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UNITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABO R
Frances Perkins, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commissioner (on leave)
A. F. Hinrichs, Acting Commissioner
Earnings in the Manufacture
o f Industrial Machinery, 1942
(Part 3)
Bulletin 7\[o. 720-B
(Continuation of Bulletin N o. 720)
[Reprinted from the Monthly Labor R eview
February, March, and April 1943J
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1943
For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D. C. - Price 10 cents
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
U nited States D epartment of L abor,
B ureau of L abor Statistics,
Washington, D. C., March 25, 1942.
The Secretary of L abor :
I have the honor to transmit herewith Part 3 of a report on earnings in the
manufacture of industrial and electrical machinery in 1942. This part includes
the following five branches: Machine-tool accessories, domestic laundry equip
ment, refrigerating equipment, carbon products for the electrical industry, and
electrical appliances. Part 1, published as Bulletin No. 720, dealt with agricul
tural machinery, mining machinery and equipment, textile machinery, con
struction machinery, miscellaneous industrial machinery, and oil-field machinery;
while Part 2 (Bulletin No. 720-A) dealt with machine tools, internal-combustion
engines, tractors, miscellaneous metalworking machinery, .food-products ma
chinery, and mechanical power-transmission equipment. The report was pre
pared in the Division of Wage Analysis, Robert J. Myers, Chief.
A. F. H inrichs, Acting Commissioner.
Hon. F rances Perkins ,
Secretary of Labor.
ii
CONTENTS
Preface______________ _________________________ _________________ - .........
Chapter X III.— Earnings in the manufacture of machine-tool accessories:
Summary__________________________________________________________
Scope of survey____________________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry_____________________________________
Hours and earnings________________________________________________
Chapter X IV .— Earnings in the manufacture of domestic laundry equip
ment:
Summary__________________________________________________________
Scope of survey____________________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry_____________________________________
Employment, hours, and earnings__________________________________
Chapter X V .— Earnings in the manufacture of refrigerating equipment:
Summary__________________________________________________________
Scope of survey____________________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry_____________________________________
Employment, hours, and earnings__________________________________
Chapter X V I.— Earnings in the manufacture of carbon products for
electrical industry:
Summary________
Scope of survey____________________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry_____________________________________
Employment, hours, and earnings__________________________________
Chapter X V II.— Earnings in the manufacture of electrical appliances:
Summary__________________________________________________________
Scope of survey____________________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry______________________
Employment, hours, and earnings...... .........................................
hi
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38
PREFACE
To provide basic information on the effects of the transition to a
war economy on industrial products, technological processes, occupa
tional patterns, and wage structures, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
has undertaken a series of studies of establishments manufacturing
machinery and allied products. This bulletin contains a summary
of the data collected during the second and third quarters of 1942
from plants in five branches of the machinery and electrical industries.
The individual reports are reprinted, with minor changes, from recent
issues of the Monthly Labor Review, and the products discussed are
machine-tool accessories, domestic laundiy equipment, refrigerating
equipment, carbon products for the electrical industry, and electrical
appliances.
A previous bulletin (No. 720) contains similar information on earn
ings in the manufacture of agricultural, mining, textile, construction,
miscellaneous industrial, and oil-field machinery; while No. 720-A
deals with earnings in the manufacture of machine tools, internalcombustion engines, tractors, miscellaneous metalworking machinery,
food-products machinery, and mechanical power-transmission equip
ment. Summaries of the data for other industry branches are in
preparation, and are made available in mimeographed form as the
analyses are completed.
Each of the industrial branches covered in this series of studies
has been defined in terms of the principal products of the various
plants during the year 1939—the latest period for which data are
available from the Census of Manufactures. It is recognized that
a group of plants, classified as constituting an industrial branch in
1939, may be far from a homogeneous group at the present time. It
is, nevertheless, useful to begin with the 1939 classification as a
starting point. The data on changes in types of product within a
former industry are, in themselves, highly significant since they
reflect, in addition to the developments which might be expected
over a 3-year period, the impact of the war program.
The data for this survey were collected by trained field representa
tives of the Bureau who visited the plants and analyzed pay rolls and
other pertinent records. The detailed wage data on individual
employees are limited to day-shift workers in certain occupational
groups selected for study either because of their numerical importance
or because they are key jobs. In general, however, occupational
earnings rates were compiled for 80 to 90 percent of the wage earners
employed on day shifts. The several chapters in this bulletin were
prepared bv Oscar F. Brown and Odis C. Clark under the supervision
of Harold R. Hosea.
IV
Bulletin T^o. 720-B o f the
United States Bureau o f Labor Statistics
[Reprinted from the Monthly Labor Review, February, March, and April 1943]
Earnings in the Manufacture o f Industrial
Machinery, 1942 (Part 3)
Chapter X I I I —EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES, 1942
Sum m ary
The importance of machine tools in the production of war materials
has naturally resulted in a marked expansion of the plants manufac
turing machine-tool accessories; man-hours in the industry have almost
quadrupled, and the number of employees has tripled. Average hourly
earnings which were 82.9 cents in August 1939 had risen to $1,074 by
the spring of 1942. Earnings in the industry have been affected by
the longer workweek, which increased nearly 12 hours during the same
interval. If extra payments for overtime were eliminated, average
hourly earnings for the spring of 1942 would be reduced nearly 14
cents, to 93.8 cents. It is not possible to calculate accurately the
effect on earnings of premiums paid for night work. That they are
important, however, is evident from the fact that 69 of the 141 plants
studied were operating 2 shifts and 20 were working on a 3-shift basis.
This industry is largely concentrated in midwestern and northeast
ern States. Midwestern plants appear to pay substantially higher
wages than do northeastern plants. This difference, however, is due
in part to variations in size of community and in unionization; size of
plant and method of wage payment may also have some effect.
Hourly earnings, exclusive of overtime and shift-differential pay
ments, averaged over $1.00 for each of 26 occupational groups; these
employed approximately three-eighths of the male workers for whom
detailed earnings data were secured. On the other hand, average
hourly earnings were below 60 cents for only 8 occupations.
Scope o f Survey
According to the Census of Manufactures there were, in 1939, 954
plants engaged primarily in the manufacture of accessories for machine
tools and other metalworking machinery. These establishments in
clude plants manufacturing such accessories as jigs and dies, metal
cutting and shaping tools, and machinists’ precision tools.1 The 141
i This definition corresponds to that of Census Industry No. 1742.
1
2
EARNINGS IN T H E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
plants from which data were obtained by means of this survey consti
tute approximately 20 percent of the 687 establishments which em
ployed an average of 6 or more workers during 1939; 267 plants em
ploying 5 workers or less were excluded from the scope of the present
survey. The sample plants were selected, as far as possible, to be
representative of the industry with respect to geographic region, size
(in terms of number of employees), and certain other characteristics.
Most of the earnings data reported in this study are based on a rep
resentative pay-roll period during April, May, or June 1942.2
Characteristics o f the In du stry
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Almost three-fifths of the plants classified by the Bureau of the
Census in this industry are in the North Central States, and nearly
two-thirds of the industry’s workers were employed in this area in 1939.
Slightly more than one-third of the plants and workers in the industry
were in the Northeastern States; about twice as many plants but only
two-thirds as many workers were in the three States of New Jersey, New
York, and Pennsylvania as in the New England States. Few such
plants are found elsewhere in the country; the Pacific Coast States,
next in importance, had only about 5 percent of the plants and less
than 1 percent of the workers in the industry.
There is no great similarity in the geographic distribution of plants
manufacturing machine-tool accessories and those in the machine-tool
industry itself; over one-third of the workers in the machine-tool
industry are employed in the New England States, but only about
one-fifth of the workers in plants producing accessories are in this area.
On the other hand, only a little more than half of the workers in the
machine-tool industry are in the North Central States, as compared
with nearly two-thirds of those in accessory plants. It is evident that
the manufacture of machine-tool accessories is more concentrated
in the areas where these accessories are utilized. This is well illus
trated by the fact that nearly 30 percent of all workers in the machinetool-accessories industry are employed in Michigan, center of the
automotive industry.
PRODUCTION OF WAR MATERIALS
The urgent demand for machine tools in the production of war
materials has necessitated a rapid expansion in the output of acces
sories. Very few of the plants manufacturing machine-tool acces
sories have changed to production of munitions or other direct war
materials. The war program has resulted principally in an increase
in the number of plants and personnel, with no significant changes in
product or technology. This expansion has not been restricted to
plants already within the industry at the outbreak of the war; many
plants formerly classified in other industries, especially those manu
facturing various types of industrial machines, have in the past year
produced a substantial volume of machine-tool parts and accessories.
* March pay-roll periods were used for 4 plants and July or August pay-roll periods for the 5 other plants.
MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES
3
THE LABOR FORCE
Distributions by skill class are available for the 11,368 workers
for whom detailed earnings data were compiled in the Bureau's study.
Approximately 38 percent of the male workers may be regarded as
skilled, about 48 percent as semiskilled, and 14 percent as unskilled.
It might be expected that this industry, which is characterized by
large amounts of high-precision work, would require proportionately
larger numbers of skilled workers. The contrast, however, between
this and many other machinery industries is not in the numbers of
skilled employees, but rather in the proportions of semiskilled and
unskilled workers. The plants manufacturing machine-tool acces
sories show about the same proportion of skilled workers as that found
in machinery manufacture generally, but relatively more semiskilled
and fewer unskilled workers are employed. The use of large numbers
of semiskilled workers is possible in part because of the specialization
of individual plants. Many plants in this industry concentrate on
only one or two types of accessories, such as chucks, dies, drills, or
reamers, even though they may produce many designs of the same type
of accessories according to customers' specifications. This specializa
tion permits considerable division and dilution of skill of labor, even
in relatively small shops, and much of the high-precision work is thus
performed by semiskilled workers operating complex automatic and
semiautomatic machinery.
At the time of the present survey, women constituted less than 3
percent of the factory workers in the plants studied; they were em
ployed in only 23 of the 141 plants. In 5 of the plants, however,
women constituted over 20 percent of the factory workers, and in 1 of
these plants over 50 percent. A somewhat larger proportion of semi
skilled than unskilled female workers was employed; few skilled
woman workers were reported in the industry. The trend toward
the employment of women as machine operators is reflected by the
fact that a substantial number of the female workers in this industry
are operating grinding machines, milling machines, engine lathes, and
drill and punch presses, although not as skilled operators. Other
occupations in which women are employed in this industry are in
spectors, bench assemblers, burrers, and stock and time clerks.
There is little doubt that increasing numbers of women will be
employed for these types of work in the future.
In the 26 plants which reported the employment of Negroes, colored
persons formed slightly more than 2 percent of the workers; the
remaining 115 plants employed no workers of this race. In only
3 plants did Negroes comprise as much as 10 percent of all employees;
of the total employment in all the plants studied, they formed less
than half of 1 percent. About 40 percent of the colored workers in
this industry were employed in unskilled jobs, typically as laborres,
helpers, material handlers, and janitors. On the other hand, among
the Negroes employed were a working foreman, a toolmaker, 35
grinding-machine operators, and 4 engine-lathe operators. Negroes
were found in union and nonunion shops, in large and small plants, in
small as well as large cities, and in the East, Midwest, and Far West.
Only about a fourth of the plants studied were operating under
agreements with nationally affiliated unions, but the 36 organized
4
EARNINGS IQST THE) MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
plants employed slightly more than one-third of the workers studied.
Twenty-two of the agreements involved unions affiliated with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, 8 with the American Federation
of Labor, 5 with the Mechanics' Educational Society of America, and
1 with the International Die Sinkers' Union. Two plants had agree
ments with an independent union. Union shops were more common
in the North Central States; 31 of the 82 plants in that area were
operating under union agreements. In fact, among the plants studied,
only unions affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations
had working agreements in any other area. Approximately 47 percent
of the workers in the North Central area were covered by agreements,
as compared with about 14 percent of the workers in the Northeastern
States; none of the 3 plants studied in the Pacific Coast States had a
union agreement.
The typical organized shop in this industry is a large plant situated
in a large city. Over 36 percent of the plants with 50 or more workers
were union shops; less than 15 percent of the smaller plants reported
agreements. In cities of 1,000,000 or more population, 21 of the 45
plants studied were operating under union agreements; only 15 of the
96 plants in the smaller cities were organized.
METHOD OF WAGE PAYM ENT
Only 12 of the 141 plants employed an incentive method of wage
payment for their workers; and only about 40 percent of the workers
in these 12 plants were paid piece or bonus rates. The fact that only
10 percent of the workers work under incentive-wage plans reflects
the lack of standardization in the accessories for machine tools.
Although such parts are relatively small, the designs vary with the
specific needs of the purchaser. Thus, frequent set-ups are necessary
and processes are not often repetitive or routine; consequently, piece
rates cannot easily be established. In small plants (with fewer than
250 employees) less than 1 percent of the workers were paid piece or
bonus rates, but in larger plants about 20 percent were paid on an
incentive basis.
In 56 plants payment for overtime work was made on the basis of
minimum statutory requirements, i. e., time and a half for work over
40 hours per week. In 87 plants this rate also applied to all work over
8 hours in 1 day. In general, the larger plants were more liberal in
their provisions for overtime rates; approximately half the plants em
ploying fewer than 100 workers paid overtime rates only as required
by Federal statute. On the other hand, all but 7 of the 44 plants em
ploying 100 or more workers reported somewhat more liberal pro
visions.
Time and a half was paid for overtime work on Saturday in 39
plants and for work on the sixth consecutive day in 2 more, on Sun
day in 16 plants, and on holidays in 12 plants. At the time of the
survey, double time was paid for work on Sunday in 45 plants and in
1 plant for work on the seventh consecutive day; in 33 plants the
double rate was paid for work on holidays. Seven plants paid this
rate after 10 hours of work in 1 day, 2 plants after 11 hours, 3 plants
after 12 hours, and 1 plant after 16 hours. Six plants paid double
time for Saturday work in excess of 8 hours, 1 plant for Saturday work
above 10 hours, and another for that in excess of 12 hours.
5
MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES
Of the 141 plants studied, 52 operated on a 1-shift basis, 69 oper
ated 2 shifts, and 20 reported 3 shifts.3 Of the 89 plants reported as
operating more than 1 shift, 27 paid no differential for either evening
or night shift; 1 other paid a differential for the night shift but not
for the evening shift. Two plants paid premium rates to only a part
of the workers on the second shift; 1 plant paid 5 percent extra in the
tool and pattern departments, but not in the foundry, and another
10 percent extra to machine-tool operators only. In 5 plants, workers
on the second shift were given a half-hour lunch period with pay but
no other premium (table 1).
T able 1.— W age Differentials fo r Second and Third Shifts in M achine- T ool-A ccessories
Plants, A p ril-J u n e 1942
Number of shifts
worked
Plants with 1 shift only.
Plants with 2 shifts.......
Num
ber of
plants
52
22
5
18
1
1
7
1
1
1
10
1
1
Plants with 3 shifts
5
1
6
1
1
2
4
Second shift
No differential............. ................
A half-hour paid lunch period.......
5 cents per hour over base rate___
5 cents per hour over base rate,
plus paid lunch period.
8 cents per hour over base rate___
10 cents per hour over base rate...
20 cents per hour over base rate.. .
