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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN'S BUREAU
Bulletin No. 130
EMPLOYED WOMEN
UNDER
N. R. A. CODES
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
+
EMPLOYED WOMEN
UNDER
N. R. A. CODES
By
MARY ELIZABETH PIDGEON
BuLLETIN oF THE WoMEN's BuREAu, No.
130
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1935
For sale by the Superintend-::nt of Documents, Washington, D. C. - - - - - - - - - - Price 20 cents
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CONTENTS
Page
Letter of transmittal _______ __ _____ . _ . _ . _ __ ___ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
Part !.- Introduction and score of survey _____ ___ ____________________
Introduction ______ ___ _______ ________ _ . __ ______ '. . _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _
Gains of employed women under the N. R. A __________ ___________
Increase in women's wages___ ________ __ ___ _________________
Shortened hours of work for women _ _____ ________ ______ ___ __
Increased employment of women_ _____ ____________ __ __ _ _ ___ _
Advance in standards for the employment of women___ __ ______
Further needs_ _________ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ ___
Scope of the survey ________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ __
Coverage of codas analyzed_ ____ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
Extent to which codes covered employed women ______ ______ ___ ___
Part IL- General summary of situation of employed women under N. R. A.
codes ___ __________ ___ _____ ____ ___________ _____________
Women covered by codes_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _
Wages ___ ______ _______________________ __ __ _______ _______ ___ __
Hours _____ _________________ _______ ______________ ____ _____ __ _
Overtime allowances _____ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
Wages below usual code minimum _____ ____ ___________ ___________
Handicapped workers __ __ ____________________ ______ _____ ___
Len rners___ _______ ____________________ _______________ ___ _
Industrial home workers ___ ·__________________ __________ __ __
Employment___ ________________ ___ _______ ___ _______ __________
Part UL-Minimum wage levels for women as provided in the codes _____
Minimum wages in codes as a whole_ ________ ____ _______ _________
Geographic differentials in the minimum wage__ ___________ ___ __ __
Sex differentials in the minimum wage_ ___ _________ _______ _______
Differentials in the minimum wage by size of locality __ _____ _______
Differentials in the minimum wage by occupation _____ ___________ _
Differentials in the minimum wage by divisions of the industry ______
Part IV.-Maximum hours of work for women under the codes _____ ____
Basic weekly hours __ . _ . __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ __
Basic daily hours _____ ____ ______ _______ __ __ __ ____ ______ __ ___ __
Basic days per week ___ ___ ____ _-_ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _
Work during the night prohibited_ __ ___ _____ _____________ ____ __ __
Averaging of weekly hours over a longer period _ __ _ __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __
Excepted occupations___ ___ __ __________________ ____ _______ ___ __
Provisions for overtime hours__ ______ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ ___ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ _
Restrictions on plant operation ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ .. _ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ _
Protection of worker against requirement of increased output with
shortened hours _______ ___ . ___ . _ . _ __ __ _ _ _ . _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _
Part V.- Groups of women that could be paid wages below the usual
code minimum______ ______ ______ ___ _______ ___ ______ __ __
Learners _____ . _____ __________________ _______ ___ __________ __ . _
Handicappedworkers __________________ ___ ________________ _____
Industrial home workers_ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ __ ___ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ _
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IV
CONTEN'l'S
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Part VI.-Code provisions for office workers _______ __ _______ _______ ___
Wage provisions ___ ___ . _____ . _ __ _______________ _____ __ ___ ____ _
Hour .provisions_ ___ __________________________________ _______ __
Part VIL-Provisions of selected codes for important woman-employing
industries ________ ____ __ __________________ _______ __ __ _
Retail trade _ ______ __________ _________________________________
Hours ___________________________________________ __ ______
Employment _______ _______ _________ ___ __ __ ____ ______ _____
Wages _______ ___ _____________ ______ ·-- ---------- ------- - Certain textile industries_ ______________ __________ __ ________ ___ _
Hours_ _________ ___________ ___ ___________ ________________
Employment ______ __________ _______ __________ __ _________ _
Wages _________ ____________________________________ ______
Four service industries ___ ________ ___ _________ ________ ___ ____ ___
Hotels and restaurants ___________ ------- ------------ --- ---Laundries __________ ______________________________________
Beauty shops __________ ____________ _____ __________ ________
Certain clothing industries _______ . ___________ . ____ __ _ __ __ __ ____
Hours ___ ____________________ . ___ __ __ _____ _______________
Wages_ _________________________________ _________________
Leather industries_ _________ ___ __ ___ __ __ __ ______________________
Hours____ _______________________________________________
Employment _______________________________________ ______
Wages _______ ______________ _________ __________ ___________
Certain food industries ______ _____ ________ . _ __ _____ ____ ____ __ ___
Hours ___________ _________________ ____________ ___ ________
Wages ________ ___ _________ ___ ______ ___ ________ _______ ____
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APPENDIXES
A.-Summary of codes that had specified hour and wage provisions _____
B.-General tables_ _______ _______ __________________ ____ _____ ______
C.-Extracts from Women's Bureau testimony at hearings on employment conditions under codes, January 1935 __ _________ _,___ ______
D.-Extracts from Women's Bureau monthly News Letters as to certain
problems of woman employment under the N. R. A ____ __ _____
Certain characteristics of the second year _ _ _ ______________ __ __ _
Industrial home work __ ___ ___________ . _____ _____ ________ ____ _
The problem of learners ___ _______ . __ _ __ __ __ __ __________ __ __ __
Sex differences in the wage ___ ____ __ ------------------ --- ----Aseasonalindustry_ ____ __ ____ _______ _____ ______________ ____
Code overlapping ___ ______ . ___ ____ ________ . _ _______ _________
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TEXT TABLES
1. Numbers of women employed in States listed as "South" in codes for 6
large woman-employing industries ____ ____ __ __ ____ . _____________
2. Wage data reported for several clothing indust ries prior to code adoption_ ____ __ ________ ____________ ______ _____ __ _____ __ _______ ___
3. Wage data reported by the Women's Bureau for several clothing industries in Connecticut and in Kansas City, Mo., in 1931 and 1933____
4. Data on wages in clothing industries as regularly reported from various
sources before a·nd after code adoption____ __ ___ ________ _____ ____
5. Indexes of employment and pay rolls in clothing industries as regularly
reported from various sources before and after code adoption _..,____
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CONTENTS
V
APPENDIX TABLES
Page
I. Selected industries or occupations important in woman employment
and numbers of women they employed, Census of Occupations,
1930 ______ __ ________ __ __ ____ __ ________ ___ ____ __ ___________
II. Spread in wages of women and men before and after the adoption of
N. R. A. codes with and without a sex differential, as shown from
New York monthly wage figures ______________________________
III. Women employed in 3 main clerical occupations, by industry ___ ___ _
IV. Average weekly earnings and indexes of employment and p a y rolls,
selected months of 1933 and 1934, various localities___ __ _____ ___
V. Average hours worked per week, selected months of 1932, 1933, and
1934_ __ ___ __ ____ ______ ___ _____ ____ __ ____________ _______ ___
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CHARTS
I. Summary of wage provisions in 26 codes for important woman-employing industries, July 1, 1934 __ __ ___ __ __ _________ ___ ___ facing
II. Summa ry of hour provisions in 26 codes for importa nt woman-employing industries, July 1, 1934 _________ ____ _____ ___ ____ _facing
III. Minimum wages and maximum hours specified for clerical employees
in 12 important woman-employing industries compared to such
wages and hours specified for other employees in certain N. R. A.
codes for manufacturing and service indust ries, July 1, 1934
facing
IV. Summary of hour and wage provisions in codes for certain clothing
industries, July 1, 1934 __ ____ _________ ____ _____ __ ___ _ __ facing
13
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GRAPHS
Women in 10 important occupation groups ______ ____ ___ ______ . _ Frontispiece
Women in 10 important manufacturing groups____ ____________________
6
Geographical distribution of women in five industries important in woman
employment ______ __ __ __ . __ _________ __ __ ____ ______________ _facin.g
9
Lowest regular hourly minimum wage fixed in 491 codes ____ __ __ ___ ___ _
15
Differentials in the minimum wage in 491 codes___ ____ __ ____ ____ ___ ___
32
Maximum regular weekly hours fixed in 489 codes _____________ __- - - _- _
35
Allowance of substandard wages ____ ______ ___ _______ __ - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,
Washington, June 15, 1935.
MADAM: I have the honor to transmit a report dealing with the
labor provisions of the chief codes for industries that employ large
numbers of women, and certain effects of these upon such women as
shown from material provided by the Women's Bureau and collected
from other sources.
During the life of the Recovery Administration this Bureau continually organized material responding to the many daily requests for
such information, both from N. R . A. officials and from the public.
The present survey represents a further development, a coordination,
and a more complete analysis in response to these demands and following the legal mandate that the Bureau "formulate standards and
policies that shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women" and
" investigate and report" upon such matters.
The year's experience in the daily conferences of representatives
of manufacturers and labor with the administrators had enabled all
concerned to obtain a clearer idea of the workers' needs, and a survey
of the conditions provided for women serves as a valuable background
for further progress. The findings of the present study should prove
a positive aid in this diirection.
The planning and writing of this study are the work of Mary
Elizabeth Pidgeon, chief of the Bureau's research division. However,
it was a cooperative study, involving the expert technique of several
Bureau branches and a number of persons, only a few of whose names
can be mentioned here. A great amount of assistance was given in
the organization of code provisions and the preparation of charts by
Elizabeth D. Benham, Rachel F . Nyswander, and other members of
the research division. The graphic plates were executed by Bertha K.
Smith and Carrie I vie of the division of public information. The
reviewing of t he material and findings was done by Etelka H. Culler
of the editorial division .
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. FRANCES PERKINS,
Secretary of Labor.
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VII
WOMEN IN TEN IMPORTANT OCCUPATION GROUPS
Each complete unit=50,000 women
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Operat1n• and laborere
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A CODES
Part 1.-INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF SURVEY
INTRODUCTION
The National Recovery Act originally was passed for a 2-year
period, going into effect June 16, 1933. By January 1, 1934, it was
estimated that codes had been approved covering about 90 percent
of all industrial workers, the most important of them having been
promulgated within the first 6 months. 1
The primary effort of the present study is to summariz~ the provisions of codes that affected large numbers of women. The code
provisions discussed are those approved by July 1, 1934. The report
gives some data indicating effects of codes on employed women as
shown by such Federal and State figures as are available.
The general purposes of the act included advantages to labor as
well as to industry and business. Among these purposes as stated
in the act are the following: (1) To increase purchasing power;
(2) to reduce and relieve unemployment; (3) to rmprove standards
of labor. Moreover, the President said, when he signed the act,
June 16, 1933:
Its goal is the assurance of a reasonable profit to industry and living
wages for labor with the elimination of the tyrannical methods and
practices which have not only harassed honest business but also contributed to the ills of labor. 2
Briefly, the plan followed in preparing the codes was to encourage
persons "truly representative" of any industry in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce to draw up the code of fair competition
proposed for that industry, after which public hearings were held to
allow labor, industry, and consumers to protest anything they objected to. Final approval was sealed by signature of the President,
who was empowered "as a condition of his approval" to impose
conditions "for the protection of consumers, competitors, employees,
1 By Mar. I, 1935, 568 codes were approved and in operation, not including many supplements to some
major codes, which bring the total N . R. A. count to over 700. The 568 include 18 A. A. A. codes,
none of which applies to women to any appreciable extent. To July 1, 1934, 491 codes with labor provisions
had been approved, 205 of these prior to Jan. 1, 1934.
i The act defines its general purposes as follows:
. . . To remove obstructions to the free flow of interstate and foreign commerce which tend to diminish the amount thereof; and to provide for the general welfare by promotini; the organization of industry
for the purpose of cooperative action among trade groups, to induce and maintain united action of labor and
management under adequate governmental sanctions and supervision, to eliminate unfair competitive practices,
to promote the fullest possible utilization of the present productive capacity of industries, to avoid undue
restriction of production (except as may be temporarily required), to increase the consumption of industrial
and agricultural products by increasing purchasing power, to reduce and relieve unemployment, to improve
standards of labor, and otherwise to rehabilitate industry and to conserve natural resources. (Public, No. 67,
73d Cong., title I, sec. 1.)
Italics by Women's Bureau, indicating parts that may be considered to apply most specifically to employed women.
of the
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2
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
and others, and in furtherance of the public interest." The N. R. A.
organization included separate advisory boards for labor, for industry,
and for the consumers, and the staff of the Chief Administrator
included one assistant chosen from employees as well as one chosen
from employers, and also a legal adviser and a director of research.
·GAINS OF EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER THE N. R. A. 3
The outstanding gains made under the N. R. A. in the development
of standards of employment that affect women never can be lo st
sight of. This is most keenly appreciated in the Women's Bureau,
which, under its legal mandate to "formulate standards and policies
to promote the welfare" of wage-earning women, has labored continuously toward the very ends that, through the N. R. A., have
been more closely incorporated in to the thinking of the American
people.
Even in this period of time, which is exceedingly short for the
development of so broad a program of social reconstruction, enormous
advances were made for employed women in a raising of their wages,
a shortening of their hours, and an increase in their employment.
Increase in women's wa,g es
In connection with wage increases, instances continually appear
to show the wide-spread effect of code minima in bringing up the
earnings of very large numbers of women who were at the lowest
wage levels. Obviously this is very true of hourly earnings, butstill more important-there were definite additions to the pay envelop for the week. To cite but a few of these from Women's Bureau
material not yet in complete published form:
In a recent survey of the New York dress in dustry, weekly wage increases
under codes of from 30 to nearly 60 percent are shown in the earnings of inside
operatives.
In a recent survey of employed women in Michigan, week's earnings had increased for the most part from 20 to 40 percen t in the various industries and
this was true even though hours were shorter. While median earnings in 1932
ranged from $3.85 to $14.95, the lowest median in 1934 was $10 and the highest,
$19.65. 4
In a study of men's work clothing made in certain areas, the number of women
in such factories in 12 cities in Georgia who received $12 or more a week, increased
from 11.8 percent before the code to 56.2 percent after the code. (For Atlanta,
Savannah, and Macon this increase was from 16.8 percent to 66.5 percent, and
in 9 other cities it was from 7.7 to 48.1 percent.) In New Orleans, 9.2 percent
of the women in factories making men's work clothing received $12 or more a
week before the code, while 61.2 percent of the women employees receiv~d such
amounts after the code. In 7 cities in California, the proportion of women receiving $13 or more a week in work clothing factories increased from 62.6 percent
before the code or the President's Reemployment Agreement to 67 percent after.
A further point to be noted in the improvement of women's wages
is that the few available data indicate a very definite narrowing of
the pay differential between women and men. This w_as fully to be
expected, since it so frequently is the women employed who are at
the lowest pay levels, and consequently they would be the ones
brought up to the minimum and somewhat nearer the wage paid
to men.
a See appendix C.
4 This includes some industries operating under the President's Reemployment Agreement as well as
those under codes. The automobile industry was not surveyed.
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INTRODUCTION
3
Shortened hours of work for women
In the matter of hour standards, the 40-hour week has been proposed for immediate action and definite progress toward its establishment has been made. Never before has the universal shortening
of hours received such far-reaching governmental backing nor has
the ideal of attaining a work week as short as 40 hours been seriously
proposed on so wide a scale; no State had legislated for a week shorter
than 48 hours,5 and only about one-fifth of the States for work time
even so short as that, most of these laws covering only certain
industries.
Increased employment of women
In the third line of advance for women-increased employmentsuch data as are available show the definite benefit of the recovery
program, and there also is some indication of greater regularization.
For example, in the Michigan survey referred to, there was a 23
percent increase in the number of women in general mercantile firms
and a 25 percent increase in manufacturing employment, though
naturally the extent of the latter varied with different industries.
Advance in standards for the employment of women
A gain under the N. R. A. that is even more important than
specific code provisions is the direction of public thinking along constructive social lines-the popular realization of the importance not
alone to the individual employee but to the entire scheme of American
life of definite advances in wage and hour standards for wage earners.
Further needs
It was to be expected that women stood to receive a large share
of the gain from the inauguration of so constructive a social policy
as that provided for employed persons under the N. R. A., since in
the past women have represented one of the chief groups most subject
to the vagaries of the labor market, massed heavily in low-wage and
long-hour employments, forming large proportions of those having
jobs in seasonal industries, for the most part receiving considerably
less for their services than men received, in many cases working in
insanitary and unhealthful surroundings.
Social development always is a matter of growth, and a complete
program naturally takes a long time for accomplishment. The
rapidity with which the N. R. A. program was carried forward was
phenomenal, and it is inevitable that there remained problems to be
solved, certain unanticipated effects to be adjusted, and efforts to
be undertaken toward following further certain of the lines that were
inaugurated.
In view of this and of the inestimable benefit to employed women
represented by the standards proposed in many of the codes, a distorted view would be given if the Women's Bureau, in line with its
legal duty to wage-earning women, did not point out certain defects
that were developed.
As the codes were confined to industries in or affecting interstate
or foreign commerce, nearly one-half of all employed women did not "j/..
come under codes (see p. 5 for fuller count of these); furthermore,
6 In 1 State, Oregon, the State welfare commission established a 44-hour week in 2 occupations in the
spring of 1934.
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4
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N . R . A. CODES
some of the more important woman-employing groups to which the
law applied had no codes in effect at the close of the first year, though
many of these came under the President's Reemployment Agreement.
-~
Besides those women not under codes and those not provided for
until quite late, very many were affected in some codes by the lowered
minimum wages fixed on various differential bases, such as geographic
location, sex, or size of city; by lower minima for handicapped
workers and for learners sometimes not carefully defined; by lack
of provisions for eliminating home work in some of the codes covering
industries in which home work is done; and by the allowance of
many exceptions from the hour maxima. Moreover, if the idea was
to bring about increases in employment there is no doubt that the
hour standards in many codea were too long. Another problem not
solved was that of. providing adequately for the maintenance of
wage standards for those who received, or who in view of their type
of work should have received, more than the minimum. This,
however, could be done more effectively through collective bargaining
and was done in some codes where collective bargaining was strongly
developed prior to adoption of the code.
In calling attention -to the matters suggested above, the Women's
Bureau is fully sensible of the magnitude of the problems the N. R. A.
had to face, of the inestimable value and importance of the objectives
sought, and of the real benefits that resulted. In the many phases of
the problem that must be considered, perfection along any one line
in such a very short period of time scarcely could be expected. Still
it is the obvious function of the Women's Bureau to direct attention
to further needs in connection with woman employment.
The fact that women form more than one-fifth of all employed
persons makes the consideration of their situation under the codes
one of great importance. While certain of the problems to be discussed here are espe,cially connected with woman employment-such
as sex differentials in the wage, or industrial home work-yet these
are not isolated conditions, since a wage scale depressed by such situations likewise affects the men in an industry. It usually 1s found that
in an industry where women's wages are low or where the bulk of the
employees are women, men's wages also are low.
SCOPE OF THE SURVEY
The pages following will consider the wages and hours fixed in the
codes as well as certam other provisions that were of especial significance for employed women; they then will give attention to the provisions made for workers in some of the codes applying to the more
important woman-employing groups of industries, considering also
any available indications of changes in employment, wages, and hours
of work for women in these groups of industries.
This report considers the code provisions in question and also
compares these to some extent with previous situations in the industry.
The study is not a field survey of the eifects of codes, obviously a tremendous task even when confined to small representative samples
of the many industries necessarily involved, and one that would be
possible only within the allowance of a long period of time and a
very large force of investigators. However, a number of sample
field surveys of some industries have become available, either from
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5
INTRODUCTION
Women's Bureau investigations or other sources, and these are cited
throughout the discussion. In addition, it is of great value to have
brought together in one place in a consistent manner such regular
indications as are available as to the situation in a number of important
woman-employing industries, though it is not generally understood
that no complete periodic data ever have been available for the entire
country on the subjects of the employment, the unemployment, the
wages, or the working hours of gainfully occupied women.
COVERAGE OF CODES ANALYZED
About 570 codes were approved by the N. R. A. by March 1, 1935
(exclusive of various supplementary codes). By January 1, 1934, the
Research and Planning Division of that organization estimated that
practically 90 percent of the persons who could come under codes had
been covered. Several important woman-employing industries were
placed under codes in the first half of 1934. The 491 codes that
were approved by July 1, 1934, and that have been examined through
this survey therefore give a practical representation of the code
provisions for women m the life of the first Recovery Act. The
codes approved later for the most part covered few or no women 6
and it has been found that the statements as to proportions of codes
falling in certain groups remain substantially the same for a later as
for an earlier analysis.
EXTENT TO WHICH CODES COVERED EMPLOYED WOMEN
Since codes covered only industries in or affecting interstate and
foreign commerce, they covered only about half of all employed women,
mainly those in the manufacturing industries, trade, communication,
clerical, and certain large service groups. The chief classes of women
that it may be estimated came under codes are shown in appendix
tables I and III, and may be summarized as follows:
E mployment of women estimated to have come under codes
Ma nufacturing _____ _____ ____ ____________ 1, 313,792
Clerical _________________ ___ ____ _______ _ 1, 244, 526
Trade ________________ _____ ________ ____
855,699
Service _____ ___________________________
683,869
Communication __ ___ ___ _____ ____ ___ __ ___
235, 259
4,333, 145
Among the women not covered by codes were those in certain
industries in which the worst employment conditions too often have
prevailed. Code3 did not cover household employees ("servants in
homes"), nearly-t½ millions, a num er approamrln:g-the -i-otal of all
wonien in manufacturing. This is a group whose conditions of work
in 1many instances have been very unsatisfactory. Nor could th
codes provide for the more than 1 % million women in professional
service, whose experience has been that they were paid considerably
less than men were paid for work of the same amount and caliber.
6
The only important exception is the cigarette code, not approved until Feb. 9, 1935.
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J
6
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Other large groups not receiving the benefit of code provisions were
laundresses not in laundries, dressmakers and seamstresses not in facWOMEN IN TEN IMPORTANT MANUFACTURING GROUPS
Each complete unit=25,000 women
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RUBBER JACTORIES
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tories, and women in agriculture and in public service. The following
list shows that these groups not coming under codes included well over
1: millio:r;i women, accordin~ to th~ c~nSl,1$ <;>f 1~30;
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7
INTRODUCTION
Employment of women not covered by codes
Total for 6 groups___ ____________ 4, 391, 080
Professional service _____________ __ ____ _ 1, 526,234
Servants in homes ___ __________ ___ ____ _ 1, 422, 928
Agriculture _________ ___ _____ ___ __ ____ _
909,939
Laundresses (not in laundries) _____ ____ _
356, 468
Dressmakers and seamstresses (not in factories)_ ________________________ ____
157, 928
Public service _____ _________ ___________
17, 583
To the foregoing should be added the fact that the largest singln
occupation group of women other than domestic and personal servicethe nearly 2 million clerical workers, who constitute almost one-fifth
of all women gainfully employed-either were not under codes, as for
example the nearly 150,000 in insurance offices-or received little aid
from the codes. While it has been the popular belief that white-collar
workers had less need of improved conditions than had factory employees, nevertheless Women's Bureau studies have shown their wages
to be very low and their work situation unsatisfactory in other respects.
Furthermore, census :figures in 1931 indicated that somewhat more
than one-tenth of the women clerical workers were without jobs, an
available data from public employment offices show applications for
such work greatly exceeding the demands.
In addition to the nearly 4½ million women not under codes, almost another million did not come under codes until the middle of
February 1934 or later, though some of these were operating under the
President'sReemploymentAgreement modifications. Notable among
these were the women in restaurants, laundries, candy, cigars, canning,
and cigarettes, while no code ever was approved for the beautyparlor nor the telephone industry.
The chief codes of greatest importance to 'woman employment,
with their approval dates, are as follows:
Codes for i mportant woman-employing i ndustries
19SS
Cotton textile industry_ ___ __
Wool textile ind us try _____ _ _ _
Coat and suit industry __ ____
Electrical manufacturing _____
Men' s clothin g industry _____
Automobile m anufacturing ___
Hosiery industry____ _______
Bankers _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __
Boot and shoe manufacturing _
Silk textile industry_____ __ __
Retail trade _____________ ___
Dress manufacturing ________
Cotton garment industry __ __
Hotel industry ____ _________
Paper and pulp industry _____
Rubber manufacturing ______
Blouse and skirt manufacturing __ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ _ __ _ _ _ __
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
July 9
July 26
Aug. 4
Do.
Aug. 26
Do.
Do.
Oct. 3
Do.
Oct. 7
Oct. 21
Oct. 31
Nov. 17
Do.
Do.
Dec. 15
D ee. 30
1994
American glassware industry _
Laundry trade ____ __ _______
Restaurant industry______ __
Infants' and children's wear
industry ___ ______ _____ ___
Undergarment and negligee
industry _________________
Baking industry_ ___________
Canning industry __ __ _______
Candy manufacturing ______ _
Cigar manufacturing ___ _____
Jan. 16
Feb. 16
Do.
Mar. 27
Apr.
May
May
June
June
27
28
29
11
19
1985
Cigarette, snuff, chewing, and
smoking tobacco manufacturing __ _________________ _ Feb.
9
8
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N . R . A. CODES
In some of these industries the Women's Bureau -has made special
studies and has first-hand information as to wages and hours of women
at some time prior to code adoption. In addition, the New York
State Department of Labor publishes monthly indexes of the employment of women in manufacturing industries and reports on their
wages, the only ·such information that is issued regularly by sex.
Other data indicating the situation in woman-employing industries,
but not reported by sex, are issued each month by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics and by certain State departments of labor,
notably those of the large industrial States of Pennsylvania, Massa. chusetts, and Wisconsin. 7
7
For further restrictions on types of material available see also part VII, pp. 62-63
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN FIVE INDUSTRIES IMPORTANT IN WOMAN EMPLOYMEN
T
JI}
®
36,123
!i
4,798
•
3.1,129
"
89,949
'I
ii
°i,ING
29,348 '
TEXTILES
...
SHOES
I~
TOBACCO
1182°-35.
.._....... ,
(Face p. 9.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part 11.-GENERAL . SUMMARY OF SITUATION OF
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
An examination of the contents of nearly 500 codes leads to certain
broad conclusions as to the general conditions they were likely to
create for the women employed under them, even though it is not
possible to estimate in all cases the approximate numbers affected.
These codes represent the conditions provided for the great bulk of
all employees covered by codes, and a still larger proportion of the
women affected.
WOMEN COVERED BY CODES
The codes, designed to apply to industries in or affecting interstate
or foreign commerce, may be estimated to have covered most women
in manufacturing, trade, and certain large service groups. This inchides practically half the employed women. The half that they did
not cover included those in the professions, agriculture, and many of
those in the largest woman-employing group-domestic and personal
service. (See Introduction and appendix tables I and III.) For
the occupational group of employed women second in size-clerical
workers-about seven-tenths of the codes fixed specific wage minima,
though in a comparison of nearly 100 codes it was found that practically one-fourth of them allowed longer maximum hours for office
employees than for the productive workers in the industry.
WAGES
The usual minimum wage fixed in about 15 percent of the codes
covered was 40 cents an hour, and in a few cases it was higher. In
the codes for all the more important woman-employing industries the
minimum was not over 30 cents and in several of the largest of these
it was 25 cents or less-the equivalent of $10 or less for a 40-hour
week, and still less if the plant operation in the week was not full
time. The minimum of 30 cents (or $12 for 40 hours) included codes
for cotton and other textile industries, hosiery, cotton cloth gloves,
boots and shoes, underwear and allied products, and various paper
products, while 25 cents or less was the minimum in hotels, retail
trade, laundries, restaurants, and canning
Even these low minima meant wage increases for large numbers of
women paid at the lowest levels-for some of them quite considerable
increases. In many industries in the past the bulk of the women
have been their lowest paid employees, so it is not surprising that
their wage increases have been greater than those of men, and the
raising of wages for these groups of women has somewhat lessened
the sex differentials in pay.
·
· The minimum wages varied according to several factors, lower
wages being fixed for southern areas in over one-third of the codes,
lower wages for women in about one-fourth, wages differing by size
11s2°-35---2
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
9
10
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
of city in more than one-tenth of the codes, many of them also providing no minimum for places of 2,500 or less. Perhaps the fairest
criter10n for wage differences is occupation, and over one-tenth of
the codes varied the minimum by this factor, a few of them with
carefully worked out schedules.
Compared to their standards in July 1933, wages under the codes
advanced decidedly in all the large woman-employing industries with
few exceptions; those in some branches of clothing, textiles, and food
manufacture showed especially marked increases, particularly in certain periods. There were wage declines in shoe and t obacco factories
and in some of the service groups. (See appendix table IV-A.)
HOURS
The principle of the basic 40-hour week was established in approximately seven-tenths of the codes analyzed here, as was that of the
8-hour day. Something less than half the codes limited the number
of days in the week to 6, a few, mostly in clothing and textile industries, specified a 5-day week. .
The establishment of such an hour standard was one of the most
brilliant features of N. R. A. policy, and its effect was particularly
outstanding in certain long-hour industries that employ many women,
though in some instances the rise in hourly rates did not maintain
pay envelops at the levels reached under longer work hours.
Benefiting by the 40-hour provision were workers in some of the
most important woman-employing industries, such as most of the
textiles, laundries, boots and shoes, cigars, cotton garments, and several in the food group.
The 40-hour week meant a decided shortening from the schedules
of standard working hours formerly prevailing at times of peak production, and to the extent that it can be retained it should represent a permanent gain. The shortening of hours from former peak
schedules was marked in the textile and clothing industries and in
shoe manufacturing, in some of which there often is great seasonal
irregularity and much short time, and to a less extent in bakeries,
though the opposite was the case with the hours permitted in retail
trade. (See appendix table V.)
Since much short time was the rule in the period just prior to the
codes, the 40-hour standard was longer in many instances than hours
that actually were being worked through the preceding months. This
was the case in candy, canning, cigars and tobacco combined, and
laundries. Furthermore, the code hour maximum was but very little
shorter than the actual hours that just previously had been worked
in bakeries, shoemaking, hotels, and restaurants. (See appendix
table V.)
Almost 60 codes placed some limit on plant operating hours, some
restricting to two shifts, and a few to one shift, a day.
In some codes effort was made to protect workers against unfair
speeding due to shortened hours-the stretch-out system-19 codes
requiring that the load of work should not exceed that of July 1, 1933.
This means that this matter was recognized as one demanding
solution.
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GENERAL SUMMARY OF SITUATION
11
OVERTIME ALLOWANCES
The great majority of codes made specific provision for some type
of overtime work, some of them permitting it in quite a considerable
amount. A very few banned it entirely.
Much of this overtime was allowed for seasonal requirements and
affected very many women, especially since the more highly seasonal
industries so often employ women in lars-e numbers.
In the great majority of codes some limit was placed to overtime,
but in a few-including some important woman-employers-there
was no limit fixed to the seasonal overtime that might be worked .
An increased rate of pay for overtime work was specified in over
half of the codes, though considerably more than a fourth-some of
them important woman-employers-made no provision for overtime pay.
WAGES BELOW USUAL CODE MINIMUM
Wages below the usual code minimum frequently were allowed for
three groups containing large numbers of women-the handicapped,
learners, and industrial home workers.
Handicapped workers
Many earlier codes permitted handicapped workers to be paid
wages below the minimum fixed. An Executive order of February
1934 required employers to obtain from designated State authorities
certificates for all such persons. Department of Labor instructions
following this order provided that such wages should be lowered only
to the actual extent to which the employee was handicapped and
limited the number of such workers to 5 percent of a plant's employees
unless the code for that industry allowed more. Subsequent State
reports show that a very large percentage of those so licensed were
women, and that the proportion was especially large in certain types
of industry.
Learners
Somewhat less than one-half the codes allowed learners to be paid
wages below the minimum fixed, usually 20 percent below, though in
some cases no bottom pay was set. Nine-tenths of the codes excepting
learners limited such workers- usually to 5 percent of the employees,
though some important woman-employers allowed as many as 10
percent. Well over four-fifths of these codes specified the length of
the learning period, which naturally varied widely with the industry.
Industrial home workers
A third group allowed to be paid below the minimum under some
codes was the industrial home workers. Codes for 86 out of 120
industries in which home work was lmown to be done abolished this
system either at the time of code approval or later, though several
very important woman-employing industries retained the system with
no control. An Executive order issued in May 1934 was designed to
relieve workers who, though physically unable to leave home or
obliged to care for invalids or aged within the home, were forced to
make a living, and provided that such persons could be given certificates allowing them to do wo:rk at home,
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12
·
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
EMPLOYMENT
Employment for the year 1934 was above the 1928 level in certain
of the large woman-employing industries, including some of the food
groups, though this was not the case for most brancheg of textiles and
clothing. In November 1934 employment was below that of July
1933 in certain of the large women's industries, including most textiles and clothing and shoes. (See appendix table IV-A.)
A comparison of women's and men's employment status in N ovember 1934 with that of July 1933 from the only source of indexes published by sex indicates that men had fared better than women in
employment in over half the cases cited, including laundries and most
of the clothing groups, some of which showed a very marked advantage for men. Women had fared better than men in silk mills and
candy and machinery and electrical supply factories. (See appendix
table IV-C.)
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CHART !.-SUMMARY OF WAGE PROVISIONS IN 26 CODES FOR IMPORTANT WOMAN-EMPLOYING INDUSTRIES, JULY 1, 1934
Lowest wage fixed
in code 1
Name of code
1- - - - : - - --
-
1 Other minima for pro<luctive workers (by geographic 1- - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - 1
location, size o! city, sex, occupation)
Hourly
Number of women
reported in 1930
Rate lower than minimum allowed
2
Weekly
Handicapped
Learners or apprentices
Minimum wages for clerical workers
ti~fse~d Clerical
laborers workers3
Home workers
Retail trade ______________________________________ ----------
' $9.00
By city __ ______ ___ ____ ______ ___ ______ _____ ____ __ ______ --- ------------- $1 a week less------------------------------ --- --- ------- ---- ------------ - - - --- -- --- --N. $10-$14 for 40 hours.
10- 15 for 48 hours.
9-- 13 for 40 hours.
S.
9-- 14 for 48 hours.
5
705,793
e 327,100
Service trades and industries:
Hotel industry _________ ___ ____ ________ _____ __ -- -- ----- -
' 8.50
7
109,124
832,551
Restaurant industry ______ __ _______________ _______ ____ _
'8. 07
By city ___ _______________ ____ _____________
Employers to guarantee service same as clerical a n d
operating minima.
N. $10.00-$15.00.
s. $8.S0-$12.75.
By city ______ -__ ______________ ________ ___ ___ __ __ _________ ____ ________ _ ______ _____ ____ _____________________ __ ___ __ _ By city
____ _____ ---------- ----- - ----------
ij
303,845
Laundry trade__ _______________ ________ ______
N. $9.50-$10.50.
s. 8.07- 8.93.
s.
. $12.00-$15.00.
$10.20-$12.75.
'$0. 14 __ ____ ___ _ By geographic area, 5 groups __________ __ ______________ -- --- - - ------- --- ---------- -- -- - ----- - ------- -- ----- -- ------ By city __ ______ __ ___ --- ------ --- - --- --- --Highest (N.) $0.25-$0.30 by city.
N. $13.00-$14.00.
s. $12.00-$13.00.
Lowest (S.) $0. 14.
Bankers ____ ------------------------ ------------- ---- -- ----
'14.00
Certain textile industries:
Cotton-textile industry __________________ -- -- -- - -------
12. 00
Hosiery industry __ ____ ___ ____________ ___ _-- - - -- - - -- ----
12.00
Silk-textile industry ___ _______ __ __________ --- - -- - ----- - -
12. 00
Wool-textile industry_ -- ----- -- - --- ---- ----- - ----------
13. 00
$14--$15 by city ______ ___________ _______________________ ----- ----- -- ---- 80 percent of minimum for
6 months.
157, 706
12,207
$14 , ___ ------- -- - - --- --- ------ - - - -- - - - _--- _------- --
149,906
. $13; s. $12_ _ ___ ________ ____ ______________ ______ __ __ 80 percent of 6 weeks 10 _ _ _ ______________ _ ___ __ _____ _____ Minimum is for" any employee" _____ ___ _
minimum.
N . $13-$18.50, by occupation; S. $12-$16.75, by occupa- _____ do _____ ___ $8 for 3 months ________ ____ Prohibited ____ "All other", N. $13; S. $12 ______ ___ ______ _
tion .
N. $13; S. $12 ___ - -- - ------ -- ---- --- --------------- ____ $8_ __ __________ 80 percent of minimum for _____ ___ ___ _____ Minimum is for "any employee" __ ___ ___ _
6 weeks.
N. $14; S. $13 __ __ _____________________________ __ - - -- - - - - - - - -- _--- ---- - - -- - - ---- - --- _-- ---- ___ ________ _________ ____ - - __ _do _____ ______ _____ _____ ____ _______ ___ _
154, 763
(11)
4, 453
(11)
75,848
5,365
50,858
3,268
Boot and shoe manufacturing industry ______ ___ __
.30
M. $0.35-$0.37½; F. $0.30-$0.32 H?, by city or geographic (10) ___________ _ 80 percent of minimum for _________ ____ ___ "No employee" to receive less ___ __ __ ____ _
area.12
6 weeks.
86,293
10,657
Electrical-manufacturing industry ____________ __ _
. 32
$0.40, unless lower July 15, 1929 ______ __ _____________________ ______ ____ 80 percent of minimum ____ _____________ __ "All other", $15 ____________ ________ ______ _
48,855
31,894
Certain clothing industries _______ __ __ ___ ___ __ ______ ----- _- - ____ __ -- -- ---- --- --- ------ -- ---- --- --- - ----- --- --- ------ ---- ---- -- - -- ---- - ---- - --Blouse- and skirt-manufacturing industries,.__
. 40
12. 00 Blouse. Occupations __ ---- - ---- -- -- --- - -- --- - ----- - -- By city: $12New York City, 50¢-60¢, $15-$36.
$14.
Cities over 250,000, 45¢-54¢, $14--$32.50.
Cities under 250,000, 40¢-45¢, $12-$31.
Skirt. Occupations:
New York City, 70¢-80¢, $16-$33.
Elsewhere, 60¢-68¢, $13.60-$28.
Coat and suit industry (13) __________________ _
E.
Occupations,
$29--$47; crafts on piecework, $0.60- -------- ------- • 53 ---------$1.30 per hour. Crafts 10 percent less outside New
York and Philadelphia.
W. Occupations, "$22-$41; crafts, M. $0.75-$0.85 per
hour; F. $0.53-$0.75 per hour.
Cotton-garment industry ___ ___ ____ ______ ___ _
. 30 ----- --- -- N. $0.32½ ; S. $0.3.0----- ---------------- -- --- ----- ----- (U)____________
Sheep-lined and leather garments, $0.35-$0.75, by
occupation.
Dress-manufacturing industry _______ ____ _____________ _
14. 00 W. $14, elsewhere $15, to as high as $45 in New York (1')_ _____ ____ __
City for certain occupations.
Infants' and children's wear industry ___ ____ _
N. $0.32¼ ; S. $0.30. Specified boys' clothes, $0.40 ___ __ 70 percent of
. 30
minimum.
Men's clothing industry ___ ----- -------------
. 37
Undergarment and negligee industry _______ __ -- ------ -Cigar manufacturing industry ____________ ______ __
Certain food industries:
Baking industry __ --------- ----- ---- -- ------Candy manufacturing industry __ ----------- Canning industry 16 _________________________ _
Paper and pulp industry 10 _ _____________ ____ ____ _
. 25
13.00
M. $0.60; F. $0.47 __ ____ ___ _____ do _______ _ Nonmanufacturing, $14 _____ __ _______ _____ ___________________ _
75 percent of minimum for ________________ "No employee" to receive less ________ ____ ________ ___ ________ _
6 weeks.
(") ___ __ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ __ __
Prohibited ___ . "All other", $14 __ _______ ______ ______ _______ ______ ___ ___ ______ _
Prohibited on ----------------------------- ------------- -- ____ _______________ _
8 weeks.
sewing machines.
N. $0.40; S. $0.37. Higher rates set for certain occu- -- -------------- ----------- ------ --- ------ -- Prohibited__ __ Nonmanufacturing: . $14; S. $13 __ _________________ ______ ___ _
pations.
New York metropolitan area, $16.50; elsewhere, $14 ____ (H) ___ ________ _ Metropolitan area, $10 for ___ __ do _____ ____ Nonmanufacturing, $13 __________ _____ ____ ___ ________________ _
10 weeks; outside, $9 for
12 weeks.
S. $0.25-$0.32; other $0.25-$0.34, by occupation or
branch of indllStry.
N. $0.40; S. $0.35 (except icers, wrappers, cleaners, 80
percent of rate, $0.32-$0.28) .
. 27½ ------ - - -- M. (by city) N . $0.35-$0.40; S. $0.30-$0.35. F. (by
city) N. $0.30-$0.35; S. $0.271/z--$0.30.
.15
M. N. $0.32½ ; I. $0.27½; S. $0.25. Pieceworkers
$0.07½ less in each group.
F. N. $0.27½; I . $0.22½; S. $0.20. Pieceworkers $0.05
less in each group.
. 27
. 27
-- -- -------- ------ ------ - - -- -- -- - -- -- _-- -- -- ----- ----- --- -- --- - ------- -- _-- -- ___ __ ____ __
(11 )
(11)
$11 a week____________ ____ Prohibited_ ___ By city: $12-$14- _______________ __ ___ __ ___ __ _____________ ____ _
M. N. $0.38; C . $0.35; S. $0.30.
$0.30;
s. $0.30.
F. N. $0.33; C .
75 percent of minimum fo r
(10) ---- - -- -- - - - -- --- -- - - - - - -- --- --- ---- - -- - - - - - -- -- - -- - - - - -
$15__ - ---- -- - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(11)
(11)
by city _____ -- -- _____ _____ ___ ____ _
16,875
9,627
Prohibited____ $16-_ ____ ______ __ _________ __ _____ ___ ___ ___ _
28,538
3,852
$14--$16, by city _____ _____________________ _
18, 109
2,044
80 percent of ------ ------ -- ------------ -- _________ ______ _ "All other", $12-$15, by city ____ ______ __ __
16, 281
7,372
(H) -- __ -- __ __ _____ _- - -- - - ___ -- __ -- __ __ -- ___ _______ __ -- _____ $14--$16,
(U)____________ 85 percent of minimum for
15 days.
minimum.
Rubber manufacturing industry _______ __ __ ___ __ _
. 35
$0.25 ___ _______ $0.28 for 6 weeks __ ___ ______ ___ _____________ $12-$15, by city ___ _______________________ _
24, 432
9,369
Automobile manufacturing industry __-----------
. 35
___ _______ By city: M. $0.40-$0.43; F. $0.35-$0.37½_ ______________ ____________ ____ 87½ percent of minimum__ ______ ___ _______ $14--$15, by city - - ------------------- ----- -
22,599
18,648
American glassware industry _________________ ___ _
. 30
__ __ __ __ __ __ ___________ ____ __ ________ _____ ___________ ___ _______ ___
9,045
3,241
1 Except lower rates fo r such groups as learners or handicapped.
2 Obvious abbreviations are used: M. and F. for male and female; N . and S. for North and South; E. and W . for E ast and
West; C. for central; I. for intermediate; by city for by size of city. Occupations entirely excepted from codes are not taken
account of here, chiefly non-woman-employing.
a Those reported in the 3 groups employing 98 percent of the clerical workers and including bookkeepers, cashiers, clerks,
stenographers, and typists.
, No minimum fixed for towns under 2,500, though in most cases some provision made for advance of lowest wages in such
places.
6 Saleswomen and" clerks in stores."
o This figure includes clerical in wholesale trade.
1 "Other servants" such as chambermaids, parlor maids, check girls, kitchen help, etc., in hotels, restaurants, and boarding
houses, cannot be separated for restaurants, but no doubt a negligible proportio.n of these workers were in restaurants.
s Total for hotels and restaurants, figures not separate in census.
g This includes cooks and waitresses in hotels as well as in restaurants because these employees, wherever found, were covered
by the restaurant code. Other restaurant employees are included with figure for hotels (see note 8).
10 Excepted from code wage but minimum not fixed.
Cigar code specified regular piece rate to be paid "slow workers",
and 22½ cents hourly minimum for slow strippers.
1182°-35. (Face p. 13.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(")_ _________ __ 80 percent of minimum for
6 m onths.
Minimum is for "all employees" ___ __ ____ _
11 Not available for t hese separate industries from census data, which report the following :
Laborers and
operatives
All knit wear combined ___ _____ ____ ______ ____ _____ ___ ___________ _____________ ____ -- -- -- ----
93, 331
3
~~;~t~o~b~:a_b~ig-tobacc<>---========== ==== == == ====== ========================== ==========
~t :i
Clerical (see
footnote 3)
5,884
22,906
2,854
In defined areas of the South, $0.30 for women, $0.35 for men, regardless of size of city.
1a In addition to the minimum wages by occupation certain rates were to be guaranteed the average worker. For discussion,
seep. 29.
"Responsibility left to code authority, but see further orders on handicapped in all industries, discussed on pp. 49--50.
15 Figures given here refer to seasonal employees, who include the great bulk of the women in the industry.
Nonseasonal
are slightly higher, as follows:
By city: M. N . $0.35-$0.40; I. $0.30-$0.32; S. $0.27½.
F. N. .30- .32½ ; I. .25- .26; S. .22½ .
10 A number of other paper codes had somewhat similar provisions, though these varied.
12
Part 111.-MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS FOR WOMEN AS
PROVIDED IN THE CODES
A minimum wage, strictly speaking, is the lowest amount that may
be paid for the required hours of work, however unskilled the labor.
Practically one-third of the codes set a specific figure as this minimum. 1
The others arranged for qualifications that governed the rate according
to section of the country, size of town or city, or sex of employees.
The purpose in establishing the minimum wage under the N. R. A.
was to assist in eliminating unfair competition in selling because of
savings in cost that some firms made by exploiting their labor. In
common with other minimum wage action, it sought to raise living
standards at least at the very lowest level. There is no doubt that
considerable success was attained in this direction, though the wage
provisions in very many codes, .and especially those for womanemploying industries, were inadequate.
In the codes of all the most important woman-employing industries-for example, cotton and most of the textiles, boots and shoes,
electrical products, candy, canning, hotels, restaurants, retail trade,
and laundries-the hourly minimum set was 30 cents or less, being
25 cents or less in the six last mentioned; and 25 cents an hour for
40 hours amounts to only $10 a week. About 15 percent of the codes
fixed a minimum of 40 cents ($16 for 40 hours), and a small number
set higher amounts than this. More than one-third of the codes
fixed lower wages for "the South"; more than one-tenth varied the
minimum by size of city; and just over one-fourth set lower rates
for women than for men. Something more than one-tenth (59 codes)
used occupation, which probably is the only fair measuring stick,
provided it is applied to actual differences in skill and value of the
work and not merely to•some tradition of low pay for some certain
type of job.
The reason for differentials is thus explained in a letter from an
N. R. A. deputy:
Numerous differentials of various kinds can be found in the codes which it
may be difficult to defend on purely logical grounds, but they represent long
established customs.
Any large group of workers allowed to be paid a subminimum wage,
whether it be on the basis of sex, or locality, or whatever its character,
exists as a constant labor reserve threatening the standards of workers
everywhere and enabling employers who engage it to compete on an
unequal basis with those who pay better rates.
1 In all, 157 of the 491 codes. Some of these, however, had exceptions for apprentices or handicapped .
A few of these (about 30) allowed the wage of July 1929 even if it were below the usual minimum, but fixed
in addition a final bottom below which wages might not go.
13
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
14
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Minimum wages in codes as a whole
In 94 of the codes-almost a fifth-the lowest wages fixed for any
locality, size of place, division of the industry, or sex were at least
40 cents (or $16 if for a 40-hour week). In only 13 of these was the
minimum above 40 cents. This was in consideration of the productive workers in the industry, sometimes called in the codes
"manufacturing employees or artisans", and took no account of
any exceptions that might have been made for apprentices, learners,
handicapped persons, or others, nor did it refer to any provisions
that might have been made for the clerical force. In some of these
codes workers in the smaller localities-almost always of less than
2,500 persons-were not protected by any minimum, though there
usually was a stipulation that their wages should be raised somewhat
unless already they were over a certain point, say $10 or $12.
Throughout the discussion codes having the hourly rate of 40 cents
are considered equivalent to those setting a weekly wage at $16,
30 cents to $12, 25 cents to $10, and so on; that is, the hourly wage
is figured on the basis of a 40-hour week. This is done even though
many codes had a maximum longer than 40 hours, so that, for example,
25 cents for a 48-hour week yielded $12. While t he worker had the
same pay as if the code fixed $12, yet she really had not received the
same equivalent, because she had to work 8 hours longer for it than
if $12 for a 40-hour week were fixed, as, for example, in the cotton
textile code. Under the N. R. A. the ideal of a 40-hour week was
proposed as a standard, and was established in many codes, so that
the only fair way to figure the wage equivalent is on that basis. Some
co_d~s fixed the wage by the week, but the majority set an hourly
mm1mum.
It may be noted in passing that the N. R. A. Research and Planning
Division estimated that a week not longer than 38 hours would be
necessary to secure a normal level of employment.
A few codes, 13, fixed the lowest wage above 40 cents, notable
among the highest being the coat and suit, a large woman-employer,
and also live poultry, fur manufacturing, and printers' roller and
block industries.
.
More than three-fourths of the codes fixed the lowest rate at 35
cents ($14 for 40 hours) or less, the largest group being at 30 cents
($12 if for a 40-hour week). 2 All the more important woman-employing industries had a minimum of 30 cents ($12) or below. Among
those with the $12 minimum were codes for cotton and certain other
textile industries, hosiery, boots and shoes and other leather products
industries, underwear and allied products, bankers, cotton cloth
gloves, and various paper products.
Fifty-eight codes-more than one-tenth-fixed the minimum at
25 cents ($10 if for a 40-hour week) or less, several important womanemploying industries having a minimum below $10 a week. For
example, the hotel and the retail trade codes h ad an $8.50 and a $9
wage, respectively, as the lowest weekly pay; the cleaning and dyeing
rate yielded $8 for 40 hours; the canning industry set this same rate
2 A minimum rate of 35 cents or less was fixed in 375 codes, or 30 cents in 117 of these, and of 25 cents or
less in 58 codes.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MINIMUM WAGE LEV'.ELS PROVtD:ED lN CODES
15
as the lowest for timeworkers and 15 cents for pieceworkers. The
lowest wage of all was $2 for needlework in Puerto Rico. Five-fifty
for barber shops ranked next, but other very low points were in
industries and areas employing large proportions of Negro workers,
in at least one case involving many women-the laundry code with
a 14-cent wage for certain sections of the South. The rate for raw
LOWEST REGULAR
a
HOURLY MINIMUM WAGE FIXED IN 491 CODES
EACH COHPLETE U1ITT • 25 CODES
1+o cents or over
Over 30, under 35 cents
30 centg
Over 25, under 30 cents
:] Xj)(f )
14, under 25 cent~
0
~~!~~! ~1
~
..
::::·..
:.::
This does not include minimum for handicapped, learners, or other substandard groups.
peanut milling was 15 cents, and that for cotton pickery 18 cents,
the weekly yields of these on a 40-hour basis being respectively $5.60,
$6, and $7 .20.
The chart facing page 13 gives a summary of the wage provisions
in 26 codes for important woman-emp loy!ng industries.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
16
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Geographic differentials in the minimum wage
Of codes that made some qualification of the minimum wage, by
far the l·argest number fixed differentials according to geographic
location. Something over one-third of the codes fixed a minimum
wage lower in the South than in the North, and almost one-tenth
defined several geographic areas with different minima that were
practically always lowest in southern States. 3
Among codes for important woman-employing industries that
fixed a wage for the South lower than for other geographic areas
are those for the · cotton textile, retail trade, restaurant, laundry,
boot and shoe, hosiery, cigar, bakery, and candy industries.
The definition of "South" varied widefy in the many codes that
fixed a lowe.r wage for that general section of the country. In most
cases it included eight States that are considered unquestionably
southern-Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee-and in the majority of .i nstances it included also Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
A few codes gave no definition, some included Kentucky or Maryland,
some specified the District of Columbia, and in a few codes the
definition of South embraced such States as New Mexico, Arizona,
West Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, or Delaware, or even certain counties
or parts of States.
With such wide variations in what was characterized as "the
South", it is safe to say, though data for a complete check-up are
not available in any compiled form, that the area assigned to lower
rates corresponded closely either with the existence of the industry
in question or with the custom of employing large groups of low-paid
labor. Thus the code minimum for other sections of the country
was undercut because of a traditional low wage in certain areas.
The southern differential sometimes was given as a percent of the
northern wage, or as a certain percent less, though it was more likely
to be given as an amount less than in other sections, as $1 a week
· less in retail trade, or 5 cents an hour less in bakeries; in other cases,
the amounts for the different sections were stated as in the cotton
textile code, $13 for the North, $12 for 15 "southern" States.
One of the chief reasons advanced to justify a low wage in the
"South" has been the lower cost of living. As a matter of fact,
few attempts have been made to ascertain whether this actually was
the condition, and such indications as have been presented have not
given any conclusive evidence to this effect but have pointed rather
to the opposite situation. 4 Economists who have discussed this
subject are pretty well agreed that it is not lower costs of living but
rather lower standards, something quite different and one of those
things the whole theory of N. R. A. activity sought to obviate to such
an extent and by such steps as were possible. Moreover, low standards of living inevitably result in living conditions harmful to health
and vitality, and consequently to the efficiency of the worker.
3 In all 176 codes provided for a simple North-South differential and 45 others defined several areas, almost
always with a lower wage in the South.
• See, for example, the following: Labor in the Industrial South, by Abraham Berglund, George Talmage
Starnes, and Frank Traver De Vyver. University of Virginia, 1930; National Industrial Conference
Board. Research Report No. 22, November 1919, and Special Report No. 8, The Cost of Living Among
Wage Earners, May 1920; and Industrial Revolution in the South, by Broadus Mitchell and George Sinclair
Mitchell, 1930.
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MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
17
The women in manufacturing pursuits in the 16 States and the
District of Columbia listed by the census as in southern areas form
about one-fifth of all women in manufacturing industries and about
three-tenths of those in all gainful occupations. 5 Though with the
great variations in code definitions of the "South" it is not possible
to say how many of these women were affected by geographic wage
distinctions in the codes, in carrying such a method to its logical end
this is the proportion that potentially would come under the principle
of a. minimum wage lower for the South than for other geographic
areas.
