In the early 1900s, garment sweatshops on New York’s Lower East Side had no ventilation and poor lighting. Immigrant laborers worked 12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week. Weekly sweatshop wages were $6-10 for men; $4-5 for women, and less than $1 for children. Minimum age for workers was 14 years old, but this law was routinely violated. Read more about the Lower East Side at the turn of the last century in On the Shore (NOVELS).