28 Real People Behind Sweat – Deena Monnett

Deena Monnett is a third-year student from Norfolk, VA, studying English with a concentration in Technical and Professional Writing.  This paper is a final she completed for the Intro to Advanced Study of Literature course, taught by professor Jean Harper, who said, “This was such an out-of-the-box paper, involving interviews with real people (just as the playwright did) and contrasting current real-life working experiences with those in the play ‘Sweat.’ Terrifically written and researched, this was a very compelling paper!”​

Real People Behind Sweat

Growing up in Cloverdale, Indiana, I was surrounded by factories. Chiyoda, Ascena, Heartland, Walmart Distribution, Great Dane, and Boston Scientific were six factories within a thirty-minute drive of where I lived. While many of the people in my town worked as farmers or construction workers, the majority of the community worked at one of these companies. I, myself, worked at Heartland Automotive the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. Reading Sweat brought back not only my own memories of my time spent there, but also a deep-rooted curiosity about how factory life may have changed from the deindustrialization shown in the play. After interviewing several others who had also been involved in factory life, I found that the themes shown by Lynn Nottage, including community and the demonization of abandoning unions, were both true and problematic, resulting in a deeper analysis of the play itself.

Sweat is a play that shows the highs and lows between coworkers in Reading, Pennsylvania. There are multiple displays of racism, community, and tension throughout the play. Friends Cynthia and Tracey, as well as their sons Chris and Jason, are shown to be very close at the beginning. As their jobs begin to deteriorate, so too does their relationships, resulting in an explosion of violence and racism.

One of the major themes within Sweat is this sense of community that is found throughout the entirety of the play. This community includes close friends working together in a factory, friendships that were maintained with those who had left the factory, and a legacy being passed on to the children of the workers. In fact, every character shown within the play, apart from the parole officer, is involved in a factory job at some point. Stan, the bartender, used to work at a factory before injuring himself. Brucie is currently unemployed while trying to hold out for a bigger contract from the factory he was shut out of. Both Chris and Jason are working in the same factory as their mothers, carrying on a legacy that is seemingly owned by the whole community. In a sense, these characters are a family of their own, in both the complicated dynamics and their interactions.

This overwhelming sense of community shown by Nottage is actually quite accurate. When asked if there was a sense of community within the factory, every person I interviewed stated that there was, all of them also going on to discuss the things they would do together after work. Phil Monnett, an older man who had worked at the Great Dane company before transferring to the more distinguished Crown factory, said, “There was definitely a sense of community. I didn’t realize how much- we were like a family. We spent most our time together, more than our own families. I didn’t realize how close we all were until I left my job of fifteen years and transferred. It was hard.” While Phil was unique in his passionate sentiments, his son had things to say about factory life as well. “At Heartland I met everyone because I was there for so long and formed a camaraderie, and at Crown, my dad worked there for a long time before I started. I learned everybody pretty quick. My buddy James worked at Heartland and now works at Crown.” It seems that Adam, his father, and his friend James are all real-life examples of the kind of relationships that Sweat displays.

Lynn Nottage does more than just show the friendships that can be formed between coworkers; she shows the tensions and animosity that is found as well. One of the more interesting barriers that is felt though not directly seen is the one held between those working on the floor and those working in the office. “Management is for them, not us” (Nottage 24). These kinds of sentiments, often displayed by Tracey, really showcase this divide.

Reading about this separation between “them” or those in the office, and “us” or those working on the floor, makes it easy to assume that this kind of environment is common. However, it is more complicated than that. When asked if there was animosity between those on the floor and those in the office, the people interviewed gave varying degrees of answers. For Adam Monnett, his unique perspective of comparing two different factories played into his answer. “Yeah, I’d say so. At Heartland it was the workers vs. the leaders. We were very much in it to be a team, and the leadership was a team. We were always competing. At Crown, the entire workforce it a team.” His father also felt that Crown was one of the better companies, having the people in the office work well with those on the floor.

