The characters in Sweat by Lynn Nottage are blue-collar Americans in the town of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Tracey

Tracey is White, in her forties, and of German descent. She has been working at Olstead's factory for over twenty years, following her father and grandfather. She is opinionated and proud of the work her family has done. She is best friends with Cynthia until she feels betrayed by Cynthia after her promotion. She claims to not care about race but sometimes makes racially insensitive comments. She is Jason's mother.

Cynthia

Cynthia has been working at the plant as long as Tracey. She is African-American and in her forties. She is ambitious and applies for the promotion that moves her up to a managerial position. This puts Cynthia in a difficult spot when management wants to cut wages, and Cynthia finds herself pitted against her friends.

Jessie

Jessie is White and friends with Tracey and Cynthia. She struggles with alcohol addiction, always drinking much more than the others at the bar. When she was young, she wanted to travel the world, but she ended up getting a job at the plant and has never left.

Jason

Jason is Tracey's son. He is in his twenties. He is outgoing and often teases his best friend, Chris. His anger at losing his job at the factory causes him to get into a fight with violent consequences. In jail, Jason becomes a White supremacist.

Chris

Chris is Cynthia's son and Jason's friend. He is in his twenties. He works at the factory but has aspirations to go to college. He is saving up money for school when the strike happens, and he becomes involved in a fight with Jason that lands him in jail.

Brucie

Brucie is Chris's father and Cynthia's estranged husband. He has fallen on hard times and becomes involved with drugs, although he starts a rehab program. It is revealed that his addiction issues are related to his being fired from his factory job after his union was pushed out.

Stan

Stan is a former steel worker who became a bartender after getting injured at the plant. He is White, in his fifties, and friendly. Stan tries to break up the fight between Jason and Oscar, but unfortunately suffers a brain injury.

Oscar

Oscar is a Colombian-American man who works at the bar. Always considered an outsider and not afforded many job opportunities, he crosses the picket line when the plant offers more than what he makes at the bar. This causes a fight with Jason. By 2008, he becomes the manager of the bar and takes care of Stan.

Evan

Evan is Chris and Jason's parole officer in 2008 when they get out of prison. He is African-American. He helps them confront their feelings about what happened. He can be forceful in drawing forth information and unflappable in the face of Jason's racist remarks.