1) What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in Packingtown?
In order to succeed in Packingtown, Sinclair believed that a person would have to have a job with no decency, hatred and dishonest competition to be able to hold a life-supporting career.
2)According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal.
The plant owners goal was to make money no matter what quality of product and to harness power by controlling workers, unless shadiness was brought under light by law enforcement.
3) What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"
He revealed how no person had genuine care or concern for their fellow co-workers, even if it meant risking lives over money.
Meat packing plants, like many industries in the early 20th century,
were known to overwork their employees, failed to maintain adequate
safety measures, and actively fought unionization. Public pressure to U.S. Congress led to the passing of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act,
both passed in 1906 on the same day to ensure better regulations of the
meat packing industry as well as better treatment of its employees
working there.
Mid-century restructuring and renovating by the industry of the stockyards,
slaughterhouses and meat packing led to relocating facilities closer to
cattle feedlots and swine production facilities, to more rural areas. It has been difficult for
labor to organize in such locations. In addition, the number of jobs
fell dramatically through technology and other changes.
Though the meat packing industry has made many improvements since the
early 1900s, several changes in the industry since the late 20th
century have caused new labor issues to arise. Today, the rate of injury
in the meat packing industry is three times that of private industry
overall, and meat packing was noted by Human Rights Watch
as being "the most dangerous factory job in America". The meatpacking
industry continues to employ many immigrant laborers, including some who
are undocumented workers. The more isolated areas in
which the plants are located put workers at greater risk due to their
limited ability to organize and to seek redress for work-related
injuries.
Work cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_packing_industry
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