Table 1 on page 18 gives some indication, in relation to six of the
more important woman-employing industries with codes that contained southern wage differentials, of the proportions of the women
employed in these occupations who would receive the lower wage
according to the definition of "South" in the particular code in question.6 These may be taken as an accurate measure in the case of
cotton, boots and shoes, and candy, but in the other three, either the
classification in the census or the code coverage permits only a rather
rough estimate.
In 4 of these industries at least one-fifth of the women were in
the "South"; in the other 2 less than 10 percent were thoce, in 1
of them-shoe factories-as few as 4 percent. In cotton textiles
over 60 percent were subject to the lowered minimum wage for the
South.
Negro women were not covered by codes to nearly so great an extent
as were white women, due to their different occupational distribution.
Much larger proportions of Negroes than of whites live in the Southern States and thus would be subject to the lower minimum wages for
the South in codes for industries in which they were at work.
Of nearly 2,000,000 employed Negro women, over one-third are
classed by the census as "servants" in homes and more than onefourth are in agricultural pursuits. In the occupations for Negro
women covered by codes-factory work, stores, hotels, restaurants,
and laundries--only a little more than 10 percent of the Negro women
were employed, as against practically 60 percent of the total number
of all gainfully occupied women similarly covered by codes. 7
6 384,442 in 16 southern States and the District of Columbia, or 20.4 percent of all women in manufacturing .
In these 16 States 3,162,925 women were employed, 29.4 percent of all those in gainful occupations.
6 The comparison is not exact, since a few codes singled out certain counties from sotne States for inclusion
in the "South ." Moreovel.'., the census occupation classification does not correspond exactly to tbe code
industrial coverage.
Percent
1 T otal
of employed Negro women ________ ___ -- ----- ------- --- --- --- ---------- ------- 1,840, M2
Servants in homes (including cooks and waitresses)___ __ ___ __________ __________
Agriculture ______ --------- ------- --- ____________ _____ _______ __ ----- ---- --- ----E mployments potentially covered by codes________ ___ ________________________ _
Manufacturing (total 101,070, but the 21,426 in nonfactory occupat ions are not covered)- -- ---------- --- -- -- ----- --- ------- --- ---- - 79,644
H otel and restaurant, servants, cooks, and waitresses__ ____ _______ _ 83, 898
Saleswomen and "clerks" in stores _____ ---- - ------ -- ---- --------- - 5,157
Laundry operatives and laborers_________ _______ __ ___ ______________ 47,466
Other________________________ ___ _________ ___ _________ __ ___ _______ ____ _________ _
35. 6
26. 9
11. 7
473,519
25. 7
(The residual group" Other" includes 10,862 clerical workers and 63,027 in professional service.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
100. O
655,674
495, 284
216,165
18
EMPLOYED W OMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
An example of the greater effect on Negro than on white women of
a minimum wage lower for the South than for other areas is found
in the laundry code, where in the 15 States considered as southern
in this code (see table following) well over half of the women are Negro,
while in other States-if New York, where about one-third of the
women laundry operatives are Negroes, be excepted-Negroes form
only about one-fifth of these women. In this code two southern
districts were defined, including certain counties in some States. In
one of these southern districts the minimum wage for a 40-hour week
throughout the entire area averaged only about 62 percent of the
rates for the smallest towns in the three northern areas. 8
TABLE
1.-Numbers of women employed in States listed as "South" in codes for
6 large woman-employing industries 1
Women employed
State
Saleswomen
and "clerks
in stores '' 2
Hotels,
restauran ts,
and bo&rding houses,
as cooks,
waitresses,
and other
servants
Laundries,
as operatives and
laborers a
Cotton
mills 4
Shoe
factories
Candy
factories
- - - - -Total, United States ___ ____ __
705,793
Total in States !isted as
"South"in code:
Number_ ---- -- ------- --Percent of total in United
States ________________ __
Alabama ____ --------- ----- - -Arkansas ___ ___ ________ __ _____
District of Columbia _____ __ __
Florida _____________ ______ ____
Georgia __________ ____ __ __ ____
Indiana __ ____ _______ ______ ___
Kentucky ___ _______ --- - -_____
Louisiana ________ -- -- ___ ___ -Maryland ____ ________________
Mi~i8sippL _________ ________
Missouri__ _________________ -- New Mexico _____________ __ __
North Carolina _____ __ ___ ___ _
Oklahoma ___ ___ ___ ___________
South Carolina __________ __ ___
Tennessee __ ___________ -- _-- -Texas __ ____-- -- ___- -- - --- - --Virginia __________-- -- ___ _-- -West Virginia ___ _____________
435,349
157, 706
154,763
86,293
28, 538
146,127
88,883
39, 345
97,029
3,470
2,777
20. 7
20. 4
24.. 9
62. 7
4.0
9. 7
7,421
5,413
4,483
7,329
9,140
5,444
4,063
63,661
7,932
6,758
2,448
1,154
11,448
115
4
2
(1)
10,018
8,905
10,559
5,170
(7)
1,221
8,617
10,686
4,068
9,343
27,895
8,864
6,995
5
(i)
5,077
6, 561
4,687
3,893
(i)
1,272
4,546
8,339
2,601
6, ,542
8,734
5,081
3,692
(i)
2,880
3,498
(i)
2,528
2,683
(7)
1,295
(9)
418
3,447
2,461
1,221
3,625
7,958
2,584
1,145
(7)
(8)
19,944
350
563
613
651
818
81
(7)
29,527
133
25,330
2,988
1,400
3,068
(1)
(7)
2
242
(7)
1,181
6
(7)
(7)
(7)
(8)
1
(7)
,(7)
78
509
207
220
(7)
(7)
(7)
3
1
735
29
1,115
149
112
49
(7)
43
106
68
14
321
817
233
1 U. S. Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census, 1930. Population, vol. IV, table 4 in each State.
(See also footnote 6, p. 17.)
2 Includes also wholesale trade and over 10,000 women in automobile sales.
a 2 groups of southern States were listed in the laundry code as wage groups D and E. Both are included
here. 1 State (New Mexico) in the groups here used as southern groups for operatives and laborers was not·
included among the States for which the code provides a lower wage scale for clerical workers in the "South."
Also 1 State (Maryland) specified a!:l a southern State for clerical workers is not included here.
4 South was not defined in the code. The States listed are those reported by the code authority to be
subject to the minimum wage for the South.
6 This total does not correspond to that in chart I nor in appendix table I, because it includes 22,380 waitresses in homes and scattered in industry, but these cannot be eliminated for the various States.
6 Included in the hotel but not in the restaurant code.
7 Not listed in the "South" as defined in the code.
s No women so employed in this industry in this State.
9 A part of Missouri was included in group Din the code, but the major cities of the State were in group C.
s See p. 78 for lack of effect of this code.
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MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED lN CODES
19
The manufacturing industry employing the largest nµmber of
Negro women is cigars and tobacco. Though Negroes form only
one-fourth of all the women in such employment, they form one-half
of those in the States listed as "South" in the cigar code. It is not
possible from census data to separate cigar from cigarette workers in
the various States by sex or race. In the cigar code the minimum
was fixed for southern unskilled labor at 25 cents ($10 for a 40-hour
week), 7 percent less than the minimum for any occupation in the
North except stripping. One-fourth of the strippers both in the
North and in the South were permitted to be paid a minimum of
only 22~~ cents ($9 for 40 hours). Stripping is the chief occupation
of Negro women in the cigar industry. In a study made by the
Women's Bureau reporting wages of 1,755 Negro women in cigar
factories, 90 percent of these were strippers, and Negro women
formed over one-third of the strippers. 9
The lowered minimum in the South in this code affected many white
as well as Negro women. Hand and machine makers formed nearly
70 percent of the white women in the Women's Bureau study referred
to, though almost none of the Negroes reported were in these occupations. Machine operators on higher-priced cigars under the code
received 34 cents ($13.60 for 40 hours) in the North, but in the South
32 cents ($12.80 for 40 hours), about 6 percent below the northern
minimum, and as many as 10 percent of the operators could be paid
still less. Workers on the higher-priced cigars in the hand-made
industry were paid 30 cents ($12) in the North but in the South 28
cents ($11.20), or 34 cents ($13.60) and 32 cents ($12.80), respectively,
for certain kinds of cigars, and 25 percent in either locality could
get still less.
The cotton textile industry forms another example of the extent to
which a lower minimum for the South affected large numbers of white
as well as N egro women. According to census data, more than 98
percent of the women employed in this industry are white, fewer
than 2 percent Negro. The wage for the North was $13 a week, for
the South $1 less. More than 60 percent of the women in this
industry work in southern mills, and thus this large proportion, the
very great majority of whom are white women, were subject to the
lower wage level.
The way in which the low-competition area was perpetuated by
fixing lower wages for certain geographic sections is illustrated by the
southern wage differential in the boot and shoe code. Only 4 percent
of the more than 86,000 women employed in this industry are in the
South, as defined in the code, and of the almost 3,500 in the South
only about 200 are Negroes. Workers in 14 States were subject to
the southern lower wage, but in 7 of these 14 States no shoe factory
existed in 1931 and in only 5 were any appreciable number of women
so employed. The differential applied to women in the larger cities,
the rate in small cities in the North being fixed the same as throughout
the South.
Codes that defined areas other than strictly the North and the South
for distinctions in the minimum wage ranged all the way from that
for retail lumber with its 32 districts and for iron and steel with its
21 (neither industry being a major woman-employer) to the umbrella
9 U. S. Department of Labor.
Women's Bureau. Effects on Women of Changing Conditions in the
Cigar and Cigarette Industries. Bui. 100, 1932, p. 82,
. -
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
20
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
code, which singled out New York City with a 35-cent minimum for
the least skilled work and fixed a 32 ½-cent minimum for all other
parts of the country.
One of the most important woman-employers in this group was
covered by the dress code, which fixed the minimum for the eastern
metropolitan area-Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore and their
areas as defined in the 1930 census-at 90 percent of the New York
City minimum, and that for the western area at 85 percent of New
York City. 10
Another code varying rates according to areas other than North
and South was that for the coat and suit industry. Great difficulty
arose over the definition of "West" in this code, since Maryland
was omitted from the States listed as "East" and thus Baltimorethough an eastern city whose product was directly in competition
with that of other higher-wage eastern cities-was included in
"West." 11 Even with this dispensation, however, Baltimore firms
were reported to have moved into smaller cities in the eastern area,
notably in Pennsylvania.
Sex differentials in the minimum wage
The type of wage differential of greatest importance to employed
women was the fixing of a minimum for women lower than that for
men.
The N. R. A. supported the principle of paying the same for work
of the same character regardless of the employee's sex. In this a
traditional governmental policy had been followed, based on a long
line of precedents such as those established by the National War
Labor Board, the Railway Administration, the United States Commission on Industrial Relations, or the granting of civil-service status
equally to the two sexes.
According to this custom, practically three-fourths of the codes
made no difference in the minimum rate on account of sex. Moreover, the code prepared in July 1934 for use with all industries not
then codified contained as one of its supplementary rules and regutions this specific dictum:
Female employees performing substantially the same work as male employees
shall receive the same rate of pay as male employees. 12
esides this, many other codes had written in the principle that
"where women do the same work as men" they must receive the
same pay, even though some of these codes did in fact make differences in the minimum by sex. Still other codes (some 50 in all)
provided that the code authority, usually within 90 days, should
prepare a full report as to the occupations of the women in the
ind us try. 13
That further information on the subject leads to abandonment of
a wage difference fixed by sex is indicated by the fact that in at least
60 codes in which the first draft contained a sex distinction in wage
this was either entirely eliminated or so modified as to limit the
division of the industry to which the differential applied or to decrease
10 Later an administrative order divided the western area into a northern and a southern section, and
fixed the wage for Cleveland, Chicago, and areas surrounding at 85 percen t of the New York City wage,
that for all other parts of the northern section at 70 percent of the New York City wage, and that for the
southernsectionofthewestern area at not less than 60percentof the New York City wage. (Order No. 64-3,
approved Dec. 14, 1934.)
11 Before this report went to press, Balt imore was placed in the eastern area.
u N. R. A. release 6367, July 12, 1934.
1a See p, 31. .
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MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED I
CODES
21
the differential markedly. This usually was accomplished by increasing the women's rate, though in a few cases by decreasing that
of men, sometimes by both. In about a third of the codes changed
thus, the sex difference in the wage was entirely withdrawn, including
such codes as those for hotels; men's garters, suspenders, and belts;
men's neckwear; printing equipment; rubber (rainwear division).
Other evidence that better knowledge of the principle involved
leads to abandonment" of a sex distinction in wage is shown in the
unequivocal statement made at a code hearing by a deputy administrator who earlier had been in charge of a group of codes that contained such provisions. He stated:
I am glad to say if there were a new code I would never recommend again a
differentiation in unskilled labor between males and females under any circumstances.14
The adherence of certain industries to this remnant of an older
order is thus described by one of the deputy administrators after a
series of hearings on one group of industries:
The matter of sex differentials has been presented, but the industries have
firmly declined to eliminate such differentials from the codes . . . Their
position is that such differentials have always existed and that, while they are
willing to narrow them, their total elimination imposes too great an increase to
be absorbed at one time.
The old idea of the low value of women's work is not borne out by
the census data, which show that the great bulk of the unskilled work
in manufacturing is not done by women; and that they form larger
proportions of the semiskilled than of the unskilled workers is shown
in an analysis of 1930 census data classified by social-economic
groups. 15 While women are only 4.5 percent of the laborers in factories, this report shows them to be 36.8 percent of all semiskilled
workers in manufacturing. Women are 31.7 percent of all semiskilled
workers, and 22.2 percent of all unskilled workers.
Moreover, one of the serious consequences of such a policy has
been that men sometimes have been laid off and women taken on at
less pay to carry on their jobs. A telling example of this was found
by the Women's Bureau in an automobile factory where men on an
automatic screw machine could not make enough at the rate set.
Women put on at the same rate soon made a high weekly wage.
The men were put back at a slightly higher rate and still could not
make enough. Finally, women were put on to stay, after which the
rates were reduced several times. 16 The Women's Bureau also found
that women replaced men in 27 metal plants on such operations as
punch pressing, core making, and riveting. Men were receiving
respectively 45, 52, and 60 cents an hour for these jobs, while women
were paid only 25, 35 (on same size cores), and 41 cents. 17 Such
examples, which could be multi:{>lied many times, illustrate certain
of the ill effects of a sex differential in the wage.
1, See transcript of hearing on Luggage and Fancy Leather, p. 114.
u Edwards, Alba M. A Social-Economic Grouping of the Gainful Workers of the United States
Journal of the American Statistical Association, December 1933. Vol. XXVIII, no. 184, pp. 377-387.
u U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment
Opportunities of Women. Bul. 55, 1928, p. 228.
11 See data presented by Mary Anderson, director of the Women's Bureau, transcript of hearing on farm
equipment code, Sept. 20, 1933. Taken from preliminary unpublished data collected by the Women's
Bureau.
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22
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A . CODES
The lack of harmony between the fixing of a sex distinction in the
wage and the general purpose of the Recovery Administration to
eliminate unfair competition was indicated in the fact that such a
distinction actually did perpetuate unfair competition. It enabled
employers to get done at a lower rate work that cost more in the
case of employers with few or no women. For example, in the shoe
industry the Women's Bureau found that in 23 plants surveyed in
1 State in 1933 the proportion of the workers who were of the
female sex ranged from 36 to 57 percent. 18
Many of the processes performed by women require a high degree
of skill, and there seems little excuse for basing a minimum on sex
and fixing it so low for women that even on skilled processes they
may be paid considerably less than ·men doing the most unskilled
work. An example of such a situation is found in the boot and shoe
industry. The minimum fixed for men was 35 cents an hour, for
women only 30 cents, in spite of the fact that large numbers of women
perform highly skilled processes. Moreover, many women who have
developed this skill have b~en years in the industry. The brief presented at the hearing on the boot and shoe code speaks as follows
with relation to the inequity and the danger of a sex differential in
the wage:
There can be no basis whatever for the employer's proposal, assuming as it
does that women in all sections are less efficient workers than are men. Certain
operations and those highly skilled are performed by both men and women.
This is very frequently true in the vamping operating of the stitching rooms.
Establishing a lower rate of pay for women than for men will result in displacing
men workers by women paid at such lower rate. Moreover, while in some
sections the stitching rooms are staffed with women workers, others, as in some
New York factories, give over this work to men. If the minimum rates are to
be lower for women than for men, this differential will tend to be carried all
through the wage structure . . .
Again, in our industry, women workers are doing primary operation not
incidental work nor yet tasks subsidiary to those of men operators. The :fitting
of shoes in the stitching room-in most factories given over to skilled women
workers-does not suffer by comparison with the work of the men who staff the
cutting rooms. Skill, speed, and importance in the perfection of the :finished
results are as great in the one department as in the other. Women's work in
the packing room again is like in character and equal in importance to the
operations performed by men .
In the pottery-making industry, a large woman-employer, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 1932 over 40 percent of
the women surveyed worked in jobs upon which men were, or previously had been, employed. 19 Yet the code fixed a minimum of 40
cents for men and only 32 cents for women. This would yield women
$12.80 for a 40-hour week, yet Ohio figures for the depressed year of
1932 showed more than a fifth of the women in pottery plants earning
$15 or more.
Despite the many evidences of the skill required in women's work,
so strong has been the old attitude of paying women a low wage that
it remained in a considerable number of codes, and the differential for
women occurred more frequently than any other type of differential
with the exception of that relating to the North and South. It is a
continuation of an old custom that considered women's services of
1s U.S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Employment in the Shoe Industry in New Hampshire. 1934, p. 18, and unpublished data.
19 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly Labor Review, April 1933.
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MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
23
less value than men's so that they were offered less pay than men
were offered, in many cases for substantially the same work.
Women's wages remained fixed below men's in some 128 codes.
For example, for the American match industry, with one-third of its
employees women, the code fixed a minimum for women slightly
more than 20 percent below that for men. The same is true of 16
other codes, the women's minimum being set as much as 30 percent
below men's in fur dressing and dyeing, and about 28 percent below
in cotton pickery and in peanut butter. Women could be paid from
10 percent to 20 percent below men in some 90 other codes.
Somewhat more than two-fifths of the codes fixing lower rates for
women than for men set the minimum for men as low as 35 cents an
hour; five of these (canning, cotton pickery, excelsior and excelsior
products, hardwood distillation, and talc and soapstone), as low as
25 cents ($10 if for 40 hours), the lowest fixed in any codes except for
the rates for women in a few cases. Other codes fixing rates low for
men and still lower for women included those for some of the food and
leather .industries, for a considerable number of the paper products 1
and for such metal industries as automobile equipment and farm
equipment, for which the men's rates were respectively 32 and 30
cents, with women's still lower.
Though it is not possible to ascertain the entire number of women
covered by codes that provided for lower wage paym~nts to women
than to men, certain of the industries for which this was the case are
of great importance among the woman-employers. 20 The most outstanding examples were boots and shoes, canning, and candy, which
engaged respectively some 84,000, 47,000, and 39,000 women. In the
canning as well as in the set-up paper box industry, with their 27,000
women, members of this sex were nearly half the employees. In
boots and shoes women were somewhat over 40 percent, and in chinaware and porcelain and in office equipment 25 and 23 percent, respectively. Though women formed smaller proportions in such industries as automobile manufacture and newsprint, yet these and others
fixing the wage by sex employed many women, in these two cases
respectively some 22,000 and some 10,000.
There are few data showing whether the sex differentials common
in an industry prior to the codes were decreased, but even if they
were, the fixing of a minimum that allowed the pay of women on
processes requiring considerable skill to be less than the pay of unskilled men still was unjustifiable.
To gain some indication as to any decrease in sex differentials in
wage, almost the only source of data lies in wage figures of the New
York State D epartment of Labor, which has reported average weekly
earnings for men and women separately for many years.
Comparisons of such earnings for March 1929, March 1931, and
March 1934 are shown in table II in the appendix for 9 industry
groups for which codes had a sex differential and for 10 important
woman-employing groups for which codes had no sex differential.
(See footnote 1, table II in the appendix.)
These data indicate that the spread in wages of the two sexes was
lessened under the codes, though it must be remembered that in
20 See Women's Bureau mimeographed sheets listing codes having sex differential with numbers of women
employed rn far as obtainable from census data.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
24
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
many cases women's wages were so very low that large numbers of
them would be in the groups which would benefit by the fixing of a
minimum wage. In practically all cases, whether or not the code in
question contained a sex differential, the ~wage spread between the
two sexes was less in 1934 than in 1929; usually it also was less in
1934 than in 1931. Since the spread in wage payments to the two
sexes generally is lessened by setting a minimum, there seems no
reason for maintaining differentials by sex in the minimum.
A lower wage for light repetitive work.-ln addition to the fixing of
a minimum lower for women than men, at least two other methods
of securing the same result appeared in codes. One set a lower wage
for "light repetitive work", another provided that types of work
paid below the code minimum at some earlier date (usually in July
1929) still might continue to be so paid.
The phrase "light repetitive work" is very indefinite, and may be
used to cover processes requiring much skill or considerable dexterity.
Such a phrase would enable a woman doing delicate assembling work
n a watch or a typewriter to be paid at a lower rate than a man
performing much less skilled labor.
Many repetitive jobs call for very careful handling, and all require
a large degree of concentration or continuous application. Many
are by no means light. For example, in visits to 27 farm-implement
plants prior .to the N. R. A., agents of the Women's Bureau found
women doing spot welding, riveting, operating punch presses, and
doing work requiring skill in core rooms and in assembling. In some
of these, women had replaced men at lower pay though production
was practically unchanged. 21 Yet the code for this industry provided
for pay 5 cents below the minimum for women on "different and light
types" of work. Such a phrase allowed some of these operations to
be paid at a lower rate even though they might involve heavy work,
because it is customary to consider women's work "light." Even
the word "different" does not alter this situation, nor does the phrase
"substantially the same work", since it is well known that any occupation may be adjusted easily so that difference in the work, however
slight, can be used to bring the operation into the lower wage level
of women.
Minimum_fi,xed according to July 1929. 22-The provision that persons paid below the minimum in July 1929 might continue to be so
paid likewise struck largely at women. It defeated the real meaning
of a minimum wage by perpetuating the i;tatus of any low wage group,
such as women or Negroes, and thus maintaining unfair competition
among employers as well as continuing low standards of living. This
provision was contained in some 30 codes. Two other serious drawbacks in connection with the fixing of a prior date as a standard were
that many plants did not have records going back so far and that in
many cases industrial processes had changed so that it was not possible to tell whether the proposed minimum lower than the usual code
minimum should prevail for certain processes.
An industry affording an important example is electrical manufacturing, which in the manufacturing industries is exceeded in number
21 See testimony of M ary Anderson, director of the Women's Bureau, at hearing on proposed code for
the farm equipment industry, Sept. 20, 1933.
2a A very few later codes used a later date, as June 1933.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
25
of women employed only by certain textiles and certain clothing, shoes,
and cigar making. (See table I in appendix B.) One-third of the
electrical workers are women and they perform skilled and semiskilled
operations. In this industry women work on punch presses, winding
machines, wire-stretching machines, and so forth; and they do assembling and inspecting. The code provided a minimum of 40 cents an
hour, but ·allowed as low as 32½ cents to be paid if this was the rate
for an operation as of July 15, 1929. Such a large proportion of the
workers affected by this are women that it constituted in fact a discrimination against that sex. For example, Ohio reports for 1929 show
that roughly one-third of the women, in contrast to less than 5 percent
of the men, were earning less than 40 cents in 1929, so they could be
paid less than the usual minimum under the code. Certain Women's
Bureau surveys show even larger proportions of the women receiving
so little at that date. An early report of the code authority shows
that of 179,000 wage earners for whom reports were received, more
than 61,000, something over one-third, were women. Over half these
women workers (55 percent) had received less than the "minimum"
of 40 cents, and of all workers receiving less than 40 cents 77 percent
were women.
Another example of a wage below the minimum created by the July
1929 clause was the paper and pulp code. This is an industry in
which considerably more than one-tenth of the employees are women,
members of this sex numbering around 16,000. Moreover, the code
was important because its provisions were the basis used for codes in
the manufacture of a large number of paper products, several, though
not all, including the July 1929 clause. In paper and pulp women
operate cutting machines, and this involves examining the paper for
flaws; they do counting and plating paper, which consists of piling
together alternate sheets of linen and paper and is considered a semiskilled job; and they do paper sorting, which in some places is reported
as the most skilled job of women in the industry, requiring judgment
as to qualities of paper and examination for flaws. The code provided
that while men m the north and central sections should receive at
least 38 and 35 cents, respectively, women could be paid 33 in the
north section and 30 in the central, while 30 cents was the southern
minimum for both sexes. Moreover, persons paid less in July 1929
could receive a.s little as 90 percent of this minimum, which would be
$10.80 for a 40-hour week for women in the central and for all workers
in the southern section. Wage reports for 1929 from Ohio (included
in the northern section in the code), though not given separately for
paper and pulp mills, showed that in five paper-products industries
taken together 15 percent of the adult women but less than 1 percent
of the adult men were receiving less than $12 in 1929. In the making
'of paper bags, a code that contained the 1929 provision, in that year
very few men received less than $15, while well over one-tenth of the
women earned less than $12.
Another woman-employing industry whose code had the July 1929
wage provision was the American glassware industry. In Ohio, 1929
figures indicate that at least 65 percent of the women but less than 6
percent of the men would be subject to the reduced rate allowed in
this industry.
1182°-35- 3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
26
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Differentials in the minimum wage by size of locality
Slightly more than one-tenth of the codes provided for wage distinctions by size of locality, practically 60 codes in all. This included
several of those for important woman-employing industries, notably
retail trade, laundries, boots and shoes, restaurants, cleaning and dyeing, and candy, as well as other important industries such as automobile m anufacture, farm equipment, and machinery and allied products.
There was a wide variation among these codes in respect to the
size classifications of the cities, though the m ajority of them provided
for the highest minimum to be paid only in cities of 500,000 and over.
Most of t hese codes had several classes with v~rious wages, but some
had only one dividing point, as, for example, the canning code which,
for the year-round employees (not including the vast majority of the
women workers in this highly seasonal industry), fixed a lower wage
for all places under 400,000, thus placing most canneries under the
lower wage. Many of these codes fixed no minimum for workers in
places under 2,500, though usually some wage advance was provided
for.
The ratio of the minimum for small places to that for large varied
considerably from code to code, and this variation bore no consistent
relation either to size of city or to amount of the minimum for the
larger localities. The summary following indicates these ratios for
six important woman-employers.
IHighest m inimum
N ame of code
for any city
(women)
Re tail trade _____ $ 15_______________
Laundry trade_ _ 30 cen ts ($ 12 for
40 hours).
Boot and shoe 32½ cents ($13 for
manfacturing
40 hours).
industry.
Restauran t in- $9.33 _____ ______ __
dustry (service) .
Candy manufac- 35 cents ($14 for
turing ind us40 hours).
try.
Cleaning
and 33 cents ($13.20
for 40 hours) .
dyeing tr ade.
~=ri:
P ercent
Lowest minimum loweSt places
for any city
w_as of
up to
hlgheS t but not
(women) 1
(week- includly) i
ing $10 _____ ___ ___ ____ _
25 cents ($10 for 40
66. 7
83. 3
Amoun t
P ercent
of
highest
minim um
20, 000
$9____ ________ ____ _
14 cen ts ($5.60 for
40 hours) .
30 cents ($12 for 40
92. 3
81. 5
10,000
$7. 18 ___ -- ------ --
77.0
30 cents ($12 for 40
85. 7
100, 000
27½ cents ($11 for
40 hours) .
78. 6
27 cents ($ 10.80 for
40 hours) .
81. 8
100,000
20 cents ($8 for 40
60. 6
hours).
30 cents ($12 for 40
hours).
92. 3
$7.60 a_______ _____ _
hours) .
25, 000
100, 000
Southern wage
2
hours).
hours) .
60. 0
46. 6
1 Except in the South, for which see sixth column.
2 Provision for some increase was made in the code for places up to 2,500, but no definite minimum fixed .
.For order regarding places under 2,500, seep. 27.
11 This was the minimum for K ansas and Missouri; minimum for North was $8.44.
Under the cleaning and dyeing, laundry, and candy codes the
minima fixed for places of less than 100,000 (except in the South)
were from 81 to 86 percent of those for the largest cities, the latter
being respectively $13.20, $12, and $14 if for 40 hours. Under the
boot and shoe code with a minimum of 32½ cents ($13 if for 40 hours)
for largest cities, places under 20,000 (except the South) had to pay
at least 92.3 percent. Retail-trade workers in t owns o.f less than
25,000 (except the South) could be paid as low as only about 67
percent of the minimum for the largest cities.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MINIMUM W AG:ffi LEV'.ELS PROVlDEl:> IN C<i>DES
27
In places of less than 2,500 an Executive order of May 15, 1934,
exempted from code wage and hour provisions independent local
retail and service industries that operated not more than 3 establishments.23 By further clarification issued early in August 1934, this
did not apply to retail trade and service industries extending over
relatively wide areas and including a number of communities, such
as those dealing especially in builders' supplies, petroleum (including
gas stations), retail lumber, retail motor vehicles, and similar establishments. However, these are not the great woman-employers in
trade, so that, by and large, no minimum wage applied to women in
stores in these small towns, and the same is true of those in hotels,
restaurants, and laundries. It is not possible to make any estimate
of the number of women affected by this, since the census does not
report occupations for places so small.
There is no doubt that there are actual differences in the cost of
living in various places and some of these are based upon ascertainable
economic factors, though by no means do they run always according
to size of locality alone. It may be that in the final analysis there
is a valid reason in some cases for allowing lower pay in smaller
places, but available data scarcely indicate that where rates have
been fixed by size of city this has been done in accordance with any
consistent or proven principles. Moreover, if costs are less in small
places, it follows that employers' rents and other expenses likewise
are lower.
The great variations among codes as to the sizes of cities in their
differing wage groups would seem to indicate that lines of demarcation
were based to a large degree on the extent to which the industry
existed in places of certain sizes, and in a very limited degree if at
all on the differences in living costs that may have been found to
apply as between such cities.
Furthermore, the extremely wide variation in the extent to which
the lowest minimum fell below that for the largest places argues
that for the most part such wage distinctions were not based on any
actually known degree of difference in living costs but rather on
custom within the industry.
Exact calculations cannot be made for the numbers of women
affected by the wage differences by size of city in all the various code
groups. The only material on women's occupations by size of city
that has been completely compiled by the census in application to
separate industries for the entire country is for cities of 100,000 and
over, though the numbers of saleswomen in stores and operatives in
laundries, for example, can be ascertained for cities as small as 25,000.
Moreover, some of the codes included in the wage group for cities of
various sizes their trade areas, and it frequently is not possible to
ascertain completely the numbers of women thus covered.
Taking into account these obstacles and the lack of exactitude
possible, nevertheless some attempt at a rough count of the women
covered in certain of the various wage classes by size of city has been
23 An Executive order of Oct. 23, 1933, had excepted from code coverage employers in local service industries who did not employ more than 5 persons. None of the important service industries employing large
numbers of women (hotels, laundries, restaurants, for example) had approved codes at that time, and
the retail trade code had juRt been approved, Oct. 21, 1933. The President's Reemployment Agreement
applied only to establishments employing more than 2 persons. See also N. R. A. release No. X72, Aug.
7, 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
28
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N . R . A. CODES
made for stores (saleswomen and "clerks"), and for women in candy
and in shoe factories (operatives and laborers in each case). Even
this approximation could not be made for the two large service
industries- hotels and restaurants- as their codes differed but the
census reports combine their employees .
. In retail trade, according to the approximate figures worked out,
somewhat under one-third (31 percent) of the women employed in
the North are in areas to which the highest minimum applied; in the
South, only about 5 percent. More than one-third of these women
(in the South about one-half) are at work in localities of less than
25,000. The minimum wage that could be paid these women was
practically 30 percent or more below the IIllilimum for the largest
cities, that is, the 13 cities of 500,000 or more population; for towns
of less than 2,500 no minimum was fixed.
In candy making practically 60 percent of the women reported by
the census are in cities of over 500,000 or their trade areas, and hence
subject to receiving the highest minimum, none of these being in the
South. The lowest minimum fixed for the North was about 14
percent below that for the large cities, and the code provided for
this amount to be paid everywhere except in cities of 100,000 and
over. Thus it became the minimum for well over one-fourth of the
women in the North, and for well over two-fifths of those reported
in the South.
In boot and shoe factories the highest minimum, that of 32½ cents
(which would be $13 for 40 hours), applied to only: about one-fifth
of ·the women in the industry, though it was provided for all cities
over 250,000. Many workers in this industry are in smaller places,
and a somewhat lower minimum applied to practically four-fifths of
the women in the industry. 24 Moreover, there is some evidence
to show movement of these plants from larger cities to smaller
places. It has been estimated that the lowest wage, 30 cents ($12
for a 40-hour week), would have been the minimum for about twofifths of the women. The brief presented by the shoe union at the
hearing on the code points out that similar services are performed by
shoe workers in cities of various sizes, such as Newburyport, Mass.
{15,000), Haverhill, Mass. {49,000), and Boston or St. Louis (each
over 750,000), though the minimum weekly wage of women performing these services would be respectively $12, $12.50, and $13.
In the laundry inciustry a sample analysis was made of 14 States in
the code group A, which employed about one-third of all laundry
operatives reported in the United States, and also of 5 States included in the analysis in one of the southern groups (D) there being
no wage variation by size of city in group E, the other one in the South.
These were the conditions the laundry code proposed, though not in
general effect (see p. 78). The figures are less exact than in the
other three industries just discussed, because there are so many
instances in which this code, though it did not include trade areas,
divided States, placing in one of the defined areas only certain counties
of a State. Very roughly speaking, in group A well over one-third
of the women in this industry would enjoy the highest minimum
2, The South does not come into this analysis as only an extremely small proportion of the workers are
in the South.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
29
fixed in the code, that for cities of more than 600,000, and something
more than one-fifth that for cities of 100,000 to 600,000. About twofifths of the women were in cities of less than 100,000 and all these
were subject to a minimum 17 percent below what every woman in
the largest cities should receive. In the southern group analyzed
(group D), only somewhat over one-third of the women in this
industry were in cities of 100,000 or over, and the remainder had a
minimum one-tenth below the lowest that could be paid women in
cities of 100,000 or over.
Differentials in the minimum wage by occupation .
Something over one-tenth of the codes provided for a series of minimum rates according to occupation or craft. 25 If such a scheme were
carefully worked out, according to the exactions of the job required,
it should bring an industry much closer to an ideal wage system.
Great care would. have to be taken that the evaluation of the different jobs was based upon their actual requirements and not merely
upon low payments for certain types of occupations because of a past
tradition or for the sole reason that they formerly had been looked
upon as "women's work."
One of the earliest and best examples of a code that very carefully
worked out a complete scale of mmimum wages based on varying
degrees of skill was that for the making of women's coats and suits.
The excellence of the wage gradations in this code may well be a
model for other industries, and it stands as a record of brilliant
achievement due almost solely to the strength of la.bor organization
in this industry. For the least skilled occupation listed (except apprentices) in the lowest-paid geographic area, a minimum of 53 cents
an hour was provided, which, at the 35-hour week specified in the
code, would yield $18.55. This minimum was for finishers' helpers
and button-sewers, and though it was fixed by sex these were no doubt
correctly classed as the least skilled jobs and are not done by men. ·
Finishers' helpers were to be paid 10 cents more than this in the East,
where the least skilled were listed as skirt basters and skirt finishers, with a 60-cent minimum ($21 for 35 hours). The most highly
skilled occupation-that of cutter--had a minimum of $47 in the
eastern area (the highest paying) and $41 in the West. Of course
these geographic differentials gave the western employers the edge in
trade competition so far as the wage itself was concerned, though their
shops are likely to be smaller than in the New York area. The 5-cent
and in some cases the 10-cent sex differential for operators was a
questionable provision.
A unique and excellent feature in the well worked out wage plan of
this code was that not only were the min·i mum rates carefully graduated by occupation, but a scale was provided for the piece-rate yield
to the worker of average skill. According to this, the average worker
would receive from 17 to nearly 60 percent more than the minimum
wage, as the following summary indicates.
26 About 59 codes in all fixed minimum wages by occupation. This does not take into account the clerical occupations, for which some codes made special provisions, but refers to the occupational provisions
for the main body of processing or productive employees in these Industries.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
30
E MPLOYED WOMEN U ND"ER N. R
Occupation
Jacket, coat, reefer, dress operators ____ ____ ____ __ _______ _
Skirt operators ____ ____ __ __ ______ ____ ________ __ ____ _____ _
Piece t ailors ____ ____ ___ ____ ___ _______ __ ___ ____ ____ ____ ___
Reefer, jacket, coat finishers __ _______ _____ _____ __ ________
J acket, coat, and reefer finishers' helpers __________ ___ ___ _
J acket, coat , reefer, and dress upper pressers ___ __ ___ ____ _
Jacket, coat , reefer, and dress under pressers ___ __ ______ __
Skirt upper pressers ______ __________ ___ ________ _________ _
Shirt under pressers ______ ______ ___ ______________ ______ __
Skirt basters _______ ____ -- -- ___ _-- --- _---- -- -- -- - - ---- - --Skirt finishers ____ _______ ________________ __ -- -- -- - - - -- -- M achine pressers _____ ______________ ___ __ ___ ____________ _
1
1
Hourly
wage for
pieceworker of average skill I
$1. 50
1. 40
1. 30
1. 25
1.00
1. 35
1. 25
1. 25
1. 25
. 80
. 70
1. 80
A . CODES
M inim um
wage 1
Average above
minimum byCents
2
$1. 00
3 . 90
. 90
. 85
. 63
1. 00
. 90
. 90
. 85
.60
. 60
1. 30
Percent
50
50
50. 0
55. 6
40
40
37
35
35
35
40
20
44.4
47. 1
10
50
58. 7
35. 0
38. 9
38. 9
47. 1
33. 3
16. 7
38. 5
These figures are for N ew York and Philadelphia ; those elsewhere in t he eastern area are 10 percent less
Females $0.90.
a F emales $0.80.
Among other codes fixing a minimum higher for certain skilled occupations than the usual code minimum was that for the corset and
brassiere industry. The lowest wage was $14, but cutters were to
receive at least $25. In the cotton cloth glove code, likewise, cutters
(e?Cc.ept cutters of scrap) were to receive wages above the general code
m1nrm um.
The need of an adequate job evaluation on a true basis of skill is
emphasized by instances of the fixing by occupation of rates lower for
the jobs in which most of the women are employed or which ordinarily engage chiefly women, such as the codes for the baking and for
the saddlery industries respectively. In the former the minimum
wage was 40 cents ($16 for the 40-hour week the code specified), but
icers, wrappers, and cleaners could be limited to 80 percent of this
(32 cents, or $12.80). For the South 5 cents an hour less could be
paid, which would give the worker 5 cents less than 40 cents, that is
35 cents, 80 percent of which would be 28 cents, or $11.20 a week.
The jobs of cleaners may be considered among the least skilled in
the bakery industry. In plants in several States surveyed by the
Women's Bureau or reported to it most cleaners were men or boys;
the work frequently was combined with pan greasing and paid, as
would be expected, only at a rate for unskilled labor. Wrapping is
almost entirely a woman's job, and the pay varies as much as it is
likely to do in women's occupations. Ordinarily, in the more northern States reporting it was better than the code minimum, and it
usually was higher where machines were used than where the process
was by hand. There really seems very little reason why this occupation should be paid at a rate below that for unskilled labor, and it
appears likely that this has been done because it employs almost
exclusively women. This suspicion is increased by the addition of
an assurance in the code, which otherwise made no appearance of b asing a wage on sex, that "male and female employees customarily ·p erforming substantially the same duties" should be paid at the same
rate. There is still less excuse for a rate below the minimum for
icers, since this is a relatively skilled job. Both men and women do
this work. Though men usually are the bett er p aid, reports t o the
Women's Bureau showed most women receiving more than the minimum the code allowed.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
fl
31
A further' point to be considered in this industry is that, while it
employs considerably more men than women as operatives and laborers, less than one-tenth of the women, but not very far from one-half
the men (exclusive of bakers), are classed by the census as unskilled
laborers. In a survey made in Texas, which was listed in the code
at the southern wage rates ($11.20 at the lowest), about 60 percent
of the women reported were receiving $13 or more, about 75 percent
'
$11 or more, in the depressed year of 1931.
Similarly in the saddlery code certain occupations were allowed a
lower rate of pay, though in this case the basis was definitely that of
woman employment. Some of these were such as to require considerable skill, but they could be paid less than the minimum for unskilled labor, which was 35 cents, except in specified" southern" States
(including the saddle-making States of Arizona and New Mexico),
where it was 32½ cents. For the basic 40-hour week the code provided, this would be $14 and $13 for the respective geographic sections.
Skilled labor was to be paid at least 20 cents 26 more than this. But
for "women making pads used under collars, harness, or saddles, or
making canvas stitched back bands, or open-bottom cotton fiber
stuffed cotton collars, or flynets, or horse covers", the minimum was
2½ cents below that for unskilled labor, making it 32½ 'cents in the
North, in the South 30 cents, a weekly wage of $13 in the North, in
the South $12. Some of these occupations certainly are not the least
· skilled in the industry though performed chiefly by women.
A careful study of job requirements and the working out of systems
for other industries similar to that for the coat and suit industry
probably would have assured a fairer basis both of trade competition
and of wage payments. Naturally this would have taken a long time
in many industries, where the whole situation as to wages has been for
the most part entirely chaotic and unstandardized. However, with
the strides made by the N. R. A. in so short a period of time, a background has been formed for very much further progress in this as in
other matters.
Moreover, some 50 codes provided for the reporting by the code
authority, usually within 90 days, of a description of women's occupations in the industry, though in many of these cases the requirements were confined only to those occupations in which both men
and women were employed, so that usually it was necessary to arrange
for a still broader range of descriptions than that specified by the
codes. Most notable among these, and constituting about half of
them, were codes for certain of the paper-products industries, most
of them containing a sex differential in the wage. Such was the
case for the set-up paper box, collapsible tube, and paper bag industries, nearly half or more of whose workers are women, and for the
newsprint industry, which employs over 10,000 women.
Differentials in the minimum wage by divisions of the industry
Closely allied to the provision for wages by occupation, though on
quite a different basis, was their fixing according to certain divisions
of the industry itself. For example, this may be well understood
from the petroleum code, in which the provisions differed for the
drilling, marketing, and filling-station branches of the industry.
20
J\.mendment, Mar 18, 1934. Original (:Ode 11? C8t!ts,
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32
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
In discussing this type of wage difference, the wages especially
fixed for clerical workers under most codes were left out of account,
that occupational group being dealt with elsewhere. The division
here referred to is that among various branches within the industry.
Less clearly subject to legitimate wage differences were some of the
distinctions made, such as that in the canning code between nonseasonal and seasonal employees, the latter, forming the great majority of the women workers in the industry, being allowed very long
hours and paid very low wages. If figured on a 40-hour basis women
would receive a minimum of $1 a week less on seasonal than on nonseasonal products in cities or towns of under 400,000 population,
greater differences in larger cities, as well as $3 less in each case in
the South than in the North.
DIFFERENTIALS IN THE. MINIMUM WAGE
IN 491 CODES
UCR COIIPLm tmIT -25 CODIS
lt
Ml111mam Lower for •o-
lliDi.alwD b7 Occupation or
I>1rlsio11 of IodustrJ
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•1
: :::::
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::.-:::
·:..:
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A few codes made special provisions in regard to a smaller part of
the industry that was essentially different from others, as in the rainwear division under the rubber code, or the sheep-lined and leather
garment division under the cotton-garment code, in each of these
cases the nµnimum wage being above that in other branches of the
industry.
The codes cited (except petroleum) affected appreciable numbers
of women workers. The more important others that did likewise
include the following:
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•
MINIMUM WAGE LEVELS PROVIDED IN CODES
33
Hosiery, with its distinction in wage between workers on full-fashioned and
seamless goods, and dress, with its differences according to sale price of product.
In each of these codes the minimum was the same for the different branches of
the industry, but minima for various higher paid occupations differed by section
of the industry.
A code for the making of certain embroideries provided a minimum of 35 cents
an hour for scalloping, 40 cents for other hand and machine embroidery, and
from 37½ cents to $1 according to occupation for various processes in making
Schiffli embroidery.
Blouse and skirt provided a minimum wage differing according to product and
higher for skirt than for blouse making.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part IV.-MAXIMUM HOURS OF WORK FOR WOMEN
UNDER THE CODES
In the determined effort to spread employment, the great majority
of the codes established in principle 40 hours a week as the basic limit
to time that employees might work. Some codes fixed a shorter
limit (for example, 35 hours in the coat and suit indust.ry) and some
allowed much longer time (54 in hotels, for example). 1
Almost three-fourths of the codes made 8 hours the basic day, and
more than one-tenth discouraged long hours by requiring overtime
pay for work beyond 8 hours. Daily hours in stores were 8, 9, or
10, according to the hours the store was open.
At first, many codes allowed longer hours in busy weeks provided
they averaged only 40 over a specified period, something that proved
so unsatisfactory that N. R. A. policy later advised against the
averaging of hours.
About 20 codes definitely prohibited night work; in 14 of these,
this prohibition applied only to women.
Almost 60 codes restricted plant operation, some forbidding more
than one shift a day, and 19 tried to protect the workers against the
stretch-out system by saying that the amount of work demanded must
not be greater than was required on July 1, 1933.
The magnitude of the advance in hour standards can be appreciated
only by consideration of the very long hours that prevailed formerly
in many industries and, indeed, in practically all the great woman
employments. (See appendix t able V.)
Even during the depression, though many plants were working part
time, large numbers of workers were employed for excessively long
hours. For example, the Women's Bureau found in surveys of cotton
mills in Maine, T exas, and South Carolina in 1932 that the hour
schedule of the great majority of the plants reported for South Carolina and Texas was 55 hours , and all the mills in Maine were on a 54hour schedule; and that 50 hours or more represented the actual
working time of around two-fifths of these Texas and South Carolina
women and well over half of those reported in the Maine mills. 2
Basic weekly hours
Among the cedes for important woman-employing industries that
provided a basic 40-hour week for most productive workers (leaving
entirely out of account, for the present, overtime allowances and the
hours of clerical workers) are those for most of the textile industries,
and those for boots and shoes, cigars, cotton garments, and for seventl
of the food industries, such as bakeries and candy .
1 In 350 of the 489 codes under consideration that had hour provisions, the weekly limit was 40 hours;
in 285 the 8-hour day was specified and in 52 others it was implied. However, t here were only 36 codes
that fixed the 40-hour week without qualifying provisions allowing longer hours. Weekly limits were
provided in 104 codes, but indicated no limit for the day's work, while 63 of the 81 codes that had provisions
averaging hours fixed a weekly limit. The number of days in the week was specifically limited in 208 codes.
2 U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Hours, Earnings, and Employment in Cotton Mills.
Bul. 111, 1933, pp, 4 and 60 ff.
34
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MAXIMUM REGULAR WEEKLY HOURS FI X ED IN 489 CODES
Each complete unit=25 codes
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
111111111
...
·····
,,
36
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
A small proportion of the codes provided for a week shorter than
40 hours, and a still smaller number (if those having averaging provisions be left out of account) fixed a maximum week longer than this.
The coat and suit code set a maximum of 35 hours, with no overtime allowed except by permission of the Administrator. Other codes
allowing only 35 hours of work included those for the dress, blouse1
and skirt, and envelop industries, while that for electrical manufacturing provided for a 36-hour limit.
Among the codes permitting longer hours of work were those for
such outstanding woman-employers as hotels (54 hours) and restaurants (48 hours for women). Several of the paper codes, that for
American glassware, and those for the great iron and steel and
automobile industries allowed 48 hours with certain 40-hour averaging
provisions.
The retail-trade code had a unique provision basing the maximum
for the worker on the store's usual operating hours, employees' hours
being limited to 40, 44, or 48 according to whether the store was open
up to 56, up to 63, or 63 or more hours. Under this it is probable
that most women worked over 40 hours, especially when it is considered that all small establishments in places of less than 2,500 were
exempted from the code provisions. 3 (Seep. 27.)
The accompanying chart II gives a summary of the hour provisions
in 26 of the codes for the more important woman-employing industries.
Basic daily hours
Eight hours was made the basic day in nearly 60 percent of the
codes, and more than another 10 percent, while making no such
definite restriction, specified that overtime be paid for work on all
time over 8 hours. 4
Included in the first group are the hosiery and the cotton-garment
codes and those for the candy and the baking industries. The codes
for boots and shoes and for paper and pulp, while not fixing an 8-hour
limit, required 1% the usual rate to be paid for time beyond a day of
this length.
·
The coat and suit code was unigue in its provision for a 7-hour day,
and moreover it specified that this time should be from 8.30 to 4.30
with an hour out for lunch. The codes for pleating, stitching, and
Bonnaz embroidery, one of the printing codes, and one other minor
code also made provisions as to beginning and ending of the day, in
addition to the codes that prohibited night work.
The retail-trade code provided for a day of 8, 9, or 10 hours,
according to the number of hours the store elected to remain open
for business. The hotel code allowed a 10-hour day.
About one-fifth of the codes considered the weekly limit sufficient
without providing one for the day. Among these were the codes
for the cotton textile, the dress, and the laundry industries. .
Basic days per week
Something under half the codes made specific provision as to the
number of working days allowed in the week ..s The great majority
of these fixed a 6-day week, as for example in the retail, baking,
candy, and cigar codes. In this a real advance m ay be noted in the
Executive order, May 15, 1934.
' See footnote 1, p. 34.
~ Days in the week were srecificaIIr limite~_in
3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
~
codes1 175 of these to 6 dars, about 30 to S. days.
CHART IL-SUMMARY OF HOUR PROVISIONS IN 26 CODES FOR IMPORTA T WOMAN-EMPLOYING INDUSTRIES, JULY 1, 1934
Maximum hours permitted in
code 1
Daily
Name of code
Number of women
reported in 1930
Overtime
Average period
provided in codes
that permit averaging hours
Restrictions
as to days per
week
Seasonal
Emergency
Specified Implied
one
specified
Maximum hours for clerical
workers
OperaClerical
tives and workersi
UnOverUnOver- Limlaborers
time
time
limlimited
pay
ited
pay
ited
- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - --11-----1----1-- - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - -11--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11- - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - Retail trade ________________________________________ _ 7 40, 44, 48
3 8,9, 10
"No employee" to work 4 705,793 6 327, 100
6 -------- -------- ---- - --- -------- -------over.
Service trades and industries:
Hotel industry _______________ ______________ -- - -54
"No
employee" to work 6 109,124
32,551
10 ------- - -----------------------6 ------- - -------- ------ - - ----- - -- -------over.
Restaurant industry _________________________ ---7 48, 54 12 (overall)
8
303,845
***
employee"
to
"
ro
6 ------- - -------- -------- -------- -------work over.
40
l¼
157,706
12,207
" o *** employee" to work
Laundry trade ____ -------------------- ---- ----- 6 - ---- - -- -------- -------over.
40, over 13 weeks ______ _______________ _
B ankers ________ _________________ ____ _-_- --- - __ - - -- -- No limit
"No employee" to work
149,906
over.
Certain textile industries:
Cotton textile industry __________ _______________ _
(10)
(10)
(12)
(12)
(ll)
40
Average 40 a week over 6
4,453
154,763
months.
Hosiery industry ___________________________ ____ _
(13)
(13)
40
l½ Average 40 a week over 6
5 - ------- - ------- -------8 -------- --------- -- ------------months.
Silk textile industry ____________________________ _
(10)
(10)
40
48, average 40 a week over
5,365
75,848
12weeks.
Wool textile industry ___________________________ _
(10)
(1 0)
40
48, average 40 a week over
3,268
50,858
13 weeks.
Boot and shoe manufacturing industry_______________ _
40
"No employee" to work
10,657
86,293
8 ----------- --------- ---over.
40 __ --- _____ -- - _____ -- ______ _
Electrical manufacturing industry_ ___________ _______
36
(1D)
(1D)
_________ _______ _______ _
(")
48,855
31,894
Certain clothing industries ___________________________________________________________ ______ _______ _________ __ __ ___ __________ _
(13)
(1 3)
Blouse and skirt manufacturing industries_____ __
35
7 _____ ___ ___________ ___ __________
5
l½ 40 _____ -- ______________ -- ___ _
40 nonmanufacturing _______ _
Coat and suit industry------------------ - ------35
7 _______ _ ________ ________________
5
Cotton garment industry______ ____ _______ ___ ____
40
8 ________ ________________________
(11)
Average 40 a week over 3
months.
Dress manufacturing industry_____________ _____ _
(10)
(10)
l½ 40 ____ -- ___ __ --- _____ -- -- -- __
35
5 -------- -------- -------- -------- --- ----Infants' and children's wear industry __ ___ ___ __ __ 16 36,40
Average
40 a week over 3
5
8 -------- --- -- ------- - ----------months.
Mens' clothing industry ___ ___ ____ _______ _______ _
40
a week over 1
Average
36
8 -------- -----------------------year.
40, 9-hour day___________ ___ _
Undergarment and negligee industry _____ ______ _
37H
i½
----------------------------5
40, 8-hour day ______________ _
Cigar manufacturing industry _________________ _____ _
(13)
(13)
(10)
40
(10)
- ----------------------6 --- - --- - -------- -------Certain food industries:
l½
________
________
________
40,
8-hour
day
10
____________
_
Baking industry _________________________ ---- - __ _
16,875
40
9,627
8
6 -------- -------- -------Candy manufacturing industry_______________ ___
28,538
3,852
40
1½
1½ 40, 8-hour day, 9-hour day 1
8
6
day a week rn.
6 -------- -- ----- - -------- -------- -------l½, l½, 16 40 _________________ ______ __
18,109
2,044
36
Caillling industry ___ -- --------------------- ----none,
double
(ll)
16,281
48
7,372
8 40, over 13 weeks _____ _
Paper and pulp industry __ -------------------------l ½ ·-------- -------- --- ----- Average 48 a week over 13
weeks; average 40 a week
over calendar year.
Rubber manufacturing industry ____________________ _
48, average 40 a week over 1
40
24,432
8
9,369
-------- - - -- -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- --1½
m onth.
