The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
. UNITED STATES DEPARTl\1ENT OF LABOR
WOMEN'S BUREAU
Bulletin No. 149
.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN
TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
+
EMPLOYME NT OF WOMEN IN
TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
By
ETHEL ERICKSON
BuLLETIN OF THE WoMEN's BUREAU, No.
149
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1937
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
-
-
• • - -
- - •
-
Price 10 cents
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CONTENTS
Letter of transmittal_ ___________________________________ __________ _
Part !.-Introduction _____________________________________________ _
Areas and cities covered _______________________________________ _
Data from the census of manufactures for 1933 ___________________ _
Extent of Women's Bureau survey ______________________________ _
Size of establishment_ _________________________________________ _
Race _________________________________________ _______________ _
Comparison of conditions in 1934 and 1935 ______________________ _
Summary ____________________________________________________ _
Part IL-Earnings and hours of work of white women in 1935 in factories,
stores, and laundries ____________________________________________ _
Manufacturing establishments _________________________________ _
Earnings ________________________________________________ _
Week's earnings ___________ _____ ______ ________________ _
Comparison of women's earnings in manufacturing by area
and four chief cities _________________________________ _
Earnings and hours worked ____________________________ _
Ayerage ho~rly earn!ngs _________ ______________________ _
Time and piece earnmgs _________ _____ _________________ _
Year's earnings _____________ ____ ______________________ _
Hours ___________________________________________________ _
Scheduled weekly hours _____ __________________________ _
Scheduled daily hours ________ _________________________ _
Scheduled days per week __ _________________________ ---Actual hours worked __________________________________ _
Mercantile establishments _____________________________________ _
Earnings ________________________________________________ _
Hours ___________________________________________________ _
Scheduled hours ______________________________________ _
Actual hours worked __________________________________ _
Laundries and dry cleaners ____________________________________ _
Earnings ________ ________________________
Hours ___________________________________________________ _
Actual hours worked __________________________________ _
Part III.-Comparison
of earnings, hours, and employment for white
women in 1934 and 1935 _______________________________ _
Changes in week's earnings ___ . ________________________________ _
Changes in hourly earnings ____________________________________ _
Comparison of proportions earning less than 30 cents _____________ _
Comparison of hours worked ___________________________________ _
Changes in numbers employed _________________________________ _
Changes in stores, laundries, and cleaning plants _________________ _
Su□mary
of changes in wages, hours, and numbers of employees
1935 ______________________________________________
_______ _in_
Changes in wage rates as reported by mangement ________________ _
Comparison of earnings in a few selected firms in the same industries __
Part IV.-:-EmI_>l~Y:ment and earnings of women in hotels and restaurants_
Lodgmg d1v1s10ns _____________________________________________ _
Hotel restaurant employees ________________________________ - _- - Restaurants not in hotels ______________________________________ _
Hours in hotels and restaurants ________________________________ _
7-dayweek __________________________________________________ _
Changes in earnings __________________________________________ _
J
_______________ _
m
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Page
V
1
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
6
6
8
8
11
11
12
15
16
18
19
19
19
19
20
21
22
22
22
24
24
25
25
26
28
28
29
30
31
31
31
32
32
34
34
35
35
36
37
37
IV
Page
Part V.-Earnings and hours of Negro women________________________
Median of the week's earnings and of hourly earnings_ ___ ___ _______
Hourly earnings______ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ __ _
Year's earnings______ ________ ____ __________ _______ ___ __________
Hours worked and earnings___________ ___________ ___ ____________
Negro women in hotels and restaurants_________________ ___ ___ ____
Changes among Negro women-1934 to 1935 _______________ _______
Hours of Negro women_____________ ______________________ ______
Part VI.-Men's earnings and hours______ _________ ___ _____ __________
Week's earnings of white men________ _______ _______ _____ ________
Median hourly earnings of white men ___ __ __ _____________________
Hours worked and earnings of white m en _________ _______ _________
Piece-work earnings of white men____ __________________ ____ ______
Earnings of Negro men______________ ______________________ ______
Earnings of white men in hotels and restaurants ___ ________________
Earnings of Negro men in hotels and restaurants_ _ _____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
Men's hours in food di visions of hotels and restaurants________ ____ _
Men's hours in lodging sections of hotels__________ _____ __________
7-dayweek________________ ______ ____________________________ _
Part VIL-Working conditions_____ _________ _________ ____________ _____
Hosiery___________________ ______ _______ _______ __ ____ _________
Cotton mills______________ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ ___ __ __ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ _
Other textiles_ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ _ ___ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _
Rayon yarns and cellophane _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _
Clothing______ ____________________ _______________________ ____ _
Food products ____________________________________ ______ ____ __
Nut shelling____ ________________________ _______ _____ __________
Drugs and cosmetics ________ _____________ .. _____________ _ ___ __ _ _
Wood products __________________ ______ ______________ _.. _______ _
Tobacco and tobacco products____ _________________ __ ____ ___ __ ___
Paper boxes_______________ ____________________________ ________
Printing and publishing_________________ __ ____ __________________
Laundries ______ __ __________ ________ ___________ __ ____ _________
Stores____ _______________ ______________ _____ _______ ____ _______
Restaurants_________ ____________ ____ ___ _____ __________________
Hotels____________ __ _________________________________________
Appendix-Schedule forms __________ ________________________________
38
38
40
40
40
40
41
42
43
44
44
44
45
45
46
46
47
47
47
49
52
53
54
54
54
55
55
56
56
57
57
57
58
58
59
60
61
TABLES
1. Week's earnmgs of white women in manufacturing, by industry, 1935___
2. Average hourly earnings of white women in manufacturing, by industry,
1935________________ ___ ____________ ___ __ ____________ ___________
3. Hours worked during the week by white women in manufacturing and
median earnings for certain hour groups, by industry, 1935____________
4. Earnings of white women in 1 week in fall of 1934 and 1 in fall of 1935
compared-identical plants__________ _____________ ___ ________ ____ ___
5. Earnings of white men, by industry, 1935__________________________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8
13
20
27
43
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
w OMEN'S BUREAU,
Washington, January 14, 1937.
MADAM: I have the honor to transmit a report on the hours, earnings, and working conditions of women in Tennessee industries, the
data covering 27,000 women in factories, stores, laundries, drycleaning plants, and hotels and restaurants. The survey, made at
the request of the Tennessee Commissioner of Labor, was conducted
in the winter months of 1935-36. Some of the most important data
show for identical plants changes in hours and earnings when the
National Industrial Recovery Act was no longer in effect.
I greatly appreciate the assistance rendered by Commissioner W. E.
Jacobs, Mr. R. 0. Ross, chief factory inspector, and the deputy inspectors, and the courteous cooperation of employers.
The survey was conducted and the report has been written by Ethel
Erickson, industrial supervisor.
Respectfully submitted.
1-fA.RY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. FRANCES PERKINS,
Secretary of Labor.
V
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE
INDUSTRIES
Part 1.-INTRODUCTION
The most rapid development of southern industries in the past
decades has been in the Piedmont and highland regions, and this drift
or tendency of industrial growth is apparent in Tennessee, where the
middle and western sections are chiefly agricult1.tral, with farming the
outstanding occupation, and the eastern is markedly manufacturing.
In the eastern region the surplus labor supply above agricultural
needs, the power sites, and for textiles the nearness to raw materials
have served as inducements to promoters of factory development.
Excerpts from an article by a Tennessean on the industrial development of Tennessee summarize the economic background of the State.
These follow:
Tennessee affords a good illustration of the thesis that economic, political, . and
personal conditions have their roots in climate and topography. When outside
the State, every native is proud of the fact that he is a Tennessean; but within
the State, he is more than that; he is an east Tennessean, a middle Tennessean,
or a west Tennessean.
* * * East, middle, and west are not casual matters; they represent definite
economic as well as topographical divisions.
* * * East Tennessee is largely mountainous with altitudes rising to
2,400 feet above sea level; contrasting with a maximum of 1,000 feet in middle
and 400 feet in west Tennessee.
Based on above considerations, one would expect varied agriculture to thrive
in middle Tennessee and specialized agriculture to predominate in west Tennessee, with hard-pressed farmers barely holding their own in east Tennessee.
Similarly, con sidering only matters of climate, manufacturing should find encouragement in the eastern section of the State with its equitable climate, mild
in winter and comfortable in summer. In the east, the hard lot of the farmers,
particularly the mountaineers, leads them readily to accept manufacturing
employment. To the extent that the agricultural situation is unfavorable,
manufacturing employment becomes attractive. 1
At the request of the Commissioner of Labor for the State of Tennessee, a survey of women's wages and hours of work and conditions
of employment was made by the Women's Bureau. Field work was
begun about the middle of November 1935, and agents of the Bureau
worked in the State until late in February collecting pay-roll and other
data.
Naturally, not every factory, store, laundry, hotel, and restaurant
in the State could be included in the survey, but a large cross section
of these is represented and the findings are considered typical of the
fall of 1935. The first plans for the survey did not include men's
earnings. After the work had been under way for several weeks, at
the request of the commissioner of labor it was decided to take a
sample of men's earnings in the major woman-employing industries.
1 Ward, Frank Bird. The Industrial Development of Tennessee. .Annals of the American Academy,
1anuary 1931, vol. 153, pp. 141-147.
1
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENKESSEE INDUSTRIES
The data for men, of course, are not so complete as those for women
and may be considered as typical only of certain industries- not of
men's employment throughout the State.
Areas and cities covered.
Because of the spread of the State from east to west and because
of the sectional differences, tabulations have been made for the three
geographic areas-the eastern, the middle, and the western. Establishments were scheduled in 38 cities and towns, classed by area as
follows: Eastern- Chattanooga, Knoxville, Athens, Bristol, Cleveland, Clinton, Elizabethton, Eng]ewood, Erwin, Etowah, Harriman,
Jellico, Johnson City, Kingsport, LaFollette, Lenoir City, Loudon,
Maryville, Rockwood, Telford, and Winchester; Middle- Nash ville,
Clarksville, Columbia, Fayetteville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Springfield, and Tullahoma; We stern-Memphis, Bemis, Covington, Humboldt, Jackson, Milan, Trenton, and Union City. Supplementing the area analysis, some of the wage data have been tabulated
for the four chief cities.
Data from the census of manufactures for 1933.
The 1933 census of manufactures, with combined figures for men
and women, gives a statistical picture of the industrial set-up of the
State. The following data are for industries with more than 500
employees reported.
The census of manufactures of 1933 gives a total for Tennessee of
1,561 establishments, employing 94,909 wage earners and with a wage
pay roll for the year of $60,871,247-practically 95,000 wage earners
and 61 million dollars. The three industries employing the most
women in the Women's Bureau survey-knit goods, comprising
hosiery and knit underwear, men's work clothing, and cotton millsalso rank high on the census list, though wage earners on that list
includes both sexes. Knit goods ranks first, with 18,000 wage earners
and 9¼ million dollars in wages; the cotton industry second, with
about 6,000 wage earners and 3¼ million dollars; and work clothing
fourth as to wage earners, with almost 3,400, but eleventh as to wages,
with only about 1}~ million dollars.
Five of the cities that have a population of 10,000 or more are in
the eastern area, and are evidence of the concentration there of manufacturing. The other three-Memphis, Nashville, and Jacksontogether have a much larger number of establishments than the other
cities combined but have a smaller average number of employees per
establishment. Large-scale industry in Tennessee has its footing in
the eastern part of the State.
Extent of Women's Bureau survey.
The number of the establishments visited-factories, stores,
laundries, dry-cleaning plants, hotels, and restaurants-was 267.
The total number of employees in these establishments, exclusive of
clerical employees and those working outside the plant, was 58,269.
Of this number men comprised 28,644 and women 29,625. In a few
cases where the plant was large, with more than 500 women employees, a fair sample was obtained by copying the figures for half the
names on the pay roll.
The distri!:)ution of the employees, by sex and by industrial group,
follows.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
3
INTRODUCTION
M en
Women
Number
of est ab- 1 - - -- -- 1-- -- - - lishments Number Percent Number Percent
- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - 1- -- - - - - - - -- - - Industrial group
267
28, 644
100. 0
29, 625
100. 0
179
25, 880
90. 4
23,424
79.1
Stores:
Department_ ____________ ___ _________ ___ ___ _____ _
Limited-price ___ _____ __ ______ _______ _____ ___ ___ _
17
15
963
107
3. 4
.4
2, 265
873
7.6
2. 9
Laundries and dry cleaners _____ ______ ___________ ____ _
Hotels and restaurants __________ ____ ____ ____ _____ __ _
24
32
399
1, 295
1.4
4.5
1, 789
1,274
6.0
4. 3
All industries ___ __ --- -------------- ----- --- - -Factories _____ __ ____ ___ ___ __ ____________ ___ __ ___ ___ __
Size of establishment.,
Employees varied in numbers considerably in the firms included,
but establishments with fewer than 10 usually were not scheduled.
Of the establishments with 200 or more employees, more than fourfifths were factories. The others in the group of 200 and more were
7 department stores, 2 laundries, and 2 hotels. There were 27 establishments covered that had 500 and more employees; three-fifths of
these were in textiles, one-fifth in rayon yarns and cellophane, 1 or 2
each were in clothing, shoes, and metal products, and 1 was a department store. Laundries and hotels and restaurants bulked in the
less-than-50 groups.
More than one-third of the factories had at least 200 employees.
Just over one-fourth had 300 and under 500 workers and two-fifths
had 500 or more.
No plant in rayon yarns and cellophane had less than 500 employees,
none in shoes had less than 200, and no cotton or woolen mill and no
metal plant had less than 100. On the other hand, no plant making
bags, silk or rayon fabrics, food products, or miscellaneous clothing
had as many as 300 employees, none in drugs and cosmetics as many
as 200, and none in paper boxes as many as 100. In fact, threefourths of the paper-box factories had less than 50 employees.
One-half of the seamless-hosiery mills had 300 or more workers, most
of these at least 500. From about two-fifths to one-half of the plants
making full-fashioned hosiery, knit underwear, shoes, cotton textiles,
and metal products had 500 or more workers.
Seven of the department stores had 200 or more employees, 1 having
at least 500. No limited-price store, on the other hand, had as many
as 200 workers; only 1 in 5 had as many as 100.
Most of the laundries and dry cleaners had less than 100 employees,
but 2 had 200 or more, 1 of them at least 300.
Half the hotels and restaurants had less than 50 employees, but
there were 2 with 200 or more, 1 of these with 300 but under 500.
Race.
Slightly less than 10 percent of all employ~es were Negroes. As in
most establishments the wage level for these workers is on a lower
scale than that for white workers, their earnings have been tabulated
separately and are discussed in a later section. The proportion of
Negro women in manufacturing and in mercantile establishments for
the State as a whole is small. Memphis, in the western area, has the
greatest proportion of Negro women in factories.
121644°-37-2
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
The industrial employment of Negro women is chiefly in the service
industries, laundries, dry cleaners, and hotels and restaurants, and
both Negro and white workers must be considered when earnings are
discussed for these. Throughout this report discussions of earnings
have reference to those of white women unless Negro women are
specified or the section of the report covers Negro workers only.
Comparison of conditions in 1934 and 1935.
A comparison has been made of women's earnings for periods in
1934, when National Recovery Administration codes were in existence,
and in 1935, 5 or 6 months after the Supreme Court's decision had
outlawed the National Industrial Recovery Act. It covers most of
the firms in the study. The comparison is based on identical firms,
those for which a 1935 pay-roll transcription was made but for which
1934 figures were not available having been omitted from these
compilations.
SUMMARY
Period covered by the survey:
Late pay roll: A normal week in fall of 1935.
Early pay roll: A corresponding week in 1934.
Scope of survey:
State-wide; cities and towns visited____________________________
Number of establishments surveyed______ ______ __ _________ ____
Number of employees (excluding clerical and outside workers):
Men _____________________________________ .. _____________
Women___________ __ __________ ________________________ _
38
267
28, 644
29, ·625
LATE PAY-ROLL DATA
White Women
Industrial
grouping:
Factories
_____________________________________ _____________ _
Stores ____________ _________________________________________ _
Laundries and dry cleaners _________ __________________________ _
Hotels and restaurants ______________________________________ _
Percent
82. 2
12. 7
2. 4
2. 7
Textiles, with seamless hosiery the chief division, ranks first.
