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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Bulletin No. 186

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN
PACIFIC COAST FISH CANNERIES

Vi o. I 3 G



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary

WOMEN’S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

-f

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN
PACIFIC COAST FISH CANNERIES
By
ARTHUR T. SUTHERLAND

Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau, No. 186

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1941

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.




Price 10 cent!




.

111

CONTENTS
Page

Letter of transmittal__________________________________
Scope of the survey_____________________________
Data secured_______________________________ _ _111II
Pack coverage and State coverage_______________ I__
Plant and employee coverage_____________________
The length of the canning season and peak loads____ II
Washington canneries____________________________
California canneries__________________________
Character of work and sex of workers_________________
Numbers employed during and after the canning season
Individual worker’s amount of employment____________
Source of seasonal labor supply______________________
Hours worked and earnings________________________ ~~
Methods of pay______________________________
State regulation of wages and hours_________________
Union-agreement wage provisions_______________
Hours worked_______________________________I_I_I!
Washington canneries, 1938 season___________ H_~'
California canneries, 1939 season________________
Hourly earnings_______________________________
Week’s earnings______________________________
Annual earnings of individual workers____ I_I__I___
Labor costs______________________________
Tuna canning in Hawaii_________________________ I_”

1
1

2

3
5
5

6

9
12
13
15
17
17
17
18
18
18
19
21
23
25
30
30

TEXT TABLES
I. Amount of products canned in 1937 and amount produced in that
year by plants included in the Women’s Bureau survey______
II. Number of plants and of employees in fish canning in 1937 and
number included in the survey—California (1939) and Washington
III. Occupations of men and women in the pay-roll week"recorded bv
product canned California (1939) and Washington (1938) _ I _
IV. IN umber of weeks worked by men and by women in 1937, by product
canned__________________________________________
r
^ ■ Hours worked by men and by women in the pay-roll week recorded
_
by product canned California 1939 and Washington 1938*
VI. Hourly earnings of men and of women in the pay-roll week recorded
Trrr .,,rby, Product canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938
’
Vll. Week s earnings of men and of women in the pay-roll week recorded
__ttt
by product canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938__
’
VIII. Year s earnings of men and of women in 1937, by weeks worked and
by product canned_________________

3
4

11
14
20
22
24
26

CHART
1. Fluctuation of employment and amount paid to fish cannery workers
each week in 1939 in California____________________
A.—Canneries packing sardines.
B.—Canneries packing two or more species of fish.




in

7




LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,

Washington, June 9, 1941.
I have the honor to transmit for publication a brief report
on earnings and hours in Pacific coast fish canneries. The survey
was made in connection with the Bureau’s Nation-wide study of
fruit and vegetable canning and preserving.
The report was written by Arthur T. Sutherland, of the editorial
division.
Respectfully submitted.
Mary Anderson, Director.
Hon. Frances Perkins,
Secretary of Labor.
Madam:




EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PACIFIC COAST
FISH CANNERIES
The Women’s Bureau survey of fish-canning plants was made at the
time of its Nation-wide study of the fruit and vegetable canning and
preserving industries in the United States. The purpose of the study
was to furnish various Federal and State agencies with factual data
concerning existing conditions in order to determine whether it is
necessary or feasible to develop specific wage and hour regulations and
unemployment compensation rulings for the betterment of such types
of employment. When planning the study the Bureau intended to
visit fish canneries in all coastal areas, but the time available was so
limited that it was possible to schedule plants only on the Pacific
coast, the most important of the Nation’s fish-canning areas.
The Pacific coast, comprising Alaska, California, Oregon, and Wash­
ington, produced more than four-fifths of the Nation’s canned-fish
pack in 1938, including all the salmon, nearly all the mackerel and
tuna and tuna-like fishes, and over three-fourths of the sardines.1
The United States Bureau of Fisheries reported that in 1938 only 2 of
24 plants canning mackerel and 1 of 20 canning tuna and tuna-like
fishes were on the eastern coast; all others were in California, Oregon,
and Washington. The canned pack of these four species of fish—
that is, the Washington-Oregon salmon, the California sardine, and
the total mackerel and tuna and tuna-like fish packs—accounted for
two-thirds of the entire value of all canned fish produced in the United
States in 1938.

SCOPE OF THE SURVEY
The field work of the broader canning survey 2 was begun in April
1938; the fish canneries in California were scheduled in October and
November of that year, and those in Washington in December. In a
supplemental survey a year later, additional information was obtained
from the California canneries, but the plants in Washington werenot
revisited. Consequently this report is based on data obtained from
Washington canneries in December 1938, and, unless otherwise noted,
on data obtained from California plants in December 1939.
DATA SECURED

The information requested by the Bureau relates to production,
employment, and the employees’ working conditions; that is, their
earnings and hours of work. In each plant scheduled, in both States,
1 The sardine is not a species of fish, the term being applied to immature or small fish of several species.
The United States production of sardines consists of canned sea herring, packed by Maine canners, and
pilchards, packed by California canners.
2 Application of Labor Legislation to the Fruit and Vegetable Canning and Preserving Industries.
Women’s Bureau Bull. No. 176, 1940.




1

2

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

the data on 'production are for the year 1937 and include a record of
the total output of each species of fish canned, the over-all period or
season during which each species was packed, the number of days on
which each product was packed, and the total number of weeks in the
year in which any workers were employed. In the supplemental
study of the California plants cost data were copied, including the
total cost of production and the total labor cost.
Records of the number of workers employed and amount of wages paid
each week in the year are for 1937 in Washington plants and for 1939
in California plants. Though not available in all plants, such data
were recorded wherever possible and have been tabulated in order to
show the week-to-week variations in employment and amount of pay
roll throughout the year. Data on individual workers—their sex and
occupation, the number of weeks they worked, and their total annual
earnings—were copied from records made for Social Security. Other
employment information that was requested shows the source of the
labor supply, the employment of the workers when not in the canning
plants, and the extent of union organization.
In addition to the above-mentioned data, records of earnings and
of hours worked were taken for a single pay period, in 1938 in the
Washington plants and in 1939 in the California plants.
PACK COVERAGE AND STATE COVERAGE

Not all the fish canneries in the two Pacific States visited were
included in the survey, but the number scheduled was sufficiently
large to be representative of the fish-canning industry in these areas.
Eighteen plants were scheduled in California and 5 in Washington.
Of the California plants, 10 were primarily sardine canners though 4
of these produced also a tuna or small mackerel pack; all but 3 were
in the Monterey and northern districts. The other firms were in the
Los Angeles and San Diego districts and all canned tuna fish. All
but 1 also canned sardines or mackerel or both. The Washington
plants, situated in the Puget Sound district, were salmon canners; 1
of the group canned a relatively small tuna pack in addition to salmon.
In 1937, when the total United States canned fish pack was the
largest since 1930, the plants reported produced 88 percent of the total
tuna and tuna-like fish pack, 68 percent of the California sardine
(pilchard) pack, 46 percent of the total mackerel pack, and 46 percent
of the salmon pack, excluding the Alaska production. Miscellaneous
products put up in the plants reported, but not shown in table I
following (which gives a comparison of the pack in the plants scheduled
and the pack reported by the United States Census of Manufactures),
consisted of squid (1 plant), shad and shad roe (1 plant), dog food
prepared with a fish base (1 plant), and tomato paste and tomato
sauce (1 plant). Also 1 plant in Washington put up an experimental
cod pack which was of no commercial significance and was discon­
tinued in 1938. Many of the California tuna and sardine canners
also produced fish oil and fish meal from fresh pilchards 3 and from
the waste resulting from the canning operations.
3 Reduction of sardines (pilchards) for oil and meal is a very important business in California, and though
State regulations require that 13)^ cases be processed as food for human consumption of every ton landed,
there are several floating reduction plants operating off the coast of California, outside the jurisdiction of the
State. According to a report of the U. S. Tariff Commission (Report No. 121, Second Series, p. 95), of a
total catch of 630 million pounds of pilchards in 1933, about 75 percent was used for reduction purposes,
while most of the remainder was canned. Reduction plants proper were not included in the Bureau’s
survey.