Automobile manufacturing industry________________ _
(10)
(10)
48, average 40 a week till
22,599
48
40, until expiration
18,648
6
code expires.
date.
American glassware industry _______________________ _
40, over 13 weeks ______
(10)
(10)
(11)
48, average 40 a week over 4
48
9,045
3. 241
weeks.
Weekly
Prohibited
*
*
Limited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* -------* -------- -------- -------- -------- -------*
*
*
**
* *
*
*
1 Except for overtime. Maximum hours were for most productive employees, excluding excepted occupations since they usually employ few women.
2 Those reported in the 3 groups employing 98 percent of the clerical workers and including bookkeepers,
cashiers, clerks, stenographers, and typists.
a According to store hours.
' Saleswomen and "clerks in stores."
6 Wholesale and retail trade combined.
6. " Other servants", such as chambermaids, parlor maids, kitchen help, check girls, etc., in hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses, cannot be separated from restaurants, but no doubt a negligible proportion
of these workers were in restaurants.
7 Hotel restaurants with 15 or less employees, 48-hour week ; other, male 54-, female 48-hour week.
s This includes cooks and waitresses in hotels as well as in restaurants because these employees, wherever
found, were covered by the restaurant code. Other restaurant employees are included in figure with hotels,
see note 6.
g Production of laundry service not permitted from 10 p. m. to 6 a. m.
1o No daily maximum specified nor implied.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
*
*
*
11 No restrictions as to days per week.
u Overtime not allowed for productive employees generally, but up to 48 hours a week allowed for employees operating dyeing, bleaching, drying, mercerizing machines used as part of a continuous chemical process.
1a Not available for these separate industries from census data, which report the following:
Laborers and operatives Clerical
All knit wear combined_________ ________ ____ _____ _______ __________ ______ _______ 93,331
5,884
All clothing combined ________________ ___ ______ ___________________________ ____ __ 353, 4E6
22,906
Cigars combined with tobacco__________________________________________________ 74,435
2,854
u Prohibited, but administrator could grant extension of hours in busy seasons if labor was found to be
fully employed.
u Manufacture of blazers, sport coats, eton and rugby suits, boys' overcoats sizes 1 to 5, boys' snow suits
or boys' 3-piece legging sets, 36-hour week. All other employees, 40-hour week.
16 Special overtime allowed for clerical employees.
11 Did not apply to seasonal workers, the group in which are most of the women workers.
1s Rainwear division.
1182°-35. (Face p. 36.)
MAXIMUM HOURS UNDER COD;ES
37
fixing of a 6-day week in the original codes for at least two service
industries that very frequently in the past required 7 days from their
workers-hotels and restaurants.
A few codes established a 5-day week, notably in certain of tne
industries manufacturing textiles and clothing, such as hosiery,
women's coats and suits, and dresses.
Work during the night prohibited
One of the serious problems in connection with the worker's health
is that of the deleterious effects of work at night. There are available
from the pens of experts so many discussions of this subject from
both the medical and the social viewpoint that it is not necessary to
elaborate upon it here. 6
In addition to the coat and suit and a few minor codes that specified
beginning and ending of the day, 19 definitely prohibited work during
the night. In 14 of these the limit applied to females only, but of the
other 5, in which night work was prohibited for all workers, several
employ considerable proportions of women. Among the 14, so far
as woman employment is concerned, several of the paper codes were
of importance.
A point especially to be considered in connection with this type
of regulation is that, while work should not be permitted at night,
yet the hours fixed for beginning and ending should not be such that
women would be denied the opportunity of working on either of the
day shifts. The best provision would be the elimination of all night
work for both sexes except in the few cases where continuous processes are a real essential. In times of unemployment when plants
are closed or on part time the need for such a regulation is particularly
notable, yet it is by no means sure that this was a matter that could
be handled best under the codes.
In about half these 19 codes prohibiting night work, the closing
hour fixed was 10 p. m., in most others 7 p. m., and in the remainder
8, 5, 4.30, and 4 p. m., respectively. Laundries were not to be "open
for the production of laundry" between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. 7
In 8 of these 19 cases the codes specified 7 a. m. as the hour for
beginning. In most others work might not begin before 6 a. m., but
in one case the hour was 5, in two cases it was 8, and in still another it
was 8.30. Prohibition of work either for 8 hours or for 12 hours had
been the most usual custom in these codes; in several cases, however,
it had been for as much as 15 or 16 hours.
In a few additional codes in clothing or novelty industries, the code
authority was empowered to prescribe the begmning and ending of
the day. 8
Averaging of weekly hou,:s over a longer period
When the tale of codes ordinarily limiting working hours to 40 or
less is told, one of the most brilliant pages of the N. R. A. has been
written. The next story is one of considerably longer hours permitted
through averaging provisions, excepted occupations, and overtime
allowances, all at best difficult of consistent interpretation and
enforcement.
Women 's Bureau Bui. 64, 1928, The E mployment of Women at 1 ight.
of this code, see p. 78.
s This was true in codes for blouse and skirt, covered button, ladies' handbag, and cap and cloth hat.
& See, for example,
1 For lack of effect
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38
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
In an appreciable number of the codes-about one-sixth-the provision was made for hours to average so many weekly over a period
of weeks. Most of these fixed an absolute weekly limit, but some
placed no limit to the length of the individual week that might be
worked. 9
This provision of averaging hours was designed to arrange flexibility of perJormance where there was considerable fluctuation in
demand, as is the case in some industries. That it did not prove
satisfactory was later stated officially by the N. R. A. 10 Its greatest
dangers lay in the fact that its calculation is confusing and it is very
difficult to enforce adequately. Certainly it always should be accompanied by a definite maximum limit to the hours that may be required
of any individual in any one week. It is probable that there are few
cases in which the same effect could not have been obtained for the
industry by providing strictly defined overtime as was done in some
other codes. This made a check for compliance easier and enabled
the worker to be allowed the benefit of overtime pay.
Perhaps the group of codes having averaging provisions that
affected the most women were those for banking and certain allied
businesses. The census lists in banking and brokerage about 150,000
women in five occupations in which very many of the women undoubtedly would come within the range of wage earners covered by
the codes.11 The banking code provided for an average of 40 hours
over each 13-week period, with no limit set to the hours in any one
week. This is an industry subject to decided peak periods that
depend upon business movements within the community, yet for any
locality these are likely to be fairly well defined and predictable.
It would seem that this, more th an most industries, would be in
need of the averaging provision, even though it allows some ·weeks
with long hours and in any case is a difficult type of provision to
check clearly for compliance. The code also allowed additional
overtime up to 48 hours for 16 weeks in the year for seasonal peaks.
Among other codes averaging hours for industries that employ
appreciable proportions of women were the rubber tire, photographic,
saddlery, and leather. These also illustrate how varying were such
provisions, as, for example, in number of weeks to which they applied
and other limitations or lack of limitations. The photographic code
provided for each employee an average of 40 hours a week over 3
months, with no linnt for any single week and no overtime pay
provision. The saddlery and the leather codes. fixed 40 hours as an
average, the former averaged over 4 months, the latter over 26
g Hour-averaging provisions for most productive workers appeared in 81 codes, in 63 of which a weekly
limit was fixed.
10 After the middle of July 1934, the policy of the N. R. A. was declared against averaging hours. This
does not immediately affect the analysis given here, since it was not to apply to prior codes (covering most
of the women's occupations that were to be included under codes) without special changes for them. A
release from the N . R. A. definitely states that the averaging plan "designed to provide sufficient flexibility
for peak demands and labor shortages has, in operation, proved unsatisfactory. Such provisions, frequently
misinterpreted, have caused controversies and have proved difficult to enforce." The policy announced
at that time was to the effect that a stated maximum should be fixed and where peculiar needs of an industry
could not conform to this a definite tolerance should be allowed but with requirement of overtime pay for
the time permitted within this tolerance.-N. R. A. Release 6619, July 20, 1934.
11 Most codes excepted from hour provisions executive or administrative workers receiving as much as a
specified amount weekly.
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MAXIMUM HOURS UNDER CODES
39
weeks, and in each case 1½ the regular rate was to be paid for hours
over 40. The rubber tire code provided an average of 36 hours over
the 9alendar yea~, with O~ pay for longer hours m any week and a
maximum of 42 m the week. ,
Excepted occupations
Most of the codes excepted certain occupations from the usual
hour provisions. Ordinarily these were occupations entered infrequently or not at all by women, hence they are not discussed here in
detail. Occupations very often excepted were those of watchmen,
firemen, outside workers, deliverymen, and maintenance employees.
Sales employees often were excepted, and some of these, though there
is no way of ascertaining how many, most likely were women. In
a few cases cleaners were excepted, and these may have been women.
An important example of this is the cotton textile code, which nevertheless provided for study of the situation and a later amendment
fixed for cleaners a minimum of 75 percent of the lowest code wage.
Executive and supervisory employees ordinarily were excepted,
usually if their pay went beyond a certain figure, as $35 or sometimes
$30, or even lower. While the great majority of the women employed in coded industries were not in these managerial positions and
a large proportion of those who were might not be paid as much as
these amounts, still quite an appreciable number of women came
within these classes and thus were excepted from all hour provisions.
ln the manufacturing industries over 16,000 women were listed in
1930 as manufacturers or as managers and officials, and more than
28,000 as foremen and overseers. This is over 5 percent of all persons
in these occupations. Many codes thus excepted considerable numbers at least of the first group of these women from hour and wage
provisions. Further, over 9,000 women form 4 percent of the
bankers and bank officials reported in 1930, and these also represent
over 5 percent of all women in banks and similar establishments.
These women were excepted from code safeguards if they received
over $35 a week.
Larger numbers of women are in managerial jobs in hotels and
restaurants. While it is difficult to tell exactly whom the various
establishments might classify as "executives", among those who in
some cases might be so classed are the following: Over 200,000 women
listed as housekeepers, stewardesses, keepers and managers of hotels,
restaurants, boarding and lodging houses, cafes and lunchrooms;
these women forming slightly more than half the employees in these
occupations. Such persons were excepted from the wage and hour
safeguards in the hotel code if they earned $25 to $35 (according to
size of city in which they were employed) and likewise in the restaurant code if receiving as much as $22.50 to $30, in each case if earning
as much as 15 percent less than these amounts in the South (which
would run as low as $19.13), or in Kansas and Missouri as much as
10 percent less than the northern rate. In another of the service
industries, laundries, more than 2,000 women are owners, managers,
and officials, excepted from the code provisions if they earned $30
or more a week. Such gradations in pay coverage as that in the
hotel and restaurant code just cited obviously were designed to
except as many as possible of these employees from the code hour
limitations.
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40
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Provisions for overtime hours
To make possible, under more or less rigid hour restrictions, the
flexibility necessary at times in most industries, about four-fifths of
the codes made specific provision of some type for overtime work. 12
In 95 of more than 400 codes s_pecifying some overtime, definite
limits were fixed to such overtime, ma few cases also to the number
of employees that might do this extra work; in the remainder (some
60 percent of all the codes) no limit was fixed to the time that might
be worked under certain conditions.
In a few codes no overtime was allowed; in others none except on
specific permit of the Administrator; some required all overtime to
be reported to the code authority.
In a number of cases the rate of overtime pay was specified, and
in some this was true even where no definite arrangement for overtime was made; in others no provision was made for such extra pay;
and a few (including hotels and retail trade) stated that there should
be no added pay for the overtime allowed in the code. Some codes
entirely excepted maintenance and repair employees from the hour
restrictions without providing any extra pay.
Overtime for emergencies.-A frequent allowance of overtime,
occurring in about two-thirds of the codes and obviously sometimes
necessary, was that permitted for emergencies. This was most frequently for "emergency maintenance and repair", often further
specifying "cases of breakdown or to protect life and property." 13
The chances are that this would not have involved many of the women
in the plant, though it might do so at times.
In the great majority of cases such overtime was uwimited, though
in some instances it was required that its amount be reported to the
code authority. Frequently some provision was made for overtime
pay above the usual rate.
·
An example of an overtime provision for emergencies was in the
paper and pulp code, almost identical wording being used in the
codes for a number of other paper products. It ran as follows:
No limitation of hours of work . . . shall apply to employees of any
class when engaged in emergency repairs or emergency maintenance work involving breakdowns or protection of life and property.
Payment of 1}' the usual rate was specified for hours over 8 in any
one day. It will be noted that this exception was for "employees of
any class." Similar exceptions often were somewhat in the nature of
borderline cases, difficult to classify as to whether they were overtime
provisions or complete exceptions of particular types of employees.
In some codes such 'a provision was definitely classed among those
for excepted types of employees. An example of the last was in the
hosiery code, in which '' those engaged in emergency maintenance or
repair work" were excepted from the hour provisions, with no arrangement for overtime pay.
The shoe code added to workers on emergency maintenance and
repair an exemption from code hoqrs for "work where restrictions of
hours of workers on continuous processes would unavoidably reduce
u Some overtime was allowed in 422 of the 489 codes. In 406 of these overtime was definitely specified;
in 311 this was specified under certain circumstances, without definite limit; 95 permitted overtime but
strictly limited the amount; in 365 the rate of pay for such overtime was specified. (See footnote 17, p.43.)
u Overtime for emergencies was allowed in 330 codes, in 298 of which there was no time limit; in 294 the
rate of pay for such overtime was specified.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MAXIMUM HOURS UNDER CODES
41
production or interrupt employment", but, as was the case for other
employees, at least 1 ½ the usual rate was to be paid for all hours over
8 a day or 45 a week. In the saddlery code employees on emergency
maintenance and repair were exempt from the hour provisions but
had to be paid 1 ¼ the usual rate for hours beyond those fixed as a
maximum for other employees.
Overtime for seasonal requirements affects many women. - The seasonal demands of the industry constitute a major reason for the provision of overtime, and this was written into not far from half of the
codes. It was this overtime for seasonal requirements that affected
large numbers of women. In almost all the codes allowing it some
limit was placed on its extent, and in the great majority of these
provision was made that it be paid for at an added rate, though some
codes gave no such protection and a few even specified that there
should be no extra pay for the increased time worked. 14
Undoubtedly such an allowance was a necessity in many cases,
though in others the question arise~ whether further planning in the
industry could avoid much of the overtime or whether it could be
handled by additional part-time employment.
Examples from a few codes illustrate some of the various methods
by which seasonal overtime was allowed, whether restricted or not.
The cotton cloth glove code allowed, during 4 months of the year,
July 1 to November 1, a "10 percent tolerance" (this constituting one
type of limit) above the basic 40 hours. This was in addition to
the exception from hour provisions of emergency maintenance and
repair employees. No specification was made for an additional rate
of pay for the excess hours worked.
The men's clothing code provided for overtime "during peak
seasons" in certain branches of the industry-tailoring to the trade
and the manufacture of uniforms. The number of hours and weeks
for which this should be allowed was to be determined by the code
authority. The regular rates (fixed by the hour for productive
employees) were to be paid for such overtime. The code specified
no provisions as to emergency workers.
Another code providing for certain branches of the industry, and
much less specific in its wording, was that for electrical manufacturing.
The statement is as follows:
·
. . . these limitations shall not apply to those branches of the . . .
industry in which seasonal or peak demand places an unusual or temporary
burden upon such branches; in such cases such number of hours may be worked
as a re required b y the necessities of the situation.
The check on such a general provision lay in the requir~ment that
this overtime be reported monthly to the Administrator. No provision was made for an added rate of pay for overtime, though the
code minimum wage was fixed by the hour. This code made an
additional exemption for "cases of emergency", and these had to be
reported monthly to the supervisory agency.
A code having provisions even more general in character was that
for the canning industry. Under this "employees necessary to the
handling and/or packing of perishable products during the packing
season'' might work '' the hours necessary to handle the crop. ' '
u Of the 489 codes with hour provisions and approved to July 1, 1934, 238 allowed seasonal overtime;
of these, 231 placed some limit to such overtime, and 168 made some provision for added overtime pay.
Seven fixed no limit to overtime and 73 did not specify added pay.
11s2°---35-4
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
42
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R . A. CODES
Women had to be paid 1}~ times the basic rate for all hours per day
from 10 to 12 and double the usual rate for longer than 12 hours; on
the seventh consecutive day of work the rate was 1}~ for 8 hours,
1½ from 8 t o 12, double for hours over 12. For men, no extra overtime pay rate was specified, though if they worked over 60 hours in
the week reasons had to be reported to the code authority. 15 The
reasons leading to over time allowance were all-inclusive, and were
stated as follows:
. . . when the physical conditions of the per ishable product, crop sequence,
temperature, humidity , climatic, or other circumstances beyond the control of
the employer would result in loss or deterioration, or loss to the producers of raw
commodities. . . .
Another example of the extensive allowance of overtime in a large
woman-employing industry was in the laundry code.16 In 6 weeks
of any 13, nearly half the time, the plant was exempted from the
operation of the usual code hour provisions (40 hours for productive
employees), "due to fluctuations in the demand in this trade."
During these 13 weeks the time of most productive employees was
limited to 46 hours, and no individual could put in over 30 hours of
extra work in the 13 weeks. There was no provision for an added rate
of pay for this overtime, though the usual code rate was fixed by the
hour. Employees on emergency maintenance and repair also were
excepted from all hour provisions, though these exemptions together
with those for other excepted employees (watchmen, route salesmen,
and executives receiving at least $30 a week) were not to apply to
more than 1 in 10 of all the workers in the plant, and for such employees 1}~ times the usual r ate had to be paid for overtime.
Without provision in regard to additional pay in a case in which
the minimum was fixed by the week, the bankers' code allowed 48
hours (basic provision average of 40 over 13 weeks) for 16 consecutive
weeks in the year.
In districts or sections of the country where the seasonal nature of commerce,
agriculture, or industr y m a king necessary the moving of some product within a
limited period imposes upon the banking facilities an unusual demand.
Besides this, all extra work or late hours in connection with periodic
bank examinations by Federal or State officials were entirely excepted
from code provisions.
The retail trade code allowed overtime to push the hours up to as
much as 10 a day and 56 a week for an employee whose basic week
was 48 hours, specifying that this should be without extra pay "at
Christmas, inventory, and other peak times" for at most as long as 2
weeks in the first 6 months and 3 in the second 6 months of the year.
An extra hour was allowed on 1 day a week, so long as the weekly limit
was not exceeded.
The hotel code allowed an employee whose basic work week was 54
hours t o work as long as 11 hours a day and 60 a week "at peak times" ,
specifying that n0 extra pay need be given, for as much as 6 weeks in
the year, half of this to be in each half of the year if a hotel were open
more than 6 months.
There were 84 codes that specified no overtime, though a few of
these provided for extra pay for overtime.
16 This was for towns of less than 400,000 population, which would cover the great majority of plants.
F or larger places the code authority was to formulate the conditions for men's overtime work.
16 For lack of effective operation of t his code, see explanation on p. 78.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MAXIMUM HOURS UNDER CODES
43
Some of these, as for example those for coats and suits, for undergarments and negligees, and for dresses~ left to the Administrator or
the code authority the decision as to whether or not overtime should
be permitted. Others made no allowance for overtime, among these
being codes for cot.t on textiles, corsets and brassieres, and cotton
garments. A few codes specifically prohibited overtime work, as for
example that for Schiflli and certain other embroidery, which stated
that "neither overtime, nor allowance of extra hours for time lost for
any reason whatever, shall be permitted."
This was in line with the recent law in New York State where much
of the manufacture of such embroideries takes place. The handkerchief code stated that overtime "is expressly prohibited" except when
allowed by the code authority "due to emergency arising through
accident or similar cause."·
Extra pay for overtime work.-The great majority of the codes that
definitely specified overtime provided extra pay for this, and additional pay for added work also was specified in practically one-fifth of
the codes that made no definite provision for overtime work.17
Overtime pay providing at least once and a half the usual rate
ordinarily was advocated by labor groups, and well over 40 percent
of codes fixing the rate so provided. Among thes~ were codes for
certain important clothing industries, such as dress and blouse and
skirt. In a few cases the regular hourly rate was specified for overtime, an example being the handkerchief code; a few provided double
rates, as for example the canning code for seasonal work over 12 hours.
The remainder required 1¼ times the usual pay, and these included
some of the more important woman-employers, such as boots and
shoes, laundries, candy, cigars, baking, and several paper-products
codes.
Summary as to overtime allowance.-The variety and the inconsistency of the many overtime provisions in codes were to some extent
inevitable owing to the great divergence in the requirerµents of different industries. There is no doubt that instances arose when extra
demands occurred, though in many cases the allowances made resulted
in excessive hours of work for women. . There is little doubt that in
some industries and in many plants further regularization of industrial
processes could minimize this to a very considerable degree.
Certainly it is important to have a much more extended study of
the whole subject of the industrial needs of overtime and the effects of
overtime allowances on the workers' employment time. Until such a
survey can become available, and especially in view of the efforts to
increase employment, the least that can be asked is that every allowance of overtime made should be based upon valid and pressing reasons,
that strict maximum limits should be fixed to the overtime allowed,
and that additional pay should be specified at 1½ times the usual rate
or more.
Restrictions on plant operation ,
While the hours the individual -is permitted to labor are of primary
interest to the woman worker (as to all workers), the restriction of
plant operation may be of great importance to her in some industries,
11 Of 406 codes that specified overtime, 349 provided extra pay, as did 16 of the 83 that made no definite
·
provision for overtime.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
44
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
in order that better equalization of production as among various plan ts
shall lessen the uncertainty of employment through short time in some
plants while others work overlong hours.
Nearly 60 codes limited in some way the operating hours of the
concerns subject to them. Most of the textile codes permitted not
more than two shifts of 40 hours, for example, those for cotton, 18 wool,
silk, and lace.
A somewhat extended discussion of this subject took place in the
consideration of the earliest code-that for cotton textile-some of
the points brought out being the importance to the workers' health
of eliminating the night or "grave-yard" shift and the overcapacity
of the industry endangering overproduction and renewed depression
if all mills were allowed to establish unlimited shifts.
The wisdom of such a provision for this industry is attested to by
the fact that, even with this restriction, production under the code
outran need to such an extent that in May 1934 it was deemed necessary to issue an administrative order further curtailing machine hours
to 75 percent of the code allowance for a 12-week period to close
toward the end of August.
The hosiery code was another of those fixing a limit of two shifts of
40 hours, though in the full-fashioned branch of the industry only
those plants formerly so operating were permitted more than one
shift, and these were limited to 35 hours.
Practically the same number of codes had a I-shift as a 2-shift limit.
Among these were some of the important clothing and hand-sewing
codes, large employers of women, such as those for dresses, coats and
suits, corsets and brassieres, men's clothing, handkerchiefs, and Schiffii
embroidery. In most cases the shift allowed was 40 hours, though
in coat and suit making it was 35, and in the manufacture of men's
clothing 36. These limitations should have been useful in reducing
the extreme seasonality of such industries.
Protection of worker against requirement of increased output with
shortened hours
Closely allied to the matter of limiting shifts, and indeed to the
whole question of shortening hours, was that of the quantity of work
required of the worker.
In order that the movement to shorten hours should not result in
speed-up of the job, sometimes known as the stretch-out or specialization system, several codes-19 in all-contained specific provisions
to _prevent this.
This danger was recognized clearly in connection with the cotton
textile code, and the Executive order approving this code specified
that no "improper speeding up of the work to the disadvantage of
employees" beyond the "amount of work or production required of
employees" on July 1, 1933, should be made without permit from the
code authority and the Administrator.
Prior to the approval of the code on July 9, 1933, a special committee had been at work (since June 27) studying the "stretch-out"
18 The Executive order approving the cotton-textile code specified t hat the 2-sliift restriction should not
apply to tire yarns or fabrics for rubber tires for 3 weeks. It was makers of such textile byproducts that
originally presented the chief objections to placing in the code such a limitation of machine hours, though
on the other hand makers of certain of these byproducts furthered it wholeheartedly. See summary of
evidence as to the code, printed with the code.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MAXIMUM HOURS UNDER CODES
45
question, the report of which, on July 21, contained the following
statements unanimously agreed to:
1. That the stretch-out (or specialization) system of employment, both as at
present practiced and in its prospective development, presents a grave problem
in industrial relations. Your committee earnestly feels that a just solution of
this problem is a prerequisite to sound and effective application of the Industrial
Recovery Act and of the code of fair competition for the cotton textile industry . . . .
2. That the stretch-out (or specialization) system of employment is sound in
principle, but that it has, in many cases, been abused by the employers through
hasty and ill-considered installations with resultant overload on the employees.
In this opinion your committee is sustained by the unanimous opinion both of
employers and of employees who have given their testimony in public as well
as in private hearings.
3. That it is not at present feasible to control the application of the stretchout system, or to limit the human load attendant upon its applications, by rigid
formula; in this opinion your committee is sustained not only by the consensus
of management but by its two consulting engineers, and by the department of
industrial studies of the Yale Institute of Human Relations whose staff has
devoted 3 years to the study of the stretch-out and related problems in the cotton
textile industry. Nevertheless your committee is convinced that some solution
of the problem affecting the human load resulting from the application of the
stretch-out system can be found through progressive study and the development
of such a plan of conference and consent by both employers and employees as is
provided for in the following recommendations . . . [which were for the establishment of the industrial relations boards referred to]. 19
The cotton textile code provided that except upon the approval of
the AdministratorNo employee may be required to do any work in excess of the practices as to
such class of work of such employee prevailing on July 1, 1933.
The provision on this subject in the cotton garment code, which
also was similar to that in the men's clothing code, was as follows:
No changes in piece rates and no increases in the amount of production or
work of week workers shall be made for the purpose of evading the benefits to
manufacturing employees prescribed by this code in respect of wages and hours
of employment.
The code for Schiffii, scalloping, and various other types of embroidery recognized "the stretch-out system as an evil that must be
abolished", but it attempted to solve the problem in a different fashion, one carefully avoided in the cotton textile report/> by providing
for the formulation of a satisfactory definition of "stretch-out."
This code provided that no employer "shall require any employee to
tend a greater number of machines than such employee or class of
employees customarily tended in such plant in the week of July 1,
1933."
u N. R. A. release 171, July 21, 1933. The solution of this problem was attempted in an amendment to
the code, July 10, 1934, which set up National and State industrial relations boards for the industry to
adjust controversies including those as to the "stretch-out." (See also p. 76 in pt. VII, especially footnote
29, p. 77.)
20 The reason for this is explained in the text of the report just cited. (See also report of Women's Bureau
findings on the stretch-out, referred to on p. 76.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part V.-GROUPS OF WOMEN THAT COULD BE PAID
WAGES BELOW THE USUAL CODE MINIMUM
Though the minimum wage was intended to apply to the least
skilled labor, it was set in some cases for experienced workers, with
lower rates fixed to be paid temporarily to employees while learning
the· trade or to be paid permanently to aged or handicapped employees
unable to turn out the average amount of work. Where such lower
rates were allowed, the usual standard suggested was that the number
of learners and of handicapped workers per employer be restricted
to a small percentage of the total.
It should be noted that in permitting employment of learners at a
rate even lower than the so-called minimum there usually had been
two dangers: (1) Classing as learners workers who had been in the
industry for years, and (2) discharging learners at the end of the
learning period and taking on other beginners at the learners' rate.
This section of the report attempts to show to what extent the
N. R. A. codes sustained wages for these groups, limited their numbers,
and fixed definite and reasonable learning periods. The prohibition
or control of factory work done in homes also is discussed.
Women and girls formed large numbers of the workers classed as
learners or apprentices, practically all those engaged in industrial
home work, and very many of those variously designated as handicapped, "slow"," aged", "privileged", or unable t o attain to average
production standards. Moreover, it is in exactly such groups as
these that it is important for minimum-wage regulations to forestall
exploitation of workers and consequent unfair competition.
On the whole it may be said that real progress was made under
the codes in the effort to place a bottom to wage levels for these groups,
to limit the proportions of them that an industry might employ, to
fix definite learning periods, and to regulate strictly the conditions
under which industrial home work might be allowed.
Three Presidential orders applying to these workers were issued
in 193·1 -that in February referred to handicapped workers, in May
to home workers, and in June to apprentices-ai1d in each case the
regulations regarding such workers were placed under the supervision
of a State authority to be design~ted by the United States Department
of Labor.
Learners 1
The difficulties arising from allowing lower mini.m um wages to be
paid learners are well summarized in a statement made by the Secretary of Labor in August 1933, in which she advocated no allowance
of exceptional rates for learners where the code minimum did not
exceed $16. The Secretary said1
See p. 139 of appendix D .
46
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
GROUPS THAT COULD BE PAID BELOW CODE MINIMUM
47
The range in minimum wages for unskilled Work in the codes and agreements
seldom exceeds $15 per week, and in the smaller communities the weekly rate of
compensation may be as low as $10 or $11. Obviously these rates are intended
for occupations that do not require experience .or technical skill. To permit
employment of "learners" on processes which at the most would not require
more than a few days or weeks to master, and to allow for these occupations,
as has often been done, a learning period of a number of weeks or months, furnishes an easy method of employing fully qualified workers at less than the
minimum rates.
All minimum-wage experience indicates that allowance of a learning period
t ends to jeopardize the enforcement of the minimum rate. It complicates pay-roll
inspection and leads to employment as learners of persons with ample experience
in other establishments. It r esults in evasions of the law such as those practiced
by employers who discharge a "learner" at the completion of the learning
period and employ another "learner" in his place, or who classify their own
experienced employees as learners.
Of the 491 approved codes, somewhat more than half made no
exceptions from the wage minimum for either learners or apprentices;
the remainder did make such exceptions, though in the case of a few
codes these applied to bona fide apprentices where the process might
involve the acquiring of a very considerable degree of ·skill, or where
a regular apprenticeship system is known to have been long customary,
as in the codes for the electrotyping, the shipbuilding, or the photoengraving industries. Such cases involved rela.tively few women,
and in recent years the apprenticeship system has been employed less
than it was previously in some of the industries in which it used to
be customary.
Only a little over one-third of the codes that made exceptions for
new workers used the term "apprentice" exclusively, though the
context of the codes and the character of the industries indicated
that even where this term was used it was confused with learner in
many cases.
A Presidential order issued in June 1934 provided that apprentices,
defined as persons at least 16 years of age and under written contract,
could receive lower than minimum wages if approved by an agency
in the State designated by the Secretary of Labor. The employer
could elect to abide by this order or by the code provision to which
he was adhering. 2
For the most part codes for woman-employing industries that contained exceptions for learners applied to work that does not require
a long learning time and that may not offer any real trade opportunity.
In this sense the learner provisions should be distinguished carefully
from those for apprentices who are acquiring a highly skilled trade
knowledge.
It is in connection with the indefinite "learner" provisions that
there arose the greatest danger of exploitation on a large scale. Take
for example the cigar industry, in which the code allowance for
learners (" slow workers") was only $9 and the code minimum was
$10 to $13.60, though in a Women's Bureau survey made prior to the
. R. A. period, about three-fourths of the women definitely classed
as "learners" on firm pay rolls earned $10 or more and almost twofifths earned $1 2 to $16.
Of some 230 codes that made possible the payment to learners (or
apprentices) of wages below the usual code minimum, the majority
2 Subsequent organization in the States in the interest of bona fide apprenticeship included committees
having in their membership vocational guidance experts.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
~
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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GROUPS THAT COULD BE PAID BELOW CODE MINIMUM
49
fixed the lowest pay at 20 percent less than the code minimum. Such
was the case, for example, in the boot and shoe, chinaware, electrical
manufacturing, lace, and silk textile codes. A few, as the cotton
garment and the knitted outerwear, allowed an even greater amount
below the minimum, in the cotton glove as much as 35 percent below
the minimum, which was $12. Other codes fixed for learners a definite minimum below the usual code rate. This was the case with
those for artificial flowers, hosiery, retail trade, and some of the
clothing industries, among others.
Of the codes that excepted learners and apprentices, 38- onesixth-fixed no bottom to the wage that could be paid them. Such
was true of codes for the cotton textile and dress industries, with the
code minimum respectively $12 and $14.
Of the codes permitting exceptions for learners and apprentices,
the great majority-about 90 percent-ljmited the number of learners,
two-thirds making this limit 5 percent, or 5 percent (the usual limit)
in conjunction with other workers excepted from the minimum.
However, a considerable number, including cotton cloth glove, cotton
garment, and infants' and children's wear, artificial flower and feather,
handkerchief, men's garter, envelop, celluloid button, and toy and
playthings, permitted 10 percent. The lace code allowed 1 in 6 of
the employees to be learners at 20 percent below a minimum that was
$13 for other workers.
Many examples could be found of complicated provisions making
the number allowed somewhat intricate to figure, and thus of a character to create difficulties in any check for enforcement. For instance,
the retail trade code allowed 1 junior or apprentice to every 5 (or
fraction thereof) up to 20 employees and 1 to every 10 thereafter. 3
A most important point in connection with learners was the definite
limitation of the learning period to a time approximating that necessary to become proficient. The classification of workers as learners
on low pay, thou~h they have been with the firm for years, is not an
uncommon experience, and it is spoken of as follows in a survey of
the dress industry made in the first half of 1933 by the Connecticut
Department of Labor:
There seemed to be no general agreement among employers as to what constituted a "learner" although there was a general tendency so to describe any
worker who could not earn, on a piece-rate basis, as much as an average skilled
worker. The low earnings of these workers were attributed to the fact that they
were learners, although in many cases they had been with the firm several years
and formed a large percentage of the total employees-in one case, 65 percent.
The explanation of these low earnings seems to be a rate of pay too low for the
average skilled worker, rather than the vague, indefinite explanation "she is a
learner." In some shops girls were paid a lower rate than others for an indefinite learning period which for many of the workers never ended.
While numerous occupations of women require great dexterity,
care, or good judgment, many can be learned quickly; the minimum
wage ordinarily is quite low enough to cover the short learning period
necessary. In stores visited by Women's Bureau agents, personnel
managers testified that girls in unskilled jobs were of full value in
from a week in some stores to a month in others, though the retailtrade code fixed 6 months as the limit to the learning period.
The learning period was defined in well over four-fifths of the codes
that permitted exceptional wages for learners or apprentices. The
3
Juniors were defined as under 18 years of age; apprentices, those having less than 6 months' experience.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
50
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
largest numbers of 'these fixed 6 or 8 weeks, 3 months, or 6 months.
In the first group were such codes as the artificial flower and feather;
boot and shoe; cotton and silk textile; and some of the clothing codes.
That for the handkerchief industry provided for 8 weeks at $9.
A learning period of 3 or 4 months was allowed in such important
woman-employing industries as hosiery and leather glove, as well
as in chinaware, throwing, and covered button, and others, though
the minimum fixed for other workers in these industries was as low
as $12 to $13. A learning period as long as 6 months was allowed in
such industries as the cotton cloth glove, retail trade, rubber tire,
and American glassware. And while some of the processes do require
a considerable time, there is no doubt that many do not require so
long as was allowed to reach an unslcilled minimum-wage status. Some
codes- -dress, and blouse and skirt, for example--fixed no limit to
the learning period.
To prevent employment at reduced wages far beyond the learning
stage, despite limitation of the learning period, a considerable number
of the later codes provided that no worker should serve more than
one such period. Others had the general provision carefully worded
to cover the worker's entire experience. For example, in the hosiery
· code, which provided a 3-month learning time at $8, it was specified
that this was to constitute the worker's "first 3 months' training in the
industry" regardless of whether continuous or for more than one
employer.
Handicapped workers
The question of handicapped workers has been a difficult .one to
solve. Provision had to be made that such employees should not be
dismissed because the code minimum had to be paid. However, the
minimum was not high and the proportions of workers actµally
handicapped for the job were not large. It is obvious that if these
workers were not of sufficient value to the firm to receive a reasonable
minimum wage, they would have been dismissed before. Moreover,
these workers often are those who have given their best years to the
firm or who have been injured while actively engaged in their jobs. It
seems that if any are entitled to receive at least as much as the low
minimum fixed for the least skilled, it should be these workers.
The very large extent to which women were affected by the provision for paying to handicapped workers wages lower than the usual
code minimum is indicated in an early report of licenses issued in one
large industrial State. 4 Of the 592 certificates granted to the middle
of June 1934, it is scarcely surprising to learn that more than twothirds had been for women. Of the entire number well over 60 percent had to be issued because of the worker's age. More than onethird of all certificates granted were in the cotton garment industry,
for which the code provided a 32½-cent minim11m ($13 if for 40 hours).
With handicapped workers the question of a learning period does
not arise, but the limitation of their numbers is at least as important
as in the case of learners and the fixing of bottom levels to their wage
even more so, since presumably their pay will continue at the low
rate allowed while that of bona fide learners should increase.
The exemption made in the cigar code for "slow workers" in cigar
making alone is a good illustration of the lowering of wage standards
'Pennsylvania. Department of Labor and Industry. Labor and Industry, June 1934,
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GROUPS THAT COULD BE PAID BELOW CO:QE MINIMUM
51
that resulted from allowing such a group to be paid a wage lower than
the usual code minimum. The term "slow workers" was undefined
and entirely nebulous, and while the code fixed in general a minimum
of $10 to $13.60, according to the kind of cigar, it allowed as many as
25 percent of the hand makers and 10 percent of the machine operators
to work for less in these occupations under this indefinite class of
"slow workers", who may be interpreted to mean handicapped
workers or learners. No minimum wage whatever was fixed for these
workers.
Of codes approved up to January 1, 1934, only about two-fifths
provided special exceptions for handicapped workers, but from that
time to July 1 much larger proportions of the codes did include such
exceptions. 5
Of these earlier codes with special exceptions for handicapped
workers, about half fixed the minimum for the handicapped 20 percent
below the regular code minimum, including those for such womanemploying industries as hosiery, handkerchiefs, men's garters, and
certain of the paper products, while certain others set the minimum
even lower. Some left the minimum to be fixed by State authority,
others set no bottom to the wage. About one-fourth set no limit
to the number of handicapped workers allowed, though nearly half
permitted these, or these and certain other exceptional workers, to
form not over 5 percent of total employees. As many as 10 percent
could receive minimum pay below the usual code minimum under the
handicapped provision in codes for such important woman-employers
as the dress, leather glove, cotton cloth glove, and cotton garment
industries.
The difficulties of this problem and the undermining of the minimum
wage that it tended to bring about finally led to the issuance, about
the middle of February 1934, of a Presidential order regarding handicapped workers that applied to all subsequent codes and superseded
code provisions then in existence. The order provided for employers
to obtain certificates to have such workers and to file lists of them each
month with the code authority. In part it read as follows:
A person whose earning capacity is limited because of age, physical or mental
handica p, or other infirmity, may be employed on light work at a wage below
the minimum established by a code, if the employer obtains from the State
authority, designated by the United States Department of Labor, a certificate
authorizing such person's employment at such wages and for such hours as shall
be stated in the certificate. Such authority shall be guided by the instructions
of the United States Department of Labor in issuing certificates to such persons.
Instructions issued about the middle of April for the carrying out of
this order provided that not more than 5 percent of the workers of any
establishment might come under this exception, unless the code
specified otherwise, that certificates should be granted only where the
handicap constituted a disability for the particular job to be done, and
that the amount by which the wage was lowered shou,ld correspond to
the extent of the disability for the job. A doctor's certificate as to the
handicap for the job was required and it was specified that this be
issued by a physician in public employment.
4 The analysis here covers only codes approved to January 1, 1934. By that time it was estimated that
approximately 90 percent of industrial workers had been covered by codes, and the order issued in February
in regard to handicapped workers modified later codes.
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52
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Industrial home workers 11
The giving out of industrial work by factories, either direct oT
through contractors, to be done in homes, long has been a serious
problem for administrators of labor law. Toward this the N. R. A.
directed constructive thinking, and real progress has been made in
taking cognizance of the situation and in extending knowledge as to
the effective handling of one of the most difficult matters connected
with the establishment of satisfactory employment conditions for
women.
The clothing trades have occupied the great majority of the home
workers, employing, for example, about three-fourths of the women so
reported in New York early m 1934.
Among characteristic home-work occupations, in addition to
embroidery and clothing, are stringing tags; carding buttons, hooks
and eyes, bobby pins, or safety pins; shelling nuts; addressing
envelops; hooking rugs; knitting and crocheting; decorating post
cards; preparing meat balls, rice cakes, and tea balls for restaurants;
making garters; and work on cheap jewelry, lamp shades, powder
puffs, paper boxes and bags, carpet rags, and toys.
Home work is carried on largely by women, too often assisted by
children, and perpetuates the evils of long hours, low pay, irregular
employment, and unhealthy working conditions. Where existing, it
forms a constant force tending to undermine labor standards that
always are built up with so much difficulty. New York reports show
that even during prosperous years such work brought an average wage
as low as $6, $5, and even $4 for a week's work in typical home-work
industries. More recent wage reports include such statements as
"20 cents an hour for a dozen dolls' dresses" that take 4 hours to
make, or "14 cents an hour for expert crochet beading"; a recent
Women's Bureau survey showed Georgia women receiving 2 to 14
cents an hour for making a candlewick bedspread. In general, wages
for long hours of work in the home, often for highly skilled sewing and
hand work, ordinarily have been below the worst factory payments
for unskilled labor. These wages, even where the whole family
works on the product, frequently are not sufficient to provide support.
This was vividly illustrated in a survey of home work in lace-making
recently conducted by the Connecticut Department of Labor, in whjch
it was found that one-fourth of the families where such work was done
earned so little for the whole family's work that they were on the
public relief rolls.
In Connecticut the great majority of these families earned less than
$5 for a week's work. In a survey in Texas made by the Women's
Bureau only 1 of 107 women had earned as much as $5 in the week
for steady and regular work on fine dresses for children. Examples
are as follows:
A skilled worker on embroidered and lace-trimmed children's dresses worked
steadily 8½ hours for 4 days to make a. dozen dresses at $1.75 the dozen .
Two sisters by steady work made in a week 20 ma.chine-stitched dresses wit h
hand fagoting, and for this received together only $3.
Work at such prices, done in places remote from the centers of industry, competes with that in factories located elsewhere and undoubtedly causes low wages in New York, Connecticut, and other States.
• For more complete information on this subject see Women's Bureau Bul. 135, T he Commercialization
(Also see p. 136 of appendix D .)
of the Irome Through Industrial Home Work.
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GROUPS THAT COULD BE PAID BELOW CODE MINIMUM
53
Other factors in the easy possibilities of exploitation of women
workers under this system are well described by Frieda S. Miller, of
the New York State Department of Labor, in an address made at an
N. R. A. hearing in February 1934 as follows:
Women who work alone, without contacts with their fellow workers, and with
no knowledge of the relative speed, skill, production standards of other people
doing the same work, are apt to make a poor wage bargain. If the home-work
manufacturer had not taken such consistent and extreme advantage of this fact
he might not find the opposition against him today so emphatic and united.
Of at least 120 codes for industries in which it was definitely known
that this type of work had been an important factor, about 70 percent
abolished home work entirely either at the date of effectiveness of the
code or at a later date. Among these were codes for artificial flowers
and feathers; pleating, stitching, Bonnaz and hand embroidery; set-up
paper boxes; and men's neckwear. Considerably better than another
10 percent of the codes contained provisions designed to assure control.
Abolition or regulation in codes, however, was of little avail unless the
provisions could be enforced, and administrators found this almost
impossible without adequate certification and considerable expense.
The seriousness of the enforcement problem and the importance of
assuring that workers in actual need of such employment and unable
to do factory work should not lose their earning opportunities led
to the issuance of a Presidential order in the middle of May 1934 for
the relief of such persons by granting them certificates to do home
work. Instructions issued on the basis of this Executive decree
specified that these certificates might be given the following three
groups unable to come to the plant:
1. Persons physically handicapped but not having a contagious illness.
2. Persons needing to care for a bedridden member of the family , but not if
either person has a contagious disease.
3. Persons accustomed to this method of work and too old to adjust to factory
conditions.
These instructions further pointed out that the Executive decree
in no wise superseded code prohibitions of home work but was especially
for the benefit of the defined classes of handicapped persons needing
jobs. The instructions provided for the designated authority to issue
certificates signed by both employer and worker, the former to certify
that full piece rates would be paid without deduction for spoilage or
imperfect work, the materials to be furnished by the employer; the
worker to guarantee that no part of the work assigned would be performed by any other person. Certifying provisions were not to supersede more stringent State laws, and it was stated that no able-bodied
person under 50 should be considered too old to make the necessary
adjustment to factory work.
Since the Executive order for the certificating of home workers did
not supersede code provisions eliminating industrial home work, these
were of as great importance as before. Among the many codes making
such elimination, there were some that were even more specific. For
example, the coat and suit code provided that there should be no such
work done in tenement houses, basements, or any building insanitary
and unsafe on account of fire risks. The hosiery code, though doing
away with home work as a usual thing, made, as early as August 1933,
a provision similar to the President's later order for all codes. It
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54
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
allowed the code authority to issue permits for those who could only
work at home and had to do so for a living.
Other codes, like that for the making of artificial flowers and feathers,
abolished home work some time after the effectiveness of the code,
thus allowing a period for adjustment. In this case the number of
homeworkers was to be reduced by January 1, 1934 (about 4 months
after code approval), to 50 percent of the number on September 1,
1933, and by the end of another 4 months work was to be abolished.
In this category also comes the code for Schiffii hand-machine embroidery, approved early in February and abolishing home work in 6
months but providing meanwhile for a study of its operation by the
code authority, with recommendation to the Administrator who might
modify, cancel entirely, or continue the prohibition.
Some codes did away only with certain parts of the home work done.
In the cotton garment code, for example, work at home on machine
sewing was prohibited after 3 months (approved November 17, 1933)
but that on hand embroidery could continue. The handkerchief
code did away with home work except on "handkerchiefs made entirely by hand", and then contained a peculiar exception as to handkerchiefs selling for at least $3 .50 a dozen on which hand work represented 60 percent or more of the total labor cost. On such handkerchiefs not only could home work be done but the usual code wage of
$12 and $13 with $9 for beginners was abrogated. The application
of this was highly localized, including only a few firms, 1 in a far
western and 2 in a southern State west of the Mississippi, firms
estimated to make less than 5 percent of the total output of the country.
Competition of the Puerto Rican product, largely made in homes
and very cheap, was given as the reason for this exception. The
handkerchief code was approved early in October, the code for Puerto
Rican needlework not until nearly 9 months later at the end of June.
The latter code made an effort to deal with the home-work situation,
though so fully is this system-handled through contractors and subcontractors to the extent' that firms "furnishing materials often have
no knowledge whatever of the home workers-a part of the needlework
industry of the Island that the restriction of it necessarily will take
some time to work out. The provisions of the code in this connection
may be summarized as follows:
Only workers who have done machine sewing in homes in the past year on
machines owned by themselves may still be so employed, and each such machine
is to be registered with the code authority within 90 days, and such work is to be
paid a rate not less than the rate for similar work done in factory and in no case
less than $5 a week.
No home work is to be done on stamping, cutting, washing, pressing, folding,
ribboning, or ticketing.
Besides registering the home-workers' machines, the code authority is to obtain
from manufacturers lists of all contractors, subcontractors, or delivery agents,
and of every home worker to whom material is supplied with the address or '' best
location possible" of each, the number of articles or items produced, the amount
paid for 2 or 4 weeks' operation, and whether the work was hand or machine.
The Administrator is to appoint a commission to study the community workroom plan and if that plan proves not to be feasible to propose another, for
bringing as many home workers as possible into community workrooms or
factories. This commission is to report "within 90 days after its first meeting",
though no time is specified for this meeting or even for its appointment.
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NG
CHART III.-MINIMUM WAGES AND MAXIMUM HOURS SPECIFIED FOR CLERICAL EMPLOYEES IN 12 IMPORTANT WOMAN-EMPLOYI
FOR OTHER EMPLOYEES IN CERTAIN N. R. A. CODES FOR
INDUSTRIES COMPARED TO SUCH WAGES AND HOURS SPECIFIED
MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES, JULY 1, 1934 1
Maximum hours 5 specified for-
Minimum wage 4 specified forName of code and number of
clerical 2 and factory employees s
Hotel industry: 6
Clerical-32,551.
Other-412,969.
Productive employees
Clerical employees
"Service":
Increase by not less than 20 percent above
rates of June 15, 1933, and at least $1 a week,
but not above minimum required for cleri• •
Sout h (16 Kansas
cal and operating.
States and and Mis•
souri
D.C.)
"Clerical and operating" for 54•hour week:
Sizo of cit y
Over 500,000 population . ..... _
100,000 to 500,000 population ___
25,000 to 100,000 population_. __
2,500 to 25,000 population a_ • • _
Under 2, 500 population __ . ____ .
0
b
North
$12. 75
11. 90
11. 05
8. 50
$15
14
(b)
13
10
(b)
Clerical employees
Productive employees
Clerical. (See productive employees.)
Except night auditors who may
not work more than 6 hours in
excess of weekly maximum.
All employees "not specifi•
cally exempted" :
54•hour, 6•day week, 10·
hour day.
$13. 50
12. 60
11. 70
9.00
(b)
Increase by 20 percent over rates of June 15, 1929, not below
$10 and need not be over $11.
To minimum. Increase by 20 percent over rates of June
15, 1929, if not over $10.
Electrical manufacturing industry:
Clerical-31,894.
F actory-48,855.
Other than processing and excepted employees:
$15 a week.
"Processing":
40 cents an hour or hourly rate as of July 15,
1929, but not under 32 cents an hour.
Other than processing and excepted
employees:
40 hours a week.
" Processing":
36 hours per week.
Automobile manufacturing industry:
Clerical-18,648.
Factory-22,599.
Per week
"Office and s~laried":
Cities of 500,000 population or over ·- ------------ -- $15. 00
Cities of 250,000 to 500,000 population____ _________ _ 14. 50
Cities o! under 250,000 population_________________ 14. 00
Per hour
"Factory":
Cities of 500,000 population or over .. $0. 43
Cities of 250,000 to 500,000 population. . 41 ½
Cities of under 250,000 population. __ .40
"Office and salaried":
48 hours any week. Not over 40hour week average from effect! ve
to expiration date.
"Factory":
Not over 48 hours, 6 days
a week. 40-hour week
average from effective
to expiration date for
all em ployees.
Laundry trade:
Clerical- 12,207.
Other-157,706.
"Office":
"Common or totally unskilled labor":
Clerical. (See productive employees.)
Except clerks in retail outlet who
may work 48 hours a week.
All employees unless otherwise specified:
40-hour week.
Office. (See productive employees.)
All employees " net speciflc:illy exempted":
40-hour week, 8-hour day.
All employees not otherwise
specified:
40-hour week, 8-hour day.
Weekly rate
orth
Size of cit y
Over 500,000 population ______ ________
100,000 to 500,000 population ____ ___ __
Under 100,000 population ____ ________
a
$14. 00
13. 50
13. 00
South
Size of city
0
$13. 00
12. 50
12. 00
15 States.
Group
Under
Over
100,000 to
100,000
600,000
600,000
population population population
Hourly rates Hourly rate.! Hourly rutes
$0.30
$0. 25
$0.27½
.25
.25
.22½
- -- - --Bb -_____
___
Cc
• 20
.22½
.22½
Dd _______ _
20
.
20
.
. 18
E• ________
.14
.14
.14
Aa ________
a North end West (11 States and parts of 3).
b West and mid-west (12 States, D. C., and
parts of 5).
0 Bordering on South (3 States and parts of 3).
a South (3 States and parts of 4).
• South (9 States and parts of 4) .
Boot and shoe manufacturing
industry:
Clerical-10,657.
Factory-86,293.
See productive employees.
All employees not specifically exempted:
Hourly rate
Size of city and location
Male
Female
---North:
populaOver
__ _____
__ ____ ___
tion __250,000
20,000 to 250,000 population_. _______ ____ ___
Under 20,000 population __ ___ ---- -- ----- -South (14 States)- All
cities and towns ________ __
$0.37½
$0.32½
.36¾
.31 ¾
.35
.30
. 35
.30
Baking industry:
Clerical- 9,627.
Factory--16,875.
P er week
"Accounting, clerical, other office":
Cities of over 500,000 population _________ __________ __ $16
Cities of 250,000 to 500,000 population ______________ __ 15
Cities of under 250,000 population _____ ____________ __ 14
All employees not specifically exempted:
North, 40 cents an hour.
South (13 States), 35 cents an hour.
"Accounting, clerical, other office":
40-hour week, 8-hour day; but
overtime of 40 hours per calendar
year allowed for Christmas,
inventory, and peak times.
Rubber manufacturing Industry:
Clerical-9,369.
Factory-24,432.
Peru-eek
'· Salaried":
Cities of over 500,000 population ___ ______ ________ __ $15. 00
Cities of 250,000 to 500,000 population ______ ________ 14. 50
Cities of 2,500 to 250,000 population __ _______ _______ 14.00
Cities of under 2, 500 population __ ____ __ _________ __ 12. 00
All employees not otherwise specified:
35 centS'an hour.
All employees, unless other"Accounting, clerical, office":
wise specified:
48-hour week, average 40-hour
40-hour week, 8 hours in
week over 1 month.
24.
Paper and pulp industry:
Clerical- 7,372.
F actory- 16,281.
P er week
All employees, unless otherwise specified:
Cities of over 500,000 population ___ ______ ___ __ _____ $15. 00
Cities of 250,000 to 500,000 population ______ ________ 14. 50
Cities of 2,500 to 250,000 population __ ____ ________ __ 14.00
Cities of under 2,500 population ___________________ 12. 00
"Laborer, mechanical worke;, artisan" :
All employees, unless otherwise specifled:
Average 40-hour week in calendar
year and average 48-hour week
in 13 consecutive weeks.
"Laborers, mechanical workers artisans":
Average 40-hour week in
13 consecutive weeks,
48 hours any week, 8·
hour day.
Clerical. (See productive employees.)
Except "clerks" employed by retailers who m ay work 48 hours,
6 days a week.
All employees, unless other
wise specified:
40 hours and 6 days in
any week.
Hourly rate
Location
Male
North __ _____ __ _____ ___ ____
Central (7 States and District of Columbia) ______ _
South (8 States) ___________
Female
- - -$0.38
$0.33
. 35
. 30
.30
.30
Or rates of July 15, 1929, but notunder90percent
of above rates.
Cleaning and dyeing trade:
Clerical-8,183.
Factory-18,960.
All employees, unless otherwise specified:
"Plant employees":
Weekly rate
Hourly rate
Size of city
Size of city
North
South
North
a
South
- --Over 500,000 population __ ___ ______ ___
100,000 to 500,000 population ____ _____
Under 100,000 population ___ __ __ __ ___
a
Hosiery industry 7
Silk textile industry:
Clerical-5,365.
