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Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, the governor's wife, participating in the "Child Strikers" parade, Allentown, PA, May 5, 1933.
Credit: Courtesy of Temple University, Urban Archives, Philadelphia, Pa.
In 1933, investigators estimated that 200,000 men, women, and children were working long hours for "starvation wages" in Pennsylvania sweatshops. In May 1933, Pennsylvania First Lady Cornelia Pinchot led a parade protesting "sweatshop methods" in Allentown. Startled by Mrs. Pinchot's presence on the picket line and supportive press coverage of the striking workers a number of Lehigh Valley employers signed an agreement for shorter working hours, a minimum-wage scale, and a 10 percent increase in wages.