SCOPE OF THE SURVEY
Table

3

I.—Amount of products canned in 1937 and amount produced in that year
by plants included in Women’s Bureau survey

State and product

California:
Tuna and tuna-like fish__________
Sardines (pilchard)____ ____ _________
Mackerel____________________
__________ ________
Washington:

Total pack
in 1937 i
(standard
cases)

Amount produced in
1937 by plants in­
cluded in survey
Number of
cases

Percent
of total

3 3,144, 501
2, 812, 456
4 840, 832

3 2,765,081
1,897, 746
390, 545

87.9
67.5
46.4

8 885,372

405,912

45.8

1 U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1937, pt. I, p. 103.
J Includes 15,143 cases canned in other States.
3 Includes 2,074 cases canned in Washington.
4 Includes Massachusetts. According to the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, there were 22 plants in California
and 2 in Massachusetts which canned mackerol in 1938. Statistical Bulletin No. 1344, p. 3.
8 Includes 327,072 cases canned in Oregon.

PLANT AND EMPLOYEE COVERAGE

In most canning industries there is ordinarily a marked seasonal
rise and fall in working hours because the raw materials, which arrive
in greatest abundance only at the peak of the season, have day-to­
day and week-to-week fluctuations, showing generally a gradual
increase from the start to the peak of the season, then a decrease
toward its close.
In the case of fish canning, however, there are wide differences in
the degree of the fluctuations of supply and the length of the canning
season, depending on the runs of the species of fish being canned and
the length of the open fishing seasons stipulated in the State fishing
laws. For example, salmon canners have a very short and concen­
trated season—the actual canning operations last only about 10 or
12 weeks—and the fluctuations are not very marked. Salmon are
caught relatively close to the canneries, which are situated on the
harbors and streams where the fish migrate to the spawning beds.
Sardines, on the other hand, are caught off the California coast
and their supply is more irregular, because fishing for them is restricted
to moonless nights when the fishermen can locate them by their
phosphorescence under a dark sky. Fluctuations of supply occur
also in tuna canning, because the large proportion of the fish are
caught at long distances from the canneries, from 2,000 to 3,000 miles
south of the home ports, and boat arrivals are irregular. The sardine
canners generally contract with a fishing corporation for their supply
of fish, but the majority of the tuna canners own or control at least
part of the vessels that supply them with fish. One tuna canner
imported frozen tuna from Japan.
Records of employment throughout the year were not comparable
in all plants, as some reported on a weekly basis while others reported
figures for biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly periods. However, to
give some indication of the coverage of the survey, table II shows the
maximum number of wage earners in any one month in California and
Washington as reported by the Census of 1937 and the number of
employees who worked in the pay period taken in the survey (1938 in
Washington and 1939 in California). In each case the pay period
328251°—41----- 2




4

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

covered was during the busy canning season, though in some plants it
was not the actual peak week of employment.
The maximum employment in any month reported by the census
was 7,685 (in November) in the California canneries and 1,676 (in
September) in the Washington plants. The number employed in the
California plants scheduled was 5,880, or 77 percent of the number
given by the census, and in the Washington plants 785, or 47 percent
of the census figure. All the major fish-canning areas in California
were visited, but only 1 of the 3 major districts in Washington was
visited; consequently the coverage of California plants was much
more complete than was the case in Washington.
Table

II.—Number of -plants and of employees in fish canning in 1937 and number
included in the survey—California (1939) and Washington (1938)
Total reported by
Census 1

State
Plants

California ____
Washington_ _ ______
i U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1937, pt. I, pp. 89-92.




49
54

Number included in survey
Employees in pay
period taken

Employees
in maxi­
mum
month

Plants

7,685
1,676

18
5

Percent
Number of census
figure
5,880
785

76.5
46.8

THE LENGTH OF THE CANNING SEASON AND
PEAK LOADS
1 he length of the period during which fish-canning operations are
carried on depends ordinarily on the seasonal migratory runs of the
various species of fish in a specific area, when they can be caught in
relatively large quantities and brought to the canneries before decom­
position sets in. This is particularly true of salmon or sardine canners, who generally pack only when the runs of fish are relatively
near their canneries. Tuna fish, however, keep better than most fish
when properly refrigerated, so the fisherman can extend the sphere of
fishing activity by following the migratory runs and consequently can
supply the tuna canners with fish throughout the year. Due to the
great distance from the canneries of the waters where the bulk of the
tuna are caught, the landings often are sporadic, but the canners
generally supplement the tuna pack by canning sardines, which are
caught during the legal fishing season when the migratory runs are
near the tuna canneries, and mackerel, which are caught intermit­
tently through the year.
Competition with the fresh-fish market does not affect the length
of the canning period of the industries included in the survey; in the
case of the salmon canning industry, this is because of the extremely
heavy concentration of fish available during the short migratory runs
to the spawning beds, and in the case of the other three, the sardine,
mackerel, and tuna canning industries, it is because there is no demand
for fresh or frozen fish in the local areas.
Practically all fish supplied to canneries are bought by the canners
direct from the fishermen, at a price agreed upon by fisherman, boat
owner, and manufacturer in advance of the fishing season, and do
not pass through the hands of the wholesaling trades before being
processed.
Washington canneries.

There are wide fluctuations in the natural runs of the several varie­
ties of salmon, different species moving in 2-year and 4-year cycles
and at different periods of the year. Salmon runs are localized and
each stream is restocked by the same race of fish without any addition
to the breeding stock from the races of other streams. Because of
the danger of depletion the Pacific States have at various times enacted
conservation measures regulating methods or seasons of fishing for
specific varieties of fish or covering specific areas or streams. In
the Puget Sound area canning operations are required to end by
November 20, and during the season fishing is prohibited on certain
days of the week.
In 1937 the 5 salmon canneries reporting began canning from July
7 to 14, inclusive; in 2 plants the period of canning was approximately
10 weeks, in 1 about 14 weeks, and in 2 about 18 weeks. Due to the
short season, canning operations were relatively steady throughout
the period. In the plant with the shortest season, salmon were packed




5

6

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

on 64 of a possible 73 days, including Sundays; in the plant with the
longest season, on 95 of a possible 130 days.
Though the 5 salmon canners did not report comparable employ­
ment and payroll trend figures, and it has not been possible to prepare
a chart showing the weekly fluctuations, the figures obtained do indi­
cate that the peak of employment generally was in August, with
substantial numbers employed also in the last part of July and the
first part of September. In the combined pay-roll figures of the 3
plants that reported on a semimonthly basis, the amount paid was
highest in the second period in August; it was seven-tenths of the peak
in the first half of September and six-tenths of the peak in the first
half of August.
California canneries.

Sardine canneries are situated in two separate areas in California.
In the Monterey and northern California area, where the plants put
up chiefly sardines, the canning season usually runs from September
through the following January; the legal sardine fishing season in this
area extends from August 1 to February 15 of the following year.
Of the seven plants scheduled in this area, two reported putting up
relatively small mackerel packs during the sardine canning season.
The number of days on which sardines were canned varied only from
93 to 110 and the average for the seven plants was 102.
In the southern California area, centering near Los Angeles and San
Diego, the sardine canning season runs from November through the
following March; in this area State regulations allow fishing from
November 1 to March 31. However, all these canneries also can tuna
or mackerel or both, in some plants sardines comprising the minor
product.
Tuna canning is the most important of the fish-canning industries
in the Los Angeles-San Diego area, and in most plants tuna canning is
carried on throughout the year; however, in a few instances the tuna
canning season was reported to begin in April or May and run through
October, November, or December. July through October is generally
the busiest period. Mackerel also are available through the year,
though the supply is intermittent. Mackerel were not the major pack
in any of the plants scheduled.
Of the 11 plants scheduled in this area 1 canned tuna only, 1 canned
tuna and sardines, 1 sardines and mackerel, and 8 canned varying
amounts of tuna, sardines, and mackerel. The total number of days
on which fish of any of the three species was canned, reported by 9 of
the 11 plants, varied from 95 to 261 and averaged 178. Several of the
plants reported the number of days on which each particular species
of fish was canned; in 7 plants tuna were canned on an average of 138
days, in 4 plants the number of days mackerel were canned averaged
76, and sardines were packed on an average of 60 days in 5 plants.
Weekly pay-roll data were available in 13 plants and these data show
the fluctuations in employment and amount of wages paid in 1939.
Five plants, tabulated together, were primarily sardine canneries,
though 3 canned relatively small packs of tuna or mackerel in the
sardine canning season. The remaining 8 plants also are tabulated as
a group, as they canned 2 or more species of fish at various times
through the year. Chart I (A and B) shows the weekly changes
graphically; the dotted line represents the amount of the pay roll, with
100 equal to the largest amount paid in any week, and the unbroken