Factory-75,848.
10 States.
$14. 00
13. 50
13. 00
$13. 00
12. 50
12. 00
Over 500,000 population ____
500,000 popula100,000 to _______
____ ______
tion __ ___
Under 100,000 population _.
$0. 20
.30
. 27
. 20
.20
All employees, unless otherwise, specified:
For 40-hour week:
North, $13; South (15 States), $12.
All employees, unless otherwise specified:
"Office":
"Full fashioned", by occupation:
Average 40-hour week over 6
North, $13 to $27.50; South, $12 to $24.75.
months.
"Seamless", by occupation:
North, $13 to $18; South, $12 to $16.25.
"Productive operations":
40-hour week.
See productive employees.
All employees not specifically exempted:
North, $13 a week.
South (10 States), $12 a week.
'' Productive'':
40-hour week.
1
This chart includes the chief large service industries under codes and all manufacturing industries
that employed 5,000 or more women clerical workers in 1930 and that definitely come under codes. (See
also footnote 6, p. 57.)
2
Employees in the three main clerical groups as shown in table III in the appendi-c.
8 Factory employees listed as operatives and laborers by the census.
' For most employees, not specifying provisions applying to such exceptional workers as learners or
handicapped workers.
1182°-35. (Face p. 55.)
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$0. 33
Other than productive:
480 hours in 12 weeks, 48 hours
any 1 week.
6
• For most employees, not taking account of overtime allowed and not specifying provisions for occupations excepted from maximum hours, such as those of supervisors, executives, watchmen, firemen, sales
employees, and others.
o Restaurants and boarding houses included by the census.
7 Not separately reported in the census. In knitting mills, 5,884 employees in the three clerical groups
here considered and 93,331 operatives and laborers are reported.
Part VI.- CODE PROVISIONS FOR OFFICE
WORKERS
When he signed the Recovery Act the President said, in his state-•
ment making a plea for living wages to workers: "By workers I mean
all workers-the white-collar class as well as the men in overalls." 1
Since nearly one-fifth of all employed women are in the clerical
group-more than in any other main occupational division except
domestic and personal service-it is natural that code provisions for
these employees are of great interest and importanc~ for consideration
here.
This section of the present study shows what the N. R. A. did in
connection with the hours and wages of bookkeepers and cashiers,
stenographers and typists, and clerks (except "clerks in stores"),
these groups employing 96 percent of all clerical workers. 2
Nearly four-fifths of the codes made some specific provision for
clerical workers in regard to their hours or wages, or both; in practically all the others they were included under some such term as
"all workers." 3
·
In about one-third of the codes the minimum wage for clerical
workers was less than $14 a week; in practically the same number it
was $14; in just over one-fourth it was $15; and in the remaining
one-tenth it was above $15. In many cases clerks could be paid as
little as the least skilled of laborers in the industry. In a number of
codes the hours of clerical workers could be longer than those of other
employees.
The accompanying chart shows the wage and hour provisions for both
clerical and other workers in 11 of the manufacturing and service
industries employing large groups in clerical occupations.
Wage provisions
The depressed situation as to clerical workers' earnings and the
consequent need for attention to their wage levels as a part of a
program to increase purchasing power are indicated by New York
reports of the earnings of the office workers in factories. Figures
for October have been shown by sex in the Industrial Bulletin for
November of each year since 1923, and they constitute the only such
t National Recovery Administration. Bulletin 1. Statement by the President of the United States of
America Outlining Policies of the National Recovery Administration.
2 Many women in clerical work are in manufacturing plants, and the occupational classification made
by industries in 1930 makes it possible to tell in which industries most of these are located. This shows a
total of about 1¾ million women in these office occupations in all manufacturing industries, combined
with five trade and three service groups. Most of these were under codes, an important exception being
nearly 150,000 women in insurance offices under trade. Not far from 700,000 clerical workers are in t he
various branches of trade, including wholesale and retail trade, banking and brokerage, real estate, insurance, and automobile agencies and filling stations. More than 500,000 represent the office forces in manufacturing plan ts. (See t able III in appendix B.)
a Of the 493 codes approved to July 1, 1934, 491 contained labor provisions. Of these, 391 provided specifically for clerical workers, 338 of these containing wage and 274 hour provisions, either specifically for
office workers or clerical forces or for employees "other " than those in the productive processes.
55
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
56
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
data regularly published. The average weekly earnings of these
groups in October 1932 and October 1933 were respectively $31.86
and $31.85, 2 percent lower than in 1923, ·t he year with the next
lowest earnings in this 12-year period and 14 percent below 1929. 4
The average weekly receipts of women in these plants-and women
form practically half of all clerical workers-were very much below
those of men; for example, in the report for October 1933 women
had earnings only about half those of men.
Minimum wages were fixed in practically all codes, but in 149 of
them-three-tenths of the whole-no specific mention was made
as to a minimum for office workers. This meant that they could
receive as little as the least skilled factory employee. When the
requirements of education and training necessary for holding any
clerical job are considered, it is apparent that such pay was a most
inadequate return. This is true even though a minimum of at least
$14 was provided for clerical workers in more codes than for productive
employees.
.
Codes most representative of the provisions made for workers
employed in various branches of trade would be those for retail trade
(similar to several separate codes for other retail establishments, and
including clerical as well as sales employees), and that for bankers
(for which the provision was practically the same as in the codes for
mutual savings banks and for investment bankers). The highest
minimum fixed in these codes, applicable only in the largest cities,
wad $15, running in trade as low as a $9 minimum, and with no
bottom set for places under 2,500, as follows:
.
Bankers-$12-$15 by size of city. No minimum fixed for towns under
2,500.
Retail trade-North-for 40 hours, $12-$14 by size of city;
for 48 hours, $13-$15 by size of city. 5
South-for 40 hours, $11-$13 by size of city;
for 48 hours, $12-$14 by size of city. 5
Cities up to 25,000 regardless of hours, North $10, South $9.
Towns under 2,500, no minimum.
The 8 manufacturing industries shown in chart III had nearly
100,000 clerical workers and over 384,000 operatives and laborers.
The minimum wage for the clerical groups was lower than that for the
factory employees in automobile making, with the same hours in
both cases; under the rubber code (except in the smaller towns)
clerical workers could receive less than factory employees though their
hours of work were longer.
·
The same minimum applied to both these types of workers in bakeries, in boots and shoes (since no specific provision was made here for
over 10,000 women in the office forces of this industry), in hosiery
plants, and in silk mills, though in the last two mentioned, hours of the
clerical force could be longer than could those of the factory employees.
The electrical code was the only one of these eight large manufacturing industries in which the minimum for clerical workers was
higher than that for unskilled labor, and the office forces could work
40 hours though the productive employees were allowed only 36 hours.
4 There was an advance of about 2 percent over October 1933 in October 1934, the average then being
$32.45, still well below any year prior to 1932.
6Qther minima also fixed for 44-bour week.
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57
CODE PROVISIO S FOR OFFICE WORKERS
Wage provisions fo r office workers in codes as a whole.-The foregoing
paragraphs have considered a number of the codes most important in
the employment of women both in clerical and in productive occupations. The analysis that follows is based on a summary of specific
provisions for clerical workers in all codes, including those th at fixed
wages for employees "other" than productive as well as those that
mentioned clerical or office forces as such. More than 300 codes made
some wage specification for clerical employees, well over one-half
fixing a single definite minimum, more than one-third varying the rate
according to size of city, and a much smaller proportion varying it
according to geographic area. 6
About one-third of the codes had no definite wage provision for
clerical forces, though presumably including them under the regular
code minimum. Thus, in effect, these codes allowed a clerical worker
to be paid at the rate for the least skilled factory employment.
Among them were the codes for boots and shoes and for silk manufacture, each of which is important in the employment of women
both as productive and as clerical workers.
A much larger proportion of codes made some specific 7 arrangement
for productive workers than did so for office workers, as is shown in the
following summary:
N umber of codes that had wage provisions forOffice workers
Hourly or weekly minimum provided in codes
Productive
workers 1
Some wage provision in code __ -- --------------- ---
491
Specific
mention in
code 2
"All workers"
(or some
such phrase)
338
149
Total
487
1 - - - - - 1 - - - - -1- - - - --1 - -- -
Over 40 cents an hour_ ___ --------------------13 ------ -- ------ ----- - -- ------ ---------40 cents or $16 _____ ------------ ---- -- -- ----- _-81 ---- _----- ________________________ __ __
Over $15 a week _______________________ __ ______ ----- ------- -38
12
50
Over 35 cen ts an hour, under 40 cents (or over
$14, under $16 a week) _______ ---- -- ----- ----22 ----------- - -- _________ _____ ________ __
$15 a week ________________ ___ -------- --- ------ - - - -- -- -- - ----119
9
128
35 cen ts an hour (or $14 a week) _____ _____ _____
93
125
28
153
Over 30 cents, under 35 cents (or over $12,
under $14) _____________ __ ______ __ ____ -- -- --- 15
84
38
53
30 cents (or $12) _____ __________________ - --- ___ _
117
36
45
81
23
2
2
Over 25 cents, under 30 cents _----------------58
15
20
25 cents (or $10 and under) ___ ------ ----------··
No wage provision, clerical specifically excepted,
and provision made for mechanical workers
only _________________________________ -- -- --- - ---- ------- - ------ -- -- ------- - -1 Ordinarily factory employees, but in stores the sales forces were included here in this category.
2 Clerical or office workers or "others" mentioned specifically in code.
a Provisions for specified groups did not include clerical.
6 Of 338 codes providing specifically for clerical wages, 189 fixed a flat rate as a minimum, and 122 fixed a
minimum by size of city. A wage of $15 was fixed by 115 of the former, and forlarger cities by 94 of the latter.
No specific wage provision for clerical workers was made in 149 of the codes, though they were included by
implication in "all workers", etc.
7 Naturally there was wide variation among codes in their method of stating application. Some specified
clerical or office forces by mentioning them particularly, and it is these which are d iscussed especially here,
since they paid some definite attention to clerical workers as such; included with these in the small tab ulations given are codes that specified wages or hours for "other" workers in addition to the provisions made for
mechanical or productive workers. The foregoing comprise codes that specifically mentioned provision for
clerical workers. Of course, under codes that did not recognize in any way the "clerical", "office", or
''other", these groups supposedly would receive a minimum rate as set in t he code for factory employees
but no separate count has been taken of them as an occupational group. In 149 codes the minimum was
stated merely as for "all workers" , not specifying productive, mechanical, factory employees, or artisans.
Since codes were primaril y directed toward application to manufacturing or t rade workers, this phrase is
considered as referring to that type, and t hese codes are classified as not specifically mentioning office forces.
1182°-35--5
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
58
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Wage provisions for office workers by geographic section.- In 32 codes
the lowest wage for office workers was fixed by geographic section.
Some of these made a difference of $1 from North to South; this was
true, for example, in the cotton textile and in the men's clothing
codes. Others, chiefly a number of the paper codes, provided for
paying clerical workers $2 less in the South than in the North.
Of the codes providing a single definite minimum for office workers'
wages the great majority, including such codes as the electrical manufacturing, cigar, and a few of the paper codes, set this at $15. If to
these be added the codes that set a $15 minimum for the larger cities,
these two groups formed practically three-fifths of all codes specifically
fixing clerical wages, though only a little over two-fifths of the entire
number of codes. Among those providing a $15 minimum for the
largest cities were the banking, restaurant, rubber, and several paper
codes.
That $15 is a low minimum for office work is suggested by the indication that a reasonable minimum for unskilled work would be $16. 8
The analysis here shows that only a small proportion of the codes fixed
a low point for clerical workers that was as much as $16, even for the
largest cities.
A flat rate exceeding $15 was set by the same number of codes as
fixed less than that amount, a small group in each case. The minimum
was $16 in codes for candy, glazed and fancy paper, pottery supplies,
and others, and it ran as high as $20 in that for motion pictures and
print roller and print block. Several important employers of women
as productive workers fixed $14 for their office forces, such as coats
and suits; dresses; pleating, stitching, and Bonnaz and hand embroidery; and set-up paper boxes. The lowest was $13 in the code for
undergarments and negligees.
Wage provisions for office workers in cities of various sizes.-Of the
122 codes fixing a minimum for clerical workers by size of city, the
great majority provided $15 for the largest cities, though 25 codes
set a higher minimum, usually $16, as in those for baking, canning,
broom, and several minor food industries. That for bowling and
billiard operating trade fixed $20 for the larger places.
.
Many of these codes fixed no minimum for clerical workers in the
smaller towns, usually those under 2,500. Otherwise, the lower limit
was $14 in the majority of these codes, including those for mutual
savings banks, baking, canning, and several of the minor food industries. In other codes lower rates were fixed for the smaller cities;
these were $12 in the bankers, blouse and skirt, restaurant, rubber,
paper and pulp, and several other paper codes, and as low as $11 for
workers in newspaper offices. This is $1 below the lowest wage fixed
for the southern cotton mill workers (with the exception of cleaners
and outside workers) and less than the minimum set for most productive employees in nearly .nine-tenths of the codes. When it is
considered that long hours for office workers were allowed in a larger
proportion of the codes than permitted long hours for productive
employees, this difference is all the more striking.
.
Code for code tie-up of office and productive wages in 100 earlier
codes.- The Women's Bureau made a comparison of wages for clerical
and productive workers, tying up the wage of each of these two types
8
See statement of Secretary of Labor as to exceptional rate allowances for learners, pp. 46-47, part V.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CODE PROVISIONS F OR OFFICE W ORKERS
59
code for code and covering something over 100 of the earlier codes
(to January 1, 1934), many of which applied to large woman-employing industries. 9 All these were codes that made some specification as
to clerical workers' wages, and these were compared code for code
with the wages provided for productive employees. In about onefifth of them the minimum wage for the office forces was below t he
lowest for factory or production workers, and in a smaller proportion
the clerical either was equal to the production wage or equal t.o t he
lowest factory wage fixed. In still fewer cases the clerical minimum
was above that for the factory workers. In certain of the codes h aving wages differing by sex, the clerical minimum equaled or exceeded
the lowest wage for women in factory occupations but was below the
minimum for men. In addition to this, it must be remembered that
about one-fifth of all the codes approved to July 1, 1934, m ade n o
specific provision for clerical wages, and that in some cases longer
hours were allowed for these than for other workers.
Gode wage compared to previous standards for office workers.-Wh en
these wage minima are looked at in the light of wages being p aid
clerical workers prior to the codes, they scarcely seem to indicate
likelihood of advances for this type of employment. In a survey
made by the Women's Bureau in a number of large cities in 1931 and
early in 1932, the median wage of the more than 40,000 women
clerical work ers covered was $99 a month (about $22.85 a week),
and over four-fifths of them earned $15 or more a week. These
women were chiefly in banks and similar establishments, few being
in manufacturing plants or stores. This was during the depth of the
depression. The lowest paid were in publishing houses, with a
median of $87 ($20 weekly). However, two-thirds of these women
received $75 or more a month (at least $17.30 a week). 10
Tabulations were made for nearly 3,000 women in St. Louis and
for over 6,000 in Philadelphia, both of which would be cities of the
size to which the $15 minimum in codes for banks, investment houses,
and so forth, establishments in which workers are primarily in office
occupations, would apply. In St. Louis about 70 percent and in
Philadelphia about 76 percent of those reported had a weekly wage of
$17 .30 or more in this period of extreme depression, and in each of
these cities practically nine-tenths of the women reported earned
$15 or more.
If the code for bankers and four other 11 codes for workers primarily
in office occupations be considered, it is found that in each case the
highest minimum fixed, that for the largest cities, was at least $15
($16 in the case of stock exchanges and investment bankers), while
in all these codes the minim um for the smaller towns r an as low as
$14, no minimum being fixed in places below 2,500.
A study, including clerical workers, made in Los Angeles in 1929,
showed m edian yearly earnings, the lowest of which would correspond
to about $23.63 for 52 weeks.12 Even these earnings were far from
high in this year of prosperity, since the year's earnings in seven
g These were said to cover some 90 percent of the workers in manufacturing.
10 U.S. D epar tment of Labor. Women 's Bureau. The Employment of Women in Offices. Bul. 120,
1934, p. 3.
11 Investment bankers; mutual savings banks; stock exchanges, savings, building, and loan associations.
12 U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, Aug. 1931, p. 125.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
60
EMPLOYED WO 1EN UNDER
. R. A. CODES
clerical occupations known to be largely woman-employing ,rere
below the earnings of truck drivers.
Of course, minimum wa,ges are designed primarily to raise the
scale for the lowest paid of a group of employees, though the usual
experience has shown that they tend toward other raises as well.
In the case of office employees, the minima set appear little likely
t o effect advance, even though, as the Los Angeles data just referred
to indicate, clerical workers are in some instances one of the very
low paid groups.
Hour provisions
Some specific provision was made in regard to the hours of office
forces or of workers "other" than productive employees (see footnote
7, p. 57) , in well over half the codes containing labor provisions,
though half of those making some specifications as to hours allowed
for an average of so many a week over a longer period, some of these
fixing no limit for any one week and practically all the remainder
allowing 48 hours. 13 The largest employers of clerical workers, retail
trade and bankers (though the former does not mention office employees per se), provided maxima in the former of 40, 44, and 48
hours, and in the latter of 40 hours, averaged over a 13-week period
with no limit specified for a single week.
Among the codes fixing a 40-hour limit for clerical employees were
those for boot and shoe, cigar, electrical manufacture, and several
clothing and food codes such as blouse and skirt, coat and suit, dress,
candy, and canning.
In all, 135 of the codes that specified office or "other" workers
provided for an average for clerical employees of so many hours a
week over some period of time, almost always an average of 40 hours;
there were 32 additional codes that contained an arrangement for
averaging hours, which ostensibly would apply to the clerical as well
as the other workers under the code, because they were included with
"all workers" in the codes. Practically all the 135 codes either
fixed no limit to the length of any one week or allowed as long as
48 hours. Codes in which such limit was not fixed, though the average
length of the week was to be 40 hours, included those for cotton
textile, hosiery, underwear, infants' and children's wear, cotton
garment, and automobile.
Codes specifying office workers or "other" and allowing their hours
to average 40 a week, but setting a limit of 4.8 in any single week,
included among others those for farm equipment, wool textile, 14 knitted
outerwear, and a number of the paper products codes. Almost twice
as inany codes fixed a limit to productive employees' hours as provided
. any maximum for clerical forces (other than by implication), as the
following summary shows.
1a Hours were specifically provided for clerical workers in 274 of the 491 codes, 241 of these fixing a limit,
40 hours in 117 cases (longer in all but 2 other cases); provisions for averaging hours were contained in 135
codes, 102 limiting them in most cases to 48 in a single week but 33 fixing no limit.
H By amendment of J an. 23, 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
•
61
CODE PROVISIONS FOR OFFICE WORKERS
Number of codes that bad hour provisions !orOffice workers
Weekly hours provided in codes
Productive
workers
Some provigion in code __ ___ ____ __________________ _
_____ ,_____ ___
,
Limit fixed : 3
Under 40 hours a week ____ _____________ _______
40 hours a week________ __ ________ ________ ______
Over 40, under 48 hours a week ________________
48 hours a week____ ____________________ ___ _____
Over 48 (includes 56) hours a week_____ ______ __
Different schedules_________ _________ __ ________
Hours averaged____ ____________________________ ____
Some limit_ ___ ___ __________ ___________ __ ______
No limit__ _________ _________ _________ _____ _____
Only as "all
workers" (or
some such
phrase)
Specific
mention in
code 1
2
489
274
24
350
11
60
4
22
2
117
19
97
0
6
81
135
1 -- - -- 1 - - - --
63
18
102
33
'rota!
212
486
2
4164
8
26
4
281
27
123
1
12
,,
1
6
32
167
27
5
129
38
11-- -
No hour provision _______ _________ ____ ____ __ _______ __________ __ ___ __ _________ __ _____ ___ ___ _______ _____ _
2
1
3
4
Specifically excluded____ __ __________ _________ _____
1
2
3
4
Clerical or office workers or "other'" mentioned specifically in code.
1 code provided for clerical but not for productive.
Limits for the week in codes in which hours averaged are included.
Includes 1 code which covered only employment on hourly rate.
Of the codes fixing an hour maximum for productive employees,
about 72 percent set a 40-hour limit; but of those making some such
provision specifically for clerical forces, only 43 percent provided a
40-hour maximum. An allowance of 48 hours was made for clericai
workers in over one-third of the codes making provision for them, bu t
weeks of this length or longer were permitted only in a little over onetenth of the _codes limiting the working time of productive employees.
A study by the omen's Bureau of nearly 100 of the earlier codes,1 5
comparing for each code the hours provided for factory or "all"
employees with those definitely specified for clerical, office, or "other"
workers, indicates that practically one-fourth fixed a definite hour limit
for office employees that permitted them to work a longer week than
productive employees, including such codes as those for men's clothing
and electrical supplies. Further, in more than one-third of these
codes the factory employee's work was limited to 40 hours each week
while the clerical worker's week averaged 40 and .c ould be much longer
in some weeks ; such was the case in the cotton-textile and hosiery
codes. Such averaging provisions, allowing some very long weeks or
for the most part no weekly limit, also were contained in those codes
under which most occupations were of a clerical nature, such as those
for banks of various types and building and loan associations. In a
very few cases, as in the motor-bus code, the hours of clerical employees
were shorter than those for other branches of the work.
,v
15
These were said to cover some 90 percent of the workers in manufacturing.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part VII.-PROVISIONS OF SELECTED CODES FOR
IMPORTANT WOMAN-EMPLOYING INDUSTRIES
Up to the present point the provisions of the codes as a whole in
relation to wages, hours, and a number of other subjects have been
considered. The section of the report that follows gives attention
to certain particular codes for industries important in woman
employment.
Great care needs to be exercised against too positive a statement
as to any general or wide-spread conclusions from the fragmentary
data as yet available. Comparisons of the situation in November
1934 with that in July 1933 from the available sources of data indicate
increased employment in some of the important woman-employing
industries, though so far as figures by sex are available the extent
of this is shown to be less for women than for men. Wages showed
improvement in most industries employing many women, and there
is no doubt that they had increased considerably for many women.
Hours on the whole were very much shorter than previous schedules,
though in many instances they were decidedly longer than hours
· actually worked in the months just prior to code adoption.
The method used in analyzing material for this section of the
report has been to show the importance of the industry as a woman
employer; the wages received and the hours worked before the code,
from such sources as available; the minimum wages and the maximum hours provided in. the code; and such changes in wages and in
hours in connection with those in employment as can be found
from available periodic reports and sometimes from special surveys.
In comparing precode with postcode wages, changes in pay-roll indexes
and in per capita earnings are used. Hourly rates have been avoided.
Naturally their advance has had to be great with the radical shortening of hours, but this gives no indication of whether or not the worker
actually has received more, unless it be taken in connection with hours
worked. Consequently, per capita weekly earnings are likely to give
the truer picture of what the wage earner received.
In the case of a number of these industries, Women's Bureau investigations prior to the code form the most fruitful source of information as to woman employment, and in a few instances surveys have
been conducted by State departments of labor. 1 Field investigation
is a process necessarily consuming a great amount of time, and if it
were to cover several industries in a number of parts of the country
its conduct would require a very large force of persons over a considerable period, followed by the long processes of tabulation and analysis,
before any information could result. The few such surveys available
1 Material cited from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New York studies usually had appeared in the
monthly publications of their departments of labor; that of t he Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Monthly
Labor Review or in its published reports of special industries; Massachusetts data are taken from mimeographed material of the State labor department.
62
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTAN'l' INDUSTRIES
63
have been cited. While awaiting a fuller quota of such first-hand
data, it proves of considerable value to bring together in one place
such current information as may be available from various sources in
connection with important woman-employing industries.
The only data on industrial wages and employment that are collected and published regularly by sex are the monthly reports of the
New York State Department of Labor. These give, by sex, average
weekly earnings and indexes of total pay rolls and of employment
based on June 1923 as 100. Those for the more important womanemploying industries in the State are shown for selected months of
1933 and 1934 in table IV-A in the appendix of the present study.
It would be natural to think of the periodic reports to code authorities as furnishing information as to code results on hours and wages.
However, with a few scattering exceptions, these have not been made
available publicly. 2 Provisions in codes requiring them varied widely;
few specified that the data be furnished by sex; many, perhaps the
majority, merely stated that reports should contain the "information
necessary" or be "as the Administrator requires"; the tendency in
many cases was to provide full material as to the trade-practice provisions, while the wage, employment, and hour data were summarized
much more briefly, and wage figures frequently were given by the
hour rather than the week, or were shown only as pay-roll totals or
by general averages, and most frequently not by sex.
Indications as to the situation in various woman-employing industries are given by the reports published monthly, though not by sex,
by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. These include per
capita weekly earnings; indexes of employment and pay rolls based
on the average of 1923-25 as 100 for manufacturing industries, and
the average of 1929 as 100 for nonmanufacturing industries; and average weekly man hours. This material is shown for selected months
in tables IV-A and Vin the appendix. AveraJge hourly earnings also
are available, but from the worker's point of view an advance or a
decline in the weekly rather than the hourly wage is of primary
importance.
A number of State departments of labor publish regular monthly
data not classified by sex, and these have been examined for important
woman-employing industries. Those for selected months from three
large industrial States are shown in appendix table IV, sections B,
D, and E, as follows:
Massachusetts: Average weekly earnings, and indexes of employment and pay
rolls based on 1925-27 as 100 for manufacturing industries, and September 1931
as 100 for nonmanufacturing industries.
Pennsylvania: Average weekly earnings, and indexes of employment and pay
rolls based on 1923-25 as 100.
Wisconsin: Average per capita weekly earnings.
Monthly figures have been U$ed here for July 1933 and November
1934. March 1933 has not been used because conditions were so
disrupted at that time as not to be representative even of a depression
period. July indexes for 1933 ordinarily were above those for March
of that year, and represent the upturn incident to increased operations
2 In many instances it was specified that the data be confidential. While Government labor reports
ordinarily are confidential as to particular firms, this should nQt me&n l~ck Qf avail&bility of material as a
whole by sex Qr Qther classific:;ttiOJl needed.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
64
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
and the expectation of improved conditions. 3 Hence comparisons
based on July 1933, while they ordinarily show that striking advances
were made to the fall of 1934, are moderate in that they do not represent the rise from the greatest depths of depression and thus may be
considered the more representative of the advances that might be
expected to prove more stable. In the cases of some industries,
whose codes were approved very late, other months may be used. In
some cases where it seemed more desirable to show the full year,
February 1933 and February 1934 are used to avoid the extremity of
March 1933; for some codes this could not be done because they were
not approved until February.
The discussion following includes the codes listed below, and a
summary of provisions of these and a few other codes for important
woman-employing industries will be found as to wages in chart I facing
page 15 and as to hours in chart II facing page 36. 4
Retail trade
Certain textile industries
Cotton textile industry
Hosiery industry
Silk textile industry
Wool textile industry
Four service industries
Hotel industry
Restaurant industry
Laundry trade
Barber shop and beauty shop industry 5
Certain clothing industries
Blouse and skirt manufacturing
Coat and suit industry
Certain clothing industries-Contd.
Cotton garment industry
Dress manufacturing industry
Infants' and children's wear industry
Men's clothing industry
Undergarment and negligee industry
Boot and shoe manufacturing industry
Certain food industries
Baking industry
Candy manufacturing industry
Canning industry
Meat packing industry o
RETAIL TRADE
The code for retail trade, approved October 21, 1933, covered an
industry found in every State and in cities and towns of all sizes.
It affected more workers in more different localities than any other
code approved. Though it is not possible to tell the exact numbers of
women included, some indications can be gained.
From the census of distribution of 1930 it has been estimated that
over 2,300,000 persons might have come under the code for retail trade,
over 1,000,000 of them being women. However, many of these did
not come under the code, since an Executive order of October 23, 1933,
excepted small establishments in small towns 7 from its wage and hour
provisions. A later Executive order (May 15, 1934) exempted from
code hour and wage provisions all stores in towns of less than 2,500. 8
The census of occupations in 1930 reported nearly 706,000 saleswomen and women ''clerks" in stores, more than were in any of the
3 The index of production of all manufactures was 47.4 in March 1933, 85.1 in July 1933. The increase
prior to N. R. A. can be attributed partly to results of work of other Government agencies and partly to
increase in production in anticipation of increased labor costs under N. R. A. See report of Donald R.
Richberg, Executive Secretary of the Executive Council, Aug. '27, 1934.
4 See also chart IV facing p. 89 for such data as to codes for additional clothing industries.
~ Beauty shop code not approved.
6 Code not approved.
7 E stablishments employing 5 persons or less in towns of less than 2,500 population not within the immediate trade area of a large city.
8 The coverage of this order was more specifically interpreted by the Administrator on Aug. 6, 1934.
While it included all general retail-trade establishments, it did not include those under certain supplementary codes whose operations extended over a relatively wide area and served a number of communities,
as for example, retail lumber, building material, gasoline, and farm equipment. The great bulk of the
women in retail trade are not in such establisbments.
·
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SELEC'l'ED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
65
large manufacturing or service industries, and indeed over half again
as many as were engaged in the largest manufacturing group, that of
the textile industries. In addition, over 350,000 clerical workers were
reported in wholesale and retail trade establishments. Further, more
than 110,000 women were reported as retail dealers, many of whom,
while they would not be affected by the code as regards their own
hours and receipts, would, where their establishments were of sufficient
size and located in places of at least 2,500, be subject as employers to
code regulations.
Of the various codes covering retail selling, that for retail trade may
be considered virtually the master code, the one covering by far the
greatest number of workers, especially a very large proportion of the
women doing inside selling. Among other codes, many of which
had very similar provisions, were those for retail jewelry, retail food
and grocery, retail lumber and building supplies, and others.
Hours
Under the code, hours of store employees were shortened somewhat,
though by no means to so great an extent as in some of the manufacturing groups that adopted a 40-hour week and that in some branches
had been working very long hours before codification, such, for
example, as certain of the textile industries.
The retail code was unique in fixing maximum hours of work for
employees in three groups according to operating hours of the store.
Employers could elect to come under any one of these groups, as
follows:
A. Operating 52- 55 hours-Employees-A 40-hour week, an 8-hour day.
B. Operating 56- 62 hours-Employees-A 44-hour week, a 9-hour day.
C. Operating 63 hours or longer-Employees-A 48-hour week, a IO-hour day.
In any case, work was limited to 6 days a week. Extra hours could
be worked 1 day a week but the weekly maximum was not to be
exceeded. Overtime without extra pay was allowed for a limited
number of weeks at Christmas, inventory, or other peak seasons, and
this could make a day as long as 10 and a week of 56 hours for the
usual 48-hour-a-week employee. Shorter hours could be worked for
the 3 summer months, but without pay reduction. No provision was
made for clerical workers separate from that for sales forces.
The original code submitted provided for a 40-hour week. The
able brief presented by the Labor Advisory Board at the hearin~s
advocated that a week longer than 40 hours be not permitted m
places as large as 10,000. It was estimated that employment could
be increased over 40 percent, putting some 400,000 persons back to
work, if the maximum for all places of this size were limited to 40
hours.
Regular monthly reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for over
17,000 retail establishments show that in the first 6 months of 1933
operating hours were not longer than 45, and the same was the case
in the December peak in 1932. Reports of the same agency showed
shortening in average hours of work after adoption of the code, hours
in March 1934 being 39 as against 44.2 in July 1933.
Employment
By February 1934 employment was in some instances 10 or more
points above February 1933; in November 1934 it stood at 84 percent
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
66
EMPLOYEb WOMEN tJNDER N . R . A . CObES
of the average for 1929. The indexes of employment showing these
increases, none of which is given by sex, are as follows: 9
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (average 1929=100) _____ ____
Massachusetts (September 1931=100) ____ ______________
Pennsylvania (average 1923-25=100) ________ _____ ______
1
February
July
February
November
1933
1933
1934
1934
73. 4
85. 2
74. 6
84. 4
83. 8
87. 3
90.3
105. 6
83. 7
89. 5
92. 7
(1)
Not available.
Wages
Judged by previous standards the minimum wages established for
employees in stores were low. Wages were fixed not only according to the number of hours the store elected to operate but by
size of city, and for 16 southern States and the District of Columbia
they were set at $1 less than elsewhere, except in the smallest cities
where there was no fixed minimum. 10 Weekly wages of those receiving
above the minimum were not to be reduced. The same rates applied
to clerical as to sales forces. For the North the schedule was a,s
follows:
Size of city
Minimum weekly wage in North
where hours of work in the week
were40
44
48
Over 500,000 _________ ___
$14
$14. 50
$15
100,000 to 500,QOO ____ ____
13
13. 50
14
25,000 to 100,000 _______ __
12
12. 50
13
2,500 to 25,000 _________ __ Minimum $10 (increase 20 percent
of June 1, 1933, wages up to $11).
Less than 2,500 _________ No m inimum fixed .
Juniors and apprentices could be paid $1 less than the code minimum, and their number was limited. A junior meant an employee
under 18 years of age; an apprentice was an employee with less than
6 months' experience. None under 16 years of age could be employed, except that those 14 or 15 could work for 3 hours a day on
6 days or for 8 hours on 1 day in the week, not to begin before 7 a. m.
nor end after 7 p. m., and not to interfere with their day school, and
that they could not deliver merchandise from motor vehicles.
That the minimum wages provided in the code were very low for
this industry and that large proportions of the women in such work
were earning considerably more prior to the code adoption is indicated by data from Women's Bureau surveys, some of which are as
follows:
»New York reports for manufacturing industries only.
1°For an estimate as to the numbers of women affected by wage differentials in this industry according
to size of city and to geographic area, see table 1, and discussion on p. 28, pt. III.
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SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
State
Arkansas, 1932_
Week's earnings of all white women
workers reported
Minimum wage fixed in code for
largest cities (North and South)
early 70 percent of the women
in general mercantile ( only 3
egro women reported) and
about 5 percent of those in
limited-price stores earned $12
or more in the depression year
1932.
(No city of 100,000 or more
Highest,
population. )
$11-$12.
Florida, 1928 __
(No city of over 500,000
Highest,
population.)
$12- $13.
Texas, 1932 __ _
o city of over 500,000
Highe st,
population.)
$12-$13.
North Dakota,
1931.
(r o city of 100,000 or more
Highest,
population.)
$12-$13.
67
Slightly more than three-fourths
of the saleswomen in general
mercantile stores earned $14
or m ore .
1
early one-half of the women
in department and ready-towear and about 15 percent of
tho e in limited-price chain
stores earned 13 or more in
the depression year 1932.
In general stores about 80 percent
and in 5-and-10-cent stores
about 47 percent earned $13
or more in the depression year
1931.
Other reports a to women's ,,vages in this industry show that in a special study
in Pennsylvania in 1926 11 and a Texas State report issued in 1930, 12 respectively
35 percent and 60 percent of the women were earning $15 or more.
Women's Bureau findings also show that the fixing of a lower wage
in the South was not justified, since wages paid in this industry in
the South have compared more than favorably with those elsewhere.
In surveys of 13 States made by the Women's Bureau over a period
of years the median earnings of the white women full-time workers
reported in general mercantile establishments were highest in a
southern, lowest in a northern State. Of these women 79 percent in
this one southern State had earned $15 or mor , as had 70 percent of
those in a northern State. In five other States in th South from
52 to 62 percent-in a city in one of the e as many as 66 p ercent- had
11 Pennsylvania. Department of Labor and Industry . Bureau of Women and Children. Special
Bui. No. 13, 1926, p. 11.
u Texas. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Biennial Report, 1928-30, p. 31.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
68
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
such earnings, while in four other States not in the South only from
24 t o 53 percent had received $15 or more, as the following list shows: 13
General mercantile establishments
State
Median earnings
offull•time
workers
Alabama.····------ -- --· --Arkansas ____ .. -·-·-· _·- -- __
Delaware. __ __ ..... . .... ___ .
Georgia __ ··--·--·-·-·-···- ·
Atlanta __ ··- - -·-·- - -- ·Other places __ ______ . __ _
Kentucky ___ ·--_-----· ·-- __
~:~~¥~!=================
New Jersey... --------·-- · --
Ohio. ____ _-- . -- .. -- ---· ---·
Oklahoma·- -----·-·----·--·
Rhode Island .. __________ . __
South Carolina.. _____ . ___ --·
Tennessee __ . ________ --· ___ _
Percent of full·
time workers
earning $15 and
over
$12. 80
15. 58
12.03
16.54
17. 38
15. 16
12. 21
15. 52
15. 09
17. 28
15.18
18. 15
13. 90
15. 65
15. 13
The brief presented by the Labor Advisory Board at the hearing
on the retail-trade code gave figures indicating that wage payments
form a relatively small ratio to sales and could be advanced considerably without a proportionally great price increase to the consumer .14
Even in the 5-and-10-cent and other limited-price stores, in which
it would be expected that the wages paid women would be at least
as low as in any branch of the industry, Women's Bureau findings
show that large proportions of women, whatever the section of the
country, earned the highest code minimum ($15, which was for a
48-hour week for northern States) or more. 15
Of the women repor ted in such stores in 1928, in 18 States (10 of
them in the South as defined by the code) and in 5 large cities, about
one-third had earned $15 or more, half earned as much as $13. The
smallest proportions of the women paid above the minimum were in
places of 25,000 and under 100,000. Nearly half the women in this
lowest-paying group of stores-the cheaper-selling chain department
stores-had earned at least the highest code minimum for northern
States, as the following shows:
Size of city
Code
minimum
(North)
Women who had earned high•
est minimum or more
Amount
Percent of
women
TotaL _______ . ____ ----
$10 to $15
$15 or more ... ___
45. 2
500,000 and over..•.. -- -···
100,000 to 500,000... · -- · --·
25,000 to 100,000__ ·-· ---·- 10,000 to 25,000••• _. ____ ___
14 to 15
13 to 14
12 to 13
15 or more ......
14 or more.••.. 13 or more.•....
10 or more.... • _
58. 7
41. 6
27. 6
49. 7
10
13 U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Wages of Women in 13 States. Bul. 85, pp. 194
and 196.
14 The brief stated that in none of the groups submitting the code was the ratio of wage cost to sales-0ver
15 percent, and hence that even if total wages increased 50 percent [a most unlikely supposition] prices
should not advance more than 8 cents for every dollar now charged .
14 U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau.
Women in 5·and·10·cent Stores and Limited•Price
Chain Department Stores. Bul. 76, 1930, p . 56.
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69
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
After the code, workers in stores had but slight advance.in wages
and some cases even showed decline. No periodic data are available
by sex, since the New York reports are only for manufacturing industries. For selected months, the available periodic figures (which are
not by sex) are as follows:
Average weekly earnings
Source
Bureau of L a bor Statistics __________________ __________ _
Massach usetts __ __ _____ _____ ___ _________________ ____ __ _
P ennsylvania ____ ____________________ _____ _________ ___ _
·wisconsin ____ _____________ ____ __ _________ ____________ _
February
1933
July 1933
February
1934
$19. 45
$18. 94
$19. 79
19. 69
19.15
15. 17
19. 64
19. 55
19. 02
14.17
18. 57
13. 98
November
1934
$19. 94
19.38
19. 76
13. 48
The indexes of total pay-roll amounts show some increase, slightly
less than the employment increase; by November 1934 pay rolls still
were less than 62 percent of the 1929 level, and in one State not so
much as 86 percent of the low level of the fall of 1931. The indexes
are as follows:
Source
Bureau of L abor Statistics (average 1929=100) ___ _____ _
Massachusetts (September 1931 = 100) ______ _________ ___
Pennsyl vania (average 1923- 25= 100) ___________ ____ ___ _
1
Februar y
1933
58. 4
76. 5
88. 3
July 1933
58.1
76. 1
88. 0
February
1934
67. 7
84. 8
105. 5
ovember
1934
61. 8
85.1
(I)
Not available.
CERTAIN TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
The census of 1930 reported 1,000,000 operatives and laborers in
the various textile mills, almost half of these being women. These
industries alone employ nearly one-fourth of all the women in manufacturing. Consequently the content and results of codes covering
them are of primary importance in the field of woman employment.
The largest branch-the cotton textile-employs more women than
any other single manufacturing industry, and the second and fourth
in size also are in this group-knit goods and silk. Further, the
textile industries employ well over 30,000 women in the three chief
clerical occupations.
The cotton code, because of the basic character of the industry and
because it was the first to be prepared (approved July 9, 1933),
attracted great attention throughout the country. By the end of
August 1933 codes had been approved for hosiery, rayon and synthetic yarn (rayon weaving was included under the cotton-textile
code), and woolen textiles. These were followed by a code for underwear in September 1933, for silk in October, and for upholstery and
drapery textiles in November. That for rayon and silk dyeing and
printing was not approved until late in December.
These industries are concentrated largely in the New England,
the southern, and the Atlantic States. According to the 1931 census of
manufactures somewhat over 60 percent of the wage earners in cotton
manufacture are in four southern States; practically 46 percent of
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
70
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
those in silk mills are in Pennsylvania, and this proportion is brought
to nearly 90 percent if New York, New Jersey, and three New England
States be added. About 65 percent of those in woolen and worsted
mills are in New England, and if Pennsylvania and New Jersey be
added,slightlymore than80 percent are accounted for; in the hosiery
industry about 40 percent are in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, about 35 percent are in five southern States, about 6 percent
are in Wisconsin, and the remainder are scattered.
Hours
The maximum hours fixed in these codes were very muph shorter
than were the standards that had prevailed before. They established
the principle of the 40-hour week for employees in productive processes. Some limited plant operating time, as for example those for
cotton, silk, and woolen goods and for hosiery (with certain exceptions
over a period of practically 6 months in mills making special products) ,1 6 which permitted only two shifts of 40 hours in the week.17
Under the hosiery code, hours were to average 40 a week, but with a
5-day week specified. 18
Clerical workers ordinarily were provided for by an average of
40 hours over a specified period, in hosiery 6 months, in underwear
1 month, in wool (by amendment) 13 weeks, in silk 12 weeks, in the
last two with a weekly limit of 48 hours. The Executive order
approving the cotton textile code provided that "office employees be
included within the benefits of the code." The rayon and syntheticyarn code made no specification as to clerical workers.
These hours for the productive forces were very much shorter than
those scheduled in cotton mills in three States surveyed by the
Women's Bureau in the spring of 1932. At that time the weekly
hour schedules prevailing were 54 in Maine and 55 in South Carolina
and in Texas, and in each of these States more than 45 percent of the
women with hours and earnings reported (considerably more than
45 percent in two of the States) had worked at least 45 hours, in
South Carolina more than a fourth having worked 55 hours or longer. 19
A Pennsylvania report on silk mills in October 1932 showed that
almost half the women surveyed were working more than 48 hours,
1 in 4 of them 53 hours or longer. 20
These industries were characterized by great irregularity of work;
while some plants were running such excessively long schedules,
this also was a period when many mills were running part time, and
women reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in special studies
made chiefly in the first half of 1932 were working, on the average,
hours shorter than the code maximum in hosiery, underwear, and
16 Full-fashioned footing equipment only 1 shift of 40 hours during 6 months, except where it was operated
2 shifts on July 24, 1933, in which case each shift should be only 35hours, with pay equal to 40 hours; amendment Feb. 2, 1934 made the 2 shifts 36 hours. Makers of hosiery at least 20 percent wool were allowed by
the code 3 shifts for knitters until the close of 1933, then 2 shifts.
17 These 5 days were to be Monday to Friday inclusive, except in States where 2 shifts made t his in
conflict with a night-work law, in which case 4 hours could be worked Saturday (by amendment of Feb. 5,
1934 6 Saturday hours ending at noon).
18 For a somewhat fuller discussion of the restrictions on plant operation in the cotton and other codes
seep. 43 of part IV.
1g U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Hours, Earnings, and Employment in Cotton
Mills. Bul. 111, 1933, p. 60 ff.
20 Pennsylvania. Department of Labor and Industry. Bureau of Women and Children. Hours and
Earnings in the Textile and Clothing Industries in Pennsylvania. October 1932,
·
·
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
71
SELECTED CODti;S FOR IMPORTA T INDUSTRtES
woolen plant's, 44.3 hours in the making of rayon and synthetic
yarn, and 42.2 hours in cotton mills. Men's hours averaged between
43 and 48 in each of these industries. 21 In the Women's Bureau
study previously referred to, though many women were working
long hours, well over one-tenth of those with earnings and hours
reported had worked less than 30 hours. 19
Periodic data on hours of work for women are not available, but
the regular reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published in
the Monthly Labor Review, show that from July 1933, when some
mills had increased operations beyond their depression standards, .to
November 1934, the average actual hours of employees (men and
women combined) had decreased radically, as follows:
Industry
July 1933
Cotton goods __________________________________________________ ________ ____ ____ _
Knit goods _________________________________ _____ ___ ___ ________ -- -- -- --- - - -- ----Woolen and worsted __________________ __________ _________________________ ______ _
Silk and rayon ___________________ ____________________ ________________________ __ _
November
1934
48. 9
45. 9
49. 0
41.8
33. 9
34. 9
33. 3
34. 4
Reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics as to extent of full-time
operation, published in the Monthly Labor Review, indicate that a
considerable shortening of hours had to take place if employment was
to be increased to any notable extent. Average full-time operation
of all p]ants reporting was 90 percent or more of normal time in most
months in the year ending June 30, 1933, in knit goods, silk and r ayon,
and woolen and worsted factories. In cotton mills it was above
90 percent in 5 months and above 85 percent in 4 others.
Employment
The important question in connection with shortened hours is the
extent to which employment had increased. It will be remembered
that July figures ordinarily represent some advance in operations from
the lowest stage of the depressiqn. 22
The only periodic data available as to changes in women's employment are the monthly New York indexes. These show that while
there was an important increase for both sexes in silk mills, in two
other textile industries employment had declined.
Women
Industry
July 1933
Silk and silk goods _-------------------- ------------ - -Woolens, carpets, and fel t_ ____ __ ____ ___ __ _____ ______ __
Knit goods, except silk ___ ___ __ ______ __________________
39
63
60
Men
November
1934
63
42
54
July 1933
75
80
67
November
1934
93
58
67
Bureau of Labor Statistics data (not by sex) show, from July 1933
to November 1934, employment declines in the chief textile groups
with the exception of knit goods; and declines also are shown by
Massachusetts figures.
a
21
22
See footnote 19, p . 70.
See footno te 29, p . 77.
Seep. 63-64.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
72
EMPLO YED WOME
UNDE il N . R . A . CODES
Wages
With such reductions in hours, how were wages affected by the
textile codes'? The answer is that the available reports for the
v ~:rious textile industries, whether for women alone or for men and
wom en combined, showed decided increases from ,July 1933 to November 1934 in average earnings or in per capita earnings except in
woolen and worst ed mills. R eports as to total pay-roll amounts in
these industries showed advances in some cases, though there were
employment declines in the chief textile groups from whatever source
reported, with the exception of knit goods in some cases.
F rom available d at a it appears that the wages of women increased
more t han did those of men, or that they declined less than men's,
though it must be remembered that in some cases they h ad gained less
than men in employment or had even lost somewhat, and that for the
most part their scale of earnings h as been very low in these industries,
and still is below that of men.
T he codes for cotton, hosiery, silk, and underwear fixed a minimum
wage of $13 in the North, $12 in the South. 23 That for rayon and
synthetic yarn set a minimum of $13. That for woolen manufacture
placed the northern rate at $14, the southern at $13. In that for
hosiery a minimum was set sep arately for the full-fashioned and the
seamless divisions of the industry, and furthe.r , within each of these
two divisions, by classes containing certain specified occupations.
I ndustrial home work also was prohibited in this code unless a permit
were granted for exception by the code authority. Thus a minimum
rate was fixed for practically every type of worker in the industry.
A further safegu ard specified that knitters should not, be required to
pay their own h elpers. The minimum r ates r anged from $12 for a
number of occupations in the South to $27 .50 for footers and leggers
on " 51-g age machines and above " in the North, and with an $8
provision for all learners in their first 3 months. The classes containing most women's occupations h ad · minimum r ates r anging from
$12 in the South to $15 in the N or th. Seamless hosiery workers'
wages ranged from $13 t o $18 in the North, $12 to $16.25 in the
South, and still $8 for learners for their first 3 months. This is the
only one of these codes t h at made a regular provision for clerical
workers, which was done under an '' all employees not specified''
clause fixing $13 in t he N orth, $12 in the South. (See also statement
for cot ton textile code under section on hours in ·the present report,
pages 44 and 70.)
Learners for a 6-week period wer e excepted from any minimum in
the cot ton t extile code, and in that for the silk industry they had to
be paid at least 80 percent of the minimum and could not exceed 5
percent of the employees. The hosiery code fixed a lower wage for
them fo r a 3-month period in the industry, whether consecutive or
not, and whether with one or more employers. The cotton code
excepted low-p aid cleaners and outside workers until further study,
and an amendment of D ecember 27, 1933, fixed their minimum at 75
percent of th at provided in the code for other workers.
T he hosiery and the cot ton code (the latt er by amendment) allowed
handicapped workers, up to 5 percent of the productive employees,
23
III.
For an estimate of number of women affected by the lower wage in the Sout h see table I on p . 18, part
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPOR'l'ANT I NDUS'rRIES
73
to be paid as little as 80 percent of the code wages. The silk code
permitted 1 percent of the workers to be paid as low as $8 on this
basis. However, the Preaident's order of February 1934 required
<,uch workers to be certified by a proper State authority designated
by the United States Department of Labor.
Considering the wage level prior to code adoption, from reports
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and of several States, it is found
that the average ea.r nings of women fu]d-time workers in cotton mills
in 1932 were, for the most part, above the code wage in the North,
below in the South. Wages of women in hosiery plants also were
above the code in most States, and a Pennsylvania State survey
showed 'the average only a little above the code wage. Women's
average earnings in woolen manufacture in 1932 were above the code
wage except in the southern district; and in New York in July 1933
women also were earning, on the average, less than the code minimum.
In the manufacture of rayon and synthetic yarn, the average earnings of women in 1932 were slightly above the code wage, but the
average earnings of women in factories making silk goods were below,
as reported in Pennsylvania in 1932 and in New York in July 1933,
though Bureau of .Labor Statistics data showed average full-time
earnings in 1931 considerably above the code wage.
These indications as to the earnings of women in various textile
industries prior to code adoption are presented here:
Women's Bureau surveys of cotton mills in 1932 showed women's median
earnings for full-time workers to be $13 in Maine, $11.10 in Texas, and $9.65 in
South Carolina. Half the women surveyed earned more, half less, than this.
Of the South Carolina women 20 percent, of those in Texas 27 percent, and of those
in Maine 42 percent, earned at least the code wage for a week of 40 hours or
more.
In New York State average weekly earnings of women reported in July 1933
were $10.47 in silk and silk goods ; $12.43 in woolens, carpets, and felt; and $12.66
in knit goods.
Surveys made by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry in the
fall of 1932 showed that women who worked over 48 hours in silk mills had m edian
earnings of $11.94; in hosiery plants, of $13.83, with over one-fifth of the latter
receiving less than $10.
Special studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1932 showed average fulltime weekly earnings of women in 5 industries as follows: 24
Code minimum
Average earnings
Cotton:
North $13. -$12.40 for women in 11 States, and above $13 in 6 of these, all
South $12. in the North, and below $12 in 4 others, all in the South.
Hosiery:
North $13. -$15.10 for women in 15 States or groups of States, and above
South $12. $13 in 10 of these and below $11.50 in 3. In their three most
important occupations, from at least 24 to 39 percent of the
women actually had earned more than the code minimum, a nd
from 16 to about 30 percent recei ved amounts considerably over
the minimum. 25
•
24 See Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletins numbered as follows: No. 568 (silk ana rayon, 1931); and for
1932 data, no. 584 (woolen and worsted), no. 587 (rayon and other synthetic yarn) , no. 591 (hosiery and
underwear). For cotton data (1932) see Monthly Labor Review, July 1932.
26 These data are as follows, see table E, p. 92ff. of bul. 591 cit.: BoardP,rs-Of 726 women. 28.4 percent
received $18 or more, 37.5 percent earned $16 or over; code minimum, Nortn $17, South $15.50. Loopersof 3,700 women, 16.3 percent earned $16 or over, 23. 7 percent recei ved $14 or more; code minimum, North $15,
South $13.50. Menders-of 1,661 women, 29.6 percent received $16 or more, 39.5 percent earned $14 or more;
code minimum, same as for loopers.
1182 °- 35--6
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
74
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Code minimum
Rayon and other
synthetic yarn:
$13.
Silk and rayon
(1931):
North $13.
South $12.
Woolen and worsted goods:
North U4.
South $13.
Average earnings
-$13.47 for women in 3 districts, from $13.04 to $15.09 in
the various districts reported, that for the southern district being $13.04.
-$16.75, for women in 11 States or groups of States, and
above $13 in all but 2 of these.
-$16.35 for women in 9 States and a southern district, and
above $14 in 9 of these and $11.71 in the southern district.
In 6 of their most important occupations, from one-fourth
to about seven-tenths of the women actually had earned
$14 or more. 26
In regard to wage advances after the codes, the available data
show for some of the textile industries considerable increases in wages
over some later periods, though certain branches of textiles and some
localities show declines. The extensive field study of cotton textile
wages made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and issued in February
1935 reaches the following conclusions:
Average weekly earnings rose from July 1933 to August 1933 in the North by
10 percent for males and 24 percent for females, and in the South by 21 percent
for males and 51 percent for females.
In August 1934, under the curtailment order which had covered three months,
weekly earnings in the North were 9 percent less than in August 1933, and were
18 percent less in the South.
.
In August 1934 average weekly earnings for males in the North and South were
no higher than they had been in July 1933. For females in the North they were
13 percent higher, and in the South were 25 percent higher.
Whether reported for women alone or for men and women combined,
data published periodically give the following showing from July 1933
to November 1934.
