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U N IT E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T OF L A B O R
Frances Perkins, Secretary
B U R E A U OF L A B O R ST A T IS T IC S
Isador Lubin, Commissioner (on leave)
A . F. Hinrichs, Acting Commissioner
+
Earnings and Hours in the
Paperboard Industry
+
Prepared by the
DIVISIO N OF W A G E A N D H O U R STA T IST IC S
o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics
Bulletin 7^o. 692
U N IT E D ST A T E S
G O V E R N M E N T P R IN T IN G OFFICE
W A S H IN G T O N : 1941
For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, Washington, D . C.
Price 10 cents
U N IT E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T OF LABOR
F
ran ces
P
e r k in s,
Secretary
+
B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S
I sador L u b in , Commissioner (on leave)
A. F. H inrich s , Acting Commissioner
Donald Davenport, Chief, Em ploy
ment and Occupational Outlook
Branch
Henry J. Fitzgerald, Chief, Business
Management Branch
Hugh S. Hanna, Chief, Editorial and
Research
C H IE F S
OF
Herman B. Byer, Construction and
Public Employment
J. M . Cutts, Wholesale Prices
W . Duane Evans, Productivity and
Technological Developments
Swen Kjaer, Industrial Accidents
John J. Mahaney, Machine Tabula
tion
Robert J. Myers, Wage and Hour
Statistics
II
Ary ness Joy, Chief, Prices and Cost
of Living Branch
N . Arnold Tolies, Chief, Working
Conditions and Industrial Relations
Branch
Sidney W . Wilcox, Chief Statistician
D I V IS IO N ’S
Florence Peterson, Industrial Relations
Charles F. Sharkey Labor Law In
formation
Boris Stern, Labor Information Service
Stella Stewart, Retail Prices
Lewis E . Talbert, Employment Sta
tistics
Em m ett H . Welch, Occupational Out
look
Faith M . Williams, Cost of Living
CONTENTS
Summary_______________________________________________________________________
Scope and method of survey__________________________________________________
Definition of industry____________________________________________________
Description of industry___________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings_______________________________________________________
Methods of wage payment_______________________________________________
Earnings of all workers___________________________________________________
Differences due to variations in skill____________________________________
Regional differences______________________________________________________
Earnings in union and nonunion plants_________________________________
Influence of size of community, size of plant, and product on hourly
earnings_________________________________________________________________
Earnings in relation to the minimum-wage rate established by the
Administrator of the Fair Labor Standards A c t_____________________
Occupational differences__________________________________________________
Earnings of machine tenders_____________________________________________
Overtime earnings________________________________________________________
Weekly hours__________________________________________________________________
Weekly earnings_______________________________________________________________
Historical comparisons________________________________________________________
Page
1
2
2
3
6
6
6
8
8
10
12
13
13
24
26
26
28
29
T a b le s
T able 1.— Number of plants and workers included in survey of the paperboard industry, by region and State, November-December
1939_____________________________________________________________
2. — Average hourly earnings of workers in paperboard industry, by
region and skill, November-December 1939__________________
3. — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by
average hourly earnings, region, and skill, N ovem ber-D e
cember 1939____________________________________________________
4. — Distribution of paperboard plants by average hourly earnings
and region, November-December 1939_______________________
5. — Average hourly earnings in the paperboard industry, by region,
unionization, and skill, November-December 1939___________
6. — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by
average hourly earnings, skill, and unionization, N ovem berDecember 1939_________________________________________________
7. — Distribution of workers in the paperboard industry, by aver
age hourly earnings, region, skill, and occupation____________
8. — Distribution of machine tenders in paperboard industry, by
average hourly earnings, product, region, and width of ma
chine, November-December 1939______________________________
hi
4
7
7
9
11
12
14
25
IV
CONTENTS
Page
T a b le 9.— Average actual weekly hours of workers in paperboard industry,
by region and skill, November-December 1939______________
10. — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by
actual weekly hours and region, November-December 1939_ _
11. — Average weekly earnings of workers in paperboard industry, by
region and skill, November-December 1939__________________
12. — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by
weekly earnings and region, November-December 1939____
13. — Average hourly earnings, weekly hours, and weekly earnings of
selected occupations in the paperboard industry, 1925 and
1939_____________________________________________________________
27
27
28
29
30
Letter o f Transmittal
U
n it e d
S tates D
B
epartm en t
ureau
of
L
of
abor
L abor,
S t a t is t ic s ,
Washington , D . C., June 15 , 1941-
The S e c r e t a r y o f L a b o r :
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on earnings and
hours in the paperboard industry. The report was prepared in the
Division of Wage and Hour Statistics, in response to a request of the
Wage and Hour Division.
A. F. H
Hon.
F
ran ces
P
in r ic h s,
e r k in s,
Secretary of Labor .
Acting Commissioner.
PR EFAC E
This bulletin presents the results of the Bureau’s second survey of
earnings and hours in the paperboard industry, the first study having
been made in 1925. The earlier survey, although limited to the
“ paper boxboard industry,” embraced substantially the same class of
establishments as that covered by the present report.
The survey was made at the request of the Wage and Hour Division,
to supply information for the use of an industry committee which was
appointed to recommend a minimum-wage rate for the pulp, paper,
and paperboard industries.
The Bureau is indebted to the many manufacturers who have
supplied the confidential information upon which this report is based.
Without the cordial cooperation of these employers, the task would
have been impossible. Thanks are due also to the officials of the
National Paperboard Association who volunteered a wealth of valuable
information and sound advice.
This report was prepared by H. E. Riley, with the assistance of
Dorothy S. Smith and Samuel E. Cohen.
V II
B u lletin 7\Lo. 692 o f the
U n ited States B u rea u o f Labor Statistics
Earnings an d H o u r s
in t h e
Paperboard Industry
Summary
This bulletin presents the results of a survey of earnings and hours
in the paperboard industry. The survey was made by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics during the last 2 months of 1939. Average hourly
earnings for all employees in the industry, exclusive of extra payments
for overtime work, were found to be 59.8 cents. Regional differences
in earnings were quite substantial, the averages ranging from 73.8
cents an hour in the Pacific States to 51.6 cents in the South.
Wage levels were generally higher in union than in nonunion estab
lishments. For the country as a whole, hourly earnings averaged 63.1
cents in union plants, as compared with 57.7 cents in nonunion plants.
The workweek averaged 42.6 hours for the industry as a whole.
Weekly hours averaged 43.7 in the Northeast, 41.8 in the South, 42.5
in the Midwest, and 40.0 in the Pacific region.
Weekly earnings, exclusive of extra overtime pay, averaged $26.45
in the northeastern region, $21.60 in the southern region, $26.48 in the
midwestern region, and $29.51 in the Pacific region. With the addi
tion of extra payments for overtime, the respective averages of weekly
earnings were $27.54, $22.29, $27.60, and $30.55.
The data were obtained through a field survey, which was made by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics during November and December 1939.
Field representatives visited the selected plants to interview plant
officials and copy the required pay-roll records.
The survey covered 16,332 wage earners, employed in 134 estab
lishments, representing approximately 50 percent of the industry.
In selecting the plants to be scheduled, consideration was given to
significant characteristics of the industry, including type of product,
geographical location, corporate affiliation, size of mill, size of com
munity, and unionization.
The data on average hourly earnings cover all wage earners in
each plant, including working foremen and factory clerks, but ex
cluding the higher grades of plant supervisors and the central-office
employees. For each person scheduled, the Bureau obtained the
occupational description, sex, color, and method of wage payment,
together with the number of hours worked and the total earnings
400300°—41---- 2
1
2
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
for one pay-roll period.1 Earnings at regular rates of pay were
separated from payments at extra rates for overtime work.2 This
separation was made at the request of the Wage and Hour Division
in order that the figures might be of more value to the industry
committee which was to make a minimum-wage recommendation for
the industry under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Unless otherwise
noted, the data shown include only earnings at regular rates of pay.
However, an analysis of total earnings including extra payments
for overtime is also shown in this report.
For practically all plants, the pay-roll period covered fell within
the months of November or December 1939. In three establishments
the survey included figures for periods prior to October 24, 1939, the
date on which the 30-cent hourly minimum-wage rate became effective
under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The data
show, however, that the adjustment to the 30-cent minimum required
little if any change in the wage structures of these particular plants.
Scope and Method of Survey
Definition of Industry
As defined for the purpose of this survey, the paperboard industry
includes the manufacture of container boards, boxboards, building
boards and papers, felt papers, and related products. The survey
also included the preparation of pulp from waste paper, straw, and
rags, but it did not cover those departments in which wood-pulping
operations were performed. The first processing of waste paper,
straw, and rags for paperboard purposes is usually done in the paperboard mill, and, consequently, it forms an integral part of paperboard manufacture. Most of the wood pulp used, however, is sup
plied by independent pulp mills, as few of the board plants engage
in the primary pulping operations on this raw material. For this
reason the wood-pulp departments that were found occasionally
among the plants scheduled were excluded from the coverage.
Some of the establishments scheduled also made various types of
paper in addition to paperboard, and some produced asbestos board
and similar materials. The workers involved in the making of prod
ucts other than paperboard were excluded from the coverage in all
except a few plants, where the paper or asbestos-board operations
could not be segregated.
Many paperboard establishments were found to be engaged in
converting operations, involving the manufacture of such products
i Only 22 females were employed (exclusive of central-office employees) at the time of the survey by the
plants scheduled.
aAt the time of the survey, the Fair Labor Standards Act required the payment of time and a half for
time worked beyond 42 hours per week, but a number of the plants paid extra rates for time worked beyond
40 hours per week.
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
3
as folding boxes, set-up boxes, corrugated and solid-fiber shipping
containers, cans, tubes, and cones. Employees in the converting
departments were also excluded from the survey.
Description o f Industry
Information is not available to furnish a comprehensive picture of
the paperboard industry, as defined in this bulletin. The reports of
the United States Census of Manufactures covering number of wage
earners employed, volume of wage payments, cost of materials, and
similar items, combine the manufacture of paperboard with the
manufacture of paper. Some evidence as to the significance of the
paperboard industry may be obtained, however, from the detailed
census tabulation of volume and value of paper and paperboard,
respectively. According to the latest report of the Census of Manu
factures, the total United States production of paper and paperboard
in 1939 amounted to 13,493,476 short tons, valued at $847,276,506.
Of this output, paperboard accounted for 6,104,968 tons, or nearly
half the volume of product. Since paperboard has a lower average
value per ton than paper, the output of paperboard accounted for
only $248,578,602, or about 30 percent of the combined value of
product. The principal types of paperboard manufactured in 1939,
according to the census report, were as follows:
Quantity
Container board s. _____..to n s ___ 3, 361,441
Folding boxboards--------- __do____ 1, 359, 961
Set-up boxboards_______ __do____
865, 485
. d o ____
79, 474
Bristol boa rd___
W allboard and related products
ton s___
114, 505
Cardboard_______
d o ___
58, 874
28, 054
Binder’s board__________ __d o____
Leatherboard. _ . . .
.d o _ _
25, 714
Pressboard _______ —
do __
7,619
203, 841
Other boards . . .
— . . d o ____
Value
$118,
60,
30,
8,
5,
4,
1,
1,
1,
14,
201,691
868, 626
109, 385
989, 582
554,
840,
760,
978,
328,
946,
534
432
450
283
645
974
In view of the fact that the selection of plants to be scheduled was
made in such a way as to obtain a representative cross section of the
industry, a description of the characteristics of the establishments
surveyed will indicate the outstanding features of the industry, in
addition to those revealed by the census data.
As shown by table 1, the paperboard industry is widely distributed
throughout the United States. In terms of wage earners scheduled,
Michigan is the most important State, with 9.9 percent of the total.
Next in size is Louisiana, with 9.2 percent of the workers covered.
Of almost equal importance are the States of New York, Illinois,
New Jersey, and Ohio.
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
4
T a b l e
1. —
N u m b er o f 'plants and workers includ ed in su rvey o f the paperboard
in d u s tr y , by region and S ta te, N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 8 9
Number of
plants
Region and State
United States
_
____ _
______________
Workers
Number
Percentage
134
16,332
100.0
57
11
7
11
16
7
30.5
4.8
3.8
8.5
8.9
3.4
1.1
5
4,990
780
617
1,392
1,460
563
178
Southern region____________________________________________
Florida _________________ __________________________
Louisiana_____________________________________________
Maryland ____________________________________________
Tennessee ___________________________________________
Other States * ________________________________________
23
3
5
3
3
9
3,958
847
1,501
289
230
1,091
24.3
5.2
9.2
1.8
1.4
6. 7
Midwestern region
______________________________________
Illinois__________________________ ____________________
Indiana _____________________________________________
Michigan______________________________________________
Ohio
_____________________________________________
Other States 3__________________________________________
45
10
7
7
12
9
6,412
1,406
765
1,614
1, 349
1, 278
39.2
8.6
4. 7
9.9
8.2
7.8
Pacific region _____________________________________________
Aliforma
Other States 4__________________________________________
9
6
3
972
693
279
6.0
4.3
Massachusetts______________________ _________________
New Jersey___________________________________________
New York __________________________________________
Pennsylvania ____ _ ________________________________
Other States 1 ________________________________________
1 In c lu d e s 2
2 In c lu d e s 2
C a r o lin a , a n d
3 In c lu d e s 2
4 In c lu d e s 1
1 .7
p la n t s in M a in e a n d 3 p la n t s in N e w H a m p s h ir e .
p la n t s in V ir g in ia , 1 i n W e s t V ir g in ia , 1 in A la b a m a , 1 in A r k a n s a s , 1 in G e o r g ia , 1 in N o r t h
2 in S o u t h C a r o lin a .
p la n t s in Io w a , 1 in K a n s a s , 2 in M in n e s o t a , 1 in M is s o u r i, a n d 3 in W is c o n s in .
p la n t in O re g o n a n d 2 p la n t s in W a s h in g t o n .
M ost of the establishments in the paperboard industry are relatively
small in size, as measured by the number of workers employed. On
the basis of average monthly employment during 1939, including all
the wage earners in each plant, 3 of the mills scheduled had fewer than
21 employees, 23 had from 21 to 50, 25 had from 51 to 100, 39 had
from 101 to 250, 17 had from 251 to 500, 19 had from 501 to 1,000, and
8 had from 1,000 to 2,500 wage earners. It will be observed that over
two-thirds of the plants employed less than 250 wage earners each.
Although the single-plant company predominates in the paperboard
industry, there are a number of important producers with two or more
plants. Several large companies have mills located in nearly every
important producing area. M any of these establishments are also
substantial producers of converted paper and paperboard products.
The majority of the paperboard plants are located in relatively small
communities. Over half (72) of the establishments surveyed were in
communities of less than 50,000 population; 39 plants were found in
places of under 10,000 population. Of the remaining mills, 18 were
in communities of 50,000 to 250,000, 15 in places of 250,000 to 500,000,
9 in communities of 500,000 to 1,000,000, and 20 in metropolitan areas
of 1,000,000 and over. Only 2 of the plants in places of 500,000 and
over were situated in the South.
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
5
Of the 134 establishments covered by the survey, 71 had neither
pulp-making nor converting departments, 14 made wood pulp but
did no converting, 45 did not have pulp departments but were engaged
in converting, while only 4 plants had both wood-pulp mills and con
verting departments.
A complete classification of the plants by type of product cannot be
made, because of the fact that a large proportion of these establish
ments produce several types of paperboard. On the basis of available
information, about four-fifths of the plants scheduled may be classi
fied as engaged primarily in the production of a single type of paperboard. Of this number, 6 made wallboard; 15 made fiberboard for
shoes, chair seats, wastebaskets, etc.; 16 mills produced boards of
various thicknesses in which wood pulp was the chief raw material;
47 mills reported their principal products to be various types of chip
board and newsboard made of waste paper; 9 establishments made
strawboard, chiefly for corrugating; and 16 manufactured felts for
roofing and similar purposes. The remaining 25 plants could not
be classified or did not report which of several products constituted the
bulk of their output. The manufacture of most of the products was
found to be widely distributed geographically. However, the manu
facture of strawboard was found to be confined almost entirely to the
Midwest, and the manufacture of fiberboard, especially shoe board, was
found to be concentrated in the northeastern region.
Union organization is fairly extensive in the paperboard industry.
Of the 134 plants surveyed, 48, or about one-third, had agreements
with nationally affiliated unions. The proportion of wage earners
employed in plants having agreements ranged from 22.2 percent of
the total number scheduled in the northeastern region to virtually
100 percent of those scheduled in the Pacific States. Union plants
employed 36.4 percent of the wage earners covered in the southern
region and 49.1 percent of those scheduled in the midwestern area.
The most important labor organizations in the industry are the
International Brotherhood of Paper Makers and the International
Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers, both of
which are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. These
organizations frequently negotiate joint agreements with employers.
In some areas, particularly in the Pacific States, the negotiations
are conducted with associations of employers. The International
Union of United Paper, N ovelty and T oy Workers (C. I. O.) also has
jurisdiction over the industry and has negotiated a few agreements
covering paperboard workers. A few plants were found to have
agreements with labor organizations commonly identified with other
industries. Both A. F. of L. and C. I. O. affiliates were included
among these organizations.
6
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Average Hourly Earnings
Methods o f Wage Payment
A m ajority of the workers in the paperboard industry are paid
straight hourly rates. Of the 134 establishments surveyed, 100 em
ployed this method exclusively. This total included 33 of the 48
union and 67 of the 86 nonunion plants. Among the remaining 34
establishments, 12 employed piece workers, 20 had some form of
production-bonus system, and 2 combined piece-rate and bonus
systems. In no instance, however, were all of the employees hi a plant
under a piece-rate or bonus method of wage payment. For the most
part, piece workers made up only a small proportion of the labor
force in establishments which did employ that system. Of the plants
with piece-rate or bonus systems, 15 were union and 19 were non
union.
Only 2.8 percent of the workers scheduled were paid piece rates.
The piece workers were found in small numbers in several occupa
tions, and did not exceed 15 percent of the total number scheduled
in any occupational group. About one-tenth of the workers received
some bonus earnings during the pay-roll period surveyed. These
employees were likewise scattered throughout the labor force, some
of them being found in nearly every occupational group.
None of the establishments scheduled had shift differentials in
wage rates, although 3-shift operation was reported by 103 of the
134 plants covered by the survey.
Earnings o f A ll Workers
The hourly earnings of all wage earners scheduled averaged 59.8
cents at the time of the survey. (See table 2.) As shown by table
3, however, the earnings of individual employees were widely dis
persed, ranging from less than 32.5 cents to more than $1.10 an hour.
Over three-fifths of the workers (61.9 percent) received hourly earn
ings within the 25-cent range between 42.5 and 67.5 cents an hour.
One-eighth of the workers (12.7 percent) averaged less than 42.5
cents, but fewer than 2 percent of the total were paid less than 35
cents an hour. A t the opposite extreme, one-fourth of the workers
scheduled averaged 67.5 cents or more, a considerable number receiv
ing better than $1 an hour.
7
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
T
able
2 . — A verage h ou rly earnings o f w orkers in paperboa rd in d u s tr y , b y region
and sk ill} N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 3 9
A ll
w o rk e rs
R e g io n
S e m i
s k ille d
S k ille d
U n s k ille d
A v e r a g e h o u r ly e a r n in g s 1
U n i t e d S t a t e s ................................................... .................. ...........................................................
$ 0 .5 9 8
$ 0 .7 8 9
$ 0 . 597
$ 0 . 5 16
N o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n .............................................................................................................
S o u t h e r n r e g i o n ___________________________________ _______ ___________________
M i d w e s t e r n r e g i o n _______________________ __________________________________
P a c i f i c r e g i o n ..................................................................................................................................
.6 0 6
.5 1 6
.6 2 2
.7 3 8
.7 6 8
.7 8 7
.7 8 7
.9 2 0
.5 9 4
.5 2 9
.6 2 4
.7 2 4
.5 3 0
.4 0 8
.5 5 2
.6 5 5
N u m b e r o f w o rk e rs
U n i t e d S t a t e s ..............................................................................................................................
N o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n ......................................... ........................ ...........................................
S o u t h e r n r e g i o n _____________________________ _________________________________
M i d w e s t e r n r e g i o n . _______________ ____________ ____________________________
P a c i f i c r e g i o n . ........................................................................................................................... ...
1 6 ,3 3 2
3 ,4 5 7
4 ,6 4 3
8 ,2 3 2
4 ,9 9 0
3 ,9 5 8
6 ,4 1 2
972
1 ,1 6 9
7 17
1 ,3 4 8
223
1 ,4 6 1
1 ,1 6 2
1 ,7 3 0
290
2 ,3 6 0
2 ,0 7 9
3 ,3 3 4
459
P e rce n ta g e o f w o rk e rs
U n i t e d S t a t e s .............................................................................................................................. ...
1 0 0 .0
2 1 .2
2 8 .4
5 0 .4
N o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n _______________________________________________________
S o u t h e r n r e g i o n . . ________________________________________________________ _
M i d w e s t e r n r e g i o n . __________ ______________________________________________
P a c i f i c r e g i o n .................. ........................ ............... .......................................................................
1000
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
2 3 .4
1 8 .1
2 1 .0
2 2 .9
2 9 .3
2 9 .4
2 7 .0
2 9 .8
4 7 .3
5 2 .5
5 2 .0
4 7 .3
i Excluding extra overtime payments.
T
able
3 . — Percentage d istribu tion o f w orkers in paperboard in d u stry , b y average
h ou rly ea rn in g s, reg ion , and skill, N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 3 9
United States
Southern region
0.1
0)
.8
0.2
.1
.8
1.2
4.1
1.3
.7
7.8
4.4
6.8
6.3
.4
.4
4.3
0.1
1.8~
42.5 and under 47.5 cents..
47.5 and under 52.5 cents..
52.5 and under 57.5 cents. .
57.5 and under 62.5 cents. .
62.5 and under 67.5 cents..
9.5
13.9
14.4
13.2
10.9
1.8
3.4
5.4
7.0
9.2
9.3
12.1
16.4
16.3
14.6
12.9
19.5
17.3
14.1
9.5
8.7
17.4
20.6
14.0
9.9
67.5 and under 72.5 cents..
72.5 and under 77.5 cents..
77.5 and under 82.5 cents..
82.5 and under 87.5 cents..
87.5 and under 92.5 cents..
7.7
5.0
3.1
2.9
1.9
12.3
10.5
9.8
11.2
7.5
11.5
6.6
3.2
1.6
.8
3.5
1.7
.2
.2
.1
92.5 and under 100.0 cents.
100.0 and under 110.0 cents..
110.0 cents and over_____
1.7
1.6
1.5
6.9
6.9
7.2
.7
.4
.1
0)
0)
0)
2.8
.8
16.3
9.7
11.7
0.4
.1
.7
0.6
.l
2.8
4.3
10.5
5.0
1. 5
29.3
16.0
16.2
1.4
6.4
4.0
6.2
9.8
6.8
11.7
22.0
20.6
14.9
13.6
26.4
27.8
13.8
6.7
17.6
10.5
7.2
4.3
3.3
3.9
4.5
9.5
9.8
8.8
24.0
18.8
12. 1
7.1
5.2
18.5
8.0
3.7
.9
.4
7.6
4.6
3.0
2.5
1.9
16. 5
11.0
9.9
8.6
6.5
10.1
4.7
2.1
1.4
.8
1.7
1.4
0)
.1
.3
3.3
2.0
1.3
2.2
1.6
10.3
6.3
2.9
8.5
8.5
4.9
2.4
2.3
2.0
.3
1.6
1.6
1.2
6.2
6.5
5.1
.4
.3
.1
.2
1.7
1.8
1.9
7.1
8.2
10.5
1.5
1.0
.1
Unskilled
.2
3.8
0.6
.8
.8
5.8
Skilled
Unskilled
0.7
.4
4.2
2.6
4.8
Semiskilled
Unskilled
Under 32.5 cents________
32.5 and under 35.0 cents—
35.0 and under 37.5 cents—
37.5 and under 40.0 cents..
40.0 and under 42.5 cents. _
Skilled
Semiskilled
<
Average hourly earnings
Semiskilled,
<
Skilled
!
j
Northeastern region
’ o.’ i
—
<
Total...................... 100.0 100.0 1100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
i Less than Ho of 1 percent.
0)
.3
.1
.1
—
100.0
8
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
3 . — P ercentage d istribu tion o f w orkers in pa perboard in d u s tr y , b y average
h o u rly ea rn in g s, reg io n , and skill, N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 8 9 — Continued
T a b l e
M i d w e s t e r n r e g io n
P a c i f i c r e g io n
A v e r a g e h o u r ly e a r n in g s
A ll
S k ille d
S e m i
s k ille d
0 .1
U n
s k ille d
A ll
S k ille d
S e m i
s k ille d
U n
s k ille d
0 .2
U n d e r 3 2 .5 c e n
3 2 .5 a n d u n d e r
3 5 .6 a n d u n d e r
3 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
4 6 .0 a n d u n d e r
t s _______________
3 5 .0 c e n t s ____
3 7 .5 c e n t s ____
4 6 .6 c e n t s ___
4 2 .5 c e n t s ___
4 2 .5
4 7 .5
5 2 .5
5 7 .5
6 2 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
4 7 .5
5 2 .5
5 7 .5
6 2 .5
6 7 .5
c e n t s ___
c e n ts_ __
c e n t s ___
c e n t s ___
c e n t s ___
6 .7
1 5 .5
1 6 .5
1 8 .5
1 3 .0
6 7 .5
7 2 .5
7 7 .5
8 2 .5
8 7 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
7 2 .5
7 7 .5
8 2 .5
8 7 .5
9 2 .5
c e n t s ___
c e n t s ____
c e n t s ___
c e n ts. _
c e n t s ___
9 .7
5 .4
3 .7
3 .4
1 .5
9 2 .5 a n d u n d e r 1 0 0 .0 c e n t s . .
106.0 a n d u n d e r 110.0 c e n t s .
110.0 c e n t s a n d o v e r .....................
1.1
1 .3
1 .3
6 .2
.1
.1
T o t a l . . . .......................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
.3
.2
.2
1.6
1 .4
.7
5 .2
7 .0
10.2
1 1 .5
1 3 .6
12.8
1 4 .3
6 .2
5 .0
5 .9
0 .2
. 1
.2
.8
2 .6
3 .0
10.8
.4
.4
.3
10.1
2 4 .4
0 .1
1 7 .1
2 0 .9
1 9 .0
20.6
21.8
11.0
11.0
1 .8
3 2 .9
.4
1 4 .8
8 .3
3 .6
6 .4
.7
1 1 .7
1 5 .6
6 .5
5 .2
5 .5
2 .7
4 .5
1 3 .0
1 4 .8
1 7 .0
2 5 .8
2 .1
.1
.2
.1
.8
.6
.3
0. 2
.4
.9
5 .3
2 0 .7
(!)
2 .6
11.2
0)
3 .2
1 3 .9
100.0
100.0
100.0
3 8
2 4 .1
22.8
10.0
6. 2
20.0
5 4 .0
7 .2
1 6 .6
1.1
5 .2
100.0
100.0
1 L e s s th a n M o o f 1 p e rc e n t.
Differences Due to Variations in Skill
The dispersion of individual earnings is due in no small part to
variations in pay for work requiring different degrees of skill. Thus,
the unskilled employees, who made up one-half (50.4 percent) of the
working force, averaged 51.6 cents an hour, as against 59.7 cents for
the semiskilled and 78.9 cents for the skilled workers. The semiskilled
and skilled classes of workers constituted, respectively, 28.4 percent
and 21.2 percent of the wage earners covered by the survey.
The extent of variation in earnings among the three skill-groups is
further emphasized by the distributions shown in table 3. It will be
observed, for example, that about one-half (49.5 percent) of the skilled
employees averaged 77.5 cents or more. In contrast, only 6.8 per
cent of the semiskilled and less than 1 percent of the unskilled work
ers received hourly earnings above this level. On the other hand,
only 2.7 percent of the skilled, as against 15.7 percent of the semi
skilled and 33.9 percent of the unskilled workers averaged less than
47.5 cents an hour.
Regional Differences
Another important source of variations in hourly earnings is found
in the wide geographical distribution of the industry. The relation
ship between the level of earnings in individual establishments and
their regional location is well illustrated by table 4, which presents
the groups of average hourly earnings of all workers surveyed in each
9
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
plant, classified by broad geographical areas. The contrast is partic
ularly marked, for example, between the southern and Pacific regions.
None of the plants in the latter area averaged less than 65 cents an
hour, whereas only 2 of the 23 establishments surveyed in the southern
region had averages above that level. The distributions for the
northeastern and midwestern regions occupy a more-or-less interme
diate range, indicating a prevailing level of earnings in these areas
above that shown for the South, but lower than the average for the
Pacific region.
T a b l e
4.—
D istrib u tio n o f paperboard plants b y average h ou rly earnings and region ,
N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 8 9
A v e r a g e h o u r l y e a r n in g s
U n ite d
S ta te s
N o rth e a st
e rn re g io n 1
S o u th e rn
r e g io n 3
M id w e s t
e rn re g io n 3
3 2 .5
4 0 .0
4 2 .5
4 5 .0
4 7 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
3 5 .0
4 2 .5
4 5 .0
4 7 .5
5 0 .0
c e n ts
_______________________
c e n t s ____________________________
c e n t s ______ _____________________
c e n t s ____________________________
c e n t s ........................_ ...........................
1
6
6
8
10
3
2
3
5
1
2
4
4
2
1
3
5 0 .0
5 2 .5
5 5 .0
5 7 .5
6 0 .0
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
5 2 .5
5 5 .0
5 7 .5
6 0 .0
6 2 .5
c e n t s ____________________ _______
c e n t s ___________________________
........................................_ _
c e n ts
c e n ts .
_____________________
c e n t s ___________________________
8
12
15
11
13
7
3
8
5
5
1
3
1
3
1
8
4
5
5
6 2 .5
6 5 .0
6 7 .5
7 0 .0
7 2 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
6 5 .0
6 7 .5
7 0 .0
7 2 .5
7 5 .0
c e n t s ___________________________
c e n t s _________________ ___________
c e n t s ____________________________
c e n t s ______________ ___________ c e n ts
. _
_______________
10
7
11
5
6
6
7 5 .0
7 7 .5
8 0 .0
8 2 .5
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
7 7 .5
8 0 .0
8 2 .5
8 5 .0
c e n t s - _____________ _______ c e n t s _ ___________ ______________
c e n ts
.................................. ...............
c e n t s . ..................... _ _ ........................
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
T o t a l . . ............. ............................................................................
134
57
1
5
1
1
1
P a c ific
r e g io n 4
1
4
4
4
3
2
2
2
3
1
1
23
45
9
1I n c l u d e s M a i n e , V e r m o n t , N e w H a m p s h i r e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s , R h o d e I s l a n d , C o n n e c t i c u t , N e w Y o r k ,
N e w J e r s e y , P e n n s y lv a n ia , a n d D e la w a r e .
2I n c l u d e s M a r y l a n d , W e s t V i r g i n i a , V i r g i n i a , K e n t u c k y , T e n n e s s e e , N o r t h C a r o l i n a , S o u t h C a r o l i n a ,
G e o r g ia , F l o r i d a , A la b a m a , M i s s i s s i p p i , A r k a n s a s , L o u i s i a n a , O k la h o m a , a n d T e x a s .
3I n c lu d e s O h io , In d ia n a , I l l in o i s , M is s o u r i, Io w a , K a n s a s , N e b r a s k a , N o r t h D a k o t a , S o u t h D a k o t a ,
M o n t a n a , Id a h o , W y o m in g , N e v a d a , U t a h , C o lo r a d o , N e w M e x ic o , A r iz o n a , M in n e s o t a , W is c o n s in ,
a n d M ic h ig a n .
4 In c lu d e s W a s h in g t o n , O re g o n , a n d C a lif o r n ia .
The above conclusions as to regional contrasts in earnings are
supported by the averages for all workers in the various regions as
shown in table 2 (p. 7). The hourly earnings of all workers in the
Pacific region averaged 73.8 cents, which was 22.2 cents above the
average level (51.6 cents) in the southern States. The level of
earnings in the northeastern and midwestern areas fell between these
two extremes, the respective averages being 60.6 and 62.2 cents an
hour.
A significant feature of the regional averages is the relatively high
earnings received in every instance by the skilled employees. This is
particularly noticeable in the southern region, where these workers
received an average of 78.7 cents an hour, or 1.9 cents above the
4 0 0 3 0 0 ° — 4 1 ------ 3
10
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
average for the skilled group in the northeastern mills, and identical
with the average shown for this group in the midwestern region.3
The skilled employees in the Pacific area averaged 92.0 cents an hour,
or 13.3 cents more than the earnings of the workers in this class that
were employed in the southern and midwestern mills.
The earnings of semiskilled and unskilled employees conform to a
more consistent regional pattern, with the highest averages in the
Pacific States, followed in order by the averages for the middle western,
northeastern, and southern regions. It is worthy of note that the
average for unskilled workers in the Pacific area was actually above
the average for the semiskilled groups in any of the other regions.
Regional differences in the wage structure are further revealed in
the distributions of individual earnings. (See table 3, p. 7.) For
example, nearly three-tenths (29.6 percent) of the workers in the
southern region averaged less than 40 cents an hour, whereas only 1.1
percent in the northeastern region and fewer than 1 percent in the
midwestern region received less than that amount. None of the
workers in the Pacific area received as little as 50 cents an hour.
The regional contrasts were less pronounced among the workers in
higher-wage brackets. The number receiving 87.5 cents or more,
for example, amounted to 16.6 percent in the Pacific States, 7.0
percent in the South, 6.3 percent in the northeastern region, and
5.2 percent in the Midwest. In every area the higher earnings were
largely confined to employees in skilled occupations.
Earnings in U nion and N onunion Plants
The effect of unionization on the wage level is indicated by the data
shown in table 5. For the United States as a whole, the hourly
earnings of employees in union plants averaged 63.1 cents, as compared
with 57.7 cents for workers in nonunion establishments. The dif
ference in favor of employees in union plants amounted to 6.5 cents
an hour for skilled workers, 5.9 cents for semiskilled workers, and
5.8 cents for unskilled workers. It will be observed, however, that
the difference for all regions combined is greater than that shown for
each of the three chief regions. This was due to the high average in
the Pacific area, where virtually all of the employees scheduled were
in union establishments. According to table 6, the proportion of
workers in the lower-wage groups was substantially greater in the case
of nonunion workers than in the case of union workers. Thus, the
number of workers who received less than 40 cents an hour amounted
to 4.3 percent of the total in the union plants, as compared with 10.3
percent in nonunion establishments. The difference was somewhat
less pronounced for the higher-paid workers. The proportion of
3 M e m b e r s o f t h e i n d u s t r y a t t r i b u t e t h i s c o n d it io n to t h e h ig h w a g e s o ffe re d b y la r g e , n e w l y
s o u t h e r n m il l s to in d u c e h i g h ly s k i l le d e m p lo y e e s to m o v e fr o m t h e N o r t h in t o t h e S o u t h .
o r g a n iz e d
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
11
workers who received 87.5 cents or more, for example, represented
7.9 percent of the employees in the union plants, as against 5.9 per
cent in nonunion plants. It will be observed that this general
relationship is also typical of each skill group.
T
a b l e
5. —
A verage hourly earnings in the paperboard in d u s try , b y region, u n ion iza
tio n , and sk ill , N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 8 9
R e g io n a n d u n io n iz a t io n
A ll w o rk e rs
S k ille d
w o rk e rs
S e m is k ille d
w o rk e rs
U n s k ille d
w o rk e rs
A v e r a g e h o u r ly e a r n in g s
U n i t e d S t a t e s _____________________________________________________
U n io n _ _
. _____________________________________________
N o n u n i o n __________ _________________________________________
$ 0 .5 9 8
.6 3 1
.5 7 7
$ 0 .7 8 9
.8 2 9
.7 6 4
$ 0 .5 9 7
.6 3 2
.5 7 3
$ 0 .5 1 6
.5 5 0
.4 9 2
N o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n __ . _
_____________________________
U n i o n ________ _
_________________ __________________________
N o n u n i o n ___________________________________________________
.6 0 6
.6 3 5
.5 9 7
.7 6 8
.8 0 5
.7 5 8
.5 9 4
.6 2 5
.5 8 5
.5 3 0
.5 5 8
.5 2 1
S o u t h e r n r e g i o n ________ ______________________ ________________
_________________ _____________________
U n i o n _____________
N o n u n i o n _____________________________________________________
.5 1 6
.5 4 2
.5 0 3
.7 8 7
.8 3 1
.7 6 3
.5 2 9
.5 6 2
.5 1 1
.4 0 8
.4 2 4
.4 0 0
M i d w e s t e r n r e g io n _ __________ _________ ______________ _______
U n i o n _____ _
___
. __________________________________
N o n u n i o n __________________ ________________ _______________
.6 2 2
.6 3 8
.6 0 8
.7 8 7
.8 0 6
.7 7 2
.6 2 4
.6 3 8
.6 1 0
.5 5 2
.5 7 3
.5 3 1
P a c i f i c r e g i o n i ____________________________________________________
.7 3 8
.9 2 0
.7 2 4
.6 5 5
N u m b e r of w o rk e rs
U n i t e d S t a t e s _____________________________________________________
U n i o n _________ ______________________ _____________ _________
N o n u n i o n . . . _____________________________________ _______
1 6 ,3 3 2
6 ,5 9 5
9 ,7 3 7
3 ,4 5 7
1 ,3 4 8
2 ,1 0 9
4 ,6 4 3
1 ,8 4 7
2 , 796
8 ,2 3 2
3 ,4 0 0
4 ,8 3 2
N o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n . ________ . . . _________________________
U n i o n ____________ . . . ___________ __________________________
N o n u n i o n __________________________________ ____________ __
4 ,9 9 0
1 ,1 1 0
3 ,8 8 0
1 ,1 6 9
258
911
1 ,4 6 1
3 13
1 ,1 4 8
2 , 360
5 39
1 ,8 2 1
S o u t h e r n r e g i o n . _______________________________________________
U n i o n ___________________________________________________________
N o n u n i o n ________ __________________________________________
3 ,9 5 8
1 ,3 7 4
2 , 5 84
7 17
249
468
1 ,1 6 2
406
7 56
2 ,0 7 9
7 19
1 ,3 6 0
M i d w e s t e r n r e g i o n __________________________ __________ . . .