5 percent over base rate for tool
and pattern departments only.
10 percent over base rate for ma
chine-tool operators only.
10 percent over base rate________
10 percent over base rate, plus paid
lunch period.
1-hour bonus, plus regular daily
earnings.
No differential. ................ ............
.......do____ ______ _______ _____
5 cents per hour over base rate___
___ do__________ _____________
5 percent over base rate.................
___ do_______________ ________
10 percent over base rate...............
Third shift
No differential.
Work 5 days, paid for 6.
5 cents per hour over base rate
10 cents per hour over base rate
5 percent over base rate.
10 percent over base rate.
Do.
Of those plants operating more than 1 shift, 26 paid a 5-cent dif
ferential for work on the second shift; one of these paid for the lunch
period in addition to the 5-cent bonus. Another plant paid an 8-cent
bonus to workers on the evening shift, 7 paid a 10-cent bonus, and 1
paid 20 cents. Some plants paid a bonus based on earnings at the
regular rates; 3 paid a differential of 5 percent and 15 a differential
of 10 percent, and one of the latter gave a half-hour paid lunch period
in addition to the 10-percent bonus. In 1 plant workers on the second
shift were paid a bonus of 1 hour’s pay. Of the 20 plants which
operated 3 shifts, 6 paid a bonus of 5 cents per hour to workers on the
night shift, and another paid a bonus of 10 cents. One plant paid a
differential of 5 percent to workers on the night shift and 6 plants
paid a 10-percent differential. Another plant gave 6 days’ pay for 5
days’ work on the night shift. Only 5 plants which operated 3 shifts
paid no differential for the third shift.
3 1 plant operates continuously by the use of 2 long shifts and a swing shift, the latter ordinarily for week
ends.
528870°—43---- 2
6
EARNINGS IN THE' MANUFACTURE. OF MACHINERY
H ours and Earnings
TREND FROM 1939 TO 1942
Comparable data on employment and earnings for selected periods
since the outbreak of the war are available for 120 of the 141 plants
studied. Employment more than tripled in these plants from August
1939 to April-June 1942. The average workweek increased from
slightly less than 43 hours in August 1939 to over 54 hours in AprilJune 1942 (table 2). This parallel expansion in employment and
lengthening of the workweek resulted in an increase in man-hours in
these identical firms to nearly 4 times the corresponding figure for
August 1939. The increase in activity varied somewhat for different
types of plants.
T able 2.— Average H ou rly Earnings and Average W eekly H ours in 120 M achine-Tool*
Accessories Plants fo r Specified Periods, 1 9 3 9 -4 2
Average
hourly
earnings
Period
Estimated
average
hourly earn
ings, exclusive
of extra
overtime
payments
$0,829
.845
.861
.875
.937
1.074
August 1939....................................................................
April 1940 ......................................................................
August 1940 ___________________________________ .
February 1941..................................... ...........................
August i941 __________ __________ -........................
April-June 1942__________________________________
Average
weekly
hours
42.6
44.3
47.5
49.4
49.7
54.3
$0,791
.794
.787
.789
.843
.938
In plants which employed fewer than 50 workers in August 1939,
the average workweek increased from slightly less than 44 hours to
approximately 55 hours—a rise of over 25 percent (table 3). On
the other hand, the workweek in the larger plants increased nearly 29
percent, from approximately 42 to 54 hours. Since the rate of in
crease in the number of employees was also somewhat higher in
the larger plants, the increase in man-hours was over 12 percent
greater in these plants than in the smaller establishments.
T able 3.— Average H ou rly Earnings and Average W eekly H ours in 118 1 North Central
and Northeastern M achine-Tool-Accessories Plants, August 1939 and A p ril-J u n e 1942
Average hourly
earnings
Item
Estimated average hourly
earnings, exclusive of extra Average weekly hours
overtime payments
Au April- Perof August
gust June cent
in
1939
1939
1942 crease
Per
April- Percent of Au Aprilof
June cent
in
June 1942 increase gust
1939
1942 crease
North Central plants 2_....... $0,895 $1.180
Northeastern plants3.......... .683
.831
31.8
21.7
$0,847
.661
$1,032
.725
21.8
9.7
43.5
40.7
54.2
54.6
24.6
34.2
Plants with—
Fewer than 50 workers..
50 or more workers........
30.5
28.7
.764
.807
.919
.948
20.3
17.4
43.9
41.9
55.1
54.0
25.5
28.8
.810
.841
1.057
1.083
1 Plants in Pacific Coast States are not included in this table.
Includes plants in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
3 Includes plants in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsyl
vania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
2
7
MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES
The workweek in plants in the Northeast increased approximately
34 percent on the average, from slightly more than 40 to nearly 55
hours. By contrast, the workweek in the North Central plants
increased only about 25 percent, from nearly 44 hours to slightly
more than 54 hours. The rate of increase in man-hours of work
was about 5 percent higher for plants in the Northeast than for
those in the North Central States.
After eliminating the effect of increased overtime, average hourly
earnings in these 120 plants rose from 79.1 cents in August 1939 to
93.8 cents in April-June 1942, an increase of approximately 19 percent
for the 33-month period. The rate of increase was somewhat higher
for plants which employed fewer than 50 workers in 1939 than for
larger plants. In a regional comparison, the average hourly earnings
in North Central plants show a rate of increase over twice as great
as for plants in the Northeast, 21.8 as compared with 9.7 percent.
PLANT AVERAGES
Although plant averages are often distorted by extra overtime
payments and shift differentials, they do serve, within certain limits,
to "show variations among plants in the earnings of the workers.
Data for general average earnings of all workers were secured for
139 plants.
A comparison of plant averages shows very little difference between
large and small plants, a difference rather common among other
industries. The explanation is due, in part, to certain differences in
the composition of the labor force. Small plants are unable to effect as
much division of labor as large plants. Consequently, with less
dilution of skill, they must employ a larger proportion of skilled labor.
T able 4.— Distribution o f M achine-Tool-Accessories Plants by Plant Average H ou rly
Earnings and b y Size o f Plant, A p ril—June 1942
Plants employing—
Plant average hourly earnings
All plants
100 workers
or less
Over 100
workers
__ _____
_ _
$0.40 and tinder $0.50 . __
$0.50 and lindp.r *0.60 _ _.
_
__ __
$0.60 and under $0.70_____________ ____________________
$0.70 and under $0.80___________ _____-______ __________
$0.80 and under $0 90
2
6
7
18
20
2
3
4
14
14
3
3
4
6
$0.90 and under $1.00
$1.00 and under $1.10__________ ________ ________ _______
$1.10 and under $1.20................................................................
$1.20 and under $1.30.................................... ...........................
$1.30 and under $1.40................................................................
17
18
16
14
4
11
16
11
8
2
6
3
4
6
2
$1.40 and under $1.50 _ _. _ ___
_
_________
$1.50 and under $1.60
____
_...
_____
$1.60 and under $1.80 _ _ ___ ____
_ _____ ...
$1 80 and under $2.00
$2.00 or over____ _________ ________ ___________________
8
2
6
2
1
6
1
3
1
1
3
1
2
1
AVERAGE EARNING S BY OCCUPATION
Straight-time average earnings in 5 occupational groups of male
workers—class A boring-mill operators, class A grinding-machine
operators, class A lay-out men, wood-pattern makers, and class A
tool and die makers—were substantially above $1.30 per hour. In
12 other occupations, average earnings were more than $1.10 per hour,
and in 9 more the average hourly earnings were above $1.00. Thus,
8
EARNINGS IN T H E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
average hourly earnings were more than $1.00 in 26 occupational
groups, in which were employed nearly 38 percent of the male workers
for whom detailed earnings data were secured.
On the other hand, in 6 occupational groups other than apprentices
and learners, the average hourly earnings were below 60 cents. The
occupations at this lower wage level were class C burrers, elevator
operators, machine operators’ helpers, class C punch-press operators,
class C testers, and hand truckers. Average hourly earnings were
less than 70 cents for 19 other occupational groups. In 27 occupations
(including apprentices and learners), in which were employed slightly
less than 25 percent of the male workers for whom detailed earnings
data are available, average earnings were below 70 cents per hour.
The range of average earnings for male workers was from 53.7 cents
per hour for hand truckers to $1.44 for wood-pattern makers.
It is evident that comparative wage levels of different classes of
workers in some occupations are influenced by variations in wage
structure. Classes B and C inspectors have the same average wage
in the industry as a whole (table 5). This is the result of the disproortionate number of class C inspectors who are employed in the
Forth Central plants, which generally paid higher wages. This
factor also explains why there is so little difference between earnings
for classes B and C grinding-machine operators and classes B and C
punch-press operators.
S
T able 5.— Average
H ou rly Earnings 1 o f D ay-Shift Workers in Selected Occupations in
M achine-Tool-Accessories Plants, A p ril-J u n e 1942
United States
Occupation and class
New England
and Middle
Atlantic
North Central
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
hourly
of
hourly
of
hourly
of
workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings
__
100.0
$0.914
100.0
$0,768
100.0
$1,008
Male workers____________________________
Acetyl Anp.-hi'irnfvr operators
Apprentices, first year _________________
Apprentices, second year________________
Apprentices, third year_________________
Apprentices, fourth year________________
Assemblers, bench, ^lass A
Assemblers, bench, class B ______________
Assemblers, bench, class O______________
Assemblers, floor, class A ..______________
Assemblers, floor, class B _______________
Assemblers, floor, class C _ _____________
Boring-mill operators, class A ___________
Boring-mill operators, class B ____________
"Rroflching-rnflchine operators - _________
Buffers____ ______________ ______ _____
Burrers, class B ________________________
Burrers, class C________________________
Carpenters, class A_____________________
Carpenters, class B ____________________
Carpenters, class C____________________
Casting cleaners, _ ____________________
Coremakers, class A, _ _________________
_ ________________
Crane operators
Craters ____________________________
"Die setters
________________
"Drill-press operators, class A
________
Drill-press operators, class B ________ ____
Drill-press operators, class C ____________
Drop-hammer operators, class A _________
Electricians
_______________________
Elevator operators_____ ________________
Firemen, stationary boiler__ ____________
Foremen, working, class A______ ________
Foremen, working, class B ______________
Foremen, working, class C...........................
97.6
(2)
1.0
.9
.4
.1
1.0
1.6
1.0
.4
.4
.2
.8
.2
.1
1.3
.4
.3
.923
.790
.545
.692
.785
.919
1.132
.814
.717
1.041
.785
.778
1.380
.978
.864
.874
.776
.579
1.004
.664
.631
.654
1.092
.996
.642
.900
.935
.719
.648
.968
1.026
.587
.626
1.220
.836
.806
97.0
.778
.7
.9
.3
.526
.626
.659
(3)
.917
.745
.701
.849
.720
(3)
1.003
(3)
<3)
.738
.731
.551
(3)
.630
.533
(3)
(3)
98.0
.1
1.1
.8
.4
.1
1.1
1.3
1.3
.5
.6
.3
1.2
.3
.1
1.2
.2
.2
(2)
(2)
.1
.9
.6
.1
.1
.1
.5
.5
.8
.1
.4
.1
(2)
1.0
.4
.1
1.016
.790
.539
.733
.844
.980
1.218
.887
.720
1.096
.791
.787
1.417
1.037
.837
.982
.864
.623
(8)
(3)
.766
.689
(3)
.996
.679
.900
.953
.839
.704
(3)
1.124
(3)
(3)
1.372
.887
.888
Total workers
.. J ,
............
See footnotes at end of table.
(8). i
.2
.7
.4
.1
.1
.1
.5
.7
.7
.1
.3
.1
.1
1.2
.5
.1
(l).7
2.1
.4
.2
.1
(2)
.2
.1
.1
1.5
.7
.5
(2)
.2
.2
.4
.1
.1
.5
1.0
.7
(2)
.2
(2)
.2
1.6
.6
.1
(3)
.904
.628
.552
.840
.708
(3)
.584
1.079
.782
.590
9
MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES
T able 5.— Average H ourly Earnings 1 o f D ay-Shift Workers in Selected Occupations
in M achine-Tool-Accessories Plants, A pril—June 1942 — Continued
United States
Occupation and class
New England
and Middle
Atlantic
North Central
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
of
hourly
of
hourly
of
hourly
workers earnings workers earnings workers earnings
Male workers—Continued.
Gear cutters, class A....................................
Gear cutters, class B ....................................
Gear finishers...............................................
Grinding-machine operators, class A............
Grinding-machine operators, class B ............
Grinding-machine operators, class C ............
Heat treaters, class A ..................................
Heat treaters, class B_........ ........................
Helpers, journeymen’s—..............................
Helpers, machine operators’........................
Inspectors, class A........................................
Inspectors, class B ........................................
Inspectors, class C........................................
Janitors-......................................................
Job setters....................................................
Laborers........ —...........................................
Laborers, foundry........................................
Lathe operators, engine, class A...................
Lathe operators, engine, class B ...................
Lathe operators, engine, class C...................
Lathe operators, turret, class A....................
Lathe operators, turret, class B . ..................
Lay-out men, class A...................................
Learners, journeyman..................................
Learners, machine operator..........................
Learners, other.............................................
Machinists, class A................ .....................
Machinists, class B ......................................
Metal-saw operators....................................
Milling-machine operators, class A..............
Milling-machine operators, class B ..............
Milling-machine operators, class C ..............
Millwrights......... ........ ..............................
Packers........................................................
Painters, brush............................................
Painters, spray............................................
Patternmakers, wood...................................
Planer operators__________ _______ _____
Punch-press operators, class A .....................
Punch-press operators, class B .....................
Punch-press operators, class O.....................
Repairmen, machine, class A............. ........
Sandblasters................................................
Screw-machine operators, class A .................
Screw-machine operators, class B .................
Screw-machine operators, class C ................
Shaper operators............. ...........................
Stock clerks.............................................. .
Straighteners...........................................
Testers, class B .................... ........... ..........
Testers, class C........ ............. .....................
Thread-milling-machine operators...............
Time clerks_____________ __________ _
Tool and die makers, class A .„ ...................
Tool and die makers, class B — ...................
Tool grinders............. ........ ......................
Truck drivers....................................... ......
Truckers, hand............................................
Watchmen......................... ........................
Welders, hand, class A.................................
Welders, hand, class B .................................
Welders, machine.........................................
Female workers. . .................................... ......
Assemblers, bench................... ...................
Burrers.......................................................
Drill-press operators........ .................. .........
Grinding-machine operators.........................
Inspectors........................................... .......
Lathe operators, engine........................... .
Learners.............. ....................... ...............
Milling-machine operators...........................
Packers................ ......................................
Punch-press operators..................................
Stock clerks.................................................
