and eventually unionize.

Population density is calculated by dividing the number of people living in an area by the size of that area. For example, a metropolis like Manhattan has a population density of nearly 75,000 people per square mile, an exurban area like Yonkers, New York, has a population density closer to 12,000 people per square mile, and a smaller city located in a rural area, like Albany, New York, has a population density of 600 people per square mile.

Population density has a direct impact on housing, employment, education, and transportation. The high population density of New York City at the turn of the 20th century contributed to the idea that factory employees were disposable and to over-crowded housing conditions. Increased population density is a key aspect of The Impact of Industrialization on Workers.

Strikes are the mass stoppage of work by employees attempting to gain leverage in negotiations with employers. Large-scale refusal to work causes industry owners to lose profits, incentivizing them to negotiate with worker representatives to find compromises on issues in contention. Strikes feature throughout the book as an avenue for workers to seek improvements in conditions from owners. Strikes are a way to demonstrate Solidarity Among Oppressed Groups.

Sweatshops are workplaces with illegal or very poor working conditions. These conditions may include inadequate ventilation, no breaks, low lighting, and dangerous temperatures. Sweatshop workers are paid very poorly and are seen as disposable by owners. The book describes sweatshops as an early obstacle in the labor movement of the United States, but also provides a balanced view of sweatshops in developing nations today, suggesting that they may be a necessary step in a nation’s manufacturing and economic growth.

A political organization founded in 1786, Tammany Hall became the controlling political machine of the Democratic Party in New York City. Corruption was widespread and profitable, though in the early 20th century, notable members Charles Murphy and “Big Tim” Sullivan dedicated Tammany Hall to the interests and conditions of the working class. Tammany Hall—and particularly its members, Al Smith and Robert Wagner—played a role in establishing the investigative commission that would develop laws protecting workers, demonstrating the need for Friends in High Places.

Eventually, the corruption at Tammany Hall ended: New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia “stripped the bosses of their power to award government contracts and give jobs to supporters […] cleared slums, built parks, and weeded corruption out of the police department” (142). The organization lost its power and, in 1942, sold its headquarters to the ILGWU union.