CANNING SEASON AND PEAK LOADS

7

Chart 1.—Fluctuation of Employment and Amount Paid to Fish Cannery Workers Each
Week in 1939 in California
[Maximum week = 100]

A.—CANNERIES PACKING SARDINES

70 -

‘Earnings

1, l I

■L-iJ-.l. I

I

I

-1—L_i. j

-I—L_L

I

i

i

I

i

June

B.—CANNERIES PACKING TWO OR MORE SPECIES OF FISH




Employment

/*. ■

11 i
• ; •

i' i

i-i, 11

8

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

line represents the number of workers employed each week, with 100
equal to maximum employment.
As previously noted, the sardine canning season runs about 5 months
in the late fall and winter, but even during this relatively short season
there were important changes in the number of workers and the amount
of work they had each week. At the beginning of the season the
number of workers increased rapidly, from only 4 percent of the peak
number in the second week in September to 74 percent the following
week, then gradually to 92 percent the last week in October. The
peak week of employment was the second week in November. In 3
of the remaining weeks of the year the number of employees was more
than 80 percent of the peak number. Judging by January of 1939,
figures for 1940 being not available, the numbers employed in the
closing weeks of the season probably reached about two-thirds of the
peak.
An examination of the pay-roll curve indicates that sardine employees
often worked less than a full week during the canning season. The
largest amount of wages was paid in the second week of October, but
in the 4 weeks preceding the peak the pay rolls amounted to roughly
only half the peak amount. In the third week in October the pay roll
decreased to 84 percent. In 3 weeks in November, 2 weeks in Decem­
ber, and—judging by the past January—also in the closing weeks of
the season, the weekly pay rolls amounted to more than 70 percent of
the peak. During the off season, from February through the middle
of August 1939, the pay roll was never so much as one-tenth of the
peak amount, the workers during this period comprising clean-up and
warehouse crews and the maintenance workers.
The eight firms processing two or more species of fish operated
throughout the year, and though the number of workers employed
each week generally was high in relation to the maximum number, the
curve for the weekly pay-roll index indicates that frequently there
was relatively little work available for the large number of employees
reported.
The peak of employment was the week ending August 19; in the
11 weeks from July 9 to September 23, the number of employees was
80 percent or more of the peak number. Employment was three-fourths
or more of the peak in 30 weeks in 1939 and was below one-half in
only 5 weeks.
On the basis of pay-roll figures, it appears that canning operations
were not so continuous as the employment index indicates. The
largest pay roll was for the week ending December 16; in the preceding
week the amount paid was only 66 percent of the peak, and in the week
following it amounted to only 42 percent. The second highest amount,
92 percent of the peak, had been paid in the week ending February 25.
Considering the entire period, the weekly pay roll was 75 percent or
more of the peak amount in only 4 weeks, but it was 50 and under
75 percent in 20 weeks and 30 and under 50 percent in 21 weeks. As
the employment index was almost consistently above the pay-roll index,
considerably above for months at a time, it appears that more workers
were on the rolls in these plants than would be necessary if it were
possible to employ them full time. However, this condition probably
must continue as long as the canner’s supply of fish is affected by the
irregularity of the tuna vessel arrivals and the sporadic catches of
mackerel.




CHARACTER OF WORK AND SEX OF WORKERS
The major fish-canning' operations are similar for the different
species of fish, but minor processes vary according to species. Gener­
ally the fish, when unloaded, are cleaned of dirt and grime and sorted
according to species and to whether or not suitable for canning.
They are then dressed by removal of head, fins, and viscera. Some
species are precooked before dressing, but others are dressed first,
then cooked before or after being put in cans. Small fish may be
packed in the cans without further cutting, but the larger species
are cut into segments. Seasoning and other substances, oil, sauce,
and so forth, are added and the cans are sealed and passed to the
cooking retorts for sterilization. After being cooked the cans are
cooled and taken to the warehouse.
The Pacific coast canneries generally are large and well-equipped
plants geared for mass production. The production lines, usually
several in a plant, are so arranged that the fish can be carried through
the various processes with a minimum of hand labor. Some operations
may be performed by either hand or machine, depending on the species
of fish.
Salmon canning.

The salmon are washed and cleaned of dirt and grime after being
unloaded from the boats and are then sorted according to variety,
color, and fat content. Heads, tails, and fins are removed by a
machine that also opens and cleans the inside and removes the thick
mucous covering from the skin. After another washing they are cut
into segments according to the size of the cans, and with the proper
amount of seasoning are put into the cans by a filling machine.
Odd-sized cans or special packs are filled by hand. Women inspect,
trim, and weigh the cans and see that the contents are properly
adjusted. The cans are then capped and sealed and put into steam
pressure retorts where the fish are cooked until the bones are soft.
From the retorts the cans are cooled and put, in the warehouse for the
labeling and shipping or are stored for later shipment.
Sardine canning.

The sardine canning industry is one of the most widespread of all
fish-canning industries; however, sardine canning in California is
distinctive in that the sardines are packed in tomato sauce or mustard,
whereas in other canning areas practically all sardines are put up in
olive oil or cottonseed oil. When washed and cleaned of dirt and
other foreign matter, the sardines are eviscerated and cooked. After
being allowed to cool they are sorted and passed to cutters, who be­
head them, removing, if necessary, enough of the body so that it will
fit into the tins. Tomato sauce or mustard is added, and the cans are
capped, sealed, and cooked in retorts until thoroughly sterilized.
They are then cooled and taken to the warehouse.




9

10

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Mackerel canning.

Mackerel caught off California ordinarily are very lean fish and
contain little oil or fat. Because of this they are undesirable for
salting, and as there is little demand for fresh fish in this area, most
of them are canned. When the fish are landed they are cleaned, and
washed, the head, fins, and viscera are removed, and they are im­
mersed in brine until the blood is extracted. The fish are again
washed and are packed in the cans with the required seasoning. The
cans are then capped and sealed and put in the cooking retorts.
Tuna canning.

When tuna are unloaded they are sorted according to variety and
are washed free of dirt and slime. They are then opened and cleaned
and the large fish are cut crosswise in two or three segments to facili­
tate the processing. They are precooked and cooled and then are
skinned and beheaded. The light meat, the only part of the fish used
for food in the United States, is separated from the dark meat and
bones and other inedible parts, and then cut into sections the size of
the cans. These sections are sorted, graded, and put into the cans by
women. After the addition of oil and salt, the cans are capped, sealed,
and recooked in pressure retorts. The dark meat and other waste are
converted into meal and oil.
Sex of workers.

In each type of cannery visited the large majority of employees were
women; they were employed as inspectors, trimmers, hand packers,
slimers, and often as labelers in the salmon plants; as cutters, cleaners,
and packers in the sardine plants; and as cleaners, sorters, and packers
in the tuna plants.
Men were employed largely as keymen; that is, as foremen, butchers,
cooks or retort men, as sealing-machine operators, receivers, emptycan-room workers, and general laborers in the canning and warehouse
departments. Practically all reduction department workers and the
maintenance and custodial workers were men.
As shown in table III following, women comprised the majority of
the work force on tuna (68 percent), on salmon (56 percent), and in
plants canning two or more kinds of fish (52 percent). In the plants
canning sardines, however, the manufacture of meal and oil from
fresh fish and the waste from canning operations, usually performed
by men, is relatively more important than in other fish canneries;
consequently, men outnumber women in these plants, comprising 53
percent of the total force.
The number of pay rolls copied exceeds the number of plants visited,
as some plants canning more than one species of fish made available
separate pay rolls for the various species.




