I found the lecture “What if Poor Women Ran the World” very interesting, powerful, and also inspirational. I found it really moving how people have been working together to fight for all sorts of workers' rights. People who have been looked down upon for their lowly sources of employment, and those who have been thought of as incapable of organizing themselves and actually making a change in their treatment have been determined to make their incomes and unfortunate lifestyles known to the public. The figures at the forefront of the fights mentioned at the lectures were highly determined women, their sights set on receiving better treatment from the employers. One of the main issues raised by oppressed workers has been the conditions in which they are forced to work. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed almost 150 workers. These garment workers were trapped in the factory by doors that were literally barred to prevent their escape, resulting in fateful endings for 123 women and 23 men. Many aspects of this disaster can still be found in factories in Bangladesh, where garment workers that work making clothes for big industrial names such as Walmart, H&M, and Gap have raised their voices over the unsafe conditions that they are exposed to in the factories. A factory collapse in 2013 in Savar, Bangladesh, where over 1,000 lives were lost raised worldwide awareness of the issue of work conditions. Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor activist recently confronted Wal-mart and asked the owners of the corporation directly, why they would not attempt to protect their workers in Bangladesh. Wal-mart replied that they simply could not afford it, but when closely at looked, it was discovered that only 1% of the Walton family's annual dividends would be used to ensure that workers were safe while working. Another major issue that was raised in the lecture was that of minimum wage, and how it is set at a completely unsustainable low level. Many of the workers who are fighting for minimum wage are fast food workers treated unfairly by the companies the work for. While some have been demanding a raise of $10.10 per hour, KFC worker Naquasia LeGrand, however, is part of an organization called 'Fast Food Forward' that is fighting for payment of $15.00 per hour. She argues that companies like KFC and McDonald's can afford to pay their workers like this, and since most fast food chains in the United States are multinational, this is hard to disagree with. As is quite clear, many workers around the world have undergone the unfair battle of surviving on extremely low wages, and dangerous work conditions. Many women have led the ongoing battle against their employers to receive some fair wages and good work conditions, among many other things. What is astounding is that these women have been looked at as inferior, but are attempting to overcome their disadvantages that their workplaces present them with by organizing themselves, and working together to receive justice.
I attended the lecture "What if Poor Women Ran the World." Not only was the lecture informative, but also empowering. What I took out of the lecture the most was the historical evidence that it was poor women, above anyone else, who envisioned better lives for themselves and their families, and they were able to accomplish that in many ways. In 1909, poor immigrant women went on strike over working conditions and salary. It started as a few women in New York City, and the movement spread all over the United States, and that is when Congress started to pass laws about minimum wage and better work environments. After 1911, when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned down, killing 146 people, congress improved these laws after it really came to the attention of the public. In the South, black women were still working on plantations, and many of those interviewed by the lecturer said it was slavery, just without the title. Because of this, in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved to Las Vegas. Not only was there the Hoover Dam, but there was the hotel business. Women were able to find jobs, but it was not easy to live. They did not live anywhere near their work, and lived in “mudtowns.” This name sounds exactly like what they were. There was no plumbing, insulation, or real houses. For the most part, these working families lived in shacks. This was the case until the 1960s when the hotels built apartment buildings for their employees. Black people still did not have an easy life, though. They had no hospitals within 100 miles, and when they could get there, did not have enough money to pay for treatment. Some women put together what they called a “one-stop shop”, which included everything that someone living there would need, including medics and pediatricians. This center screened more children than any federally-funded facility. Throughout time, poor women have been struggling to get themselves equal rights and equal pay. Even now, there are movements against fast food chains. McDonalds employees have come up with the slogan: “minimum wage; I’m not lovin’ it.” Again, this started in New York, but spread all over the world, including the eastern hemisphere. Though poor women have never run the world, it seems probable that middle-class or wealthy women will one day. Even so, it will be hard for under-privileged families. They will have to fight, as they have been for centuries. Single mothers everywhere have continued to make a difference in the world, whether it’s opening a hospital, changing laws, or saving lives. They haven’t run the world, but they have taken control over their own lives.
Good comment. See what I wrote to Noah as well. One thing, I don't think you meant. You wrote, "In the South, black women were still working on plantations, and many of those interviewed by the lecturer said it was slavery, just without the title. Because of this, in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved to Las Vegas. " I don't think the lecturer interviewed people in the 1930s and 1940s, right?
