My grandmother left Hong Kong with her husband and four children in 1967. They arrived in New York City in August of that year and settled into a tenement apartment on the Lower East Side, near Chinatown. Having lived through World War II in China, my grandmother had limited education and skills. When she arrived, there were very few jobs for immigrant women who did not know the language (English), and who still had young children to care for. However, one thing she knew how to do was sew. She was able to find a job as a seamstress in one of Chinatown’s garment factories. For six days a week, she sewed all different types of clothing that would be sold in department stores. Like other garment factory workers, she was paid by the piece. Therefore, the more pieces of clothing she completed, the more she earned. When she started working, she joined a union: the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. She was a member for over 30 years and retired in the 1990s. The photo shows a picture of my grandmother, as well as the dues booklets that were issued to union members every two years, showing they had paid their dues. These are important to our family because they show the ways in which my grandmother was able to help support her family, even in a strange place far from her original home.

– Gabriel Ng

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant