Tina Levin, a young girl eighteen years old, had worked two years in an
underwear factory in New York; and before her arrival in America, six
years in an underwear factory in Russia. She had come from abroad to her
fiance, Ivan Levin, whom she had recently married. She still worked in
the underwear factory, although she was not entirely self-supporting. She
and her young husband met the League's Inquirer at a Jewish Girls'
Self-Education Club, where they gave between them the account of Tina's
self-supporting years.
Before her marriage, Tina had worked at a machine ten hours a day for an
underwear manufacturer on Canal Street. In the height of the season the
shop often worked overtime until 8 o'clock, two or three nights a week.
Besides this, many of the girls took hand work home, where they sewed
till eleven or twelve o'clock. But Tina was so exhausted by her long day
that she never did this. Working as hard as possible, she earned $7, and
sometimes $8 a week, during the six busy months.
For part of this time she lived a full hour-and-a-half's car ride from
the factory. So that with dressing, and eating two meals at her lodging,
when she was at the machine twelve hours a day, she had only about six
hours sleep.
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