I found the lecture “What if Poor Women Ran the World” very interesting, powerful, and also inspirational. I found it really moving how people have been working together to fight for all sorts of workers' rights. People who have been looked down upon for their lowly sources of employment, and those who have been thought of as incapable of organizing themselves and actually making a change in their treatment have been determined to make their incomes and unfortunate lifestyles known to the public. The figures at the forefront of the fights mentioned at the lectures were highly determined women, their sights set on receiving better treatment from the employers.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main issues raised by oppressed workers has been the conditions in which they are forced to work. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire killed almost 150 workers. These garment workers were trapped in the factory by doors that were literally barred to prevent their escape, resulting in fateful endings for 123 women and 23 men. Many aspects of this disaster can still be found in factories in Bangladesh, where garment workers that work making clothes for big industrial names such as Walmart, H&M, and Gap have raised their voices over the unsafe conditions that they are exposed to in the factories. A factory collapse in 2013 in Savar, Bangladesh, where over 1,000 lives were lost raised worldwide awareness of the issue of work conditions. Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor activist recently confronted Wal-mart and asked the owners of the corporation directly, why they would not attempt to protect their workers in Bangladesh. Wal-mart replied that they simply could not afford it, but when closely at looked, it was discovered that only 1% of the Walton family's annual dividends would be used to ensure that workers were safe while working.
Another major issue that was raised in the lecture was that of minimum wage, and how it is set at a completely unsustainable low level. Many of the workers who are fighting for minimum wage are fast food workers treated unfairly by the companies the work for. While some have been demanding a raise of $10.10 per hour, KFC worker Naquasia LeGrand, however, is part of an organization called 'Fast Food Forward' that is fighting for payment of $15.00 per hour. She argues that companies like KFC and McDonald's can afford to pay their workers like this, and since most fast food chains in the United States are multinational, this is hard to disagree with.
As is quite clear, many workers around the world have undergone the unfair battle of surviving on extremely low wages, and dangerous work conditions. Many women have led the ongoing battle against their employers to receive some fair wages and good work conditions, among many other things. What is astounding is that these women have been looked at as inferior, but are attempting to overcome their disadvantages that their workplaces present them with by organizing themselves, and working together to receive justice.
I attended the lecture "What if Poor Women Ran the World." Not only was the lecture informative, but also empowering. What I took out of the lecture the most was the historical evidence that it was poor women, above anyone else, who envisioned better lives for themselves and their families, and they were able to accomplish that in many ways. In 1909, poor immigrant women went on strike over working conditions and salary. It started as a few women in New York City, and the movement spread all over the United States, and that is when Congress started to pass laws about minimum wage and better work environments. After 1911, when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned down, killing 146 people, congress improved these laws after it really came to the attention of the public.
ReplyDeleteIn the South, black women were still working on plantations, and many of those interviewed by the lecturer said it was slavery, just without the title. Because of this, in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved to Las Vegas. Not only was there the Hoover Dam, but there was the hotel business. Women were able to find jobs, but it was not easy to live. They did not live anywhere near their work, and lived in “mudtowns.” This name sounds exactly like what they were. There was no plumbing, insulation, or real houses. For the most part, these working families lived in shacks. This was the case until the 1960s when the hotels built apartment buildings for their employees. Black people still did not have an easy life, though. They had no hospitals within 100 miles, and when they could get there, did not have enough money to pay for treatment. Some women put together what they called a “one-stop shop”, which included everything that someone living there would need, including medics and pediatricians. This center screened more children than any federally-funded facility.
Throughout time, poor women have been struggling to get themselves equal rights and equal pay. Even now, there are movements against fast food chains. McDonalds employees have come up with the slogan: “minimum wage; I’m not lovin’ it.” Again, this started in New York, but spread all over the world, including the eastern hemisphere. Though poor women have never run the world, it seems probable that middle-class or wealthy women will one day. Even so, it will be hard for under-privileged families. They will have to fight, as they have been for centuries. Single mothers everywhere have continued to make a difference in the world, whether it’s opening a hospital, changing laws, or saving lives. They haven’t run the world, but they have taken control over their own lives.
Good comment. See what I wrote to Noah as well. One thing, I don't think you meant. You wrote, "In the South, black women were still working on plantations, and many of those interviewed by the lecturer said it was slavery, just without the title. Because of this, in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved to Las Vegas. " I don't think the lecturer interviewed people in the 1930s and 1940s, right?
Delete