Time clerks___________________________
$1.103
0.1
.2
.840
.3
.746
1.343
6.8
.785
7.5
.8
.733
.6
1.038
.750
.8
.8
.731
.6
.599
1.166
1.0
1.7
.748
.7
.748
1.8
.657
.5
1.010
.650
1.3
.3
.682
3.7
1.170
.774
3.4
.653
.8
1.132
1.1
.819
1.0
.1
1.418
.623
1.7
7.2
.628
.571
1.0
1.150
1.7
1.2
.860
.8
.725
2.9
1.152
.821
3.6
.4
.738
.7
.843
.621
1.0
.3
.747
.1
.881
.2
1.440
1.034
.6
.1
1.074
.3
.666
.589
.6
1.020
1.1
.1
.929
.5
1.170
.7
.786
.3
.691
.9 . 1.123
2.4
.720
.984
.8
.1
.625
.1
.581
.4
.823
.4
.642
9.4
1.382
.1
.855
1.2
1.168
.3
.818
.5
.537
.621
1.3
.2
1.147
.1
.770
.3
.811
2.4
.559
.1
.460
.1
.471
.1
.444
.4
.502
.4
.704
.1
.563
.4
.537
.4
.624
.1
.533
.1
.527
.1
.479
.1
.441
(*)
0.2
.6
6.4
8.9
.1
.6
1.0
.6
.8
.8
1.5
.3
1.7
.4
1.0
.2
3.3
4.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
(2>
2.6
6.3
1.7
1.7
1.3
.8
3.1
4.4
1.0
.6
1.3
.2
(2)
.1
.4
.4
.6
.7
1.0
.1
.2
.6
.2
.6
2.1
1.3
.1
.2
.7
.2
8.7
.3
.8
.2
.6
1.1
(2)
(2)
.4
3.0
.3
.2
.2
.8
.3
(2)
.1
.6
.3
(3)
$0,597
.647
1.193
.699
.507
.792
.586
.575
.494
.824
.550
.518
.512
.890
.573
(3)
1.035
.671
.494
.954
.661
(3)
.535
.501
.524
1.069
.736
.675
.949
.718
.723
.683
. 506
. *>02
(3)
(3)
.829
1.086
.648
.518
.752
(3)
.826
.651
.487
.967
.593
.954
(3)
(3)
.826
.584
1.227
.855
.700
.607
.459
.521
(3)
(3)
.636
.459
.450
.436
.444
.520
.409
(3)
.427
.467
.445
0.2
.3
.2
7.4
6.9
1.3
.7
.7
1.0
.5
1.1
1.7
1.0
1.8
.5
1.4
.4
4.0
2.9
.6
1.0
1.0
.1
1.1
8.0
.5
1.6
1.1
.8
2.7
3.2
.1
.7
.9
.3
.1
.4
.8
(2)
.2
.5
1.2
.2
.6
.9
.3
1.2
2.6
.4
(2)
(2)
.2
.4
9.6
$1.157
.925
.989
1.427
.858
.749
1.186
.906
.789
.710
1.332
.863
.789
.747
1.084
.685
.723
1.243
.869
.830
1.275
.943
1.579
.757
.693
.677
1.206
.952
.760
1.306
.913
.880
.933
.733
.816
.895
1.517
1.113
(3)
.711
.644
1.167
1.018
1.240
.849
.808
1.176
.790
.986
(3)
(3)
.819
.654
1.476
1.4
.4
.4
1.5
.2
.1
.1
2.0
(2)
(2)
1.330
.866
.628
. 669
1.156
.784
1.143
.656
(3)
(3)
.2
.468
.5
. 838
.1
.583
.5
.558
.3
.848
.1
(3)
.1
.527
.2
.394
.1
(3)
(*)
(3)
(*)
.1
1 Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
* Less than 0.05 per
cent.
3 Number of plants and/or workers too small to justify computation of an average.
10
EARNINGS IN TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
Among female workers in the industry, average earnings ranged
from 44.1 cents per hour for time clerks to 70.4 cents for inspectors.
Only 1 other occupational group, milling-machine operators, received
an average of more than 60 cents per hour. Average earnings in 5 of
the 12 occupations in which any substantial number of women were
employed were less than 50 cents per hour.
The low earnings of female workers in an industry which otherwise
has a relatively high wage level are due to several factors. First, the
employment of women in any substantial numbers in the industry is
comparatively recent, and many of the female workers are still em
ployed at starting rates. Second, because of their recent hiring,
these women are often employed at the more routine and repetitive
tasks, whereas men are performing the more complicated jobs. With
some few exceptions, moreover, the plants employing the larger
numbers of women were plants with average hourly rates below the
level for the industry.
DIFFEREN CES IN REGIONS AND METROPOLITAN AREAS
The combined weighted totals shown in table 5 indicate a wage
advantage of about 24 cents per hour for workers in the North
Central States over those in the Northeast. When the comparison
is made for individual occupations of male workers, a substantial
difference in the same direction is also generally found, an outstanding
exception being the job of thread-milling-machine operators. Workers
in this occupation in the Northeast received on an average less than
1 cent more than those doing similar work in the North Central plants.
In all other occupations for which reliable comparisons are possible
the workers in the North Central plants received higher earnings
than those in the Northeastern plants. For 61 of the 71 occupations
for male workers the differences were greater than 10 cents per hour;
for 25 occupations the differences were as great as 25 cents; and in 8
the differences were greater than 40 cents per hour. These regional
differences are, in part, a reflection of the wage levels of two large
metropolitan areas, Cleveland and Detroit; 31 of the 82 North Cen
tral plants were in these areas.
It is evident from table 6 that male workers in plants situated in
large cities receive higher wages than those employed in smaller
communities. Workers employed by plants in metropolitan areas
of 500,000 or more population received an average of 15 cents more
than those in less heavily populated areas. In 40 of the 45 occupational
groups for which reliable comparisons could be made, the workers
in the large metropolitan areas received the higher earnings. Workers
in large metropolitan areas had a wage advantage of 20 cents or more
in 17 occupations. In the plants in large metropolitan areas, 16 of
the 45 occupational groups had average earnings of $1.00 or more per
hour, but only 9 occupational groups in plants in smaller communities
had average hourly earnings as high as $1.00. On the other hand,
in the smaller communities 22 of the 45 occupations showed average
earnings of less than 70 cents per hour, as compared with only 5
occupations in the large metropolitan areas.
11
MACHINE-TOOL ACCESSORIES
T able 6. — Average H ou rly Earnings o f M ale D ay-Shift Workers in Selected Occupations
in M achine-Tool-Accessories Plants, by Size o f M etropolitan Area , A p ril-J u n e 1942
Average hourly
earnings 1 in
metropolitan
areas of—
Occupation and class
Less
500,000
than
or more
500,000 popula
popula
tion
tion
All occupations.........................
$0,857
$1,003
Apprentices, first year..............
Apprentices, second year..........
Assemblers, class A...................
Assemblers, class B ...................
Assemblers, class C_.................
Boring-mill operators, class A__
Buffers........... ..........................
Drill-press operators:
Class B...............................
Class C...............................
Foremen, working, class A____
Grinding-machine operators:
Class A..............................
Class B ...............................
Class C...............................
Heat treaters, class A................
Heat treaters, class B ................
Helpers, journeymen’s..............
Inspectors, class A....................
Inspectors, class B ....................
Inspectors, class C....................
Janitors.....................................
Laborers....................................
Lathe operators, engine:
Class A...............................
.500
.651
.884
.679
.520
1.304
.811
.601
.743
1.240
.905
.761
1.423
.990
.645
.579
1.173
.827
.714
1.321
1.187
.719
.631
.856
.631
.724
1.016
.640
.598
.553
.609
1.467
.836
.812
1.242
.928
.740
1.295
1.048
.806
.753
.682
1.079
1.259
Average hourly
earnings 1 in
metropolitan
areas of—
Occupation and class
500,000
than
more
500,000 or
popula
popula tion
tion
Lathe operators, engine—Con.
Class B ...............................
Class C ...... ....... ...............
Lathe operators, turret:
Class A...............................
Class B .........................
Learners, journeyman...............
Learners, machine operator___
Learners, other.........................
Machinists, class A...................
Machinists, class B ...................
Metal-saw operators..................
Milling-machine operators:
Class A...............................
Class B ...............................
Millwrights...............................
Packers.....................................
Planer operators.......................
Repairmen, machine, class A ...
Screw-machine operators, class
B ...........................................
Shaper operators........
Stock clerks................
Straighteners..............
Tool and die makers...
Tool-grinder operators.
Watchmen..................
Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
$0,688
.494
$0,844
.729
.994
.650
.644
.520
.542
1.172
.921
.703
1.205
.890
.608
.700
.613
1.130
.801
.743
.971
.721
.791
.547
.872
.804
.948
.723
1.150
1.223
.658
1.014
.624
.967
1.402
1.066
.591
.960
1.197
.807
.954
1.362
1.224
12
EARNINGS' IN THEI MANUFACTURE, OF MACHINERY
Chapter XIV.— EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
DOMESTIC LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT, 1942
Sum m ary
In the summer of 1942, the 9 plants included in this survey were
using nearly all of their facilities in the production of direct war
materials; considerable plant conversion was found necessary. All
but 1 of the establishments studied were working at least 2 shifts.
Employment in these plants increased over 40 percent between
August 1939 and the summer of 1942; average hourly earnings in
creased 25.3 cents—from 68.8 cents to 94.1 cents per hour—during
the same period. It is estimated that about a third of this rise in
earnings was a result of increases in extra payments for overtime work.
Average hourly earnings in plants which had over 250 workers were
about 14 percent higher than those in establishments with 250 or
fewer. This industry is concentrated in the North Central States.
More than a tenth of the workers were in the 10 occupational groups
which showed average hourly earnings of $1 or more, exclusive of
extra payments for overtime and night work; 4 percent were in groups
which averaged less than 60 cents per hour.
Scope o f Survey
According to the latest Census of Manufactures (1939), there were,
in the United States, 42 plants “engaged primarily in the manu
facture of laundry equipment for household use, comprising washing
machines, ironing machines, wringers, driers, and extractors, whether
operated by mechanical power Or by hand.” 4 Of this total, 5 estab
lishments reported fewer than 6 wage earners, and were excluded
from the scope of this survey. The remaining 37 plants as a group
employed an average of 7,456 workers during 1939, and slightly over
a third (36.6 percent) were working in the 9 establishments included
in this survey. This small industry is largely concentrated in the
North Central States. In 1939 almost three-fifths of all the plants
and approximately two-thirds of the workers in the industry were
in the 3 States of Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio. Few such plants are
found elsewhere; New York, with about an eighth of the wage earners
in the industry, is the only State outside the North Central region
in which the manufacture oi domestic laundry equipment is important.
The plants selected for study are distributed in essentially the same
manner. The current earnings data shown in this report are based
on a representative pay-roll period during July or August 1942.
Characteristics o f the Industry
TYPE OF PRODUCT
The manufacture of domestic laundry equipment is a highly spe
cialized industry and makes use of a particular pattern of standard
metalworking techniques. The electrical equipment used in most of
4 This definition corresponds to that of Census Industry No. 1781.
DOMESTIC LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT
13
the items produced is purchased from manufacturers of electrical
devices, and only the larger establishments operate their own foun
dries. Washing machines for household use were by far the most
important single product of the industry; in 1939, this one item
accounted for over 80 percent by value of the total output. Over
90 percent of the household washers produced in 1939 were electrically
driven; the remaining machines were powered mostly by gasoline
engines. The manufacture of hand-operated machines was relatively
unimportant. Aside from household washers, electric ironing machines
constituted the only other important single article of production in
the industry. A miscellaneous group consisting for most part of
ironing attachments, wringers, cabinet driers, extractors, parts, and
accessories accounted for about 11 percent by value of the total
output.
Included among the products mentioned above was a substantial
output of goods made as secondary products by establishments
classified by the Census hi other industries; the domestic laundry
equipment made by such concerns amounted to nearly 10 percent
of the value of the total produced in the United States. On the other
hand, less than 2 percent of the value of total production of domesticlaundry-equipment plants consisted of products not classified in this
industry.
PRODUCTION OF WAR MATERIALS
The effect of the war was relatively retarded in this industry
Until fairly late in 1942, the plants studied were almost wholly
engaged in manufacturing their usual products at an increasing rate.
Of the 9 plants covered in the survey, the 3 which were producing
war materials in 1941 were using less than 1 percent of their facili
ties in defense production. By August 1942, however, all the plants
in the survey were manufacturing direct war materials, and small as
well as large plants were affected. The transition to war production
had no marked effect on employment in the industry as a whole,
but in the case of several of the small and medium-sized plants there
was some difficulty in adjusting to the war effort at the time of the
present survey. Employment in 6 of the 9 plants studied was still
below the level for the preceding year. Three plants were using
about two-thirds of their facilities in direct war production, and in
the remaining 6 establishments the corresponding figure amounted
to 90 percent or more. Regular production wras, in most instances,
limited to the manufacture of repair parts.
The radically different nature of war materials made .substantial
technological changes necessary in some of the plants studied; a
few of the establishments had to retool their plants extensively.
Several of the converted plants were concentrating on one specialized
type of war material.
THE LABOR FORCE
Detailed earnings data were compiled for about two-thirds of all
the workers employed in the plants surveyed; this group included
practically all the workers on day shift. Approximately a fourth
(24.4 percent) of the male wage earners for whom wage and occupa
tional data were collected were working at skilled jobs, 43.7 percent
528870—43--- 3
14
EARNINGS IN TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
were doing semiskilled work, and the remainder, who constituted
about a third (31.9 percent) of the wage earners studied, were classi
fied as unskilled.
At the time the present survey was made, women constituted
slightly over 8 percent of the total employees in the plants studied.
Over 90 percent of all the women found were working in 1 plant,
where they amounted to about 23 percent of the total working force.
The most common occupations were class C inspectors and learners
in various occupations; several female class B and C bench assem
blers, class C drill-press operators, and class C burrers were reported.
About three-fifths (59.2 percent) of the female wage earners found in
the industry were doing semiskilled work, while the remainder (40.8
percent) were all working at unskilled jobs; no women employed at
skilled jobs were found. The high percentage of semiskilled women
can probably be attributed to a policy of encouraging the training
of woman workers by the 1 plant which employed nearly all those
found in the survey. Only 2 Negroes were employed by the establish
ments surveyed; both were working as janitors in the same plant.
Seven of the 9 plants had agreements with nationally affiliated
unions. Four of these agreements were with unions affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations and 3 with unions affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor. In addition, an independ
ent labor union was recognized in one of the large plants. The 1
remaining plant employed fewer than 50 workers and was unorganized.
METHOD OF WAGE PAYMENT
Largely because of the lack of standardization resulting from the
wide variety of processes involved in manufacturing most of the
products of this industry, all but two of the plants studied paid on
the basis of straight hourly rates. Of the 2 plants which used an
incentive system, 1 had somewhat less than 250 employees, and the
other had over 1,000. In these 2 plants which made use of such
a system, and in which somewhat over two-fifths (43.0 percent) of
the workers in all the plants studied were employed, about a fourth
(24.0 percent) were paid incentive-wage rates; these workers consti
tuted about a twelfth (8.8 percent) of all workers studied in the
industry. There was some modification of wage-payment methods
with the shift to war production and the resulting need for new
machines. In most cases, however, there appears to have been a
tendency to retain the existing wage structure.
One of the establishments studied paid no overtime rates beyond
minimum statutory requirements, i. e., time and a half for all work
above 40 hours a week. This premium rate was paid by the other 8
plants studied for work in excess of 8 hours in a day, and by 3 plants
for all Saturday work. Three establishments also paid on this same
basis for Sunday work, and 1 paid time and a half for holiday opera
tion. Double-time rates were effective on Sundays and holidays
in 2 plants.