U n i o n ______________ __________________________________________
N o n u n i o n ________ ____________ _______________________ ________
6 ,4 1 2
3 ,1 4 9
3 ,2 6 3
1 ,3 4 8
619
729
1 ,7 3 0
841
889
3 ,3 3 4
1, 6 89
1 ,6 4 5
P a c i f i c r e g i o n i ____________________________________________________
972
2 23
290
459
1D a ta insufficient to present figures b y unionization.
12
T
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
a b l e
6. —
Percentage distribution o f workers in 'paperboard in d u stry , by average
h ourly ea rn in gs , skill, and u n io n iza tio n , N o v em b e r-D ec e m b er 1 9 3 9
A ll w o rk e rs
S k ille d w o r k e r s
S e m is k ille d
w o rk e rs
U n s k ille d w o rk e rs
A v e r a g e h o u r ly e a r n in g s
U n d e r 3 2 .5 c e n t s _____________
3 2 .5 a n d u n d e r 3 5 .0 c e n t s . _
3 5 .0 a n d u n d e r 3 7 .5 c e n t s . _
3 7 .5 a n d u n d e r 4 0 .0 c e n t s . _
4 0 .0 a n d u n d e r 4 2 .5 c e n t s . .
T o ta l
U n
io n
Non
u n io n
T o ta l
0 .7
.4
4 .2
2 .6
4 .8
0)
0 .3
1 .6
2 .4
2 .9
1 .2
.5
5 .9
2 .7
6 .0
” o.T
0)
.8
0 .1
U n
io n
Non
T o ta l
u n io n
U n
io n
"~0.T
1 .2
0 .2
.1
.8
1 .2
4 .1
6 .2
Non
T o ta l
u n io n
U n
io n
Non
u n io n
.6
.5
0 .3
.2
1 .2
1 .6
6 .5
1 .3
.7
7 .8
4 .4
6 .8
0 .1
.6
3 .0
4 .3
5 .3
2 .2
.8
1 1 .1
4 .4
7 .8
4 2 .5
4 7 .5
5 2 .5
5 7 .5
6 2 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
4 7 .5
5 2 .5
5 7 .5
6 2 .5
6 7 .5
c e n t s ..
c e n t s ..
c e n t s ..
c e n t s ..
c e n ts. _
9 .5
1 3 .9
1 4 .4
1 3 .2
1 0 .9
7 .2
1 2 .1
1 3 .8
1 3 .9
1 4 .0
1 1 .1
1 5 .2
1 4 .9
1 2 .7
8 .8
1 .8
3 .4
5 .4
7 .0
9 .2
.2
1 .6
3 .4
6 .1
7 .1
2 .8
4 .5
6 .6
7 .6
1 0 .5
9 .3
1 2 .1
1 6 .4
1 6 .3
1 4 .6
4 .4
1 0 .8
1 6 .3
1 6 .3
1 6 .0
1 2 .5
1 3 .0
1 6 .4
1 6 .2
1 3 .7
1 2 .9
1 9 .5
1 7 .3
1 4 .1
9 .5
1 1 .6
1 6 .8
1 6 .5
1 5 .7
1 5 .6
1 3 .9
2 1 .4
1 7 .9
1 3 .0
5 .2
6 7 .5
7 2 .5
7 7 .5
8 2 .5
8 7 .5
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
7 2 .5
7 7 .5
8 2 .5
8 7 .5
9 2 .5
c e n t s ..
c e n ts . _
c e n t s ._
c e n t s ..
c e n t s ..
7 .7
5 .0
3 .1
2 .9
1 .9
1 0 .2
6 .6
3 .5
3 .6
2 .2
5 .9
3 .9
2 .8
2 .5
1 .6
1 2 .3
1 0 .5
9 .8
1 1 .2
7 .5
1 0 .0
1 1 .2
1 0 .2
1 4 .6
9 .2
1 3 .8
1 0 .2
9 .5
9 .1
6 .4
1 1 .5
6 .6
3 .2
1 .6
.8
1 6 .6
9 .1
4 .9
1 .9
1 .1
8 .2
4 .9
2 .1
1 .5
.6
3 .5
1 .7
.2
.2
.1
6 .8
3 .4
.1
.1
.1
1 .2
.5
.2
.2
.1
9 2 .5 a n d u n d e r 1 0 0 .0 c e n t s .
1 0 0 .0 a n d u n d e r 1 1 0 .0 c e n t s .
1 1 0 .0 c e n t s a n d o v e r __________
1 .7
1 .6
1 .5
2 .3
1 .6
1 .8
1 .3
1 .6
1 .4
6 .9
6 .9
7 .2
1 0 .2
7 .3
8 .8
4 .7
6 .7
6 .2
.7
.4
.1
.9
.5
.6
.4
.1
T o t a l _______________________ 1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
.1
0)
0)
0)
1 0 0 .0
0)
0)
1 0 0 .0
1 0 0 .0
1 L e s s th a n H o o f 1 p e rc e n t.
Influence o f Sizie o f Com m unity, Sizie o f Plant, and Product on
H ourly Earnings
Among the other factors that are frequently found to have some
bearing on the wage structure are size of community, size of plant, and
type of product.
A majority of the plants covered by the survey were located in
relatively small communities. An examination of the plant-average
data reveals that there is little, if any, connection between size
of community and the level of hourly earnings. Although there is
some evidence of relationship between both product and plant-size
with hourly earnings, it is difficult to assess the particular significance
of these two factors. In many instances, an apparent contrast in
earnings according to type of product is obscured by variations due to
the size of establishment, the geographical location, or other factors.
For example, the level of earnings was found to be lower among the
fiberboard plants than among the establishments making felts. A
majority of the fiberboard plants employed less than 50 wage earners,
however, whereas most of the paper-felt plants employed more than
100 workers.
An examination of the data for plants reported to be engaged
primarily in the manufacture of boxboards made of waste paper
indicates that, in general, the level of earnings was somewhat higher
in the relatively large establishments than in the smaller establish
ments. Because of the wide geographical distribution of these
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
13
plants, however, it is impossible to be certain that this relationship is
due to the factor of size rather than the factor of location.
Among the other product groups, size of establishment appears to
have no decisive bearing on the wage structure, possibly because of the
influence of other factors which cannot be segregated for a more
detailed analysis.
Earnings in Relation to the Minimum-Wage Rate Established by
the Administrator o f the Fair Labor Standards A ct
A minimum-wage rate of 40 cents an hour, applying to all paperboard plants engaged in interstate commerce, became effective on
September 16, 1940, under an order issued by the Administrator of
the Wage and Hour Division. The direct effect of this minimum
wage on the wage structure of the industry is shown by table 3 (p. 7),
where the proportion of the workers who were receiving under 40 cents
an hour at the time of the survey is given.
A total of 7.9 percent of
the wage earners were earning various amounts less than 40 cents an
hour in Novem ber-Decem ber 1939. A large majority of these workers
were in the southern region, where 29.6 percent of the employees
scheduled received less than the minimum that was later established
by the Administrator. The number of workers averaging less than
40 cents was negligible in the northeastern and midwestern regions,
constituting less than 2 percent of the labor force in the former and
less than 1 percent in the latter areas. In the Pacific region, it will be
noted, even the lowest-paid workers averaged considerably more than
40 cents an hour.
Occupational Differences
Table 7 presents the earnings data classified by occupational
groups. On the basis of regular rates of pay, excluding extra overtime
earnings, these figures show that average hourly earnings in the
United States as a whole ranged from $1,086 for foremen in main
tenance and power departments to 47.7 cents for the unskilled shipping
laborers. The lowest earnings for skilled workers were received by
the yard foremen, who averaged 69.6 cents an hour. Among the
semiskilled employees, hourly earnings varied from 66.6 cents for the
small group of painters, who were engaged in plant maintenance work,
to 55.7 cents for both the mechanics’ helpers and the subforemen.
The highest average for unskilled work was received by the rag-room
laborers, who were paid 57.2 cents an hour. This was 9.5 cents above
the average of 47.7 cents for shipping laborers, the lowest-paid
occupation.
i—i
D istrib u tion o f workers in paperboard in d u stry , b y average hourly ea rn in gs , region , sfctW, an d occupation
9 2 .5 a n d u n d e r
1 0 0 .0 c e n t s
1 0 0 .0 a n d u n d e r
1 1 0 .0 c e n t s
79
19
15
19
44
41
14
23
28
54
• 67
9
28
26
30
23
7
8
17
28
7
2
18
24
35
30
1
14
27
18
9
1
4
6
1
3
6
50
c e n ts
over
1 1 0 .0
7 2 .5
and
8 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
9 2 .5 c e n t s
109
17
21
58
33
8 25 a n d u n d e r
8 7 .5 c e n t s
71
21
12
16
36
7 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
8 2 .5 c e n t s
6 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
7 2 .5 c e n t s
55
9
13
27
26
and under
7 7 .5 c e n t s
6 2 .5 a n d u n d e r
6 7 .5 c e n t s
i
j
j
5 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
6 2 .5 c e n t s
5 2 .5 a n d u n d e r
5 7 .5 c e n t s
4 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
5 2 .5 c e n t s
4 2 .5 a n d u n d e r
4 7 .5 c e n t s
4 0 .0 a n d u n d e r
4 2 .5 c e n t s
3 7 .5 a n d u n d e r
4 0 .0 c e n t s
3 5 .0 a n d u n d e r
3 7 .5 c e n t s
U n d e r 3 2 .5 c e n t s
3 2 .5 a n d u n d e r |
3 5 .0 c e n t s
|
N u m b e r o f w o r k e r s h a v i n g a v e r a g e h o u r l y e a r n i n g s o f—
( E x c lu d i n g e x t r a o v e r t im e e a r n in g s )
U n ite d S ta te s
S k ille d w o r k e r s :
B a c k t e n d e r s _____ _____________________________________________________
C a rp e n te rs
__________________________________________________________
E le c t r ic ia n s
_____________________________________________________ ___
E n g in e e r s
_ _____________________________________________________ _
F o re m e n , b e a te r
_ _ _______ ______ ___ _____________________
626
108
164
290
323
$ 0 .7 3 3
.7 4 5
.8 3 1
.7 8 9
.8 0 7
$ 0 . 698
.7 2 4
.7 9 3
.7 5 5
.7 7 5
F o r e m e n , f i n i s h a n d s h i p _____________________ ________________
F o r e m e n , m a i n t e n a n c e a n d p o w e r ________________________
F o r e m e n , y a r d _____________________________ _______________________
M a c h i n e t e n d e r s ___________________________________________ _________
M a c h i n i s t s ______________ ___________________ __________________________
74
114
70
818
137
.8 3 7
1 .1 0 4
.7 2 2
.9 1 4
.8 3 4
.8 2 8
1 .0 8 6
.6 9 6
.8 7 4
.8 0 3
M e c h a n i c s a n d r e p a i r m e n _____________ ______ __________________
M illw r ig h t s
. _ _ ________________________________________________
P ip e f it t e r s ..
_ _ _____________________________ ______________ ___
W e ld e r s
___________________________________________________________
M i s c e l l a n e o u s s k i l l e d , d i r e c t ____________________________ ______
M i s c e l l a n e o u s s k i l l e d , i n d i r e c t _______________________________
169
244
113
45
36
126
.7 6 5
.7 8 5
.7 9 4
.8 2 5
.8 4 6
.7 8 5
.7 3 4
.7 5 4
.7 5 8
.7 9 3
.7 9 5
.7 5 4
S e m is k ille d w o r k e r s :
B e a te rm e n
___________________________________________________________
C a le n d e r o p e ra to rs
_
_ _
C a r p e n t e r s ’ h e l p e r s _______ _______________________________________
C o a t i n g - m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r s _____________________________________
C r a n e o p e r a t o r s , i n s i d e _______ __________________________________
464
79
27
25
73
.6 2 7
.6 0 0
.5 7 0
.6 1 6
.6 6 9
.5 9 5
.5 7 8
.5 5 6
.5 7 7
.6 3 8
279
59
104
484
.5 8 7
.6 1 1
.6 2 0
.6 6 2
.6 1 8
.5 6 9
.5 8 4
.5 8 7
.6 3 8
.5 8 9
C u t t e r s a n d t r i m m e r s _____________________________________________
E l e c t r i c i a n s ’ h e lp e r s
_ __________ _________ ______
F e l t c h e c k e r s _________________________________________________ _________
F i r e m e n _______________ ___
_____________ ___________________
F o u r t h h a n d s ......................................... ..................................- _________________
492
3
15
3
34
2
2
4
25
2
2
8
4
58*
4
4
27
14
2
1
4
9
4
68
18
6
11
1
75
28
4
18
3
106
2
9
35
10
1
2
9
29
15
11
10
4
22
27
32
15
3
1
22
40
30
9
4
5
10
14
23
21
5
6
16
15
36
14
10
5
26
9
37
13
2
4
7
5
14
6
4
3
5
1
4
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
5
35
11
1
4
8
54
1
4
3
8
94
12
10
5
3
90
11
6
4
4
67
26
4
3
25
57
8
1
5
8
29
12
1
6
6
7
3
36
10
2
38
34
62
6
10
54
69
48
7
34
54
114
33
13
18
64
60
35
12
16
52
9
3
15
65
95
10
5
3
63
32
4
5
7
3
1
40
12
26
12
3
15
1
1
8
9
9
8
1
88
17
8
9
4
1
2
2
1
1
9
8
6
50
20
6
2
3
1
9
21
5
12
45
9
1
2
2
9
3
8
4
12
48
17
3
16
6
2
1
11
50
6
14
1
4
1
5
4
9
23
11
5
1
3
8
41
3
3
49
4
55
155
2
3
1
4
1
2
4
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
S k il l a n d o c c u p a t io n a l g ro u p
A ve ra g e
h o u r ly e a rn
in g s
E x c lu d in g o v e r
tim e
7.—
In c lu d in g o v e r
tim e
able
T o ta l n u m b e r o f w o rk e rs
T
285
28
39
98
130
.586
.652
.629
.580
.617
O i l e r s ___________________________________ ___________
P a i n t e r s ___________________________________________
P a s t i n g - m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r s . ....................
P i p e - f i t t e r s ’ h e l p e r s _________________________
R a g - c u t t e r o p e r a t o r s ________________________
259
38
47
42
36
.611
.679
.639
.644
.678
R e w i n d e r s ________________________________________
R o t a r y - d i g e s t e r o p e r a t o r s ________________
S h i p p i n g a n d r e c e i v i n g c l e r k s _________
S u b f o r e m e n ______________________________________
T h i r d h a n d s ____________________________________
86
54
163
105
500
.601
.635
.681
.573
.646
.586
.604
.665
.557
.617
T r a c t o r o p e r a t o r s , i n s i d e _________________
T r u c k d r i v e r s ___________________________________
M i s c e l l a n e o u s s e m i s k i l l e d , d i r e c t ____
M is c e lla n e o u s s e m is k ille d , in d ir e c t
117
321
89
.645
.589
.573
.607
.624
.571
.559
.584
U n s k ille d w o r k e r s :
B e a t e r h e l p e r s __________________________________
B r o k e m e n ________________________ _______ _______
B u n d l e r s a n d w r a p p e r s ___________________
D r y e r m e n ________________________________________
F i f t h h a n d s _____________ _______________________
1,964
311
409
198
469
.555
.556
.534
.490
.598
.532
.527
.521
.480
.564
38
9
3
213
.545
.487
.586
.558
.593
.526
.478
.572
.539
.562
4
.477
.528
.519
.534
.488
.520
.485
.481
F i r e m e n ’ s h e l p e r s ____________________________
J a n i t o r s , p o r t e r s , a n d s w e e p e r s ________
R a g - r o o m l a b o r e r s ___________________________
R e w i n d e r h e l p e r s ____________ _______________
S c r e e n m e n ________________________________________
120
220
126
269
147
S h i p p i n g l a b o r e r s __________________ _________ _
S i z e m e n ____________________________________________
S t r a w - d i g e s t e r l a b o r e r s ____________________
T r u c k e r s , i n s i d e ____________ __________________
W a t c h m e n ______________________________ ________
148
244
.487
.554
.548
.550
.501
Y a r d l a b o r e r s ___________________________________
M i s c e l l a n e o u s u n s k i l l e d , d i r e c t ________
M i s c e l l a n e o u s u n s k i l l e d , i n d i r e c t _____
989
1, 311
312
.536
.497
.498
649
53
200
.564
.628
.610
.557
.586
.585
1
26
______________
3
________
. . . 2 2 2
2
6
37
1
5
9
5
24
26
20
11
25
15
5
5
5
4
6
1
40
7
3
7
3
4
1
1
3
13
2
7
6
1 _____
44
7
11
10
10
...
3
3
45
1
5
7
4
16
2
4
7
7
27
5
8
21
9
2
4
4
5
16
6
1
3
2
1
1
49
5
53
6
4
4
7
9
3
7
14
22
8
12
23
23
13
10
22
10
12
18
23
46
15
46
9
63
1
11
20
20
7
14
13
51
9
43
14
244
25
75
46
64
492
72
40
35
70
33
33
3
38
34
29
18
64
44
29
56
33
4
32
15
42
114
13
55
32
58
89
9
32
31
38
8
8
49
33
28
10
117
141
40
196
154
82
147
296
45
177
158
37
102
21
23
31
13
17
28
14
9
4
102
7
18
11 "22~
43
176
5
32
1
. . 2 5 9
55
65
29
10
101
16
23
84
9
9
28
10
71
1
11
32
7
5
15
4
5
6
6
6
3
9
10
2
3
15
1
1
2
3
2
1
8
1
8
1
46
16
20
14
3
3
1
15
9
12
3
3
5
119
13
17
37
4
3
2
106
52
6
17
9
3
1
O
8
10
281
40
85
47
93
213
62
62
19
49
316
43
26
49
40
44
29
57
25
72
3
9
1
1
6
29
16
34
24
1
2
2
11
28
16
69
2
3
3
6
5
27
16
48
4
1
20
16
51
21
9
46
9
3
25
17
10
2
6
1
1
10
21
2
1
1
57
2
2 ____
2 ____
.6 6 6
.610
.603
.653
29
3
4
4
5
15
8
3
1
3
2
1
4
2
4
1
1
16
18
19
21
2
26
4
7
18
16
3
3
3
79
51
32
9
8
2
12
1
12
3
2
1
41
5
6
2
1
7
4
1
1
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
I n s p e c t o r s ________________________________________
L i n i n g - m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r s ________________
M a c h i n i s t s ’ h e l p e r s _________________________
M e c h a n i c s ’ h e l p e r s __________________________
M i l l w r i g h t s ’ h e l p e r s ________________________
Cn
Skill and occupational group
Average
hourly earn
ings
N u m b e r o f w orkers having average h ou rly earnings of—
(E xclu din g extra overtim e earnings)
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N ortheastern region
Skilled workers:
B a ck ten d ers.. . ______________
C a rp en ters ... ______________ . . . _
Electricians
______
Engineers _ ____ __
Forem en, beater_____ ___________
_
_ __
Forem en, finish and s h ip ..
Forem en, m aintenance and pow er _______
Forem en, y a r d ________________
. . ______________
M ach in e tenders. _________
M achinists_____________________ __________
M echanics and repairm en_________________ _
__
M illw righ ts______ ________________________
P ipe fitters_____________________________ __________
W elders _ . . ___________ _____
M iscellaneous skilled, direct___ _______
M iscellaneous skilled, in d ire ct__________________
Sem iskilled workers:
B eaterm en _____________ _________________________ _
Calender operators_____ _________________________ _
C arpenters’ helpers______________________________ _
C oating-m achine operators_____ ______ ____________
Crane operators, inside________________ _____ _______
Cutters and t r im m e r s __________________________ . .
Electricians’ helpers. _____ _______ __________
F elt checkers _____________________________________
F irem en . ______ _____ ______________________ ________
F ou rth h a n d s________________ _ __________ __________
194 $0,696 $0,660
46
.752
.728
40
.815
.766
.769
87
.793
.766
116
.798
(!)
.837
.844
.841
1.197
)
.805
.802
34
.736
.776
.786
)
)
.793
.697
. 730
.746
(!)
)
.755
173
71
.600
.593
.570
.572
30
44
23
331
40
66
65
36
5
12
11
6
7
103
15
21
192
187
.850
1. 2 0 2
0
0
0)
0)
0)
.604
(!)
0)
.654
.603
12
4
3
22
1
1
4
8
6
2
4
7
2
5
9
1
1
1
3
8
43
3
12
9
0)
0)
11
1
1
5
1
2
1
1
2
1
12
11
1
1
10
0)
0)
7
5
4
4
23
7
3
5
22
2
1
51
11
3
17
14
3
8
33
6
11
9
17
16
9
13
8
2
3
4
3
4
2
2
3
5
2
9
7
7
9
3
14
13
9
16
9
4
2
1
1
3
3
8
16
53
12
5
12
45
9
14
1
1
20
3
2
18
26
3
3
8
13
28
11
21
2
16
60
27
5
10
8
1
1
4
2
2
1
7
8
l
9
3
31
3
49
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
22
34
19
12
27
10
4
4
1
3
26
24
1
2
1
1
19
4
7
1
3
2
4
2
23
45
22
3
7
21
3
2
11
2
22
12
8
1
1
3
2
2
2
4
4
8
3
2
22
36
5
4
3
5
2
7
23
3
1
5
5
3
10
6
8
6
2
2
2
4
(0
6
1
2
0
.633
.574
19
3
0
.588
8
1
1
1
2
13
5
1
3
3
2
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
T o ta l num ber o f workers
T a b l e 7 . — D istrib u tio n o f workers in paperboard industry b y average h ou rly ea rn in g s , region , skillf and occupation — Continued
50
14
10
31
36
.649
0)
(i)
. 570
.641
.606
0
0)
.548
.600
Oilers................... .........................
Painters.........................................
Pasting-machine operators. _ .........
Pipe-fitters' helpers_____________
Rag-cutter operators......... .............
61
18
10
14
17
.603
0)
0)
0)
(!)
.573
(i)
0
0
0
Rewinders_______ _____ ________
Rotaiy-digester operators________
Shipping and receiving clerks____
Subforemen...................................
Third hands...................................
19
0
0
53
17
159
.688
0)
. 610
.668
0)
. 580
Tractor operators, inside_________
Truck drivers___________________
Miscellaneous semiskilled, direct. .
Miscellaneous semiskilled, indirect.
22
51
73
20
0
.617
. 6C2
(i)
0
.595
.581
0
Unskilled workers:
Beater helpers................................ .
Broke men__________ ___________
Bundlers and wrappers................. .
Dryermen..................... ..................
Fifth hands......................................
638
150
124
155
130
.554
.591
.543
.491
.582
.534
.559
.532
.481
.547
Firemen’s helpers__________ ____ _
Janitors, porters, and sweepers____
Rag-room laborers_______________
Re winder helpers_________ ____
Screenmen........... ..........................
81
44
39
29
57
.561
.540
.590
.564
547
.545
.524
.556
.536
.523
Shipping laborers............................
Sizemen_____________ ____ ______
Straw-digester laborers.__________
Truckers, inside......... ...... ..............
Watchmen............... ........................
145
13
. 530
0)
.511
0
37
64
.538
.509
Yard laborers__________ ________
Miscellaneous unskilled, direct____
Miscellaneous unskilled, indirect...
293
303
58
.551
.547
.547
2
5
2
1
3
3
3
1
1
1
3
8
17
1
16
8
9
6
1
13
6
1
1
3
8
3
5
4
1
7
4
1
2
5
.....
1
1
8
7
4
1
3
7
2
8
2
4
18
8
3
31
5
8
34
7
4
25
11
2
17
1
4
7
1
4
3
2
10
9
23
4
7
5 "il
17
15
5
7
3
14
3
1
41
1
9
30
89
17
23
46
12
192
33
14
31
35
138
32
52
33
52
83
38
10
14
9
54
22
5
9
7
2
26
3
12
4
2
11
8
2
29
8
10
3
19
21
16
17
17
8
6
2
2
4
3
12
1
18
2
38
3
51
4
18
2
3
1
.522
.496
3
4
8
4
10
25
16
8
8
8
5
2
.530
.532
.522
2
6
2
4
2
16
11
2
29
44
2
93
67
20
93
106
16
23
33
9
32
13
5
5
2
3
6
6
5
1
3
3
17
2
3
6
1
3
1
2
3
2
6
3
1
1
1
4
1
4
3
9
9
9
8
6
23
1Not a sufficient number of workers to permit the presentation of an average.
1
3
1
12
1
2
8
8
4
1
1
1
3
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Inspectors_____ ____ ____________
Lining-machine operators _. ..........
Machinists’ helpers____ ____ ____
Mechanics’ helpers........................
Millwrights’ helpers......................
82.5 and under
87.5 cents
9
2
10
3
110.0 cents and
over
77.5 and under
82.5 cents
2
2
100.0 and under
110.0 cents
72.5 and under
77.5 cents
4
1
2
3
1
92.5 and under
100.0 cents
67.5 and under
72.5 cents
18
4
7
14
87.5 and under
92.5 cents
62.5 and under
67.5 cents
57.5 and under I
62.5 cents
52.5 and under
57.5 cents
47.5 and under
52.5 cents
42.5 and under
47.5 cents
40.0 and under
42.5 cents
37.5 and under
40.0 cents
32.5 and under
35.0 cents
Under 32.5 cents
4
5
2
1
4
30
1
10
2
9
I
35.0 and under
37.5 cents
Number of workers having average hourly earnings of—
(Excluding extra overtime earnings)
Excluding over
time
j
Including over- |
time
Skill and occupational group
Average
hourly earn
ings
00
Southern region
Skilled workers:
Back tenders _
Carpenters_________________________________
Electricians
Engineers
Foremen, beater __ _ _________ _
_
127 $0,765 $0,734
27
.695
.685
57
.821
.798
48
.748
.703
37
.754
.799
Foremen, finish and ship
Foremen, maintenance and power
Foremen, yard
__ _ _____
Machine renders______________________________
Machinists___________________________
7
16
5
146
38
970
.782
0)
0)
0)
.925
765
Mechanics and repairmen_____________ ____ ____
Millwrights_____________________ _____________
Pipe fitters_______________________________
Welders.. ..............................................................
Miscellaneous skilled, direct
______
Miscellaneous skilled, indirect........... ....................
17
81
36
20
7
48
(i)
.763
.742
0)
0)
.751
(i)
.743
.713
0)
0)
.740
0)
p)
0)
Semiskilled workers:
Beatermen____________________ _____________
Calender operators__________ ____ ______ _
Carpenters’ helpers...............................................
Coating-machine operators___________ _____ ___
Crane operators, inside..___________ ___________
74
.549
. 522
8
6
15
0)
0)
(i)
0)
Cutters and trimmers.............................................
Electricians’ helpers..................... ......................
Felt checkers..... ................................. .................
Firemen. ........................ ............... .......................
Fourth hands...................................................... .
80
23
15
68
100
.477
(!)
0)
.564
.586
3
3
10
1
1
1
17
3
3
10
6
6
3
7
6
6
- 1
2
6
6
2
1
3
4
1
4
1
5
4
6
9
1
2
2
1
14
2
1
1
4
5
3
1
2
1
17
25
12
2
4
1
(i)
(i)
. 459
0)
0)
.539
.558
14
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
4
8
1
13
1
1
25
10
1
2
1
18
16
29
2
3
17
18
4
2
8
2
1
3
3
8
17
1
21
5
1
3
5
6
4
1
5
2
7
8
2
4
11
3
4
4
2
3
1
3
4
2
2
3
1
1
1
2
3
2
6
5
3
10
5
9
6
1
57
3
7
6
3
1
7
2
25
4
2
1
7
2
3
3
4
3
2
1
3
1
2
1
5
6
9
3
10
12
3
3
9
5
5
3
2
11
8
11
i
1
1
1
3
7
11
1
2
6
8
1
1
1
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Total number of workers
T a b l e 7 . — Distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by average hourly earnings, region, s&z’ZZ, and occupation— Continued
130
4
16
15
42
.518
0
0
0
.549
.508
0
0
0
.528
Oilers..............................................
Painters...... .....................................
Pasting-machine operators..............
Pipe-fitters’ helpers.........................
Rag-cutter operators........................
80
10
12
12
4
.559
0
0
0
0
.541
0
0
0
0)
Rewinders____________ _________
Rotary-digester operators _ .............
Shipping and receiving clerks.........
Subforemen......................................
Third hands.....................................
28
1
33
60
108
.587
0
.662
.518
.667
.582
0
.652
.507
.635
Tractor operators, inside.................
Truck drivers_____________ ____ _
Miscellaneous semiskilled, direct._.
Miscellaneous semiskilled, indirect.
17
23
141
38
0
0
.498
.541
0
0
.493
.530
Unskilled workers:
Beater helpers..................................
Broke men.......................................
Bundlers and wrappers...................
Dryermen................................ ......
Fifth hands......................................
337
57
150
25
95
.419
.399
.456
.438
.492
.400
.381
.442
.424
.472 .
Firemen’s helpers___________ ____
Janitors, porters, and sweepers____
Rag-room laborers...........................
Rewinder helpers............................
Screenmen.... ........... ......... ..............
40
86
14
65
6
.453
.390
0)
.492
0
.428
.387
0
.478
0)
Shipping laborers....... ....................
Sizemen............................................
Straw-digester laborers...................
Truckers, inside..............................
Watchmen......................................
295
27
4
15
46
.417 '
.497
0)
0)
.415
.411
.480
0
0
.404
3
2
Yard laborers......... ...... ...................
Miscellaneous unskilled, direct____
Miscellaneous unskilled, indirect...
179
499
139
.380
.391
.435
.370
.387
.424
26
4
8
5
19
1
2
2
1
2
1
23
2
3
3
1
2
20
1
1
1
26
3
4
6
5
11
1
2
4
14
43
1
1
1
4
2
7
4
2
1
3
6
1
4
4
5
4
15
2
15
1
10
2
4
1
1
10
9
4
4
2
4
2
5
3
1
7
6
9
4
1
6
23
23
1
7
1
5
6
6
17
6
13
6
41
9
71
19
42
7
41
7
7
10
10
53
16
11
1
13
106
6
49
30
6
4
21
2
40
2
7
11
8
8
2
1
1
4
12
26
14
33
3
15
3
12
98
2
84
6
55
2
21
8
3
5
8
6
14
2
4
7
7
10
15
3
59
204
49
43
164
3
30
40
21
16
44
6
18
39
2
3
38
9
3
11
6
14
4
1
4
3
35
8
2
15
2
8
3
19
1
4
19
7
3
2
18
6
11
2
10
4
1
3
3
1
10
8
8
2
2
5
5
1
8
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
16
15
8
1
1
1
3
1
4
2
2
1
3
1
1
4
2
2
1
4
3
2
1
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Inspectors........... ........... .................
Lining-machine operators...............
Machinists’ helpers.........................
Mechanics’ helpers.........................
Millwrights’ helpers........................
1Not a sufficient number of workers to permit the presentation of an average.
O
7.— Distribution of workers in paperboard industry, by average hourly earnings, region, sAra'K, and occupation— Continued
Skill and occupational group
Average
hourly earn
ings
<3
f j
x }+*
d
'3
©
>
o
bl:
©
.s a
-d ^
d
'S
X
a
N u m b er of workers having average hourly earnings of—
(Excluding extra overtim e earnings)
w
d
8
»o
ei
CO
S3
d
d
P
©
d
d i§
*d
d 8
go
id
»oro
c4
CO
03
S-i
©
d
_d ©
©
a *°
©
d
. 'O
d w
d “
H
s d
^d
d 8 d 8 d 8
d iO
id
CO
CO
©
*2
io '*
33
d
d d
©
d o
d »o
*<N
*o10
c4
©
TJ
d
©
d
d 42
3 d
©
d ©
d »o
03<m"
io 00
S3
d
d w
*3
d 8
d uo
&
2 10
11 7
25
5
9
45
4
9
26
19
14
34
24
7
5
9
7
7
5
3
S3
33
S3
©
d
d
d
d
d «g d co d M d “
d 33
3 d
d
d 8 d 8 d 8 _d. ©
©
d »o d no d io
031-:
H
•a®
oi
<m‘
lO
CO
CO
0
•d8
S s
lO*5
c4
lO
05
03
©
X}
©
d ©
d io
03 03ci
<N
00 00
S3
S3
) rr
’g
w xd+2
d -t-s
d d d d
©
d
8
d °
g©
g
®
C3g
°H
IO r-T
CN
8
Oi
d
i
l x
S
3>
© o
o
d
M idw estern region
Skilled workers:
Ba.r>k tp.nrlp.rs
Carpp.nt.p.rs
Elpetripians .
. .
Engineers______ _________________________________________
Enrpmp.n, hpater
Foremen, finish and s h ip ..___ _____ _______
Foremen, maintenance and power______________
Foremen, y a r d ______________________________
Manhinp. tp.nrlers
_
.
Machinists__________________________________
Mechanics and repairmen________ _____________
Millwrights_________________________________
P ip efitters
Welders.. ______ ______________________________
Miscellaneous skilled, direct...................................
Miscellaneous skilled, indirect........... .....................
Semiskilled workers:
Beatermen _________________________________
Calender operators................................................
Carpenters’ helpers ________ ______ _____ ______
Coating-machine operators____________________
Crane operators inside____________________ ____
Cutters and trimmers_________________________
Electricians’ helpers___________________________
Felt checkers______________ ____ _______ _______
Firemen __ __________________________________
Fourth hands..... ..................................... ...............
262 $0. 723 $0.687
33
.763
.73 8
49
.775
.819
.795
.760
151
143
.773
.800
32
51
37
290
43
.809
1.052
.700
.950
.839
78
77
32
18
14
38
.759
.788
.813
184
5
8
13
39
7
22
11
6
3
2
.667
.904
.799
.735
.757
.775
0)
0)
0)
0)
.749
.668
.632
0)
0)
(i)
0)
0)
(i)
.721
.680
.651
.629
87
19
60
0)
0)
.633
164
.633
.604
.661
.602
24
2
17
13
44
9
7
10
10
2
.799
1.022
.797
202 .686
16
11
10 10
1 2 2
5
16
7
4
5
2 10
4
2
6
13
1
3
43
1
15
7
7
4
9
30
3
23
28
42
3
1
29
2
2 3
1 1
2 2
21 12
1
1
7
18
36
6
40
36
1 4
1 10
7
12
6 14
2 3
4
3
1 1
8 10
14
14
3
20 12
2
25
11
17
13
3
7
3
4
5
5
21
4
8
10
2 2
59
6
8
16
4
6
2
8
3
1
1 2
5
13
8 10 12
1 2
4
5
9
1 1
3
17
28
4
4
2
6
2
30
3
23
5
4
1
7
14
7
7
2
4
3
15
28
49
39
22
6
1
7
22
16
1
2
1
1
1
11
36
2
3
1
18
58
1
1
1
1
37
3
1
34
7
3
3
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
T o ta l n um ber of workers
T able
84
5
7
48
44
.609
)
C1)
.601
.639
.586
)
)
.576
.606
3
4
Oilers.............................................. .
Painters. ............ ........................... .
Pasting-machine operators......... .
Pipe-fitters’ helpers_____________
Eag-cutter operators. .................... .
104
.606
7
13
9
.634
)
)
)
)
Rewinders____________ ______ ___
Rotary-digester operators...............
Shipping and receiving clerks........
Subforemen____________________
Third hands....... ............................
36
53
67
25
195
.636
.639
.676
.638
.638
.613
.607
.659
.628
.612
Tractor operators, inside............... .
Truck drivers___________________
Miscellaneous semiskilled, direct ..
Miscellaneous semiskilled, indirect
71
35
97
26
.681
.611
.642
.663
.659
.590
.621
.627
Unskilled workers:
Beater helpers................................ .
Brokemen________________ _____
Bundlers and wrappers...................
Dryermen.................................... .
Fifth hands.................................... .
839
90
117
16
200
.590
.579
.609
)
.644
.565
.547
.593
)
.607
Firemen’s helpers_______________
Janitors, porters, and sweepers___
Rag-room laborers.......................... .
Rewinder helpers_____ ____ _____ _
Screenmen__________ ______ _____
92
78
42
171
74
.573
.539
.557
.581
.621
.552
.526
.554
.561
.587
Shipping laborers____________ ___
Sizemen___________________ _____
Straw-digester laborers______ ____
Truckers, inside_________________
Watchmen............. .........................
188
12
86
111
.543
)
.551
.573
.503
.533
)
.521
.554
.492
6
4
Yard laborers___________________
Miscellaneous unskilled, direct___
Miscellaneous unskilled, indirect—.
458
451
113
.565
.553
.541
.549
.534
.521
4 ____
3
8
22
196
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
1
12
4
8
2
1
1
1
49
2
3
0
1
4
3
18
26
12 12
1
1
3
2
13
14
9
30
11
281
39
20
2
2
3
142
8
14
14
23
43
17
4
1
7
5
8
5
26
4
6
6
2
1
2
1
3
1
1
3
9
1
20
3
4
5
3
144
95
1
14
15
3
36
60
40
2
19
26
10
2
8
41
14
40
17
28
55
35
17
55
7
39
32
31
26
34
5
49
27
13
72
53
32
103
69
23
54
184
18
149
99
24
2
3
5
3
3
3
119
23
36
32
11
1
27
1
6 12
8 4
22 14
11 17 20
18
12
17
1 10 19
5
4
1
10
2
1 3
1
3
2 2
4
6 10 7
13
10 10 9
2 2 13 10 15
1 2 13 3
6 24 32 40 33
10 17 27
5
3
4
11 1
3
5
41
13
16
4
2 2 12
(0
0)
0)
(0
0
14
8
4
13
15
18
5
6
1
19
7
3
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
7
10
3
3
4
2
1
1
4
1
1
3
3
10
10
3
37
12
3
23
3
2
5
1
2
1
4
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Inspectors_______________ ______ _
Lining-machine operators............ .
Machinists’ helpers......... ...............
Mechanics’ helpers........................ .
Millwrights’ helpers........................
1Not a sufficient number of workers to permit the presentation of an average.
fcO
7 . — Distribution of workers in paperboard industry , by average hourly earnings, region , skill, and occupation— Continued
87.5 and under
92.5 cents
15
2
3
2
4
8
7
8
1
1
3
1
110.0 cents and j
over
|
82.5 and under
87.5 cents
11
100.0 and under
110.0 cents
77.5 and under
82.5 cents
6
1
5
92.5 and under
100.0 cents
72.5 and under
77.5 cents
67.5 and under
72.5 cents
62.5 and under
67.5 cents
57.5 and under
62.5 cents
52.5 and under
57.5 cents
47.5 and under
52.5 cents
42.5 and under
47.5 cents
40.0 and under
42.5 cents
6
j
37.5 and under
40.0 cents
o
Eh
35.0 and under
37.5 cents
j
a
a
32.5 and under
35.0 cents
o
S3
jO
Number of workers having average hourly earnings of—
(Excluding extra overtime earnings)
Under 32.5 cents
Average
hourly earn
ings
Pacific region
Skilled workers:
Back tenders__________ _____
_ ....................
_____
Carpenters.__________ _________
Electricians__________ _____ ___________ _____
Engineers
______
Foremen, beater_____ _
43 $0.875 $0.834
2
0)
0)
18
(0
0)
4
0)
0)
.851
27 .894
Foremen, finish and ship
. _
Foremen, maintenance and power
_
_
Foremen, yard . ________ .
Machine tenders___________ ____________ __ . . .
Machinists_________________ .
. . . __________
5
3
5
51
16
0)
0)
(0
1.049
0)
0)
(0
(0
1. 006
0)
Mechanics and repairmen..... ..................................
Millwrights______ ______________ ____________ _
Pipefitters................................................................
Welders___________________________ _________
Miscellaneous skilled, direct
.
Miscellaneous skilled, indirect _ __
______
8
21
9
2
3
6
0)
(0
0)
(0
0)
(0
(0
(0
0)
0)
0)
0)
33
3
.732
0)
.700
0)
12
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
.721
Semiskilled workers:
Beatermen____________________ ____ _____ _____
Calender operators_____ _____________ _______
Carpenters’ helpers. ..............
....
Coating-machine operators _
.
__
Crane operators, inside .. .
____
Cutters and trimmers..................... ..................
Electricians’ helpers_____ _____________________
Felt checkers..................... ............ ......... ................
Firemen._________ ____________ ______________
Fourth hands....... ....................................................
9
2
8
22
41
3
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
6
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
3
1
1
3
13
3
14
6
0)
1
4
4
0)
0)
0)
0)
.688
2
1
2
2
3
29
3
6
1
8
2
3
3
6
1
3
4
10
9
3
1
4
9
2
1
3
2
4
4
i
1
3
3
1
1
15
1
1
3
16
1
2
4
1
2
1
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Skill and occupational group
u
<o
Excluding overtime
able
Including over
time
T
21
5
7
Oilers
Painters
14
2
3
3
6
_
__
_
Pipe-fitters’ helpers ....
Rag-cutters’ operators
_ _ _____
____________
....... ..........................
4
8
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
(l)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
Rewinders
.
__ ______________ ______
Rotary-digester operators
Shipping and receiving clerks
__
Subforemen
_
Third hands
__
_ ___________ _ __
3
0)
0)
10
3
38
0)
0)
.785
0)
0)
.746
Tractor operators, inside
Truck drivers
Miscellaneous semiskilled, direct - __
Miscellaneous semiskilled, indirect_____ ______
10
8
10
5
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
150
14
18
2
44
.684
.648
0)
0)
0)
.630
12
31
4
10
0)
. /10
Unskilled workers:
Beater helpers
Biokemen
_
_
_ _
Bundlers and wrappers.
_ .............
Dryermen_____
_ __ .............................
Fifth hands______ ____________________ _______
Fiiemen’s helpers
................
Janitors, porters, and sweepers.................
Rag-room laborers ___
_____________
Rew inder helpers
Screenmen
0)
0)
0)
.674
0)
0)
0)
. 706
0)
0)
Straw-digester laborers
Truckers, inside
________ ______ __
Watchmen__. .................................................
21
1
0)
( 1)
0)
10
23
0)
0)
0)
0)
Yard laborers
____________ _
Miscellaneous unskilled, direct....... ...... ..............
Miscellaneous unskilled, indirect...........................
59
58
2
.733
.645
0)
. 719
.644
Shipping laborers ...............................................
Sizemen
0)
1Not a sufficient number of workers to permit the presentation of an average.
2
1
11
2
2
i
1
1
3
2
1
1
1
1
5
4
7
2
3
2
1
3
1
9
2
2
4
1
20
1
4
3
2
3
2
4
1«
3
1
5
4
1
1
15
9
1
2
26
1
4
4
4
4
1
10
2
21
1
5
7
8
3
]
1
3
26
10
26
4
36
4
2
1
1
3
1
3
1
1
6
3
1
1
118
13
7
2
42
6
3
3
4
1
1
1
1
2
4
1
2
1
1
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Inspectors
Lining-machine operators ___
_ ...
Machinists’ helpers
....................
Mechanics’ helpers
_ ____________
Millwrights’ helpers___ ________________ _
24
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
A comparison of the averages for the different occupational groups
reveals that all of the skilled occupations received higher earnings
than any of the semiskilled or unskilled groups. Thus, the yard
foremen, who had the lowest average among the skilled workers,
nevertheless received 3.0 cents more per hour than the average for
the best-paid semiskilled occupation. As between semiskilled and
unskilled occupations, on the other hand, the differential was not
always in favor of the more highly skilled workers. The rag-room
laborers, for example, received slightly more than the cutters and
trimmers, the inspectors, the mechanics’ helpers, the subforemen,
the truck drivers, and the group of miscellaneous semiskilled direct
labor. Likewise, the fifth hands and the screenmen, both unskilled,
received higher averages than were shown for some of the semiskilled
jobs. Despite these variations, however, the general pattern of
earnings within each occupation, as shown by the distributions,
appears to be consistent with the differences noted between the aver
ages for the three skill-groups.
Although the occupational averages differed in detail among the
four regions, it will be observed that the relative earnings status of
the various jobs remained about the same in each area as in the
country as a whole. Thus, the maintenance and power foremen
and the machine tenders show the highest earnings in every region
where a sufficient number were scheduled to permit the presentation
of averages.
Earnings of Machine Tenders
As shown by table 7, the machine tenders constitute one of the
largest and best-paid occupational groups in the paperboard industry.
Because of their special importance in the manufacturing process,
an attempt has been made to analyze the hourly earnings of these
employees in greater detail, classifying the data by type of product,
region, and width of paper machine used. The results of this analysis
are shown in table 8.
The lowest general level of hourly earnings for machine tenders was
found in the plants making wet board. Most of these establishments
were relatively small in size and were equipped with paper machines
less than 100 inches wide. The influence of regional location and size
of machine is evident in the data for products other than wet board.
With one exception, hourly earnings of machine tenders ranged higher
in the northern than in the southern plants, within each of the product
groups for which available data permitted a regional comparison.
The exception was in the case of plants making wood-pulp board.
Of the 46 machine tenders in northern wood-pulp board establishments,
only 9 received as much as $1.10 or more, while 25 averaged less than
72.5 cents. By contrast, 41 of the 61 tenders in southern wood-pulp
25
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
T a b l e 8 .— Distribution of machine tenders in paperboard industry, by average
hourly earnings , product, region, and width of machine, Novem ber-December 1989
j
|
100 inches and over
Under 100 inches
Southern region
Northern region 1
Southern region 4
100 inches and over
| Under 100 inches
©
£
100 inches and over
-d
c03
| Under 100 inches
100 inches and over
Northern
region *
1
2
3
6
33
3
3
52.5 and under 57.5 cents
57.5 and under 62.5 cents_____ 7
62.5 and under 67.5 cents
12
67.5 and under 72.5 cents
_ _ 8
72.5 and under 77.5 eents
5
77.5 and under 82.5 cents...........
82.5 and under 87.5 cents______
87.5 and under 92.5 cents
___
92.5 and under 100.0 cents.........
100.0 and under 110.0 cents
110.0 cents and over _______
100 inches and over
|
35.0 and under 37.5 cents
37.5 and under 40.0 cents______
40.0 and under 42.5 cents _____
42.5 and under 47.5 cents
47.5 and under 52.5 cents
100 inches and over
Under 100 inches
Average hourly earnings
Under 100 inches
Northern Southern
region i region
Miscel
Wall- laneous
Felts * board
4
prodducts *
Under 100 inches
Straw- Wood-pulp
board s
board
Chipboard
12
5
11
5
10
11
i
5
3
4
6
3
1
5
4
2
5
9
9
25
6
34
35 "_3" 13
Total...... ......................... 92 117
23
11
11
9
12
12
2
7
12
5
’3'
1
3
1
8
16
1
3
5 "i§"
2
4
2
35 106
29
6
5
1
6
3
4
3
6
10
1
8
15
15
1
7
1
6
4
1
1
8
41
22
30
16
61
is’
55
24
3
1
6
1
10
5
4
1
1
2
3
3
30
1
’’9’
6
11
9
37
10
28
7
7
27
3
76
83
1
19
1Includes northeastern, midwestern, and Pacific regions.
2 All plants scheduled were located in northern regions.
There were too few wide machines to warrant
separate analysis.
3 All plants scheduled were located in northern regions.
* Data insufficient to warrant analysis by size of machine.
* Insufficient data in South to warrant separate analysis.
board plants received $1.10 or more and only 6 received less than
72.5 cents. This unusual contrast probably arises from the fact that
the more recently organized wood-pulp board plants in the South
have been forced to bid for their machine tenders from the northern
part of the country.
It will be observed also that tenders on machines 100 inches wide
and over generally received higher wages than were paid to tenders on
narrower machines. For example, in northern chipboard plants about
one-third of the tenders in plants with narrow machines averaged less
than 72.5 cents, whereas none of the tenders in plants with wide ma
chines received less than that amount. Likewise, in the southern
region, only 3 of the 23 tenders in chipboard plants with narrow
machines averaged over 72.5 cents, while only 4 of the 35 tenders in
plants employing wide machines were paid less than 72.5 cents an hour.
A similar relationship between tenders on narrow and wide machines is
found in the other products, with the exception of the miscellaneous
products group. In the latter instance, the comparison by size of
26
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
machine is probably not valid because of the variety of products
included in the group.
Overtime Earnings
Under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act in effect at
the time of the survey, manufacturing establishments engaged in
interstate commerce were required to pay 1}{ times the regular wage
rate for all time worked after 42 hours a week. Overtime policies in
about one-half of the plants surveyed conformed to this provision,
while the remaining mills scheduled had somewhat more liberal rules
governing overtime pay. Extra pay for time worked beyond 8 or 9
hours in any day, or for any work performed on Sundays or holidays,
was common. In addition, about one-sixth of the plants covered paid
extra overtime rates after 40 hours a week. This latter basis for
overtime pay became compulsory under the Fair Labor Standards Act
on October 24, 1940.
Extra wages for overtime work accounted for a substantial propor
tion of the paperboard w orked earnings at the time of the survey.
Thus, as against an industry hourly average of 59.8 cents based on
regular rates alone, the actual average, including all overtime pay,
amounted to 62.2 cents, or a difference of 2.4 cents an hour. The
additional hourly pay derived from extra overtime earnings averaged
4.3 cents for skilled, 2.4 cents for semiskilled, and 1.8 cents for unskilled
employees. The increase in average hourly earnings that resulted
from overtime rates amounted to 2.5 cents in the northeastern region,
1.7 cents in the southern region, 2.7 cents in the midwestern region,
and 2.6 cents in the Pacific region. Examination of table 7 reveals
that most of the occupational groups in the industry received a sub
stantial amount of extra overtime pay.
Weekly Hours
The 40-hour week was quite common in the paperboard industry
at the time of the survey. Of the 134 plants covered, 81 were oper
ating on a 40-hour basis, while 6 had a normal workweek of 36 hours.
Among the remaining plants surveyed, 25 had a 42-hour week, which
was the maximum permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act
without the payment of extra overtime wages. A normal week of 48
hours was reported by 14 plants, and 8 mills had workweeks which
ranged from 44 to as high as 56 hours per week.
The actual workweek averaged 42.6 hours. (See table 9.) The
average of hours worked per week varied geographically from 43.7
in the northeastern region to exactly 40 in the Pacific region. Hours
of work varied according to skill of the workers, but this difference
was not pronounced. Thus, for the country as a whole, skilled workers
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
27
averaged 43.8 hours, which was one-half hour longer than the average
workweek of the semiskilled wage earners. In turn, the unskilled
employees averaged 41.6 hours, or 1.7 hours less than the average for
the semiskilled workers. It will be observed that a similar relation
ship was found in each region.
T able
9 .— Average actual weekly hours of workers in paperboard industry , by
region and skill , November-December 1989
All
workers
Region
Skilled
workers
Semi
skilled
workers
Unskilled
workers
United States....... ...........................................................
42.6
43.8
43.3
41.6
Northeastern region........... ...... .......................................
Southern region.................. ..........................................
Midwestern region_________________________________
Pacific region....................................................................
43.7
41.8
42.5
40.0
44.5
43.9
43.6
41.0
44.4
43.0
43.0
40.6
42.8
40.4
41.9
39.1
Table 10 presents further evidence of the relatively high level
of activity in the industry at the time of the survey. Only one-sixth
(16.3 percent) of all employees received less than 40 hours of work
during the week covered, while less than 5 percent had less than
32 hours of work. One-fourth (24.9 percent) worked exactly 40
hours, and about one-fifth (19.0 percent) had 42 hours of employment.
Over one-seventh (15.1 percent) of the wage earners worked from
48 to 52 hours. This latter group consisted chiefly of the employees
of the 14 establishments that were operating on a 48-hour basis.
One-tenth (10.4 percent) of the employees surveyed were working
for 52 hours or more during the week. In each region, it will be
observed, a large proportion of the workers were employed for exactly
40, 42, or 48 hours. The concentration at 40 hours was much more
pronounced in the Pacific States than in the other regions. This
is probably accounted for by the more widespread observance in the
Pacific States of the 40-hour week as provided in the union contracts.
T a b l e 10 . — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry , by actual
weekly hours and region , November-December 1989
Weekly hours
United
States
North
eastern
region
Southern
region
Midwest
ern region
Pacific
region
Under 16 hours_________________ _______
16 and under 24 hours___________________
24 and under 32 hours__________ ______ __
32 and under 36 hours........... . ...............
36 and under 40 hours........... .................... .
0.9
1.2
2.2
5.9
6.1
0.4
.9
1.7
4.5
2.4
1.6
1.7
3.3
3.8
7.6
0.7
.9
1.9
8.5
8.4
0.9
1.5
1.6
4.5
3.6
Exactly 40 hours_____________ __________
Over 40 and under 42 hours_____ ____ ___
Exactly42hours............. ...........................
Over 42 and under 44 hours____ _____ ___
44 and under 48 hours_______ ____ _______
24.9
3.7
19.0
1.7
8.9
27.4
3.8
16.0
1.8
8.3
23.4
4.6
27.0
1.2
5.6
20.5
3.2
15.5
1.9
12.6
50.4
2.4
24.8
1.6
1.5
48 and under 52 hours........... ............... ......
52 and under 56 hours __ _______________
56 and under 60 hours........... ......................
60 hours and over
___________________
15.1
2.4
6.7
1.3
21.4
3.1
6.3
2.0
10.7
2.2
5.9
1.4
14.1
2.3
8.6
.9
6.8
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total.......... .....................................
.4
28
EARNINGS AND H OURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
Weekly Earnings
Total weekly earnings, including extra overtime pay, averaged
$26.47 for all workers covered by the survey. (See table 11.) The
skilled employees averaged $36, which was $9.09 above the average
for the semiskilled workers. The unskilled workers received $22.22,
or $4.69 less than the average for the semiskilled group.
T a b l e 11. — Average weekly earnings 1 of workers in paperboard industry , by region
and skill , Novem ber-December 1939
Region
United States . . . . . .
_.
All workers
_
■Northpastern rpginn
_
_
Sonthp.rn rpginn
... . . .
Midwpstern rpgion__
.
...
__
. ... _
Pacific region______________________________________
Skilled
workers
Semi
skilled
workers
Unskilled
workers
$26.47
$36.00
$26.91
$22.22
27.54
22.29
27.60
30. 55
35.60
35.79
35.93
39.17
27. 58
23. 54
28. 02
30. 39
23. 52
16.94
24. 02
26.46
i Including extra overtime earnings.
On a geographical basis, weekly earnings varied from $22.29 in the
southern region to $30.55 in the Pacific region. An outstanding fea
ture of the regional data is the low weekly average ($16.94) for un
skilled workers in the South, as contrasted with the relatively high
average ($35.79) for the skilled workers in the same area. This con
trast can be shown in a more striking fashion by comparing the
earnings of the skilled and unskilled workers in the southern and
Pacific regions. Thus, the skilled workers averaged $3.38 more in the
Pacific than in the southern States. For the unskilled workers, how
ever, the difference in favor of those in the Pacific region amounted
to $9.52. It will be observed that the difference between the weekly
earnings of semiskilled and of skilled workers was also considerably
greater in the southern than in the other regions.
According to the distribution shown in table 12, only 6.6 percent of
the workers scheduled averaged less than $15 a week. On the other
hand, one-sixth (16.3 percent) of the workers received $35 or more,
and a small percentage averaged better than $50 per week. The
extent of the regional variations in weekly earnings is indicated by
the areas of greatest concentration of earnings in each distribution.
Thus, the largest percentage (29.7) of workers in the northeastern
region received between $20 and $25. This interval also contained
the largest group (25.8 percent) in the midwestern region. In the
southern States, the major concentration (37.4 percent) occurred in
the lower-wage class of $15 to $20, while for the Pacific area the
modal group (35.4 percent) received from $25 to $30 per week.
EARNINGS AND HOURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
29
T a b l e 1 2 . — Percentage distribution of workers in paperboard industry , by weekly
earnings and region , Novem ber-December 1939
United
States
Weekly earnings1
North
eastern
region
Southern
region
Mid
western
region
Pacific
region
Under $5___ ________ _______ ______ ____
$5 and under $10__............. ............ .............
$10 and under $15___ _____ _____________
$15 and under $20___________________ ..
$20 and under $25_____ _______ _________ -
0.6
1.2
4.8
18.8
24.2
0.3
.7
2.1
13.3
29.7
1.2
2.5
13.8
37.4
17.5
0.5
.8
1.9
14.2
25.8
0.7
.4
1. 6
1.3
12.7
$25 and under $30___ ___________________
$30 and under $35_______________________
$35 and under $40______ ________________
$40 and under $45__________________ ____
$45 and under $50. _____ _______ __________
20.3
13.8
7.9
4.1
1.8
22.0
14.9
7.6
4.4
1.9
9.4
6.8
4.7
3.3
1.2
23. 4
15.4
9.7
4.0
2.0
35.4
26. 6
10.9
5.6
2.9
$50 and under $55_________ ____ ___ _____
$55 and under $60. __________ ___________
$60 and over_____ ______ _______________
1.2
.5
.8
1.1
.7
1.3
.6
.6
1.0
1.5
.4
.4
1.4
.3
.2
Total____________________________
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1Including extra overtime earnings.
Historical Comparisons
The only previous survey of the paperboard industry made by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics covered selected pay-roll periods in the first
6 months of 1925.4 The survey included 70 representative establish
ments employing 9,985 wage earners. In view of the fact that the
industry as defined for the earlier study coincides fairly closely with
that covered in the present survey, a comparison of the results obtained
in both surveys may reveal the general nature of the changes in the
wage structure of the industry over the 14-year period 1925-39.
The hourly earnings of all workers scheduled in the 1925 survey
averaged 51.7 cents. The average, including extra overtime earnings,
in 1939 amounted to 62.2 cents, indicating a rise of 20 percent in the
industry’s hourly wage level over the 14-year period. In 1925 the
employees worked an average of 51.6 hours per week, as compared
with an average of 42.6 hours in 1939. This represented a decline of
17.4 percent in the length of the workweek.5 Average weekly earn
ings show a slight decline over the period, dropping from $26.70 in
1925 to $26.47 (including overtime pay) in 1939.
According to the United States Census of Manufactures, the output
of paperboard in 1925 totaled 3,287,000 tons, as against a total pro
duction of 6,105,000 tons in 1939. In view of the rapid growth of the
industry it is to be expected that substantial changes may have occured
in the manufacturing processes used. These shifts would be likely to
cause changes in the relative importance of various occupational
groups and in the nature of the employees’ duties. Nevertheless, it is
* Bureau of Labor Statistics Bull. No. 407: Labor cost of production and wages and hours of labor in the
paper boxboard industry.
8 Bull. No. 407 does not present the averages of actual weekly hours and earnings for 1925. These figures
have been computed from occupational averages of actual hours worked and earnings received in a 2-week
period surveyed.
30
EARNINGS AND H OURS IN PAPERBOARD INDUSTRY
of interest to examine the data for the 2 years covering those occupa
tions which have retained their general characteristics over the period.
Table 13 presents figures for the leading occupational classes that
appear to have had approximately the same functions in 1939 as in
1925. A significant fact revealed by the table is that the relative pay
status of the occupations shown has not changed greatly during the
14 years. Thus, machine tenders received the highest hourly average
in 1925 and in 1939, while beater foremen ranked second in this respect
in both years. The third highest average both at the beginning and
at the end of the period was received by the back tenders.
T a b l e 13 .— Average hourly earnings , weekly hours , and weekly earnings o f selected
occupations in the paperboard industry , 1 925 and 1939
Occupation
Number of
employees
1925
Average hourly
earnings
1939
1925
1939
Average weekly
hours
1925
1939
Average weekly
earnings
1925
1939
Back tenders.............
Beater foremen1___
Beatermen 2_______
Beater helpers..........
Brakemen................
307
227
69
1,873
187
626
323
464
1,964
311
$0.582
.669
.520
.462
.438
$0. 733
.807
.627
.555
.556
51.8
53.8
57.4
46.2
48.8
44.1
43.0
44.4
42.5
42.7
$30.16
35.99
29. 85
21.31
21. 36
$32.33
34.69
27. 85
23.58
23.76
Cutters— ............... .
Felt checkers______
Machine tenders___
Rewinders_________
Third hands.............
38
57
300
28
154
279
104
818
86
500
.514
.435
.799
.493
.519
.587
.620
.914
.601
.646
51.2
53.9
54.5
58.8
49.8
41.7
43.7
43.8
42.7
43.3
26. 31
23.47
43. 51
28.97
25.82
24.45
27.07
39.99
25. 70
27. 97
1Termed head beatermen in Bull. No. 407.
2Termed assistant head beatermen in Bull. No. 407.
Comparison of the average weekly hours worked in 1925 and in
1939 shows that the length of the workweek of the various occupational
groups is much more uniform at the present time than it was in the
earlier year. In 1925, the average workweek among the selected
occupational groups ranged from 46.2 hours for beater helpers to
58.8 hours for rewinders, a difference of 12.6 hours. In 1939, however,
the range was from 41.7 hours for cutters to 44.4 hours for beater
men, a variation of only 2.7 hours. This development is to be ex
pected in view of the restrictions on hours imposed by the Fair Labor
Standards Act and the extension of the limitation of hours through
the process of collective bargaining.
o
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