Boott Cotton Mill Museum

On Wednesday September 25^th we were given a tour of the Boott Cotton Museum.  The museum was able to open my eyes to what life was like for girls in the 1830s in a way that nothing else could.  The building looks just like any other run down mill in Lowell, except the inside has been preserved to look just like it did in the 19th century.  We walked into the first floor where there was a room full of looms.  This is shown in the picture below.  The first thing that struck me was the terribly loud noise, and that was only with the back row of machines running.  I cannot even imagine the painful noises created when all of the machines were running in a terrible sort of harmony.

We then learned about the history of the mills.  I found it difficult to believe that the floors I was walking across were the same floors that the mill girls once worked their lives away on.  Our tour guide then had us students participate in an assembly line where we produced cotton towels under similar conditions that the factory workers were under.  Although this was a fun exercise filled with laughter and silliness, I couldn’t help but think that this game we were all playing was once a young girl’s life.  It was not a joke to these girls.  In fact, they had to live in constant fear of getting fired, or even worse, getting killed by the deadly machines.

The tour guide acted as the factory supervisor in the assembly line, who would be in charge of the work when the factory owner was not present.  She barked orders at us workers in such a ruthless manner.  She would increase the amount of work, decrease wages, layoff workers and play favorites.  There was no sense of sympathy in her voice; she completely dehumanized her workers. It sickens me to think that these situations were actually a reality many years ago, for girls just like me.  This activity showed us a glimpse of the daily struggles that these factory workers faced.  The working conditions were ridiculously unfair in every aspect.  It also showed us how different the lifestyles of the factory worker and the factory owner were.  The girls slaved over their machines for their measly salary while the factory owner lived a wonderful, carefree life with more money than he can imagine.

        Eddie Vedder’s cover of “Millwork” does a great job explaining the many hardships of being a factory worker.  One of the lines states, “Then it’s me and my machine, for the rest of the morning, for the rest of the afternoon, and the rest of my life.”  This is an extremely depressing line, but it unfortunately holds much truth.  This is all that life had to offer for these young factory girls of Lowell.  They could not strive for upward mobility, they just continued with their painfully boring lives.  Another powerful line says, “And I have been the fool, to let this manufacturer use my body for a tool”.  This is exactly how the assembly line made me feel.  In the factory, these girls did not have a name, they were just tools.  What is even sadder is that these girls acknowledged how poorly they were treated, but they could not do a thing to help themselves in this terrible situation.  This is because millwork was not considered a terrible situation.  These girls were supposed to feel lucky for the wonderful opportunity they were given.  It’s incredibly sad to think that young girls felt grateful for their work in Lowell and the dangerous conditions they endured. 

      I always thought that conditions such as those in the Lowell mills were nonexistent in today’s world, but I certainly was wrong.  The Nightline documentary on Foxconn revealed that those brutal working conditions are still very present today.  Foxconn is a manufacturer in China for Apple products such as the iTouch.  The working and living conditions in the Chinese factory are almost identical to the conditions that the girls working in Lowell once faced.  Most of the workers in China are teenagers coming from small villages outside of the city.  They all hope to start a better life for themselves and earn money for their families.  They are put in very dangerous situations with potential explosions everywhere.  The workers in China pay for housing in dorms with seven others along with overpriced cafeteria food.  They work all day long with only two breaks.  

What interested me was that these workers listened to computerized voiced that ordered them what to do.  In the assembly line, each worker had a specific job to do within a certain amount of seconds.  Not only are these workers completely bored, but they are also put under a great deal of pressure to keep up with the rapid pace of work.  This reminded me exactly of the assembly line I participated in at the Boott Cotton Museum.

Unfortunately for the workers of China, they are not allowed to form labor unions to protect their right and improve their conditions.  I think that this will change in the near future.  People must take action before the factory work worsens.  I think steps similar to those taken with the Lowell factories need be taken in China.