However, it was a different interview that provided a significant insight into the animosity shown in Sweat. “I see you getting pretty chummy with ‘them’” Tracey states, going on to say, “The other day on the floor I called out to you, but you brushed me off” (Nottage 58-59). During my first read-through of this play, I felt that her character was making excuses for her mistreatment of her friend, and ultimately her racist behavior. However, Kathleen Monnett’s perspective on the divide between workers and management caused me to have a different opinion: “The people in the office never talked to us unless they told us what we needed to fix. Your department defined who you were. When someone transferred to another department, we didn’t really talk to them again.” While, as readers, we have a limited view of what their work life was like in Sweat, if we assume it was anything like the experience of Kathleen, perhaps the feelings Tracey displays goes beyond racism and envy. Perhaps she is genuinely hurt and fears her friendship with Cynthia will deteriorate. This tough persona that she displays, the racist comments, and the standoffish attitude she develops may all be her way of concealing her own fears and inadequacies. This does not justify her behavior, but it does make her character seem more real and relatable rather than a one-dimensional villain. Having this deeper understand of her, may encourage readers to reflect on their actions or the actions of others. Doing so would allow them to clearly see the problematic behavior often concealed.

The other theme that is displayed, yet may not be as easily understood by others, is the demonization of companies abandoning unions. Throughout Sweat, there is constant talk of the union and its benefits. When discussing their futures, Jason tells Chris, “I plan on retiring from the plant when I’m like fifty with a killa pension and money to burn” (Nottage 31). After they begin to shut the factory down, the majority of the characters hold onto hope that the union will be able to help them in the end, mirroring what Brucie has been dealing with for years.

For me, the talk of the union did not line up with my own view of working in a factory. There was no union that I knew about. Of course, I had assumed that this may be due to the events that took place with the deindustrialization. However, I still felt that I needed to talk with others to hear what they had to say.

Most of the younger people I talked to also expressed that they have never been a part of a union, nor was anyone they worked with. Even Kathleen expressed that most factories she knew of did not have any unionization within them. I was surprised by the lack of resentment the workers had when discussing this with me. In my mind, a union was something that protected workers so companies could not take advantage of them. I expected outrage at this protection not being offered.

Discussing this topic with Phil Monnett gave me a new outlook on the issue. “I’ve been through a couple union elections, but I’ve never been a part of a union. I did not want a union.” After hearing this, I asked him to elaborate. “They don’t have the power they used to have. Companies can’t lower or raise wages of an individual without going through a union. The worst thing about a union to the company is that they protect everyone, and the people that need protecting the most are the people that aren’t great at their jobs. I went through a training about the pros and cons of a union. They felt like the money that they paid in union dues, they wanted to pay to the actual employees to keep them instead of having a third party take it all.”

Based on this conversation, the events that happen in Sweat seems to be a necessary hardship that led to things to getting better. Maybe if the characters had all taken an initial pay cut, they would have eventually been given the opportunity to advance rather than continue to keep the same payrate that the other unionized workers had. According to Phil, this would allow workers that did their job well to continue to get pay raises, move up in the company, and be given more opportunities.

Based on this conversation, deindustrialization appears to look like a good thing rather than the life-altering event that took place in Sweat. The reality, though, is more complex, especially when discussing job stability. While there are employees that are able to keep their jobs for a long time, that is not the case for others. When asking Adam Monnett about the job stability within a factory, he stated “As far as factories go, there’s always people coming in and out, and they all work together in a weird way. There’s a huge turnover rate.”

Though the turnover rate may be high, the opportunities to advance are there as well. When asked about advancing at Crown, Adam stated, “When I started, I was on light assembly. That’s where they send people to find out if they’re good at their job or not. If you do well, you can build fork-lift trucks. From there you can be a group leader or process tech.” MaKayla Moore, a young worker at Ascena, agreed, “I wanted to work my way up to management, so I became a leader and took on special roles and classes they had to offer.” When asked about the financial aspect of working in a factory, she stated, “The money is truly, really great.” Likewise, most agreed that they made a decent living at these companies. “It was one of the best paying jobs that you could get if you didn’t have a degree,” Kathleen stated about Boston Scientific.