11

CHARACTER OF WORK
Table

III.—Occupations of men and women in the pay-roll week recorded, by pro­
duct canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938
California

Occupation and sex

Sardines

Two or more
species

Tuna

WashingtonSalmon

N umber Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total employees-------Men_____ ____
Women
Keymen

8
2, 956
1,562
1,394

100.0
52.8
47.2

9
3,119
985
2,134

100.0
31.6
68.4

5
992
477
515

100.0
48.1
51.9

5
785
349
436

100.0
44.5
55.5

80

2.7

115

3.7

47

4.7

9

1.1

61
19
Preparers_________________

531

18.0

2,115

71.5

153

25.6

2,038

5.2

118

65.3

Maintenance and custodial

3.8

2.1

47

1.5

14

.5

3

.1

10
4

613

99

125

41

15.9

125
61.8

581

74.0

288
293
69

10.0

8.8

52
17

99

63

. .3

19.4

239
374

118

153

192

8
1

56
136

697
1,341

1,050
1, 065
Warehouse workers

798
16
782

225
306
Canning workers 1_________

42
5

104
11

4.1

(*)
1

.1

1

1 Includes general factory workers, empty-can-room workers, reduction department workers, and can-line
workers.
2 Not obtained.
3 Includes office and outside truckers

328251°—41-----3




NUMBERS EMPLOYED DURING AND AFTER THE
CANNING SEASON
As previously noted, some of the fish canning industries are extreme­
ly seasonal, with fish being packed only a small part of the year.
During the slack or off season, naturally the work force becomes
relatively insignificant as compared to the number of employees at
work in the busy season. This is particularly true of the salmon and
sardine industries, where the canning season lasts less than half the
year. The work force employed in the off season ordinarily consists
of the warehouse crew, who label and ship the pack put up during the
canning season; the maintenance workers, who repair and overhaul
the machinery, equipment, and buildings; and the custodial workers.
In fact, in some of the salmon and sardine canneries the only employees
working in part of the off season are the custodial men. In the
canneries packing tuna, alone or with other species, canning is done
throughout the year, so it is to be expected that substantial numbers
of workers would be employed on a year-round basis.
Only 3 salmon canneries furnished data sufficiently complete to
indicate the change in number of employees at various times in the
year. The off season in the salmon canning industry in the Puget
Sound area usually lasts from October through the following June.
In the pay period of minimum employment in these months the 3
plants averaged 5 workers, whereas in the period of lowest employ­
ment in the actual canning season the average was 69 workers and at
the time of maximum employment it was 159.
In the sardine industry, where the off season runs from February
through August, 5 plants reporting had averages of 8 workers in the
week of minimum employment, 38 workers in the week of lowest
employment in the active canning season, and 218 workers in the
week of maximum employment. The lpwest average number of
employees in any week in the 8 plants canning 2 or more species of
fish amounted to 99, in contrast to 358 workers in the period of
maximum employment.
Expressed differently, in salmon canning the maximum number of
employees in any pay period was about 32 times the number in the
minimum period, in sardines the maximum was about 27 times the
minimum, but in the plants that canned 2 or more species of fish the
average in the maximum week was only about 3 % times the average
in the minimum week.
12




INDIVIDUAL WORKER’S AMOUNT OF EMPLOYMENT
The foregoing analysis of employment has indicated the canner's
demand for workers through the year, but it does not show the
amount of work available to the individual workers employed at any
time in the period covered.
Because of the nature of the canning industry, with irregular
short-time fluctuations and seasonal changes, relatively few workers
are able to secure steady employment over an extended period. As
the amount of work available is the most important consideration to
the individual, to indicate the employment opportunities offered by
canneries it is necessary to know how many weeks of work each
individual secured during the year. Accordingly, in each cannery
where data were available (19 of the plants visited) a record was
taken of the number of weeks worked by each individual on the
pay roll in 1937.
The records copied did not show the duplication of workers result­
ing from the transfer of some employees from one cannery to another
in the canning season. In the salmon and sardine canneries, where
there is a short and concentrated packing season, it is not probable
that employees worked in more than one fish cannery, though in a
few cases it was reported that some had worked also in vegetable
or fruit canneries.
An analysis of the 1937 records shows that there was an abundance
of labor available to the canners in that year, as the 21 canneries
reporting employed a total of 11,185 workers, or an average per
cannery of 533 persons. In contrast, the 23 canneries reporting for
a current period employed an average of 290 workers in the 1-week
pay period recorded.
As shown in table IV the large majority of workers had very little
employment during the year. In salmon canneries nearly one-fifth
(18 percent) of the workers were employed for less than 4 weeks, more
than one-fourth (27 percent) worked 4 and under 8 weeks, and a
similar proportion (28 percent) worked 8 and under 12 weeks. Thus
almost three-fourths of the salmon cannery workers had employment
for less than 12 weeks, and only one-eighth had work for as long as
20 weeks.
Employees on sardines fared even worse. Though the same pro­
portion as in salmon (73 percent) worked less than 12 weeks, 36
percent had work for less than 4 weeks. Though a large proportion,
31 percent, of the employees in plants packing tuna or two or more
species of fish also had less than 4 weeks of work, as many as 17
percent worked 40 weeks or more and 21 percent worked 20 and under
40 weeks. Only in this last group of canneries did any considerable
number of employees work for half the year or more.




13

Table

IV.—Number of weeks worked by men and by women in 1937, by product canned
Employees with weeks worked reported
Percent who worked—

Number

California (1C plants):
Sardines—total _. _____

Num­
ber

Under
4
weeks

4, un­
der 8
weeks

8, un­
der 12
weeks

12, un­ 16, un­ 20, un­ 24, un­ 28, un­ 32, un­ 36, un­ 40, un­ 44, un­ 48, un­
der 16 der 20 der 24 der 28 der 32 der 36 der 40 der 44 der 48 der 52
weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks

52
weeks

of total
employ­
ees)

2,780

2,117

36.4

23.3

12.8

9.4

7.3

3.8

1.8

1.5

0.6

0.2

0.7

0.5

0.9

0.8

23.8

1, 593
1,187

1,136
981

35.7
37. 2

23.8
22.8

12.4
13.4

8.2
10.7

5.7
9.1

3.3
4.4

2.6
1.0

2.1
.8

.6
.5

.4

1.2
.1

.9

1.7

1.5

28.7
17.4

7, 387

6, 597

30.5

14.3

7.7

5.7

4.3

4.1

4.2

3.9

5.2

3.4

2.7

4.4

6.4

3.2

10.7

_______

3, 063
4, 324

2,669
3, 928

34.0
28.1

15.2
13.7

7.9
7.6

6.0
5.6

3.6
4.7

3.5
4.5

2.7
5.2

2.4
4.9

2.4
7.1

1.9
4.3

2.8
2.6

3.6
5.0

7.8
5.5

6.3
1.1

12.9
9.2

Washington (5 plants):
Salmon—total___ ______

1,018

1,018

18.4

27.3

27.8

10.1

4.9

4.0

4.5

.9

.4

.7

.2

.2

.2

.4

529
489

529
489

21.0
15.5

29.3
25.2

25.5
30.3

8.7
11.7

3.8
6.1

4.3
3.7

2.6
6. 5

1.3
.4

.6
.2

1.3

.4

.4

Men
Tuna and two or more
species—total _ __ __
Men
Women

_




.8
.4

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

ployces

Weeks
worked
not
reported

SOURCE OF SEASONAL LABOR SUPPLY
In seasonal canning industries the supply of labor is one of the major
problems, due to the widely varying need for workers at different times
of the year. As previously shown, there was an abundance of labor
in the fish canning' areas visited, but it is interesting to know something
of the people who are available for such intermittent work; that is, to
know if they depend entirely on cannery work for their living, or have
supplemental work in other industries, and whether they are local
residents or migrants who move about following seasonal work
throughout the year. Because of the limited time available it was not
possible to interview individual workers, so each employer was
requested to give such information concerning his employees.
Generally the workers were local people who had work in other kinds
of canneries or other local industries when not employed in fish
canneries; or they were members of the fishermen’s families or house­
wives of local families who usually were not employed during the off­
season in canning. In California the migratory workers, some of
whom were the so-called “dust bowl refugees,” comprised an important
part of the seasonal work force.
Washington canneries.