The high degree of utilization of the productive equipment of
the domestic-laundry-equipment industry is evident from the fact
that, of the 9 plants studied, only 1 operated on a single-shift basis,
while 4 operated two shifts, and the remaining 4 establishments
15
DOMESTIC LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT
reported three shifts (table 7). AH the 8 plants operating more
than 1 shift were paying shift differentials at the time the survey
was made. In the group of 4 plants which reported 2 shifts, 3 paid
the second-shift workers a premium of 5 cents per hour, and 1 paid
5 percent over the base rate. Four establishments worked both a
second and a third shift. Three of these plants paid the same bonus
to workers on both shifts, i. e., 5 cents per hour; the other plant
allowed second-shift workers a differential of 5 percent over the base
rate, while its third-shift employees received a rate of 10 percent
above those on the day shift.
T able 7.— W age Differentials fo r Second and Third Shifts in 9 Dom estic-LaundryEquipm ent Plants, J u ly-A u gu st 1942
Num
ber of
plants
Number of shifts worked
Plants with 1 shift only_____ _____
Plants with 2 shifts
Plants with 3 shifts .........
_ _
_ _..
1
3
1
3
1
Differential paid for—
Second shift
Third shift
5 cents per hour..... ..............
5 percent over base rate.......
5 cents per hour__________ 5 cents per hour.
5 percent over base rate....... 10 percent over base rate.
f ,
E m ploym ent H ours and Earnings
TREND FROM 1939 TO 1942
Total employment in the 9 establishments as a group increased over
40 percent during the 3-year period for which comparable data are
available; the increase was from 2,131 in August 1939 to 3,013 in
July-August 1942 (table 8). Average hourly earnings including
premium payments for overtime and night work, which amounted to
68.8 cents in the earlier period, had increased to 94.1 cents by the time
the survey was made; this rise of 25.3 cents represents a gain of 36.8
percent.
T able 8.— Em ploym ent, Average H ou rly Earnings, and Average W eekly Hours o f
W orkers in 9 Dom estic-Laundry-Equipm ent Plants fo r Specified Periods, 1 9 3 9 -4 2
Year and month
August 1939....................................................................
April 1940.......................................................................
August 1940..... ...................................... ......................
February 1941...................... ................................ .......
August 1941.................................... ................ ........... .
July-August 1942...........................................................
Total
wage
earners1
2,131
2,583
2,441
2,641
2,971
3,013
Average
hourly
earnings
$0,688
.709
.741
.721
.787
.941
Estimated
average
hourly
earnings
exclusive
of extra
overtime
payments
$0.669
.702
.733
.715
.764
.867
Average
weekly
hours
39.9
36.2
36.5
35.4
40.3
46.6
i Data for 1 company used with reduced weight to avoid overrepresentation of large plants.
During the same period, the average workweek in these plants as a
group had lengthened 6.7 hours, from 39.9 to 46.6 hours, a change
which progressively inflated hourly rates as a result of increased
16
EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
premiums for overtime. It is estimated that the elimination of extra
payments for overtime work would reduce average hourly earnings for
the latest period by 7.4 cents or to about 86.7 cents; on this basis
average hourly rates, exclusive of premium payments for overtime
and night work, increased by an estimated 19.8 cents, or nearly 30
percent.
PLANT AVERAGES
Average hourly earnings, including premium payments for overtime
and night work, amounted to 94.1 cents for the entire 9 plants in
cluded in the survey. The averages for individual plants varied from
63 cents in the case of a medium-sized plant in a small city to $1.17
paid in a somewhat smaller establishment in one of the largest indus
trial centers. Three of the 9 plants showed average hourly earnings
of $1 or more; an equal number reported average earnings below 80
cents.
The tendency for average earnings to increase with size was far
from uniform among these plants; the establishment with the highest
average hourly earnings of all the plants studied had fewer than 100
workers, and showed an average rate of $1.17 per hour. On the other
hand, one of the plants with over 1,000 employees paid average hourly
earnings about 9 cents below the average for the industry as a whole,
despite the large amoimt of overtime work in that particular establish
ment. These variations from the general tendency for hourly earnings
to vary directly with plant size are probably due in part to organ
ization on a job basis of some of the small plants in which higher
proportions of skilled workers are employed, and to the ability of some
of the larger plants to make use of mass-production techniques, with
consequent dilution of skill, and, in one case, by the extensive use of
female labor.
There is a general tendency, however, for average hourly earnings
to vary directly with plant size, despite exceptions in the case of
individual establishments. Average earnings in the four plants
which had 250 or more workers were 14.9 cents per hour higher than
the average for those in the smaller size groups. The apparent wage
advantage of workers in the larger establishments was due in part to
the use of an incentive-payment plan and extensive overtime pay
ments in one of the largest of the plants surveyed.
The fact that the domestic-laundry-equipment industry is largely
concentrated in the North Central States precludes any analysis of
plant averages on the basis of geographical location. Likewise, an
analysis of the relationship between size of community and levels of
earnings expressed in terms of plant averages would be inconclusive,
partly because of the small number of establishments included in the
survey and because such variations are obscured by the combined
effect of other and more important factors such as methods of plant
operation, unionization, plant size, systems of wage payments, and
sex distribution of workers.
Average hourly earnings in the two plants which were not operatingunder agreements with nationally affiliated unions were about 10 cents
lower than the figure for the organized plants. This difference of
more than 10 cents per hour is not, of course, to be interpreted as a
result of the union factor alone. The working force of the two
unorganized plants contained a large number of female workers, as well
17
DOMESTIC LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT
as a substantially greater percentage of male wage earners in the less
highly skilled occupational groups than were employed in the union
establishments. On the other hand, one of the unorganized plants
was among the largest in the industry. The net effect of these two
factors, which tend to offset one another, cannot be stated precisely on
the basis of the data available.
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS
Average hourly earnings, exclusive of premium payments for
overtime and night work, are shown for 1,740 male workers, who
constituted about three-fourths of the day-shift workers in the plants
surveyed (table 9). These hourly averages (excluding those for ap
prentices and learners) ranged from 58.5 cents for watchmen to $1,152
for tool and die makers. The general hourly average for all workers in
the occupations containing adequate numbers of workers (and distrib
uted among a sufficient number of plants) to warrant detailed study
was 82.3 cents. This figure is 4.4 cents below the estimated hourly
earnings of 86.7 cents for the industry shown in table 2; the difference
is due, at least in part, to the inclusion of shift differentials in the
industry average.
T able 9.— Average H ourly Earnings 1 o f D ay-Shift W orkers in Selected Occupations in
D om estic-Laundry-Equipm ent Plants, J u ly-A u gu st 1942
Occupation and class
Num Aver
age
ber
hourly
of
workers earn
ings
All workers...................................
1,740
$0,823
Acid dippers.................................
Apprentices, first year------ ---Apprentices, second year.............
Assemblers, bench, class A _____
Assemblers, bench, class B ...........
Assemblers, bench, class O...........
Buffers.........................................
Burrers, class B ...........................
Burrers, class O....................... ....
Carpenters, class B .......................
Casting cleaners...........................
Craters, class B ............ ...............
Drill-press operators, class A____
Drill-press operators, class B ____
Drill-press operators, class C .......
Electricians, class B .....................
Electricians, class C.....................
Firemen, stationary boiler.......... .
Foremen, working, class A ...........
Foremen, working, class B__.......
Grinding-machine operators:
Class A______________ ____
Class B__...............................
Heat treaters, class B ...................
Helpers, journeymen’s and other._
Helpers, machine operators*.........
Inspectors, class A.......................
Inspectors, class B ........................
Inspectors, class C............ ..........
Janitors....... ................................
Job setters...... ............................
Laborers............ ............... ..........
Laborers, foundry_____________
Lathe operators, engine:
Class A ..................................
Class B. ................................
7
8
8
16
39
60.
15
9
40
9
19
5
18
38
79
11
5
11
41
40
.893
.600
.713
.998
.874
.633
.944
.818
.789
.823
.929
.760
1.094
.742
.773
.931
.754
.828
1.104
.897
9
14
13
13
11
13
65
36
48
55
17
30
1.059
.851
.801
.715
.764
.998
.840
.732
.655
.996
.675
.593
7
41
1.073
.900
Occupation and class
Lathe operators, turret:
OlflRS A
Class B_____ ______ ______
Learners, journeyman and other. _
Learners, machine operator.........
Milling-machine operators:
Class A. ............... ................
Class B __________________
Millwrights, class A .....................
Millwrights, class B ____ ______
Molders, machine, class A______
Packers....... ........ ................ ....
Painters, spray............. ...............
Patternmakers, metal.......... .......
Patternmakers, wood—................
Platers_____________ _________
Repairmen, machine__________
Repairmen, product, class B____
Screw-machine operators:
Class A___ __________ ____
Class B ______ ___________
Class C..................................
Shake-out men________________
Sheet-metal workers, class B........
Stock clerks__________________
Testers, class B _______________
Time clerks................... .............
Tool and die makers............ .......
Tool-grinder operators_________
Truck drivers.................. ............
Truckers, hand...... ......................
Truckers, power, inside. ______
Watchmen..................... .............
i Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
Num Aver
age
ber
hourly
of
workers earn
ings
37
94
42
19
$0,941
.818
.680
.563
25
107
7
7
19
26
7
7
6
11
23
16
1.023
.787
.973
.790
1.096
.684
.949
1.012
1.039
.750
.836
.790
16
13
107
8
5
87
11
22
56
24
8
29
5
46
1.093
.855
.882
.815
.754
.662
.877
.627
1.152
.838
.687
.686
.668
.585
18
EARNINGS IOST TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
Ten occupational groups showed averages of $1 or more per hour.
These groups contained about 200 workers, and included almost a half
(48.1 percent) of the skilled employees and slightly over one-tenth
(11.7 percent) of all workers for whom detailed occupational data
were compiled. By far the largest of the groups earning an average
of $1 or more were the tool and die makers, who, as stated above, also
received the highest average hourly earnings. Of the occupational
groups studied, the averages for four were under 65 cents per hour; 4
percent of the employees, apart from apprentices and learners, were
in the two occupational groups which were paid averages under 60
cents per hour.
As already stated in connection with general plant averages, a
comparison of wage rates on a regional basis is not possible, because of
the small proportion of the industry outside the North Central region.
Likewise, the small number of plants in the sample surveyed, as well
as the other factors mentioned in connection with plant averages,
does not permit analysis of average hourly earnings on the basis of
size of community, unionization, and method of wage payment.
Occupational rates do tend, however, to vary significantly in rela
tion to the average number of workers employed per plant, despite
the fact that, as already noted in analyzing plant averages, the rela
tionship is by no means uniform. In order to compare occupational
rates in the larger and smaller plants, workers in each of the classifica
tions which contain numbers adequate to permit reliable comparisons
are divided into two groups: those in plants with fewer than 250
employees, and those in larger plants. For the 373 employees in
plants with fewer than 250 workers average hourly earnings were 73.1
cents, whereas the corresponding figure for the 1,367 wage earners in
the group of larger plants was 84.7 cents.
In many occupations, the numbers of workers are insufficient to
permit any reliable comparison of hourly rates between plants of
different size groups, or the distribution of occupations between the
smaller and larger plants is so uneven that relative rates are difficult
to compute.
There are 16 occupational groups, however, in which the numbers
of employees are believed to be adequate for comparisons of average
hourly rates between the large and small plants (table 10). For 13 of
these occupations, the average earnings of workers in the large plants
are higher than the corresponding figure for the smaller establish
ments; in 6 instances the difference in occupational averages between
the two size groups was 20 cents or more. The three occupations in
which wage differences were in favor of the small plants were highly
skilled. The fact that average hourly earings of certain class C
workers shown in table 9 are slightly above the corresponding rates
for class B operators in the same occupational groups is a further
reflection of the tendency of the larger establishments to pay higher
wages; in such cases, plants in the large size group reported a greater
number of workers in the lower classification.
19
DOMESTIC LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT
T able 10.— Average H ourly Earnings1o f D ay-Shift M ale Workers in 9 Dom estic-LaundryEquipm ent Plants, b y Occupation and Size o f Plant, July—August 1942
Average hourly
earnings in plants
employing—
Occupation and class
Average hourly
earnings in plants
employing—
Occupation and class
260
workers
or less
Over 250
workers
Number of workers 2 ..............
Average hourly earnings2. . -.
373
$0.731
1,367
$0,847
Buffers........... .......................
Burrers, class 0 ....... .............
Drill-press operators, class B„
Foremen, working, class B __
Inspectors, class A.................
Inspectors, class B .................
Janitors..................................
Job setters.............................
.921
.591
.643
.710
1.030
.674
.560
.966
.969
.884
.800
.961
.979
.904
.666
1.001
Lathe operators, engine, class
B_________________ _____
Lathe operators, turret, class
B_ _ __ __
___
Milling-machine operators:
Class A............................
Class B ...... .....................
Repairmen, product, class B .
Stock clerks...........................
Tool and die makers..............
Watchmen_______________
1 Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
* Includes workers in occupations not shown separately below.
250
workers
or less
Over 250
workers
$0,605
$1,008
.633
.843
1.055
.633
.714
.614
1.252
.533
.998
.917
.851
.671
1.109
.610
20
EARNINGS IN TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
Chapter XV.— EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF REFRIGERATING EQUIPMENT, 1942
Sum m ary
By the summer of 1942, the production of domestic refrigerators
had practically ceased, and the eight plants included in this survey
were either producing refrigerating equipment on Government order,
or were engaged in manufacturing direct war materials. Consider
able technological conversion was necessary. The greatest concen
tration of the industry is in the East North Central States.
The shift to war production caused employment to decrease in 1942
to about the figure for April 1940. Average earnings increased 23.5
cents—from 78.2 cents to $1,017 per hour—from April 1940 to the
summer of 1942. The lengthening of the average workweek by about
5 hours, however, resulted in some inflation of average hourly earnings,
owing to extra payments for overtime; the actual increase in hourly
rates is estimated at about 18 cents—from 75.1 cents to 93.5 cents.
Nearly a third of the male workers for whom detailed earnings data
were compiled were in occupations with hourly earnings averaging in
excess of $1.00 per hour in the summer of 1942 ; approximately a sixth
were in groups which averaged less than 75 cents an hour.
Scope o f Survey
Reports on the latest Census of Manufactures (1939) show’ that
there wrere in the United States 309 establishments “whose principal
products are mechanical refrigerators (both the motor-driven or com
pression type and the absorption or heat-actuated type) and refrig
erating systems (both domestic and commercial), cabinets for sale as
such (whether for use with mechanical refrigerating systems or for
use with ice), and industrial ice-making and refrigerating machines.” 6
This Census classification does not include the construction of built-in
cooling rooms, cabinets, and similar equipment. Of the 309 estab
lishments, 112 reported an average of few’er than 6 wage earners, and
were excluded from the scope of this study. The remaining 197
plants, as a group, employed an average of 34,829 workers during
1939, and over a third were working at that time in the 8 establish
ments included in this survey.
The manufacture of refrigerating equipment is characterized by a
high degree of concentration: about 85 percent of its wage earners and
three-fifths of the plants are found in two areas—the East North
Central States (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin) and
the Middle Atlantic States (New' York, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey). The former group of States had somewhat over a fourth
(28.8 percent) of the industry’s plants and over two-thirds (68.2
percent) of the wrage earners; the Middle Atlantic region reported less
than a fifth (18.1 percent) of the wage earners, but nearly a third
(30.7 percent) of the industry's plants.
