Women and children worked alongside men for long hours each day. Workers often worked for 14 to 16 hours a day. They were not paid well for the dangerous work. By the end of the 1800s workers began to fight this. Labor unions were formed.
Labor unions are groups of workers who work together to stand up for their best interests.
They joined forces and used the power of the group to demand safer, better working conditions, better hours, and better wages. Child labor was the practice of having children work in factories. Their small hands and bodies were able to work in the machines in ways adults could not. Many children were injured or killed in factories. Most of the children working in the factories would work from before sunrise until after sunset.