Page 9 - THE MASSES DRAFT_Neat

“Working Lady” A short story by: Leah Schwartz

Working in a factory is not as it seems. For us women struggle the most. I work at the biggest

shirtwaists factory called Leiserson Company. We work 50 hours a week with little breaks. I sit at a

table with fifty other girls sewing. We are all in our teens. I can’t talk to any of them. They can’t talk
to anyone either. We sit there, looking at each other trying to decipher what the other one is thinking.

At times we need to dig deep to not let out even a little giggle. We make thousands of buttonholes,
and the next day, thousands more. We don't get any breaks. Unless you need to use the bathroom,

someone will escort you and make sure you don't take too long. All the managers here are strict.
Sometimes I wonder if they even know we are human. All they care about is getting as much money

as possible. I come home with barely more money than I started with. I give my money to my

mother. I know it would help her more than myself. With my father not work as much as he could,
lots of the burden is on me and my sisters hands. Sometimes I like to dream about a better life, where

my family can worry about things besides if we can afford dinner for week. I dream about finally

being able to buy my own fashionable clothes. But for now, I am just stuck working making close to
no money. I guess that's just the way life goes