In these two regions the "industry is largely concentrated in four
adjoining States—Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. While
* This definition corresponds to that of Census Industry No. 1784. The branches of the industry studied
in this survey are, as a group, more limited than the Census definition. That part of the industry to which
the data collected are especially applicable will be referred to hereafter as the "refrigerating equipment”
industry.
REFRIGERATING EQUIPMENT
21
these four States have a fourth (25.6 percent) of the plants in the
refrigerating-equipment industry, over three-fourths (76.0 percent) of
the workers are within their borders. Outside of these two regions,
for the most part only smaller plants are found. Although other
sections reported two-fifths of the plants in the industiy, they included
only 14 percent of the total number of wage earners.
Establishments selected for study were, lor the most part, engaged
in the production of commercial refrigerating equipment and systems,
air-conditioning equipment, and industrial ice-making and refriger
ating machines. These plants have a fairly wide geographical dis
tribution and, in addition, were selected as representative with
respect to size, unionization, and certain other factors. The data in
this report, therefore, are most applicable to the branches of the
industry just enumerated. Domestic refrigerator plants are not
represented in proportion to their numerical importance at the time
the manufacture of such equipment for the general market was dis
continued. The data for two of the companies studied are used with
reduced weight in order to avoid overrepresentation of large plants.
The earnings data shown in this report are based on a representa
tive pay-roll period during July and August 1942.
Characteristics o f the In du stry
The branches of the industry which are studied in this report
accounted for nearly half of the value of the total 1939 output of the
industry as defined by the Census of Manufactures. The broader
scope of the Census definition includes domestic electric refrigerators,
a product which, as noted above, this survey was not designed to
include. The most important peacetime groups of products of the
branches of the industry studied consisted of commercial-type refriger
ators, which accounted for over a third of all production. Separately
made cabinets, display cases, etc., for mechanical refrigerators
amounted to about a fifth of output, while the manufacture. of airconditioning equipment and commercial refrigerating and ice-making
machines were smaller branches of the industry.
PRODUCTION OF WAR MATERIALS
The impact of the war was felt relatively late by this industry;
until 1942 the plants studied were engaged for the most part m
manufacturing their usual products at a moderately increasing rate.
Of the eight plants covered in the survey, the one establishment
which produced war material in 1941 reported only 10 percent of its
total output in that category; however, in the same year three plants
were receiving high priority ratings on 40 to 70 percent of their
production.
By August 1942, with the exception of one small establishment,
all tne plants included in the survey had been given priority ratings
on 90 percent or more of all production. Two establishments were
using 60 to 70 percent of their facilities in the production of direct
war materials; in two other plants, including one of the largest in
the industry, direct war production accounted for practically the
entire output. I t is worthy of note that a substantial proportion
of this industry, including some of the largest establishments, ap
parently had difficulty in shifting to production of war materials.
22
EARNINGS IN TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
At the time of the present survey, total employment in the plants
studied was still more than a sixth below the figure for the previous
year, when the output of the usual products of the industry was near
its all-time peak.
To some extent, the plants in this industry were using their regular
facilities in 1942 to produce refrigerating equipment on Government
order. To the extent that they produced direct war materials,
however, technological conversion was necessary. The amount of
such conversion in some of the plants studied may be judged by the
fact that one of the large establishments in the industry discontinued
its usual production entirely, and was compelled to undertake a pro
gram of extensive retooling when it shifted to the exclusive production
of machine guns, aircraft propellers, and aircraft parts. Another
plant reported that a completely different occupational pattern resulted
after initiation of war production. Among the war materials being
produced, in addition to those already mentioned, were electric com
munication products, naval gun parts, ordnance, and ordnance
supplies.
THE LABOR FORCE
Detailed earnings data were compiled for nearly four-fifths of all
the workers employed in the plants surveyed;this group included prac
tically all of those on day shifts. Thirty percent of the males whose
wage and occupational data were studied in detail were working at
skilled jobs; 46.2 percent were doing semiskilled work; and the re
maining 23.4 percent were classified as unskilled.
At the time the present study was made, women constituted slightly
over 5 percent of all employees in the plant studied. Over 95 percent
of all the women found were working in two plants; in one of these
establishments they amounted to nearly 30 percent of the total
working force. The most common occupations for women in the
industry were class C bench assemblers, class C drill-press operators,
and class C burrers. One large plant had a considerable number
working as class B milling-machine operators. For the most part,
however, woman workers were working at unskilled jobs.
Approximately 85 percent of all the Negroes reported in the es
tablishments surveyed were working in one large midwestem plant
where they constituted 3 percent of all the employees. Negroes, in
this as in other branches of the machinery industries studied by the
Bureau, were employed mostly as janitors and laborers; some, however,
were reported as hand truckers, chippers, and machine molders.
Five of the eight plants studied had agreements with nationally
affiliated unions. One of these agreements, which covered a very
large plant, was with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers of America, a union affiliated with the Congress of Industrial
Organizations. The other four plants had contracts with the Inter
national Association of Machinists, the Sheet Metal Workers Inter
national Association, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners of America, and the Stove Mounters International Union—
all American Federation of Labor groups. The organized plants
included all of those in the small-size group. In three other plants,
including two of the three largest establishments surveyed, independ
ent unions were recognized.
23
REFRIGERATING EQUIPMENT
METHOD OF WAGE PAYMENT
Of the five establishments with fewer than 300 employees, all but
one paid on a straight hourly basis, presumably because of the ina
bility of plants in that size group to use mass-production techniques
in the wide variety of processes involved in manufacturing most of
the products of tins industry. Of the four plants which used some
form of incentive system, one had fewer than 1,000 employees; each
of the other three establishments had over 1,000. In the eight
plants as a group, over two-fifths (42.3 percent) of the employees
were paid under some plan of varying rates according to output.
In the four plants which made use of such methods, somewhat less
than half of all the employees (46.8 percent) were paid on the basis
of incentive rates.
Provisions for the payment of overtime in the group of plants
surveyed are more liberal than in other branches of the machinery
industry studied in one respect: none of the plants reported extra
overtime as low as minimum statutory requirements, i. e., time and
a half only for work above 40 hours a week; all of the plants reported
payment of this rate for work in excess of 8 hours in one day. Two
establishments paid on this same basis for Sunday work, and, of
these, one also paid time and a half for Saturday operation. Double
time rates were effective on Sundays in two plants, and on holidays
in three plants.
Of the eight plants studied, the three smallest operated on a single
shift basis, one operated two shifts, and the remaining four plants
reported three shifts (table 11). Aside from one of the plants which
reported three shifts, and which allowed no premium to second-shift
workers, all five plants operating more than one shift were paying
shift differentials at the time the survey was made. The one plant
which reported two shifts paid the second shift a differential of 10
percent over base rate. Four establishments worked both a second
and a third shift; three of these paid the same bonus to both shifts—5
percent over base rate in the case of two plants—while the other
establishment paid a differential of 3 cents per hour. The other
plant which reported three shifts gave no differential to the second
shift, but paid the third shift a bonus of 2 cents per hour.
T able 11.— W age Differentials fo r Second and Third Shifts in 8 Plants M anufacturing
Refrigerating Equipm ent, J u ly-A u gu st 1942
Number of shifts worked
Plants with 1 shift'only.............
Plants with 2 shifts____ ______
Plants with 3 shifts___ ______
Number
of
plants
3
1
2
1
Differential paid for—
Second shift
Third shift
10 percent over base rate . . . _
No differential........................ . 2 cents per hour.
5 percent over base rate............. 5 percent over base rate.
3 cents per hour.......................... 3 cents per hour.
24
,
EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE. OF MACHINERY
9
E m ploym ent H ours and Earnings
TREND FROM 1940 TO 1942
It is not possible to present data on the trend of earnings beginning
with August 1939, as in previous reports in this series, since data on
hours and earnings are not available for 1939. Complete informa
tion was, howrever, supplied by all the plants studied for April 1940
and subsequent specified periods. The total number employed in
the establishments studied was about the same at the beginning
and at the end of the 29-month period for which comparable data
are available; the exact figures were 5,216 in April 1940 and 5,199 in
the summer of 1942 (table 12). From the beginning of the period for
which complete reports are available to August 1941, however, em
ployment rose nearly a fourth, owing to an expansion in the output
of the industry’s usual products.
The transition to war production
brought problems of readjustment that resulted in a reduction of
total employment to a figure approximately that reported at the
beginning of the period.
T able 12.— Em ploym ent9 Average H ourly Earnings, and Average W eekly H ours o f
Workers in 8 Refrigerating-Equipm ent Plants, fo r Specified Periods, 1 9 4 0 -4 2
Total
wage
earners1
Year and month
April 1940.......................................................................
August 1940..................... .............................................
January 1941..____ ________________ _______ ______
August 1941.................................._....................... ........
July-August 1942...........................................................
|
5,216
4,777
5,450
6,344
5,199
Average
hourly
earnings
$0,782
.800
.824
.898
1.017
Estimated
average
hourly
earnings,
exclusive
of extra
overtime
payments
$0,751
.784
.791
.867
.935
Average
weekly
hours
41.9
38.5
41.9
41.2
46.8
i Data for 2 companies used with reduced weight to avoid overrepresentation of large plants.
Average hourly earnings (including extra payments for overtime
and night work), which amounted to 78.2 cents at the beginning of
the 29-month period, had increased to $1,017 by the time the survey
was made; this rise of 23.5 cents represents a gain of 30.1 percent.
During the same period the average workweek in the plants as a group
had lengthened nearly 5 hours (from 41.9 to 46.8), a change which
progressively inflated hourly rates as a result of increased premiums
for overtime. The actual increase in average hourly earnings is thus
somewhat smaller because of the exclusion of premium payments for
overtime work. It is estimated that the elimination of such amounts
would reduce average rates for the latest period by 8.2 cents or to
about 93.5 cents; on this basis average hourly rates, exclusive of
premium payments for overtime work, increased by an estimated 18.4
cents, or nearly 25 percent.
PLANT AVERAGES
Average hourly earnings, including premium payments for overtime
and night work, amounted to $1,017 for the eight plants as a group.
For individual plants the averages varied from 67.5 cents in the case
REFRIGERATING EQUIPMENT
25
of the one Southern plant to $1.13 paid by one of the largest estab
lishments in the industry. In three of the plants studied, the figure
was over $1.00. At the other extreme an equal number of plants
reported average earnings below 90 cents; only one of these showed
rates below 80 cents per hour.
Although there is a general tendency among these plants for average
hourly earnings to vary directly with plant size, the relationship is
not uniform. Thus, average earnings in plants employing over 500
workers were 9.9 cents above the average of 95.3 cents per hour in
plants with fewer than 250 workers, but in plants of the intermediate
group (i. e., those which have between 250 and 500 employees) earn
ings were 19 cents below the corresponding figure for the smaller
plants. This apparent wage advantage on the part of workers in the
small plants is probably due in part to their organization on a job
basis, which involves the employment of larger proportions of skilled
workers. The wage advantage of workers in the largest-sized plants
was due in part to the prevalence of incentive-wage systems and the
relatively greater importance of premium overtime payments.
Substantial variations in the extent to which plant averages are
affected by differences in plant size and methods of plant operation,
as well as the small number of establishments included in the survey,
combine to obscure any possible relationship between size of commu
nity and levels of earnings expressed in terms of general plant averages.
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFEREN CES IN EARNINGS
Average hourly earnings, exclusive of premium payments for over
time and night work, are available for 3,952 workers, who constituted
practically all of the day-shift workers in the plants surveyed. For
male workers alone, these averages (excluding those for apprentices)
ranged from 56.8 cents for class C burrers to $1.32 for class A lay
out men (table 13). The general hourly average for all workers in the
occupations containing adequate numbers (and distributed among a
sufficient number of plants) to warrant detailed study was 91.1 cents.
This figure is 2.4 cents below the estimated hourly earnings of 93.5
cents for the industry shown in table 12. This difference is due, at
least in part, to the inclusion of shift differentials in the industry
average. For male workers alone the average is 91.8 cents, a figure
less than 1 cent above that for male and female workers combined.
Of the male occupational groups with sufficient distribution to
warrant special study, 30 showed averages of $1.00 or more per hour;
these groups comprise over 1,100 workers and include nearly all of the
skilled employees, or about 30 percent of all male workers, for
whom detailed occupational data were compiled. By far the largest
of the groups earning averages of $1.00 or more were the class A
grinding-machine operators and job setters. Of the male occupational
groups studied, 14 were paid averages under 75 cents per hour; about
17 percent of the male employees, apart from learners and apprentices,
were in these occupational classes.
About 5 percent of the workers in the industry are women; average
hourly earnings of the 117 in the occupations studied in detail were
68.5 cents. Only 1 occupational group was found in which the number
of plants and workers was sufficiently large to warrant the listing of
26
EARNINGS m
THE) MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
average earnings. The 59 female workers in this group, class C
bench assemblers, averaged 65.1 cents per hour.
Average hourly earnings in the five plants which had agreements
with nationally affiliated unions were somewhat higher (11.1 cents)
than in the three plants in which independent unions were recognized,
despite the fact that two establishments in the latter group were
among the largest in the industry.
T able 13.— Average H ou rly Earnings 1 o f D a y-S h ift Workers in Selected Occupations in
Refrigerating-Equipm ent Plants, J u ly-A u gu st 1942
Occupation and class
Num Average
ber of hourly
work earn
ings
ers
All workers...................................
3,952
$0.911
Male workers_________________
Acetylene-burner operators___
Acid dippers_______ ________
Apprentices, first vear..............
Apprentices! second year_____
Apprentices, third year_______
Apprentices! fourth year...........
Assemblers, bench, class A____
Assemblers! bench! class B ____
Assemblers, bench, class C____
Assemblers! floor, class A..........
Assemblers, floor, class B _____
Assemblers, floor, class C_____
Boring-mill operators, class A __
Boring-mill operators, class B . _
Broaching-machine operators. ..
Buffers_____________ _______
Burrcrs, class B _______ _____
Burrers, class C .......................
Carpenters, class A.____ _____
Carpenters, class B _____ _____
Chippers, class B ......................
Crane operators_____________
Craters, class A.........................
Craters, class B _____________
Drill-press operators:
Class A_________________
Class B .... ..........................
Class C.... ..........................
Electricians, class A_........... ....
Electricians, class B _____ ____
Elevator operators___________
Firemen, stationary boiler........
Foremen, working, class A
Foremen, working, class B ____
Furnace and oven operators___
Grinding-machine operators:
Class A .... ..........................
Class B .... .................. .......
Helpers, journeymen’s and
other...... ..............................
Helpers, machine operators’___
Inspectors, class A....................
Inspectors, class B ...... .... .........
Inspectors, class C....................
Janitors................................. .
Job setters................................
Laborers................................
Lathe operators, engine:
Class A...............................
Class B ...............................