Clothing-chiefly men's work clothing- ranks second.
Median
Week's
earnings:
Factories
__________________________________ _
$12. 00
Department stores (regular employees) ________ _
12. 75
Limited-price stores (regular employees) _______ _
12. 90
Laundries _________________________________ _
7. 85
Dry cleaners _______________________________ _
9. 90
Percent earningLess than
$1 £ • $15 or more
50.
12.
33.
88.
69.
0
6
3
1
8
21.
20.
3.
4.
10.
8
4
3
7
1
Highest median earnings in manufacturing, printing and publishing ___________________________________ ________________ __ _ $17. 80
Lowest median, "other clothing", chiefly women's wash dresses ___ _
8. 80
For seamless hosiery the median was __________________________ _
10. 20
For men's work clothing _________________________________ _
9. 55
In hotel restaurants, white waitresses had median earnings of ____ _
2. 35
In commercial resteurants _____________ _____ _____________ _
7. 30
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
5
INTRODUCTION
Percent earningMore than
SO cents
SO cents
Median Leaa than
Hourly earnings:
· Factories __________________________ _
Department stores (regular employees)_
Limited-price stores (regular employees)La undries _________________________ _
Dry cleaners ______________ _________ _
(centa)
SO cent a
32. 3
31. 7
26. 9
2fi. 5
17. 4
17. 6
8. 0
60. 3
97. 1
.9
95. 9
.3
98. 2________
2. 0
3. 8
1. 8
73. 2
.8
26. 0
Cent,
Highest median earnings, rayon yarns and cellophane _____________ _
Lowest median, "other clothing" ___ ___ ___ ______ ________________ _
For seamless hosiery, median was ____ ___ ____ ____________ _____ ___ _
For men's work clothing, median was ___________ ______ __________ _
Year's earnings:
M edian for 961 women in factories ___________________ __ _________ _
Highest m edian, full-fashioned hosiery ________________ __________ _
Lowest median, men's work clothing and "other clothing" combined __ _
42. 0
23. 0
31. 5
25. 8
$615
850
420
Negro Women
Median
week's
earnings
Median
hourl11
earnings
(centt)
$6. 75
12. 35
5. 65
9. 55
Median week's earnings, hotel lodging departments _____________ _
Median year's earnings, manufacturing ________________________ _
16. 7
26. 0
14. 0
20.0
$5. 65
Earnings:
Factories ______________________________ __________ __ _
Department stores 2_________________ ___ _____ _ ___ _ ___ _
Laundries _________________________________________ _
Dry cleaners _______________________________________ _
White Men
Earnings:
Factories ____________ ______________ _
Stores 3 ______________________ _ _____ _
Laundries _________________________ _
Median
week's
earnings
Percent earningLesa than
$15
$£0 and
more
29. 0
$15. 80
44. 9
48. 4
29. 3
15. 30
22. 2
48. 8
15. 15
Highest median was in printing and publishing ___ ________ ______ _
Second highest was in full-fashioned hosiery ______________ ______ _
Lowest median was in silk and rayon fabrics ____________ ___ ____ _
Second lowest was in wood products __________________________ _
345. 00
Median
hourly
earninvs
(cents)
37. 8
33.0
29. 4
$28. 25
25. 55
10. 40
12. 25
Negro Men
Most usual earnings were between $12 and $13.
Medians in the various industries ranged from $9.35 to $16.
CHANGE IN WOMEN•S EARNINGS. 1934 TO 1935
Decrease in m edian hourly earnings, white women in manufacturing __ _
In department stores ________________________________________ _
In laundries ________ ________________________________________ _
In dry cleaning ____ _________________________________________ _
P ercent
1. 2
9. 7
3. 4
29. 3
Through longer hours and steadier work, week's earnings increased more
of ten than not.
WORKING HOURS
In 1935, most common schedule, an 8-hour day ~,nd a 5-day, 40-hour week.
P ercent
Women
in manufacturing
who worked less than 40 hours in week recorded ___ 49. 7
40 hours
_____________________________________________________
33. 1
Over 40 hours _________________________ _______________________ _ 17. 1
Regular workers in department stores who worked more than 40 hours ____ _ 93. 4
WORKING CONDITIONS
Better service equipment and plant maintenance needed in many cases.
2
3
Includes a few in limited-price stores.
Seven in eight were in department stores.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part 11.-EARNINGS AND HOURS OF WORK OF
WHITE WOMEN IN 1935 IN FACTORIES, STORES,
AND LAUNDRIES 1
MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS
Apprmdmately 20,000 white women, about 82 percent of all for
whom earnings are reported in the survey, are in manufacturing
establishments. In heavy metal industries, some types of woodworking plants, chemicals, cottonseed oil, cake, and meal manufacturing, and others where the product is heavy and physical strength
or very special skills are primary requirements for employment,
women are entirely absent or employed in very small proportions.
The types of woman-employing manufacturing industries and the
distribution of women in each are shown in the table on page 8,
which indicates that slightly more than one-half of the women are
in the textile group. Numerically the outstanding member of the
textile group is hosiery, with the seamless variety predominating.
The making of hosiery is a basic enterprise. Seamless hosiery has
been established in the South for several decades. The full-fashioned
has recently been moving southward, but its chief field is still the
North. It is said that-
* * * measured by number of machines in place, the South is by far the
leading center of the seamless-hosiery industry. The State of North Carolina,
with 26 percent of all seamless machines, has the greatest concentration of this
equipment. Tennessee, with 17.3 p ercent of all seamless machines, is the second
most important producing State in the industry. The Southern States as a
group have over 64 percent of the total seamless equipment. This distribution is
in marked contrast to the full-fashioned hosiery industry, in which 16.4 percent
of the machines are in the southern district and 58.4 precent are found in Pennsylvania.2
The census of manufactures for 1931 showed an average of almost
12,000 (11,979) wage earners in the hosiery industry in Tennessee,
which was about 11 percent of those in the country as a whole. The
value of the product in this State even in the depression year 1931
was not far from 25 millions. Middle Tennessee has a number of
hosiery mills, but the industry centers in the eastern area in Chattanooga and in Knoxville, and almost every town of appreciable size in
this section has at least one hosiery mill.
Cotton mills are found all over the State and are of all varieties in
their product. Some are making yarns-a number for hosiery or
other knit goods, at least one for tire fabric, two or three for bags,
and one for mops-and a few make a variety of products from fine
goods to sheetings. Cotton mills in this study have about one-half
as many women employed as have the seamless hosiery mills and a
slightly greater proportion than are in the full-fashioned hosiery mills.
1 For hotels and restaurants see p. 34; for the earnings of Negro women see p. 38; and for men's earnings
see p. 43 .
2 Taylor, George W ., and G. Allan Dash, Jr. The Knitting Equipment of Seamless Hosiery Industry,
January 1934. Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia,
1934, pp. 7-8.
6
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
7
Knit underwear (data were collected only from the east) is important, especially in Knoxville, though there are plants elsewhere in the
same area. Two or three of these mills are especially large and maintain good standards of employment.
The mills weaving silk and rayon fabrics and the woolen mills
schedu:.ed were in most cases small and were in the eastern area or
in the east part of the middle area. Bags, largely cotton and burlap,
were found in the middle and western areas. These three groups
when combined make up only about 5 percent of the women covered
and are not especially significant.
The making of clothing gives employment to about one-fourth ot
the women -slightly less than one-half as many as are in textilesand is next in importance to textiles.
A majority of the clothing establishments and employees are
engaged on work clothing: Plants making work shirts, work pants,
and overalls are scattered over the State. Many of these workclothing plants are of a somewhat migrant nature and have separated
from or are branches of plants in other localities within and outside
of the State. A number of this group offer little that can be considered good work opportunities for any of their employees. Though no
special search was made for such information, at least in two instances
agents of the Women's Bureau reported establishments that had been
enticed to a community by promises of free rent, exemption from
taxes, and other concessions. Though the wage level of these plants
was at subsistence or below, employees were required to contribute
regularly a part of their earnings toward a building fund to reimburse the town or the bondholders for the erection or purchase of the
building. In the part of this report that compares earnings for 1934
and 1935, it will be noted that hourly earnings in the work-clothing
industry fell drastically after the N. R. A. codes were outlawed.
The men's suit and coat factories of the clothing group, employing
about 6 percent of the women in manufacturing, are in the eastern
area and differ favorably and materially from the work-clothing group.
The other clothing group is small-less than 3 percent-and the products represented are largely women's wash dresses from the western
area.
An innovation in comparatively recent years is the manufacture and
use of rayon yarns. Partly at least because of the extensive use of
cotton linters and wood pulp as raw m aterials, the new industry found
the Southern States with possibilities of cheap labor a convenient
location, and Tennessee has some of the largest plants in the industry.
The industry is much more man- than woman-employing, but because of the large size of the units considerable numbers of women are
employed on seconda,ry processes. Six percent of the women for
whom wage data in manufacturing were copied were employed in the
five plants scheduled, in three localities in middle and eastern Tennessee.
The manufacture of shoes is an important industry in Tennessee,
and there are a number of moderately large shoe plants in the middle
and western areas. Bakeries, candy factories, and other food plants
catering to local needs are found throughout the St ate. Memphis
has a number of cosmetic and drug plants, and there is a scattering of
this type of manufacturing in the other sections, but the western is the
only one with many such establishments. In tobacco manufacturing
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
white women are employed in a few plants packing snuff and smoking
tobacco in the middle and western areas, and the more seasonal
tobacco work in the warehouses is largely carried on by Negro women.
Wood products, furniture factories, planing mills, and other lumber
industries are important in the State for the employment of men but
less so relatively for women. A small proportion of women are found
in furniture factories and in making baskets and containers for fruits
and vegetables. Since wood-cased pencils are a small, light, and simple
product, a good proportion of the employees in these plants are women.
EARNINGS
Week's earnings.
Undoubtedly, few of the women in the present study had their
earnings supplemented by other members of the family group. During the depression, most of the employed, whether men or women,
were more likely to be sharing their earnings with others than to be
·
receiving help.
Some of the factories visited had biweekly pay . periods, but for
purposes of comparison all earnings have been reduced to a weekly
basis. The range of week's earnings in manufacturing was from less
than $1 to an even $40. The purchasing power of the women is represented in the following showing of the distribution of week's earnings,
by industry.
TABLE
1.-Week's earnings of white women in manufacturing, by industry, 1935
Percent distribution
Industry
Number of
wornen reported
Medlan
week's Less $5,
earn•
less
ings 1 than than
$5
$10
$10,
less
than
$12
$12, $13, $15,
$20
less less less and
than than than more
$13
$15
$20
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -All manufacturing___ •. 19,991 $12. 00
Textiles:
Hosiery:
Seamless _____________ _
Full-fashioned ________
Cotton mills ______________
Knit underwear __________
Silk and rayon fabrics ____
Woolen mills _____________
Bags, cotton and burlap __
8.4
25.8
15. 8
12. 2
16.1
18.1
14. 7
- -- - - - - - - - - - - 4,121
1,805
2,015
1,448
370
291
312
10. 20
13. 40
12. 50
12.10
10. 60
13. 00
10. 95
14.9
6. 0
4. 5
3. 9
10. 3
6. 5
6.4
33. 8
20. 7
18. 7
21.2
33. 5
19. 6
3,5. 3
13. 7
11. 9
14. 4
23. 2
26. 2
14. 4
21.2
9. 7
7. 6
24. 6
15. 5
16. 8
9. 7
15.1
16. 7
24. 2
21. 3
9. 5
20. 3
14.1
11. 8
27. 0
13. 3
12. 5
3. 8
25. 4
8. 0
Clothing:
Men's suits and overcoats_ 1,112
Men's work clothing ______
Other ____________________ _ 3,073
551
13. 25
9. 55
8.80
12. 1
12. 6
11.3
15. 4
42. 2
56.6
12. 9
20. 7
18. 0
7.4
11. 7
5.3
17. 4
8. 3
6. 9
27.1
4.2
2.0
16. 60
14.15
11. 35
11. 65
11. 30
12. 35
1. 3
2. 3
8.4
25. 0
26. 3
20.8
18. 0
3. 3
12. 4
32. 9
20.1
49. 6
15. 4
3. 3
12. 2
11. 6
16. 7
5. 7
49. 5
15. 9
23. 6
13. 2
13.0
13. 3
9. 8
64. 7
33. 0
9.8
1.5. 3
3. 8
6. 6
3.5
3. 6
32. 3
25. 3
16. 2
27.8
4.4
3. 3
33. 2
10. 0
21.'6
13. 2
.6
4. 0
18. 2
7. 7
4.1
10. 7
42. 6
15. 8
5.8
17. 2
27. 0
18. 5
39. 1
43. 2
3.4
27. 1
28. 4
23. 5
Rayon_______
yarns____
and__ cellophane
__ 1,194
________ ____
Shoes
1,054
Food products 2___ _ ___________
665
Bakeries ____ ---• ___ ______ _
353
Candy __ __________________
264
Drugs and cosmetics ____ • _____
410
prodand
Tobacco
tobacco_________
ucts ______ __________
340
Printing and publishing ______
329
Wood ~roducts _____________ __
325
Paper oxes __________________
221
Metal products _______________
74
Other m anufacturing _________
281
1
14. 95
17.80
10. 50
13. 25
13. 40
12. 30
2. 5
7. 2
7. 9
6.8
-----1. 5
1.8
6.8
4. 1
2. 7
5. 7
Less $15
than and
$12 more
-21.8
-- -----
3. 7
50.0
1. 5
10. 1
.3
2.4
62. 3
38. 5
37. 6
48. 3
70. 0
40. 5
62.8
13. 3
37. 1
13. 7
14. 9
3.8
29. 6
8.0
7. 7
.3
40.4
75. 5
85.9
34. 8
4.5
2. 0
9. 3
7.8
.3
.6
6.8
23. 3
65.1
54. 4
77. 3
33. 4
74. 0
40. 8
10. 1
15. 9
3.8
7. 3
8. 2
28. 3
.3
8. 6
9. 4
8.8
72. 3
39. 4
40. 5
46. 6
47. 4
71.4
3. 7
35. 7
28.4
24. 2
-----4. 1
---------------.7
-----.7
The median represents the midpoint in the distribution of earnings from the lowest to the highest.
48 women in "other food products.''
.
1 Includes
For th~ manufacturing group as a whole the median week's wage
is $12, half the women receiving less than this in the week reported.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
9
The inadequacy of such amounts to cover present-day needs of living
is too obvious to requirn comment. Seamless hosiery has more women
employed than any other industry in the State, and their median
week's earnings are the lowest in the textile group. This is at least
partly due to the prevalence of undertime in some of the factories.
One-third of the women in seamless hosiery had earnings of $5 and
less than $10; 15 percent had received less than $5, and 62 percent
less than $12. About 13 percent of the women, or approximately one
woman in every eight, had week's earnings of $15 or more.
In the seamless branch of the hosiery industry a large proportion
of the productive or operative jobs ar~ filled by women, who are
found on both hand and machine jobs. Men more than women are
employed on the automatic circular knitters, which knit the entire
stocking from top to toe, though some women are tending such machines. Women work on the same task as men tending rib knitters,
and doin~ string work-a machine job that knits the leg or foot of
the stocking in a continuous string. Machine jobs that usually are
exclusively women's are topping or transferring and looping. The
former consists of transferring the leg of the stocking from one band
of needles to another set for completion of either the leg or the foot.
Women do topping or transferring in both seamless and full-fashioned
manufacture, and toes in seamless hosiery and both toes and heels
in full-fashioned usually are closed by the looping operation. Other
operative or direct production jobs in hosiery are the cutting of sole
threads inside of the foot1 welting, and seamin~. Some of the common
hand jobs are top cuttmg, mending, boarding, inspecting, pairing,
stampmgi and packing. Boarding is usually a man's job, but in one
large mil Negro women did practically all the boarding, and in a
few other mills a small number of women were reported on this job.
Boarding is a standing, hot, and rather strenuous job. Its purpose
is to iron the stocking into final shape, and usually it consists of
drawing damp stockings over heated metal leg-and-foot forms.
Though most of the jobs of women in the seamless and full-fashioned
branches are quite similar, the wage levels are different. Fullfashioned workers had the highest xµedian week's earnings of all
women in textiles. Knitters-le~gers and footers-are almost exclusively men, and they have a fairly high wa@ level which seems to
help to buoy up the wages of the women. The median for women
($13.40), however, is not high, though it is :more than $3 above that
for the seamless. Even in full-fashioned hosiery, the proportion of
women who received under $12 is almost 40 percent. The greatest
concentration in the distribution of earnings in full-fashioned is at
$10 and less than $15, with 36 percent. Ten percent of the womenthe largest percent in any industry but printing and publishingearn $20 or more. The much higher wage level of men is apparent
by turning to the wage data for men, whose week's median was :more
than $25. (See p. 43.)
Knit underwear closely approximates the wage pattern for manufacturing as a whole; its median is $12.10 and the group earning less
than $12 is almost 50 percent (48.3). One-fourth of the women
received less than $10. The proportion earning $15 or more was
slightly above that of the cotton mills, with about 15 percent so
reported.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
10
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Cotton mills continued to show a close affinity with the textile
code standards in hours and rates, and the median earnings of their
women employees are $12.50, with a large percent of full-time workers-almost one-fourth-falling in the $12-and-less-than-$13 class.
Less than 14 percent earned $15 or more in the week reported. Women in cotton mills are employed quite generally through the plant,
in the card room on intermediate frames and in the spin, spool,
wind, weave, and cloth rooms. Usually there are no women in the
picker room, slasher room, and dye house, but there are some in
most of the other rooms.
Silk mills and mills using rayon yarns to make a commercial silk
product tend to be rather small or medium-sized units, with not
many more than 100 employees. This is an industry that shows
decided breaking away from code standards-hours are longer, rates
lower. That 70 percent of the women in these mills had week's
earnings of less than $12 and less than 4 percent earned as much as
$15 a week is evidence of low wage opportunities.
Bag making was another low-earnings industry in 1935, with 63
percent of the women earning less than $12 and only 8 percent earning
$15 or more.
Woolen mills employ relatively few women, and their earnings distribution and median are indicative of a somewhat higher wage
standard than the average for textiles. The median week's earnings
of $13 are next to those of full-fashioned hosiery in the textile gr<;mp,
and about 30 percent of the women had earnings of $15 or more.
M en's work clothing comprises the second manufacturing group in
size, only seamless hosiery having more women. Low wages in this
industry seems a calamitous condition. Under the N. R. A. the
employers supplemented wages by the make-up system, that is, an
addition to earnings where piece-work rates failed to bring them up
to the minimum hourly code rates, but not long after the code standards were declared unconstitutional all make-up payments were discontinued and the industry was back on its basis of low piece rates
and earnings. Only work clothing and "other clothing", similar in
many respects, had median week's earnings of less than $10. Threefourths of the women in worR clothing and almost seven-eighths of
those in "o ther clothing" had earnings of less than $12. Considered
in $5 groups, "other clothing" showed a marked concentration of
earnings at $5 and less than $10. In men's work clothing the concentration was almost equally at $5 and under $10 and $10 and under
$15. M en's suits and overcoats paid the best wages of any class of
clothing. Women in this industry had a median of $13.25.
Rayon yarns and cellophane had more on the credit side of their
wage picture than the other industries had. Only 7 percent of the
women had earnings of less than $12 and nearly three-fourths earned
$15 and more. The jobs of women in rayon-yarn production were not
directly connected with the yarn-making processes but were chiefly
winding, reeling, and various inspection and packing tasks. In
cellopha.ne all work was table work; matching up sheets of cellophane,
inspecting, sizing, and wrapping.
Many of the women in shoe manufacturing are on skilled jobs in the
stitching room that require precision of machine operation and close
attention. The median week's earnings of $14.15 are fourth in rank
and more than 40 percent of the women are in the group earning $15
and over.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
11
The remaining industries (food products, drugs and cosmetics,
tobacco and its products, printing and publishing, wood products, paper boxes, metal products, and other manufacturing-the last named
including potteries and sport goods) comprise about 13 percent of the
women. In some of these industries, such as woodworking, printing
and publishing, and metal products, women have a relatively minor
part compared to men's activities. In the food industries earnings
for nearly one-third of the women are $10 and less than $12; a little
less than two-thirds have earnings below $12. Bakeries have the
most women, and their median is $11.65. Candy has a median of
$11.30, with that for the food group as a whole $11.35. Women's
earnings in drugs and cosmetics bulk in the $12-and-under-$13 group,
with one-half of the women in this class; one-third are under $12 and
approximately 1 of every 14 women has earnings of $15 and more.
Work for women in drugs and cosmetics comprises tending packaging
machines, labeling, and general packing operations. The median and
distribution of earnings for women in printing and publishing are
decidedly above average but unfortunately the group is small. The
median for the women in this industry is the highest of all, $17.80, and
it should be noted that 71.4 percent of the women-only slightly
less than in the rayon-yarn industry-are in the group earning $15
and more. Employment conditions and wages for white women in
tqbacco manufacturing-snuff and chewing tobacco-also are better
than average, with a median of almost $15 and less than 10 percent
with earnings under $12. Wood products is an industry with low
wage levels for white women, and in this respect might be classed
with work clothing and the silk and rayon fabric group. Paper-box
and metal products together employ only 1.5 percent of the women,
boxes having twice as many as metals. Earnings are better than in
the textile and work-clothing groups.
Comparison of women's earnings in manufacturing by area and four
· chief cities.
Differences in the median week's earnings of women in the geographic areas and the four principal cities are not marked.
Lowest earnings are indicated for the western area and its city, Memphis, the largest metropolis in the State. Nashville and the middle
area have the highest week's medians, and the eastern area, the chief
manufacturing section and with the most wage earners, holds an inbetween position. Earnings in the principal cities are higher than
those for the areas around them. Indications are that the small-town
factory is maintaining a scale of wages lower than that prevailing in
the nearest city. D ifferences in earnings from firm to firm probably
are more significant than those from area to area, and a few instances
of this in the principal industries are illustrated at the end of the section
on earnings, page 32.
Earnings and hours worked.
The preceding discussion of median earnings does not take into
account the length of time worked but is concerned only with the
amount of money paid to each woman for the week covered. Though
this amount is the most telling of the wage figures in light of the
worker's purchasing power, an analysis of earnings must also give
attention to the time required to earn the amounts reported.
121644°-37 - 3
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
12
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Correlating hours worked and earnings allows consideration of those
who have worked less than the usual hours and also those who have
worked more, which may tend to lower or to, raise the average by
marked undertime or overtime. Since more women in manufacturing
worked a week of 40 hours than any other schedule, 40 hours has been
selected as the most typical of a full-time week. As in some industries
there were firms whose full-time week was longer and some who constantly had overtime hours, the medians for the women working the
longer hours also are reported. 3
On the 40-hour-week basis, there are two industries-rayon yarns
and cellophane, and men's suits and overcoats-with weekly medians
for women workers in the $16 class. The next in rank, the $15 group,
contains shoes, printing and publishing, and tobacco manufacturing;
the $14 class is made up of woolen mills, paper boxes, and full-fashioned
hosiery. Woolen mills and full-fashioned hosiery pay the highest in
the textile group. The $13 group includes cotton mills, seamless
hosiery, drugs and cosmetics, and knit underwear. Wood products
and other clothing are at the bottom, with medians in the $10 group.
Men's work clothing and food are in the $11 class, and silk and rayon
fabrics and bags have medians between $12 and $13.
It is significant that in the case of eight industries the women working more than 40 hours have a median lower than that for the 40-hour
workers; these industries are silk and rayon fabrics, woolen mills, bags,
men's suits and overcoats, men's work clothing, other clothing, drugs
and cosmetics, and shoes. In general, this illustrates the old truism
that long hours do not necessarily indicate high wages.
Full-fashioned hosiery, printing and publishing, knit underwear,
and the rayon yarns and cellophane group show the greatest increases
for the longer hours. Some of the increases are attributed to the
overtime rates in these industries, a number of the firms having higher
rates for time worked beyond the scheduled week.
Full-time hours in cotton mills were quite uniformly 40, and only
38 women had hours in excess of that; in fact, hours below 40 were more
common. Since cotton mills were scheduled in all areas, it is to be
noted that there was little variation in their medians for the 40-hour
group-for the State as a whole $13.45, for the eastern area $13.60,
for the middle $13.20, and for the western $13.55.
The strikingly lower earnings of women in work clothing in the
western area who worked over 40 hours-their median being $8.75
in contrast to $12.20 for the 40-hour workers- is indicative of the
presence there of plants with the bad combination, long hours and
low w~ges.
Average hourly earnings.
The accompanying table 2 shows the average hourly earnings of
white women in manufacturing in 1935. Average hourly earnings
range from less than 10 cents to more than 50 cents, the bulk of them,
about 62 percent, being 25 but less than 40 cents. Several of the
industries have large proportions in the interval of 30 but less than 35
cents, these being metal products, paper boxes, shoes, knit underwear,
bags, cotton mills, silk and rayon fabrics, and seamless hosiery, with
from 35 to 85 percent in this range and medians below 33 cents.
Considering the major industries-those in which records were obtained
1 For
table giving these earn~s figures seep. 20.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
13
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
TABLE
2.-Average hourly earnings 1 of white women in manufacturing, by industry,
1935
Percent of women whose hourly earnings averaged-
Industry
Number of
wornen reported
Medlan
Over 35,
40,
20,
25,
hourly 15 Over
45
30,
15,
less cents
less
earn- cents less
less less
less than
30
than
lngs and than than than cents
than
and
40
45
(cents) less
25
30
35
more
20
cents cents cents
cents cents cents
- All manufacturing___ ________ _ 17,584
32. 3
3. 6
---- Textiles _____ __ _______ ____ 9,143
30. 4
2. 2
Hosiery:
Seamless _________ 2,982
2. 9
31. 5
Full-fashioned. ___ 1, 795
37. 0
1. 2
Cotton mills __ ___ _____ 1,952
32. 8
.3
Knit underwear ______ 1, 447
32. 4
1. 5
Silk and rayon fabrics _ 369
30. 0 14. 6
Woolen mills . ______ __ 286
32. 5
2.1
Bags, ootton and
burlap ___ _____ ___ __ _
9. 4
14.2
8.0
22. 1
6. 0
3. 3
.3
2. 6
5. 1
7. 7
10. 3
7.0
1.9
5. 5
14. 4
12. 6
13. 7
lO. 6
3. 3
16. 7
12. 7
14. 7
8.4
2.5
19. 2
4. 1
31. 7
1.0
27. 2
19. 2
43. 1
41. 9
18. 7
29. 8
18. 0
15. 9
22. l
19. 6
1. 4
16. 8
8. 6
14. 2
7. 2
8. 7
1.1
7. 0
4. 9
26.1
2. 7
.6
...
.3
8.3
30. 0
1.0
6. 7
16. 7
12. 5
22. 8
28. 5
9. 6
1. 6
467
38. 4
25. 8
23. 0
3. 1
12. 3
16. 3
.7
10. 7
20. 3
3.4
22. 6
22. 3
7. 9
24. 0
20. 1
.3
1. 7
15.8
15.1
17. 5
11. 5
26. 7
7.8
2. 1
20.9
2. 3
1. 5
42. 0
32. 6
28. 3
31.5
27.5
27. 3
---:s"
.3
7. 7
51. 7
31. 5
78. 9
50.0
-----22. 0
. 15
32.4
17. 5
9. 8
17. 2
2. 6
2.9
37.1
10. l
11. 9
23.9
29. 7
17. 4
.4
-----5. 6
.3
3.0
5. 1
13. 7
66. 2
18. 5
36. 3
1. 3
12. 6
19. 4
20. 4
Rayon yarns and cellophane_
-- -----·--·- -_ 1, 194
Shoes
_____·-_____
___ _______
1, 052
480
FoodBakeries
products'------ __
-___ _______ __
Candy ____ __ ________ _ 238
194
Drugs and cosmetics ___ ___
410
Tobacco and t obacco
products __ __ ___ _________
1
4. 5
312
Clothing:
Men's suits and over•
coats • • _______ __ ____ 1,112
Men's
work clothing_
Other _________
_______ 2,501
Printing and publishing __
Wood ~roducts __ __ ______ _
Paper oxes . _____ ___ ____ _
Metal products ____ ____ ___
Other manufacturing ___ __
- - - - - -17. 7
10. 6
9.9
----- - --- - -----8.0
8.3
3. 8
7. 15 11. 3 10.1 31.1 17. 7
---- ------ -
340
270
235
183
74
123
37. 2
40. 0
25. 0
32. 2
30. 0
38. 0
.2
-----.5
-----1. 8
---:,.---s:i.4
---- -1.0
11. 2
1. 5
2. 9
-----1.0
12. 9
.9
---:4- --6:s- 29.1. 94
------ 4. 9 14.1.42
------ ----------- ------ ------
41. 7
8. 7
10. 8
4. 9
10. 4
16. 4
.5
8.5
------
16. 3
12. 3
10.1
15. 5
8.3
2. g
2. 9
12. 3
21. 3
18. 9
12. 2
M.7
30. 0
3. 0
15. 3
2. 7
54. 15
_...,
22. 0
1.1
____
.8'
-----------3. 2
2. 9
------15. 4
-----9. 3
--is:o
Arrived at by dividing each woman's earnings for the week by t he number of hours she worked.
48 women in "other food products."
1 Includes
for at least 1,000 women-it is seen that 59 percent of the women
textile workers, about 54 percent of those in seamless hosiery, 37
percent in full-fashioned, 84 percent in the cotton mills, 66 percent
m knit underwear and 56 percent in shoes average 30 but less than 40
cents. In the rayon yarns and cellophane group, the bulk of hourly
earnings are in the range 35 but less than 45 cents, with 70 percent, as
they are also in men's suits and overcoats, with 48 percent. Work
clothing, of course, slips farther down the scale, and 4 7 percent of its
women have hourly earnings of 20 but less than 30 cents.
On the basis of hourly earnings the highest wage level was in rayon
yarns and cellophane, with 66.8 percent of the women employees
averaging 40 cents or more. Printing and publishing followed with
56.7 percent, suits and overcoats with 42.9 percent, full-fashioned
hosiery with 40.3 percent, and tobacco products with 37 .9 percent.
The lowest wage level on an hourly basis was in "other cotton
garments", with 36.6 percent of the women averaging less than 20
cents. This was followed by men's work clothing, with 23 percent,
and by silk and rayon fabrics, with 19.7 percent, with so low an
average.
lb. one industry-"other clothing"-the average hourly earnings
have a median of only 23 cents. Four industries-wood products,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
14
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
work clothing, drugs and cosmetics, and food products-have medians
of 25 and under 30 cents. In four cases-full-fashioned hosiery,
tobacco and tobacco products, the group "other manufacturing",
and men's suits and overcoats-medians are 35 and under 40 cents;
and in two-printing and publishing and rayon yarns and cellophane
-they are 40 cents and 42 cents, respectively.
Average hourly earnings by area.-Where the median of week's
earnings is concerned, the eastern area is next to the lowest, but
hourly earnings are the highest there, indicating shorter hours. In
the eastern area the seven industries in which earnings for 500 or
more women have been tabulated are the two hosiery groups, knit
underwear, cotton mills, men's work clothing, men's suits and overcoats, and rayon yarns and cellophane. The range in median hourly
earnings is from 25.1 cents to 42.5 cents. Hosiery manufacturing is
concentrated in the eastern area and offers more jobs than any other
industry. The most common hourly earnings in seamless hosiery
are near 31 cents and in full-fashioned they are 5½ cents higher.
The proportion of women averaging 40 cents or more is only a little
less than three times as great in full-fashioned as in sr.amless. The
product worked on in full-fashioned is higher priced, but much of the
work done by the women is similar.
.
Median hourly earnings of women in cotton mills differ little by
locality but are slightly lower in the western area. In work clothing,
too, the differences by area are slight, the eastern and western differing by only one-tenth of a cent and the middle area higher by less than
1½ cents. Work clothing is less important in the western area than
in the other sections.
Knit underwear is an important industry in the eastern area, and
its most common hourly earnings are 30 and under 35 cents. The
hourly earnings in this industry are concentrated in a narrow range,
the proportion at under 25 cents being a little less than 10 percent and
the proportion at 40 cents or more being 8 percent.
Men's suits and overcoats, including woolen and palm-beach garments, had a basic code rate of 37½ cents for women. This is reflected
in the higher-than-average median hourly rate of 38.4 cents. More
than two-fifths of the women have average hourly earnings of 40 cents
or more.
The manufacture of rayon yarns and cellophane is limited to a small
number of firms-one company in the middle area with two plants,
and two companies with three plants in the eastern area. The
products are relatively new, the units are extensive in size, and working
conditions and hourly earnings are above the average. The median
hourly earnings of 42 cents for women are the highest of any industry.
Food-products manufacturing was reported in all areas. ln the
eastern and the middle area there is no difference in the median
hourly earnings- 27.5 cents- but in the western the figure is 35.2
cents. The higher average in the western area is due to a median of
38 cents in bakeries. For the State as a whole food has been divided
into bakeries, with median hourly earnings of 31.5 cents; candy, with
27.5 cents; and other food, with 27.4 cents. The last-named contains
meat packing, egg candling, potato chips, butter, and cheese, all with
small numbers of women employed.
Where they can be compared, median hourly earnings for women in
the middle area are not very different from those in the eastern area,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
15
the difference being about 1 cent. The striking difference is in silk
and rayon fabrics, with the low median of 15 cents in the middle area,
that in the eastern area being twice that. Low earnings are largely
due to one firm with a considerable number of employees who had
been added to the force in the past 6 months, the rates of some of
whom were as low as 7½ and 10 cents an hour. Four industries in the
middle area had 450 or more women employees represented. These
with their medians are as follows: Work clothing, 26.4 cents; seamless
hosiery, 31.9 cents; cotton mills, 32.5 cents; and shoes, 35 cents. The
largest group of women in tobacco manufacturing are in the middle
area, and their median hourly earnings of 35.8 cents are the second
highest.
Several firms in wood products in the middle area are making
pencils or slats for pencils. As in most woodworking firms, the
earnings are low, the median hourly earnings being 25 cents or an
amount close to this figure.
The western area, with Memphis as its commercial hub, is less
industrial than the middle and eastern areas. Opportunities for
employment in manufacturing are fewer than in the commercial and
service industries. About 2,100 white women were scheduled here
in manufacturing, compared to 12,000 in the eastern area and 5,000
in the middle. Negro women are employed more extensively than
in the other areas. Food products and cotton mills are the only
industries with median hourly earnings of more than 30 cents. Drugs
and cosmetics is a leading industry for women's employment in
Memphis, and the prevailing hourly earnings are massed at 25 and
less than 30 cents. Three firms in Memphis and one outside in the
general western area are making women's wash dresses (classed in
other clothing for the State as a. whole), and their median hourly
earnings of 18 cents are next to the lowest found in the State. Except
for bakeries, the western area has a low wage level for women, and it
has the lowest median earnings, both weeldy and hourly, in the State.
Time and piece earnings.
The vast majority of operatives in manufacturing have their earnings related directly to production. In stores, laundries, and hotels
and restaurants the basis of payment generally is time, that is, by
the hour, week, or month. Of the women employees in manufacturing in this study, almost 80 percent were paid by measured output-either straight piece rates, incentive task and bonus systems, or other
efficiency plan such as the Emerson or Bedaux.
In men's work clothing 97 percent of the women, in full-fashioned
hosiery, seamless hosiery, and knit underwear from 90 to 93 percent,
and in woolen mills and men's suits and overcoats 87 and 88 percent
are paid on measured-output systems. The industries in which less
than 50 percent of the women are on piece work are metal products
(all women are on time work), drugs and cosmetics, food products,
silk and rayon fabrics, printing and publishing, and "other manufacturing." None of these are industries in which large proportions of
women are employed, from the standpoint of the study, and it is
generally true that where the number employed is not large the work
tends to be varied rather than specialized and cannot so easily be
compensated for on a direct measurement basis.
Piece work tends to pay higher earnings than time work. In six
cases the median hourly earnings of piece workers are from 5 to 10
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
16
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMlnN IN TENNllJSSEE lNDUS'rRt:Ins ·
cents higher than the corresponding figures for time workers. In only
three instances are the medians alike for the two groups, and only in
work clothing is the time-work median the higher. Time-work earnings are concentrated more at 3o ·cents than at any other amount, and
this is the median for all branches of the textile group, for all manufacturing, and for three other industries. This prevalence of 30 cents
an hour is most likely a hang-over of the textile codes which set a
minimum of $12 for 40 hours. For piece workers in all textiles median
hourly earnings are 33 cents, and the range by type of product is·from
a low of 30 cents in bags and silk and rayon fabrics to a high of 38
cents in full-fashioned hosiery.
Rayon yarns and cellophane, printing and publishing, tobacco, and
men's suits and overcoats have median piece-work earnings of 40 cents
or more an hour. Their time-work medians of 38, 40, 35, and 37
cents, respectively, also are above the hourly medians of other
industries.
Women doing piece work in men's work clothing have low earnings,
and in "other clothing" they fare badly whether by time or piece. In
work clothing the proportion of _piece workers is the largest of any
industry, and their median hourly earnings of 26 cents are 4 cents
lower than the median for time workers. "Other clothing" and
wood products tied for the lowest median of piece-work earnings, 25
cents. Only 22 percent of women on piece work in "other clothing"
earned as much as 30 cents, but even fewer (16 percent) of those in
wood products earned so much. On the other hand, none of the
women in wood products earned less than 15 cents, while 11 percent
of those in "other clothing" did so.
More than 80 percent of the women in shoe factories were piece
workers and their median hourly earnings, 35 cents, were 10 cents
above those of time workers. Eight percent of the piece wor,kers in
shoes and 66 percent of the time workers had hourly earnings of less
than 30 cents.
Though all systems of measured output are thrown together here
as piece work, unpublished figures show that workers under special
incentive systems sometimes had higher earnings than those on
straight piece-work rates. For example, in work clothing the hourly
median of the special-system group was 4½ cents greater than that of
the straight piece workers, and in shoes the workers under an efficiency
system had an hourly median 50 percent higher than that of regular
piece workers. In rayon yarns and cellophane the application of
special incentive systems was general throughout for jobs on a measured-output basis. Among these workers no one averaged less than
30 cents an hour. Of those on a time base, only nine-tenths of 1 percent averaged less than 30 cents.
Year's earnings.
Year's earnings, usually for the calendar period of 1935, were taken
off for 961 white women in representative manufacturing establishments. Earnings of this nature were not sought in stores and laundries,
as in these industries employment tends to fluctuate less through the
year than it does in manufacturing.
In selecting records for year's earnings the effort was made to take
as a sample only those who worked as regularly as possible, and those
who lost more than a. minimum of time through illness or other
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES 1 STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
17
personal reasons were eliminated. Therefore, the amounts given as
year's earnings are typical of the steady group, and it is significant
that one-half of the white women had an earned income of less than
$615 for the year. Existence on such amounts, that average less than
$50 a month, cannot cover a budget of even the most limited presentday essentials. For 9.2 percent of the women year's earnings were
less than $400.
For white women in the principal factory groups the medians of
year's earnings are these:
All manufacturing __ ______ ____ __ _______ _____ __ ___
Textiles:
Hosiery:
Seamless__ _________ __ ____ ____ __ ______ _______ _
Full-fashioned ___ ___ _________ ___ ____ ____ ______ _
Other textiles_ ____________________________________
Clothing:
Men's suits and overcoats ___ _____ ______ _____ __ _____
Men's work clothing and "other clothing"_ __ __ _____ __
Rayon yarns and cellophane ___ ___ _____ __ __ ________ __ ___
Food products _____ __ ____ __ ____ ____ _______ ________ ____
Woodproducts ___ ______ _____________ _______ __ ______ ___
$615
540
850
645
665
420
815
555
555
The range in year's earnings for these women was from $200 to
$1,400, but the concentration was at $500 and less than $700 with
almost one-half of the cases; 90 percent fell between $350 and $900.
Selecting $900, or the equivalent of $75 a month, there were only 54
women of the 961, or slightly less than 6 percent, who earned as much
as this, and only 29 women, or about 3 percent, whose earnings
totaled $1,000 or more, 28 of the 54 and 19 of the 29 being in fullfashioned hosjery. It may be noted that women in the full-fashioned
branch of the hosiery industry averaged $310 more than those in
seamless hosiery. In men~s work clothjng and "other clothing", on
the basis of median year's earnings of $420, the monthly average
would be $35; no woman in this class earned as much as $600. A
very different condition was found in rayon yarns and cellophane,
where no year's earnings reported were less than $550, and one woman
earned $1,000 and under $1,100.
Hours worked in weeks making up year's earnings.- In few industries
are factory hours characterized by any degree of stability. Short
hours, irregular weeks, cut into potential earnings drastically. Records
of hours worked week by week throughout the year were available for
about one-half of the women for whom year's earnings were secured.
The weeks for which time records were recorded total 23,345. Distributed by hours worked per week they are as follows:
Percent of
f/tar', w eelu
Less than 20 hours ____ ______ ___ ________ ___ ____ _____ ___ __
20, less than 30 hours__ ____ ___ _________ ___ _____ ____ _____
30, less than 40 hours_ _____ ____________ _______ _____ __ ___
40 hours ___________ ___ ___ _____ ______ ____ _____ _________ _
More than 40 hours ____ ___ __ ____ __ ___________ ____ _____ __
6.
13.
32.
36.
10.
4
4
7
6
9
More than one-half of the weeks were of less than 40 hours; practi·cally one-fifth were of less than 30. A relatively small percent-about
i l - were weeks of more than 40 hours. Work clothing and "other
clothing", combined in these tables, had a high proportion of weeks of
less than 20 hours, and 75 percent of the weeks were of less than 40 hours.
Hours were characteristically irregular in the work-clothing industry.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
18
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNES~EE INDUSTRIES
Men's suits and overcoats, on the other hand, showed more stability of
hours-66.2 percent fell at 30 and under 40 hours, and the proportions
at less than 20 hours and at more than 40 hours were small. Drugs and
cosmetics, wood products, rayon yarns and cellophane, and seamless
hosiery each had one-half or more of the weeks reported as of 40 hours.
The tobacco industry had almost one-half. The largest proportions
of weeks of more than 40 hours were in food products, paper boxes,
wood products, and "other clothing." In full-fashioned hosiery about
63 percent of the weeks were of 30 to 40 hours inclusive, two-thirds of
this group being below 40. Code standards had set hours for most of
the workers in full-fashioned hosiery and men's suits and overcoats at
less than 40; and this was reflected in the concentration of their weeks
in the groups under 40. The manufacture of rayon yarns and cellophane, being of large-scale dimensions, with continuous operation a
possibility and to some extent a necessity, showed marked regularity.
About 83 per.cent of the weeks reported for the women throughout the
year ranged from 30 to 40 hours inclusive. Only 4 percent of them
were of more than 40 hours and about· 12 percent were under 30.
HOURS
The Tennessee Legislature passed a woman's hour law in 1913 that
covers all women included in the present study. Amended in 1915,
this law provides thatIt shall be unlawful for proprietor, foreman, owner or other person to employ,
permit or suffer to work in, about or in connection with any workshop or factory,
any female or any child under 16 years of age in excess of 57 hours in any one week
or more than 10½ hours in any one day; provided, that 10% hours per day will be
permitted only for the purpose of providing for one short day in the week.
These hour standards of more than 20 years ago are decidedly
archaic when lined up with social and technological changes occurring
in the decades since 1915. Few Tennessee establishments employing
any appreciable number of women operate on a schedule of the 10}~hour day and the 57-hour week permitted by law. The legal limit is
only a maximum barrier beyond which transgressors are liable to
punishment; it does not set up a desirable standard. From an efficiency standpoint, few employers could be induced to work so long.
In stores, scheduled hours and actual hours for the regular force
tend to coincide; but in manufacturing, actual hours worked differ
materially from scheduled hours-a falling off in demand for goods
shortens hours, unbalanced departmental production may require
either undertime or overtime for part .of the force, a rising and unexpected demand may necessitate overtime. In most establishments,
however, there are starting and stopping hours definite enough to be
used as a basis for comparing work schedules.
When a survey of Tennessee industries was made in 1925, the
prevailing daily schedule was 10 hours, and a week of 5}~ or 6 days
was usual. At that time weekly schedules of less than 48 hours were
rare, but in the present survey schedules of more than 48 hours are as
rare or rarer. In the fall of 1935 the hour standards most usually set
by the codes still prevailed. They were an 8-hour day and a 5-day
week, totaling a weekly schedule of 40 hours, for a large proportion of
the manufacturing establishments.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
19
Scheduled weekly hours.
Approximately four-fifths of the operatives in manufacturing had
a weekly schedule of 40 hours. A small proportion had scheduled
hours of less than 40, and slightly less than 20 percent had a schedule
in excess of 40. The industries in which one-half or more of the
women were scheduled to work over 40 hours were drugs and cosmetics, printing and publishing, pottery· (earnings for the two plants
visited in this industry have been tabulated in "other manufacturing",
so as not to disclose the identity of firms), and wood products, but none
of these are major industries in the State. Drugs and cosmetics are
import ant in Memphis, where a little more than twice as many firms
as in the eastern area were visited.
Scheduled daily hours.
Eight hours as a basic day was still in. favor. In manufacturing,
practically 82 percent of the men and women had a scheduled day of
8 hours; and this was true also of the women considered separately.
Only the pottery plants had a large proportion of women with a workday of more than 8 hours.
Scheduled days per week.
Though Tennessee law does not limit the working week to 6 days,
no industry but hotels and restaurants reported a 7-day work program
for women. The 5-day week still held as a standard in about 70
percent of the factories, but in numerous cases where a 5-day week
was reported, Saturday work for either a full day or half a day was
resorted to when a rush of orders or emergency demands required
extra hours.
Actual hours worked.
It is rarely possible to obtain information on actual hours worked
for all the women for whom wage records are secured. All firms <lo
not keep full hour records on their pay rolls, and time cards may be
incomplete for the selected week.
In manufacturing, one-third of the women worked 40 hours in the
week studied. Undertime was much more prevalent than full time.
and almost one-half of the women had worked less than 40 hours.
The hours worked by white women in manufacturing for the St.A.te
as a whole are shown in the accompanying table.
Since such a large proportion of the women- 49.7 percent--actu11lly
worked less than 40 hours, there would appear to be little need of long
hours in manufacturing. About 80 percent of the women in the study
were employed in manufacturing, and of -those with hours worked
reported only a little more than one-sixth worked more than 40 hours.
Men's suits and overcoats, men's work clothing, food products, p aper
boxes, shoes, and textiles had ]arger proportions of their women employees working less than 40 hours than either 40 hours or more than
40. Men's work clothing showed more variation in hours than other
major industries. Men's suits and overcoats had good-sized groups
with undertime (almost 12 percent had less than 16 hours of work in
the week), yet the propo tions working longer than the hours that
prevailed in textiles were marked. More than ordinary stability in
working hours seemed to be in rayon yarns and cellophane, in t obacco
manufacturing, , and in wood products, where large proportions of
women worked 40 hours.
121644°- 37-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4
20
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
TABLE 3.-Hours worked during the week by white women in manufacturing and
median earnings for certain hour groups, by industry, 1935
Industry
Percent of women who worked during the weekMedian earnings
Num.forber of
women
Over
24,
32,
44,
48,
with
52
40,
hours Less less less
less less hours
40
less than
than and
worked than
than than hours
More
Less
than
24
52 more than
report- hours 32
40
48
than
40
44
hours hours
ed
40
hours
40
hours hours hours
hours
hours
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -Alling
manufactur____________
17,584 11. 3 10. 8
-----Textiles _____ __________ -9,143
14. 0 12..1
H,osiery:
Seamless ______ 2,982 25. 7 11. 6
Full-fashioned_ 1,795 11. 2 15. 2
Cotton mills ______ 1,952
6. 7
9. 7
Knit underwear ___ 1,447
5. 2 13. 4
Silk and rayon
fabrics ___ ___ ____
6.2 14. 4
369
Woolen mills ______
6. 9
7. 7
286
Bags, cotton and
burlap __________
312 18. 6
9.9
Clothing:
Men's suits and
overcoats . _. _. __
Men's
work ____
clothing _______
___
Other ____ _________
Rayon yarns and eellophane _____________
Shoes. -- -------------Food products . _______
Drugs and cosmetics __
Tobacco and tobacco
products . . __ __ .. ____
Printing and publishing __. ... .... ________
Wood products _______
Paper boxes ___________
Metal products _______
Other manufacturing ..
1
-- -- -$9.65 $13. 90 $13. 15
27. 7
33. 1
5.5
6. 2
3. 7
1. 7
25.4
42.0
24.6
31. 5
27.8
26. 0
57. 1
39.9
2.5
4. 5
.2
3.1
6. r
.8
.7
2.6
.7
.2
.5
3.5
.1
.1
•6
.8
7.60
12. 35
9. 70
10. 30
13. 25
14. 05
13. 45
13. 05
14. 00
19. 75
33.3
19. 2
21.1
28. 3
3. 3
10. 5
4.1
15. 4
16. 0
7. 7
1. 6
4.2
9. 75
9.05
12. 35
14.45
10. 20
13. 55
29. 5
14.4
5. 1
2. 9
5. 4
14. 1
9.10
12. 60
12. 35
---------- ------29.7 34. 9
2.9
3.4
2.0
1.0 9.60 13. 35 14. 40
(1)
16. 30
1,112
19. 5
12. 3
33. 4
19. 6
8.0
4.8
.6
1. 8
11. 30
16. 55
15. 65
2,501
467
9. 9
8.1
12. 9
14. 6
33. 9
18. 6
18. 0
14. 8
14. 7
7. 7
7. 6
13. 7
2. 8
22. 5
.1
------
8. 05
7. 20
11. 20
10. 70
10.80
9. 35
1, 194
3. 0
4. 2
1,052
3.0
3. 6
480 10. 6 13.1
410 -- ---.9
21. 0
29. 6
23. 7
10. 4
58. 5
34. 9
39. 2
21. 0
1.8
3. 3
3. 7
19. 8
7. 7
11. 5
1. 7
33. 9
3. 7
4. 3
5. 8
1. 7
.1
9. 9
2. 1
12. 2
14. 05
12. 55
9.10
9. 60
16. 95
15. 75
11. 90
13. 10
rn. 05
14. 15
13. 20
12. 25
------
2.6
------
(1)
340
1. 8
1.5
7.0
87. 1
------
270
235
183
74
123
3. 6
7. 3
6. 5
5. 5
23. 6
3.0
1. 3
20. 8
12. 2
26. 0
7.8
12. 7
10. 9
21. 6
24. 4
29. 6
50. '.l
25. 7
1.4
14. 6
7.0
3. 4
3. 8
10. 8
8. 9
(1)
15. 6 33.0
.4
2. 6 7. 65
5. 1 .17. 4
4. 4
18. 6
9. 3 7. 90
(1)
9. 5
16. 2 23. 0
2. 4 --- -- - ----- - 11. 25
15. 15
15. 20
10. 65
14. 40
(!~
(1
(1)
19. 15
12. 00
16. 40
~:~
Not computed; base less than 50.
In manufacturing as a whole less than 2 percent of the women
worked 52 hours or more, and the proportion working as much as 57
hours was extremely small.
More women proportionately in the factories of the eastern area
than in either of the other two had short hours. Almost 60 percent
had worked less than 40 hours in the week for which earnings compilations were made. The effect of the shorter week is apparent in some
of the tabulations because, though the average hourly rate is as high
or higlrer in some instances, the week's median is lower for certain
industries in the eastern area. Much the greatest proportion of women
working over 40 hours were in the western area, the middle area
holding a half-way place. The middle area had the largest proportion
working 40 hours.
MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS
About 13 percent of the women for whom earnings were reported
were in the mercantile industry-about 9 percent in department stores
and 4 percent in limited-price stores. About 3,100 white women were
employed in the 32 establishments visited, and of these about seven-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
21
tenths were in department stores and about three-tenths in limitedprice stores. Department stores include a few of the general mercantile type in the smaller towns, and the limited-price stores comprise
the 5-and-10-cent type and some with goods having a maximum price
·
of $1 or $5.
EARNINGS
Median week's earnings in department stores are much alike in the
different areas and cities. All fall at over $12 and under $13, with a
range of only 80 cents. Nash ville has the highest week's median,
$12.90, but the hourly earnings there are the lowest, being 25 cents.
The range in medians of hourly earnings is only 2.1 cents.
For women in limited-price stores the highest week's median is $12
for Knoxville, in the eastern area. This figure exceeds the lowest
median-$9.45 for the western area.-by $2.55. Medians of hourly
earnings range from 22.2 cents in the western area to 26 cents in
Nashville and the middle area as a whole.
In the following summary are shown the week's earnings of women
in the two types of stores:
D epartment Etores
Week's earnings
Number of wom en reported _______ ____ ________ ___
Median earnings ______ _______________________ ____
R egular
employees
1, 783
$12. 75
All employees
2,208
$12. 55
Limited-price stores
Regular
employees
All employees
450
$12. 90
870
$10. 05
Percent distribution of women
Less than $5 ____ _____ ___ ___ __ _______________________ ___ _
$5, less than $10 ______ _____ ___ _____ _______ ______ __ _____ _
$10,
-- - - - - - --- - ------__- __
---_____________
- -- - - - --- - ---___
-- -_
$12, less
less than
than $12
$13 __
__________________
$13,
less
than
$15
__
------------------------__
___
$15, less than $20 ___ ____________ ___ ___________ ____________
$20 and more ____ __ ___ ___ _______ __ ___ __________ ______ __ _
Under $12 __ ________ ______ ______ ___ ___________ ___ ______ _
$15 and more __ _____ ___ ____ ______ __ _______ ______ ______ __
1. 2
H.0
3. 0
8.4
5. 3
50. 0
17. 0
14. 3
42. 6
13. 9
11. 6
7. 7
6.1
4. 9
12. 6
20.4
27. 0
16. 5
2.9
15. 6
H.9
18. 2
45. 1
3. 1
.2
30. 8
33. 3
3. 3
63. 2
1. 8
19. 0
13. 4
11. 5
23. 4
1. 7
.1
Regular employees comprise only the women who are normally
employed on a weekly basis; the larger group includes also the parttime and contingent workers. There were 425 part-time workers in
department stores and 420 in limited-price stores, or about 20 percent
of the total in department stores and nearly 50 percent of those in the
other group. The proportion of the regulars whose earnings were
$15 and more was 20 percent in department stores and only just over
3 percent in limited-price stores. In depa.rtment stores the week's
earnings of all employees, as well as of regulars considered separately,
were concentrated in the $12-and-under-$13 group. The median was
$12.55 for all women and $12.75 for regular workers. In a study of
wages made in Tennessee in 1925 the·median for all women in department stores was $14.15 and for full-time workers it was $15.
The distribution of all women in limited-price stores shows well over
three-fifths with earnings under $12 and not quite 2 percent earning
$15 and more. A much greater proportion of the regular employees
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
22
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
than in the department stores had earnings of $13 and under $15.
In 1925 the median week's earnings were $9.20 for all women and
$9.65 for full-time workers, compared to $10.05 for all women and
$12.90 for regular workers in the present study.
HOURS
Scheduled hours.
Mercantile establishments, more 'than factories, had increased working hours since the Supreme Court decision on the National Industrial
Recovery Act. In department stores more than 90 percent of the
regular employees worked over 40 hours. A scheduled week of 48
hours was the most common in department stores, about 60 percent of
the women employed regularly in these stores· having such hours.
A week of less than 48 hours was the schedule of about one-third,
mostly in Memphis; and a schedule longer than 48 hours was reported
for a small group, 5 percent of all. Part-time and contingent workers,
as stated before, comprised about 20 percent of the total workers in
department stores and almost one-half of those in the limited-price
stores. Some of these workers had fairly regular hours, though not
working full time, but others were subject to call and were not on a
definite schedule. Many were extras on the busiest day of the week,
quite commonly Saturday.
The 5-and-10-cent stores and others in the limited-price group had
l0nger scheduled hours than the department stores had. Weekly
schedules of 52 hours or more were not uncommon. The prevailing
daily hours in department stores were 8; usually they were longer-8½
to 9-in the limited-price stores. During the National Recovery
Administration some of the sales and other employees in department
stores had a day off each week to keep their hours within 40, but the
5-day week was no longer a factor in 1935. All the department stores
in the principal cities were closed Saturday evenings, but the limitedprice stores were open. Hour arrangements for Saturday often included an actual IO-hour day. Store hours in 1935 were only slightly
better than in 1925.
Actual hours worked.
Considering the regular women workers in stores, a little more than
90 percent worked over 40 hours in the week recorded. Not far from
three-fifths (57.7 percent) of the women in department stores and
about three-fourths (74.8 percent) of those in limited-price stores
worked 48 hours or more. The percent of women who worked the
hours specified in the pay-roll week recorded is as follows.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
Department stores
23
Limited-price stores
Hours worked
Regular
employees
Number of women reported _____________________ _
1, 783
All employees
Regular
employees
2,208
450
All employees
870
P ercent distribution
Less than 16 __________________________________________ _
less than
than 24
20____________
--------------------------------------16, less
20,
_______ _______
__________ ______
24, Jess
28____
------------------ ----------- -- -- -- -28,
less than
than 32
__________ ____ __________
___________
__-_
32, less than 3fl __________ ______ __________ __ __ _____ _____ _
36, less than 40 ___ _____ ---------~-- _______ ____ _________ _
40 _____ __ --- . _-- --- _--- _--- ------- -- . --- -- -- -- -- -- -----More than40, less than 44 __ ___________________________ _
44,
less than
than 52
48_____________
--- ------------------------ -------- -- --_
48 , less
____________________________
62 and over ___________________________________________ _
o. 7
12. 8
2. 9
.5
28. 9
2. 0
•2
.7
1. 7
.8
1. 3
1. 1
1. 8
.7
30.1
45. 6
1. 5
.2
.2
.4
.7
.9
1. f
.8
.3
1.0
1.0
2. 0
.5
35. 2
55. 9
1.8
4. 2
2.3
1. 7
4. 1
4. 1
.6
6. i
7. 6
2. 9
.9
5. 6
7. 1
52. 7
29.6
22. 1
12. 6
The concentration of hours in the 44-and-less-than-52-hour groups
for women in department stores and in those of 48 hours and over for
the limited-price employees is apparent. Regulars who have hours
under 44 probably are those who lost time for personal reasons. A
large proportion of the limited-price employees-almost 30 percentworked less than 16 hours. Undoubtedly most of these were parttime workers. The corresponding percentage for department stores
is 12.8.
All the department stores but one reported increased hours for their
week's schedule in the past year. Two-thirds of the limited-price
stores also had longer hours. Since more than 90 percent of the women
in department stores worked more than 40 hours, for the comparison
of hours worked by area 48 hours is taken as the base. The following
is concerned with department-store regular employees only.
Number ofwom- Less than
en reported
48 hours
48 hours
More than
48 hours
42.3
55. 7
2. 0
644
16. 1
17. 6
69. 5
81. 8
81. 4
2. 0
221
819
State____ _____ ___ _____ __ __________
1,684
Eastern area __ _______ _____________ __ ___ _
Middle area _____ ____ ___ _____ ___ __ __ __ __ _
Western area ___________________________ _
28. 2
.9
2. 3
The western area differs from the other two in having a large
proportion of women working less than 48 hours. This is due to a
prevailing schedule of less than 4 7 for the large department stores of
Memphis. In the eastern and middle areas the 48-hour week prevailed.
A comparable set-up for regular employees in limited-price stores
follows.
Number of worn- Less than
en reported
48 hours
48 hours
More than
48 hours
State______ _______ _____ _____ ______
448
25. 2
28. 1
46. 7
Eastern area_ ______ ______ ______________ _
Middle area ________ ________ _____ ________
Western area_____________ _____ _____ _____
130
185
133
5. 4
44. 9
17. 3
34. 6
24. 9
26. 3
60. 0
30. 3
56. 4
The large proportion working more than 48 hours is the most signifiant factor here. Most of these stores had been on a week of 48 hours
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
24
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
or less during the operation of the code, but about 6 months later well
over one-half of the women in the eastern and western areas were
working more than 48 hours.
LAUNDRIES AND DRY CLEANERS
EARNINGS
In the Tennessee survey 22 laundry and 8 dry-cleaning establishments, with about 1,800 white and Negro women, were included.
About 300 women were employed in dry cleaning and the rest in
general laundries. Laundry work in the South, whether in the home
tubs or in the commercial laundry, is the field of the Negro woman.
Of the women whose earnings were tabulated, 71 percent in the laundries
and about 50 percent in the dry-cleaning establishments were Negroes.
The median week's earnings of white women in dry-cleaning plants
were $9.90. For the three areas and the chief cities the medians for
those in laundries, for the week and the hour, follow.
Median week'a
State ________ ____ ___ __ __ _________ _
Eastern area •__________ __ ______________ _
Knoxville ___ _______________________ _
Middle area _________________.___________ _
Nashville __________ __ ______________ _
Western area ___________________________ _
Memphis __________________________ _
earning,
$7. 85
7. 55
10. 40
7. 85
7. 85
8. 25
8. 50
.\fedian hourlv
earnings (centa)
17.
17.
17.
17.
17.
20.
20.
4
2
6
5
5
0
0
These medians are, of course, for white women only, and since
most of the women in southern laundries are Negro it may be noted
here that the week's median for the latter is still lower, $5 .65 for the
whole State and by area ranging from $5.60 to $5.70. The median
week's earnings for Negro women were $2.20 less than those of white
women. White women hold most of the marking, checking, and
sorting- jobs, but in some laundries they are found also on the flatwork ironers, the garment presses, and the shirt lines. Hand ironing
is almost entirely left to the Negro woman.
The eastern area, as a region, had the lowest earnings for white
women, with a median of $7 .55, and in this area the proportion of
white women was greatest. Knoxville in the eastern area had much
the highest week's median, but since the earnings averaged not quite
one-half cent more per hour than those for the area as a whole, and
about the same as for Nash ville, the higher week's earnings must be
due to longer hours.
The western area has the most Negro women and r,roportionately
the fewest white, so in accordance with the law of supp y and demand,
the earnings of white women are slightly higher than elsewhere.
The week's earnings of white women in laundries and dry cleaners
for the State as a whole are as follows:
' Only 36 white women were scheduled in Chattanooga.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
25
WHITE WOMEN IN FACTORIES, STORES, AND LAUNDRIES
L aundrie, Dr11 cleaner,
Number of women reported __ _________ ____ ___ _
Median earnings ___ _______ __________ ________ _
Less than $5 ____ _____ _______ ______ _________ _
$5, less than $10 _____ ____ ________ ___________ _
$10, less than $12 ______ ___ __ ____ ____________ _
$12, less than $13 ____ __ _____________________ _
$13, less than $15 __ __ ___ ___ ___________ ____ __ _
$15, less than $20 _______ ______ ____________ __ _
$20 and more ___ ______ ________ ___ ____ ___ __ __
Under $12 ______ __ _______ _______ _______ __ ___
$15 and more __ ___ ______ __ _____ ___ ___ ___ __ __
429
$7. 85
149
$9. 90
Percent diatribution
14. 5
55. 2
18. 4
4. 7
2. 6
4. 0
.7
88. 1
4. 7
2. 7
49. 0
18. 1
10. 7
9. 4
9. 4
.7
69. 8
10. 1
Almost 70 percent of the white women in laundries were paid less
than $10 and only 12 percent were paid as much as $12.
HOURS
Daily, weekly, and seasonal changes in demands for laundry service
make stability of hours a proble~ and scheduled hours in laundries
generally are highly variable. VY nere there is any semblance of a
planned schedule in Tennessee laundries it tends to be about 45 hours
e. week, but most laundry employers reported their hours as irregular,
both by days and departments, so no attempt was made to tabulate
scheduled hours.
Actual hours worked.
The percent of women with hours worked as specified in laundries
in the various areas are as follows:
Number ofwo~ Le&& than
en reported
~ hour,
hour,
M ore than
40 hour,
State __ ________ __ __ __ ____ __ ___ __ __
369
32.0
7. 6
60. 4
Eastern area _____ _____ ______ _____ ___ ___ _
Middle area _____ ___ _______ ____ _________ _
Western area ___ _______ __ ______ ____ _____ _
205
74
36. 1
9. 5
2.4
31. 1
90
41. 1
61. l5
59. 5
58.9
~
In each area approximately 60 percent of the women in laundries
worked over 40 hours, a great contrast to the 17 percent so reported
in manufacturing. The middle area is the only one with any appreciable number working exactly 40 hours in laundries.
The percent distribution of 369 women in laundries in the State as
a whole, according to hours worked, is as follows:
Less than 16 hours ___ _____ __ _____________ ___ ______ ______
16, less than 20 hours_ ____ ____ __________________________
20, less than 24 hours _______________ __ __________________
24, less than 28 hours __ ______ _____________ ______ ________
28, less than 32 hours _ __ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ ___ __ _ __ __ _ _
82, less than 36 hours ____________________________ _______
36, less than 40 hours _______ ·__ _________ _________________
40 hours ____ ____ ___ ____________ ________ ______ __________
More than 40, less than 44 hours ______ ___ _______ ____ _____
44, less than 48 hours ______ _________________ _________ ___
48, less than 52 hours ____ ______________ ·_______ _______ ___
52 hours and more ___ ________ _______ __________ ____ ______
4. 3
2. 7
2. 7
S. 0
4. 1
5. 7
9. 5
7. 6
14. 9
18. 2
8. 7
18. 7
Only in limited-price stores, with 22 percent, did a larger proportion
of women work 52 hours or more.
Hours in dry cleaners were much more concentrated, 82.7 percent
of the 110 ·women reported working 48 and less than 52 hours. Only
6.4 percent worked 52 hours and more.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part III.-COMPARISON OF EARNINGS, HOURS, AND
EMPLOYMENT FOR WHITE WOMEN IN 1934 AND
1935
The changes in wage structure from the fall of 1934, when code
standards were in operation, to the fall of 1935, after the Supreme
Court had outlawed the codes, were appraised by a comparison of
the earnings in identical plants for the two periods. In some cases
it was not possible to procure 1934 records, as pay-roll books had
been lost, destroyed, or sent to storage, or firms had changed their
set-ups or products. The great majority of firms are represented,
however, and the number of employees reported for 1934 is 85 percent
or more of that for 1935.
Most of the employers interviewed expressed a sentiment that
business activity in the fall of 1935 was as good as or better than in
1934. The accompanying table shows earnings for the week and the
hour for 1934 and 1935, by industry.
26
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TABLE
4.-Earnings of white women in one week in fall of 1934 and one in fall of 1935 compared-identical planu
Industry
Number of Number of worn· Median earnestablish- en with week's ings for 1 week
ments re- earnings reported
inporting
week's earnings
1934
1935
1934
1935
--- --- ---
Manufacturing ________ _______ _____ _______________ _
Textiles ________________________________________
Hosiery:
Seamless ___________ ____ _______ _________
Full-fashioned ____________ ______________
Cotton mills _________________ _________ _____
Knit underwear _---------- ---- ---------- -Silk and rayon fabrics ____ _____ __________ __
Woolen mills_---------------- --- ------ ---Bags, cotton and burlap __ _____ ___ _______ __
Average hourly earnings for 1 week 1
Median In1934
1935
Cent!
Cents
Increase
(+) or decrease(-)
in median
Cents
66.3
70.2
+1.5
+.9
+.3
-.7
-6.1
19.9
16. 2
4.0
11. 3
3.9
.5
9.4
21. 5
24.1
5.8
23. 5
61. 6
37. 0
22.4
23. 0
4.0
20.6
10.6
35. 1
54.3
9.3
2. 4
19. 2
4.0
8.1
1.0
28.0
57.1
79. 8
75.4
78.1
61. 0
99. 5
36.3
69.2
73. 5
75.0
72.5
30.3
62.0
49.6
12.0
71.3
76. 7
.3
17.8
55.0
31.5
81. 5
.1
24. 7
30. 7
.3
2.4
6.6
97.8
51.6
50.3
98.4
60.9
27.1
47.4
13.8
87. 7
26.3
16. 7
99. 7
73.6
34. 3
52.1
18.0
+3.0
2. 1
23. 7
19.0
1.6
9.1
63.9
40.1
85.3
(3)
5.9
9. 8
2. 5
34. 3
23. 5
5. 2
34. 3
-2.9
-3. 1
-2.1
-1.6
-.6
-7.3
2,661
1,609
2,143
1,233
205
197
246
3,185
1,805
2,015
1,389
198
291
254
9.30
12. 50
12.20
12.10
11. 85
11.45
10.05
10.20
13.45
12. 50
12.25
10. 25
13. 00
10. 85
31.2
35.4
32.5
33.4
31.0
32. 5
30.0
32. 7
36.3
32.8
32. 7
24.9
32. 5
30.0
4
12
5
4
5
17
8
5
4
8
3
10
1,092
1,497
442
1,215
938
617
271
298
48
389
367
311
272
211
57
267
1,073
1,523
445
1,066
1,054
665
353
264
48
328
340
329
293
209
74
281
12.40
11. 50
10.00
14. 35
12. 45
10. 90
11.00
10.85
10. 20
12. 65
12. 95
18. 20
11. 50
10.25
10. 30
12. 00
13.45
9. 55
9.05
16. 60
14.15
11. 35
11. 65
11. 30
10. 50
12. 45
14. 95
17.80
10. 35
13. 35
13. 40
12.30
37.0
30.3
30.1
40.0
30.8
27.5
30.0
27.5
39.0
26. 3
24.6
41.5
35. 7
28.3
31.5
27.5
(3)
(3)
32.5
32. 7
37. 0
30.0
32. 5
30.0
35.0
27.3
37. 2
40.0
25.0
32. 7
30. 0
38. 0
-5.2
+4. 5
+3.0
-5. 0
+.2
17
------------
2,214
1,821
2,208
1, 783
12. 50
12. 70
12. 55
12. 75
29.8
30.0
26. 9
26. 9
Limited-price
stores:
All employees
_____________________ ___ __ __ __ ____
14
Regular employees ______ _______ ______ ____ ____ __ ____________ .,.
Laundries _____________ ____________ ____ __ ________ __
20
Dry cleaners _______ __ __ ___ ___ ___ ____________ __ __ __ _
7
756
401
351
125
837
431
365
148
11. 30
12. 55
7. 35
9.85
10.00
13. 00
7.90
9.90
27.1
27. 1
17.8
24. 9
2/i. 0
25.5
17. 2
17. 6
Department stores:
All
employees
_______
_- ---------------- ------Regular
employees
______
_____ ____ ______
___ __ ___
1
1
10
14
3
3
----------
----------
---------+2.0
-4.0
-5.5
+1.5
+4.9
+.8
+1.5
----------
Represents fewer women than those with week's earnings reported, as hours worked were not availa,ble in all cases.
Details aggregate more than total because 7 firms manufactured more than 1 product.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1935
70.8
71.1
14
8
12
4
4
4
3
(3)
1934
7.4
9.8
$12. 25
12. 05
Drugs and cosmetics ____ ___________ ______ ___ ___
Tobacco and tobacco products ___ ________ ____ __
Printing and publishing _____________________ __
Wood products __________________________ _. __ __
P aper boxes ________________ ________ __________ __
Metal products ___ ___ ________ ____ _____ _______ __
Other manufacturing ___________ ___ ___ ________ _
1935
16. 0
17.3
$12. 00
1L40
Rayon yarns and cellophane _______________ ___ _
Shoes ______ ------------ -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - Food products _______________________________ __
Bakeries___ ______________________ __ _____ ___
Candy__________________________ ____ ___ ___
Other __________________________ ______ ____ __
1934
26. 3
20.0
16,817
9,137
Clothing:
Men's suits and overcoats _______________ __
Men's work clothing _____________________ __
Other____________________ ________________ __
1935
13. 2
11.6
15,969
8,294
33.1
32.8
1934
--- - - - - - - --- - - - ---
-0.4
s 140
49
33. 5
32. 8
Percent of women whose hourly earnings averagedMore than 30
Less than 30
30cents
cents
cents
--------
--------------30.0
8.6
9. 0
12. 5
.9
10. 7
16.4
.5
(3)
(1)
(3)
(3)
(3)
67. 7
4.2
7. 5
78.3
25. 2
12. 2
18.8
20.2
.4
40.3
17. 2
77. 2
10. 7
.3
3. 0
5.1
14. 6
66. 2
75. 3
70.0
97.1
25.4
59.3
17. 6
65. 7
21. 6
95.5
89. 5
16.6
60.2
21.6
100.0
50.3
46.8
77. 8
73. 7
12. 9
8. 7
1.0
.9
36.8
44. 5
21.2
25.4
96. 5
94.2
94. 6
85.6
98. 3
96. 9
96. 3
98.2
.5
.9
3.5
5.8
4.1
7.8
1.2
2.2
3. 7
1.8
-------- -------- --------
---------------
--------
1.3
6. 6 -------1 Not computed; base less than 50.
.....
co
~
C11
28
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Changes in week's earnings. 1
Due primarily to longer hours and better business, median week's
earnings in most Tennessee industries were higher in 1935 than in 1934.
It is apparent that all industries in manufacturing but silk and rayon
products, men's work clothing, "other clothing", drugs and cosmetics,
printing and publishing, and wood products showed some increase in
median earnings. Fourteen industries had increases ranging from a,
few cents to $3.10. The median had increased by $1 or more in seven
cases, and by 50 cents and less than $1 in five. In considering changes
in week's earnings the interplay of work hours must be considered.
For example, in the knit-underwear industry the median week's
earnings increased from $12.10 in 1934 to $12.25 in 1935, the percent
of women working over 40 hours rose from 0.2 in 1934 to 10.4 in 1935,
and median hourly earnings decreased by 2 percent. For this reason,
hourly earnings perhaps give a better picture of the changes that had
taken place.
Changes in hourly earnings.
Median hourly earnings of white women for all manufacturing firms
combined show a slig-ht decrease, amounting to less than one-half a
cent. The changes m hourly earnings for the various industries in
terms of cents are small-the largest incr eases being 4.9 cents in shoes
and 4.5 cents in the tobacco group, and the greatest decrease being 6.1
cents in silk and rayon fabrics. When changes in hour]y earnings are
multiplied by weekly hours th~y seem more significant, and since most
of the weekly wages are near the $12 level, one or two dollars means a
lot in the purchasing possibilities of the wage earner.
In the textile group-with the exception of silk and rayon fabrics,
where earnings had a considerable decline-women were earning about
the same in 1935 as in 1934-in three cases slightly more. Both hosiery
branches had advanced a little, earnings for the large group in seamless
hosiery having risen almost 5 percent. Women making men's work
clothing, another large group, and those on "other clothing", each at
one of the lowest wage levels in manufacturing in 1934, had large wage
decreases, 13 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Drugs and cosmetics, only just below average in 1934, had a decrease bf 16 percent.
Wood products, at almost the lowest level, had median hourly earnings
one-sixth less in 1935 than in 1934.
Women in shoe and in tobacco manufacturing showed increases of
approximately 16 and 14 percent. Printing and publishing, in the
top brackets of the earnings rank in this survey, also had a higher
median in the 1935 period than in 1934. Woolen mills, bag mills, the
textile industry as a whole, candy factories, and the metal industry
had the same hourly medians in the 2 years.
Listing the industries in three groups-first, those that showed a
decrease from 1934 to 1935, second no change, and third an increase in
median hourly earnings-gives the percent of change in descending
order, as follows:
1
For hotels and restaurants, seep. 37.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COMPARISON OF DATA FOR WHITE WOMEN IN 1934 AND 1935
Decreases
Silk and rayon fabrics _________ ____
"Other clothing" ___
Wood products _____
Drugs and cosmetics ____________ __
Work clothing ______
Knit underwear_ _ __
No change
1~ 7
18. 3
16. 7
16. 0
13. 2
2. 1
Woolen mills.
Bags.
Candy.
Metal products.
lncreasea
Shoes ______________
Tobacco and tobacco
products _________
Miscellaneous manufacturing_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
Printing and publishing_ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ __ _
Men's suits and overcoats______ ___ ____
Bakery products_ ___
Seamless hosiery_ _ _ _
Rayon yarns and cellophane ___ ___ __ __
Full-fashioned hosiery _______ __ ____
Cotton mills_ _ _ ___ __
Paper boxes_________
29
15. 9
13. 8
8. 6
8. 1
5. 4
5. 0
4. 8
3. 8
2. 5
.9
.6
Comparisou of proportions earning less than 30 cents.
Since 30 cents was the most usual minimum rate applying to large
numbers of women in manufacturing during the life of the ational
Recovery Administration, the proportions who received less than 30
cents an hour in 1934 and 1935 are shown on table 4.
Sixteen of the twenty-one manufacturing industries with comparable
figures show such proportion to have been greater in 1935 than in 1934.
The industries showing the most marked recession by having increased proportions of women earning under 30 cents an hour are
these: Men's work clothing, "other clothing", silk and rayon fabrics,
drugs and cosmetics, wood products, and woolen mills. Unpublished
figures show that in 1934 only two industries had so many as 1 percent
of their women with average earnings of less than 20 cents an hour,
but a year later, in 1935, almost 28 percent of the women in "other
clothing", 25 percent of those in silk and ;rayon fabrics, 15 percent in
men's work clothing, 10 percent in woolen mills, and 7 percent in
wood products had hour]y earnings of less than 20 cents; in each case
but woolen mills, much more than one-half averaged less than 30 cents.
The proportions averaging 20 and less than 30 cents had also increased
greatly in all these industries. On the 1934 pay rolls the average
hourly earnings of only 6 percent of the women in drugs and cosmetics
fell below 30 cents, but one year later 67 .7 percent, or slightly more
than two-thirds, were below the 30-cent level.
Shoes, bags, and knit underwear also showed considerable increase
in the proportion at less than 30 cents. In seamless hosiery, paper
boxes, and cotton mills the increases were small. In rayon yarns
and cellophane the percent receiving less than 30 cents was insignificant in both periods.
In 1934, 30 cents- the usual National Recovery Administration
hourly minimum-generally was the base rate, and when piece-work
earnings were less than this the total was brought up to that amount.
The extent to which 30 cents was the hourly earnings in 1934 and in
1935, shown on table 4, is indicative of what happened to make-up
payments after the cessation of the National Recovery Administration.
Of the 21 manufacturing industries with comparable figures for the
2 years, all but 6 show smaller proportions of women in 1935 than in
1934 with average hourly earnings of 30 cents. These differences in
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
30
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
percents do not all represent a lowering of the wage level. In seamless hosiery and tobacco, much more of the change from 30 cents was
upward than downward; in cotton mills, bags, shoes, and metal products, there was little or no difference in the direction of change; but
in the remaining cases-knit underwear, wood products, ,silk and
rayon fabrics, work clothing, "other clothing", and drugs and cosmetics-not only was the change from 30 cents a downward one but
there was a decline in the proportions of women paid more than 30
cents, a very heavy decline in all but the first and second mentioned.
From the columns in the table that give the proportions oi women
whose average hourly earnings were above 30 cents, it is clear that for
11 of the 21 industries the proportion of women with such earnings
was lower in 1935 than in 1934. For 6 of the 11 the decline was
less than 15 points, but in the case of men's work clothing, silk and
rayon fabrics, "other clothing", woolen mills, and drugs and cosmetics the 1935 percentage was less than that of 1934 by from 25 to 53
points. Two industrial groups-tobacco products and the "other
manufacturing" group-had large increases in 1935, respectively
25 and 34 points over the 1934 percentage. For 8 industries the
increase was less than 15 points.
For all manufacturing, unpublished figures show that the proportion of women earning 30 and under 35 cents an hour had decreased
by 13 points, but the proportion earning 35 cents and _m ore was practically unchanged. In 13 of the 21 manufacturing industries listed,
there was an increase in the proportion earning 35 cents and more.
In seamless hosiery the increase in this highest group almost offset
the decrease in the group 30 and less than 35 cents, and most of the
decrease in the proportion averaging 30 but less than 35 cents has
been absorbed in the higher group. Naturally, the industries showing the largest decreases in these groups are the ones that show the
largest increases in the groups at less than 30 cents, which have been
discussed: Drugs and cosmetics, "other clothing", silk and rayon
fabrics, men's work clothing, woodworking, and woolen mills.
Comparison of hours worked.