Men.—As the fish canneries visited were in places that were im­
portant lumber ports in addition to supporting extensive fisheries, the
majority of the seasonal men employed in four of the canneries were
reported to have work in the lumbering industry at other times of the
year. One of these firms employed a few workers from another town
where the plant had been located in the previous year; and the other
three firms employed relatively small groups of local casual workers.
In the remaining firm the seasonal work force consisted of local indus­
trial workers who had employment in lime kilns at other times, and of
a few Japanese who each season came from out of town and were
furnished board and room by the firm in addition to wages.
Women.—Nearly all the women employed during the canning season
were housewives or daughters of local families or of the fishermen’s
families. Only a small proportion of these workers were reported to
have other kinds of work, such as store or restaurant jobs or domestic
service. A small proportion of the women were from nearby farms,
and one firm reported that some of the women were employed in
vegetable canneries during the pea canning season.
California canneries.

There was wide variation in the composition of the work force in
the different canneries in California, particularly so in regard to those
in the northern area in contrast to those in the southern area, and to
a less degree among canneries in the same general area.




15

16

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Northern area.—The largest proportion of men employees in the
sardine canneries were industrial workers from local factories or from
vegetable and fruit canneries; the proportion varied from 35 to 60
percent in the 7 firms visited in this area and was 50 percent or more in
4 of the plants. However, local casual workers and migrants com­
prised substantial proportions of the seasonal force; the former varied
from 10 to 40 percent of the total in the 7 plants, being 30 percent or
more in 3 plants, while the migratory workers comprised 10 to 55
percent, being 30 percent or more in 4 plants.
Large numbers of the women, one-half or more in 6 plants, were
housewives or other members of local industrial workers’ or fishermen's
families and probably had no other employment. All the firms em­
ployed some women migratory workers. The proportion these com­
prised of the seasonal force was only 20 percent or less in 3 firms, but
was from 30 to 50 percent in 4 firms. Relatively few women were
industrial workers from factories or other canneries or local casual
workers.
Southern area.—The canneries in this area, many of which operated
throughout the year, gave relatively steady employment to a large
proportion of their employees; in fact, 5 canners reported that their
work force was drawn from local people who were entirely dependent
on fish cannery work or on fishing. In 2 of these the employees were
Japanese. In contrast, there was 1 plant where 75 percent of both
men and women and another where 50 percent of the men were mi­
gratory workers “just like the ‘Grapes of Wrath’ describes”; the
remainder of the men were local casual or cannery workers and the
women were housewives and local casual workers.
In the other 4 canneries in the southern area 75 percent of the men
and from 40 to 75 percent of the women were reported to be “steady
cannery workers.” The other men in all 4 plants and the women in
2 were migrants or local casual workers, but most of the remaining
women workers in the 2 other plants were housewives or daughters of
local workers, particularly of fishermen.




HOURS WORKED AND EARNINGS
The employment data relating to the single pay period in the active
canning season when one or more of the principal species of fish were
being packed were copied from the firms’ pay rolls by the Bureau’s
field investigators. They consisted of records of sex and occupation,
earnings received, and hours worked, for each individual employed in
the week.
Pay-roll records were quite complete in fish canneries; the week’s
earnings were reported for all workers, though hours worked were not
available for a small group of piece workers, a negligible proportion of
the total group. Women outnumbered men in the two-or-more-fish,
the salmon, and the tuna canneries, comprising from 52 to 68 percent
of the work force. In the sardine plants, however, where reduction
departments were of more importance, more than half (53 percent)
of the workers were men.
METHODS OF PAY

Among the conditions that affect earnings and hours of fish cannery
workers are methods of pay, State wage and hour regulations, and
wage provisions of union agreements.
Both machine and hand operations are found in fish canning, and
generally when the speed of an operation can be adjusted or set to a
machine the worker is paid a straight time rate. When an operation
is performed by hand and depends on the speed of the individual
worker, a piece rate—a specific amount for each unit of the product—
is paid in order to induce the worker to produce the maximum output
possible. Consequently, the proportion of workers paid time rates
or piece rates depends largely on the degree of mechanization utilized
in the canning process.
The practice of paying piece rates varied greatly in the firms visited.
Some paid piece rates for a particular operation, while others paid time
rates for the same operation but paid piece rates for a different one,
and a few canners paid all workers straight time rates regardless of
occupation. Generally the handwork operations paid for by piece
rates were hand packing and hand labeling in the Washington plants,
and cutting, cleaning, sorting, or hand packing in the California plants.
Machine operators, seamer men, retort men or cookers, keymen, and
the warehouse workers, except some hand labelers in Washington
plants, were largely men and were all paid on a time-rate basis.
Considering all workers combined for each type of cannery, only from
1 to 11 percent of the men but from 20 to 47 percent of the women were
piece workers.
STATE REGULATION OF WAGES AND HOURS

Both California and Washington have minimum-wage orders that
cover women employed in fish canneries. In California the Industrial




17

18

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Welfare Commission has set a rate of 33% cents an hour for experienced
workers and 28 cents for inexperienced workers. The learning period
for inexperienced workers is 3 weeks for those learning fancy packing
and 1 week for all others. A basic workweek of 8 hours a day and 48
a week was established, though fish cannery workers (other than
labelers and office workers) are permitted to work longer provided
they are paid extra for the overtime, the rates being 1% times the
minimum for over 8 and up to 12 hours and double the minimum for
more than 12 hours.
Workers in Washington fish canneries are exempt from the hour law
that provides for an 8-hour day in most other industries. However,
they do come within the scope of the 1937 wage order of the Industrial
Welfare Committee. This order provides for a minimum wage of 37%
cents an hour in the canning industries.
UNION-AGREEMENT WAGE PROVISIONS

Fish cannery workers in both California and Washington were quite
generally members of union organizations. Only two canners, both
in California, reported that all or part of their factory workers were
not union members. In Washington the lowest basic rates contained
in the union agreements in 1938 were 40 cents an hour for women and
55 cents an hour for men. Higher basic rates, ranging up to 80 cents,
were set for specific occupations.
In all but one of the California plants reporting, the minimum hourly
rates in the union agreements were 55 cents for women and 60 cents
for men. In the one exception minimum rates were stated to be 52%
cents for women and 57% cents for men. From these figures it is
readily seen that union minimum rates are materially higher than the
rates established by the State minimum-wage orders.
HOURS WORKED

Hour records were complete in all the canneries visited and were
recorded for all the workers for whom the week’s earnings were
reported except a very small number of piece workers, about 1 percent
of the total in California plants and 4 percent in the Washington
plants. The details in regard to hours worked are given in table V,
which shows the distribution of employees’ hours by product canned.
It is apparent from the tabulation that undertime was prevalent.
In each case more than half the employees had less than 40 hours of
work in the week. Much larger proportions of women than of men
worked a short week, due to the fact that keymen, maintenance and
custodial workers, and warehouse crews, comprised almost entirely
of men, are the steadier employees in the cannery and have work on
slack days as well as when fish are being processed.
Washington canneries, 1938 season.

The great majority of the salmon cannery employees, 72 percent of
the total, had less than 40 hours of work; in fact, as many as 36 percent
worked less than 20 hours. The next largest concentration occurred
at over 48 and under 56 hours, 11 percent of the total having a work­
week of this length. Nineteen employees, only one a woman, worked
60 and under 80 hours, none so long as 80. Sixty-eight percent of
the men and 74 percent of the women worked less than 40 hours;
35 and 37 percent, respectively, worked less than 20 hours.




HOURS AND EARNINGS

19

This irregularity or actual lack of work in the 1938 season is due in
some degree to the peculiar features of the natural runs of the major
varieties of salmon canned in the Puget Sound area, the “sockeye”
and “pink” salmons. The sockeye salmon moves in 4-year cycles
with the “big year” run occurring the year after leap year (the last
in 1937) and the small run the following year (1938). The pink
salmon moves in 2-year cycles, the maximum runs occurring in the
odd-numbered years and the minimum runs in the even years. With
the small runs of both varieties occurring in the same year, 1938, it is
to be expected that smaller amounts would be caught, consequently
less raw material would bo available to the canneries.
California canneries, 1939 season.