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for the whole country show
increases in all but woolen and worsted. New York figures show
increases in each industry. Wages had increased greatly in Wisconsin in hosiery and knit goods-the only textile industry reported
separately-and practically three-fourths of these workers in that
State being in hosiery mills. In knitwear, declines are shown in
Massachusetts and New York, though hosiery was the only one of all
these industries in which wages increased in Massachusetts. These
f cts are shown in the following summary:
26 For women receiving $14 or over, who were as follows, see table E, p. 60ff. of bulletin 584 cit.: Burlers,
2,455; 26.9 percent. Spool tenders, 1,218; 26 percent. Menders, 2,093; 45.2 percent. Frame spinners,
1,145; 53.8 percent. Drawing frame tenders, 1,858; 34.4 percent. Weavers, 1,082; 69.3 percent.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
75
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
Bureau or
Labor Statistics
New York
Industry
, vomen
July
1933
1934
July
1933
Pennsylvania
Men and worn- Men and worn- Men and wornen combined en combined en combined
Men
November
Massachusetts
November
1934
July
1933
NoNovember July
vember
1933
1934
----------
July
1933
1934
--
-
November
1934
- ----
Cotton ______ ____ ____ (1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
$11. 37 $12. 77 $13. 90 $13. 70 $16. 95
Knit goods ___ __ _____ 2$12. 66 2$12. 56 2$20. 94 2$20.10
12. 54
16. 55 14. 93 14. 42 3 13. 11
Hosiery ___ __ __ __
12. 88 19. 12
14. 67
-------------Silk __ ___________ 4 10. 47 4 14. 18 4 19. 58 4 22. 40 613. 36 6 15. 25 17. 40 15. 28
11. 17
16. 25 17. 94 16. 00
16. 99
16. 40
Woolen and worsted _ 6 12. 43 6 12. 59 6 21. 53 6 17. 59
$18. 31
17. 96
21. 43
14. 30
16. 59
Only a very small proportion of the employed women in the State are in this industry.
Except silk.
a Except hosiery.
4 And silk goods.
5 Includes rayon goods.
6 Includes carpets and felts.
1
2
Since women's wages had been on so low a scale, the advances for
employed women were greater than for men, though in some cases
their employment increased considerably less than that of men.
It follows that the differential between the wages of the two sexes
was quite definitely decreased, women's earnings in these industries
becoming nearer to those of men than was the case before code
adoption. However, despite these hopeful developments, women's
earnings still were below men's. In New York, where the data are
reported by sex, women's earnings in three textile industries in
November 1934 were not over 72 percent of men's. The figures are
as follows:
P ercent women's earnings formed of men's
inIndustry
July 1933
Silk and silk goods ___ ______ ______ ____ ___________ _______ _-- -- -- - _____ _---- - -- ---·w oolens, carpets, and felts ________________ __ ___________ _________ ___ _-- ____ ---- -Knit goods _____ __ ____ ____ ___ ______ ___ ______ _-- __-- __________ ---- ---- __-- _---- -- _
53. 5
57. 7
60. 5
ovembcr
1934
63. 3
71. 6
62. 5
To the individual worker the weekly earnings just described are of
primary importance. A greater indication of changes in the opportunity to earn is shown in reports of total pay-roll amounts. New
York furnishes the only indexes of these available by sex, and such
indexes show declines in women's pay rolls corresponding to their
employment decline in knit goods and in woolens, carpets, and felts,
and an advance in payments to women in silk mills greater than the
advance to men. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indexes
for the country as a whole show that from July 1933 to November
1934 pay rolls in textiles had advanced except for woolen and worsted
factories, and those in knit goods had surpassed their 1923- 25 level.
Marked increases are shown in Pennsylvania in the knit goods
industries. There were slight declines in cotton and in woolen and
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
76
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
worsted mills. The Massachusetts data show declines except in
knit goods and hosiery. The following summary shows the indexes
of pay rolls just discussed:
New York (June 1923=100)
Bureau
Pennsylvania
of Labor Statis- Massachusetts
(average
(average
tics (average
1925-27=100)
1923-25=100)
1923-25=100)
Industry
Women
July
1933
November
1934
Men and
women combined
Men
July
1933
November
July
1933
1934
1934
--- - - - -
November
··- - -
-
Men and
women combined
July
1933
November
Men and
women combined
1933
November
-
- --
July
1934
1934
--· - - -
Cotton _____ -- -- - -- -69. 0
75. 5
39. 8
35. 0
-------- ----- --- - ---- - -Knit goods ____ __ ____ - ------1 45
1 51
149
79. 0
107. 9 2 64. 2 2 69. 4
140
Hosiery ______ ___ - ---- - -- ---- ---- ----- --- ------ - - ------ - - ----- --- - --- --- -- ---- Silk __ _____ ____ ______
qo 5 56. 7 5 62. 3 5 97. 2 5 54. 5
q9
• 26
• 58
6 47
6 32
6 32
6 54
85, 7
Woolen and worsted_
70.1
53. 6
67. 7
3
41. 9
70. 8
53. 7
58. 7
71. 9
41.4
107.2
155.8
68.4
66 . 5
1 Except silk.
2 Hosiery and knit goods combined.
s Except hosiery.
• And silk goods.
5 Includes rayon goods.
o Includes carpets and felts.
Closely allied to the effort to shorten hours and ra1se wages is the
vexed set of problems arising from the speeding up that frequently
accompanies it. This is the attempt at a more scientific method of
production popularly known as the "stretch-out", and it forms a part
of the general process sometimes designated as "rationalization of
industry" 27 or efficiency engineering. In this connection the wool
textile code made the following provision:
Until adoption of further provisions . . . to prevent any improper speeding
up of work, no employee . . . shall be required to do any work in excess of
the practices as to the class of work of such employee prevailing July 1, 1933,
unless . . . approved by the Administrator.
The Executive order approving the cotton textile code specified
that there should be no "improper speeding up of the work to the
disadvantage of employees" beyond the "amount of work or production required of employees" on July 1, 1933.
The arrangement of a definite work load applicable in all plants
would be difficult if not impossible. Interviews with employers,
labor, and engineers, the three groups concerned, were had by the
Women's Bureau in 1933 and brought out this fact, which was stated
as follows in the summary of these interviews:
Because of the tremendous variations within a mill in the several elements of
the job it is very difficult t o set by law any general limit as to the number of looms
that a weaver can operate in a cot.ton mill. The variations in work, layout,
machinery, and divisions of jobs differ in each plant. With the same number of
looms the task set might be fair in some mills and far too heavy in others. In
order to determine a fair number of looms per weaver, a scientific measurement
should be made of the work to be done by the weavers in the individual mills on
the several fabrics they make, taking into consideration all the elements that
influence the job. A definitely set maximum number of looms might be perfectly
27 The term ''rationalization ' ' is more used in Great Britain and other European countries, while in this
country the process is more generall y known as efliciency engineering.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUS'fRIE S
77
fair where all the previous steps had been properly taken and the same number far
too m any without preparatory planning.
The problem of establishing a standard of the n umber of sides a spinner ca n
operate without undue fatigue is similar to that of setting the correct number of
loom s for a weaver. No definite number of sides can be set that will a pply wit h
equal fairness in all mills, because of the multiplicity of factors involved not only
in t he type of yarn manufactured but in the machinery and m ethod of operating
in differ ent m ills. The amount of piecing, creeling, a nd cleaning varies between
m ills and on different numbers of yarn. The yarn breakage is affected not only
by t he quality of the yarn desired and the condition of t he spinning frames but
by t he t ype of machines used and the engineering skill exercised in the picking
and carding operations.28
A special committee was at work in June 1933 studying the stretchout system. Its report, which was not made until the lat ter part of
July , pronounced against rigid formulas, a view which reflected also
the belief developed through 3 years of study of t his and allied problems by the Yale Institute of Human Relations. The committee
therefore proposed progressive study and developm ent of a "plan of
conference and consent by both employers and employees." 29
FOUR SERVICE INDUSTRIES
H otels, restaurants, laundries, and beauty parlors are t he fo ur important service industries. Hotels and restaurants combined employ
some 413,000 women, over half the entire number of workers in these
t wo industries and nearly as many women as are found in all textile
mills together, according to the census of 1930; they also engage more
t han 32,000 women in the chief clerical pursuits (see footno te 1,
table III). About 157,000 laundry operatives and laborers, about
12,000 clerical workers in laundries, and 113,000 barbers, hairdressers,
and m anicurists were reported by the census. These service group;:;
differ notably from most manufacturing industries in being widely
scattered geographically, appearing to some degree in every State in
t he Union.
The coverage of these large woman-employing industries by codes
was most inadequate, both as to time and as to certain provisions.
Their codes, with the exception of hotels, were not approved until
very late. For hotels a code was approved about the middle of
November 1933, which included employees of hotel rest auran ts until
after approval of the restaurant code, which did not go into effect
until February 1934. At least three-fourths of the women workers in
t he hotel and restaurant group are in restaurants. Moreover, as
stated in one N. R. A. release, "the hotel code has been a difficult
problem from its inception." Many exemptions were asked for, and
t he general reopening of the code was postponed at various times
for further study.
On both the laundry and the restaurant codes approval was delayed
until about the middle of February, more than seven months after
the adoption of the cotton-textile code. At about the same time
hearings were conducted on the code for beauty shops, but this was
not approved. A code was approved for barber shops, but not until
after t he middle of April 1934, and this did not cover t he majotity
2s U. S. D epartment of Labor. Women's Bureau . P amphlet : Memorandum on the P racticability of
Setting Maximum Standards of Work in Cotton Mills Operating Under the Stretch-Out System, 1933. p . 2.
29 For fuller citation of this report, see p. 44, part I V. A subsequent amendment to the cotton textile
code established N ational and State industrial relations boards designed for the work proposed. See also
Bureau of Labor Statistics Textile Report, part I (cotton) and part II (silk and rayon) , and part III (woolen
and worsted), February to April 1935, and reports of the Work Assignment Board on cotton, silk, and wool.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
78
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
of the women in the trade, who are in beauty parlors rather than barber shops.
An Executive order of May 15, 1934, excepted towns of under 2,500
not a part of a trade area of a large town from operation of any wage
or hour provisions in service industries (including laundries, hotels,
restaurants, barber and beauty shops, cleaning and dyeing) as well
as in general retail trade. This applied only to local firms not part
·
of a chain of three or more. 30
The Executive order approving the code for laundries contained a
provision that this should not come into effect in any district (to be
designated by the code authority) until at least 70 percent 31 of the
trade in that area should testify to the existence of "an emergency
productive of wide-spread unemployment." Such indication was to
be given by the "method of voting prescribed for the election of
the board of directors of the Laundryowners National Association."
Owing to this local-option feature, the code was for the most part
inoperative. On the 28th of June 1934 an administrative order made
its labor provisions n ational in scope, but the May Executive order
was issued prior to this. The approval in February was made for a
period of 90 days, within which time the minimum wages established
were to be given more study and reported upon with recommenda. tions for a further order. In June and thereafter this approval was
extended by a succession of additional stays. 32
In addition to the fact that these industries came under codes very
late, or not at all, and that shortly after approval all the small towns
were excepted from their operations, t he provisions of the codes
scarcely were such as to promise much gain in either employment or
wages. The maximum hours allowed, though they were considerably shorter in some cases than prior practices in these industries,
were longer than those that were being worked just previous to code
adoption.
·
The weekly hours permitted were much longer than those for textile mills, except for laundries, being 54 in hotels and for men in restaurants, 48 in barber shops and for women in restaurants, with
liberal amounts of overtime allowed and no specific provision for
extra pay for such overtime, except in res taurants.
Hotels and restaurants
The census figures for these two groups are combined, including also
boarding-house employees. With the exception of managerial and
clerical forces, and such occupations as laborers, the women so employed numbered as follows:
Waitresses ___ -------------------------- 209,593
Other servants ______ ____________________ 109, 124
Cooks _________________________________ 94, 252
Clerical employees numbered more than 32,000. Included among
"other servants" would be the maids, the chief occupation of women
under the hotel · code, which did not include hotel restaurants after
the restaurant code was approved. The hotel code, approved about
the middle of November 1933, was to be reviewed within 90 days,
30
31
Executive order amending order no. 6354, Oct. 23, 1933.
Later increased to 85 percent; see Executive order 6723, May 26, 1934.
Amendment no. 2, June 13, 1934.
a2 See, for example, Laundry Trade.
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79
S'.ELECTED CODES 'FOR . lMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
but a Presidential order of February 26 eliminated this provision. 33
Prior to adoption of this code hotels had not been operatin~ effectively
under the P.R. A., though their restaurants had been domg so.
Leaving restaurants out of account for the moment, since hotel
restaurants later were included in the restaurant code, provisions for
other hotel employees may be considered. The problem of arrangement of hours in hotels always is a difficult one on account of the
continuous character of the service needed, the requirements of guests
having to be responded to at any time in the 24 hours. However, it
is quite possible to arrange shifts that do not demand too long a week
of the individual worker, as is shown in States where hours are regulated legally. A more effective effort should be made to do this,
especially where increased employment is a major objective.
The maximum hours fixed for hotel workers were 54, with a limit of
10 daily. Moreover, for 6 weeks in the year hours were permitted
to be 11 a day, 60 a week, and payment for these extra hours was
not required to be at a rate above that for the normal week provided.
No specific provision was made as to hours of clerical workers.
At no time in 1933 had man hours averaged as long as 54 in hotels,
according to regular monthly reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as follows:
January ____ _
February __ _
March ___ __
ApriL _____ __
51.
51.
51.
50.
4
8
0
9
May _____ __ 51.
June ______ _ 50.
J uly ___ __ __ _ 50.
August ____ 50.
4
6
9
2
September __
October _____
November __
December __
50.
49.
50.
49.
2
7
5
8
With a 54-hour week, and sometimes 60 hours permitted, there
would appear to be little opportunity of increase in employment.
While a comparison of figures available shows in most cases considerable increases, whether from February 1933 to February 1934
or from July 1933 to November 1934, yet employment still was much
more than 10 percent below that of 1929. None of the regularly
reported data on this subject are by sex, since the New York figures
cover manufacturing industries only. The increases shown from
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania indexes, none of them given by sex, are as follows:
February
1933
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (average 1929=100) _____ ____
Pennsylvania (average 1923-25=100) __ _______ _____ ____ _
Massachusetts (September 1931= 100):
Hotels and hotel restaurants ______ __ __ ________ __ ____
Other restaurants and lunchrooms:
Chain __ _____ ______ _______ _____ ------ -- ------ -Independent_ _______ ___ __ __________________ ____
July
1933
February
1934
November
1934
73. 8
99
75. 6
99. 3
84. 8
106. 8
83. 7
82.4
78.4
80. 6
82.8
96
81. 9
93. 6
75. 5
106.8
78.9
109. 2
80.3
(1)
'
1
Not availa ble.
While their code was not approved until the middle of February
1934, restaurants were operating under the P. R. A. prior to that
time. The P. R. A. provisions were similar to those later put in the
code, though they were superior in not containing the seasonal
33
Hotel Industry. Amendment no. 1, Feb. 26, 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
80
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
exceptions allowed in the code.
documents were as follows:
President's R eemployment Agreement
The hour prov1s10ns m the two
Code
Not longer than shortest work Maximum hours, men 54, women 48
week for the job July 15, 1929. If hours shorter June 16, 1933, not to be
increased.
May increase 10 percent (59.4 hours for men
and 52.8 for women) for 6 weeks in the
year (3 weeks each 6 months unless open
less than 6 months) but overtime pay must
be at 1% times the usual rate.
Th e split-shift system still was specifically allowed under the code,
but it was definitely liwited to two shifts, with the overall time, or
spread from beginning to ending of the employee's day, not to exceed
12 hours. No special provisions were made as to hours of clerical
workers.
While hours for this type of work often have beeh excessively long
in the past, previous reports on hotels and restaurants indicate that
relatively little improvement was provided for under the code.
Studies that recently have been made in three States by the Women's
Bureau include such employees. One of these made in Florida shows
that well over one-third of the women reported had scheduled hours
of 48 or less, and three-fifths of the daily schedules were shorter than
8 hours. In North Dakota only about one-third of t~e women
reported had a s chedule longer than 48 hours, and two-thirds of the
women were on an 8-hour schedule, though in a Texas survey nearly
three-fifths of the white women had a schedule of at least 48 hours.
Furthermore, a 48-hour maximum is fixed by law for women in hotels
and restaurants in 8 States and the District of Columbia, and in 1
other State for hotels; 10 States set a 54-hour maximum in both
hotels and restaurants and 5 others in restaurants. Ten States and
the District of Columbia limit the daily hours of restaurant and
hotel employees to 8.
Though t he daily and weekly hours provided for in both the hotel
and the r estauran t code were so long, one very definite principle
was gained in that work was limited to 6 days in the week. 34 The
Women's Bureau study in Florida showed that nine-tenths of the
women in hotels and restaurants worked 7 days in the week, and a
survey in Texas showed a 7-day schedule for nearly 60 per cent of such
workers, for 94 percent of the hotel chambermaids reported. 35
It is also of importance that a limit (though the long one of 12
hours) was fixed to the over-all day in these codes, and that daily
shifts in restaurants were limited to two, time out for a meal not
being counted as an interval between shifts.
As to wages, the hotel code provided that employers must guarantee
to service employees (defined as those rendering direct service to
guests and compensated partly by guests), irrespective of by whom or
on what basis they were compensated, not less than the minimum
prescribed for clerical and operating workers, which ranged from
1
- 3l In the restaurant code executives, maintenance employees, and watchmen and guards could be required
to work 7 days in cases of "very special emergency", and then only in limited numbers. Of course the
great majority of these employees were men.
25 Later the industry requested exemption from this 6-day provision, though it was the chief gain the code
afforded over previous cond ition .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
81
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPOR'l'A T INDUSTRIES
$10 to $15 in the North, by size of city 36 for places of 2,500 and o ver,
10 percent less in Missouri and Kansas, and 15 percent less in the
South ($8.50 to $12.75). 37 In cities of 25,000 and over, it was specified
that t hese rates be for a 54-hour week. For places of under 2,500 a
raise of at least 20 percent was specified from the rates of June 15,
1933, but employers were not required to increase amounts above
$10 and no minimum was fixed. The subsequent order (May 15,
1934) eliminated any standard for wages in towns of under 2,500 not
in the trade area of a large city. Part-time workers were to be paid
a proportionate hour rate.
In restaurants the minimum was fixed for nonservice employees
(such as cooks and clerical workers) and for service employees (who
include waiters and waitresses). The minimum varied by size of
city and also by sex, since it was based on a week of 54 hours for men,
48 for women. In the South it was 15 percent lower than in the
North, and in Kansas and Missouri 10 percent below the North.
Curb employees were not covered but were to be reported upon
later. These various gradations in the minimum for North and
South (omitting Kansas and Missouri) were as follows:
Male
North-Service employees _- - - - ------------- --- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- ------ $9. 50 to $10. 50
Nonservice employees __ ---- ----- -- ------------------------ -- $12. 00 to $15. 00
South-Service employees _- - -------- -- ----- - - -- -- - ------ ---------- - - $8. on2to $8. 92½
Nonservice employees ___ --- --- ------ - --------------------- -- $10. 20 to $12. 32 ½
Female
$8. 44 to $9. 33
$10. 67 to $13. 34
$7. 18 to $7. 93
$9. 07 to $10. 96
That the wages paid in hotels and restaurants prior to the code
frequently were at least as high as those provided in the code, and in
an appreciable number of cases were higher, is indicated by the
following list. Moreover, the minimum fixed in the code for restaurant workers was considerably below what they had been guaranteed
under the P.R. A., under which they had been operating.
Minimum wage provided in code
Hotels:
Code minimum,
Wages received prior to code
California, legal minimum 38 $16.
North, cities over North Dakota, legal minimum 38 $13.41,
500,000,$15;100,000
$12.76. 39
to 500,000, $14.
Oregon, legal minimum 38 $13.20. 40
25,000 to 100,000,
$13.
South, minimum for
largest cities, $12.75. United States, as reported by Bureau
of Labor Statistics, per capita, July
. 1933, $12.33. 41
South Dakota, legal minimum ;.s $12. 40
Restaurants:
Code minimum, South (men), largest Wisconsin, legal minimum, 18 cents 40
cities, $8.92½.
an hour ($8.64 for 48 hours) .
3 6 For some indication of the effect of differentials by size of city in the restaurant industry, see p. 26,
part III.
1
37 F or a rough estimate of the number of women in these industries affected by the southern differenti a
see p. 18, part III.
38 Hotels and restaurants.
39 '!'he former is the rate for experiencetl waitres8es or counter girls, the latter for chambermaids or kitchen
help.
40 Experienced women.
H Includes both men and women,
Cash payment1l only. Additionnl value of board, room, and tips
cannot be computed.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
82
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
The vexed questions of deductions from the wage and of "gratuities" (tips) took a prominent place at the code hearings. It has
not been the general custom to consider tips a part of the wage,
though wages have been very low for long hours of work in these
industries, and the receipt of tips frequently has been given as an
excuse. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for waiters to lose
through departure of guests without payment. 42 At best, tips are
irregular and not always dependable for the worker.
In addition to the higher wage standard it fixed, the P. R. A.
modification for restaurants was superior to the code in that it
definitely provided that "gratuities shall not be considered part of
the remuneration of any employee." While this was not specifically
stated in the restaurant code, and the language was extremely ambiguous, such was understood to be the intention, and it provided
that no deductions from the minimum wage should be made except
those arranged for by the code. In this code no deductions for board
or lodging were to be made except by mutual agreement, and then
not over $3 a week for lodging and 25 cents for each meal, total meals
not to exceed $3 a week. The restaurant code still further safeguarded the employee in respect to this by permitting this deduction for lodging only if it was the previous practice, and requiring
that it was not to reduce the total cash payments to the employee
below those made for the same work on June 16, 1933. Charges
for lodging not only must have been the custom prior to the code,
and by agreement which should not reduce the week's pay, but must
be only on consent of the code authority.
The restaurant code stipulated that no deduction from the minimum
wage be made for women's uniforms, where required, and if purchased
from the employer they were to be charged for at not more than $5.
Under these codes, with their wage rates not very high and their
effort to prevent unreasonable deductions from these rates, what
actually was the effect on a woman's wage?
No periodic figures to show the earnings of women in hotels and
restaurants are available. 43 The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports
per capita cash payments to hotel workers each month, and these
show the individual hotel worker worse off under the code in February 1934 than in February 1933 before the code, and only slightly
better off than in July 1933; however, by November there was some
improvement in the wage. The per capita earnings are as follows:
February 1933
July 1933
February 1934
November 1934
$13.34
$12.33
$12.88
$13.40
Though 1934 employment in hotels was considerably below its 1929
level, more people were employed than at the time prior to the code,
and the total pay-roll payments were increased, in some cuses con12 See for example, the Catering Industry Employee, March 1934, p. 17.
43 The Women's Bureau was cooperating with several minimum-wage States in a comprehensive study
of hotels at the time this was prepared, but findings were not yet available. The survey was designed to
show the actual situation under the code, though it includes reports of 2 pay-roll periods, 1 before and
1 after the code w(lS tn effect,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRI:E:S
83
siderably so, as is shown by the following indexes taken from several
reports:
Total pay rolls
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (average 1929 = 100):
Hotels _______ -- __-- - -- -- _-- -- -- _--- - ___ ______ ____ -Pennsylvania (average 1923-25 = 100):
H otels___ --- ----- -- --- - - -- _-- _-- -- - -- -- --- - - ---- - -Massachusetts (September 1931 = 100) :
H otels and hotel restaurants ___ ___ ___c _ ___________ _
Other restaurants and lunch rooms:
Chain ___________ __ ______ ____ ___ ___ ____ ____
Independent_ ____ ____ _____ _________ ______ _
1
February
1933
July 1933
February
1934
55. 9
53. 3
65. 2
101. 9
95. 3
116. 7
73. 0
66. 5
84. 6
81. 6
69. 2
64.0
•
November
1934
04. 9
72. 4
89.6
89. 6
68. 1
91. 1
69. 4
Not available.
Laundries
While the laundry code fixed hours longer than the weekly hours
actually worked some time prior to the code, it made them shorter
than in the P. R. A. modification for laundries, and very much shorter
than has been the custom in this industry. 44
Under the P.R. A. the laundry worker's week was 45 hours. The
basic week fixed under the code was 40 hours, but an allowance of
30 hours' overtime in 6 of any 13 weeks, limited to 6 in any 1 week,
virtually enabled a 46-hour week to be worked nearly half the time.
Moreover, laundries could apply for entire exemption in case of labor
scarcity. No daily limit was fixed, but work could be carried on for
only 6 days in the week. Employees exempted from these provisions
for reasons of emergency maintenance or repair were to be paid one
and one-third times the usual rate for hours longer than the maximum.
For 5 months prior to code adoption, Bureau of Labor Statistics
figures show, average hours worked in laundries were less than 40.
Special studies made by minimum-wage authorities in three States
show women's hours in the spring of-1933 prior to the P. R. A. and
prior to the Recovery Administration. In Ohio nearly two-thirds
of the women surveyed worked less than 40 hours, so that the code
40 with a possible 46 could effect relatively little shortening and
almost no reemployment. In New York three-fifths of the women
worked less than 46 hours, and in New Hampshire about the same
proportion worked less than 45 hours. Under the code these might
have continued on such a schedule for nearly half the time.
A Women's Bureau survey of laundries in some 23 cities in 1927-28,
prior to the peak period just before the depression, shows women
working much longer at that time. 45 Studies made in 1928 and 1932
in two southern States, and in 1931 in North Dakota, also give evidence of the long-hour practices in this industry. In the 1927- 28
laundry survey by the Women's Bureau somewhat more than half
11 But seep. 78 for lack of general effect of this code until June 1934.
16 U.S. Department of L abor. Women's Bureau. A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in
23 Cities. Bu i. 78, 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
84
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER _N.
n..
A. CODES
of all the women were on n, schedule of more than 48 hours.
Bureau's State studies show the following:
Tlrn
Florida (late 1928--January 1929). J>ractically all women had a schedule
of over 44 hours (none so low as 40); nearly three-fifth&, of over 54 hours.
North Dakota (1931). The great majority of women had a schedule of 48
hours.
Texas (1932). Practically seven-eighths of the women had a schedule of
48 hours or longer.
That minimum wage decrees for laundries in such States as New
York and Ohio established 40 hours as the standard week shows very
real progress from the conditions found by the Women's Bureau both
before the depression, about 5 years ago, and more recently.
Wages in the laundry code were fixed in five geographic groups
elaborately defined even to the specification of certain counties in
some States. 46 In each of the groups they were fixed by size of locality.47 From the hourly rates set the weekly wage for 40 hours
ranged from $9 to $12, except in the South, where it would be $7 .20 to
$8 in one district, and in another $5.60 without regard to size of city.
Employees could not be charged for meals or lodging, nor for the
laundering of uniforms soiled while on duty.
These rates were much the same as those under the P.R. A., except
that for the larger cities in the first district they were somewhat higher,
30 cents as against 27 }~ cents under the P. R. A. They may be listed
as follows:
Code designation
Group A ___ ________________ __________ ____ _____ ___ ___ ____________ ____ ____
B ___ ___________ __ ____ ___ _________________ _________ ___________ ____
C ___ __ ___ __ __ _______________ _______ __________ __ _______________ __ _
D ___ - --------------- ___ __ __ _--- -- - ------ --- -- ------------- ---- __
Hourly rate
set by code
Cents
25 to 30 ___ _____
22),~ to 25___ ___
20 to 22 ),L ___ _
18 to 20___ _____
E ____ _____ ------ ___ ___ _ __ _ ____ ___ __ _____ ___ ___ _______ ____ _ _____ __ 14___ __ ___ _____
Yield of code
wage for 40hour week
Dollars
10 to 12.
9 to 10.
8 to 9.
7.20 to 8.
5.60.
As to wages being paid before the code, several sources of information may be examined. On the whole these indicate that in most
cases earnings in laundries averaged considerably higher than the
code minimum, and this was the case even with Negro women's wages
in southern cities as reported by the Women's Bureau. However,
they show that for many individual women the code minimum raised
wages considerably.
The following discussion includes data from a Women's Bureau
special study in 1927-28; from its more recent State surveys in North
Dakota, Florida, and Texas (all of these representing periods since the
high point in 1929, with the exception of Florida); from special surveys of this industry in 1933 in New Hampshire, New York, and
Ohio; and from regular New York monthly reports (which include
dry cleaning). Other data are the regular monthly figures for men
and women combined from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and from
Massachusetts, P ennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
46
For an estimate of numbers of women affected by certain of these geographic differentials, see p. 18,
pt. III.
47
For a d iscussion of the effects of fixing a minimum by size of city see p. 26, pt. III.
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85
SELEC'l'ED CODES FOR IMPOR'rAr T INDUSrrRIES
From the special surveys of laundries made by minimum-wage
authorities in New Hampshire, ew York, and Ohio in the spring of
1933, it appears that a large proportion of the women workers in
laundries would have had their wages raised by the receipt of the
code minimum. 48 The showing is as follows:
State
Percent receivingCode minimum , - - - - - - - - - - -by size of city
Under $8 Under $10 Under $12
New H ampshire _____ ___ _______________________ __ $10 to $12 ____ ___ _
New York ________________ ____ ___ _____ ___ ______ __ 10 to 12 ____ ___ _
Ohio __ __ ______ -- ------ --- -----------------____ __
9 to lQ ________
20
22
54
39
42
73
57
67
86
Two Women's Bureau State surveys that cover laundries show that
only 10 white women reported in North Dakota were receiving less
·than the code minimum of $9 for the smallest cities and only 9 women
in Florida (none of them full-time workers) earned less than $6, the
code minimum being $5.60.
The earlier laundry study by the Women's Bureau shows that,
except for white women in one eastern city and Negro women in
another eastern city, exceedingly small proportions of the full-time
workers were receiving less in 1927-28 than the code minimum wage.
This also was true for Negro women in the Sou th, where the code
minimum was low, while in northern cities only 4 out of 38 Negro
women full-time workers earned less than the code minimum. The
figures are as follows:
Minimum
fixed in code
Percent of full-time women work ers receiving less than code minimum
Eastern section (4 cities):
Boston _______ _____ _______________________________ _
$12. 00
Jersey City and Newark ___________ _____ __ ____ ____
Providence _____ ____ ___ _________ _____ _______ -- ___ _
11.00
11.00
White (28 women), 3 percent; Negro (4 women), 10.5 percent.
o womari received less.
White (27 women), 12 percent; cgro, none of 9.
Section and city
Middle western section (9 cities):
Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis. St.
Paul, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and
Des Moines.
Wes tern section (4 cities):
Los Angeles and San Francisco ___ ______ _________ _
Seattle and Portland _____ __ ____ __ ____ ______ _____ _
Southern section (6 cities):
Atlanta, Birmingham, Richmond, St. Petersburg,
Tampa, and Jacksonville.
10.00
White (5 women), 0.5 percent; Negro (2 women), 0.8 percent.
12. 00
11.00
No woman received less.I
Do.
5. 60
White, none; Negro (8 women), 2.5
percent received under $6.
1 A State minimum wage decree in California fixed $16 as the minimum for experienced laundry workers
employed on a 48-hour week.
Finally, the figures reported monthly by several States and by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics show average earnings in July 1933 well
above the code minimum. Those reported for each month by the
agency last named show per capita wages in the depression yea.r of
1931 ranging from $19.71 to $17.60, the lowest being toward the close
of the year. Those for New York are for women; the remainder are
,s These studies, made by the minimum-wage authorities in each of these States, were all prior to the
fixing of minimum-wage rates by the States in question and were of course considera bly prior to adoption
of even the local-option code in FebrUf1ry 1934.
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86
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N . R. A. CODES
not given separately by sex. Those for New York and Wisconsin
include dry cleaning, the remainder being for laundries alone. The
figures are as follows:
Source
Minimum Average or
in laundry per capita
code
earnings,
July 1933
N ew York (women)t ____ ____ _______ ____ __ ____ __----- -- --- --- -- -- -- --- - ---- -- - --- $10 to $12
Bureau of Labor Statistics __ ___ ----- -- -- --- - -,- _____ -- ____ ----- -- ---- -- ___ __ _____ -- -- --- - ---Massachusetts ___________ _____ _____ _________ ___ __ _________ ____ ___ _---- ___ _____ -10 to 12
~~~~~!r:t~============= === === ======== ===== === ==== ============ ======= == == =====
~ ig ~g
$12. 34
14. 58
15. 78
13. 89
12. 67
t Includes dry cleaning.
1
Since the laundry code never was given wide effect, owing to the
provision noted on page 78, evidence of change from July 1933 to November 1934 may be said to be due to other factors rather than to the
code. More definite effects have been realized from the action of
minimum-wage authorities in certain States, notably New York
and Ohio.
The effect of the P. R. A. is shown in the special surveys both in
Ohio and in New Hampshire, data being included in each case for a
week in May prior to the P. R. A., and a week in September. In
each case either hours had shortened slightly or a smaller proportion
of women worked 45 hours or longer, as follows:
New ·H ampshire:
Percent of women working 45 hours and over __- - -- - -- --- - -- -- ----- ---- --"- Ohio:
Percent of women working 45 hours and over _--- - ----- - -- -- ---- --- ---- --- -Median hours _____ __ - ---- -- -- __ --- - -- -- -- - -- - --- -- -- -- --- -- - -- -- -- -- ----- __ -
41
35
18
35.5
34. 9
7
In the same surveys, earnings in commercial laundries had increased
more than 10 percent under the P. R. A., as follows:
New Hampshire (average earnings) _____ ________ ______ ____ __ ___ ________ ________ _
Ohio (median earnings) __ __ ____ ________ _______ __ __ ____ _______ __________________ _
May 1933
September
$8. 93
7.80
$10. 20
1933
8. 83
Earnings as reported from various sources showed advance in November 1934 over July 1933 (in New York as much as 12 percent),
and indexes of total pay-roll figures likewise had increased, but in
some cases employment had declined, as the following data indicate.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
87
SELEC'l'ED CODES FOR IMPOR'l'ANT INDUS'l'RIES
Indexes ofAverage or per capita
earnings
July
1933
New York- women (June 1923 =100) .
Massachusetts (September 1931 = 100)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (average
1929= 100) ___ - - - - - - - • - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Wisconsin ______ . __ __________ -- --- --Pennsylvania (average 1923-25= 100)._
Novem - Percent
ber 1934 increase
--- ---
$12. 34
15. 78
$13. 79
16. 21
14.58
12. 67
13. 89
14. 81
13. 79
15.34
Employment
Pay rolls
Source
July
1933
November 1934
July
1933
INovember 1934
- - - - -- - - - - --
12
3
91
78.8
97
79. 3
111
94.5
106
92. 4
8
9
10
58. 7
(2)
96. 6
64. 9
(2)
(2)
79. 5
(2)
101. 4
80. 3
(2)
(2)
I
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Percent increase in earnings is based on unpublished indexes of average
weekly earnings for identical firms.
2 Not available.
Beauty shops
While a code for this industry had not been approved and that for
barber shops was not approved until after the middle of April 1934,
9 months after the first code (cotton textile industry) became effective,
some comparison may be made between hours set by the P.R. A. for
beauty shops and by the code for barber shops and the previous
.
practices.
Hours in these employments have been long and quite irregular.
The agreement and code made at least some attempt to regulate ;them
within more reasonable bounds, even though the 48 and frequent 52,
with extra time required for finishing service at the close of the day,
were very long. A comparison of the barber shop code and the P. R.A.
provisions for barber and beauty shops, with hours found to prevail
in New York, follows:
Barber shops
P.R. A. (Barber and beauty
shops)
Hours worked in beauty shops
Code approved Apr.
19, 1934
48 hours ______________________ 48 hours (6 days); 52
hours if only 1 person in shop.
Patrons in at the closing hour must be served in addition to the code maximum hours.
Operating hours not to be un- 1
der 52 unless so on July 1,
In a survey in New York City in 19301 about 13
percent of the women reported had a schedule
of 48 hours or less; 28 percent under 54;17 percent,
60 or more; the great majority over 48 and under
60.
1933.
No extra rate provided for
overtime.
No limits are placed on daily hours.
1
New York Industrial Bulletin, February 1931.
That code minimum wages in these industries were about on a par
with what had been received at the depression level is indicated by the
following comparison of the code wage standards with those reported
in two studies by the Women's Bureau, one in 1931 and the other in
late 1933 and early 1934, and a study by the Ohio Department of
Industrial Relations in 1932; however, they do not approach wages
for New York City in the survey by the State Department of Labo1·
m 1930,
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88
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Barber shop code
1
Wages in beauty shops in depression years
B arbers, $13 to $17 2 ____ _ ______ ___ _________ __ _ _ Median earnings in Women's Bureau surveys:
Four cities, 3 white women (late 1933 and early 1934),
Manicurists and bootblacks, $6.,50 to $8.50, 2
$14.25.
but to have at least 50 percent of their gross
North D akota (1931), $15.
receipts.
New York City (1930):
Usual wages-:-Manhattan, $18 to $40.
Long Island, $20 to $25.
Brooklyn, about half the shops over
$23 a week.
Ohio (1932):
Of the women reported, well over 70 percent received
as much as $12, about 60 percent as much as $15.
No wage provisions especially applying to t his industry under the P.R. A.
2 By size of city.
a Philadelphia, New Orleans, St. Louis, Columbus. See Women's Bureau Bui. 133, Hours, Earnings,
and Working Conditions of Employees in Beauty Parlors. 1935. p. 13. 45 percent of these women
earned $15 or more; about 14 percent $20 or more.
1
CERTAIN CLOTHING INDUSTRIES
The clothing group as a whole is fourth in importance in woman
employment, bemg exceeded only by saleswomen in stores, textilemill operatives and laborers, and hotel and restaurant employees.
Of the workers employed in these industries more than 350,000practically 70 percent-are women. In addition to those in the
manufacturing processes, the industries employ over 22,000 clerical
workers.
Though these industries are so exceedingly important in woman
employment, any general consideration of the conditions existing
within them is made exceedingly difficult by the scattering and particularistic character of the available information, by the wide variation in the situations as to the differing clothing branches, by the
highly seasonal character of most of them, by the prevalence of the
piecework system anq. the frequent lack of adequate plant records,
by the existence of many small shops and of contract shops, and by
other factors. Nloreover, material from the census of occupations
cannot be separated into groups indicating the coverage of particular
codes, and the different sources reporting information on these
industries classify them quite variously.
The census of manufactures of 1931 showed over a third of the
clothing manufacture to be in New York, the location of more than
half the making of women's clothing. The addition of three adjacent
States- Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey-accounts for
practically half of all clothing employees. Pennsylvania engages
about 13 percent of these workers; in all, about 60 percent are in the
New England and Middle Atlantic States; Illinois has about 8 percent,
Ohio about 5 percent; Maryland. and Missouri about 4 percent each,
the remainder being widely scattered.
Certain of the clothing codes were among those most outstanding
in the provisions for the workers, while others were among the poorest
in their wage standards and in the many exceptions they allowed.
These striking variations give a vivid illustration of the effectiveness
of well organized as against largely unorganized bodies of workers.
There were some 20 clothing codes (more if very closely allied
groups are included), nor does this comprise all those involving
certain types of needlework. It is by no means surprising that among
these arose serious problems of code coverage and of overlapping
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CHART IV.-SUMMARY OF HOUR AND WAGE PROVISIONS IN CODES FOR CERTAIN CLOTHI G I r DUSTRIES, JULY 1, 1934
Wages
Hours
Name of code and date approved
Days
M~lmum hours
Week
Day
Shift
J:°k
Ma"timum hours for clerical
Overtime allowances (sea·
sonal and emergency)
½11-------;---- ---;------- ----1
1
Occupa tion
Blouse:
Hourly.•.•. _
Weekly. ....
Skirt:
Hourly_.. ___
Weekly. - •. Canvas stitched belt manuracturing industry.
May 9, 1934.
40. __ ••••••• -·.
8
Cap and cloth hat industry·····-· 40.·--·-·····-June 5, 1934.
July 1 to November 1, 10
percent tolerance, average
40-hour week.
8
1 (except cutting
machinery).
8
1½
1½
8
L_ ._ -·-·- ·-· - · ···- -····· --·-···---··-·-·-·-· -· --
(Prohibited for productive). ·-· · -· -··-
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
By ~~~~1~~~nthan -$1--i:···-·················· ·-· ····- -·· ·····- $14.. •..•••..•... .. __ By agreement. Dy agreement_ By agreemen t... 10. . . .•.. · --····· ··-······ ···· ···-·
New York City, $15 to $45 a week.
Eastern area, 90 percent of New York City; none less than
$15.
Chicago and Cleveland area, 85percent of New York City.
Northwestern area, 70 percent of New York City.
Southwestern area, 60 percent of New York City.
Prohibited.· --- -
Do.
5..••.•.... ·-·--· 80 percent_·-·-·· ---.. do .•••...•..
Do.
North, $13 a week; South, $12 a week __ ··· ·····-·-··-·- . •...... -·· ··- ··--······ · ··-·· 8-······· · . .. __ 10. ··· ·--·· -· .. $9 a week . __ ._-· 6. •.. ··········-· 80 percenL ..... _ Prohibited, par•
tially.
Do.
70 percent a.... __ 5-·· ··· ···-···· ·· 70 percent.. __ •. ..•.•• do •. ·-···-·--
Do.
Depart• · ·-···········-··· . . .•. do·-·····--·Cutters, $35 a week ..•.• . • -······-· ·· ······-···········-----·· -···· · · · -·-··-·- · · · ··· 8.·---··-·· ·· ·· 10_· ········-·· $10 a week. .. .... Labor
ment certifiOther, North, $13; South, $12 a week.
Mtion.
Do.
year.
Allowed in 1 depar tment
only RS code authority
decides .
45•• ····· ····· -·-···-······ ·- Any one season, 6 weeks ••...
L _____ . ___________ 40-horu: week, 8·hour day .. _.
Occupation specified_··-·· _-············ ····· - .. . . . ··- ..... ··- North, $14; South,
$1:!.
Knee pants, $0.37 an hour .
Off-pressers, $0.75 an hour.
Cutters, $1 an hour.
Certain garments, North, $0.37; South, $0.34 an hour.
Other, North, ~0.40; South, $0.37 an hour.
5
L ...... . ·-·-····- - 40-hour week, 9-hour day. __ Productiveasadministrator
may prescribe. Office: 44-
hour week.
Bu t only for emergency m aintenance and r epair.
1½ Geographic area : $13-$14 .•.••• -. ·-··· -· · -- -·-·· · ···-·----···-· Geographic : $13 to
$14.
Office: 16 weeks, 48 hours;
average 40 a week in year.
·-·-·· L·-·····-·-·-· ---- 40_· ·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·--·- In any G months, 25 hours;
not more than 5 hours a
week nor 1 hour a day.
1
Do,
Prohibited r. ___ _
~o~C::
1182°-35. (Face p. 89.)
Prohibited , on
sewing mach•
ines.
orth, $0.3.5 an hour; South, $0.32½ an hour---·-··--·-·-·· ···- · ·--···-····- ··· -·- · ·- 8. · -· ····· ·---- 5.. ··---·--·· ·· -· ·--do_· - · ---··-- 5--··· ·-·---··· ·· 75 percent. ..... .
4 -hour week, 9-hour d ay. · · ······ ······ · · ············-Average 40 hours, 12 weeks.
Men's neckwear industry•..... __ _ 36 . • . •---··- ··· ··-··· -·-··· · · ······-· ·-·····--- 40.. ...••••.••••••••..••.... - For 8 weeks, any 6 months:
45 hours; other, 40
Mar. 24, 1934.
7½
···· ...•.•••.•..••.. ·····- 6 ... ·-- -- ··-- · · 10_ . . -·- ··· ••• . 75 percent..... . . 10_ . . ·····-- · ···· -············-···North, $0.32½; South, $0.30 an hour-- ·················-·-Sheep•line<l and leather, $0.30; higher minimum for some
occupations.
1½
L ................• Average 40 hours a week, a
37½...•.•.... _
10 ...••. ••..• • _ 65 percent·-··- ·· 10· - ······--· ··-· 65 percent.. •..•.
Do.
8
Undergarment and negligee industry.
Apr. 27, 1934.
24 .. .•.•.• _•.. .
5_. - - . • - ·- - -- ·-· ...• -· ..• _•.•.. -·.. .. -·_do._ ••.•. __ _
Prohibited on
ma•
sewing
chines.
Men 's clothing industry .•.••••... 36_·······-· -··
Aug. 26, 1933.
8
Occupation specified.· -···--- ·· ····-· · · · ··- ·-· -···-·· -··--··-- Nor th, $15; South,
$14.
Cutters, orth, $0.40; South, $0.37½ an hour.
Sewers, orth $0.32½; South, $0.30 an hour.
Other, $0.30 an hour.
Do.
orth, $0.3:1½ an hour; South, $0.30 an hour. Specified boys' -·· ..... ······ ·- -· - -· - 8_... -· ··- -·· . . 10• .... __ ._ .... 75 percent ___ .... 10······ ··-··-· ·- iO percent. . • -·-clothes, $0.40 an hour.
Specified machinery, 2; other, J.
36_··-·· ····-··
an hour,
Occupation specified .• . •··················-·--·-···- -·- - ·--·- - ···- · ····· · · ·-·······- 6. . ·-·· ····-··· ·····-·-······· - $0.27½
$11 a week.
Cutters, $25 a week.
Other, $14 a week.
Do.
5 ········--·- -······· Average 40, 3 months .. _..•.. . ·- _·- .........•.......••... . . __ __ ·· - _-·
8
Shoulder pad manufacturing industry.
Feb. 5, 1934.
$0.70to $0.80_. $0.60 to $(),68__ $0.60 to $0. 68_
$16to$33 ... _. $13.60to$28 .. $13.60to$28 __
Do.
Knitted outerwear industry_ ..... _ 40 ...•••••. ·-·Dec. 18, 1933.
8
$0.50to$0.60 __ $0.45to$0.5L $0.40to$0.45-.
$15 to $36•.••• $14 to $32.40.- $12 to $3L __.
Prohibited . ... _.
8
Robe and allied products industry_ 40........ ·--·J an. 16, 1934.
Under 250,000
$0.35 an hour .•.....• .•.•....... ·-· -·---·-·---··· ····-· ---- -· ----···-······-····· - ·-· -··· -·-·- · · ·· ·-- -·· · ·· · · ····-·-- ···· · ···-- ·····-·- - · ····-·····------ -············ ···-·
g!1r,l~~~)~ de-
40; specLl\eq
boys' clothes,
36.
7½
Do.
40 .•............. ·-·-···-·-·- Off?a~~lf;r~~our week, · ··· · · -· · -
Hat:fe~~f~~ing industry_. ___ . 40 ... ·-·- ·-·--- - ····- ···--- 1
Millinery industry· ·-· ·····- .. ··-· 37½--····· · -··
Dec. 15, 1933.
Over 250,000
Cutters: orth, $0.70 an hour, $28 a week; South, 10 percent .. - . - ··- .. - -· - •. .. . .. . 6. -· -·- .•.. - • .• 10 • ••.• ····-·· · $0.27½ an hour,
less.
$11 a week.
Other: orth, $0.35 an hour, $14 a week; South, lOpercent less.
40 . . ·-- ····· ··· -- · - ·- ---·· - -·· · -·-· --···-··- --- 40·-· · ·······-····-·-·-·-·-- - Code authority may permit
(office only).
tlandkerchief industry ______ -·-··· 40. ___ _-- --·-- Oct. 9, 1933.
Infants' and children's wear industry.
Mar . 27, 1934.
1
Average 40, 3 months .• · ·- .. -···· · ·· ·· · - -· ···-···· · ····- ·· · ····- -- -·
L •. ·-············· 40 .••••••••••••• ..••• ....••.. Longer in 6 weeks of season.
Dress manufacturing industry--·- 35·--·- ·····--· -- ·· __
Oct. 31, 1933,
Men's garter, suspender, and belt
manufacturing industry.
Nov. 4, 1933.
City : 12 to $14. _. . _ --· · · ··- · ···-··- 10·-··· ······- · $11 a week __ ____ 10·- · - -··--·-···- City: $12to$14 • . ... -do .•... . ... _
Popubtion
Oc~fs~~iro,;f~c:e~~55anbo u.r~····-·-··-····- ··-----·-······ ····················-· 6-······· · ···· - 10_ .... _....... $0.25 an hour ••. _ ··········--·····- · ·-··········-···· Prohibited.· ---·
West, $0.32½ to $0.37½ an hour.
All other, $0.32½ an hour.
Westem area only:
Occupation specified_. ___ . -·_ .. .. ... .. . _._ ..• _.-·· . •. -· _.. .... -· . .. •.. .••••••.•••• _. 6 months .. _.•. ············-·· · M . $0.60, F .$0.47
...•. do.--·· · ····
East, $29 to $47 a week; outside of New York City and
an hour.
Philadelphia, 10 percent less.
West, $22 to $41 a week.
Piecework crafts:
E ast, $0.60 to $1.30 an hour·ioutside of New York City and
Philadelphia, 10 percent ess.
West, male $0.65 to $0.85; female $0.53 to $0.75.
Averages for skilled piecework also fixed.
L ......... -· _·- ... FTcepted ••••.• •..• -· .•... ___ ...•••..••.••••..•• _••.•.•.. . .•••. -·-·-·
Cotton garment industry··-·---· · 40-·--·--··-···
Nov. 17, 1933.
Prohibited _. __ _. Regulation .
5 .•.•• ••••· •....••• -· ········-· ·····--··--· •••••••• ·····- ·-·····-·· ·-············ - ••.. - •.• -
Corset and brassierei.ndustry ______ 40.·---······ -- -· -·-·
Aug. 14, 1933.
Label
Wage
$0.35 an hour or $14 a week·-···· ····-·---·· ·--·- · · · · -· · -· -·-·· - ·· · ········ ········ · · 6-·······-·--·· 10_.-·-·······- $0.32½ an hour_ _ Labor Depart•
mentoertification.
1 (timed)--···-- ··· 40 ___ ·--···-····-·-·· ········ Administrator may permit__ ----·-····
40 _____ . ____ __ _
Percent
6 ··-··· -··········-·· 40-·-·· ······· · · ··· · · ····· ··- IO weeks, 48-hour week, O·
hour day.
Coat and suit industry-··-··-····- 35--·--·-··-·- - _____ _
Aug . 4, 1933.
Cotton cloth glove manufacturing
industry.
Dec. 30, 1933.
ew York
City
Homework
Non manufacturing
14
$ -·-- · ··-·- ---- · ··-·· · ·--·· · · · -···· ··· · · ··· ····· · ··- · ·---···· City: $12 to $14 •.•.. ·--···-· · ·- ·- -· - -· -····· ·· - ··--· --···--···--····-- -· - ··-·····-·----- -- --· · -·-·--·····-
L·-·· ·--· -- ··-- --- 40--·-·---· ····-···----··-· .• 1G weeks, 40-hour week, 8hour day.
5
35·----·-····--
Basic minimum or range
Weeks allowed Percent allowed Minimum wago
Academiccostumeindustry _______ 40 __ ______ ____ _ __ ____ ____ __ --····---·----· --- · - 44- -----·- -·······-·········- Only by order of code authority for productive.
Feb. 19, 1934.
Blouse and skirt manuracturing
industries.
Dec. 30, 1933.
Handicapped
Learners
Over•
time p ay
8 3 --·-· - · · - · · · ·
· - · --- · · · · · · · · · -
Code authority may regulate
.•.. . do.·-···· ----
$0.32½ an hour; $13 a week .•.• · ··· · · ······ · --··· -······----· ·· -·--·-····· ·· ·--· · ···· 6. . ·-·· ········ 5- .. . ......... . 75 percent.... . .. Labor Department certifi•
cation.
1½'
$13 a week .••.. ·-·········---··············- ············---·· - ·· -·- ----·- -- -······· 10·······--···· 10.··- ··- ··-·- · 80
percent, 5
weeks; 90 per•
(,-ent, 5 weeks .
Payroll on July
15, 1933.
.. __.do __ ._·- ... ·-
.0 percent_ ·-· ··· · --·-do ____ · -·--·-
York 5-.... ..•.. . •• _ $10_•...•.•...... Labor Depart• ··--··-······---·· --·-·dO--·- ··-· --·
ew York City area, $1G.50 •• -·········- ··········- $13 __ · -··-···-······- New
ment certifi·
City, 10.
Other, $14 a week . .....•...... . • ·-··-···-·····- · ·· - ··--···---· $13.. .• ··········-··· Other, 12-- .... 10_· · ········-· $9_····---····-·- .. _cation.
•. do -·-··· · · · ·-·· -·· ·····-······ .. _.. do .••• . . -• •.
OpP..rators:
2
Some processes allowe<.l l yea,.
' Por period of 3 months only after Dec. 11, 1933.
Do.
Do.
Do.
SELECTED CODES FOR I MPORTAN'I ' I NDUSTRIES
89
jurisdiction calculated to retard or negate enforcement in some cases .
These occurred both in relation to actual types of products and in
relation to varieties of goods produced by individual plants.
In a report so limited in scope as is the present one, it is obvious
that selection must be made among these codes for brief consideration .
Consequently, while chart IV gives the hour and wage provisions in a
larger number of such codes, the discussion will be confined in t he
main to the following: Coat and suit, men's clothing, blouse and
skirt, undergarment and negligee, infants' and children's wear,
dress, and cotton garment. Among other important clothing codes
appearing on chart IV are those for canvas stitched belts, cap and
cloth hats, women's belts, hats, millinery, handkerchiefs, cottoncloth gloves, corsets and brassieres, and knitted outerwear. Among
other needle trades not shown on the chart, codes were approved for
art needlework, Bonnaz embroidery, Schiff.Ii embroidery, flag-making,
light sewing (except garments), novelty curtains, ready-made furniture sliJ? covers, the powder puff industry and others.
Two rmportant clothing codes that had some of the best provisions
afforded by the N. R. A. for any product were approved very earlycoat and suit Au~ust 4, and men's clothing August 26, 1933. These
illustrate industries in which the workers were well organized and
hence more able to do effective work toward securing adequate code
provisions. The dress code was dated October 31, that for cotton
garments November 17, and the blouse and skirt code December 30.
Thus five very important branches of clothing were covered by the
close of 1933. Those for infants' and children's wear and for undergarments and negligees came late-respectively toward the end of
March and of April 1934.
A typical example illustrating the difficulties so frequen tly encountered in determining code jurisdiction among the various clothing
products was that as to whether work pants and summer cotton
suits would come under the cotton garment code or under men' s
clothing, where wages were higher and hours shorter. An amendment to each of these codes designed to iron out this difficulty was
approved December 18, 1933. It placed suits 100 percent cotton,
work pants, and single pants under the cotton garment code whenever
they were made in a factory producing work clothing.
