Title: Why Did Immigrants Join Factories in the Late 1800s Through 1920s? | The Classroom
Headings: Why Did Immigrants Join Factories in the Late 1800s Through 1920s?
Why Did Immigrants Join Factories in the Late 1800s Through 1920s?
Job Demand
Cheap Labor
Financial Assistance
Family Workforce

Content: Most became factory workers because they needed money for food and necessities as they settled into their new lives in America. Job Demand
Industries flourished from the late 1800s into the 1920s, so business owners needed reliable laborers who were willing to work 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. These employers needed an intense and expansive labor force to fill these jobs in industrial fields like construction projects, merchandise production lines, millwork, textile factories and steel mills. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy and other European countries poured into the United States searching for employment. It was a good fit as factory job demand was high and immigrants needed work. Cheap Labor
Many factory owners hired immigrants over locals because they could get more work for less wages. Immigrants didn't typically demand wage increases and were willing to work in unappealing, often unsanitary conditions. Issues like language barriers kept many immigrants from non-factory work that required direct contact with customers. Some immigrants complained that industrial labor was more difficult than work back home. However, most kept their factory jobs because they were only qualified for labor positions.