After taking in this information, I had to ask myself: How does this affect the way a person may view the story? When looking at the characters of Cynthia and Tracey, it becomes apparent what the outcome would have been had they all chosen to stay. In this story, Tracey is hinted at as being somewhat unprofessional. She states to Oscar that, “the only reason I didn’t get the job is because Butz tried to fuck me and I wouldn’t let him, and he told everyone in management that I’m unstable” (Nottage 48). While we are unable to know with absolute certainty that this is what occurred, we can use the impression of Tracey that has been established to solidify our thoughts on the way she may be behaving at work. As a character, Tracey can be inappropriate, boisterous, and dramatic. Cynthia even confronts her about the gossip she began to spread after the promotion, something that could be considered extremely unprofessional. Based on this, Tracey may be at a disadvantage if she were not a part of a union. She may have a lower salary than her coworkers, due to her work ethic, behavior, and the gossip that follows her. She may even lose her job for the type of unprofessional behavior that she clearly displays in Sweat, something that a union could protect her from.

Comparatively, Cynthia would be at an advantage. She has shown to excel in her job, working hard to build her way up. She tries to reason with her friends and is not scared to confront them when they are doing something wrong. She tries to lead people and be there for them, which are both qualities that would make a good leader. All of this would indicate that Cynthia may have been able to flourish without the limitations that a union placed on her. Getting a raise or promotion at the company’s discretion might allow her to gain even more benefits from her job.

Having this deeper understanding adds an under layer of resentment to Tracey as well as a better understanding of her reluctance to accept the terms of the company. She may not only resent her friend for staying at the factory when the others are kicked out but may also resent the ways Cynthia could excel without the confines of a union. Tracey may know that she would no longer have the protection that the union offers her in terms of job security and would likely not be able to keep her job without that.

Ultimately, looking at real-life people who are working in these types of companies has allowed me to take a deeper understanding of the play itself. Some of the themes in Sweat correlated with the interviews that I conducted, while others did not. Both outcomes may help readers question what is shown on the surface of the play and begin to dive deeper.

Appendix. Various Interview Questions and Answers.

1. Were you or the people you worked with a part of a union?

Adam: I am not, and they are not. I think the Japanese that worked in the office might be in one from wherever they’re from.

2. Are there any physical or mental hardships from working in a factory?

Adam: It’s grueling. Just monotonous, mindless, same thing over and over again. It was a thousand times a day but now it’s twelve times a day.

Kathleen: I did on the physical side because I had to stand 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I ended up having a tendon almost blow out on me. They didn’t want to accommodate me.

3. Is there a sense of community?

Phil: It’s a sense of community but also purpose. My job is chaos and I control that chaos but that gives me a sense of purpose. When I’m gone, I can tell the people I work with struggled and needed me. Some people love to hate work, but I like that.

4. Did the people you worked with have any goals beyond the factory?

Kathleen: Oh no, they’re lifers. Most people don’t ever get out of Boston. Some people have family working there. That’s the best that you can get.

5. Are there any misconceptions that people have about working in a factory?

Adam: People think that it’s soul crushing but there’s more to it than that. There are ways to make it not as bad. You can be friends with everybody. People think it’s lowly work.

Works Cited

Hartman, Kathleen. Interview. Conducted by Deena Monnett, 3 Dec. 2021.

Monnett, Adam. Interview. Conducted by Deena Monnett, 3 Dec. 2021.

Monnett, Phil. Interview. Conducted by Deena Monnett, 3 Dec. 2021.

Moore, MaKayla. Interview. Conducted by Deena Monnett, 4 Dec. 2021.

Nottage, Lynn. Sweat. Nick Hern, 2018.