The main trend of changes in hours actually worked in the two
wage periods is summarized in the following, which shows the percent
of women in each of three hour groups.
Factories-1934 _________________________ ~------1935 ____________ ___ ______ _______ ____ _
Department stores:
R egular employees-1934 ___________ _____ ____ _
1935 _________ ________ ___ _
Limited-price stores:
Regular employees-1934 ___ _________________ _
1935 ____________________ _
Laundries-1934 ________________________________ _
1935 _________ __ _____________________ _
Less than
40 hours
40 hours
63. 3
49. 9
34. 3
36. 5
2. 5
13. 6
11. 8
4. 7
33. 8
54. 4
93. 3
8.
12.
41.
36.
3
1
2. 0
More than
40 hours
•5
.9
4
2.0
91. 2
86. 9
56. 6
4
1. 6
62. 0
Wb.en manufacturing is divided into its component industries on
the basis of the proportions working more than 40 hours in the two
periods covered, it is seen that in 21 of the 23 separate industries or
groups the proportion of women who worked more than 40 hours was
larger in 1935 than in 1934. In most cases the difference was great,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COMPARISON OF DATA FOR WHITE WOMEN IN 1934 AND 1935
31
being from 30 to 50 points in silk and rayon fabrics, woolen mills,
"other clothing", drugs and cosmetics, paper boxes, and metal
products. Only in shoes and tobacco was the proportion of women
who worked more than 40 hours smaller in 1935 than in 1934, and here
the differences were slight. A 44-hour week has been basic in printing and publishing- for many years, so a large proportion were working
more than 40 hours at both dates, and the proportion working more
than 40 hours was only 1.5 points greater in 1935 than in 1934.
The general tendency to increase hours after the spring of 1935
seems obvious. Almost one-half of the factories admitted that hours
had been increased or that there was greater elasticity in the length
of the working week. "We work on Saturdays whenever there is
need", was a typical comment.
Changes in numbers employed.
Since the data compared for the years 1934 and 1935 are those of
identical firms, it has been possible to place the numbers of women
employed side by side, ·industry by industry, and determine the employment trends in the intervening period. These figures appear in
table 4, page 27.
In manufacturing as a whole the increase was 5.3 percent. Since
the knit-goods industry-hosiery and underwear-is the outstanding
field of employment it is interesting to note that its numbers increased.
Changes in stores, laundries, and cleaning plants.
Stores and laundries were all in the red from the worker's point of
view when hourly earnings in 1935 are considered. Department-store
median hourly earnings indicate a fall of about 10 percent from the
year before. Those in the limited-price stores show decreases of 6 to
8 percent. Hourly earnings of women in dry-cleaning plants had
the greatest decline of all, with a decrease of nearly 30 percent.
Laundries, with their low median of 17.2 cents in 1935, had fallen
from 17.8 cents in 1934.
Median hourly earnings went down in all cases, from 0.6 cent in
laundries to 7.3 cents in dry-cleaning plants. Median week's earnings
for department stores, regular and all employees, had risen by 5 cents.
In limited-price stores the median for regulars had gone up by 45
cents, that for all employees down by $1.30. The laundry median
went up by 55 cents, the dry-cleaning median by 5 cents.
Department stores had practically the same number of employees
in both years, a decline of only 6 in 1935. There was, however, a
decrease of 38 regular employees and an increase of 32 in the parttime and contingent force. Limited-price stores, laundries, and drycleaning plants all had more women on their pay rolls in the week
taken in 1935 than in the week taken in 1934.
Summary of changes in wages, hours, and numbers of employees in
1935.
.
The. most significant factors revealed by the tabulation of wage and
hour data for the 2 years were these:
Median hourly earnings for women in some of the industries had
decreased materially; examples of this are 13 percent in men's work
clothing, 18 percent in "other clothing", 16 percent in drugs and
cosmetics, 17 percent in wood products, 10 percent in department
stores, and 29 percent in dry cleaning. Hosiery, knit underwear,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
32
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
cotton, woolen, and bag mills did not show material changes in hourly
earnings.
The proportions of women earning less than 30 cents an hour had
increased materially with the discontinuance of "make-up'' payments.
Longer hours and greater business activity had increased the median
week's earnings-though in most cases only slightly-in more than
one-half of the industries covered.
In manufacturing, the proportion of women working more than 40
hours had increased from 2.5 percent to 13.6 percent.
Numbers of women in manufacturing had increased by 5.3 percent,
regulars in department stores had decreased by 2.1 percent, regulars
in limited-price stores had increased by 7 .5 percent, women in laundries by 4 percent, and those in dry-cleaning plants by 18.4 percent.
Changes in wage rates as reported by management.
General inquiries were made in each plant visited as to the course
of wages and hours during the year 1935, especially after the middle of
May. Agents found in some instances that .policies as reported by
the management did not agree with practice-some wage reductions
were overlooked or forgotten and the lengthening of weekly hours by
Saturday work whenever production required was disregarded by the
staff member interviewed. Tabulations of the data reported on
changes in hours and wage rates show a significant number of firms
with a letting down of the code standards even though all actual
instances may not be reported.
More than two-fifths (42 percent) of the factories had lower wage
rates in 1935 than in 1934; as many as one-half of the seamless hosiery
mills and two-thirds of the factories making men's work clothing were
so reported. Twelve of seventeen department stores reporting on this
point admitted a reduction of hourly earnings due to longer hours,
and though 5 reported no change in rates, they too undoubtedly had
lengthened hours. Laundries, with a code rate of 14 cents, showed
fewer with reductions-only 5 of 22 laundries reporting, or less than
one-fourth. It may be interesting to note that all but one of the large
rayon yarns and cellophane plants had increased rates during the
year. In the one exception rates were not changed.
Comparison of earnings in a few selected firms in the same industries.
Variations in earnings from firm to firm within the same industry
are considerable in some cases. In seamless hosiery median week's
earnings in 1935 ranged from $5.10 in one firm to $13.75 in another,
median hourly earnings from 29.5 to 37.7 cents. The lowest medianboth week's and hourly-was in the second largest plant, and the
highest median of week's earnings was in the largest. Two firms had
median hourly earnings above 35 cents-37.7 and 36.7 cents, respectively-and continuing in a descending scale the median hourly earnings of the other firms included in 1935 were 33.8, 31.7, 31.5, 30.6,
and 29.5 cents. For the same seven firms in 1934, median hourly
earnings were respectively, 37.5, 34.8, 37.3, 34.9, 30.6, 30.4, and 30
cents.
Comparing seven cotton mills, median week's earnings in 1935
ranged from $11.40 to $14.30, but the firms at these extremes had
little differences in median hourly earnings, which were respectively
34.4 and 35 cents. Of the seven mills, four had week's medians in the
$12 group, one in the $11, one at $13, and one at $14.30. The lowest
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
COMPARISON OF DATA FOR WHITE WOMEN IN 1934 AND 1935
33
median hourly earnings were 31 cents and the highest were 35 cents.
Of the seven medians, two were 31 and under 32 cents, two were 32
and under 33, one was 33 and under 34, one was 34.4, and one was 35
cents. Two had slightly higher median hourly earnings in 1935 than
in 1934, two had the same, and three had medians slightly lower but
not more than one-half cent in any of the three cases. There was
remarkably little change in the hourly earnings in cotton mills in the
pay-roll periods of the 2 years.
Earnings of women in four full-fashioned hosi~ry establishments
showed considerable variation from firm to firm. In the week's pay
roll in 1935 median hourly earnings ranged from 30.9 to 50 cents and
week's medians from $9.30 to $19. In 1934 the comparable ranges
for the same firms were 32.1 to 47.9 cents and $11 to $18.75. It is
interesting that the firm with an $18.75 week's median and an hourly
median of 47.9 cents in 1934, in 1935 had a week's median of $19 and
the hourly median had increased to 50 cents; at the same time the
firm at the lower extreme had week's median earnings reduced from
$11 in 1934 to $9.30 in 1935 and median hourly earnings fell from
32.1 to 30.9 cents. Another factor that stands out in the comparison
of 1934 and 1935 in these full-fashioned firms is that in every instance
the proportion with earnings of less than 30 cents had increased.
Week's medians as shown for six men's work-clothing firms in 1935
ranged downward in this order: $11.40, $10.85, $10.10, $9.30, $8.95,
and $7 .50; in 1934 the same firms had medians of respectively $10.60,
$12.35, $12.35, $11.95, $11.40, and $9.15. Average hourly earnings
were available for five of the six firms. Again in descending order the
medians were, in 1935, 29.4, 28.3, 27.3, 23.6, and 22.5 cents, though
the year before (1934) they had been respectively 30, 31.1, 30, 27, and
37 cents. It is apparent that a figure below 30 cents was the median
in only one of the plants in 1934 but in all five of them in 1935.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part IV.-EMPLOYl\1:ENT AND EARNINGS OF WOMEN
IN HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS
Conditions in hotels and restaurants do not readily lend themselves
for comparable analysis with other industries. Since demands for
service in some departments cover all hours of the day and night, work
hours necessarily vary with jobs and present many irregularities. For
dining-room and kitchen employees the spread of working hours may
be broken into three shifts covering the meal intervals. In many
cases chambermaids and other house employees are required to work
7 days a week. Wages usually are supplemented by meals, especially
in restaurants, and sometimes by lodging. In Tennessee more jobs in
the hotel industry are open to Negro than to white employees, so to
get a picture of the wage set-up it is necessary to consider the two
races together.
Lodging divisions.
In the lodging division of hotels most of the jobs open to women
are those of chambermaids, cleaners, and linen-room att6ndants. The
first two were filled by Negro women and the last by white women.
Housekeepers were white women. Telephone operators have been
included in the lodging-division tabulations of the white women.
The median of week's earnings for Negro chambermaids a:o.d general
cleaners was $5.65 and the most common rate of pay for this work
was about $25 a month. White women employees in the lodging
divisions-linen-room attendants, housekeepers, and telephone operators-had a week's median of $10.20, or about $45 a month. About
two-fifths of the employees in lodging divisions were furnished with a
noon meal or lodging and meals, and this was true of both white and
Negro women and more often of small than of large hotels. Housekeepers in hotels almost always had full maintenance, covering meals
and lodgings.
A few of the hotels maintained their own laundries. The operatives
were predominantly Negro, and their week's median-$4.60-was the
low point in the lodging division.
The percent distribution of women according to week's earnings in
the lodging divisions of hotels follows. The 95 white women had a
median of $10.30 and the 313 Negro women a median of $5.65.
Less than $5 __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _
$5, less than $10 ________________________________
$10, less than $15 _______________________________
$15, less than $20_______ ________________________
$20 and more__________________________ __ __ ____ _
White
women
Neuro
women
11. 6
34. 7
42. 1
8. 4
3. 2
11. 8
87. 5
.6
More detailed figures show that white women fell chiefly in the
earnings group $10 and under $11; the next largest number earned $13
and under $14. These two groups were principally telephone opera. 34
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN IN HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS
35
tors. Housekeepers and an occasional better-paid telephone operator
comprised the groups paid $15 or more.
Sixty-one percent of the Negro women were receiving $5 and under
$6; about 21 percent received $6 and under $7. The proportion who
earned as much as or more than $7 a week, or $1 a day, was very
small, being only about 1 in every 16 or 17 Negro women who worked
as maids in the Tennessee hotels.
Hotel restaurant employees.
Restaurant workers have been divided into those working in the
kitchen and those in the dining room. Further, those receiving tips
and those not likely to receive tips are tabulated separately.
In hotel kitchens the jobs open to women were generally in the
nature of vegetable and pantry work. Most of the cooks were men.
Even as second cooks, women were not found in any appreciable
number in rennessee. Both white and Negro women were found in
kitchen jobs. They were allowed meals while on duty but, of course,
did not receive tips. The median week's earnings were $5.50 for
Negro women and for the smaller group of white women they- were
approximately $8. Earnings for 32 white women in hotel kitchens
ranged from less than $2 to between $17 and $18 a week; about threefourths of the women received less than $10. For Negro women the
prevailing wage was $5 and under $6, with one-half of the women so
paid. None of the Negro women in hotel kitchens had earnings as
high as $10 a week.
The women employees of hotel dining rooms were chiefly waitresses,
and white women were the rule. Negro waiters were found in the
more formal main dining rooms of large hotels, but in the coffee shops
the serving of food was a white woman's job. The most common rate
of pay for waitresses in hotels was $10 a month, with meals on duty as
additional compensation. The tabulation of earnings of the waitresses gave a median for week's earnings of $2.35, and the most common wage was between $2 and $3 a week. All but 6 of 190 waitresses
received less than $5 a week. Tips supplemented this to some extent,
of course, but the cash wage paid by the hotel to the waitresses averaged only $2.35. In most instances the waitress had to provide and
care for the laundry of her uniform. Women in the dining rooms who
did not receive tips, such as cashiers, checkers, head waitresses, and
bus girls, had a median of $10.35, and the most common earnings as
well as the midpoint fell at $10 and less than $11. One-third of these
nonservice workers earned $5 and less than $10, and about one-half
had earnings of $10 but less than $15. Of 14 Negro girls who were
working in hotel dinin~ rooms, 12 had earnings of less than $5, and 5
of the 12 received no tips.
Restaurants not in hotels.
In the kitchens of restaurants not in hotels the wa~e scale for women
was somewhat higher than that for similar jobs m hotels. White
women in these restaurants were in some cases cooks, dietitians, salad
girls, or in other jobs more responsible than those of women in hotel
kitchens, and their earnings were higher. Less than 50 white women in
these commercial restaurants wereinkitchens, so no median week's earnings were calculated, but a distribution of their earnings shows that
they averaged between $9 and $10 a week and that the most common
wage was $8 and under $9. Earnings of Negro women in restaurant
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
36
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
kitchens were higher than those in hotel kitchens, the medians being
respectively $8.55 and $5.50. Over 80 percent of the Negro womenmany of whom served as the chief cook of the restaurant-had earnings
below $10.
White waitresses in these restaurants who were classed as receiving
tips had a week's median of $7 .30, much higher than the $2.35 in hotels
but the amount of tips might be considerably less. About 20 percent
of them earned less than $5 a week.
The largest group of women in restaurants not in hotels were
employed in cafeterias and were not likely to receive any appreciable
amount in tips. In this group were a few cashiers and supervising
waitresses but not enough to affect the findings as they apply to cafeteria workers among the white women of Tennessee. The median
week's earnings for the white women in this group were $8.30. Threefourths of these women earned less than $10. A small group, about
3 percent, comprising the cashiers, supervisors, and hostesses, earned
$15 or more.
Even when allowance is made for meals, and for tips on some of the
jobs, the earnings for inost women were very low. Many kitchen
employees are furnished work uniforms, but waitresses are expected
to provide or to pay a linen or laundry service rental for their uniforms,
which represents a material deduction from earnings. Hours often
are irregular and exceedingly long. The hotel and restaurant industry
is one needing a basically new code of employment relations.
Hours in hotels and restaurants.
Hotel guests may require service at any hour, and in some departments service must be provided for 24 hours of every day in the year.
The nature of the hotel industry presents a real managerial problem
in planning and maintaining hours that satisfy the demands of the
guests and that are not socially unjust and unfairly taxing to the
worker.
The work standards of the N. R . A. gave an impetus to some hour
reduction in hotels, but workdays with a spread of hours of 12 and
more, and 7-day workweeks, are still found far too frequently. Reduced spread of hours and at least 1 day a week off for each employee
is an attainable and needed standard for most Tennessee hotels.
Conventions, banquets, and various emergency demands occur to
upset routine operations and to extend hours beyond a reasonable
limit, but even without emergencies the scheduled and actual hours of
many employees are too long.
·
For women employees in hotels (both white and Negro) the longest
hours generally are in connection with the food divisions. Tabulating
the workday hours scheduled for the waitresses, other dining-room
employees, and kitchen helpers, it was found that about 38 percent of
the employee-days had a spread of 10 hours or longer and that for
more than 25 percent the spread was at least 12 hours. The spread
of hours, or over-all time, is broken by time off for meals and sometimes
by periods of 2 or more hours, but in many cases such breaks in work
are not sufficiently long to be used to advantage and the result is that
waitresses and kitchen employees loll around in dark, poorly: equipped,
almost airless basement restrooms waiting for the next shift of work.