3,835
' 24
27
17
38
9
5
52
99
225
40
18
7
26
16
10
62
78
16
32
14
14
14
40
8
.918
(2)
.912
.535
.621
.792
.838
1.011
.914
.754
1.080
.791
.742
1.090
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
Vfi68
.957
(2)
' .897
.790
.947
.689
47
86
88
39
11
7
15
29
15
16
1.047
.937
.683
1.098
.958
.714
.741
1.143
1.039
.996
104
72
1.153
(2)
66
67
34
179
27
115
102
98
.695
.678
1.092
(2)
\ 694
.697
1.125
.711
43
22
1.114
1.023
Occupation and class
Male workers—Continued.
Lathe operators, turret:
Class A ._ ...........................
Class B ............................. .
Lay-out men, class A ..............
Learners_____________ _____
Machinists, class A...................
Metal-saw operators..................
Milling-machine operators:
Class A__................ ..........
Class B ...............................
Millwrights, class A................ .
Millwrights, class B ..... ............
Packers............. ......................
Painters, brush................... .
Painters, spray.........................
Patternmakers, wood...............
Pipe fitters___ _____ _______
Planer operators___________ _
Platers......................................
Power-shear operators____
Punch-press operators, class B_.
Repairmen, machine................
Repairmen, product, class A __
Sandblasters............... .............
Screw-machine operators:
Class A ..............................
Class B ._ ...........................
Shaper operators__ ___
Sheet-metal workers, class A __
Sheet-metal workers, class B __
Solderers, class B ......................
Solderers, class C__...................
Stock clerks........ .....................
Testers, class A_____________
Testers, class B................. .......
Testers, class C____ _________
Time clerks...............................
Tool and die makers.................
Tool-grinder operators________
Truck drivers............................
Truckers, hand...................... .
Truckers, power, inside...........
Watchmen..... ..........................
Welders, hand, class A..............
Welders, hand, class B .............
Welders, machine............... ......
Woodworkers............ ...............
Female workers....... ....................
Assemblers, bench, class C.......
Burrers, class C.......................
Drill-press operators, class C__.
Num Average
ber of hourly
work earn
ers
ings
48
39
21
75
37
9
$1.071
.934
1.320
(2)
1.240
.945
26
114
24
14
29
32
36
5
45
12
8
13
50
48
6
8
1.097
.985
1.104
.943
.796
.881
.868
1.244
1.075
1.060
1.048
.759
.873
1.062
(2)
.903
34
47
8
39
11
24
10
270
8
6
13
21
95
20
16
56
36
84
57
47
45
16
1.184
1.003
1.027
1.127
.821
(2)
\ 569
.821
.906
.804
(a)
U 869
1.269
1.030
.775
.654
.859
.791
1.147
.925
.721
.913
117
59
24
34
.685
.651
(2)
(2)
1 Averages are based on earnings exclusive of premium payments for overtime.
2 Number of plants and/or workers too small to justify computation of an average.
As already stated in connection with plant averages, a tabulation of
wage rates on a regional basis is not possible, because of the small
proportion of the industry situated outside the North Central region.
27
REFRIGERATING EQUIPMENT
The one Southern establishment studied showed a marked difference
as compared with the other plants in the industry. Despite payment
on an incentive basis, averages in the Southern plant were more than
25 cents below the figure for the other seven plants as a group.
No conclusion can be drawn concerning the effect of the use of
incentive methods on average hourly earnings from a study of the four
plants where such systems were in operation. The averages in such
plants, as a group, were considerably higher than those for establish
ments which paid on the basis of hourly rates, but no precise estimate
of the effect on earnings of wage-payment methods can be made be
cause of the greater influence of other factors such as geographical
location and plant size. Likewise, the small number of establishments
T able 14.— Average H ou rly Earnings 1 o f D ay-S h ift M ale Workers in RefrigeratingEquipm ent Plants, b y Occupation and Size o f Plant, J u ly-A u gu st 1942
Average hourly
earnings in
plants employ
ing—
Occupation and class
Average hourly
earnings in
plants employ
ing—
Occupation and class
500
work
ers or
less
Over
500
work
ers
Number of workers2...........
Average hourly earnings 2__.
566
$0,740
3,269
$0,949
Assemblers, bench, class B_.
Assemblers, bench, class CL.
Assemblers, floor, class A ...
Assemblers, floor, class B __
Carpenters, class A .............
Drill-press operators:
Class A.........................
Class B.........................
Class C...... ..................
Foremen, working, class A ..
Helpers, machine operators’.
$0,689
.603
.933
.661
.659
$0.957
.811
1.129
.876
1.042
.928
.723
.649
1.155
.634
1.061
.951
.811
1.133
.685
500
Over
work
500
ers or work
less
ers
Inspectors, class A........................ $0.917
Inspectors, class B ........................
.726
.498
Laborers................................. .
! 514
Lathe operators, turret:
Class A................................... 1.123
Class B ..................................
.851
Packers.........................................
.614
Painters, spray..... ......................
.645
.652
Punch-press operators, class B ___
Sheet-metal workers, class A____ 1.139
Stock clerks....... ..........................
.709
Tool and die makers..................... 1.288
Truck drivers...............................
.634
Janitors
$1.146
.995
. 729
! 759
1.011
.986
.891
.933
.903
1.122
.833
1.268
.840
1 Averages are based on earnings exclusive of premium payments for overtime.
2 Includes workers in occupations not shown separately below.
covered by the study, as well as the other factors mentioned in con
nection with plant averages, does not permit comparisons of hourly
average earnings between the larger and smaller communities.
Occupational rates do tend, however, to vary significantly in relation
to the average number of workers employed per plant, despite the
fact that, as already noted in analyzing plant averages, the relation
ship is by no means uniform. In order to compare occupational rates
in the larger and smaller plants, workers in each of the classifications
which contain adequate numbers to permit reliable comparisons are
divided into two groups—those in plants with less than 500 employees
and those in the larger plants. All the establishments which fall into
the latter group have over 1,000 workers each. For the 566 employees
of plants with less than 500 workers, average hourly earnings were
74.0 cents, while the corresponding figure for the 3,269 workers in the
larger plants as a group was 94.9 cents (table 14). In many occupa
tions, the numbers of workers are insufficient to permit reliable com
parison of hourly rates between plants of different size groups, and
28
EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
the distribution of occupations between the small and large plants is
so uneven that comparative rates are difficult to compute.
There are 23 occupational groups, however, in which the numbers
of employees are believed to be adequate for comparisons between the
large and small plants. For 19 of these occupations, the averages
for workers in the large plants are higher than the corresponding
figures for the small establishments; in 13 instances the differences
between the 2 plant groups are more than 20 cents per hour. For 4
highly skilled occupations, the averages were higher in the small
plants; however, in only one instance was the difference more than
2.2 cents per hour.
I t should be noted that, with the shift to war production and the
virtual cessation in the production of many refrigerator products, a
considerable modification in occupational patterns resulted; one plant
reported an entirely different pattern after conversion. As far as
possible, however, existing wage structures were retained.
CARBON PRODUCTS FOR ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY
29
Chapter XVI.— EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CARBON PRODUCTS FOR ELECTRICAL
INDUSTRY, 1942
Sum m ary
Seven of the eight plants included in this survey had been assigned
high priority ratings by the summer of 1942; of these, six were devoting
between 90 and 100 percent of their output to products with high
priority ratings. No important technological changes appear to
have been necessary. All of the larger plants were operating two
or three shifts.
Average hourly earnings increased from 70.8 cents in August 1939
to 93.0 cents by the summer of 1942. However, the earnings were
affected by a 5-percent increase in the average workweek after
August 1939, and the actual increase in rates was about 20 cents an
hour. Employment in the summer of 1942 was 2% times the figure
for August 1939.
A fourth of the male workers for whom detailed earnings data are
available were in occupations with hourly earnings (exclusive of extra
payments for overtime and night work) averaging $1.00 or more in
the summer of 1942; less than 3 percent were in groups averaging
under 75 cents per hour. Plants of the larger size group paid
substantially higher wages.
Scope o f Survey
Reports of the latest Census of Manufactures (1939) show that
in the United States as a whole 31 plants were “engaged primarily
in the manufacture of carbons; carbon, graphite, and metal-graphite
brushes; plates, rods, and powder for making brushes; electrodes,
and miscellaneous carbon; graphite, and metal-graphite specialties,
including rings for steam seal.” 6 Of this total, 6 establishments
reported fewer than 6 wage earners and were excluded from the scope
of this survey. The remaining 25 plants employed an average of
3,176 workers during 1939, and over a fourth were working in the
8 establishments included in this survey. Somewhat less than half
of the plants and slightly more than half of the employees in this small
industry in 1939 were found in New York and Pennsylvania alone.
Most of the remainder of the plants manufacturing carbon products
were in the East North Central States, where Ohio, with 29 percent
of the industry’s employees, was the most important single State.
Three plants were in the South. The current earnings data shown
in this report are based, in most instances, on a representative pay
roll period during July or September 1942.
• This definition corresponds to that of Census Industry No. 1612.
30
EARNINGS IN THE' MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
Characteristics o f the Industry
TYPE OF PRODUCT
The carbon-products industry is one of the small divisions of the
electrical-products group, and supplies essential specialties made of
carbon, graphite, and metal-graphite. Of the total output of prod
ucts of this type, slightly over 50 percent consists of carbon or graphite
electrodes. Brushes, plates, rods, powder, and miscellaneous carbon,
graphite, and metal-graphite specialties for electrical uses make up
the remainder. Slightly over 90 percent of the 1939 national output
of products of this nature was made by plants primarily engaged in
the manufacture of carbon products; nearly 10 percent represented
secondary production of other industries. On the other hand, of the
total output by value of the companies classified by the Census as
primarily engaged in the production of carbon products for the elec
trical industry, 8 percent consists of products commonly made by
plants classified in other industries.
PRODUCTION OF WAR MATERIAL
No important technological changes appear to have been necessary
in this industry as a part of its war effort. Its standard peacetime
products are demanded on a greatly increased scale by other indus
tries which produce war materials directly. The war has thus resulted
in a greatly expanded industry, using its regular techniques and
equipment on a larger scale. In 1940, the use of the industry’s
facilities in defense production was not a factor of any importance.
At the end of 1941, however, half of the eight plants studied
were producing materials with high priority ratings. By the summer
of 1942, seven of the establishments surveyed were reported perform
ing work essential to the defense effort, and of this group, six plants
were applying between 90 and 100 percent of their capacity to defense
production.
THE LABOR FORCE
Detailed earnings data were compiled for about 70 percent of all
workers employed in the plants surveyed; this group amounted to
between 80 and 90 percent of those on day shifts. Of the males for
whom wage and occupational data were collected, slightly more than
an eighth (13.2 percent) were on skilled jobs; nearly two-fifths (39.2
percent) were doing semiskilled work; and the remainder, nearly half
(47.6 percent) of the workers studied, were working at unskilled jobs.
Women constituted nearly 10 percent of the factory workers
studied. In one medium-sized plant, over three-fifths of the em
ployees were women. The most common occupations for women
were those of class C bench assemblers, class C inspectors, and packers.
Other occupations in which women were found were dip painters,
riveting-machine operators, tamper operators, and learners. This
industry shows a substantial percentage of female workers above the
unskilled level; nearly half (47.2 percent) were classified in semi
skilled occupations. In all the plants surveyed, however, only 1
woman of a total of 199 studied was doing skilled work. Six Negroes
were employed in the plants surveyed, and all but 1 were working in
a single southern plant.
CARBON PRODUCTS FOR ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY
31
Three of the eight plants had agreements with nationally affili
ated unions, but these three plants employed 80 percent of all the
workers studied. Both of the establishments in the survey having
over 500 employees were organized. The other unionized plant
employed fewer than 50 workers. Of these agreements, one was
with an American Federation of Labor union, and two were with
unions affiliated to the Congress of Industrial Organizations. In
addition, an independent union was recognized in one medium-sized
plant. The remaining four plants were unorganized.
METHOD OF WAGE PAYMENT
The typical products of the carbon-products industry tend to be
small or medium in size and are used as standard parts by other
branches of the electrical industry. Even in a small industry these
product characteristics permit plant organization to some extent on
the basis of mass-production techniques. The present survey shows
that nearly a fourth (22.7 percent) of the workers in the industry
were working under some form of incentive system. Of the three
plants in which workers were paid piece or bonus rates, two were in
the largest size group, i. e., those having more than 500 workers; the
third reported over 250 employees. In these three plants 25.5 per
cent of the employees were working under some form of incentive
system. The other five plants paid straight hourly rates to all
factory workers.
The two smallest plants studied paid no extra overtime rates
beyond minimum statutory requirements, i. e., time and a half for
all work over 40 hours a week. The other six plants paid this same
rate for work in excess of 8 hours a day; in addition, two plants ap
plied this premium rate to Saturday work, and, in three plants, this
rate was also paid for work on Sunday and holidays. One of the
larger plants paid double time on Sundays and holidays.
The increased demand for carbon products as a result of war
activity has resulted in a high degree of utilization of the industry's
facilities, especially by means of extra shifts. The three plants oper
ating only one shift were the smallest included in the survey, while
all three of the largest plants studied were operating three shifts.
The only plant operating two shifts paid a differential of 5 cents per
hour to workers on the second shift (table 15). In the group of four
plants reported as operating three shifts, one paid no premium to
workers on either late shift; one establishment allowed the same
bonus (10 percent) to workers on both late shifts, while two gave an
additional differential to the third shift. The extra compensation
paid by each of these two firms was a premium of 5 percent to workers
on the second shift and 7 percent to those on the night shift.
T able 15.— W age Differentials fo r Second and Third Shifts in Eight Carbon-Products
Plants, July-Septem ber 1942
Number of shifts
worked
Plants with 1 shift only.
Plants with 2 shifts___
Plants with 3 shifts......
Num
ber of
plants
3
1
1
2
1
Second shift
Third shift
5 cents per hour.............................
No differential..... ........................ No differential.
5 percent over base rate................ 7 percent over base rate.
10 percent over base rate............... 10 percent over base rate.
32
EARNINGS m
, ,
TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
E m ploym ent H ours and Earnings
TREND FROM 1939 TO 1942
Comparable data on employment for selected periods in 1939-42
are available for seven of the eight plants included in the survey. In
these seven establishments as a group, employment in the summer of
1942 was 2 times the figure for August 1939; the increase was from
920 to 2,302 workers (table 16). Average hourly earnings, which
amounted to 70.8 cents in August 1939 (including extra payments for
overtime and night work), had increased to 93.0 cents b y the time the
survey was made; this rise of 22.2 cents represents a gain of nearly a
third (31.4 percent).
){
T able 16.— Em ploym ent, Average H ourly Earnings, and Average W eekly H ours in 7
Carbon-Products Plants 1Jor Specified Periods, 1 9 3 9 -4 2
Total num Average
hourly
ber of wage
earners
earnings2
Period
August 1939............. .....................................................
April 1940........... .................................................... ......
August 1940_____ ________________ ______ _____
January 1941____________________ __________ ____
August 1941___ ________ ___________ ________ ____
January 1942_______________ _____ _________ _____
July-September 1942............. ........................... ...........
920
1,322
1,441
1,583
2,103
2,196
2,302
$0.708
.739
.726
.757
.798
.862
.930
Estimated
average
hourly
earnings,
exclusive
of extra
overtime
payments
$0,688
.720
.706
.734
.766
.816
.889
Average
weekly
hours
40.2
39.0
40.1
40.0
41.9
43.4
42.4
1 Data for 1 plant excluded because comparable figures for this plant were not available for earlier periods.
Inclusion of data for the period covered in 1942 would show gross average hourly earnings of 93.2 cents and
an average of about 88.0 cents, exclusive of extra overtime payments.