Another case of overlapping was that between the cotton garment
and the dress codes, the latter having shorter hours and a considerably higher wage minimum on lower-priced garments than had the
cotton garment code. 49
The report of a year's op(,ration of the coat and suit code authority
was strong in its claim that a considerable degree of unfair competition
still resulted from overlapping jurisdictions, and that exact lines
satisfactory to this authority had not been defined, those administering especially the dress, cotton garment, and blouse and skirt
c 1des still insisting that garments came under their jurisdiction th at
lil:ewise were claimed by coat and suit.
A further illustration of overlapping code jurisdiction was in the
code for pleating, stitching, and Bonnaz embroidery, the same or
4g An administrative ruling seeking to adjust this difficulty was issued in September 1934. It provided
that cotton house dresses wholesaling at more than $22.50 a dozen (about $1.88 apiece) should come under
the cotton garment code until at least early D ecember, when a survey should report the resuJts of this dictum . See N. R . A. release 8016.
11s2 °- v~ -1
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90
EMPLOYED WOM E
UN DER N. R. A. CODES
very similar products being put out by concerns opera.ting chiefly
under some 15 other codes. The issue was drawn in respect to industrial home work, this being prohibited . in the Bonnaz embroidery
code but allowed in some other codes whose establishments made a
similar product.
Hours
The maximum hours fixed in certain of the clothing codes much
more nearly approximated the reductions necessary to a real increase
in employment than was the case in codes for most other industries,
though even these shortened maxima represented relatively conservative standards in this respect, especially in consideration of the
seasonal character of the various branches of clothing manufacture.
A 35-hour week was provided in the blouse and skirt, coat and suit,
and dress codes, 36 for men's clothing, 37½ for undergarments and
negligees, and 40 for cotton garments and infants' and children's wear
(shorter for certain boys' clothing). Five of these seven codes specified a 5-day week. All but that for infants' and children's wear
limited plant operation to one shift. Four specified no overtime,
three specified that any such arrangement be made by the code
authority; seasonal overtime for 6 weeks was allowed in the dress,
and for 16 weeks in the blouse and skirt code, but in each case with
pay for the overtime hours worked, at 1½ times the usual rate.
Machine-hours were limited to a single shift in the blouse and skirt,
coat and suit, dress, and men's clothing codes.
In all these codes, clerical weekly hours were permitted to be longer
than those of manufacturing employees, in ·some cases considerably
so. A definite 40-hour week for clerical workers was allowed in four
codes, with an average of 40 over a 3-month period in those for cotton
garments and for infants' and children's wear. Clerical employees
of undergarment and negligee factories might be required to work
44 hours in the week but with extra pay for each hour beyond 40.
Of the other clothing codes shown in chart IV, most provided a
40-hour week, a few fixed a 5-day limit, and several made overtime
allowances.
Certain available data as to hours indicate that even the basic
hours in these clothing codes, though longer than in some other codes
in the group, were shorter than the standards that had prevailed in
the making of clothing- that is, shorter than the previous schedules
in many plants. However, scheduled hours ordinarily allow for peak
production, and the code hours often were considerably longer than
those actually worked by many women during a large part of the year.
It must be remembered first that in these industries the great problem is irregularity of hours, since they are of so seasonal a character
that short time frequently is worked for many months in the year and
employment tends to fluctuate widely, and secondly that in these
industries where payments are largely by piecework no consistently
reported records are available for comparison of plant schedules
with the hours actually worked. For example, in a study made in
Baltimore 50 in the fall of 1932 this statement, quite typical of the
clothing industries, was made:
60 Hollander, Jacob Henry. Report to Mayor Howard W. Jackson on Working Conditions in thE)
Garment Industry. October 1932, p. 6.
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SELEC'l'BD CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
91
In much of the Baltim ore industry t here are no regular hours and no extra pay
for overtime. During the busy season employees frequently work 65 hours per
week.
In the autumn of 1931 a Women's Bureau study of clothing industries in Connecticut showed that about 14 percent of the 4,812 women
whose hours were reported bad worked 52 hours a week or longer. 51
The proportions working these long hours were greatest among women
making men's furnishings, tailored garments, and women's dresses,
43, 39, and 30 percent, respectively, having worked 52 hours or
longer.
Surveys made by the Women's Bureau 52 in the busy clothing
seasons in the depression years of 1932 OT.' 1933 gave a similar showing,
that the hour schedules in the peak periods ordinarily were very long
in comparison with those later written into codes, as the following
indicates:
Industry
Men's work clothing, fall of 1932.
Women's house dresses, fall of 1932.
Spring of 1933, Kansas City.
Men's work clothing.
Millinery.
Women's cloaks and suits.
Men's underwear and women's lingerie.
Women's moderately priced dresses.
Shortest hour
schedule in any
firm visited
Code
Coat and suit industry.
California, 40.
Georgia, 46½ .
:rew Orleanstl6½. Cotton garment industry.
Arkansas, 48 i Dress industry.
California, 44.
Men's clothing industry.
New Orleans, 46¼ .
Georgia, 49¾.
Millinery industry.
Arkansas, 51½ .
Robe and allied products industry.
40.
44.
Undergarment and negligee
industry.
Maximum
hours
35
40
35
36
37½
40
37½
47.
42½ .
43.
On the other band there were many instances in which the hours
actually being worked prior to the code were shorter than code hours.
In the Connecticut clothing study of the Women's Bureau 53 in the
fall of 1931, 1 7 percent of the women with hours reported were working
less than 36 hours, and about 24 percent less than 40 hours . In the
corset and the hat industries, whose codes later provided a 40-hour
maximum, respectively 24 and 62 percent of the women covered in
this study in the fall of 1931 were working less than 40 hours. In the
survey of men's work clothing in the spring season of 1933 practically
40 percent of the women with time reported were working less than
40 hours.54 In the Bureau of Labor Sta tis tics report on men's clothing
in the depression year of 1932 the average hours actually worked were
37.3, which is but very little longer than the 36 later written into the
code for this industry. 55
51 U. S. Department of Labor. Women's Bcreau. The Employment of Women in the Sewing Trades
of Connecticut. Bui. 97, 1932, p. 4.
·
52 Women's Bureau mimeographs 1129, E arnings and Hours of Women in the Manufacture of Men's
Work Clothing and Women's House Dresses in California, Arkansas, Georgia, and the City of New
Orleans; and 1143, Women in the Needle 'I'rades of Kansas City.
63 Cit. in footnote 51.
H Mimeograph 1129 cit. in footnote 52.
65 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and Hours of Labor in the Men's Clothing Industry, 1932.
Bui. 594, 1933, p. 5,
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92
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A . CODES
The extreme seasonal irregularity of clothing manufacture is
illustrated in the survey of the dress industry made in 1933 by the
Connecticut Department of Labor. In the slack season in January
the median of hours worked was only 27, and nearly 70 percent of
the women were working less than 35 hours a week. In the peak later
in the spring, a third of the women were working 52 hours or longer,
and very few worked less than 40. The code fixed a 35-hour maximum,
but allowed longer hours for 6 weeks in the year.
Consistent records of hours worked, enabling precode to be compared with postcode conditions of women in the various separate
clothing trades, are meager. A study of 8,930 cotton garment workers
in Pennsylvania (men and women combined) in February 1934, a peak
season, showed only 3 percent to be employed over 40 hours, though
a fourth of those included worked 40 hours. In women's cotton
dresses, reports for 658 persons showed 15 percent had worked over
40 hours and practically half 40 .
The great inadequacy of the plant records on hours in certain
branches of clothing is illustrated in this report by the Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and Industry, in which the following statements
appear: 56
A serious problem encountered in making the recent investigation, and one
that necessarily colors its findings, was the frequent lack or inaccuracy of hour
records for individual employees. The employers' need for proof of compliance
with the code had, within a few months, greatly increased the proportion of
factories keeping hour records of some kind. Nevertheless, out of the 114 firms
studied, 9 apparently had no hour records of any kind, and 10 others had hour
records for only a small proportion of their employees.
The general tendency to keep hour records, moreover, was accompanied by an
unprecedented temptation to falsify them, since through the manipulation of such
records it is possible to make compliance appear where violations actually exist.
In some cases the records which showed fewer hours than actually had been
worked by the employees were obtained by dividing the total piecework earnings
by 32½, the minimum hourly wage, and recording the result as the number of
hours worked. In some cases these calculations were made in the plant office;
more often the firms transferred to the employees tr1e onus of recording hours
of work, with the understanding that workers who could not show that they
earned the minimum wage were to be fired. A method of falsification more
difficult to detect was that of having employees work when their time cards
showed them to be out of the factory.
Wages
Chart IV summarizes the details of the wage as well as the hour
provisions in 20 clothing codes. In the 7 codes especially discussed
here the lowest ordinary minima 57 were as follows:
66 Pennsylvania. Labor and Industry, September 1934, cit. on p. 132. While this survey was reported
subsequently to the main content of the presents tudy, its data represent chiefly the busy season in the late
winter and spring of 1934. The paragraphs quoted form an excellent illustration of the condition of records
so frequently found in the past and also of certain conditions existing after the code referred to was approved
in November 1933.
57 That is, excepting special lower geographic areas or smaller cities, excepting special higher wages for
New York City, and excepting subminimum provisions for learners or handicapped workers. For special
wage gradations in these codes for more skilled occupations, and for the outstanding provisions in the code
for men's clothing (an industry in which workers are well organized) providing rates that the average worker
must receive, see pt. III, p. 29.
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SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT I DUSTRIES
93
Coat and suit_ _____ ______ ___ $18. 90 (lower in West, higher in New York City)
Dress ___ __ __ __________ _____ 14.00 (higher in New York City)
Blouse and skirt:
Blouse_ ________________ 14.00 (lower in smaller cities, higher in New York
City)
.
Skirt_ _________________ 13.60 (higher in New York City)
Men's clothing _____ _________ 13.32 (South, $12.24)
Cotton garment _____________ 13.00 (South, $12)
Infants' and children's wear __ _ 13.00 (South, $12)
Undergarment and negligee ___ 13.00
Wages of nonmanufacturing workers (which would include the
clerical group) were not mentioned in the coat and suit, cotton
garment, and infants' and children's wear cod·es; in the dress code
the minimum was the same for these as for factory employees in the
lowest paid geographic area; in the blouse and skirt and the undergarment and negligee codes, for the smaller places it ran below, or as
low as, the code minimum for unskilled factory work; and in men's
clothing the minimum for clerical work was lower than for unskilled
factory work both in the North and in the South.
Many exceptional provisions made for substandard wage payments
aried among the different clothing codes, those for the industries in
which workers are well organized being much stronger codes with
fewer exceptional provisions. Reference to chart IV shows that coat
and suit was the only one of the seven under discussion that did not
provide exceptions permitting certain groups of workers to be paid
less than the usual code minimum. Four of the seven codes under
discussion allowed learners up to 10 percent of total employees, and
three of the four-those for blouse and skirt, cotton garment, and
infants' and children's wear-also allowed 10 percent of handicapped 58
workers, a t otal of 20 percent that could be paid a wage lower than
the usual code minimum. The dress code permitted handicapped in
the same proportion (10 percent), and learners by agreement. 59 The
undergarment and negligee code permitted learners up to 5 percent
in New York, 10 percent elsewhere; this code being issued after the
E xecutive order applying to handicapped followed the terms of the
order, and hence allowed this type of employee if certified by the
proper agencies approved by the United States Department of Labor.
The period of learning was definitely limited in the coat and suit, the
cotton garment, the infants' and children's wear, men's clothing, and
the undergarment and negligee codes, but no limit was fixed in those
for the dress and blouse and skirt industries.
A minimum fixed lowe_r than the usual code wage was provided for
both of these excepted types of workers in the blouse and skirt code,
and for learners in the coat and suit and the undergarment and negligee
codes. The cotton garment and the infants' and children's wear
codes permitted learners to be paid 75 percent of the code minimum,
and in the latter case the handicapped could receive as little as 70
percent of the minimum.
One of the outstanding features of these codes was the requirement
of use of an N. R. A. label on garments, showing them to be made
under labor conditions complying with the respective codes. Such
labels were required in all the seven branches discussed here in detail,
68 Later employees in all codes had to be certified according to an Executive order covering such employees. (Seep. 50.)
6Q For use of learners in this industry, see pt. V, p. 48.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
94
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
and in 15 of the 20 clothing codes shown on chart IV, in two cases
by amendment subsequent to original adoption of the code.
Another advantageous feature of some of these codes was their
prohibition of indu~trial home work, a system always tending to
depress wage standards. The cotton garment code prohibited
machine sewing in homes; the infants' and children's wear code,
sewing (ostensibly machine); the men's clothing code abolished home
work after a 3-month period allowed for adjustment; the dress, the
blouse and skirt, and the undergarment and negligee code abolished
home work. The system was prohibited in whole or in part, or was
controlled to at least some degree, in practically all the other codes
shown in chart IV, though in a few cases this prohibition was not
yet completed or regulation was attempted instead, a method that
did not prove satisfactory in practice.
Tables 2 and 3 give summaries of certain wage data from several
clothing industries as the findings compare with conditions later
incorporated into codes. The former shows information from surveys
of dress and men's shirt or men's work clothing factories in Connecticut in 1931 and in 1933, in peak seasons in each case, and in plants
in four other States in 1932 and one city in 1933. The other table
shows wage data for several clothing industries in Connecticut and
in Kansas City in 1931 and 1933.
Examination of these tables indicates that many women were
earning less than the code minimum during these depression years,
but in some of these industries considerable proportions received well
above the code minimum, especially during the peak seasons but
still in the depression. For example, table 2 shows that in a peak
season in 1931, 47 percent of the women reported in the making of
dresses in Connecticut earned $15 or more, though the code minimum
fixed was only $14. That the wage variations are extreme as between
the different localities and the different types of clothing manufacture,
even where the processes are essentially similar, indicates the lack
of consistent wage standards prior to code adoption. Furthermore,
data for the different periods of study show the extreme fluctuations
to which the workers in some of these industries were subject and
illustrate the decline of their wages as depression advanced.
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95
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPOR'rANT INDUSTRIES
TABLE
2.-Wage data reported for several clothing industries prior to code adoption
Study and type of data
Men's
shirts
Dresses
House dresses Men's work
clothing
Median
week's earnMedian
ings ofweek's Perearn- cent All Wornings, earn- worn- en
ing
all
in
en
women over
firm
in
$12 firms p ayreported
ing
report- highed
est
-- ----
Study
- -Code minimum, dresses, $14; cotton garments, $13.
4 States, fall of
Connecticut, September-October
1931:
Median week's earningsAll women reported ______ __
Women working 48-52 hours_
Percent h aving week's earningsUnder $10 __ ______ _____ _____
$15 and over _________ __ _____
Connecticut, spring of 1933:
Median week's earningsAll women reported ____ ___ __
Women working 48-52 hours
Percent having week's earningsUnder
$10_
- -- - ____
-------Over $15
____- ---________
__ __
Kansas City, May-June 1933: a
Median week's earningsAll women reported ___ ______
Highest firm ____ __ ___ _______
Percent h aving week's earnings
under $6.
$14. 50
15. 75
$9. 65
'10. 75
26
47
53
10
1
1932:
Arkansas ___ ___ $6. 20
California _____ 10. 45
Georgia __ ___ __ 5. 05
4. 00
New Orleans,
La.
1. 1 $6. 55
33. 5 14. 50
2. 2 7. 45
3. 5 6. 90
$6. 80
20.10
11. 05
9. 00
$10. 44 --- -- - -- $11. 55 --------49 -- - --- -- 17 --- - ----$10. 90
$8. 85
$16. 00
$14. 75
28. 5 --- - ---- -
1 The Connecticut data are from studies by the Department of Labor and F actory Inspection of that
State; other data are taken from Women's Bureau studies.
2 44-48 hours.
a D ress data are for moderately-priced dresses.
TABLE
3. -Wage data reported by the Women's Bureau for several clothing industries
in Connecticut and in Kansas City, Mo ., in 1931 and 1933
K ansas City, May-June 1933
Connecticut, September-October 1931
0
~
~
las
at!
8.
Q)
Cl)Q)
Industry
~~
Q)Q)
~s
-o
~
~"'
og
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ti
[;;"<1'
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<ll"ta
~
;a"'
Q)
~
0
s
-<
Children's appareL $11. 15 $12. 30
$10
Tailored garments _ 13. 20 18. 20
15
20
10
15
10
15
9. 75 12. 50
vVomen's underwear.
Men's shirts ______ _ 9. 65 210.75
1 52-55
10
15
s
00
... ~
~-~
..Q~
~..Q
<i
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~
~
41
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e
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~';l<
~
reie
<ill»
~.t.:
0...>
s§
:::, o
so
-~.+,j
<l>..c:1 A
·a
sos-"'
~
0.
Infants' and $13. 00
children's
wear.
Coat and suit. 18. 55
Dress _________ 14.00
cloaks $10.05 $10. 75
63 Women's
and suits.
26 Women's moderate- 8.85 14. 75
ly priced dresses.
53
52 Men's underwear
8.90 9. 50 Undergarment
8.5
and negligee
and women's lingerie.
53 Men's work clothes_ 10.90 16. 00 Cotton garment .
90
90
hours largest group, median $15.40.
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1°3'0
en...,
'O
~0
0.
Q)
-- --
Women's dresses ___ 14. 50 15. 75
Industry
0
§
~
.8
Q)<I)
'O
..., A
A a,
~
Q)
A.....,
0
Median of
week's
earnings
-
oo..c:1
0~
~
Percent
earning
under
specified
amount
Code
I
' 44-48 hours .
13. 00
13. 00
96
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
The following summary gives comparisons of the wages of women
before and after the codes from surveys made in two States and
covering certain clothing industries at the peak seasons in 1933 and
1934.
1933
State and industry
Date
Percent of
women
Mewho
dian earnedearnings Under Over
$15
$10
Date
Percent of
women
Mewho
dian earnedearn
ings Under Over
$15
49
13
90 --- --
Name
Minimum
wage
for
this
section
$10
Connecticut: 1
Dress ________ ____ Spring ___ _ $10. 11
Pennsyl vania:2
Clothing (cotton
garment) _____ __ ApriL __ __ 5. 61
Code
1934
-
Spring ____ $16. 52
6
29
Dress ___ ____ $14. 00
February_ 10.95
42
12
Cotton garment.
13.00
- -1 From studies by the Connecticut Department of Labor and Factory Inspection.
2 From studies by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. See Labor and Industry,
September 1934.
The foregoing figures show a great improvement in women's
wages in these cases after code adoption, even though in the case of
the Pennsylvania surveys allowance be made for inclusion in 1934 of
certain products under the cotton garment code not included in
1933, and the average wage still was more than 15 percent below the
ordinary code minimum of $13.
Further indications of wage increases after code adoption are
shown in table 4, which gives such data on wages in various clothing
industries as are reported regularly from various sources.
These show that in 16 out of 22 reported cases the average or per
capita wage had increased from July 1933 to November 1934 by
10 percent or more, in 9 cases by over 25 percent; and the entire range
of change in the 22 cases was from a decline of 5.9 percent to an
increase of 52.9 percent. In every inst ance increases had occurred
in February 1934 over February 1933.
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97
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
TABLE
4.- Data on wages in clothing industries as regularly reported from van:ous
sources bejore and after code adoption
1934
1933
Industry and source
February
July
Percent
increase
February
1933 to
February NovemFebruary
ber
1934
Percent
mcrease
July 1933
to November
19341
2
--- --- ------ --Clothing:
Wisconsin _________ ___________________
$1 1. 06
$11.06
$13. 03
$15. 97
17.8
44.4
Men's clothing:
New York-Men ___ ______ ___________
Women ________ ___ ____ __
Bureau of Labor Statistics __ ____ ___ __
Massachusetts __________ ____ _____ ____
P ennsylvania _____________________ ___
23. 32
12. 29
13. 96
13. 17
8. 98
24. 56
12. 93
14. 57
14. 29
12. 69
26. 42
15.19
17. 01
16. 15
15. 08
24.63
12. 37
15.19
16.05
11. 94
13. 3
23. 6
21. 8
22. 6
67. 9
.3
-4.3
10.0
12. 3
5.9
Women's clothing :
New York-Men _____________________
Women _________________
Bureau of Labor Statistics __ ____ _____
Massachusetts __ ________________ _____
Pennsylvania __ ______________ ________
37. 40
17. 50
17. 58
12. 13
9. 03
31. 57
16.11
14. 83
11. 50
9. 36
40.13
21.34
20. 81
15. 71
11. 31
33. 45
20. 26
17. 70
14.47
12.13
7. 3
21.9
18. 4
29. 5
25. 2
6. 0
25.8
33. 3
25.8
29. 6
Men's furnishings:
New York-Men __ ________ __________
Women __________ ___ ____
Bureau of Labor Statistics ___________
19. 62
10. 55
10. 06
21.18
9. 47
10. 65
22. 21
12. 17
13. 63
23. 30
14. 48
15. 51
13. 2
15. 4
35. 5
10. 0
52.9
31. 5
8.85
8. 71
10.99
12. 00
24. 2
37. 8
9. 72
9. 81
12. 58
13. 20
29. 4
47.8
Women's headwear:
New York-Men _____________________
Women ____________ _____
Bureau of Labor Statistics (millinery) _
28. 75
15. 51
14.96
24. 31
14. 42
14.09
35.16
17. 36
19. 27
25. 97
16. 90
17. 74
22. 3
11. 9
28.8
6.8
17. 2
10. 4
Corsets:
Bureau of Labor Statistics ______ _____
14. 99
13. 78
16. 29
14. 99
8. 7
16. 8
Women's underwear:
New York- Men ___ _________________
Women ____ _____________
26. 46
14. 36
26. 44
13. 90
'27. 24
16. 02
26. 48
16. 61
2. 9
11. 6
.2
19. 5
Shirts:
Pennsylvania (includes furnishings) __
Bureau of Labor Statistics (includes
collars) ___ __________________________
1 Decrease if preceded by minus sign.
2 Percent change in Bureau of Labor Statistics items is computed from unpublished data of index figures
for ident ical firms .
Table 5, which shows the employment and pay-roll indexes from
the sources of periodic reporting, gives indication that from July 1933
to November 1934 there had been an upward movement of both
employment and pay rolls in almost every instance. Since in comparing these two months the seasonal factor would be important in
this highly seasonal group of industries, the table also gives indexes
for February 1933 and February 1934. These show very decided
increases in pay rolls in every instance, together with some employment increases in nearly every case.
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98
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
TABLE
5.-Indexes of employment and pay rolls in clothing industries as regularly
reported from various sources before and after code adoption
Employment
1933
Industry and State
February
Pay rolls
1934
July
1933
Febru- Novem7 February
ary
ber
---- - M en's clothing:
N ew York-Men . .. . . .........
Women ... ...... ..
Bureau of Labor Statistics . ....
Massachusetts . . _.... . ... ..... .
Pennsylvania .. .. __ ..... .......
1934
July
--- -
86. 5
74. 7
63
70
86. 9
151. 4
81. 5
75
81
85. 5
155. 0
87. 8
68
74
80. 3
154. 6
65.2
41
43
44. 3
56. 3
41. 2
43
46
51:3
106. 8
43.1
Women's clothing:
New York-Men ..............
·women ... ... . ....
Bureau of Labor Statistics ._ ...
Massachusetts. __ .. . ... .... .. . .
Pennsylvania . .................
74
64
115. 0
76. 8
126. 9
61
46
98. l
85. 5
119. 6
100
74
119. 0
95. 3
126. 7
114
81
115. 5
85. 4
131.9
73
49
70.6
46. 4
79.1
32
51. 9
49. 2
89. 4
Men's furnishings:
New York- Men ...............
Women . . .... . . .. .
Bureau of Labor Statistics .--· -
43
36
102. 9
45
43
108.4
54
45
101.0
58
53
116. 9
32
26
56. 0
36
28
61. 8
Shirts:
Pennsylvania (includes furnisbings) ... ..................
Bureau of Labar Statistics
(includes collars) ..... . .. .....
125. 9
151. 2
117.5
121.4
73. 7
90.1
109. 4
98. 6
101. 3
56.0
Women's headwear:
New York-Men . ..............
Women ...........
Bureau of Labor Statistics (millinery) ....• ....... ....... ....
70
73
68
97
86
103
78
55
50
80. 1
65. 3
83.9
Corsets:
Bureau of Labor Statistics .....
91.1
88. 2
Women's underwear :
New York- Men . .. . ...... ....
Women . . ------ ---
58
45
59
42
63
69
77. 7
Febru- Novemary
ber
--
--
55
62
60. 6
]22. 6
55. l
47
46
52.1
120. 7
31.8
105
69
94. l
74. 1
114. 4
100
72
81. 3
60. 7
125 . 3
46
37
70. 9
51
53
87. 5
100.9
98.8
111.3
72. 1
84. 0
98. 3
45
35
93
54
72
73
63
59. 3
58.1
45. 1
71. 3
45.1
91. 4
89. 3
75.4
68. 6
85. 7
80. 7
74
57
73
60
53
36
53
33
69
51
56
50
66
LEATHER INDUSTRIES
Of the women in the leather industries, nearly nine-tenths are in
boot and shoe factories, which employ over 86,000 women as operatives and laborers-more than are in any other manufacturing
industry except cotton and knitting mills-and over 10,000 women
in their office forces. 60 (See tables I and III in appendix B.)
Boot and shoe making is concentrated largely in a few States,
practically two-fifths of the women so employed being in Massachusetts and New York and about one-twelfth in Missouri. Illinois and
New Hampshire claim about 8 percent each, while between 4 and 6
percent are in each of the following: Ohio, Maine, Pennsylvania,
and Wisconsin.
A code for the boot and shoe industry was approved early in
October 1933. Comparisons of its provisions with wages recently
reported indicate an advance under the code in the wages of many
women, though rates for women (unless "doing substantially the
same work as men") were fixed below those of men, and a southern
differential was allowed tts well as a differential by size of city and a
oo For conditions in the leather-glove industry, see , v omen's Bureau Bui. 119.
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SELEC'l'ED CODES FOR IMPORTA T I DUSTRIES
99
-
lower wage for learners. Indications as to hours of work are more
scattering, especially since piecework so largely prevails in the industry, but it would seem from those available that the shortening
of actual work time would not be great, and in several cases the
indexes show decline in employment.
In this code, as so frequently was the case, the wages and hours
provided for were less favorable than those pressed for by the workers'
organizations in the industry. "We never have full employment in
the boot and shoe industry" they state in a competent brief presented at the hearing, which requested a 30-hour weekly maximum
and a higher wage standard ($18 minimum). The lack of employment increase that followed the code bears evidence to the need for
shorter hours than those fixed if added employment was an objective.
The need for a higher wage standard than that fixed in the code is
emphasized by the irregularity of earnings. In a survey of this
industry made by the Women's Bureau, earnings were examined for
a selected group of the most skilled and experienced workers with
long service records. It was found that even these expert workers
earned in a representative week less than three-fourths of what
should have been their income possibilities at the piece rates set.
Hours
Minimum hours of 40 a week were provided for in the code. However, 45 hours were allowed for 8 weeks of any 6-month period- that
is, for practically one-third of the time. If more than 8 hours a day
were worked, 1½ times the usual rate of pay was to be received for this
added time. These hour provisions covered office workers by specifically mentioning them.
·
These hours are considerably shorter than the full-time standards
that previously prevailed. However, they are but little shorter than
the hours that actually were being worked prior to the N. R. A.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of this industry in 1932 showed
the full-time hour standard of the plants as 48.9 hours per week, but
men were actually working an average of only 40, women 40.8 hours.By November 1934, after the code had been in effect about a year,
29 .4 hours were being worked.
Employment
As might be expected from this situation, little room was provided
under code hours for any considerable employment increases in an
industry where such heavy losses had occurred. 61 Available indexes
show employment in November 1934 decidedly below that in July of
1933. The figures are these:
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (av erage 1923-25=100) ___ ___
New York (June 1923=100):
Women ___ ___ __________ ___ _____ ___________ - _-- -- -Men _____ ______________ ________ ________ _______ ____
Massachusetts (average 1925-27=100) __ ___ _____________
Pennsylvania (average 1923- 25=100) __________ ____ _____
February
1933
July 1933
February
1934
83. 2
90.3
89. 6
79. 8
79
83
78
87. 7
93. 9
78
79
80. 8
95. 5
68
63
58. 3
85. 9
71
80. 6
109. 2
ovember
1934
61 The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment index, based on the average of 1925-27, showed declines as
follows:
1929
1930
1931
1932
First 6 months of 1933
92. 9
86. 0
79. 9
76. 2
76. 5
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100
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Wages
The shoe unions not only asked for higher wages but their brief
protested the fixing of differences by sex, · by size of city, and by
geographic area-with a very low minimum in the South (in half the
States defined in the code as South, shoes had not been made). 62
·The code minimum wages were fixed by the hour; they are as follows,
with calculations of what they would produce in a 40-hour week:
Men
Women
Cities of over 250,000 _________ _____ ______ ____ 3ni cents ($15) ____ ________ __ ______ 32½ cents ($13).
Cities of 20,000 to 250,000_____________ ___ ____ 36¾ cents ($14.50) _______________ __ 31 ¾ cents ($12.50).
Cities of under 20,000 _______ _______________ _ 35 cents ($14) ____ ______________ ____ 30 cents ($12) .
14 southern States _______ ________________________ do _____ -- ----------- --- -- -- ____
Do.
Pieceworkers were to be paid at least the minimum hourly rate;
apprentices for a 6-week period could be paid as little as 80 percent
of the code minimum but should not constitute over 5 percent of all
employees in the establishment. Another 5 percent of all employees
could come under the provision for handicapped, wages to be mutually
agreed upon by employer and worker. No special wage provision
was made for clerical forces but they were covered by the code for
all employees.
If full time were worked, these wages represented for many persons
advances over former earnings, but on the basis of the short hours
that the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, fewer have so benefited.
New York shows women's average weekly earnings in each month for
a year before July 1933 at not more than $12. In Ohio in 1932
nearly half the women so employed earned less than $12. In the
Bureau of Labor Statistics study in 1932 the average hourly earnings
of women were 30.8 cents, which would yield only $12.32 for a 40-hour
week. However, they were higher than this jn New Jersey and
Wisconsin, as well as in the two largest shoe States, New York and
· Massachusetts, the latter being the highest, with 35.4 cents ($14.16).
The code minimum wages were very low compared to those being
paid just before adoption of the code in many instances, as is shown
from the following available data, arranged in descending order:
New York, July 1933 (average, men) ____ ______________ $21. 35
Massachusetts, July 1933 (average, men and women)__ __ 16. 90
Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 1933 (per capita earnings, men and women)______ _____ ___ __ ___________ __ 16. 56
Wisconsin, July 1933 (average, men and women)____ ____ 15. 77
Women's Bureau, 1932-7 welt shoe factories, New
Hampshire (median, men)__ ________ _________ _______ 15. 20
Minimum in code-men _____ _______________________ _______ _
Pennsylvania, July 1933 (average, men and women) _____
$14 to $15
13. 73
Minimum in code-women, except in South and in towns
of under 20,000 _____ _____________ ___ ______________ _______ $12.50 to $13
New York, July 1,933 (average, women)_ _______ ______ __
12. 13
Minimum in code-women in South and in towns of under
20,000 __________ ___ _______________________ ______ _______ _
See discussion of these various tn>es
present study, pp. 221 28,
62
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$12
ot wage differentials in the boot and shoe code, in pt. III of the
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
101
Women's Bureau, 1932:
New Hampshire--14 McKay factories (median, men)_ $11. 70
7 welt factories (median, women) _ 10. 00
14 McKay factories (median,
women)_ ___ ________ ____ ______
6. 60
The following figures taken from sources affording periodic reports
show that after the adoption of the code the pay envelop of the
individual worker in this industry was considerably above that of
the same month in the year preceding (figures for February 1933 and
February 1934) , but this was later followed by a marked decline
(figures for July 1933 and November 1934). The only periodic
reports available for women-those for New Y orlc-show their
earnings to have increased from February 1933 to February 1934
relatively very much more than those of men, while their decline
from July 1933 to November 1934 was much less than that for men.
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics ______________ __
NewWomen
York: __________________ ___________ __
Men __ -- __ -- - - - - - - -- -- -- - - ---- - - - - ---Massachusetts- - - -- - - - --- -- -- - -- - - - - --- -- ~i~~~~!r:~-i~== ===========================
Percent
N ovember Ndecrease
ovember
1934
1934 from
July 1933
February
1933
July 1933
February
$14. 33
$16. 56
$18. 78
$14. 51
13. 8
11. 08
20. 08
15. 27
12. 24
12. 68
12. 13
21. 35
16. 90
13. 73
15. 77
13. 90
22. 72
19. 60
16. 99
18. 12
11. 12
16. 95
13. 89
13. 20
13. 59
8. 3
20. 6
17. 8
3.9
2. 4
1934
The total pay rolls of plants in this industry had declined so seriously in the past 4 years that it was estimated shoe workers had lost
$86,300,000 in purchasing power, on the basis of the total wage of
$222,400,000 in 1929. Bureau of Labor Statistics indexes show this
decline as follows:
1930 ____________ __________
193 L ____ _ _ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ ___
1932 ______ _______ _________
1933(6.rst 6 months) ___ ____ _
81. 9·
73. 4
61. 2
57. 5
Indexes from various sources show that in February 1934 total pay
rolls were considerably above those of February 1933, though they
had not reached the 1930 level and in most cases still were far below
the payments made in earlier periods. By November 1934 marked
declmes appeared. The pay-roll indexes showing this situation are
as follows:
Source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (average 1923- 25=100) ______
New York (June 1923=100) Women _________ __________
Men . . --------·----------Massachusetts (average 1925--27=100) __________ ________
Pennsylvania (average 1923-25=100) __ ___ ______________
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Februar y
1933
56. 2
48
46
52. 0
79. 8
July l!l33
71. 4
56
54
62. 4
76. 4
F ebru ary
November
1934
1934
81. 0
60
58
67.0
96. 0
54. 6
,12
35
35. 3
67 . 7
102
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
CERTAIN FOOD INDUSTRIES
Food and allied industries form another group of large employers
of women. The four of these most important from this point of view
will be taken into consideration here-candy, bakeries, fruit and vegetable canning, and slaughtering and meat packing. These engage
nearly three-fourths of the women operatives and laborers in the
entire food group-candy employs over 28,500 women, canning and
bakeries each over 16,500, and meat packing more than 13,500.
Nearly 60 percent of the operatives and laborers in candy factories
are women, as are practically half those in canneries; the great majority of the women in the latter are seasonal employees. The 4
industries together have more than 21,000 women clerical workers,
about 45 percent of these being in bakeries.
The bakery and the canning industries are widely scattered among
the States, though naturally there are many bakery employees in the
large industrial sections. According to the 1931 census of manufactures, practically one-fourth of the cannery workers are in California;
New York is second in this industry, and about one-tenth of all so
engaged are in States listed by the code as "southern." The work
is highly seasonal in character, and the peak periods differ among the
States according to product handled as well as to geographic differences affecting the time of maturity of various products. For example, while September often is thought of as an outstanding peak
month and tomatoes are canned then in such States as Delaware and
Maryland, the heavy fruit-canning season in California may come
somewhat earlier. October sometimes is the peak in Washington
State, pea canning with a July peak is outstanding in Wisconsin, and
so on. 63
The geographic distribution of candy making and meat packing
on any considerable scale is somewhat more limited than is the case
with bakeries and canning. Well over one-third of those at work
in candy factories are in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, and if Illinois be added nearly three-fifths are accounted for.
Something under one-tenth are in the States listed in the code as in
the South. In meat packing slightly over one-fifth of the employees
are in Illinois, the only other States having as many as 6 percent
being Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota; and the States listed as South
in the code have just over 6 percent.
These food industries were not under codes for almost a year, or
even longer, after the earlier days of the Recovery Administration.
For three of them codes were not in effect until practically the middle
of June 1934 or later, while for the fourth (slaughtering and meat
packing) no code was approved, though operation was under a modification of the President's Reemployment Agreement.
Since these codes were approved so late, any discussion of changes
in wages or employment up to February 1934 would not show effects
of the code, but rather those of the P. R. A. Each of these industries was operating under its own special modification of this agreement , and on the whole these were not widely divergent from the
provisions finally placed in codes.
63 Figures from the census of manufactures, 1929, giving monthly variations in employment, show the
peak for tbe canning industry in Wisconsin in July, California in August, Washingto n in October.
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SELlnC'1'1W CO:OES FOE. lMPORTAN'T l
DUSTRIES
103
If comparison be made of such employment indexes as are available
for November 1934 with those for July 1933, a decided advance is
seen in employment in confectionery, meat packing, and baking, the
last mentioned being well above its 1923- 25 level. Wages showed
some advance in bakeries, and had increased in canneries by more
than one-half, in confectionery and meat packing by about onefourth. Where separate figures were available for the two sexes
(New York) women in bakeries and canning were shown to have benefited less than men in employment; however, it is not surprising that
their wage increases were much greater than those of men, since
women's wages always had been at the lowest end of the scale.
For the most part, and with the exception of the canning industry,
hours fixed by these codes (see text following) were considerably
shorter than standards previously prevailing, though somewhat longer
or but very little shorter than the hours actually being worked just
prior to code adoption. Consequently, little room was afforded for
employment increase. Wages in the codes gave promise of some
advance for those who were in the lower-paid groups before e:xistence
of the code.
Hours
The bakery and candy codes fixed the basic hour maximum at 8 a
day, 40 a week, which is short compared to standards that previously had existed in these industries, though not in relation to the
hours being worked in candy making during the year preceding adoption of the codes. In both these cases generous allowances were
mad~ for overtime in addition to that permitted for special emergencies.
In candy factories a week of 48 hours and a day of 10 hours were
allowed for 18 peak weeks in the year, not more than 12 of these to
occur in any 6 months; hours over 40 a week and 8 a day were to be
paid for at not less than one and one-third the usual rate. In bakeries 10 hours were allowed, with a week of 48 hours for retail sales
employees and for all workers in hand-craft shops, and 11 hours for
the latter on Saturdays and on days preceding holidays. In both
these codes, in general, the same basic hour maxima were provided
for office workers as for other employees, in the candy code by specific mention, with 9 hours allowed on 1 day a week (the latter not to
exceed 40 hours), and with 49 hours allowed in not to exceed 2 weeks
during inventory, with overtime pay.
The P.R. A. modification for confectionery making fixed the week
at 48 hours, to average 40 over a 90-day period. That for bakeries
provided a 44-hour week for machine-operating plants, a 50-hour week
in hand-craft shops. These, together with the following data, indicate that code hours were considerably shorter than the hours formerly
customary in these two industries:
In a small sample survey of bakeries .in several States made by the Women's
Bureau in the spring of 1934, shortly before adoption of the code, most hour
schedules found were 44 or longer. A survey in one State, made several years
earlier, showed that all women reported in bakeries had schedules longer than 52
hours, well over two-fifths having schedules of 54 or more.
In connection with candy manufacture, a survey by the Women's Bureau made
several years ago in Ohio reported over 800 women in this type of work, nearly
three-fifths of whom had schedules as long as 50 hours.
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104
EMPLOYED WOME
UNDER N. R. A. CODES ,
On the other hand, available current information shows that code
provisions allowed longer hours than actually were being worked in
candy plants just prior to code adoption, and hours but httle shorter
than those that for the most part were being worked in bakeries. In
plants reporting to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average weekly
hours of candy workers had not been longer than 37 .6 in any month
in the year beginning with August 1933; those in bakeries in the same
period, while slightly above 40 in most months, were as high as 43
only in August 1933.
The canning code permitted very long hours, even though the basic
nonseasonal provision was for a 36-hour week with 40 hours for clerical
employees, who might work a total of 40 hours overtime within the
year. But the seasonal forces, which in the last analysis form the
great bulk of the employees, may work "the hours necessary to handle" the crop or perishable product, with only the limit for men of
60 hours a week; for women there was no limit to hours, though overtime had to be paid after 10 hours a day, which allowed women a 60hour week at the regular rate during the season, and ov~rtime had to
be paid for Sunday work. In co~nection with seasonal allowances it
is important to point out that plants often operate for many months
of the year over a continuous series of successive peak seasons due to
handling several types of crops maturing at different times.
Available reports as to hours that actually had been worked give
no indication of a need for such a long allowance in this industry. In
the first 6 months of 1934 average weekly hours in canning firms
reporting to the Bureau of Labor Statistics were never so long as 36,
and even in the peak of September 1933 the average was only 39 .8.
While the plea for long hours was made on the basis of the seasonality
of the industry, many plants follow the season of one product after
another so that their "peak season" is not always so short as may
appear.
The P. R. A. modification for meat packing fixed a 40-hour week,
with 48 for 8 weeks in the year and for an additional 8 a tolerance of
10 percent over 48- thus allowing hours longer than 40 for about
one-third of the year. Clerical workers' hours were to average 40 a
week within a month's time. The P.R. A. modification for sausagecasings manufacture provided an average of 40 hours a week over each
8-week period.
In a study of meat packing made by the Women's Bureau in 1928,
hours were reported for more than 5,000 women in 9 States in which
this industry centers. Practic,ally three-fourths of these had worked
longer than 40 hours a week, and nearly one-tenth of them had worked
54 hours or longer.
Just prior to N. R. A. organization, however, the hours being worked
were somewhat shorter, or were but very little longer, than the 40
provided in the President's Reemployment Agreement. In the 11
months beginning in August 1933 and extending through June 1934,
the hours reported each month showed a range of from 38.6 to 40.9
in the week.
In each of these three industries there was considerable shortening
of work hours from February 1933 to February 1934, as shown by
Bureau of Labor Statistics data; this may have been effected by the
P. R. A., since codes were not approved before that time. In November 1934, after the codes, hours in bakeries and canning had
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105
SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
shortened more under codes than before.
in these months were as follows:
The average hours worked
1933
1934
Industry
February
Baking ___ ____ ____ ___ ______ __ __ __ _____________ ________ _
Canning and preserving ______ _____ ______ ___ _____ ___ __ _
Confectionery _____ _____ _____________ __ ___ __ __ ___ ___ __ _
July
46. 9
February
47. 2
39. 3
29. 0
40. 1
37. 0
November
39. 6
40. 5
34. 2
37. 6
31. 7
35. 4
Wages
Under the candy code the weekly rates for men for 40 hours' work
ranged according to size of city, from $16 to $14 in the North and from
$14 to $13 in 13 southern States (including Kentucky and 4 StateJ
west of the Mississippi); for women they ranged from $14 to $12 in
the North, from $12 to $11 in the South. But with less than 36
hours being worked, as was the case in November 1934, men's wages
ranged from $12.60 to $14.40 in the North and from $11.70 to $12.60
in the South according to size of city; women's wages ranged from
$10.80 to $12.60 in the North, $9.90 to $10.80 in the South. The
code hourly rates were as follows:
North
South
Size of city
Men
Women
Men
Women
- - - - - -- -- -- - - -- - - - --,-- - - - - -- - - - - - Over 500,000 and trade area ________ _________ __ ____ _____ _______ _
100,000 to 500,000 and trade area _______ _______ ______ _____ ____ ___
All other places _______ ____ ___ ______ _____ _____ _________________ _
Cents
40
37½
35
Cents
35
32½
30
Cents
35
32½
32~2
Cents
30
27½
2n2
Learners, not to exceed 5 percent of all employees but with no
fixed learning period, could be paid 85 percent of the code rates.
Clerical workers were to receive not less than $16 a week, with $2
less for office boys and messengers, limited to 5 percent of all employees.
While comparison is difficult without entering into detailed figures
and explanations, there is some indication that wages were a little
better in Rome cases under the code than under the P. R. A. 64
Per capita earnings as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
for November 1934 were 7.5 percent above those of November 1933.
Further available figures indicate some general improvement in the
code standard of wages as compared to those being paid previously;
this app-ears to be truer for women than for men, owing to the fact
M For men workers in the smaller places, code wages were the same as those provided under the P.R. A.
for the North, 35 cents, and for the South they were somewhat bigber, 32½ cents under tbe code, 30 cents
under tbe P. R . A. Code wages for larger places were still higher. However, the P.R. A. permitted as
low as 32½ cents in tbe North, 27½ cents in the South, if less than the higher minimum provided was paid
in July 1929. That this affected larger propartions of women tban men is indicated from Ohio figures for
1929, which show tbat over one-fourth of the women but less than 3 percent of tbe men bad earned under
$12, wbile over 60 percent of the women but less than 10 percent of the men had received under $15. The
P. R. A. 32½ cents as a northern minimum, allowed if rate was that low in July 1929,was the same as the
code wage for women in the North in places of 100,000 but less than 500,000, and for men in the South in all
places of 500,000 and under.
1182°-35---8
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106
EMPLOYED WOM'EN UNDER N. R. A. COD:ES
that women's wages were at the lowest levels in the industry.
data that show these indications are as follows:
The
Average earnings in candy manufacture in New Yo1;k in March 1934, prior to
code adoption, were $22.97 for men but only $13.75 for women. More than
80 percent of each sex were in cities of 500,000 or over, and u nder the code women
were to receive a minimum of $14, men of $16. Thus the code wage would tend
to make some improvement in the wages of women, but this was much less true
of men's wages. Moreover, in November 1934 women's wages were 36 percent
above those in July 1933, but men's had advanced less than 3 percent. In
November 1934 women's wages were 6 percent above November 1933, but men's
had declined over 4 percent.
In Ohio, even in the d epressed year of 1932, the median earnings of the men
reported were over $19 and more than 70 percent of them had received $15 or
over. Of the women, however, slightly less than a third had earned as much as
$12, though more than 60 percent of them were in towns of 100,000 and over;
consequently, code wages should have benefited them considerably.
Figures for March 1934, before adoption of the code, showed average wages of
men and women combined in confectionery making to be above the highest
miI;1.imum for men-$16--both in Massachusetts and in Pennsylvania ($16.71 in
the former, $16.17 in the latter). Well over half the workers in Pennsylvania
and practically 70 percent of those in Massachusetts were in cities of 500,000 or
more, in which the code minimum was $16.
For the sa:rne month, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, which may have
included more firms in smaller places, show an average of $15.40. Reference to
the discussion on page 28 i,ndicates that about 60 percent of the women in this
industry were in the largest cities, that had a minimum of $16. Figures for
Wisconsin include bakeries with confectionery establishments and show an
average wage of $16.54.
In canneries, seasonal employees form the great majority of the
women affected by the wage rates. While the code permitted up
to 60 hours without overtime pay and a 40-hour average is rarely
attained in the year, the following shows the basic hourly minima
fixed, with calculation of what a 40-hour yield would amount to:
Men
Women
North __ _________________ _____ _______ , __ 32½ cents ($13) ___ ______ ___ ____________ 27½ cents ($11).
Intermediate ____________________________ 27½ cents ($11) --------- - -------~ - ---- - 22½ cents ($9) .
South ____ ___ ____ ________________________ 25 cents ($10)____ _______ ______ ___ ______ 20 cents ($8) .
The code provided that if paid by the piece half the workers should
receive minimum pay for each hour worked of at least 2% cents above
the minimum rates fixed for seasonal workers on a time basis. The
remaining half should receive not less than 7;~ cents below these rates,
which meant for half the workers the possibility of receipts by women
of from 15 cents in the South to 22;~ cents in the North ($5 to $8.20). 65
Time and a half was ~o be paid for hours over 10 a day, and double
time for hours beyond 12. Handicapped persons could obtain the
usual type of permit for such employees. Clerical workers were to
receive $14 to $16, according to size of city, with $2 less for office
boys and messengers, who might form not over 10 percent of all office
employees.
64 During the season subsequent to this report requests were not infrequent for a stay from even these
low rates for certain processes. These were supported by the plea of throwing workers out of jobs, but the
Women's Bureau claimed that in such highly seasonal cases the worker really does not have a job that is
o! any appreciable value for year-round support. Accordingly, rates should not be so low as to undercut
other wage standards, but in view of the short seasons actually should be higher than where employment
can be more continuous.
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SELECTED CODES FOR IMPORTANT I DUSTRIES
107
The rates for women differed but little from those under the
P. R. A., which placed no hour limitation on seasonal employees. 66
Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show that per capita earnings in
November 1934 were 57 percent above those of July 1933; since the
canning industry is so seasonal, comparisons of the same month are
more valid, and this increase in earnings in November 1934 over the
same month in 1933 was 29 percent. However, in November 1934
average earnings of women in New York were below the lowest
weekly wages provided by the code for that area, being only $9.57,
though for men they were $15. Those reported by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics for the two sexes combined were $12.53, by Wisconsin $11 .22. According to New York figures the increases were for
women, being about 3 percent from November 1933 to November
1934, while men's earnings had declined more than 9 percent. In
Ohio in 1932, which was during depression, half the men earned $12
or more, though less than 15 pernent of the women received this much.
The baking code provided a minimum of 40 cents an hour in thP
North, 35 cents in the South, respectively $16 an'd $14 for the 40-hour
week specified. As a normal wage this made a good showing among
other codes, even though for certain occupations in which women
especially are employed (wrappers, icers, and cleaners) 80 percent
of this was allowed..t which would be 32 cents and 2'8 cents 2 or $12.80
and $11.20, respectively, in the North and the South. 67 Handicapped
employees were allowed. Office workers were to be paid $14 to $16
according to size of city, with $2 less for office messenger and delivery
boys, limited to lp percent of all office employees. Store employees
were to receive $12 to $15 according to size of city, with $1 less in
the South.
The code rates did not differ greatly from those under the P. R. A.,
which were 40 cents in the North, 35 cents in the South. 68
Earnings figures for bakeries prior to the code indicate that the
increase would be small under code rates. Figures for March 1934
for men and women combined, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
show average earnings of over $21, very much above the code minimum. Ohio figures for the depressed year of 1932 show something
over one-fourth of the women but more than four-fifths of the men
earning $15 or over. A small survey the Women's Bureau made of
this industry in several eastern States in the spring of 1934 (prior to
adoption of this code) showed over 60 percent of t he women covered
to be earning at least $12.80, the code minimum for special occupations.
ee Rates for towns or under 250,000 in the P. R. A. would cover most fruit and vegetable canneries. These
were 20 cents in the South, 22½ cents and 25 cents in two groups of intermediate and northern States and
counties; the rates fixed by the industrial welfare commissions in 3 States on the Pacific coast provided a
minimum but in no event less than 30 cents.
e1 This fact was emphasized by a subsequent request (October 1934) of the restaurant industry, which
had very low wages and long hours in its code, for exemption from the provisions of the bakery code (under
which they never had operated so far) in respect to bakery shops maintained by restaurant proprietors,
and often selling their products over the counter. The plea was denied . It was given weight because of
the confusion of some firms subject to several codes. For example, one large restaurant chain in New York
would have had to operate under codes for restaurant, candy, bakery, and retail confectionery. The
bakery industry, endeavoring to cooperate with better standards, claimed they would be unable to do this
if they continued to be undercut by restaurant bakeries. The Women's Bureau maintained that a rise
in standards for the restaurant code would be more contributory to the increased purchasing power and
the raised living standard necessary to recovery than would a lowering of standards for certain bakery
w~f"r~le the P. R. A. allowed as low as 30 cents in the North if less than 40 cents was paid in July 1929,
no such exception was made in t):10 South, and the code ~!lowed 32 cen~sin the North, 28 cents in the So_u~h,
for certain occupations employmg many women. Ohio figures agam show that the July 1929 prov1s10n
affected more women than men, since over half the women in this industry but less than 10 percent of the
men earned less than $15 in 1929.
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108
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R . A. CODES
Earnings after the code showed some increase-about 4 percent
from July 1933 to November 1934, and about 3 percent in November
1934 over the same month of 1933. New York data indicate greater
increases for women than for men, the proportions being as follows:
Percen t increase forDate
·w omen
Men
0. 03
7. 3
July 1933 to N ovember 1934---------- ----- -- ------ -------~ - -- -- -- - ---- - --------November 1933 to November 1934 ________________ __ ___________________ _____ ____ _
28.1
15. 8
The P. R. A. modification for meat packing provided the following
wages:
V'vomen in special occupations,
Population
North
South
5 cents less
North
South
Cities of 500,000 or over ______ ________ __ 42½ cents__ __ _ 35 cents ___ ___ _ 3i ½ cents__ ___ 30 cents.
Cities under 500,000 _ _ ___ ______ ________ 40 cents __ _____ 30 cents _____ __ 35 cents ____ ___ 25 cents.
This would make wages for 40 hours in the larger places $17 and
$14 for men (some women also) and $15 and $12 for women in certain
occupations. Average earnings for men and women combined both
in July 1933 and in March 1934, according to reports of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics and those of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin, were more than $20. In Ohio in 1932, a year during
depression, at least as much as $15 was received by 84 percent of
the men and 17 percent of the women.
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APPENDIXES
A.-SUMMARY OF CODES THAT HAD SPECIFIED
HOUR AND WAGE PROVISIONS
B.-GENERAL TABLES
C.- EXTRACTS FROM WOMEN'S BUREAU TESTIMONY
AT HEARINGS ON EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
UNDER CODES, JANUARY 1935
D.--EXTRACTS FROM WOMEN'S BUREAU MONTHLY
NEWS LETTERS AS TO CERTAIN PROBLEMS
OF WOMAN EMPLOYMENT UNDER THE N. R. A.
109
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
APPENDIX A
SUMMARY OF CODES THAT HAD SPECIFIED HOUR AND
WAGE PROVISIONS
Of the 493 codes approved to July 1, 1934, 491 had labor prov1s10ns. All
theee provided for a minimum wage, all but 2 fixed a maximum for hours of work. 1
BASIC PROVISIONS FOR MINIMUM WAGE (491 CODES)
2
PRODUCTIVE WORKERS
Number
Wa ge qualifications: 2
of codes
Not qua lified 3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
15 7
Lower wages specified in South ____ ____ ____________ _, _ ___ ___ _____
176
Lower wages specified for women __ ___ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ __ _
128
Wages differing by occupation_ ___ ___ _____ __ __ ___ _______ __ ______
59
Lower
wages
occupations
usually
performed
by_ 11
women
_____for
__ __specific
___ __ ___
____ __________
_______
______
Wages differing by size of city_ _________ ___ ___ _ ___ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ __ __
Codes requiring survey of occupations and their requirements to b e
reported upon within specified time____ ___ __ ________ _____ ___ ___
Wages differing by defined geographic area (usually lower in South)__
Wages differing b y division of industr Y---- ---- ~- - - - --- - --------Wages below minimum if lower July 1929______ ___________ ___ ___ _
Lower wages for "light repetitive" work but without other sp ecified
sex difference ___ ________ __ ______ _____ ____ _______ ____ ___ ____ _
58
51
45
31
30
Minimum a mount s fi xed in code for most productive workers: 3
Over 40 cents__ ___ __ ____ _______ __ ___ ______ __ __ _____________ ___
40 cents (or $16)---- - --~ --- - -------- --- - ----------- -- --------Over 35 cents, under 40 cents (or $15) ____ __ _____________ ______ __
35 cents (or $14)_ ____ ___ _____ _______ ______ ______ ______ ___ _____
Over 30 cents, under 35 cents (or $13) _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ _ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _
30 cents (or $12) 4 _ _ _ _ _ ___ __ ___ _ _ _ __ ______ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ ___ _ __ ____
Over 25 cents, under 30 cents __________ __ __ ________________ __ ___
25 cents and under (or $10 a nd under) __ ___ __ ______ ________ ___ __ _
13
81
22
92
84
117
24
58
3
1 No labor provisions in the wine industry and the alcoholic beverage importing codes (July 1, 1934) .
No hour restrictions in t hat for fur trapping nor in that for inland water carrier with the exception of shore
employees.
