Life as a Sawmill Worker

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Recommended: workplace discrimination against women

In the New York City lumber industry from 1901-1905, “the degree of accidents of the workers consisted of 57.3 percent of temporary disablement, 38.6 percent of the accidents led to permanent disablement, loss of a body part such as eye, leg, arm, fingers, hands, feet, or other internal injuries, and 3.8 percent of the accidents were fatalities.” This is a result of the combination of handling very dangerous equipment. It also comes from being around very hazardous material because the workers are not familiar with the chemicals in their working environment. Being a sawmill worker is a dirty job because of the low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the blatant gender discrimination.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor, “Lumber mill workers need strength and stamina. The increased use of equipment may make the work less strenuous. Lumber mills are hot in the summer and are often noisy and dusty. Because the work is hazardous, teamwork and alertness by all the lumber mill workers help to keep conditions safer for everyone. Some lumber mill workers are members of labor unions.”

All Diane Pierson wanted to be was a normal girl with an ideal lifestyle that consisted of worrying about what she would wear to school, sleepovers, boys, and homework. Unfortunately, she was not given this choice because her abusive father forced her to work at the sawmill at the early age of seven. Diane, who is five foot flat, did not fail to point out that she was so small that she had to sit on no less than four Coke bottle crates just to operate the forklift and other major machinery in the local sawmill. Diane is not a rare case, as a matter a fact; she was just one of many cases that involved the exploitation of child labor.

On a...

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.../pages/14/Lumber-Mill-Worker.html>.

Pierson, Diane. "The Life of a Sawmill Worker." Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2011.

Williamson, A M, and Anne-Marie Feyer. "Moderate Sleep Deprivation Produces Impairments in Cognitive and Motor Performance Equivalent to Legally Prescribed Levels of Alcohol Intoxication." Occupational and Environmental Medicine - BMJ Journals. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd., 15 June 2000. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. .

Pierson, Diane. "The Life of a Sawmill Worker." Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2011.

Pierson, Diane. "The Life of a Sawmill Worker." Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2011.

Cabrera, E.F. Opting out and opting in: understanding the complexities of women's career transitions. Career Development International. 12, 218 - 237.

Pierson, Diane. "The Life of a Sawmill Worker." Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2011.

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