1910  Factory Reform

Wald’s efforts to improve workplace conditions included gaining the support of striking workers through fundraising, picketing, and raising public awareness. Under the terms of the cloak maker’s strike settlement in 1910, an agency called the Joint Board of Sanitary Control was established to monitor standards of ventilation, fire protection, pollution, lighting, and sanitation in manufactories. Wald served on the board and continued to speak out against unsafe working conditions. She supported the elimination of exploitative home work programs and the establishment of a minimum wage for women workers.

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In 1912, Wald visited the striking mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and offered Henry Street’s support. In 1919, a year of massive coal, steel, and other industrial strikes, Wald continued to publicly defend workers’ rights as a member of President Woodrow Wilson’s Industrial Conference.

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