2 Details aggregate more than total because some codes contained several of these provisions.
3 This list does not t ake account of exceptions for learners or handicapped or other such classifications,
nor does it include any provisions that were made for office forces, which will be shewn later.
4 The largest group of codes for the more important woman-employing industries bad this minimum, and
most of the remainder were in the 2 classes having still lower.
111
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
112
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R . A . COl>ES
BASIC PROVISIONS FOR MAXIMUM HOURS AND
LIMITATIONS (489 CODES) 5
OTHER TI,ME
PRODUCTIVE WORKERS
Number
Weekly hours :
of codes
Less than 40_ __ ______ ____________ __ __ _______ _______ ______ __ ___
24
40 (includes maximum for 1 week where hours averaged)___ ___ ___ __
350
More than 40 (includes maximum for 1 week where hours averaged )_______________________ _______________ ______ __ ________
75
With averaging provision___ ________ ___ ______ ______ ____ 61
Without averaging provision_ ______ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14
Hours averaged__ _____ __ ____ ____ _____ ___ __________ ____ ________
81
No limit for any week __ ___________ _____ ____ __ _________ 18
Limited for any week____ _______ ___________________ ____ 63
Varying weekly schedules____ ______ __ _______ __ ___ ____ ______ __ __
22
Daily hours:
No daily limit though week limited ______ ___ ___ ______ __ ________ _
Daily hours limited ____ _____ _____ ____ _ _
8-hour day _______ __ ____ __ ______ _ _
7- or 7½-hour day _______ ____ _____ _
9-hour day _ _____ ______ __ ___ _____ _
10-hourday ______________ _______ _
Varying daily sch edules ___________ _
Specifically
By implication 6
330
55
285
9 ___ ___ 52
__
12
2
12
1
12 _______ _
104
Total
385
337
9
14
13
12
D ays of the week:
No limit to days of the week __ ______ _____ __ ____ ______ _________ _
Days of week limited __ __ __ __ _____ ___ __
208
25 _____ __ _
Less tha n 6 days 7 __ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ ____
31
2
33
6 days __________________ ___ __ __ __
175
23
198
Va rying daily schedules ______ _____ _
2_ _______
2
256
233
Night work prohibited or beginning and end of day specified __ ________ _
Overtime provisions:
Som e type of overtime specified ____ __ ______ __ ___ _____ ___ _____ __ _
Unlimited under some conditions _______ ______ ___________ 311
Strictly limited_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 95
Overtime for seasonal requirements ____ ___ ____ ___ ________ ____ ___ _
Limited __ ___________ ___ ___ _____ ______ __ ____ __________ 231
No limit__ _______ ___________________________________ _
7
Overtime pay required ________ _______ ____________ ______ 168
No limit and no overtime pay required s_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _
3
Overtime for emergencies ___ ___ _______________ _____________ ___ _
Limited _____ ___________ ________________ _______________ 32
No limit_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~98
Rate of pay specified __ ______ __________________________ 294
Overtime pay required under some conditions 9 ___ ________ _ ___ ___ _
Rate of 1½ specified under some conditions ___ __ __ ________ 163
Rate of 1¼ specified under some conditions___ ________ ____ 189
Varying rates specified 10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11
No overtime specified ________________________________________ - _
Overtime pay specified _______________________ _____ _ _ _ _ _ 16
Restrictions on plant operation ____ _______ ____ _____ ____ ___ ____ - ___ - _
23
406
2
238
2
330
2
349
83
55
Details aggregate more than total because some codes contained several of t hese provisions.
6 The weekly and daily hour sections of this list do not take account of excepted occupations, of overtime
provisions, nor of provisions for office forces. Weekly limits include maximum provided where hours are
averaged.
e Usually by provision for overtime beyond certain hours.
7 Includes one code, that for fibre can and tube, that implied a 4-day week if the firm elected a 10-hour day.
For over 40 hours a week 1¼ times the usual rate was paid, 1½ times if above 48 in the week.
s All employing considerable numbers of women: Electrical manufacturing, savings, building and loan
associations, and in certain phases of the men's clothing industry.
v Ordinarily for all overtime specified, though in some cases definitely provided for overtime for one
purpose, as seasonal, but not specified for that for another, as emergency.
10 Usually one rate for certain hours, a higher rate for longer hours, though in some cases may refer t o
rates differing according to reason for overtime.
2
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SUMMARY OF HOUR AND WAGE PROVISIONS
113
PROVISION FOR SUBSTANDARD MINIMUM WAGES FOR CERTAIN
TYPES OF EMPLOYEES 11
Learners 12 ____________________________________________________ ___
No exceptions for learners_ ___________________________________ __
Exceptions for learners 13_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wage provision for learners:
Entirely excepted from any minimum wage_____ ___ ____ _______
Minimum wage fixed for learners below code minimum ________
Minimum 20 percent below code minimum_ __________ 138
Number of learners allowed:
Not limited _ _ _ _ _______ ______________________________ _____
Limited ______ _________ --- ___ -- ______________________ __ ___
Limit less than 5 percent__ _________________________
1
Limit 5 percent____ _______________________________ 111
Limit over 5 and less than 10 percent__ ______________
5
Limit 10 percent____ _____________________________ _ 43
Limit over 10 percent ________________ _______ .:._____ _
7
Limited with other workers (usually to 5 percent) _____ 40
Miscellaneous limit________________ ________________
2
Learning period: 1a
Defined__ __________________________ _____________________ _
Not defined____ _____ _____________________________________
Industrial home workers: u
Codified industries in which home work known to be done____ ___ ___
Home work prohibited under certain conditions___________________
· Entirely, upon approval of code__ ______________________ _ 65
Entirely, after specified date_ __________________________ _ 21
Entirely, for certain occupations__ ______________________
5
Allowed only by consent of Administrator_ _______________
3
Home work recognized by some type of regulation __________ __ ____
Provision made for setting rates_________ ________________
3
Study by code authority required, looking toward abolition or
regulation __________________________ __ ______________
3
Number
of codes
491
261
230
38
206
33
209
194
52
121
94
6
11 Codes excepting employees who were "handicapped", " old", "slow workers", etc. not listed here,
since an Executive order issued at the middle of February largely superseded code provisions in this connection by requiring the employer to secure, for the use of such workers, permits from the State authority.
A similar order requiring home workers to obtain certificates was issued considerably later. See footnote 14.
12 This list applies throughout primarily to learners. Some codes used the term "learners and/or apprentices" but in the usual case the connotation indicated the lack of apprenticeship system. A few codes
specified bona fide apprentices in industries having a period of actual training for a highly skilled process, as
codes for electrotyping, ship building, and photoengraving, for example, not large woman-employers, and
certain of those in the graphic arts.
1a Details exceed the total of 230 codes having exceptions, as a few codes provided differently for learners
and apprentices.
u By an Executive order of May 15, 1934, these were required to secure a certificate from the State author•
ity designated by the United States Department of Labor, signed by both employer and home worker
each giving certain guaranties. This applied only where the code did not specifically prohibit home
work. (Seep. 52.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
114
~MPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
CODE PROVISIONS FOR WAGES, HOURS, OR BOTH, OF CLERICAL
WORKERS, COMPARED WITH THOSE OF FACTORY WORKERS (491
CODES)
Number of codes
Office workers
Productive
workers
Specific
provision
in code
Included in
"all workers" etc.
Total
WAGE PROVISIONS
Some wage provisions in code ___________
491
338
149
487
Over 40 cents_ _____ ______ _________
13 ________ ____ ___________ _
$16 (or 40 cents)_ _____ ____________
81 ____ ______ __ __________ _ _
Over $15_______ _______ ________ ___ ______ __
38
12
50
Over $14, under $16 ____________ ___ __________________ __ ___ _ _______ _
Over 35 cents, under 40 cents (or
over $14, under $16) __________ ___
22 ______ ________________ _ _
$15 _________________ __ __ _________ ---- -- -119
9
128
93
125
28
153
$14 (or 35 cents)______ ____________
Over $12, under $14 _____ __ _______ _ }
84
15
38
53
Over 30 cents, under 35 cents ___ ___ _
$12 (or 30 cents)____ ____ ___ ____ ___
117
36
45
81
Over 25 cents, under 30 cents ______
23 ________
2
2
25 cents (or $10 and under) ________
58
5
15
20
No wage provision ___ ______ ____________ _______
4 ________
4
HOUR PROVISION
Some provision in code _________ ___ ____ _
Limit fixed : 1
Under 40 hours a week ___________ _ _
40 __ _____ ___ _______ _____________ _
Over 40, under 48 _ ____ _________ __ _
48 _______ _____ __ ___ _____________ _
Over 48 (includes 56) _________ ____ _
Varying schedules ___ ___________ __ _
Code provision for averaged hours _____ _ _
Some limit for single week _______ __ _
No limit for single week ___________ _
No hour provision ________________ ____ _
489
274
212
486
24
350
2
117
19
97
2
164
4
281
27
123
1
12
167
129
38
11
60
4 ---- --- 22
6
135
81
102
63
18
33
2 - --- ---- - --- ---- --------
Specifically excluded ____ . ___ __________________ _
1
Includes limits in codes that had provisions for averaging hours.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8
26
1
6
32
27
5
3
4
APPENDIX BGENERAL TABLES
TABLE
!.-Selected industries or occupations important in woman employment and
numbers of women they em ployed, Census of Occu pations, 1930 1
All groups __________ ____ _______ __ ___ __ __ __________________________________ ____ ____ ___ _
Saleswomen and "clerks" in stores ___ ________ __ _ __ ___ _______ __ __ __ __________ __ ________ ____
Textile industries 2____ ___ _____ ____ ________ ______ _________ __ __________ _______ ___ _ ____ ________
3,088,629
705,793
452,007
l~~i~fJikt~¥iLi!}!\+++))((} l~ffl }\j(
Textile dyeing, finishing, and printing mills __ - - --- --- -- -- ----- - -- -- ----- --5,980 ___ _____ __ __
Hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses_____ _______ _____ _________________ _____ _ __ __ ___ __ __ _
412,969
Clj~~~t;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::_ _J!ii_:::::i~!~
Jt~1~i~f~j~/::rntrn::t:I~t~tl:::;lI/_ _J~_j/ fa)rn
Laundry (operatives and laborers)____ ___ ___ __ ___________ ____ ___________________ _____ _______
157,706
~=~s~
==========
===
===
======:
=: : :: =======
=== ____
==== =
==== ===
~1~:
~
Food and~~~f:~!~!.g:~dmani<lurists=
allied industries 2________ _____===
___________
___
___
______
_____________
____
________
106,670
~~ii~~~~!!:1at1ecan-:.ri1rig;eic====
==:__________
===: ===: ==_____
=====
=:=::::::=
==: ===
=: =
::
~~ =______
===: =:___===:__ =
Bakeries_______ __ ___ _____ __ _____ __ ____
__________
______
__=::
____
_
16, 875
_
Slaughter and packing houses__ ___ ___ _________ ___ __ _______ ____ ___ ______ ___ __
13,668 ___________ _
97,348
Leather indu.stries 2_ __ ___ _ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ ___ _ ___ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ ___ __
Shoe factories ___ _____ ____ ____ ______ __ ___ ______ _______ _______ ____ ___ _______ __ _
86,293 __ ______ ___ _
Cigar and tobacco factories ____ ________ __________ _____ _______ _______ ____________ ______ ____ __
74,435
Paper, printing, and allied industries ______ _______ _____ ________ ___ _______ _____ __ _____ __ _____
68,688
Printing, publishing, and engraving __ ________ __ __ ____ ____________ ____ __ __ __
31,796 ___ ____ __ ___
Paper and pulp mills __ ----------- - ---- - - --- ______ __ ____ _______ _____ __ ___ ___
16,281 ____ _______ _
Blank book, envelop, tag, paper bag, etc___ __ ____ __ ___ _______ ___ _____ ___ ____
11,493 _______ __ ___
9,118 ____ _____ ___
Paper-box factories __ ____ _____ ______ ______________ __________ _____ ___ _____ ___
48,855
Electrical machinery and supply factories __ ____ ___ _______ ________ _______ __ ______ ______ __ ____
Metal industries (except iron and steel)'--- --- -- - -- - ---- - -------- --------- -- --- - __ ___ _______
34,288
Tinware, enamel, etc., factories __ __ ___________ ____ _____ ____________ _____ ____
9,908 __________ __
"Other" metal factories _________ _________ _____ ___ ______ ______ ______ ___ _____
4,888 ______ _____ _
7,072 _____ ___ ___ _
Clock and watch factories _______ ________ ____ __________________ __ __ ________ __
6, 282 ________ ___ _
Jewelry factories ____ ___ ___ ______ __ ___ ___ __ ______ ___ ___ __ __ ______ ______ ____ __
2,126 _____ _____ __
Gold and silver factories ____ ____ ___ __________ __ ____________ ______________ ___
Rubber factories _____ _______ _________ ______ _______ -- ____________________ ____ ____ ____________
24, 432
Automobile factories_ __ _____ __________________ ______ ____ __ _________ ______ ___ ___ _ _________ ___
22, 599
Rayon factories __ ___ __________ _____ __ ___________ ____ ______ ___ _______ ____________ ____ ________
11,364
Furniture factories __ ____ -- __ -- -- ____ ___ _-- -- ______ -- -- __ __-- ____________ __ __ ____ ___ ____ ___ __
10, 585
Glass factories ____ ___ ____ ___ ______ __ ___ ________ _________ _________ ______ _________ ____ ______ __
9, 045
1 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census, 1930: Population, Occupations, vol. V, p. 408ff.
, Total exceeds details, but many remaining women might have come under a code covering smaller
numbers of women.
s This eliminates waitresses elsewhere than in hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses.
' Bookkeepers, cashiers, clerks, stenographers, and typists.
115
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116
EMPI,iOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
IL- Spread in wages of women and men before and after the adoption of
N. R. A. codes with and without a sex differential, as shown from New York
monthly wage figures
·
TABLE
Average weekly earnings, March 1929
Industry
Men
Average weekly earnings, March 1931
Percent
wornen's
Worn- earnMen
en
ings
were
below
men's
--
Industries under codes with sex
differential:
Automobiles, airplanes, etc... $34. 58 $18. 36
Leather _____ ______ _______ ____ 24. 97 14. 55
Miscellaneous paper goods .. _ 34. 58 17. 36
Paints and colors ... __________ 28. 60 15. 17
P aper boxes and tubes _______ 32. 44 17. 91
Pianos and other musical instruments .. ___________ _____ 32.53 16.88
Pulp and paper _______ _____ __ 29. 07 14. 71
Shoes. ____ _____ ___ ____ ___ ____ 32. 26 18. 63
Stone, clay, and glass __ __ __ __ 35.26 18. 46
Industries under codes with no
sex differential : 1
Gloves, bags, canvas goods ___ 39.13 20.83
Machinery and electrical app aratus __ ____ _______ . ______ 34. 33 17.90
Printing and bookmaking ____ 46.54 21.54
'rextiles:
Silk and silk goods _______ 33. 90 17. 55
Woolens, carpets, felt. ___ 28. 71 18. 50
Knit goods, except silk. __ 26.49 15. 46
Clothing:
Men's ____ ____ __ __________ 40. 44 19.40
Women's _________________ 59. 58 28. 21
Women's underwear _____ 34. 30 20. 61
Laundering and cleaning. 30. 55 15. 98
- --
Average weekly earnings, March 1934
Percent
wornen's
Worn- earnMen
en
ings
were
below
men's·
-- -- ---
46. 9 $27. 05 $15. 97
41. 7 24.85 16.15
49. 8 30.20 16. 71
47. 0 28. ,57 14.69
44. 8 31. 90 15.15
Percent
wornen's
Worn- earnen
ings
were
below
men's
-- --
41.0 $23. 35 $12. 63
35.0 24.88 14.63
44. 7 23. 70 14. 31
48. 6 22.48 14. 06
52. 5 23. 47 14.86
45.9
41.2
39.6
37. 5
36. 7
55. 3
45.3
46. 4
37. 2
19. 71
19.28
22. 82
26.50
11. 20
10. 97
13. 52
21.80
43. 2
43.1
40.8
17. 7
16. 72
49. 7
22.17
13.88
37.4
16.12
20.82
42.8
52. 3
22.26
36.29
14.18
17. 50
36.3
51.8
30.11
26. 21
24. 55
16. 12
14. 22
11.83
46.5
45. 7
51.8
21.84
19. 34
21. 31
14.48
12. 57
13. 39
33. 7
35. 0
37.2
34.64
55. 70
32. 35
30. 47
17. 37
27.98
19. 21
15. 28
49. 9
49.8
40.6
49. 9
28. 36
43. 31
27.19
24. 58
15. 94
21. 92
16. 06
13. 74
43.8
49.4
40. 9
44.1
48.1
49. 4
42. 3
47. 6
2..1. 38
25. 04
27.18
32. 55
10.44
13. 70
46. 8
33.26
47.9
53. 7
28.16
43. 64
48. 2
35.6
41.6
52. 0
52. 7
39. 9
47. 7
14. 56
20.45
1 There was a sex differential provision in the gr aphic arts code for library binders, who may be included
here with printing and bookbinding; in the machinery and allied code, included with machinery and
electrical apparatus; and in the coat and suit code, included with women's clothing.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
117
GENERAL TABLES
TABLE
III.-Women employed in 3 main clerical occupations, by industry
1
All manufacturing • .•..•••••••..••.....•...•................. . ..... . ..........................
Trade-5 chief groups 2••••••• •• •••••••• •• ••••••• • • •• •••• • •••••••••••••••••• ••• ••• ••• ••••••••••
Domestic and personal service-3 chief groups 3 • • ••••••••••• ••••••• ••••••••••••••• ••••• • • • ••••
505,678
Wholesale and retail trade (except automobiles) 4 •• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •• ••••••••••
Banking and brokerage . .......•................... ....... _............ ...... _... .... . . . . . . .. . .
Insurance....•............................... ........... . __ .......... ........... _.. ·-.... .. ..
327,100
149, 900
149, 822
:~~~~{i!1}!~~~~i~~.~~~ ~
-e·~~c!~===
···1s:
685,907
52,941
=~~~~~
Iron
===== ====== === === ======== == == ==============
648. ·-..
Blast furnaces and steel rolling mills.. ....... . ..................................
12,955 ···-······
Paper, printing, and allied industries ... .... ... ... ............ . ... .. ... .. .......... ..........
74,418
Printing, publishing, and engraving.. ~···········-··-·-· ··-· ··············-····
62,182 --·· ····· Paper and pulp mills.···········-········ ··· ··· ····-··············-··-·········
7,372 ......... .
Chemical and allied industries .............. ..... . ... .. ·--· ......... __....... ..... _. .... ... . . .
47, 367
Gas works ... .. ··- .... --·········· ..... .... _..... _·- ..... _........ . ..... ·---·...
11, 094 _....... . .
8, 632 ......... .
Petroleum refineries .. ··-····-········· ....... _................... ____ ... .......
Fooi!~~r~.~~.~~~~~~~.·
.·.~~~====~==~==~=====~====~~==~=~=====~~~===~====~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ····9:5,911
627..... ~=~~=~
Slaughter and packing houses. ........................ ...... ...... .. . ... ... ... ..
......... .
5,674 ...... .. . .
Butter, cheese, and condensed milk factories ... ·····-······················-····
Hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses...................... . . ..................... . .. . .. . . ..
32, 551
Real estate................ . . .... . .... . ......................... . .................... .. .. .... ..
32, 455
Electrical machinery and supply factories .................. .... _._ .. _.. _..... .. .... _ . . . . .. .. ..
31,894
Textile industries................................................................... ..........
31, 170
Knitting mills................... ..... ......... ....................... . .. ........
5,884 ......... .
Silk mills ........ ....................•................. .... .... .... . _....... _....
5, 365 ... . ..... .
26,736
Electric light and power plants........ . ..... . ...................................... ..........
Automobile agencies, stores, and filling stations..... . ............... .............. .. ..........
26,624
Clothing industries . . ······· · ···························-·.......................... ..........
22,906
Building industry ....................... ................ _.................... _..... .. . . . .....
21, 955
Metal industries (except iron and steel) ............................. .. ........... ... . . . . . . . . . .
15, 902
Lumber and furniture industries ......•.................................... _.... .... . . . . . .. . ..
15, 302
Leaib~~~f~t~ies======== ============ == == == === === ==== ====== == == ==== == === ========= == .... ~~~~~ ..... i4:254
La~~~f~~~t~~!~=========== ================ == ====== ======== === ========= ==== ==== === =... ~~~~~~ ..... if 207
~~!~J~WE~f~~~::~;::=;~~~s=:============================================== ==========
i: m
U. S. Bureau of the Census. Occupations, 1930. Bookkeepers and cashiers, stenographers, typists, and
clerks (except "clerks" in stores) , who form 96 percent of all clerical employees reported in the census.
The total manufacturing group and its main group totals in each case exceed details, as only those indus•
tries are separately listed here that reported 5,000 or more clerical employees.
2 The mai n group of wholesale and retail trade, banking and brokerage, real estate, insurance, and auto•
mobile agencies, stores, and filling stations, all of which are given separately below.
3 Hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses; laundries; and cleaning, dyeing, and pressing shops; all of
which are given separately below, and for all of which codes were approved.
• " Clerks" in stores excepted1
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TABLE
........
IV.-Average weekly earnings and indexes of employment and pay rolls, selected months of 1933 and 1934, various localities
A.-UNITED STATES: SE L ECTE D I NDUSTRIE S, MEN AND WOMEN COMBINED
Per capita weekly earnings
1933
1934
I n dex of employment 2
Percent of increase 1 a--
1933
I ndex of p ay rolls
1934
1928
N oFebru- July Febru- vemary
ary
ber
July February
1933 to
No- 1933 to Febru- July
vem- Febru- ary
ary
ber
1934
oFebru- vemar y
ber
2
1934
1933
Industry
........
00
1
1934
1934
(aver- (average for age for
Noyear) year) Febru- July Febru- vemary
ary
ber
192
(aver- (average for age
for
year) year)
1934
-- --
- -
-- -- --
- - -
-
-
--
-
-
- - - - - --
--
(From unpublished data; see
footnote 1)
Manufact uring:
Iron and steel and their products,
(6)
(l)
(5)
not mcluding machinery ___ ·-·- __
(I)
--- ----- ------Machinery, not including transportation equipment_ __ ___ ______
(10)
(ll)
()
(9)
----- --- ------Agricultural implements ______ _ $15. 88 $16. 19 $19. 49 $22. 80
30.9
25.8
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies ____ _____ 19. 48 20. 27 19. 26 20. 96
10.0
14. 7
Transportation equipmen t:
Automobiles ___________ ______ 18. 16 21. 74 24. 02 22.80
3. 4
38. 9
Nonferrous metals and their
products:
Clocks and watches and
t ime-recording devices _______ 12. 77 15. 50 17. 98 19. 26
23. 8
38. 2
Jewelry _____ __ ___ ____ __ _____ __ 16. 79 17. 68 18. 45 19. 81
19.4
15. 3
Silverware and plated ware _ __ 16. 02 17. 97 19. 19 21. 70
23. 4
21. 3
Lumber and allied products:
Furniture ___ __-- -- - __ ____ ___ _ 12. 38 13. 43 14. 91 15. 88
17. 9
22. 7
Stone, clay, and glass products:
9. 0
13. 3
17. 31 17. 93 19. 22 19.16
_____
--------------Glass
Pottery ________ __ _____ _. . __ . ___ 14. 59 14. 88 16. 56 17. 73
23.0
17.1
Textiles and their products:
Cotton goods. _____ ____ .---- .. . 10. 08 11. 37 12. 98 12. 77
15. 7
30. 7
.4
8.1
Dyeing and finishing textiles ___ 18. 46 18. 42 19. 20 18. 07
Hats, fur felt _____ ___ _____ _____ 16. 78 19. 74 20. 68 19. 39
-3.7
26. 5
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
66. 2
96. 6
69. 0
24. 8
41. 4
45. 7
44. 2
100. 4
49. 0
72. 9
75. 6
77. 9
79. 6
105. 1
137. 9
77. 7
75. 1
28. 7
33. 0
39. 1
33. 0
51.8
75. 7
57. 2
85. 7
111. 3
152. 4
57. 2
77. 7
51.4
59. 2
65.4 12 127. 3
63. 9
26. 7
35.
40. 9
50. 0 12 134. 4
47. 7
65. 9
97. 4
67. 1
108.1
93. 2
34. 2
48. 8
82. 3
51. 3
113. 9
76. 1
46.1
50. 7
51. 5
49. 3
49. 9
44. 3
62. 8
60. 7
66. 7
77. 6
76. 9
71. 7
98. 2
111. 4
92. 6
70.1
67. 5
68. 9
26. 5
33.1
29.1
33.1
34. 5
28.8
49. 9
45. 7
46. 6
64. 7 12 102. 2
63. 1 12 113. 3
56. 7 12 96. 5
55. 7
52. 2
50. 3
52.8
62. 4
62. 4
65. 2
106. 7
63. 0
27. 9
36.0
40. 5
44. 5
107.5
41. 9
55. 7
53. 5
72. 0
59. 6
89. 5
69. 3
88. 5
69. 7
92.6
98.8
89.8
69.0
40.4
29.1
53.8
33. 5
73. 5
44.1
72.0
47. 7
94.5
93. 9
71. 8
44. 7
73. 0
90.4
72. 5
99. 5
102. 3
76. 8
99.8
113. 1
83. 2
95. 5
94. 2
91. 4
114. 9
73. 5 12 105. 3
92. 9
106. 2
80.1
44. 9
71. 7
54. 0
69. 0
81. 6
67.1
80. 6
96. 5
78. 4
75. 7
88. 4
121. 8
73. 2
62. 0 12112. 3
73. 0
84. 2
74. 3
49. 0
61. 8
48. 7
41. 6
58. 1
40. 1
44. 7
56. 1
66. 6
12
12
12
Cl
0
t:;
t_:,:j'
[/}
Knit goods
Silk and rayon goods ______ ___
Woolen and worsted goods ____
Clothing, men's __ __ ______ ____
Clothing, women's ___ ____ ____
Corsets and allied garments ___
Men's furnishings ______ ___ ____
Millinery __ ____ ______ ___ ___ __
Shirts and collars ____ __ ___ ____
Leather and its manufactures:
Boots and shoes __ ___ ___ ___ ____
Leather ____ ____ _______ ___ ____ _
Tobacco manufacture:
Cigars and cigarettes . __ ___ ____
.FoodBaking.
and kindred
products :
____ __ _______________
__
Canning and preserving 1a _____ _
Confectionery __ _______________
Slaughterin~ and meat packing_- -- - -- --- --- - ----- - -- -- - -Paper and printing:
Boxes, paper __________ ________
Paper and pulp ______ __ ____ __ __
Book and job __ _____ ___ ________
Newspaper and periodicals____
Chemicals and allied products,
and petroleum refining:
Rayon and allied products _____
Rubber products:
Rubber tires and inner tubes ___
Rubber boots and shoes __ __ __ _
Rubber goods, other __ ___ _____ _
N onmanufacturing:
Telephone and telegraph __ ___ _____
Retail trade _____ _______ ______ ____
Hotels is _____ _____ ____ __ _ ____ _____
Laundries ___ ___ _____________ ______
Dyeing and cleaning _______________
F or footnotes see end of table.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
12 17
12. 17
16.14
13. 96
17. 58
14. 99
10. 06
14. 96
9. 72
12 54
13. 36
16. 99
14. 57
14. 83
13. 78
10. 65
14. 09
9. 81
15 74
15. 20
17. 23
17.01
20. 81
16. 29
13. 63
19. 27
12. 58
16 55
15. 25
16. 25
15. 19
17. 70
14. 99
15. 51
17. 74
13. 20
32 2
21. 1
-2.1
10. 0
33. 3
16. 8
31. 5
10. 4
47. 8
29 9
32. 4
9. 4
24. 5
29. 3
13. fi
29. 4
17. 3
36. 8
94 2
72. 5
71. 3
77. 7
,115. 0
91.1
102. 9
80. 1
90.1
107 1
82. 8
96. 0
86. 9
98.1
88. 2
108. 4
65. 3
109. 4
107 1
85. 5
85. 9
85. 5
119. 0
91. 4
101. 0
83. 9
98. 6
14. 33
18. 24
16. 56
20. 07
18. 78
20. 43
14. 51
21 . 27
- 13. 8
6. 4
33. 6
13. 5
83. 2
72. 4
90. 3
86. 3
89. 6
93. 6
11. 11
12. 64
12. 58
13. 48
6. 6
15. 3
56. 7
58. 8
59. 7
21. 56
12.18
13. 29
21. 81
10. 12
12. 63
22. 12
13. 53
15. 46
21. 43
12. 53
15. 06
4. 2
57. 3
20. 6
4. 0
16. 9
18. 0
95. 4
44. 0
73. 4
99. 5
96. 2
68. 9
108. 4
54. 3
79. 2
110 6
102 6
75. 0
101. 0
75.0
83.1
80. 3
101. 3
133. 7
115. 5
89. 3 12 89. 2
116. 9 12 132. 7
59. 3
105. 7
101. 3
106. 3
107 6
75. 4
72. 4
84. 0
116. 1
90. 1
101. 6
70. 4
99. 8
66 9
44. 5
48. 7
44. 3
70. 6
75. 4
56. 0
58.1
56. 0
79 0
56. 7
70.1
51. 3
51. 9
68. 6
61. 8
45.1
72.1
98 9
69. 6
64. 4
60. 6
94.1
85. 7
70. 9
71. 3
84. 0
107 9
62. 3
53. 6
52. 1
81. 3
80. 7
87. 5
45. 1
98. 3
115 4
107. 5
79. 2
95. 5
132. 5
12 97. 0
12 145. 5
112. 3
107.1
98 6
60.0
52. 5
57. 9
84. 9
81. 4
70. 6
60.6
89. 7
79. 8
89. 2
92. 7
94. 3
87. 0
91.1
56. 2
56. 5
71. 4
74.8
81.0
82. 6
54. 6
82. 0
91. 3
95. 5
71. 7
80. 2
62. 7
92.8
60. 9
34. 5
41. 4
41.9
47. 1
87. 2
44. 6
115. 4
112. 2
88. 4 12 134. 6
98. 9
91. 5
113. 2
101. 7
80. 0
77. 6
39. 5
52. 8
81.8
70. 2
47. 6
91. 4
56. 9
67. 2
98. 6
113. 3
87. 5 12 129. 4
76. 5
101. 0
95. 5
99. 4
68. 5
20.19
20.15
20. 78
23. 07
18. 1
8. 6
77. 7
85. 2
95. 5
109. 3
94. 8
103. 7
58. 9
66. 5
78. 6
100. 7
100. 1
90. 5
16. 89
17. 22
25. 68
31. 69
17. 76
18. 94
25. 21
30. 58
17. 95
18. 48
25. 23
31.38
18. 24
19. 32
26. 27
32. 98
6. 5
1. 3
8. 0
8. 3
8. 9
9. 4
3. 2
1. 5
67. 6
79. 6
80. 0
91. 0
77. 1
89. 9
75. [j
90. 1
80. 7
102. 5
85. 0
98. 0
90. 3
107. 7
87. 2
99. 8
96. 3
100.8
107. 4
104. 5
84. 9
105. 4
85. 7
98. 5
53. 5
54. 3
62. 4
79. 3
65. 3
68. 3
59. 5
75. 5
69. 6
76. 4
68. 3
84. 0
81. 3
82. 6
74. 4
90. 4
102. 0
105. 3
113. 6
113. 6
75. 4
79.3
72.0
87. 4
16. 50
16. 51
17. 86
19. 16
14. 3
10. 3
250. 4
281. 4
325. 2
320.8 12 244. 4
307. 6
153. 3
177. 3
220. 0
231. 6 12 220. 2
215. 4
17.03 24. 39
15. 88 . 18. 66
16. 97 18. 85
24. 64
16. 82
17. 79
22. 67
18. 31
17. 57
- 4. 1
2: 7
-1. 5
44. 9
20. 2
11. 0
53. 2
45. 8
94. 7
73. 2
45. 5
110.8
74. 6
56. 1
129. 2
68. 7
109. 9
53. 9
105. 0
112. 1 12 120. 3
75. 2
54. 0
122. 4
28. 7
32. 4
64. 5
55. 9
42.1
85. 6
57. 9
47. 7
97. 8
50. 4
116. 8
49.8
107. 1
85. 2 12 126. 4
56. 4
48.8
94. 3
26.16
19. 45
13. 34
14. 68
15. 35
26. 35
19. 79
12. 88
14. 84
17. 07
27. 33
19. 94
13. 40
14. 81
17. 32
6. 1
2. 8
9. 9
7. 5
8. 9
(11)
1. 5
1. 6
4. 8
10. 7
73. 9
73. 4
73. 8
77. 5
65. 6
68. 5
74. 6
75. 6
79. 5
76. 6
69. 8
83. 8
84. 8
78. 4
68.1
70. 3
82. 0
84. 9
81. 3
77. 1
71. 9
58. 4
55. 9
58. 1
40. 2
66. 7
58. 1
53. 3
58. 7
50. 0
67. 9
67. 7
65. 2
61. 7
46. 3
72. 2
61. 8
64. 9
63. 7
53. 9
26. 32
18. 94
12. 33
14. 58
16. 57
69. 9
83. 7
83. 7
80. 3
75. 8
(15)
(15)
(15)
(15)
(15)
(15)
(15)
(15)
(1 5)
. (15)
71. 5
60. 9
65. 1
64. 9
56. 1
TABLE
IV.-Average weekly earnings and indexes of employment and pay rolls, selected months of 1933 and 1934, various localities--Continued
B .-MASSACHUSETTS: SELECTED I DUSTRIES, MEN AND WOMEN COMBINED
Average weekly earnings
Manufacturing:
Boot and shoe, cut stock and findings ....• __ .. __
Boots and shoes... ·- · --- ···-····-·· ·---- ····---·
Boxes, paper·------------ _________ ___ ____ --·-·-·
Bread and other bakery products .... -....... --Clothing, men's__________ __ . ________ .. -- · _____ __
Clothing, women's ______________ ____ -·---- -- ____
ConfectionerY-------------·-----------·-·------Cotton goods _______ ---- -- - . -·-- - -- -- - -- - -- -- -- -Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies ___
Furniture _______________ ·- _________ . ____ .. ___ ...
Hosiery. ________________ -- _... ---- - . -------- - . - .
Jewelry _·------------ _____ __ ____ ____ ______ ·-·- __
Knit goods ________________ ._·- ____ .------------Paper and wood pulp ___________________________
Index of employment u
1934
$16. 93
15. 27
17. 07
20.68
$17. 27
16. 90
18. 44
20. 76
$19. 25
19. 60
18. 11
20.63
$15. 44
13. 89
18. 05
20. 05
13.17
12. 13
12. 97
12. 30
17. 20
14. 29
11. 50
12. 82
13. 90
20.08
16. 15
15. 71
15. 89
15. 40
20. 41
16. 05
14. 47
15. 72
13. 70
22. 56
12. 3
25. 8
22. 6
-1.4
12. 4 .
16.11
13. 70
17. 80
11. 99
15. 43
16. 67
12.88
18. 60
14. 93
18. 71
16. 92
18. 57
20. 66
15. 32
19. 01
18. 11
19.12
21. 71
14. 42
17. 94
8. 6
48. 4
16. 7
-3. 4
-4.1
Printing, book and job _________________ . __ __ ____
Printing and publishing, newspaper __ . ______ ____
Publishing ___ ______ ______ _______________________
Radio apparatus and supplies. __________________
Rubber footwear ________________________________
24. 62
38.06
20.85
14.68
16. 64
22.05
37.36
16. 11
16. 21
20. 50
24. 20
38.68
20.04
15. 56
19. 20
24. 06
36. 59
21. 67
17. 89
20.60
9.1
-2.1
34. 5
10. 4
.5
Rubber goods, tires, tubes ________ ___ ____ ________
Silk and rayon manufacturing..... ______ ________
Slaughtering and meat packing _____ _____ ________
Stationery goods ________ .. ________________ ___ ___
Woolen and worsted goods •. ------------ ---·----
14. 00
15. 50
22. 78
18. 03
16. 57
20. 09
17. 40
23. 70
20. 04
17. 94
20. 03
15. 39
25. 38
19. 09
17. 74
18. 79
15. 28
27. 22
18. 88
16. 00
N onmanufacturing: 21
Retail trade 22________________ ___ ______ ___ _______
19. 69
19. 64
19. 55
19. 38
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Index of pay rolls 1,
1934
1933
1933
1934
Percent
of in•
crease,
July 1933
Febru•
Novem•
Febru•
Febru• Novem• Febru•
to No•
Febru·
Febru• Novem•
July
July
July
ary
ary
ber
ary
ary
ary
vember
ber
ary
ber
1934 a
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - 1933
Industry
11
-10.6
-17. 8
-1.8
-3.4
78. 9
80. 6
(16)
99. 0
87.1
87. 7
(15)
111. 6
86. 5
76. 8
60. 5
45. 8
43.1
151. 4
85. 5
52. 2
55. 0
48.1
51.8
19 67. 6
(1 6)
(15)
77. 5
62. 9
19 80. 7
(16~
(16
83. 2
(15)
117. 6
63. 9
58.3
(16)
125. 2
62. 4
52. 0
(15)
85. 6
71. 3
62. 4
(15)
95. 0
73. 4
67.0
(15)
101. 4
47. 6
35. 3
(15)
107. 2
155. 0
95. 3
61. 8
61. 9
59. 0
154. 6
85.4
77. 1
50. 0
60. 0
56. 3
46.4
41. 3
29.4
24. 4
106. 8
49. 2
35. 1
39.8
30. 8
122. 6
74.1
51. 9
49. 7
37. 7
120. 7
60. 7
64. 8
35.0
43.0
61. 7
19 74. 2
(15)
(15)
83. 6
62. 7
l9 76.1
(1 5)
(15)
85. 4
33. 8
l9 48. 3
(16)
(15)
45.4
42. 5
19 64. 2
(16)
(16)
59. 3
42. 4
19 69. 8
~15)
15)
60.6
45. 7
19 69.4
(16)
(16)
58. 6
(15)
74.1
(U)
(15)
42.0
(15)
20 71.9
(15)
(16)
41. 9
85. 7
55. 2
72.1
(15)
(16)
74.8
49. 2
54. 5
(16)
(16)
67. 7
76. 1
84. 8
85. 1
80. 4
80.8
(U)
(15)
82. 5
(15)
(15)
55. 7
(16)
80.8
(15)
(15)
51. 7
(16)
73. 5
(15)
(15)
23. 5
35. 9
(1')
76. 9
(16)
(15)
47.0
-6.5
-12. 2
14. 9
-5.8
-10.8
47. 6
37. 2
(15)
(15)
66. 6
74. 8
123. 8
(15)
(15)
102. 5
72. 3
104. 0
(15)
(15)
90. 5
65.1
78. 6
(1•)
(15)
85. 2
31. 5
25.1
(1•)
(1>)
52. 2
-1. 3
85. 2
84. 4
92. 7
89. 5
76. 5
20
83. 7
(15~
(16
20
20
20
20
(1 5)
65.4
(15)
(!o)
38.0
20
57. 4
97. 2
(U)
(15)
20
C
0
t,
t.".l
UJ
Hotels and restaraunts:
Hotelsandhotelrestaurants23_______ __ __ ___
14.47
13.99
.L4.48
15.06
7.6
Other restaurants and hotel restaurants 24 _ __
14. 95
14. 73
13. 22
14. 49
-1. 6
Chain _______________ ____ _________ _______ ---------------------------------------------
.....
.....
00
r
Laundr[~~-~~~~~~~ ---- -------- -- --- ---- ----- -- ---15. 52- ---15. 78- ---16. 16- ---16. 21- -----2. 7-
I
2. 4
78. 4
80. 6
82.8
73. 0
66. 5
72. 4
89.6
96. 0
81. 9
95. 3
93. 6
75. 5
94. 5
106.8
78. 9
91. 3
109. 2
0. 3
92. 4
84. 6
69. 2
76. 9
81. 6
64. 0
78. 8
89. 6
68. 1
78. 9
91. 1
69. 4
79. 3
C.-NEW YORK: SELECTED INDUSTRIES, MEN A D WOMEN SEPARATELY
Average weekly earnings of women
Industry
1933
February
All manufacturing ______ ____________________
lathing and millinery:
Women's clothing ___ ____ ______________________
Men's clothing ________________________________
Laundering and cleaning ______________________
Men's furnishings ___________________________ __
Women's headwoor __________________ _________
Women's underwear ____ ______________________
Textiles:
Silk and silk goods ___ _________________________
Woolens, carpets, felts ____________________ _____
Knit goods, except silk ________________________
FoodCandy
and tobacco:
_______ ___ ____ ____ ____ __________________
Bakery products ______________________________
Canning and preserving______________ __ _______
Tobacco _________ ______ ________________________
Furs,
leather,
and
Shoos
__ ____
___rubber
_____ ___goods:
________________________
Gloves, bags, canvas goods ____________________
Printing and paper goods:
Printing and bookmaking _____________________
Paper boxes and tubes _________________ _______
Metals and machinery:
Machinery and electrical apparatus ______ ___ . __
;For footnotes see end of table.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1934
July
$12. 62
$12. 82
17. 50
12. 29
12. 10
10. 55
15. 51
14. 36
16.11
12. 93
12. 34
9.47
14.42
13. 90
10. 31
9. 33
9. 92
February
November
26
Average weekly earnings of men
1933
Percent of
increase,
July 1933
to ovem- February
July
ber 1934 3
Percent women's
average earnings
formed of men's
average in-
1934
February
November
July 1933
November 1934
$14. 90
16. 2
$23. 74
24. 67
$25. 33
$25. 52
52.0
58. 4
21.34
15.19
13. 66
12.17
17. 36
16.02
20. 26
12. 37
13. 79
14. 48
16. 90
16. 61
25. 8
-4. 3
11.8
52. 9
17. 2
l~. 5
37.40
23. 32
24. 61
19. 62
28. 75
26. 46
31. 57
24. 56
23,82
21.18
24. 31
26. 44
40.13
26. 42
24. 92
22. 21
35.16
27. 24
33. 45
24. 63
25. 23
23. 30
25. 97
26.48
51. 0
52. 6
51.8
.44. 7
59. 3
52. 6
60. 6
50. 2
54. 7
62.1
65.1
62. 7
10.47
12. 43
12. 66
13. 29
12. 18
13. 66
14.18
12. 59
12. 56
35.4
1. 3
- .8
19. 68
16. 47
21. 69
19. 58
21.5,3
20. 94
22.98
19.10
21. 58
22.40
17. 59
20. 10
53. 5
57. 7
60. 5
63. 3
71. 6
62. 5
11. 67
13. 31
8.80
11. 60
JO. 25
13.54
5. 66
18. 24
13.87
16. 60
11.12
14.18
13. 97
17. 34
9. 57
16. 72
36. 3
2 .1
69.1
- .3
22. 47
26. 36
1 . 43
19.03
21.82
26.86
13. 56
22. 01
21. 51
25. 78
18. 53
18. 53
22.35
26. 87
15. 00
19. 98
47.0
50. 4
41. 7
82. 9
62. 5
64.5
63.8
3. 7
11. 08
}0.89
12.13
11. 78
13. 90
13. 41
11. 12
14. 54
-
.3
23. 4
2b. 08
19. 33
21. 35
21. 12
22. 72
21. 61
16. 95
21.82
56.8
55.8
65. 6
66. 6
15.15
11.52
16.23
12. 02
15. 63
13. 41
16. 29
13. 97
.4
16. 2
34.48
23.13
36. 03
23. 74
34.47
21.38
36. 94
23. 26
45. 0
50. 6
44.1
60. 1
10. 05
13. 62
12. 55
13. 83
1. 5
17. 24
21.42
20.03
23.08
63. 6
59. 9
$14. 9
TABLE
IV.~Average weekly earnings and indexes of employment and pay rolls, selected months of 1933 and 1934, various localities-Continued
C.-NEW YORK: SELECTED INDUSTRIES, MEN AND WOMEN SEPARATELY-Continued
Index of women's employment 26 Index of men's employment
1934
1933
1933
21
1934
Index of women's p ay rolls
1933
26
1934
Index of men's pay rolls
,-.....
~
~
26
1934
1933
Industry
February
NoFebvem- ruary
ber
--- - -- - -July
February
- -- -
All manufacturing _______ __________
Clothing and millinery :
Women's clothing ______ __________ __
Men's clothing _________ __ ___________
Laundering and cleaning _____ ____ ___
Men's furnishings ____ ______ ____ ___ __
Women's headwear_ ____ __ __ ______ __
Women's underwear ________ ___ _____
Textiles:
Silk and silk goods ____ __________ ___ _
Woolens, carpets, felts _____________ _
Knit goods, except silk __ ______ ______
Food and tobacco:
Candy __ ______ ___ ------- - ___ ______ __
Bakery products ______ _____ _______ __
Canning and preserving __ ___ ____ __ __
Tobacco ________ __ ____ _______ ___ __ __
Furs,
leather,
and rubber
goods:
__________
_____ - -- - Shoes
___________
Gloves, bags, canvas goods ____ ___ ___
Printing and paper goods:
Printing and bookmaking ___ ____ __ __
Paper boxes and tubes ___ _____ ____ __
Metals and machinery:
Machinery and electrical apparatus_
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
July
February
November
February
July
February
- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -
NoNoFebFebvem- ruary
July
ruary vember
ber
- - - --- --- --- ---
56
57
65
68
50
55
62
63
41
43
56
59
38
43
50
51
64
69
103
36
73
45
46
70
111
43
50
42
74
81
108
45
86
57
81
74
106
53
78
60
74
63
95
43
70
58
61
63
105
45
100
75
98
68
97
74
49
43
82
26
54
36
32
46
91
28
35
33
69
62
98
37
72
51
72
59
114
68
113
58
103
73
46
97
53
63
56
73
41
80
32
55
53
51()
43
86
36
45
53
105
55
84
46
93
69
100
47
98
51
73
66
42
48
43
39
63
60
54
55
42
63
42
68
64
48
75
80
67
88
80
59
93
58
67
28
54
27
25
26
47
4/\
46
40
34
58
32
40
45
33
38
49
54
51
68
48
47
70
32
49
81
44
35
34
61
43
98
20
102
45
39
19
102
41
94
19
85
66
44
33
87
68
159
25
109
59
25
119
72
147
25
67
33
33
21
45
33
59
20
100
42
46
15
101
40
96
17
72
59
39
26
71
62
104
23
89
59
53
19
100
66
107
20
79
68
83
73
78
90
68
84
71
48
78
46
79
68
63
60
48
52
56
60
60
84
42
86
46
30
54
31
58
48
35
43
57
45
55
61
57
58
77
71
67
58
64
76
90
44
32
46
45
46
48
65
61
60
45
59
57
63
59
72
71
71
82
37
49
61
65
35
38
45
51
23
41
48
56
19
- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --54
68
26
28
71
37
z
C".l
0
t:j
1::1
'(fl
D.-PENNSYLVANIA: SELECTED INDUSTRIES, MEN AND WOMEN COMBINED
Index of employment 28
Average weekly earnings
Percent of
increase ii-
1934
1933
2;
1933
Index of pay rolls 28
1934
1933
1934
Industry
Febru-
,
ary
All manufacturing __________ __ ________
Iron and steel and their products ___________
Electrical apparatus ___________________ _
Jewelry and novelties _____________________ __
Automobiles and motor trucks ______________
Textiles __ ___________________________________
Cotton goods _------------- - ---- ----- --Woolens and worsted goods _____________
Silk manufactures ______________________
Hats ____________________________________
Hosiery __ ___________________ _________ ___
Knit goods, other ___ ____________________
Millinery and lace goods ______________ __
Clothing __________________ ___________ - ---- - Men's ________ __ ________________________
Women's ____________________ ______ __ -- Shirts and furnishings ________________ __
Food products ____ ___ ___ ___ __ ----- --- --- - - - Bread and bakery products ________ _____
Confectionery _______ _________________ ___
Slaughtering and meat packing _______ __
Canning and preserving 13 __________ ____
Pottery _________________________ ____________
Glass _________
- -- -- --- _______________
---- --- - - -- - - -- -- -- -Furniture
______--__ ________
-For footnotes see end
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
or table.
July
Febru- Novemary
ber
---
--- --- -
February
1933 to
February
July
1933 to
November
1934
1934
-- ---
$13. 96
$16. 68
$17.87
$18. 61
28. 0
11. 6
11. 91
13. 28
16. 97
15. 56
17.15
18.05
18.18
21. 97
44. 0
35. 9
7. 1
41. 2
(29)
10. 39
16. 45
21.68
18. 51
18.42
21. 26 ---- -- --19. 45
77. 3
13. 31
15. 51
15. 75
11. 71
17. 90
14. 37
10. 55
(29)
14.09
16. 95
16. 40
11. 17
20. 50
14. 67
13.11
19. 90
16. 79
17. 96
17. 29
14. 42
20. 56
18. 56
lfi. 99
18. 31
(31)
8. 98
9. 03
8.85
10. 53
12. 69
9. 36
8. 71
13. 01
15. 08
11. 31
10. 99
12. 02
11. 94
12.13
12. 00
15. 64
21.89
15. 65
21.14
13.16
18. 53
20. 39
13. 26
21. 02
13. 25
19. 35
21. 37
16. 32
21. 44
13. 94
8. 91
14.11
12. 93
13. 42
16. 4
13. 77
13. 96
18. 28
13. 96
- --
July
---
Febru- Novemary
ber
- --
---
58. 6
68. 2
73. 7
75. 9
48. 2
62. 0
5/i. 0
75. 4
59. 7
85. 9
62. 8
104. 8
29. 2
-10.3
(29)
26. 8
37.1
70. 3
75. 0
0.1
17. 93
26.1
18. 31
15. 8
16. 58
9. 8
23.1
14. 30
18. 30
14. 9
21. 43
29. 2
17. 96
51. 6
21. 34 ---------
27. 3
.0
1.1
28. 0
-10. 7
46. 1
37. 0
7. 2
82. 0
57. 3
54. 4
92. 5
54. 3
102. 8
72. 4
(2P)
3. 3
59. 5
88.1
104. 6
67. 4
71. 6
86. 6
75. 3
--------67. 9
25. 2
24. 2
14. 2
-5.9
29. 6
37. 8
74. 7
126. 9
125. 9
19. 47
20. 30
15. 10
22. 02
13. 13
23. 7
-2.4
4. 3
1. 4
5. 9
5.1
-.4
13. 9
4. 8
- .9
18. 22
18. 48
15. 69
56. 7
29. 6
.0
35. 8
9. 7
13. 9
------------------
30
February
February
---
July
Febru- Novemary
ber
--- --- ---
32.
45. 3
52.4
56. 2
22. 8
31. 5
3 .0
44. 2
41. 9
58. 3
45. 9
88. 0
107.1
89. 2
(29)
7. 5
26. 1
27. 5
59. 2
26. 6
98. 5
31. 3
95. 8
59. 9
74. 3
110.4
77. 6
129. 9
83. 6
86. 6
94. 9
53. 4
83. 0
94. 4
71.0
143. 0
94. 9
77. 7
53. 3
39. 8
36. 4
65. 2
39. 7
69. 0
43. 5
(29)
57. 2
41. 9
71. 9
58. 7
56. 0
53. 7
70. 8
76. 7
78. 0
44. 6
64. 0
79. 8
64. 8
123. 1
3. 5
81. 3
83. 9
41. 4
66. 5
68. 4
52. 5
155. 8
107. 2
85. 1
115. 7
81. 5
119. 6
151. 2
108. 0
87. 8
126. 7
117. 5
101. 8
65. 2
131. 9
121. 4
69. 5
43. 1
89. 4
100. 9
81. 3
55. 1
114. 4
98. 8
75. 8
31. 8
125. 3
111.3
91. 3
94. 4
84.1
94. 3
74. 2
89. 8
101. 5
72. 8
86. 4
83. 5
100. 3
106. 7
111. 3
97. 6
103. 5
116. 0
115.5
120. 7
130. 8
130. 9
6
5
1
3
1
72. 0
80. 0
49. 6
62. 8
50. 7
81. 0
88. 0
93.1
72. 4
67. 7
93. 0
96. 8
94. 5
101.1
79. 9
44. 9
66. 2
3. 2
79. 7
75. 6
49.1
76. l
91. 8
54. 2
86.8
99.8
60. 2
15. 5
40.1
20. 1
53. 3
35. 7
52. 8
47. 2
32. 5
79. 0
51. 3
39. 4
------------
---------
- - - ---- - - - - - -
-- - ---- -41. 2
79. 1
73. 7
67.
74.
67.
65.
44.
28. 8
TABLE
IV.-Average weekly earnings and indexes of employment and pay rolls, selected months of 1933 and 1934, various localities-Continued
D .-PENNSYLVANIA: SELECTED INDUSTRIES, MEN AND WOMEN COMBINED 27-Continued
Average weekly earnings
1933
Percent of
increase 3-
1934
Index of pay rolls 2s
Index of employment 2
1933
1934
1933
t_zj
1934
ts::
1-d
Industry
Febru•
ary
July
Febru•
July
ary
1933 to
Febru· Novem• 1933 to Novem•
ary
ber
Febru•
ber
ary
1934
~
0
Febru•
ary
July
Febru• Novem•
ary
ber
February
July
Fobru- Novemary
ber
1934
---
- -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - Leather and its products .... ... ....... .. ... .