There was less undertime in the sardine canneries than in those
camiing other species of fish, but even in these plants more than half
of all employees had less than 40 hours of work. Only 41 percent of
the men but 67 percent of the women had such hours. A large pro­
portion of the men, 32 percent, worked longer than 56 hours; 4 per­
cent, over 80 hours. Almost one-tenth of the women worked 60 and
under 80 hours.
A short workweek prevailed in the tuna canneries, as 72 percent of
the entire group of employees, 53 percent of the men but 81 percent
of the women, worked less than 40 hours. As many as 40 percent of
the women worked less than 20 hours. Fifteen percent of the men
and 10 percent of the women exceeded 56 hours of work.
About four-fifths of the women in the plants canning two or more
species worked less than 40 hours; over two-fifths, less than 20 hours.
Less than 1 percent of the entire group of women worked as long as
48 hours. Fewer than one-half of the men, 46 percent, worked less
than 40 hours, but an important group, nearly one-fifth, worked 48
and including 56 hours, and one-sixth worked longer than 56 hours.
The short-time weeks in the California plants apparently are due to
fluctuations and sporadic landings of raw fish, as the 1939 canned
pack, based on the number of cases, was shown to be relatively large
by the Fishery Market News reports issued by the United States
Bureau of Fisheries.




Table

V.—Hours worked by men and by women in the pay-roll week recorded, by product canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938

to
o

Employees with hours worked reported

State and product

Percent who worked during the week—
Over 40,
Over 44,
Over 48,
Over 56, 50, under 80 hours
Under 20, under 30, under
and
20 hours 30 hours 40 hours 40 hours under 44 hours under 48 hours under 56 hours under 80 hours
44 hours
48 hours
56 hours
60 hours
over

California:
Sardines—total _

2,956

2,927

Men___
Women.
Tuna—total.

1,562
1,394
3,119

1, 540
1, 387
3,101

9.9
11.2
33.2

11.9
29.3
21.1

18.8
26.0
17.9

.6

6.2

1.4
.3

Men ________
Women_______
Two or more speciestotal____________

985
2,134

968
2,133

18.6
39.8

14.0
24. 2

19.9
16.9

.1

477
515

474
515

11.8

1.5

785

753

349
436

340
413

Men___
Women.
Washington:
Salmon—total.
Men
Women.




7.7

26.4

6.4

0.8

1.4

9.4
3.7

5.8
6.9
3.3

7.3

8.3

4.0

2.1

1.0

1.1

9.5
41.9

13.0

24.7
24.1

35.0
36.6

16.2
25.7

16.8

.8

0.2

16.5

2.9

4.1
10.4

5.3
4.1

2.0

5.8
2. 2
1.9

22.5
9.2
5.6

3.9

.1

10.9
5.0

4.1
.8

6.4
5.2

4.3
4.4

1.1

16.7

9.5
.4

3.2

.1

1.3

5.7
8.0

14.2
12.1

0.4
11.9
4.3

1.8
.2

1.1

1.5

11.0

11.5
10.7

5.3
.2

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Number Number
of em­
of plants ployees
Number

HOURS AND EARNINGS

21

HOURLY EARNINGS

Hourly earnings were computed for all employees for whom hours
worked were reported, and it is interesting to note, as given in table
VI, that in California relatively few workers, and the majority of them
learners, were paid less than the minimum rates contained in the
union agreements, and that average hourly earnings were higher than
such minimum rates.
In each type of cannery men had higher average earnings than
women, the difference ranging from 4.8 cents an hour in tuna canneries
to 11.8 cents in salmon canneries. Except for maintenance and
custodial workers in sardine canneries, keymen had the best hourly
earnings in each type of cannery. The average earnings of other occu­
pational groups varied considerably in the different types of plant.
Warehouse men ranked second in salmon canneries, maintenance
workers in those canning tuna and two or more species, and keymen in
sardine canneries. Preparers ranked third in the sardine plants and
those canning two or more species, cannery workers in salmon plants,
and warehouse workers in tuna canneries.
Washington canneries.

Women employed in salmon canneries averaged 46.9 cents an hour
in 1938. The largest group, 27 percent of the total, earned 42% cents
an hour, and only 8 percent earned less than 42 cents; none earned
less than 37% cents, the minimum rate set by the State Industrial
Welfare Committee. As many as one-third of the women earned 50
cents or more.
The average earnings of the men were 58.7 cents and the lowest
hourly earnings of any man were 50 cents. One-half of the total
group earned 55 and under 60 cents and nearly three-tenths (28
percent) earned more than this.
California canneries.

Earnings in the various California canneries were quite comparable;
men’s average hourly earnings were 63.1 cents in the tuna plants,
63.5 cents in sardine canneries, and 64.1 cents in those canning two or
more species. The average hourly earnings of women varied only
from 57.3 to 58.3 cents in the three cannery classes. In each of the
three the majority of both men and women had hourly earnings corre­
sponding to the minimum rates provided for in union agreements,
and substantial proportions had higher earnings.
From 51 percent of the women in plants canning two or more
species to 61 percent in sardine canneries and 72 percent in tuna
canneries had earnings of 55 cents an hour, and only 8, 15, and 3
percent, respectively, received less than 55 cents. The proportions
with earnings of more than 60 cents varied from 14 to 16 percent.
The heavy concentration of men’s hourly earnings was at 60 cents;
such an amount was earned by 52, 55, and'70 percent, respectivelv, of
the men canning two or more species, sardines, and tuna. Only onetenth or less of the men had earnings below 60 cents, and one-seventh
to nearly one-fourth earned 70 cents and over.
Almost all the workers who were paid less than the rates specified in
union agreements were learners, though in one plant a small group of
women employed in preparing tomatoes were paid 45 cents an hour.
This is 10 cents less than the minimum in the union agreement for
fish cannery women, but is higher than union rates agreed upon for
vegetable cannery women.




Table VI.—Hourly

earnings of men and of women in the pay-roll week recorded, by product canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938
California
Sardines

Hourly earnings

Number of employees__________ ________ ___
Employees with hours worked reported. _ _
Average earnings (mean)—cents____________

8
2,956
2, 927
60.6

Men

1,562
1,540
63.5

Tuna
Women

1,394
1,387
57.3

Total
9
3,119
3,101
59.8

Men

985
968
63.1

Two or more species
Women

2,134
2,133
58.3

Total
5
992
989
61.0

Men

477
474
64.1

Salmon

Women

Total

515
515
58.2

5
785
753
52.2

2.5
3.9
1.7
50.7
6.6
18.3
3.7
2.1
4.5
6.0

4.5
14.9
4.0
5.6
7.7
17.0
3.8
17.3
9.0
2.0
7.0
1.2
1.0
4.9

Men

Women

349
340
58.7

436
413
46.9

18.2
4.1
32.6
17.1
3.8
13.2
1.8
1.2
7.9

8.2
27.1
7.3
10.2
14.0
16.0
3.6
4.6
2.4
.5
1.9
.7
1.0
2.4

Percent of employees with earnings specified

55 cents...
_____ . __
...
. ___
56, under 60 cents_________________
__________
60 cents______ _____________________ _____ ____
61, under 65 cents ________________
65 cents_____________ ____ ______________
____
66, under 70 cents _________________ ___ ______
70 cents and over_______ ______ __ ________ _
1 Under 50 conts.




10.6
.1
7.0
29.5
5.0
32.1
6.0
2.7
3.1
13.9

0.6
.3
.8
7.5
54.7
8.9
3.8
4.1
19.4

0.6
.1
14.6
61.3
2.2
6.9
2.7
1.6
1.9
7.9

11.9
.7
.4
49.8
2.7
25.2
2.7
3.5
2.4
10.7

0.2
2.2
.3
.2
.1
70.1
3.1
7.7
2.0
14.0

2.6
.4
72.3
3.9
4.9
2.5
1.5
2.5
9.2

i1.6
6.2
.9
26.7
3.7
34.6
4.0
5.0
2.5
14.8

0.6
8.6
.6
.6
52.3
4.4
8.0
.4
24.3

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Total

Washington

HOURS AND EARNINGS

23

WEEK’S EARNINGS

Due to the extremely large proportions of employees who worked
undertime in the week recorded it might be expected that many would
have low earnings. It is important to show week’s earnings, as they
give some indication of what one may expect to receive in the busy
canning season.
As previously noted, from 21 to 51 percent of the men and from 41
to 64 percent of the women had less than 30 hours of work, definitely
not a full workweek.
Considering all employees regardless of time worked, average week’s
earnings of women amounted to $13.05 in salmon canneries, $15.15 in
those canning two or more species, $16.85 in tuna canneries, and
$20.55 in sardine canneries; men’s average week’s earnings were, re­
spectively $19.10, $27.25, $25.80, and $30.85 in the four types of
cannery.
However, significant numbers of workers were paid relatively small
amounts. The proportion of women who received less than $10 varied
from 10 percent in sardine canneries to 32 percent in tuna canneries
and 39 percent in salmon canneries. From 8 percent of the men in
sardine plants and those putting up two or more species, to 28 percent
in salmon canneries, had such low earnings.




