The factory was the city's largest garment manufacturer, making "shirtwaist" blouses, as many as 500 workers, working from 7:30 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. during the busy season, six days a week, earning between $1 and $12 an hour. On average, wages seem to have been somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.00 to $3.50 an hour in today's dollars, inflation-adjusted.
A grimly fascinating "oral history" of former worker Pauline Newman can be found at History Matters, including audio. Here's an excerpt:
Special Interest Glance
A third man has filed a civil lawsuit charging officials from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia covered up sexual assault allegations against a priest who molested him. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the city's Court of Common Pleas says the man was assaulted as a boy by a priest from St. Francis Xavier parish and Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia.
Police from around the world say they have broken up the largest internet paedophile ring yet discovered. Rob Wainwright, head of Europol, the European Police Agency, said the abuse network had 70,000 members and links to 30 countries.





