2 Averages include earnings resulting from extra payments for overtime and night work.
During the same period, the average workweek in these plants had
lengthened 2.2 hours, a change which resulted in some inflation of
average hourly rates as a result of increased premiums for overtime.
The elimination of such premium payments is estimated to reduce the
average hourly earnings for the latest period by 4.1 cents, or to about
88.9 cents. During the 3-year period hourly earnings, exclusive of
premium overtime payments, rose about 20 cents, an increase of nearly
30 percent. The one plant for which comparable data covering the
earlier periods were not available employed slightly more than 250
workers; the inclusion of wage data for this plant has a negligible effect
on average hourly earnings for the latest period.
PLANT AVERAGES
Plant average hourly earnings, including premium overtime pay
ments, varied from 44.2 cents paid in one of the medium-sized plants
to $1,047 in the case of the largest of the establishments studied. At
one extreme, two of the plants studied showed averages below 65 cents
per hour; in two others the figure was 90 cents or more.
The earnings of employees in the plants with fewer than 51 workers
amounted to 59.8 cents per hour, as compared with 67.4 cents for
workers in the two plants with 51 to 250 employees. The establish
ments which had 250 employees or more showed an average of 96.5
33
CARBON PRODUCTS FOR ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY
cents per hour. The apparent wage advantage of workers in the large
plants was due in part to the greater relative importance of incentive
methods of wage payment. No comparison of plant averages was
made on a regional basis;the relatively small number of establishments
studied made the computation of such averages inadvisable.
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS
Average hourly earnings, exclusive of extra payments for overtime
and night work, are available for 1,693 workers, who constituted the
majority of the day-shift workers in the plants surveyed. For male
employees, average earnings (excluding those of learners) ranged from
50.0 cents for class C bench assemblers to $1,128 for class A machine
operators (table 17). The general hourly average for all workers in
the occupations studied in detail was 87.0 cents; the figure for male
workers alone was 90.6 cents.
T a b l e 17.— Average H ourly Earnings 1 o f D ay-Shift W orkers in Selected Occupations in
8 Carbon-Products Plants, July-Septem ber 1942
Occupation and class
Num Aver
age
ber of hourly
work earn
ers
ings
1,693
$0.870
Male workers............................... 1,510
Assemblers, bench, class B .......
5
Assemblers, bench, class C.......
16
9
Buffers........ ........................ .
Burrers....................................
5
Carpenters, class B ...................
6
Compound mixers....................
54
Crane operators........................
11
Craters, class B_..................... .
20
Craters, class C....................... .
5
Cutters, brush..._____ ______
46
Drill-press operators, class B___
11
Electricians, class A___ _____
9
Electricians, class B ___ ____
19
Electricians, class C____ ____ _
16
Extrusion-press operators.........
54
Firemen, stationary boiler____
5
Foremen, working, class A___
51
Foremen, working, class B ___
13
Furnace and oven operators__
73
Grinders, brush._____ _______
37
Grinding-machine operators,
class B ...................................
20
H elpers...... ..........................
86
Inspectors, class A....................
11
Inspectors, class B ............ .......
20
Inspectors, class C.................
58
Janitors................................... .
36
Job setters............................... .
6
Laborers............. .....................
275
Laborers, foundry..... ...............
26
Lathe operators, engine:
Class A .......... ...................
8
Class B ________ _______
11
Learners, journeyman and
23
other____________ _______
Loaders and unloaders, racks
121
and conveyors...... ....... ........
.906
(2)
.500
(2)
(2)
.906
1.042
1.095
.872
(2)
.990
.815
1.093
1.007
.863
1.025
.949
1.112
.858
1.024
1.124
Total workers................................
(2)
.898
(2)
.902
.764
.773
(2)
.767
(2)
(2)
.787
.788
Occupation and class
Male workers—Continued.
M a c h in p Upbivltvld)
nnarfitorQ (U
all-tYYiTnfl*
lViaVUU.lv
1 lUUUUt
Class A..............................
Class B ________ ________
Millwrights, classA..................
Millwrights, class B_................
Packers___...............................
Painters, dip........................ . . .
Platers____________________
Riveting-machine operators___
Solderers, class C____________
Stock clerks..............................
Testers, class A.........................
Testers, class B ............ ............
Testers, class C...... ............. __.
Time clerks________ _______
Truck drivers................ ..........
Truckers, hand_____ ______.. .
Truckers, power, inside............
Watchmen_________________
Welders, hand, class B _______
Winders, class A ..................... .
Winders, class C.......................
Female workers............ ......... .......
Assemblers, bench, class B .......
Assemblers, bench, class C.......
Inspectors, class C___________
Learners, machine operators__
Loaders and unloaders, racks
and conveyors....................
Packers..........— .....................
Punch-press operators..............
Riveting-machine operators___
Tamper operators.....................
Testers, class C.........................
Wirers, assembly, class C.........
Num
ber of
work
ers
16
36
21
24
19
7
24
5
10
20
10
5
6
24
16
26
10
30
6
5
24
Aver
age
hourly
earn
ings
$1.128
.999
1.052
183
5
36
23
5
5
53
11
12
9
16
8
.912
1 Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
Number of plants and/or workers too small to justify computation of an average.
2
Eleven occupational groups showed averages of $1.00 or more
per hour; these groups constituted about a fourth (24.1 percent) of all
male employees. Of the male workers in the survey who were classi
fied as skilled and semiskilled, more than two-fifths were in this rela
34
EARNINGS m
TH E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
tively high-wage group. The largest group which averaged $1.00 or
more was made up of 73 furnace and oven operators who, aside from
laborers and loaders and unloaders, constituted the largest single occu
pational class in the group of plants studied. The two lowest-paid
groups among male workers, class C bench assemblers and class C
winders, showed averages of 50.0 cents and 50.4 cents per hour,
respectively.
As is indicated above, somewhat less than a tenth (9.5 percent)
of the employees in the industry are females; those studied in detail
received average hourly earnings of 57.5 cents. The largest single
occupational group of female employees studied were working as
packers, and received average hourly rates of 69.9 cents. Other classi
fications in which substantial numbers of females were found were
class C bench assemblers and class C inspectors; the lowest average
for women, 45.3 cents per hour, was paid to class C bench assemblers.
A significant variation was found in the relationship between occu
pational earnings and the average number of workers employed per
plant. For the 201 employees in plants with fewer than 250 workers,
average hourly earnings were 55.9 cents, while the corresponding
figure for the 1,492 wage earners in larger plants as a group was 89.4
cents (table 18). In many classifications the numbers of workers
are insufficient to permit any reliable comparison of averages between
plants of different size groups, and the occupational distributions in
the large and small establishments are so dissimilar in some cases that
comparable rates are difficult to compile. There are 13 occupational
groups, however, in which the number of employees is believed to be
adequate for this purpose. Without exception, the average hourly
earnings in the large plants were higher than the corresponding figures
for the small establishments. In only one case—class B working
foremen—was the difference less than 15 cents; in six cases the averages
were more than 25 cents higher in plants of the larger size group.
These differences in average earnings are to some extent reflections of
the greater extent of unionization and the larger use of incentive
methods in the larger companies; there is, however, little doubt as to
the substantial wage advantage of the workers in the larger plants.
T a b l e 18.— Average H ourly Earnings 1 o f D ay-Shift W orkers in 8 Carbon-Products
Plants, b y Occupation and Size of Plant9 July-Septem ber 1942
Average hourly earnings in
plants employing—
Occupation and class
250 workers
or less
Over 250
workers
Number of workers2..................................... ........................................ .........
Average hourly earnings2....... .......................................................................
201
$0.559
1,492
$0,894
Assemblers, bench, class C, female......... ..................... .............. ..................
Cutters, brush....................... ....... ....... ........................................................
Foremen, working, class B _.......... .......... ............................. .....................__
Furnace and oven operators.................................... ................................... ..
Helpers, journeymen's........... ....... ................................................................
Inspectors, class B ____________________ ____________ _____________ ___
Janitors___________________________ _______ ______________________
Laborers_____________ ______ _______ ________ ____________ ________
Learners, journeyman.......... ..................... ....................................................
Millwrights, class A__................... .................. ......... .....................................
Stock clerks...................................................................................................
Truck drivers................................................................... .............................
Watchmen_____________________ _____ _______________ _____ ______
$0,368
.703
.822
.775
.650
.780
.513
.596
.418
.750
.686
.570
.583
$0.621
1 042
.869
1.038
.822
.932
.806
.770
.600
1.084
.832
.794
.847
1 Averages are based on actual earnings exclusive of extra payments for overtime.
2 Includes workers in occupations not shown separately below.
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
35
Chapter XVII.— EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES, 1942
Sum m ary
Twenty-two of the 27 plants included in this survey had converted
to war production by the summer of 1942; of these 22 plants, half were
devoting at least 90 percent of their output to war production. Em
ployment increased about 27 percent between August 1939 and Sep
tember 1942, an amount somewhat below that for many machinery
and electrical industries during the same period. The increase be
tween August 1939 and August 1941 was about 47 percent; however,
there was a decrease of more than 13 percent during the following
year, presumably as a result of the conversion order for the industry.
Average hourly earnings (including overtime and shift premiums)
rose from approximately 65 cents in August 1939 to 81 cents in the
summer of 1942.
Average hourly earnings, exclusive of overtime premiums, are esti
mated at 76.9 cents during the late summer of 1942. Approximately
200 male workers in the occupations studied were classified in the
seven groups which showed average hourly earnings in excess of $1.
In general, the larger plants paid higher wages.
Scope o f Survey
According to the Census of Manufactures there were, in 1939, 138
plants engaged primarily in the manufacture of domestic electrical
appliances. Included in these establishments are plants manufactur
ing such products as electric fans, irons, mixers, percolators, hot
plates, and vacuum cleaners.7 The only important appliances excluded
are domestic refrigerators and washing machines; manufacturers of
such equipment are classified in separate industrial divisions. The
27 plants from which data were obtained by means of this survey con
stitute 25 percent of the 108 establishments which employed six or more
workers during 1939; 30 plants employing five workers or less were
excluded from the scope of the present survey. Most of the earnings
data were for a representative pay-roll period during July 1942.8
Characteristics o f the Industry
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIO N
Slightly more than one-half of the plants classified by the Bureau
of the Census in this industry, in which nearly two-thirds of the work
ers in the industry were employed, are in the Midwest; over half of the
1939 labor force was in the States of Illinois and Ohio. One-third of
the plants and almost one-third of the workers were found in the
Northeastern States. Other plants, most of which were quite small,
are in the Pacific Coast States; the few plants in the South were very
small.
7 This definition corresponds to that of Census Industry No. 1620.
* Pay-roll periods ending in June, August, or September were used for 4 plants.
36
EARNINGS IN THE' MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
PRODUCTION OF WAR MATERIALS
No appreciable shift to defense production was reported for the 27
plants studied in this survey until 1941; only 1 plant was reported as
devoting any of its facilities to the defense program as early as 1940
and it was producing indirect war materials. During 1941, slightly
more than one-third of the plants were manufacturing either war
materials or products with high priority ratings, although none of
these was reported as devoting as much as 50 percent of facilities to
the war program.
In 1942, all production of domestic electrical appliances was rigidly
curtailed. All but 5 of the 27 plants studied were at least partially
converted to war production at the time this study was made. C)f
the 22 plants engaged in war work, half were devoting at least 90
percent of their facilities to the war effort.
Although some production of electrical appliances on Government
order still continued, the output of the plants at the time they were
studied consisted principally of war materials. Articles were being
produced as dissimilar from the usual output as ammunition boxes,
gun canisters, screw-machine parts, mess kits, and marine hardware.
Two large vacuum-cleaner plants closed down certain departments
and expanded and converted their electric-motor divisions; both of
these establishments were producing several varieties of motors which
were more complex than the pre-war product and both had retrained
employees formerly making the discontinued items. Among the
striking conversions were from vacuum cleaners to portable field-light
ing equipment, from electric table stoves to aircraft bombing acces
sories, and from electric fans to aerial bombs. Despite drastic changes
in products, the plants surveyed found, for the most part, that their
usual machinery was adaptable to the manufacture of war materials.
On the other hand, substantial readjustments were apparently
necessary even on the part of some of the larger establishments. In
nearly half of the 17 plants for which information is available, the
total labor force at the time of the survey was about 30 percent below
that in January 1942.
THE LABOR FORCE
Approximately one-fifth of the male workers for whom detailed earn
ings data were compiled may be regarded as employed at skilled vrork;
about one-half were employed on semiskilled and about one-third on
unskilled jobs. The manufacture of electrical appliances does not
involve large proportions of high-precision work, and many of the
assembly operations are limited to simple.bench work. Thus, the
skill requirements of this industry tend to be somewhat lower than
those of certain other industrial divisions.
This industry employed substantial numbers of women as factory
workers even prior to the war. Slightly over 30 percent of the workers
included in this survey were women; in fact, the only plants not em
ploying at least a few female factory workers were five small estab
lishments with fewer than 20 workers each. In two plants, women
constituted over 80 percent of the labor force; in each of five other
establishments, over half of the workers were women. By far the
most important occupation among women was bench assembly work;
the second most important was inspection. Substantial numbers of
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
37
women were also employed as rack and conveyor loaders, packers,
product repairers, testers, winders, and wirers. Women were re
ported infrequently as machine operators except on drill presses and
punch presses; in the operation of these machines women were em
ployed in substantial numbers on lighter jobs. Among the females,
the ratio of workers at unskilled work was even higher than that
for males; approximately 80 percent of the women studied were em
ployed at unskilled jobs.
The number of Negroes employed in the industry was negligible;
only about one-fourth of 1 percent of the total employed in the 27
plants studied were Negroes. In fact, only 5 of the plants employed
any Negroes and, in the plant employing the largest number, they
constituted less than 2 percent of the factory labor force. Most of
the Negroes reported in the industry were employed in foundry work
or as janitors or truck drivers.
Nationally affiliated unions had working agreements with 11 of the
plants studied; one additional plant had a contract with an independ
ent union. Although some small plants had contracts with unions,
such contracts were more prevalent among the larger establishments.
In fact, only 3 of the 16 plants employing fewer than 100 workers were
working under union agreements, as compared with 7 of the 11 larger
establishments. Approximately 42 percent of the workers included
in the survey were employed in organized shops.
Nine of the 11 collective agreements with nationally affiliated unions
were with the members of the American Federation of Labor. Union
strength in the industry was about evenly distributed between the
North Central area and the Northeastern States; 4 of the 12 plants in
the North Central region were unionized as compared with 3 of the 9
plants in the Northeast.
METHOD OF WAGE PAYMENT
Incentive systems of wage payment are common in the manufacture
of electrical appliances; it is probable that this method of wage pay
ment was even more prevalent, prior to the conversion to war pro
duction. Piece rates and bonus systems are, of course, readily adapt
able to an industry which employs large numbers at the simple and
repetitive machine and assembly work which characterizes the manu
facture of small and standardized products.