Table

VII.

Week s earnings of men and of women in the pay-roll week recorded, by product canned—California 1939 and Washington 1938
California
Week’s earnings

Sardines

Number of plants__
Number of employees with week’s earnigs reported.
Average earnings (mean).

8
2,941
$25.95

Men

1,547
$30.85

Washington

Tuna
Women

1,394
$20.55

Total

Men

9
3,115
$19.65

981
$25.80

Two or more species
Women

2,134
$16. 85

Total

Men

5
975
$20. 85

460
$27. 25

Women

515
$15.15

Salmon
Total

Men

Women

5
785
$15. 75

349
$19.10

436
$13.05

16.3
18.1
19.1
16.8
12.2
7.0
4.7
2.8
1.7
.6

9.5
18.9
15.8
15.8
11.2
10.0
8.9
4.0
3.2
1.4

21.8
17.4
21.8
17.7
13.1
4.6
1.4
1.8
.5

.6

1.4

Percent of employees with earnings specified
Under $5_________
___
$5, under $10______ ...
$10, under $15. .
$15, under $20____ _ ..
$20, under $25._ ... ...
$25, under $30____________
$30, under $35. _____ ...
$35, under $40________ ____
$40, under $45______
______ __ _
$45, under $50___ . .
$50, under $55__________ .
$55 and over__ _ ______




3.1
5.5
13.3
16.5
16.6
11.4
8.5
8.9
6.0
4.3
2.1
3.8

2.5
5.4
6.7
11.5
13.1
11.4
11.5
10.9
8.5
7.2
4.0
7.2

3.8
5.7
20.6
22.0
20.4
11.3
5.2
6.7
3.2
1.0
.1

12.6
14.3
17.2
18.6
10.0
6.4
6.7
3.2
3.2
3.1
2.8
2.0

6.1
9.4
9.2
10.6
16.3
14.3
12.8
6.1
5.0
2.7
2.9
4.7

15.6
16.6
20.9
22.3
7.0
2.7
3.9
1.8
2.3
3.3
2.8
.8

4.0
19.4
8.9
16.8
23.5
9.5
6.4
3.9
3.0
1.9
1.0
1.6

3.3
4.6
6.5
12.6
21.7
16.5
12.8
6.7
5.4
4.1
2.2
3.5

4.7
32.6
11.1
20.6
25.0
3.3
.6
1.4
.8

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Total

to

HOURS AND EARNINGS

25

ANNUAL EARNINGS OF INDIVIDUAL WORKERS

A record of the year’s earnings in 1937 was obtained for a total of
11,185 employees, and for 87 percent of these the number of weeks
worked in the year was reported. Of the total with earnings reported,
54 percent were women and 46 percent were men. The year’s earnings
were extremely low in salmon and sardine canneries, due to the short
season for canning these species of fish, but even in the tuna plants
and those putting up two or more species there were relatively few
workers who earned the equivalent of $50 a month.
Men.

The proportion of men who had total earnings of $600 or more varied
from only 6 percent of the group in salmon plants and 8 percent in the
sardine plants to 20 percent in the tuna canneries and those packing
two or more species. In comparison, 56 percent in sardine canneries,
48 percent in salmon canneries, and 52 percent in tuna canneries and
those putting up more than one kind of fish had earnings of less than
$100.

A correlation of earnings and weeks worked shows that average
earnings of the large group who worked less than 4 weeks varied from
$13 to $18; of those who worked 4 and under 8 weeks, from $62.50 to
$74; and of those who worked 8 and under 12 weeks, from $120.50 to
$167.50. Only 15 men in salmon canneries worked so long as 36
weeks, and they averaged $891.50. In sardine canneries and in those
canning tuna and 2 or more varieties combined, men who worked 48
and under 52 weeks averaged respectively $1,181.50 and $1,144.50;
those who worked 52 weeks averaged $1,319.50 and $1,427.50,
respectively.
Women.

Year’s earnings of women were considerably lower than those of
men. Less than one-half of 1 percent of those in sardine and salmon
plants, but 17 percent in tuna plants and those canning two or more
species had earnings as high as $400. In fact, only 6 percent, 20
percent, and 36 percent, respectively, in the three classes earned as
much as $200 in the year.
The average year’s earnings of the large groups who worked under 4
weeks varied from $9 to $12, and for those who worked 4 and under
8 weeks the range was from $36 to $51.50. Only a few women in
sardine and salmon canneries worked as many as 24 weeks in the year,
and these groups averaged $251 and $214.50. In tuna canneries and
those putting up two or more varieties substantial proportions of the
women worked throughout the year; the group who worked 48 and
under 52 weeks averaged $744 and those who worked 52 weeks aver­
aged $872.50. The details in regard to the year’s earnings are given
in table VIII (A and B) following.




Table

VIII.— Year’s earnings of men and of women in 1987, by weeks worked and by 'product canned

to

05

A—MEN
Men who worked in the year—
4,
under
8
weeks

8,
under
12
weeks

12,
under
16
weeks

16,
under
20
weeks

20,
under
24
weeks

24,
under
28
weeks

28,
under
32
weeks

32,
under
36
weeks

36,
under
40
weeks

40,
under
44
weeks

44,
under
48
weeks

7
0. 6
«

5
0.4
«

14
1.2
«

10
0.9
0)

3
3
1

1
2
1
1

48,
under
52
weeks

52
weeks

California—Sardines
Number
1,593
1,136
Percent ______________ _____
100. 0
Average earnings (mean)
$189.00 $168.00
Under $25 ___ _________________
$25, under $50 _________
______
$50, under $100
$400, under $600

........ .................. .........

419
213
262
294
216
59
40
30
60

320
153
210
196
140
40
24
18
35

405
35. 7
$18.00
293
89
22
1

270
141
93
65
23.8
12.4
8.2
5.7
$70.50 $139. 50 $196. 50 $260.00
23
56
153
36
2

1
5
31
89
14
1

3
1
1
53
32
2
1

1
2
11
48
3

37
3.3
«
1
1
3
26
5

29
2. 6
P)

24
2.1
0)

1
12
9
7

2
5
11
5

1
3
5
5

19
1. 7
0)

1

(0

17
1.5

1

1
4
14

16

406
212
159
96
93
71
63
64
52
74
95
208
15.2
7.9
6.0
3. 6
3.5
2.7
2. 4
2.4
1.9
2.8
3. 6
7.8
$62. 50 $120.50 $187.00 $245. 50 $311.00 $380.00 $463.00 $549. 50 $611. 00 $761. 50 $874. 50 $1,144. 50

169
6 3
$1,427. 50

1

1

6
3

California—-Tuna and two or more species
Number_____

__ ___ ___ __

Average earnings (mean)
Under $25 ________________________
$25, under $50 .......... .............. ............
$50, under $100 _________ _______
$100, under $200
_
$400, under $600
$600, under $800___________________
$800, under $1,000____




3,063
2,669
100.0
$314. 50 $332.00
941
337
325
346
315
190
166
138
305

830
283
273
282
263
161
152
133
292

907
34.0
$13.00
768
125
13
1

55
138
164
43
5

1

6
18
67
95
26

1
2
23
75
52
5
1

4
34
50
6
1
1

2
19
52
17
2
1

8
40
13
9
1

5
21
25
8
2
2

2
10
33
19

6
23
17
3
3

1
20
27
15
11

13
30
36
16

4
31
52
121

2
7
22
138

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Year’s earnings

Men
Total
with
weeks
men
worked Under
em­
ployees
4
re­
ported weeks

W ashington—Salmon
Number_______________
Percent---- ------------------Average earnings (mean).
Under $25___________________
$25, under $50_______________
$50, under $100---------------------$100, under $200-------------------$200, under $400-------------------$400, under $600-------------------$600 and over________________