Shoes .............. . ....................
$15.11
12. 24
$16. 76
13. 73
$19. 04
16. 99
$17. 44
13. 20
26. 0
38.8
4. 1
-3.9
91. 4
109. 2
24.16
19. 73
15. 92
25. 33
31. 35
24. 14
20. 51
16.64
26. 08
31. 50
2. 9
13. 5
25.1
8. 4
6. 5
18. 0
12. 7
10.8
79. 3
68. 9
60. 7
75. 2
9. 7
12. 59
16. 52
42. 4
91.0
Paper and printing ... .. ....................
Paper and wood pulp ...................
Paper<:ontainers 33 ••••••••••••••••••••••
Book and job ... . ..
Newspapers and periodicals ............. a,
23.48
17. 39
12. i3
27. 50
22. 26
19. 25
14. 10
23.15
28.4.8
Cigars and tobacco ..........................
10. 89
11.60
N onmanufacturing:
Hotels ................. _......... · --·· -Laundries . ..................... ··-·--··
Retail trade.............................
Telephone, telegraph, and broadcasting.
For footnotes see end of table.
(34)
12. 54
14. 38
19. 15
25.83
11. 69
13.89
18. 57
23. 44
13. 31
15. 55
19. 02
26. 58
- -------------15. 6
13. 56
6.1
15. 34
8.1
19. 76
-.7
28. 34 -- - ------
16. 0
10.4
6. 4
20. 9
99. 0
98. 6
87. 3
109. 9
~9. 8
93. 9
01.4
95. 5
87. 0
85.9
60.8
79.8
71.8
76. 4
83.8
96.0
71. 2
67. 7
82.1
89. 6
73. 0
.0
87. 5
93.3
83.8
79. 0
94.ll
89.1
96. 3
92. 6
81. 6
89. 7
62. 3
43. 6
51. 1
56. 0
78. 0
62.4
58. 7
66. 9
56. 2
70. 6
72.4
66. 2
70. 7
66. 7
83. 5
75. 3
70. 6
83.4
72. 2
80.1
61.8
57.1
70.0
61. 2
40.6
40. 7
66.3
95. 3
96. 6
88. 0
92. 6
116. 7
103. 2
105. 5
94. 2
84. 4
99. 3
101. 4
90. 3
94. 5
106. 8
97. 0
105. 6
95. 2
(29)
(29)
(29)
(29)
101. 9
97. 7
88. 3
118. 7
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
E.-WISCO SIN: SELECTED I DUSTRIES, MEN A D WOME
COMBI ED
35
Average per capita weekly earnings
Industry
1934
1933
1 - - - - - ~ - - -- · 1- - - - - ~ - - - - 1
February
Manufacturing:
Metal-Automobile ___________ ___ ____________________ ____ ______ ___________________________________ ___ _
Wood-Furniture __ ___________ ___ _______________ __ _______ _______ _________ ______ __________________ __ ___
Rubber ____ ____ ______________ ___ _________________________ ____ _____ __ ______ _____________________ ___ ____
Leather-Boots and shoes ___ ______ _________ ____ ____________ ____ ____________________ ________________ __ _
Paper:
Paper and pulp mills ___________ ------------ - -- -------- - ------ -- ---- ------------ __ __ _________ ____ _
Paper boxes _____ _______ ___ ____ ___________ __ __________ ___ _______ _____ ____________________________ __
Other paper products _____ __ ___________ _____________ __ _______________ ____ _________ ____ _________ __ _
Textiles:
Hosiery and other knit goods ______ _______ ____ _____________________ ________________ _______ __ _____ _
Clothing _________________ ___ _______________ ____________ ____________________________ ____________ ___
Foods:
Meat packing _____________ __ ____________________________ ________________ _______ _______ ___ ________ _
Baking and confectionery ___ ___ _________ ____ _____ _______________ ___ ______________________________ _
Canning and preserving ____ __ _________________________ _______________ __ ____ ____________________ __
Tobacco manufacturing ___________ ___ __ _________________________________________________ _____ ____ _
Printing
and publ~sh~ng:
prmtmg ____ ___ _______________ _______________ __.__________ ______________________ __ ____ _
ewspaper
Book and job printing ___ _________ __ ___________________ ___________________________________ __ _____ _
Non manufacturing:
Laundering, cleaning, and dyeing_·- ____________________________ ______ _________________ ________ ______ _
Retail trade (sales only) __ __ ________________________________ __ ________________ ___ ____________________ _
July
February
ovember
Percent of
increase,
July 1933 to
ovember
1934 3
$8. 42
8. 39
13. 60
12. 68
$14. 28
10. 31
17.00
15. 77
$17. 71
13. 01
17.83
18.12
$16. 83
14. 70
18. 22
15. 39
17.9
42. 6
7. 2
- 2.4
16. 21
15.19
15. 63
18. 07
15. 99
16. 63
17.45
14. 44
17. 52
18. 79
19.80
18. 53
4. 0
23.8
11. 4
14. 79
11. 06
14.10
11. 06
19.18
13. 03
19. 98
15. 97
41. 7
44. 4
19. 22
15. 01
10. 14
13. 40
20. 72
15. 91
5. 97
12. 53
21. 05
16. 26
5. 20
12. 92
25. 30
18. 37
11. 22
16. 14
22. 1
15. 5
87. 9
28.8
30. 81
21. 71
30. 57
21. 67
32.15
22. 38
36. 48
25.19
19. 3
16. 2
12. 28
15. 17
12. 67
13. 98
12. 85
14. 17
13. 79
13. 48
8.8
-3.6
1 Industries selected from monthly reports of U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See Monthly Labor Review. The percent change in per capita weekly earnings is computed
from unpublished data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of index figures for identical firms.
2 For manufacturing, average for 1923-25=100; for nonmanufacturing, average for 1929=100.
3 Increase except where preceded by minus sign.
• From $11.61 for cast iron pipe to $18.10 for tin cans and other tinware.
~ From $13 .89 for cast iron pipe to $20.36 for wire work.
e From $14.43 for cast iron pipe to $21.26 for forgings.
7 From $14.50 for cast iron pipe to $21.37 for forgings.
a From $14.51 for typewriters to $22.12 for cash registers, etc.
g From $14.76 for radios and phonographs to 24.96 for cash registers, etc.
10 From $17.47 for radios and phonographs to $23.87 for cash registers, ad ding machines, calculating machines.
Foot notes continued on next page.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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From $17.48 for radios and phonographs to $23.98 for machine tools.
Figure for 1929, as 1928 not available.
With nonmanufacturing, July 1933.
11 No change.
u No figures available.
t6 Cash payments only; additional value of board, room, and t ips cannot be computed.
11 Industries selected from Massachusetts reports for week ending nearest to 15th of month.
See mimeographed monthly reports, Massachusetts Department of Labor and
Industries.
18 For manufacturing, average for 1925-27=100; for nonmanufacturing, September 1931=100.
19 Hosiery and knit goods combined.
20 Printing and publishing, book and job and newspaper combined.
21 All averages for nonmanufacturing wages computed in Women's Bureau from mimeographed reports of total employment and total pay roll.
22 This is for all retail trade, not merchandise alone, and here includes restaurants (which also will be found below as a separate item).
23 Hotel restaurants not included in weekly earnings figures.
H Hotel, chain, and independent restaurants included in weekly earnings figures; only chain and independent in indexes.
2s Chief woman-employing industries from reports of rew York Department of Labor. See Industrial Bulletin, published monthly.
26 June 1923=100.
21 Industries selected from monthly reports of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. See Labor and Industry, published monthly.
28 Average for 1923-25=100.
29 Not reported.
ao Includes clothing in this month.
a1 Inrluded in textiles in this month.
32 Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
33 Paper boxes and bags.
34 Book and job and newspapers and periodicals combined as printing and publishing.
36 Industries selected from monthly reports of Wisconsin Department of Labor. See Labor Market, published monthly. Per capita earnings reported in ibis State; no indexes
available.
11
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https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TABLE
verage hours worked
.-
1
per week, selected months of 1932, 1933, and 1934
[Inuustries selected from monthly reports of U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See Monthly Labor Review]
1932
1934
1933
Industry
Octo- Novem- December
ber
ber
--- - -Manufacturing:
Iron and steel and their products,
not including machinery-Iron
and steel.
Machinery, not including transportation equipment:
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies.
Agricultural implements ________
Transportation equipment-Automobiles.
Nonferrous metals and t heir products :
Clocks and watches __________ __ _
Jewelry _______________ __________
Silverware and plated ware _____
Lumber and allied products-Furniture.
Stone, clay, and glass products:
Glass ____________ __ ------- -- -- -Pottery _____ ___________________ _
26.6
25. 9
24.9
30. 3
31. 2
31.0
31.5
27.8
29. 9
32. 2
29. 6
34.1
39. 3
39. 8
40. 4
34. 3
38.8
3
41. 0
41. 2
36. 3
40. 6
Textiles and their products:
Cotton goods ___________________
48.0
Dyeing and finishing textiles ____
47.9
H ats, fur-fel t ____________________
(2)
Knit goods ______________ __ _____ _
47. 9
Silk and rayon goods ____________ '43. 5
Woolen and worsted goods ______
46. 0
Leather
and______________
its manufacture:
Leather
__ _________
42. 9
Boots and shoes 6 _______________
3
38.1
36. 3
37. 2
39. 6
46. 7
44. 6
(2)
47.1
4
43. 6
4 40.
42. 6
3
January
Febru- March
ary
April
fay
June
~-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28. 5
32. 7
37. 9
26.9
25.6
29.4
30.3
28.0
30.9
33.8
37.8
30. 5
35.8
33. 3
31. 2
28.9
29.0
29. 5
35. 2
32. 9
41.0
36. 6
40.4
32. 6
26. 9
23. 8
28.3
36.1
41. 6
25.3
Novem- Febru- Novemary
ber
ber
- - - - - - - -- - - 40.0
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(2)
August.
29.0
31. 8
38. 1
33.1
33.3
33.9
Do.
34. 5
38.1
35. 9
30. 6
37. 5
37. 5
38.1
31. 3
October.
August.
43. 7
41. 2
39. 4
40. 0
38.0
3 .5
35. 8
38.1
December (w a tch•
case).
December
(medium
and low-priced) .
December .
Do.
33.9
33. 6
34. 2
34.1
31.9
33. 9
36. 5
35.1
35. 5
32. 6
30.4
33.3
34. 3
33.1
30. 7
31.0
33.0
37.6
36. 9
38. 2
_39. 7
40. 3
41. 9
39. 3
34. 9
37. 4
35. 7
38. 2
35. 2
35.4
3 .1
34. 7
34. 5
34. 4
38.0
35. 1
36. 7
36. 0
35. 3
39.0
34. 4
42.1
35. 0
39. 5
35. 9
33. 1
3 .5
38. 6
33. 8
34. 1
33. 9
January 1934.
ovember (chinaware
and porcelain).
34. 9
36. 8
July.
J anuary 1934.
February 1934.
August (hosiery).
October.
July.
September.
Do.
45. 8
45. 0
45. 0
45. 2
46.3
47. 8
44.1
43. 3
45.0
46. 2
47. 9
48.1
49. 1
50. 8
48. 9
49. 6
34. 6
35. 9
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
45.1
1
43.9
41. 3
39.8
45. 2
39. 2
40. 2
46. 7
39. 3
36. 9
37. 3
41. 3
37.1
41. 2
44. 2
39. 6
46. 4
47. 0
42. 0
48. 3
45. 9
41.8
49.0
36.1
33. 8
32.8
34. 7
35. 8
35. 6
33. 9
35. 8·
27. 0
34. 9
34. 4
33. 3
43. 1
41.8
43.3
42.3
40. 7
45. 2
46. 6
46. 3
37. 5
37. 9
39. 5
36. 5
29. 4
4 41.
-------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
For footnotes see end of table.
Month code approved
(1933 unless stated)
July
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1
V.-Average hours worked
per week, selected months of 1932, 1933, and 1934-Continued
1-l
tv
00
[Industries selected from monthly reports of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See Monthly Labor Review]
1932
1934
1933
Industry
Octo- Novem- D ecember
ber
ber
January
Febru- March
ary
April
May
June
Febru- INovemJuly INovemary
ber
ber
Month code approved
(1933 unless stated)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Manufacturing-Continued
products:
and kindred
FoodBaking
__ _______________________
Cannin~ and preserving ___ _____
Confectionery ________ _________ _.
Slaughtering and meat packing_
Tobacco manufactures-Cigars and
cigarettes.
Paper and printing:
Boxes, p aper __ _______ ___ __ __ ____
Paper and pulp _______ __ ____ __ __
Printing an d publishing:
Book and job _____ ___ _______
Newspapers and periodicals_
Chemicals and allied products, and
petroleum refining-R ayon and
allied products.
Rubber products:
Rubber tires and inner t ubes __ _
Rubber boots and shoes _________
Rubber goods, other ________ ____
N onmanufacturing:
Telephone and telegraph ____ __ ______
Retail trade ________ _____________ __ __
Hotels ___ __ ______ ______ _______ . _____
Laundries ____________ ____ . _____ ....
Dyeing and cleaning ___ _________ ___ _
1
2
46. 9
39.3
40.1
45. 2
36. 2
45. 6
39. 2
37. 4
42. 3
36. 5
46. 6
41. 3
37. 6
45. 6
35. 5
46.8
4.2.9
39.4
47.8
41. 7
46. 7
42. 6
38. 0
48. 2
42.3
47. 2
39. 0
37. 0
49.3
42. 6
40. 0
32. 2
33. 7
39. 9
36.8
40. 5
34. 2
37. 6
39. 2
35. 7
39. 6
31. 7
35. 4
41.1
34.. 6
May 1934.
Do.
June 1934.
None.
June 1934 (cigars) .
37.8
39. 9
39.1
39.0
42.5
44. 9
45. 8
36. 5
36. 7
36. 2
3. 6
40. 2
39.8
40. 6
43. 4
46.8
46.1
36. 5
36. 8
36. 5
December (set-up box,
folding box).
ovember.
37.3
40. 6
45.5
37. 0
40. 6
44.3
36.4
40. 6
44.4
35. 5
40. 4
43. 2
36. 8
4.1.0
4.4. 6
37. 2
41.0
45. 3
37. 7
40.8
44.1
35. 5
36.4
37.8
36. 2
36. 7
37. 4
35. 8
37. 0
37. 7
February 1934.
Do.
August.
27.9
47. 3
40. 5
43. 6
46. 7
40. 0
46.1
39. 3
40. 8
44. 6
39. 0
45. 5
40. 0
4.3. 0
45. 9
40. 6
46. 4
40. 6
40. 6
46. 4
34. 8
44. 6
42.9
41. 2
42. 5
41.0
3S.4
37.8
41. 9
46. 2
37. 2
42. 2
45. 6
37.5
42. 3
46.1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
24. 2
(2)
(2)
30.0
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
41. 7
38.0
3.4
36.3
39. 5
37.9
40.0
40. 5
43. 3
43. 5
33. 7
32. 6
32.8
36. 1
? .7
34. 6
34. 6
December.
Do.
Do.
39.1
44. 0
51. 6
42. 6
46. 7
3. 5
44. 5
51. 3
42.3
44. 6
38. 7
44. 5
51. 7
42. 2
43. 3
37. 6
44. 8
51. 4
42. 0
44.1
36.9
43. 7
51. 8
41. 8
43. 2
37. 2
44. 8
51. 0
41. 5
42.4
36. 4
44. 7
50.9
41.9
47.
37. 4
44. 9
51. 4
42. 4
46.
37. 5
45.0
50. 6
4.2. 4
47. 4
38.0
4.4. 2
50. 9
42. 4
45. 7
37. 5
39. 9
49.
37. 9
40. 7
37. 7
39. 4
4 .1
3 .7
39.1
38. 2
40. 3
47.1
39. 2
39. 6
None.
October.
ovember.
February 1934.
ovember.
30. 5
29. 3
29. 7
28. 7
28. 6
Average of hours actu ally worked; not the firms' operating hours.
Not reported in this mont h.
a Plated ware only.
' Silk goods only.
6 Hours for boots and shoes as separate from all leather available beginning with Fe1'ruary 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
37. 7
42. 0
38. 4
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APPENDIX C
EXTRACTS FROM WOMEN'S BUREAU TESTIMONY AT
HEARINGS ON EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS UNDER
CODES, JANUARY 1935 1
One of the first questions asked at these hearings is that as to the
need for continuation of some provisions as to hours and wages.
The Women's Bureau has been an advocate of this premise for many
years and has closely followed every code in this connection. The
Women's Bureau is charged by law with the duty of investigating
and reporting upon conditions of woman employment and formulating standards and policies to promote their welfare. In pursuing
this duty imposed upon it by law, the Women's Bureau has repeatedly
found instances of the beneficial effect on women's wages of a fixed
minimum and on their hours of a legal maximum. It cannot be
too strongly stated that there is need for continuation of these provisions, though there are important points at which they should be
improved.
EXAMPLES OF BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CODE PROVISIONS
Under the codes the following outstanding advantages have accrued
to gainfully occupied women:
1. The material shortening of standard hours in some industries,
with the effort to place legal safeguards around a Nation-wide and
fairly uniform standard of hours for factory operatives all over the
country.
2. An increase in employment in manufacturing, and some slight
indications of a tendency toward more regular employment, both of
which are indicated by attached figures from the one State regularly
publishing such data by sex (New York). 2 A striking example showing increases in employment corresponding to hour reductions under
codes in 10 Michigan industries is afforded by a recent survey the
Women's Bureau made in that State. Before the codes, from nearly
40 to 90 percent of the women reported worked over 40 hours, but
after the codes less than 10 percent worked over 40 hours (except in
one industry), in 6 of the 10 less than 5 percent worked over 40 hours.
This was accompanied by employment increases of more than 50
percent in three industries, of practically 20 percent or more in four
others. 3
3. Very definite increases are found in the earnings of many of
those at the lowest wage levels, a good illustration being in the earnings reported by the Women's Bureau from pay rolls in the dress
industry in New York showing increases under the code of from 30
to nearly 60 percent in the earnings of inside operatives (depending
on the selling price of dress made). 4
t The following is substantially as submitted in the record, though a few minor editorial changes have
been made for this printing.
2 See table A, p. 134.
8 See table B, p. 134, from Women's Bureau field survey not yet in published form.
'New York piecework dress study made by Women's Bureau and not yet published.
129
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
130
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
Selling price of dress
$3.75 and
less
$4.75 and
$5.75
$10.75 and
$12.75
Number of women reported (inside operators only) __________ _
170-187
150
154-177
Median week's earnings:
Before code _______ _____ _______ ___ _____ _____________ ____ __
After code__
_ ------ ------ ----------- -- --Percent
increase
__ ____
. ___
_____
_________
___--___---__ _____
___--_.
$19.10
$30. 35
58.8
$28. 00
$36. 50
30. 3
$26. 75
$36. 05
34. 7
Where such increases have occurred to women, it is largely because
so many have been paid at shockingly low rates before the code. The
effect of the codes has been just what is expected of the minimum
wage--that numbers who were in the most hopeless abyss have
been brought up at least to some bottom level.
Having indicated all too briefly the lines of great advantage that
have resulted from codes, it is my purpose now to mention certain
main points of essential improvement that must be worked toward
as rapidly as possible. The need for each of these lines of action can
be supported from the experience of trained observers of the Women's
Bureau in the field, and from investigations made by this Bureau
during the past months, with testimony of too great length for presenta.tion in full at this time.
1. The need for a better standard of hours, especially in some industries.
2. The importance of bringing under more complete code coverage certain very
large woman-employing groups that have been very inadequately provided for,
as well as others that have no codes at all.
3. The necessity of lessening the ways in which the substandard wage groups
and the many exceptions to code provisions are being allowed to undermine wage
standards.
4. The importance of provision for wages above the minimum.
HOUR STANDARDS IN CODES
Hours must be shorter in some industries
In many cases the hour maximum fixed is in fact longer than were
the hours actually being worked prior to the code. Examples are
in certain large woman-employing industries, such as silk mills, candy
factories, paper boxes, and cigars, in each of which the code maximum
was longer or but very little shorter than the hours that actually had
been worked for many months prior to the code. Obviously, such
hours must be further shortened if any very appreciable degree of
added employment is to be afforded.
Averaging of hours unsatisfactory
N. R. A. policy has itself wisely condemned the method of averaging of hours so difficult to calculate and to enforce, such as is found
in the codes of certain large woman-employers, as glass making, automotive parts, and several of the paper products.
Overtime should be more carefully guarded
Overtime allowances for seasonal requirements, while superior to
the averaging provision, have been far too generally permitted. 5
These tend to encourage seasonal industries to make their seasons as
short as possible. Women's Bureau studies made at various times
6 Nearly h alf the codes provide overtime during certain seasons, some allowing very long hours and some
fixing no weekly limit for such overtime.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EXTRACTS FROM B UREAU TESTIMONY AT HEARINGS
131
have shown very long hours being worked in some industries, even
when lay-offs were occurring and short time prevailed in other plants
in the same industry. Very long hours in a very short season with
many months of unemployment, or marked under-employment, afford
a great disadvantage to the worker and .come far from accomplishing
the basic purposes of the N. R. A.
Fewer hour exemptions should be allowed
The many hour exemptions that have been allowed tend to encourage seasonality and to undermine the better standards. If any
exceptional provisions are granted, more adequate proof of a true
emergency should be required.
IMPORTANT GROUPS NOT COVERED SATISFACTORILY BY CODES
There are large groups of employed women who have not yet benefitted sufficiently by the codes. Some of these have been covered
unsatisfactorily, others not at all.
Clerical workers not satisfactorily provided for
A general survey of code provisions for clerical workers-nearly
2 million of whom are women_.:._shows too little attention paid to
these groups. Frequently their hours are longer than those of manufacturing employees with a weekly wage no higher than that received
for shorter hours by the unskilled factory workers. Coupled with
the fact that employment-agency records always show many more,
applicants for clerical job than can be supplied, this shows the great
need for shortened hours for this group. Codes never have been
approved for telephone workers, including more than 235,000 women ;
nor for insurance offices, where over 149,800 women work, though a
Women's Bureau survey recently published shows earnings of women
in insurance offices below those of other office workers.
Service industries not covered satisfactorily
Among those whose codes have done little to increase purchasing
power or to add to employment are such service industries as hotels,
restaurants, and laundries. Almost the only gain beyond former
conditions in the hotel code was the establishment of the 6-day week.
At first this had effect, and a Women's Bureau survey reported that
all but 7 percent of the hotels visited in several States had a' 6-day
week. But the industry pressed strongly for a stay from this provision, and most recent reports from the field show many hotels on a
7-day basis. The 12-hour work spread allowed in this code is much.
too long to permit of any satisfactory life for the worker, and more
than one-fifth of the hotels surveyed had a still longer spread. In
restaurants, wage conditions under the code are very bad, and employment, where regularly reported, was lower 'in the fall of 1934 than at
the same time in 1933. The effort of this industry to secure exemption from the bakery code where applicable illustrates the way in
which a code with relatively good labor standards may be broken
down by unfair competition from the members of another industry.
SUBSTANDARD WAGE GROUPS TEND TO UNDERMINE CODE WAGE,
STANDARDS
Serious undermining of code wage standards results from the allowance of many groups to be paid below the minimum wage, including·
women, learners, handicapped workers, and industrial home workers ..
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
132
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
The lower wage for women as found in such of the important woman
€mployers as canning, several of the paper codes, and the highly skilled
boot and shoe industry, creates unfair competition between manufacturers employing differing proportions of women, breaks down wage
standards, and encourages the displacement of men by women. On
the grounds of skill there is little justification for permitting a lower
minimum wage for women, since women form nearly one-third of the
semiskilled workers of the country but only a little over one-fifth of
the unskilled workers.
WOMEN'S WAGES TOO LARGELY BULK AROUND THE MINIMUM
One of the most serious problems that has arisen under N. R. A.
,codes has been that the wages of women bulk far too heavily about
the minimum, thus tending to reduce the wage of those paid above the
minimum and to depress the entire standard of wages. Many
examples to illustrate this may be cited from recent Women's Bureau
investigations and from other sources. Shoe plants located in the
Middle West were recently visited by the Women's Bureau. In each
of 6 plants at least one-third of the women were earning no more than
the code minimum, and in 3 of these factories over four-fifths of the
women received no more than the code minimum. The code rate for
women is 30 cents, for men 35 cents, and in the firm in which the
largest proportion of women earned a rate as high as the men's
minimum (35 cents or more) not over one-fourth of the women earned
a rate this high. It is a well known fact that the processes engaged in
:by women in this industry require a high degree of skill.
A report of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor on the cotton
:garment industry in that State, giving figures before and after the
code, showed a decided increase in the median-wage, but this median
was only $10.95 while the regular code minimum is $13. 6 This code
.has the large allowance of 10 percent for learners, and the Pennsylvania reports of certificates granted handicapped workers show that a
-c onsiderable proportion of these are in this industry. Here is a
·s triking instance of a low wage level still existing even though the code
h as made some improvement.
A recent Women's Bureau survey of woman employment in the
State of Michigan shows instance after instance of industries in which
the women's wage masses about the minimum. For example, of
nearly 2,000 women reported in certain important clothing trades,
nearly 300 in set-up paper box plants anq over 500 in hosiery mills,
:practically one-third or more were receiving only the minimum. Of
800 women in corset factories and of over 2,000 in metal plants, more ·
-than 40 percent earned only the minimum wage. 7
· This situation should be corrected by definitely limiting the proportion of workers that may be paid the minimum and if necessary also
limiting the proportions to be allowed below certain oth~r stages at
,definite points above the minimum, at least until more scientific
analyses can be made of the occupational skill required in various
jobs, as has been worked out, for example, in certain of the clothing
industries in which employees are best organized.
6 Median in April 1933, $5.61, in February 1934, $10.95. See Pennsylvania L abor and Industry for Sep
tember 1934.
1 See table O, p. 134 ..
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Here a further word also should be spoken as to competitive conditions in related industries. At first many small groups were allowed
to codify, but it now has become clear that the need of a somewhat
greater uniformity will require the raising of standards in some of these,
groups if wage levels are to be maintained and fair competitive con-ditions secured. Significant steps already are being taken by the,
N. R. A. in this direction, as for example in the unification of certain
needlework codes, of several button codes, and of various minor food
industries. This move should continue, accompanied by a careful
safeguarding of the better standards.
SUMMARY
In final summary of the points here made it may be said that:
First: Code provisions for hours and wages represent a definite move,
in the right direction, that should be continued and perfected.
Second: In regard to hoursThese should be further shortened in some industries.
"Averaging" provisions should be eliminated.
Overtime, if allowed, should be rigidly safeguarded.
Fewer exemptions should be permitted and these onJy on strong
evidence of a true emergency.
Third: More satisfactory code provisions should be worked out for
certain large woman-employing groups not satisfactorily covered
or not under any codes, such as those in certain service trades, iIL
some remaining manufacturing industries, in telephone ex.
changes, and in many clerical occupations.
Fourth: Further steps should be taken to minimize the number of
those to whom industries are permitted to pay a wage below a
standard minimum for unskilled work, such as women, learners,.
and those employed on industrial home work.
Fifth: Further efforts should be made to bring into more uniform
groups, under the better standards, industries similar in character
of products and processes.
Sixth: To counteract a tendency toward general depression of. wage
levels, a strong movement should be made to fix definite limits
to the proportions of workers that may be paid at the minimum,
and below various gradations above the minimum, at least
until more scientific study can be made of the degrees of skill
that actually are required for occupations above the unskilled
level for which a minnnum is primarily intended to apply.
Break-downs in the code system have come chiefly from two sources,
from a definite minority within certain industries and from a few
entire industries largely unwilling to afford from their abundant
coffers an adequate measure of living to those upon whose labor their
profits depend. Throughout the period of code existence, sincere
efforts to develop the system on a satisfactory basis have been evident on the part of the great majorities in the forces both of industry
and of labor. With the continued cooperation of these forces we
believe further steps can be taken toward perfecting a system that
will operate for the increased employment, the more untrammelled
leisure, the more adequate pay envelops, and in general the fuller
living of the great majority of the people.
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EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N . R. A. CODES
TABLE
A.-Employment of women and men in 1933 and 1934
[Industrial Bulletin, N ew York State Depar tment of Labor]
Index of employmen t in manufacturing
M onth
M en
Vi' omen
1934
1933
1933
1934
- - - - - - - - - - -J anuary __ ___ _______________ ____________________________ . _____ _
February __ ___________________________________________________ _
M arch ____ ___ _______________ ______________________ _____ _______ _
April_ ___ __ ___________________________________________________ _
M ay _______ __ _______________________________ _________________ _
June ______ _________________________________________________ ___ _
July __ _--- -- -- - -- - --- -- --- -- --- -- -- --- -- ----- -- - --- -- -- --- -- --August_ __ ___ ____________ ________________ ___ __- _- _- _- _- _------ September ___ __ __________ __________ ______ ______________ _______ _
October _____ ________ ______ ________ __ _______ ______________ ____ _
November __ ___ __________ __________________ ________________ ___ _
December _________ __ _________ ___ _____ _____ ___ _______ _____ __ __ _
J>ercent by which employment in the lowest falls below that
in the highest month _______ _________ __ ___ _______ __ ____ __ ___ c
53
56
52
55
55
57
57
62
68
68
64
61
59
65
69
68
65
64
61
65
72
70
63
48
50
47
49
50
52
55
58
62
62
59
58
58
62
64
65
64
63
63
64
65
65
61
23. 5
18.1
24. 2
10.8
These figures show1. Employment of both women and men in the first 10 months of 1934 was
above that in the same month of 1933.
2. From the month of greatest to the month of least employment in the year
there is less variation in 1934 than was the case in 1933 (and also in 1932).
TABLE
B.-Increases i n employment in relati on to shortened hours under codes in
certain M i chi gan industries-Women's Bureaii un pu blished data
Changes bet ween a date before the code or
P. R. A. and the close of 1934
Industry
P ercent increase in
employment
Percent of employees working over 40 hoursAt close of
1934
93. 6
58. 0
15. 2
18. 0
16. 0
12.1
20. 2
52. 4
25. 0
4. 4
·TABLE
7. 6
4. 1
1. 1
7. 2
6. 8
21.9
4. 0
1. 3
2. 6
5. 6
Before code
or P . R. A.
40. 8
37. 9
83.8
43.5
51.3
50. 3
62. 0
68.9
76. 6
90. 1
C.-Percent of women receiving code mini mum only, in certain selected
industries in Michigan-Women's Bureau unpublished data
Industry
Corsets ___ __ __ ______-- - . __-- -- -- __-- -- -- __ -- __ ___ -- - -- -- -- -- -Men's work clothing ___ ___ -- _-- -- - __ -- __ --- -- -- ---- __ __ __--- _
Women's
_____
____
-- -- -- -- -- - -- --- -- --- -- -- -- -- -Underweardresses
__ ______
___ -___--___
____________
______
____________
__
Set-up paper boxes _____ ___ _________ __ ____ __ __ ______ ____ ____ _Hosiery ___ __ __ ______ _-- _-- --- -- ---- - -- - ------ -- -- -- --- -- - -- - Metal products _______ ___-- - - -- -- _--- - - ---- - - - ----- - -- - ---- - -
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Number of
women
800
1, 094
890
1,427
281
536
2,234
Percent of
women reCode mini- ceiving
code
mum (cents) minimum
only
35
32½
32½
32½
32½
32½
35
42
32
33
25
32
37
43
APPENDIX D
EXTRACTS FROM WOMEN'S BUREAU MONTHLY NEWS
LETTERS AS TO CERTAIN PROBLEMS OF WOMAN EMPLOYMENT UNDER THEN. R. A.
Certain Characteristics of the Second Year - Industrial H ome
Work-The Problem of Learners-Sex Differences in the W ageA Seasonal Industry- Code Overlapping
CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SECOND YEAR
The original formation of codes being largely accomplished, the
past year has been a time of perfecting details related to various important points. Many amendments have been made, and almost
complete code revisions in a few cases.
The v arious parties to code changes include the Administrator, a
representative of the Administration who decides the issue; the code
authority representing chiefly the manufacturers; and Government
representatives from the legal and the research and planning divisions
and from the labor advisory and the consumers' advisory boards.
An E xecutive order from the President supersedes all other action, and
the Industrial Appeals Board was created this year to handle appeals
from Administrators' decisions.
The effort has been made to include in a large number of codes
certain strengthened labor provisions such as the requirement of posting code provisions in the plant; specification in the code that State
laws having higher qualifications than the code should be complied
with under the code; elimination of provisions for averaging hours or
for permitting a wage below the minimum if lower was paid in July
1929 (a provision especially affecting large numbers of women workers); further attention to wages for workers receiving above the
minimum; inclusion of a definite provision requiring certificates to be
obtained before handicapped workers could be paid a subminimum
wage 1 ; prohibition of industrial home work. 2
While on the one hand such efforts have been proceeding, on the
other there have been a large number of requests for general stays, or
for exemptions of certain firms or groups of firms from certain code
provisions. Many of these asked for longer hour allowances to cover
a busy season or for other reasons, though in some cases there seemed
no sufficient proof of need for this. One of the most outstanding
general modifications, so far as women have been concerned, has been
the entire elimination by Executive order of the effect of the service
and certain retail codes in towns under 2,500 in size. The restaurant
code authority sought exemption from the bakery code for its members
who also conducted bakeries selling over the counter, and asked. in
1 This is required by Executive order whether or not specified in the code.
2 Certificate is required by Executive order for home work in all cases except where a code contains provisions eliminating or regulating it.
135
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EMPLOYED WOMEN U DER N. R. A. CODES
addition, for exemption from the 6-day week limit. Neither was
granted.
While industrial home work has been prohibited or regulated in.
codes approved for 107 of about 130 industries in which this system
prevails, the effort has been ;made this year to abolish it or to strengthen the provision for its control in several other important industries.-(News Letter, January 1935.)
INDUSTRIAL HOME WORK
Employment of women in homes under certain embroidery codes
Varying features in codes covering some of the same products frequently :militate against adequate compliance activities, as is shown in.
a recent hearing in the case of the code for pleating, stitching, and
Bonnaz and hand embroidery. This code prohibits home work as of
June 1, 1934. The code authority found, however, that manufacturers against whom they filed complaints were operating under some
other apparel code allowing home work. As the notice of hearing
states:
"Thus home workers are prohibited from performing embroidery,
such as hand beading, drawn work, fagoting, and various forms of
decorative stitchery on dresses, suits, coats, blouses, skirts, millinery,
and underwear. Home workers, however, are allowed to do embroidery in the home on infants' and children's wear, knitted outerwear,
ladies' handbags, hosiery, and various novelties. The result of this.
situation is confusing to ;manufacturers, home workers, State labordepart:ments, and State N.R.A. compliance directors' offices." Codes.
for ladies' hand bags, knitted outerwear, infants' and children's wear,
cotton garments, hosiery, and art needlework, all permit home work
(with or without conditions) in at least one of the crafts on operations
listed in the definition of "industry" in the Bonnaz code. On the,
other hand, such apparel codes as those for the dress, coat and suit,
millinery, and undergarment and negligee industries prohibit home
work.
The code authority proposed the following interpretation to clarify
the situation, and on this a hearing has taken place:
"Home work is prohibited in all of the crafts enumerated in the
definition of 'industry' in article II, section 1 of the pleating, stitching,
and Bonnaz and hand embroidery code. Article IV, section 7 of the.
pleating, stitching, and hand-embroidery code abolishes home work
on all articles in the production of which the crafts enumerated are.
employed. "-(News Letter, December 1934 .)
Cane seating of chairs done by women in homes
The situation as to home work in chair caning forms a good illustration of what occurs when industrial home work is the practice in an
industry, and shows why this system has been opposed by the Women's.
Bureau as one that inevitably tends to break down wage standards
that have been built up with so ;much effort.
Chair caning comes under the furniture code, in which the :minimum
wage allowed is 30 cents an hour. The manufacturers giving out.
cane-seat chairs to be seated in homes came to the N. R. A. Adminis-trator with a request for a considerable reduction from the :minimum
wage, and on this hearings were held; and the rate was fixed at 15
cents per 100 square inches of herringbone cane (the :most difficult.
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137
type) . This would be 30 cents per chair, since the area of a cane seat
is 200 square inches. An even lower rate was fixed for less difficult
types of caning done with wider material.
A sample survey was made by the Women's Bureau in parts of
Kentucky and Tennessee where this work is done. This survey was
made quickly and covered a somewhat limited area, but it undoubtedly
represents an adequate sample of the situation. It showed that it
took a woman on an average of an hour to do a chair. Testimony
from the manufacturers tended to show that chairs could be done in
somewhat shorter time than this, but the indications were that they
were reporting chiefly for the more rapid workers. The Women's
Bureau study showed very wide di:ff erences in the length of time it took
to do a chair, but the average was about an hour. The Women's
Bureau found that most women engaged in this work were in the
prime of earning capacity, 40 percent being under 25 years. Eight
percent were under 15 years, and there were children as young as
9 years. Only 15 percent were as old as 50.
Where industrial home work is engaged in it is almost impossible to
guard against excessive hours of work and child labor. This system
relieves the manufacturers of a large amount of overhead. The
workers provide storage space and often haulage. Not only do they
receive no rent for this but a low wage, depressing the general wage
standard. Home workers, who are furnishing so much overhead for
the manufacturers in addition to their labor, should receive a higher
wage rate than the factory workers.
The manufacturers insisted that the rate of 15 cents was too high,
and the Administrator came down to 12 cents, 10 cents, and finally
to 8 cents; the latter figure would yield 16 cents a chaiI, or on the
average about 16 cents an hour.
The manufacturers (some 8 or 10 firms in all) carried the case over
the head of the Administrator to the Industrial Appeals Board, and
the 8-cent rate was upheld. Naturally the minimum provided by
this rate is very much below the furniture code minimum. In upholding the 8-cent rate, the Industrial Appeals Board also specified that
the firm must in all cases deliver and collect the chairs, and that not
more could be given out to a family than could be done in a 40-hour
week.-(News Letter, December 1934.)
Certain N. R. A. hearings in October on home work
During October, hearings were held by the N. R. A. on proposed
amendments relating to industrial home work for the codes for knitted
outerwear and for portable electric lamp and shade manufacture. The
former was opposed, the latter supported by the Women's Bureau.
In each case the amendment had the supµort of the code authority.
When the code for knitted outerwear was first under consideration,
provision for abolition of home work by some approved date was
strongly urged. Instead the code provided that a report "upon the
practicability of discontinuing home work in the industry or setting
up a system of control for home work" be made within 6 months from
the effective date of the code. Nine months having elapsed, the
committee set up by the code for this purpose, composed of 3 representatives of the hand-knit, 3 ofthe machine-knit manufacturers, 1 of
the administration, proposed "Schedule A" to article VI (the homework article) of the code. This schedule not only made no provision
1182 °- 35-10
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EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R . A . CODES
for abolishing or even for gradually reducing home work, though it
has been shown repeatedly that home work never can be adequately
controlled, and though industries more dependent than is this one
upon home work have been adjusting their operation to eliminate
this system by a specified date.
The proposed "Schedule A" sought the setting up of a home-work
control committee of 5 members from the industry , 2 from the administration; the reporting of all home workers to the code authority
by every manufacturer or contractor; and the specification of the
type of operation performed. It made no provision as to any minimum wage for these workers. Agents of the Women's Bureau
recently have sent in reports of visits to 64 homes of these workers in
this industry in Philadelphia (including 69 women who did such work).
This is by no means a casual or part-time job; half the workers
reported having worked 40 hours or more in the week- a third of them
60 hours or longer; and half of them had worked 7 days in the week.
For these excessively long hours the wages were wholly inadequate.
Over half the women reported earned· less than $5 for their week's
work. Only a fourth earned as much as $6, the highest being $10,
~n amount received by only 4 women. Of those who had worked 60
hours or longer, more than 1 in 3 earned less than $5.
Besides receiving such a totally insufficient wage for long hours of
work, the home worker always was responsible for getting and returning work, in many cases paying a girl or other neighbor some 30 or
40 cents for this delivery. The home worker was responsible for
spoiled work, and either had to pay cash for spoiled materials or had
to make corrections. Almost always she had to buy or to furnish in
some manner her own needles. Often she had to make several samples
of a pattern before she could begin on paid work. Sometimes instructions were defective and she had to do the work over. She had to
make a deposit for the materials taken, usually $5, in some cases
$5.80.
The rates of pay for certain styles or materials are so irregular that
it is impossible to summarize them very briefly. One of the women
visited was engaged in knitting a 3-piece suit; for the skirt she was
to get $7.75, for the blouse $8, for the coat $7. This represented a
month's work at 66 hours a week, and would yield less than $6 a week.
Her total month's pay would be $22.75 on a suit that retails for $100.
It is small wonder that a third of the families of the home workers
visited were receiving public relief.
.
The amendment to the portable electric lamp and shade code (a
branch of the electrical code) proposed to abolish industrial home
work at the end of 60 days from the date of approval of the amendment. Recent reports from Women's Bureau field agents in Philadelphia show that in practically all cases firms in this industry that
formerly had given out home work now do so no longer, in lar~e
measure because of the changed styles in lampshades, those now m
~se being too bulky and too perishable to transport for home manufacture.
Final decisions have not yet been received as to the proposed amendments in either of these industries.-(News Letter;November 1934.)
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THE PROBLEM OF LEARNERS
Requests for allowances of larger proportions of women apprentices
Among exemptions being asked from N. R. A. code provisions,
two recent cases are outstanding as they affect women working as
apprentices. Each of these was a request for large proportions of
apprentices, each was denied by the Administrator for the code in
question, and each was appealed over his head to the Industrial
Appeals Board. Each request was opposed before the Board by a
representative of the Women's Bureau.
One of these was a request from a shoe plant in a New England
State to be permitted to have 40 percent of their workers on an
apprenticeship basis. The boot and shoe code makes a 5 percent
allowance for apprentices, and also a 5 percent allowance for handica_pJ?ed workers. Apprentices may be paid 80 percent of the code
nnmmum.
The plant in question was a new establishment that had been
doing business only a few months, and was organized for the manufacture of a cheap-selling McKay shoe. It was the property of a company that had plants in several States and that was shown to have
closed in some localities and shortly thereafter opened in others.
The agreement with its workers constituted at least a strong presupposition in favor of the membership of a prospective worker in a
particular union group; members of this union made a weekly contribution from their pay envelops toward the purchase of the building
in which the plant was located. The union and the official and
business authorities of the town all had advised the company that a
labor supply would be available if they located in this town.
The request for a 40 percent allowance seemed excessive, unless
very strong evidence could be presented that there was a shortage of
available shoe workers, that the usual wage standards of the plant
were otherwise good, and that the plant required a high proportion of
skilled workers. The Administrator also raised the question as to
whether there was likelihood that so large a number of apprentices
could be given any assurance of permanent employment in the
industry. No pay-roll records from the plant were presented, and
there was considerable evidence that much unemployment of workers
in this industry still existed, some of it in towns near enough to
furnish labor for this plant under a reasonable employment agreement.
The other case came under the cotton garment code, which permits
10 percent of the workers to be learners, a generous allowance in view
of the standard of 5 percent proposed by the United States Department of Labor, and in view of the fact that in so seasonal an industry
the worker must find funds to support himself during many weeks of
unemployment. Moreover, the minimum payment for learners is as
low as 75 percent of the code wage. A 10 percent allowance for
handicapped workers also appears in the code.
The plant in question, located in a southern State for which a
reduced wage is allowed in the code, is a subsidiary of a larger firm
located further north. It claimed to maintain a "trade school" and
the pupils (referred to as "help" in the course of one hearing) formed a
large proportion of its workers. The building used was in part a
factory and in part a school, and the workers and "students" so
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EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
mingled that it was impossible for an observer to distinguish which
was which group. No guarantee was made as to placement in further
employment at the end of the learning period, and no clarification was
presented as to what constituted a bona fide trade school. Pupils
as well as other workers received their pay envelops from the city
officials rather than from a plant official.
Decisions of the Industrial Appeals Board on these cases have not
yet been handed down. 3- (News Letter, December 1934.)
SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE WAGE
Leather
For use at a proposed rehearing of the leather code, which was
approved with a sex differential in wages, the Women's Bureau made
an investigation of five leather plants in Philadelphia and Wilmington
manufacturing principally glazed kid, in July 1934.
Hourly earnings were obtained for about 2,500 employees, 74.8
percent men and 25.2 percent women. The study found wide
disparity in hourly rates of men and women. While women's
earnings concentrated near the 35-cent minimum allowed for women
under the N. R. A. code, men's hourly earnings usually exceeded the
code minimum of 40 cents. Median hourly earnings of women were
36 ·cents, men 58 cents. Considerable competitive advantage in
labor costs accrued to firms employing women in large proportions.
The proportion of women varied in plants from 4.9 to 33.3 percent.
Comparing the hourly earnings of men and women working on the
same product and the same machine, the same disparity is evident.
Of 52 men employed at putting and oiling off in 3 plants, where 83
wo,nen worked along with the men and there were no apparent
differences in conditions of work and skill required, the men averaged
5l cents an hour, the women 35 cents. No woman received as much
as 40 cents an hour. In 2 plants where only men were used, the
~arnings averaged 55 cents an hour. Comparison of other occupations
on which both men and women are employed show a similar difference. Variation was least in seasoning, the occupation on which
women are most frequently employed. Men seasoners earned an
average of 41 cents an hour, women averaged 36 cents.-(News
Letter, September 1934.)
Sex differential in minimum rates (analyzed to Sept. 1, 1934)
By September 1, 1934, 533 N. R. A. codes had been approved, and
of these one-fourth have fixed minimum rates for women on productive work lower than for men for at least some occupations. Of these
135 codes, 112 fix women's rates lower for all occupations, although in
10 of these there is no sex differential for the South and in one no sex
differential in Alaska. The remaining 23 codes fix a lower rate for
women doing light work or engaged in certain specified occupations,
or in certain divisions of the industry; in practice, such provisions
probably will affect the great majority of the women covered by the
23 codes. While most of the 135 codes provide that women doing the
same or" substantially" the same work as men shall receive the same
wage, such a provision affords little protection against a lower rate,
since long-established practice has divided the work in most factories
on the basis of sex.
a Each of these requests for additional learners was denied by the Industrial Appeals Board in December
1934.
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It is not possible to arrive at an estimate of the number of women
,c overed by the codes which fix a lower rate for their work than for
that of men. However, in 42 of these codes a reasonably accurate
correlation may be made with the classifications in the Census of
·Manufactures. This indicates that in 1929 over 300,000 women were
.employed in these 42 industries.
,
In order to make a general comparison between men's and women's
Tates in the 135 codes, the percent that the rate for women is below
that for men has been computed (the lowest rate being used in cases
where more than one rate is set, as for different geographic areas or for
,different occupations or divisions of the industry). In three codes
women's rates were 6.3 percent below men's, the slightest difference
found. The greatest difference was a rate of 30 percent below in one
code. In 18 codes the difference was less than 10 percent ; in 25
codes, 20 percent or more.
The shoe industry is one of the most important ones which discriminate against women, setting a rate 14 percent below that of
men in all cases. Nearly 85,000 women were reported in the industry
.in 1929, 41 percent of all wage earners. Women's work in shoe factories is largely machine stitching, and is often highly skilled.
Nearly 40,000 women in candy factories are subject to a lower
minimum than men regardless of the work they do. Here again,
much skilled work is done by girls in the dipping of chocolates and
fancy packing. Their minimum rate is, in every locality, 5 cents
an hour below that of men.
Codes covering the manufacture of paper and paper products,
numbering 30, have lower rates for women. In all but one code the
-rates are lower regardless of occupation or product. An incomplete estimate shows that perhaps 60,000 women are covered by these
rates, that are from 6 to 25 percent below those of men.
Preliminary census figures for 1933 show over 200,000 persons in
the canning of fruits and vegetables at the height of the season.
To say that half of these were women is probably an underestimate.
Code rates guaranteed to women piece workers in the industry are
usually 2 }~ cents per hQur below those guaranteed to men. Hourly
rates for women are never less than 5 cents below that of men. Since
far more women than men are on a piecework basis in the canning
industry, the hourly minimum for most women is 10 cents below that
for most men when canning corn, spinach, peas, and other seasonal .
products.
In 35 additional codes, although wage rates are not fixed by sex,
provisions are included that in effect result in lower rates for women
in many cases. In 20 codes workers who in July 1929 received
below the code minimum may be paid at the lower rate, but usually
with a lower absolute minimum fixed. Since women's rates are
traditionally below men's, such a provision is more likely to affect
them. The most important woman-employing industries among the
20 are those for the electrical industry (including radios) employing
about 90,000 women, and for rubber tires employing some 13,000
women.
In 4 codes a lower rate is fixed for "light work" or "light repetitive
work." In 9 codes a lower rate is fixed for certain specified occupations. Wrapping, packing, and labeling are among those mentioned, work usually done by women. An important code coming
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142
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
in this last category is that for the baking industry. Cleaners, icers,.
and wrappers may be paid 80 percent of the minimum for other
occupations. Cleaners are usually men or boys, but icers and wrappers almost always women, and probably few women are found in
other occupations.
In the code for the barber shop trade, practically all workers are
paid on a commission basis with a guaranteed weekly minimum.
Manicurists, bootblacks, and brush boys are guaranteed rates ranging from $6.50 to $8.50 per week, according to size of city, while for
barbers and all other employees the guaranties range from $13 to $17.
This means that practically all women in the trade are grouped with
unskilled men at a minimum half that of other employees.-(News.
Letter, November 1934.)
A SEASONAL INDUSTRY
Women under the canning code in a seasonal process
The changing conditions occurring under a food code involving
work with varied products and processes and in varied seasons are
illustrated by the situation in spinach canning in the vicinity of
Baltimore, included in the "intermediate" geographic area as defined
by the canning code.
A stay from the code wage, allowed for the fall season by the
Administrator, provided a piece rate of 12 cents for preparation of a.
20-pound basket of spinach. This was estimated to yield 24 cents
an hour, 1 cent less than the code minimum would have provided.
At the request of the Administrator, the Women's Bureau surveyed
seven of these plants that had employed about 1,000 women in the
spring season, in order to ascertain how the stay was operating.
Special interviews of 31 women also were made.
According to firms' statements, the spinach crop of this season is
slow and scarce. The product frequently is small, and often there is
a poor run with yellow leaves that must be discarded. Only when
the run is good and the product large and in good shape are conditions so that the minimum allowed in the stay can be consistently
made. The women's own estimates as to 20-pound baskets prepared in an hour usually showed that good spinach could be handled
in about half the time necessary for poor spinach. About three. fourths of the women who made such reports estimated they could
prepare two baskets in an hour, but this was the maximum possibility
for slightly over half these.
Much time must be spent by the women waiting at wagons for
baskets to be filled, weighing, and carrying spinach to and from the
·work tables. All this is a part of the work process that should be.
paid for, and in some cases it consumed at least one-third of the
woman's time. One firm had the spinach brought to the work
tables, so the women were not responsible for this part of the process.
Additional time often is lost waiting for spinach to arrive.
Record keeping is a primary essential to any surety of improved
conditions in this industry. One of the smaller firms in Baltimore
was keeping exact records by a relatively simple method, and with
practically no added expense.-(News Letter, December 1934.)
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EXTRACTS FROM MONTHLY NEWS LETTERS
143
CODE OVERLAPPING
Year's enforcement and inspection by the coat and suit code authority
The report of the code authority for the coat and suit industry on
the first year's inspection and enforcement under the N. R. A. recently
has been issued. This involved two, three, or more visits to every
firm in the industry, 2,622 of which were known to the code authority,
four-fifths of them in the metropolitan area of New York where the
enforcement activities thus naturally centered.
Among the more important subjects of investigation were those of
wages, hours, and use of the label. In a total of 33,959 investigations,
4,517 violation instances were found, over three-fourths of which were
adjusted without the necessity of a formal hearing. Wage collections
~nd adjustments (including those in cases pending) amounted to more
than $125,000. Over $100,000 of this constituted wage deficiencies
in the New York metropolitan district.
Whenever wage violations were found by a submanufacturer or contractor, investigation was made to ascertain whether the wholesaler
or manufacturer paid the submanufacturer sufficient to enable payment of code wages, and if not the complaint was lodged against the
former as well as the latter. Wage deficiencies were collected for the
workers through the code authority. Violations of hour provisions
were comparatively few. First offenses were adjusted by a promise
of compliance, repeated violations were certified to Washington.
More than a third of the violations were in relation to the required
label for the product. Numerous cases were found of the use of counterfeit labels, and in such instances the source of these labels was
investigated and their manufacturing discontinued.
For some time the label issued under the code for the coat and suit
industry adopted by the New Jersey State Recovery Administration
caused trouble, since firms using this label, many of which were submanufacturers or contractors for New York firms, were disregarding
rates of the national code and refusing to allow investigation by the
code authority. When this situation was followed through, the New
Jersey authority finally withdrew its label.
New firms applying for permit to use labels were investigated with
particular care, since they sometimes were formed by older firms
seeking to use them as a subterfuge for avoiding certain code obligations. The authority was able to trace these cases to the controlling
company and insist upon compliance.
The question of overlapping code jurisdiction often has caused great
difficulty in administration and enforcement, since firms at least some
of whose products were a part of the coat and suit industry have operated under other codes having lower wage rates, especially under the
dress code, the cotton garment code, and the blouse and skirt code.
Code authorities for these industries have insisted that the garments
so produced come within the definition of their industries, and have
permitted manufacturers to use their labels for them. No definite
jurisdiction of their code and overlapping codes has yet been fixed
satisfactorily to the coat and suit code authority, which claims this
overlapping still produces unfair competition for their firms.
In the summer of 1934 a special investigation was made as to use of
the label during the 1934 spring season. This survey covered 1,048
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
144
EMPLOYED WOMEN UNDER N. R. A. CODES
manufacturing units in the New York metropolitan district, more than
half the units in the district. Practically three-fourths of these had
complied fully with the label provisions, another 10 percent having·
made only minor violations. The remaining firms, 165 in all, had
produced or shipped part of their goods, 29 of them- one-fourth or
more of their product, without labels. This included infants' and
children's goods firms and those dealing with New Jersey contractors.
(From report of the code authority, Women's Bureau-News Le.tter,,
November 1934.)
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