They had low paying jobs, if any at all in this period, a little bit above starvation wages, many of them.

工资很低 可能只比避免饿死的水平高一点点 很多人都是如此。

Accustomed to starvation wages and indifferent to the conditions of living, they threatened to cut the American standard to the point of subsistence.

习惯于挨饿的工资和对生活条件漠不关心，他们威胁要将美国标准降低到仅能维持生计的地步。