529
100.0
$182.00 $182. 00

111
21.0
$15. 00

128
49
75
119
93
33
32

95
10
5

529

128
49
75
119
93
33
32

1

46
135
155
8.7
25.5
29.3
$74.00 $167. 50 $279. 00
29
32
54
37
2
1

4
7
16
71
36
1

9
31
6

20
3.8
(0

23
4.3
0)

14
2.6
0)

7
1.3
0)

3
0.6
©

7
1.3
(0

2
0.4
0)

2
0.4
0)

1
12
6
1

1
8
13
1

3
2
9

2
5

3

1
6

1
1

2

C1)

4
0.8

4




HOURS AND EARNINGS

• Not computed' base too small. For the small groups working 20 or more weeks in sardine canneries, average earnings ranged from $324 for the group with the least employment
to just over $1,300 for that with the most. For the small groups working 16 or more weeks in salmon canneries, average eammgs ranged from $352 for the group with the least em­
ployment to almost $1,200 for that with the most.

to

-4

Table

VIII.

Year s earnings of men and of women in 1937, by weeks worked and by product canned—Continued

to

QC

B.—WOMEN

Year’s earnings

Women who worked in the year—
4,
under
8
weeks

8,
under
12
weeks

12,
under
16
weeks

16,
under
20
weeks

20,
under
24
weeks

24,
under
28
weeks

28,
under
32
weeks

32,
under
36
weeks

36,
under
40
weeks

40,
under
44
weeks

44,
under
48
weeks

48,
under
52
weeks

52 weeks

298
219
185
178
205
193
278
170
104
198
7.6
5.6
4.7
4.5
5.2
4.9
7.1
4.3
2.6
5.0
$72. 00 $119.00 $171.00 $224. 00 $278. 50 $315. 50 $378. 50 $405. 50 $514. 50 $574.00

215
5.5
$744.00

42
1.1
$872.50

16
38
79
56
26

10
4
13
14

California—Sardines
Number_______________
Percent_______ __
Average earnings (mean) _ _
Under $25_____________
$25, under $50 __ _____ _
$50, under $100____
$100, under $200______
$200, under $400 __
$400, under $600 ____

1,187
$71.00

981
100.0
$74.00

365
37.2
$12.00

224
22.8
$51. 50

472
137
219
284
74
1

368
127
183
232
70
1

325
37
3

34
73
111
6

131
105
89
43
13.4
10.7
9.1
4.4
$88.00 $141. 50 $181.50 $193. 50
9
15
55
52

12
84
9

10
1.0
0)

8
0.8
0)

5
0.5
C1)

1
0.1
0)

3
7

2
6

3
2

1

2
58
29

2
24
16
1

California—Tuna and two or more species
Number________
4,324
3, 92$
Percent________________
100.0
Average earnings (mean)______ $194.00 $204. 50
Under $25 _______ _.
$25, under $50. _____
$50, under $100
_
$100, under $200 _________
$200, under $400. ______
$400, under $600
$600, under $800 ____
$800, under $1,000 _
$1,000 and over___.................




1,389
482
399
507
810
406
202
84
45

1,240
404
346
446
761
401
202
84
44

1,105
28.1
$9.00

538
13.7
$36.00

1,026
78
1

197
221
113
7

16
88
132
61
1

1
14
67
124
13

2
23
110
50

1
8
62
103
4

2
47
139
14
3

23
141
28
1

10
151
112
5

1
79
84
5
1

32
41
26
3
2

36
70
79
11
2

1

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

Women
Total
with
women weeks
worked
Under
em­
ployees
4
re­
ported weeks

Washington—Salmon
Number
489
489
Percent_____________________
100.0
Average earnings (mean)_._ __ $114.00 $114.00
Under $25___ _____........................... .
$25, under $50_ ________________ .
$50, under $100 _____ _____ _____
$100, under $200 ____ ____ _____
$200, under $400_............ .............
$400, under $600____________

116
44
72
157
98
2

116
44
72
157
98
2

76
15.5
$11.50
70
5
1

123
148
57
25.2
30.3
11.7
$48. 00 $128.50 $191.00
40
36
35
12

5
3
34
95
11

30
6.1
C1)

18
3.7
(l)

32
6.5
0)

2
0.4
0)

1
0.2
0)

5
23
1

3
15

14
17
1

2

1

0)

2
0.4

1
28
27

2

/ i JESS'

cortiptited;
base too 8small.
For the
small
groups
working
24for
or more
in sardine
canneries,
average
earnings
ranged
from16$229
for the
group
the canneries,
least employment
(and $224.50
for a few working
weeks longer
than
those)
to almost
$400
1 withweeks
the most
employment.
For
the small
groups
working
or more
weeks
in with
salmon
average
earnings ranged from $234 for the group with the least employment (and $204 for as many as 32 working 8 weeks longer than those) to just over $300 for 2 who worked practically all

HOURS AND EARNINGS




to

SO

30

EARNINGS AND HOURS IN FISH CANNERIES

LABOR COSTS
In the foregoing the amounts paid to individual employees have
been shown, but what does the labor bill mean to the canner in
relation to his total cost of production? In the supplemental survey
in California in 1939, data on costs of production were requested
from each canner, and wherever total costs and labor costs were
available from firm records without making original computations,
these records were copied for the years 1937, 1938, and 1939. Such
data were available for 1 or more of the years in 12 plants, and though
some cannery costs may vary from year to year or even over relatively
short periods, these records may be regarded as indicative of the
relation of labor costs to total costs.
The proportion labor costs were of total costs varied from 13.6
percent to 23.1 percent in five sardine canneries in 1937, and from
13.2 percent to 20.3 percent in six plants in 1938. Cost data for 1939
were not available in the sardine canneries at the time of the study.
In six plants canning tuna or two or more species, labor costs
varied only from 11.3 percent to 15.5 percent of the total costs in
1937, from 11 percent to 14.6 percent in 1938, and in four of the
plants from 10.2 percent to 14.9 percent in 1939.
That labor costs are relatively low in fish canning, as shown by
these figures, is substantiated by a United States Tariff Commission
report on tuna fish which makes the statement that “the largest
single item in the cost of canned tuna is the price paid for raw fish,
and this is also the most variable item. The next largest item is
that for other materials, the greater part of which consists of the cost
of tin cans. The cost of labor in canning and packing is a relatively
small item * *
4

TUNA CANNING IN HAWAII
Japanese fishermen in their sampans set out to sea from Honolulu
and Hilo in search of tuna for the canneries in these two cities. The
canning of tuna in these plants in Hawaii is a relatively new enter­
prise and in 1939 the two canneries were under one management.
Both cannery operatives and fishermen are chiefly of Japanese extrac­
tion. The canneries are modern, well-equipped plants and similar
to the best canneries on the mainland in their methods and conditions
of processing. In 1938 their total pack, of less than 200,000 cases,
consisted of the darker varieties of tuna. Albacore were not canned.
The cannery workers were paid on an hourly basis and rates were
decidedly lower than on the mainland. In Honolulu the basic rate
for men was 35 cents an hour and for women 20 cents an hour for
trimmers, 22 cents for packers, 25 cents for slicing-machine operators,
22 to 30 cents for processors, 25 and 30 cents for warehouse girls,
and 30 and 35 cents for foreladies. In Hilo the basic rate for men
was 20 cents, for women 18 cents.
Tuna is canned throughout the year. It is fairly heavy from
April 15 through November, but the greater part of the product is
processed from the middle of June to the end of September. At
other periods the cannery operations are spasmodic and employment
is very irregular. A sampan or two of tuna at the wharf starts up
the cannery for a few hours, and when the load is processed the
cannery closes operations until another sampan comes in.
4 U. S. Tariff Commission.
series, 1936. p. 13.




Report to the United States Senate on Tuna Fish.

O

Report No. 109, second