Some type of incentive system of wage payment was reported for
12 of the 27 plants studied; these plants employed well over twofifths of the workers included in the survey. In these 12 plants, 45
percent of the workers received pay at piece or bonus rates and the re
mainder were paid hourly rates. Incentive systems were in effect in
small as well as large plants. Five of those included in the survey, and
employing fewer than 100 workers each, used some incentive system of
wage payment, and over 45 percent of all the workers employed in the
plants of this size group were paid at incentive rates. For the industry
as a whole, slightly less than 29 percent of the workers were paid under
incentive systems.
All but 7 of the plants studied paid for overtime work under more
liberal provisions than those required by Federal statute; these 7 firms
employed fewer than 100 employees each. In 19 of the establish
ments, overtime was paid at the rate of time and a half for all work
38
EARNINGS IN T H E MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
over 8 hours in 1 day, and in 1 of these the double rate applied after 12
hours’ work in the same day. The payment of overtime rates for
work on Saturday was not so prevalent as in many other industries;
only 7 plants paid overtime rates for Saturday work. In 4 plants, time
and a half applied to all work on Saturday and in another the same rate
was paid for the first 4 hours of work on that day, with double rates
thereafter; in the sixth plant, time and a half was paid if Saturday was
the sixth day of work in the week, and in the seventh plant the same
premium rate was paid for the sixth day of work in any week. Pay
ment for Sunday work was at the rate of time and one-half in 5 plants,
at double rates in 6 other plants, and at double rates for work on the
seventh day of work in any week in 2 plants. Payment for work on
holidays was usually at the same overtime rates as for Sunday work;
5 plants paid time and a half and 6 paid double rates.
Compared with the other industries studied in connection with the
survey of plants manufacturing machineiy and electrical products,
an unusually large proportion of the establishments manufacturing
electrical appliances reported the operation of only a single shift.
That there is some relation between the comparatively small propor
tion of plants engaging in multiple-shift operation and the decline
in employment, as a result of the industry’s shift to war production,
seems apparent, however, from the fact that, in the plants which
reported only one shift, employment declined over 10 percent between
January 1942 and the time of the survey, while for those operating
two or three shifts an increase of about 20 percent was reported.
T able 19.— W age Differentials fo r Second and Third Shifts in Electrical-Appliance
Plants, J u ly 1942
Number of shifts worked
Plants with 1 shift only.......
Plants with 2 shifts.............
Plants with 3 shifts.............
Number of
plants
18
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Differential paid for—
Second shift
Third shift
5 cents per hour...................
8 cents per hour..................
No differential............. ....... No differential.
H-hour paid lunch period... 8 hours’ pay for 7 hours’ work, plus
H-hour paid lunch period.
5 cents per hour.................. 5 cents per hour.
5 percent over base rate____ 5 percent over base rate.
.......do......... ........ .............. 10 percent over base rate.
Do.
10 percent over base rate___
Two-thirds of the 27 plants studied in the industry operated on a
single-shift basis (table 19). Of the remaining 9 plants, 3 operated
two shifts and 6 were working three. With the exception of one
plant, all paid some wage differential for work on the evening and
night shifts. The most common shift differential reported was 5
cents above the base rate.
9
,
Em ploym ent H ours and Earnings
TREND FROM 1939 TO 1942
Comparable data on employment, earnings, and hours are available
from 20 plants for specified periods since the outbreak of the war
(table 20).j^The number of persons employed in these 20 plants in
39
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
creased about 27 percent, an amount somewhat below that for many
machinery and electrical industries during the same period. The
increase between August 1939 and August 1941 was about 47 percent,
but there was a decrease of more than 13 percent during the following
year, presumably as a result of the conversion order for the industry.
The workweek, however, was lengthened during this later period,
so that total man-hours worked decreased only about 3 percent
during the year; over the 3-year period, man-hours increased nearly
50 percent.
T a b l e 2 0 . — Em ploym ent, Average H ourly Earnings, and Average W eekly Hours o f
W orkers in 2 0 1 Electrical-Appliance Plants, Specified Periods, 193 9 -4 2
Total
number of
wage
earners2
Year and month
August 1939....................................................................
April 1940......... ............................................................
August 1940............ ......................................................
January 1941____________________________________
August 1941................................................_....... ........
July 1942........................................................................
2,727
3,610
3,124
3,544
4,001
3,453
Average
hourly
earnings
$0,649
.715
.651
.686
.706
.811
Estimated
average
hourly
earnings
exclusive
of premium
overtime
payments
$0,641
.704
.642
.669
.692
.769
Average
weekly
hours
37.0
37.8
37.2
39.6
38.7
43.2
1 The exclusion of 7 plants from these computations because complete data were not available is not be
lieved to affect the validity of the trend comparisons for the industry.
2 Data for 1 company used with reduced weight to avoid overrepresentation of large plants.
Average hourly earnings (exclusive of estimated extra payments for
overtime) of the factory workers in these 20 plants rose from approxi
mately 64 cents in August 1939 to nearly 77 cents in July 1942, an
increase of 20 percent. Because of the lengthened workweek, how
ever, and the consequent increase in premium overtime payments,
average weekly earnings increased from approximately $24 to slightly
more than $35, or more than 45 percent. The sharpest increase in
earnings occurred during the last year of the period, when many of
these plants had converted to war production.
PLANT AVERAGES
Although shift differentials and variations in the amounts of over
time pay may produce some distortion, general plant average earnings
do indicate the approximate effect of certain plant characteristics on
workers’ earnings. Although some of the plants in both the North
eastern and North Central States pay average wages below 60 cents
per hour, there is some indication from a study of relative plant aver
ages that, compared with other sections of the country, a somewhat
larger proportion of plants in the North Central area pay average
wages of 85 cents or more per hour (table 21). However, geographic
location does not appear to affect earnings to any great extent.
On the other hand, differences in size of plant do appear to be
reflected in average earnings. Of the 15 plants employing fewer than
100 workers, only 8 showed averages of more than 60 cents per hour,
and in only 3 were the averages above 85 cents. Of the 10 larger
plants, none showed an average below 60 cents and 6 paid an average
of more than 85 cents.
40
EARNINGS IN THE' MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
T able 21.— D istribution o f Electrical-Appliance Plants by Plant Average H ou rly
Earnings,* Region , and Size o f Plant9 J u ly 1942
Plants employing—
Plants in—
Plant average hourly earnings
All
plants2 North
eastern
States3
North
Central
States4
Less
than 100
workers
1
1
1
2
3
2
4
2
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
1
4
1
1
12
15
10
45.0 and under 50.0 cents______ _______ _____ _____
50.0 and under 55.0 cents......... ......... ....... .......... .........
55.0 and under 60.0 cents..____ __________ ________ _
60.0 and under 65.0 cents..___ ______ _____________
65.0 and under 70.0 cents........................ .....................
70.0 and under 75.0 cents__________________ ______
75.0 and under 80.0 cents —___ __________________
80.0 and under 85.0 cents . _____________________
85.0 and under 90.0 cents........................... ................ .
90.0 and under 95.0 cents................. .......... ............. .
95.0 cents or o v e r ................ ..................................
2
3
2
1
4
1
2
1
5
3
1
1
1
1
1
Total......................... .........................................
25
9
1
1 !
1 !
1
1
100 or
more
workers
i
2
1 Includes premium payments for overtime and night work.
2 Includes 3 Pacific and 1 South Central plants.
3 Includes plants in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
* Includes plants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFEREN CES
Earnings data, excluding extra payments for overtime and night
work, are available for 72 occupational groups of male workers
(table 22). In only 7 of these occupational groups were average hourly
earnings above $1; these higher-paid occupations are class A working
foremen, class A grinding-machine operators, class A screw-machine
operators, class A sheet-metal workers, class A testers, tool and die
makers, and class A hand welders. Moreover, for only 7 additional
occupations were average earnings as high as 95 cents per hour.
In addition to apprentices and learners, 9 male occupational groups
showed average hourly earnings below 70 cents. For all the male
workers, average hourly earnings ranged from 52.5 cents for machineoperator learners to $1.25 for class A working foremen.
Of the 22 occupational groups of female workers, only 4—class
A and B bench assemblers, class B testers, and class B winders—
showed average hourly earnings over 65 cents. In addition to learners,
the average hourly earnings for 7 of the occupational groups were
below 55 cents, and, for 3 of these occupations—class C drill-press
operators, class C testers, and machine welders—the average earnings
were less than 50 cents per hour.
The apparent anomaly in the averages shown for class A and B
bench assemblers and for class B and C inspectors is the result, at
least in part, of varying degrees of division of labor in large and small
plants. In the larger establishments, there is a relatively greater
division of labor in assembly and inspection work; consequently,
proportionately fewer skilled workers are ordinarily employed. In
the smaller establishments, however, such elaborate division of labor
is not possible, and workers must possess a higher degree of skill in
order to perform a larger number of operations. As a result, the
smaller plants, even with their generally lower wage levels, employ
more class A bench assemblers and class B inspectors while the larger
shops, which tend to pay higher wages, hire a far greater proportion
41
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
of less-skilled assemblers and inspectors. In fact, only 3 plants
reported the employment of class A bench assemblers and class B
inspectors and each of these plants employed fewer than 100 workers.
T able 22.— Average H ou rly Earnings,1 o f D ay-S h ift Workers in Selected Occupations
in Electrical-Appliance Plants, J u ly 1942
Occupation and class
Num Aver
age
ber of
work hourly
earn
ers
ings
All workers..................................
3,380
$0,720
Hfftlft workers. _ ___________
______
Acid dippers __
Apprentices, first year------Apprentices, second year __
Assemblers, bench, class A ...
Assemblers, bench, class B_-_
Assemblers, bench, class C_-_
Assemblers, floor, class B ......
Buffers __ _ _____________
Carpenters, class A
2,206
13
17
H
18
127
148
13
72
6
19
17
.805
.859
.595
.642
.940
.809
.633
.977
.992
.895
.816
.880
26
16
6
6
5
12
32
42
13
.816
.652
.937
.862
.724
.895
1.250
.965
.933
5
34
19
15
15
43
52
57
17
64
1.162
.948
.685
.718
.976
.812
.742
.628
.907
.570
10
25
.946
.778
6
25
5
23
.900
.797
.525
.677
44
.724
9
15
12
.973
.817
.999
7
12
6
57
48
.949
.958
.797
.781
.866
Die setters----------- -----Drill-press operators:
Class B
Class C
______ Electricians, class A ____ ___
Electricians, class B
_ __
Electricians, class C
__
Firemen, stationary boiler—
Foremen, working, class A ...
Foremen, working, class B__.
Galvanizers_____ ________
Grinding-machine operators:
Class A
_ _____
Class B _______________
Helpers, machine operators’—
Helpers, other
Inspectors, class A._........... .
Inspectors, class B _
____
Inspectors, class C.................
Janitors.......... ............. .........
Job setters
__ ____
Laborers___ ______________
Lathe operators, engine:
Class A
__
Class B
Lathe operators, turret:
__
Class A
Class B
Learners, machine operator—
Learners, other
__
Loaders and unloaders, racks
and conveyors__________
Machine, operators, all-round:.
Class A_____ __________
Class B__ ____ ______
Machinists._
__ __
Milling-machine operators,
class A :__ ...
______
Millwrights, class A ______
Millwrights, class B
Packers............. ................ .
Painters, spray......................
Occupation and class
Male workers—Continued.
Piripfittprs
Aiyv/11UvvlO.o-.-—•
Platers___________________
Power-shear operators
Punch-press operators:
Class B
Class C............ ...............
Repairmen, machine.............
Repairmen, product..............
Screw-machine operators:
Class A...........................
Class B ................. .........
Class C...........................
Sheet-metal workers, class A—
Sheet-metal workers, class B ~
Solderers, class C..... ............ .
Stock clerks_______________
Testers, class A____________
Testers, el ass B
Time clerks___ ___________
Tool and die makers_______
Truck drivers........................
Truckers, hand......................
Tumbler operators..............—
Watchmen_______________
Welders, hand, class A ..........
Welders, hand, class B ..........
Welders, machine__________
Winders___ _ __________
Num Aver
age
ber of hourly
work earn
ers
ings
7
10
21
$0.824
*862
.816
51
68
22
64
.943
.731
.885
.720
11
7
11
14
22
6
110
15
17
58
96
15
86
5
47
14
19
139
27
1.100
.807
.600
1.013
.823
.733
.694
1.095
.712
.657
1.209
.826
.641
.814
.623
1.064
.869
.794
.829
Female workers______________ 1,174
Assemblers, bench:
24
Class A.......................... .
Class B _______________
81
Class C_____ __________
557
Drill-press operators:
Class B._........ .............. .
7
Class C___________ ___
14
Inspectors, class B........... ......
20
Inspectors, class C_________
96
Learners, other___________
20
Loaders and unloaders, racks
and conveyors___________
26
Packers__________________
* 37
Punch-press operators, class C .
55
14
Repairers, product, class B ...
Repairers, product, class C_—
50
Solderers, class C__________
6
Testers, class B ____________
6
Testers, class C— ---- -----13
Time clerks______________
7
Welders, machine.......... .......
5
5
Winders, class B ___________
Winders, class C__________
75
Wirers, assembly, class C......
56
.562
.669
.669
.550
.626
.425
.532
.573
.406
.545
.564
.533
.621
.501
.550
.726
.494
.616
.470
.690
.563
.583
i Averages are based on earnings exclusive of premium payments for overtime.
Workers in plants with fewer than 100 employees consistently
received lower average earnings than those employed in larger plants.
In each of the 8 most important (numerically) occupations in the
industry the employees of the larger plants received higher average
earnings (table 23). Among the occupations for male workers the
42
EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MACHINERY
wage differences ranged from 7.5 cents for stock clerks to 29.6 cents
per hour for class C punch-press operators. Among female workers
the differences ranged from 12.3 cents for packers to 21.3 cents for
class C assembly wirers. If comparisons are limited to production
workers, the difference for each occupation was over 10 cents per hour.
T able 23.— Average H ourly E arnings1 o f D ay-Shift Workers in Electrical-Appliance
Plants, b y Occupation and Size o f Plant, J u ly 1942
Plants employing—
Occupation and class
100 workers or less
Number of
workers
Male workers:
Assemblers, bench, class C_....................................
Buffers.............................................. ....... ..............
Laborers.. ............. .................................................
Punch-press operators, class C ._........................... .
Stock clerks..................... ......................................
Female workers:
Assemblers, bench, class C......................................
Packers_____________________ _______________
Wirers, assembly, class C....... ................................
Average
hourly
earnings
Over 100 workers
Number of
workers
Average
hourly
earnings
12
16
10
11
17
$0.530
.858
.448
.483
.631
136
56
54
57
93
$0,642
1.031
.592
.779
.706
114
15
17
.444
.491
.435
443
22
39
.577
.614
.648
i Averages are based on earnings exclusive of premium payments for overtime.
When the output of most electrical appliances ceased, a considerable
modification in occupational patterns occurred with the shift to war
production. One plant reported that with the assignment to new and
unfamiliar work the earnings of incentive workers declined, and as a
result, a general job revaluation and piece-rate increases were neces
sary. In another instance, with a change from routine assembly
work to job production, all female employees (about half of all work
ers) were laid off. Another plant retrained its employees for new
tasks, but in this establishment the incentive workers as a group
were unable to exceed their guaranteed piece-work rates.
@FedFRASER