sweating system

American  

noun

1. the practice of employing workers in sweatshops.

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Etymology

Origin of sweating system

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

All an infernal system of oppression, like the sweating system, asks, is to be let alone.

From White Slaves; or, the Oppression of the Worthy Poor by Banks, Louis Albert

The more thorough my examination into the facts of the case, the more I am convinced that the sweating system is demoralizing the entire clothing trade, as it will every trade it touches.

From White Slaves; or, the Oppression of the Worthy Poor by Banks, Louis Albert

An English writer gives this definition of the sweating system: "One whereby the middleman tries to get the largest profit, with the least labor and outlay, out of the maximum labor of his workers."

From White Slaves; or, the Oppression of the Worthy Poor by Banks, Louis Albert

Thus one of the most glaring evils of the sweating system is seen to form a distinct economic advantage in the workshop, as compared with the large factory.

From Problems of Poverty by Hobson, J. A. (John Atkinson)

The central labor body of Chicago, then called the Trades and Labor Assembly, had previously appointed a committee of investigation to inquire into the sweating system.

From Twenty Years at Hull House; with autobiographical notes by Addams, Jane