Actual daily hours of duty were not excessively long in Tennessee, as
for more than 80 percent of the women the working schedule was 8
hours or less.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN IN HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS
37
For white and Negro women in restaurants not in hotels, the proportion of employee-days with a long spread of hours was somewhat
smaller. Less than one-third-31.3 percent-had a spread of 10 hours
or more, and the proportion with a spread of 12 hours and more was
one-eighth. A lapse of 12 hours or more between beginning and
ending work is not insignificant even though it affects only 1 in 8
workdays. For more than nine-tenths of the employee-days reported,
actual hours on duty were 8 or less.
· In the lodging division of hotels, the work of the maids and linenroom attendants does not present the problems in meal-hour shifts
that the work of dining-room and kitchen employees does, so their
hours usually are continuous except for a meal break. The most
commonly reported hours for maids were from 8 a. m. until 3 or 4 p. m.
or from 7 and 7:30 a. m. to 3, 4, or 4:30 p. m. On one day a week,generally Sunday, the maids were allowed to leave early or when their rooms
had all been made up. The hour findings for all women in the lodging
division show more of these women than of any other group having
workdays with an 8-hour spread. Only a small percent-less than
5 of the days-had a spread of 10 hours or more.
7-day week.
In the lodging division of hotels, 91 percent of the women and 92
percent of the men worked on 7 days. In hotel restaurants, 54 percent
of the women and 83 percent of the men worked every day.
In some cases other restaurants were closed on Sundays, so the
proportion working 7 days a week was less. In these, 8 percent of
the women scheduled and 30 percent of the men worked on all 7 days.
Changes in earnings.
Since reliable records of actual time worked in hotels and restaurants
are rare, it is not possible to compare earnings in 1934 and 1935 on an
hour basis. Hours undoubtedly were increased in 1935 without increased wages, and in some places where the 6-day week had been in
effect in 1934 there was a 7-day week in 1935. Then, too, in certain
cases less effort was being made to keep hours withln planned schedules,
and more emergency demands with increasing business were requiring
overtime without extra compensation to the worker.
Hotel and restaurant pay rolls were compiled for a 1934 and a 1935
period in identical firms, and the differences in earnings are so slight
that they are hardly indicative of any trend. White women in the
lodging divisions of hotels, such as telephone operators, housekeepers,
and linen-room attendants, had median week's earnings of $10.10 in
1934 and of $10.20 in 1935, a IO-cent increase. In the food divisions
of hotels, white women on jobs in kitchen and in dining room that
would not be affected by tips showed a slight increase in median
week's earnings. For hotel waitresses the 1935 median was 25 cents
higher than that of 1934.
In the commercial restaurants not connected with hotels the median
week's earnings for waitresses receiving tips had dropped by 40 cents,
but for the other workers-counter girls, cashiers, and so forth-there
was an increase of 50 cents in the median.
Such increases-as appear in earnings in the hotel and restaurant
industry are due almost entirely to better business conditions in 1935
and longer hours or fuller work time than in 1934.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part V.-EARNINGS AND HOURS OF NEGRO WOMEN
B ecause of the prevailing difference in the wage level and jobs for
white and Negro wo rkers, the data on earnings have been tabulated
separately by race. The wage-earning field of the Negro women in
the South is principally domestic service and agriculture. Manufacturing has relatively few Negro women , and the same is true of the
mercantile field. The service trades- laundries, dry cleaning, and
hotels and rest aurants- offer the Negro woman the most probable
chance of employment.
More than 2,700 Negro women were included in the Tennessee
survey, and they comprised 9.4 percent of all the women covered.
They represented roughly 4 percent of the ·women in manufacturing,
2 percent of the women in stores, 71.2 percent of those in laundries,
49.5 percent of those in dry-cleaning plants, and 44.8 percent of those
in hotels and restaurants .
The numbers of N egro women for whom earnings were reported, by
industrial group and area in which they were employed, are as follows:
Factories _______ ___ ___ _________ _____
Department stores (all employees) 1 ____
Laundries and dry cleaning plants _____
Hotels and restaurants_________ ___ ___
Hotel laundries______ ___ _______ __ ____
State
924
50
1,205
485
54
Eastern
M iddle
98
22
221
(2)
361
5
321
(2)
(2)
area
area
Western
area
( 2)
465
23
663
(2)
(2)
Though Negroes were only 4 percent of all women in manufacturing, the proportions voried considerably with the area of the State.
In the eastern area ther comprised not quite 1 percent. The textile
industries, which dommate this area industrially, do not tend to
employ Negro women as operatives, but they are sweepers and
cleaners in some of the mills.
Median of the week's earnings and of hourly earnings.
For the State as a whole, the week's medians by industrial group
are as follows:
Factories____ _____ ___ __ ______ ____ _____ ____ ___ _____ ___ _ $6. 75
Department stores ___ ___ ___ ___ _____ _______ _______ ______ 12. 35
Laundries___ ___ _____ ________ __ ___ __ ______ __ __ _________ 5. 65
Dry cleaners __ ________________________________________ 9. 55
Stores show by far the highest earnings for Negro women, and 80
percent of those in stores earned as much as $10. The work of
these women is largely in the capacity of maids in the ready-to-wear
departments, attendents in rest rooms, and elevator operators.
In the middle area 361 women-or about 6 percent of all in manufacturin g-were Negro. The median of week's earnings was $7.30
and that of hourly earnings was 22.5 cents. Most of the women were
· employed in tobacco plants and warehouses on jobs such as stemming,
1 Includes a few in limited-price stores.
• Not tabulated by area.
38
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
39
EARNINGS AND HOURS OF NEGRO WOMEN
stripping, and hanging tobacco leaf. Median week's earnings in
tobacco manufacturing-snuff and chewing tobacco-were $6.30,
and in tobacco warehouses the median was $7.15 in this area. One
large hosiery mill employed Negro women on boarding-that is,
pulling damp stockings over heated forms to shape and press them.
Men ~nd boys usually are employed on this job, but the Negro women
seemed to be satisfactory in this mill. Their wages, all of which
averaged over 30 cents an hour, compared favorably with those of
white women on other operations in the same plant, though somewhat less than those of men boarders in other plants.
More Negro women were employed in the western area of the State,
especially in Memphis, than elsewhere. About 18 percent (465)
of the women in manufacturing in this area were Negro. They
were working as operatives in one or more establishments in the
shelling of nuts; in work on cotton and burlap bags, especially the
rehandling of bags; in various jobs in woodworking-caning chairs,
and making fruit boxes and baskets; in packing cosmetics and other
pharmaceutical products, and making paper boxes for cosmetics.
Unfortunately, the wage level does not rise with the opportunities
for employment. With only a small number in the eastern area, the
week's median for Negro women was $10.30, the median of hourly
earnings 31 cents. For the much larger .number in the western area
the week's median dropped to $4.50, the hourly median to 15 cents.
Since only the western area has numbers of Negro women in manufacturing sufficient to consider by industry, the following medians
are shown:
N umber
of women
All manufacturing_________________________
465
Nuts___________________________________________
T extile bags ____________________________________
Wood products __________________________________
Other manufacturing__ ___________ ____ _____ ___ ____
189
68
130
78
Median
week's
earnin!]a
$4. 50
2.
7.
5.
7.
55
95
25
95
Nut shelling showed the lowest earnings of any job tabulated for
the State except that of white waitresses in hotel dining rooms, who
had their earnings supplemented at least by tips. None of the 189
Negro women shelling nuts earned as much as $5; 122 earned from $1
to $3. Time records were poor in this industry, but indications were
that the majority had worked 4 or 5 days for these wages.
Negro women in the bag industry usually worked on the rehandlingthe repairing-of cotton and burlap bags. Median week's earnings
for those in the bag industry were $7.95, and 53 of the 68 women
had earnings ranging from $7 to $9. About seven-eighths of the
women worked 52 hours and more.
Laundries and dry-cleaning plants gave employment to nearly
one-half of the Negro women covered in the survey. Laundries had
a large proportion of Negroes in all areas and there was little variation in the median week's earnings. For the State, the median was
$5.65, and the range by areas showed a difference of only 10 cents,
the western median being $5.60, the middle $5.65, and the eastern
$5.70. However, 10 percent of the women in the eastern area earned
$10 or more, while none in the western area and only one in the
middle area had such earnings. The most usual hourly rate of pay
and of earnings was 14 emits; 45 percent of the Negro women in laundries were so paid,
·
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4Q
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
The differences in the earnings of white and Negro women in laundries were considerable, in spite of the fact that those of white women
were extremely low. These differences, all in favor of the white
women, were $2.20 for the State as a whole, $1.85 for the eastern
area, $2.20 for the middle area, and $2.65 for the western area. Wages
in dry cleaning were better, with median week's earnings of Negroes
$9.55 and median hourly earnings 20 cents.
Hourly earnings.
For the State as a whole the median hourly earnings for Negro
women were as follows:
Factories _____________________________________________
Department stores_____________________________________
Laundries_____________________________________________
Cent,
l& 7
26. 0
14. 0
The jobs of white and Negro women usually are not comparable,
but the disparity in their earnings in manufacturing (see p. 13 for
white women) would seem to be greater tl~an is warranted by difference in duties.
Year's earnings.
Since the number of Negro women in manufacturing was not large,
year's earnings were secured for only a small group-62. For this
group the median was only $345, or less than three-fifths of the $615
computed as the median for 'white women. For 16 of the 62 Negro
women the earnings fell in the group $300 and less than $400. Only
7 earned $600 or more, 1 of this group exceeding $700. About onethird had year's earnings below $300. The year's earnings records
for Nef!;ro women are chiefly in wood products and tobacco. These
data indicate a decidedly low level of purchasing power even for the
steady worker.
Where hours worked week by week throughout the year were reported for Negro women, such records indicate more short time for
them than for white women.
Hours worked and earnings.
A correlation of earnings and hours worked for Negro women shows
a steady progression as hours increased in laundries, where the women
were paid on an hourly basis, but in factories, where some of the work
was on a piece-work basis, earnings were higher at 40 hours than at
any other hourly division. In many cases plants with shorter hours
have better conditions and pay better than plants with long hours.
A summary of hours worked and median week's earnings follows.
Hours worked
Laundries Factoriu a
36, less than 40 _________________________________ $5. 45
40 ____________________________________________
a 65
More than 40, less than 44_______________________
44, less than 48______________________ ____ _______
48, less than 52_________________________________
52 and over____________________________________
5.
6.
6.
7.
70
35
50
75
$5. 55
Q
go
(•)
8. 75
7. 80
8. 05
Negro women in hotels and restaurants.
Negro women's employment in hotels and restaurants has been included with that of white women in the section on hotels and restaurants. (See p. 34.) Almost 600 Negro women in hotels and res. taurants were covered. In the earlier discussion it was shown that
1
Shelling of pecans not included in this correlation of hours and earnings.
• Not computed; base less than 50.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
EARNINGS AND HOURS OF NEGRO WOMEN
41
maids, cleaners, and laundry workers in hotels were almost exclusively
Negro women. Hotel elevators, too, in many cases were operated
by Negro girls. Negroes served as dining-room waitresses and
counter girls in cafeterias, and as bus girls, vegetable cleaners, or
silver girls in the kitchens. For Negro maids, the median week's
earnings were $5.65. The most common rate of pay for maids was
$25 a month, and most of them worked 7 days a week.
In some of the hotels-usually the smaller ones- chambermaids
and other cleaning workers were given theii: noon meal. Cash earnings of those who were given a meal had a week's median 45 cents below
the median for those who were not. In hotel kitchens, where Negro
women worked as kitchen helpers rather than as cooks, their week's
median was $5.50, with meals on duty as additional allowance. In
restaurants not conne¼ted with hotels, many Negro women in kitchens
worked as cooks, and their week's median was considerably higher,
being $8.55. Bus girls and dining-room helpers, largely in cafeterias,
had a week's median of $6 .80.
Some of the larger hotels had their own laundries, which employed
Negroes almost exclusively; here the earning scale was even lower than
for hotel maids, being $4.60. Except for work in laundries, hotel
employees are almost always required to wear some type of uniform,
which in most cases must be provided and maintained by the employee.
Changes among Negro women-1934 to 1935.
Negro women to a much greater extent than white women are seen
to have been affected by changes between 1934 and 1935. In the
identical factories for which comJ?arisons have been made, the number
of Negro women employed had mcreased by 8.3 percent, though the
increase of white women was only 5.3 percent. Negro women had
decreased in textiles and wood products but had increased materially
in food and tobacco products. In manufacturing, both the median
week's earnings and the median hourly earnings of Negroes had
decreased, the former by 5.5 percent and the latter by 27 .6 percent.
In contrast, the median week's earnings of white women had increased
by about 2 percent and median hourly earnings had decreased by
1.2 percent.
Numbers of Negro women employed in textiles, largely as sweepers,
showed a decrease of 13 percent, but their week's earnings had increased by a little more than 5 percent. In food products the Negro
employees had increased by 33.8 percent, due to the number in nut
picking almost doubling. Median week's earnings in food declined
by nearly 20 percent. In the tobacco industry the median week's
earnings had decreased by 22.6 percent, due undoubtedly to short
time and greater number of employees, as the hourly earnings had
decreased by only 1.1 percent. In wood products, the median hourly
earnings had decreased from 25 to 15 cents, or by 40 percent. Other
manufacturing includes Negro women in drugs and cosmetics, printing
and publishing, metal products, paper boxes, clothing, shoes, and
pottery. In many of these factories they were employed largely in
the capacity of maids and their numbers had increased. Medi0,n
week's earnings had increased by 6.5 percent, but median hourly
earnings had decreased by 30.8 percent.
A comparison of the earnings distribution of 1934 and 1935 in identical factories shows that in the earlier year 37 percent of the Negro
women had average hourly earnings of 30 cents or more but in 1935
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
42
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
there were only 19 percent with such earnings. In 1934, about 20
percent averaged 15 cents or less, and in 1935 there were 43.6 percent
in this class. In wood products, the 1934 pay rolls had average hourly
earnings of 15 cents or less for one-fourth of the women, but in 1935
three-fifths of the women had such earnings. Hourly earnings in
wood products, as already stated, had decreased by 40 percent.
In stores the number of Negro women had decreased, and though
the median of their week's earnings was higher by 10 cents, or 0.8
percent, median hourly earnings had decreased by 2 cents.
Negro women were employed more extensively in laundries than in
any other industry, but though white women increased in number by
4 percent in the laundries covered, Negro women declined by 10 percent. Their median hourly earnings had remained the same-14
cents. The concentration at 14 cents, however, declined from 78 percent in 1934 to 45 percent in 1935, and the proportion at less than 14
cents increased accordingly. Numbers in dry cleaning had increased
by 15.6 percent, and though hourly earnings showed a decrease of 20
percent, due to longer hours, the median week's earnings had increased
by 14.8 percent.
Hours of Negro women.
Working hours increased more for Negro women than for white
women. More than one-third of the Negro women (34.7 percent)
worked over 40 hours in 1935, though in 1934 only 11 percent exceeded
40 hours. An increase, though of varying proportions, appears in
every industry. A comparison of the percentages at more than 40
hours in the two periods follows.
Factories ___ _________________________ ____ ___
Department stores ___ __ _____________________ _
Laundries ________ __ ______ _________ ________ _
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1994
1935
11. 1
44. 4
34. 7
81. 2
50. 5
64. 6
Part VI.--MEN'S EARNINGS AND HOURS
Earnings tabulated in factories, stores, laundries, dry-cleaning
plants, and hotels and restaurants covered nearly 7,300 men. Of
these, 667 in hotels and restaurants and 719 in the other 4 groups
were Negroes. Since the purpose of the study was to report on the
woman-employing industries, the emphasis was placed on firms that
bad women in significant numbers. Naturally, industries that employed men exclusively or only a few women were not covered. While
the data are not nearly so extensive for men as for women, the sample
is l_arge enough to be representative of men's earnings in the industries
specified.
·
TABLE
5.-Earnings of white men, by industry, 1935
Percent of men with week's earnings ofber of Median Median
hourly
white week's earn$5,
$10, $15, $20, $30,
$40
$16
men
earnLess less
ings i than
less less less less and
and
report- ings
than
than than than more more
(cents)
th
an
$5
ed
$15
$20
$30
$40
$10
Num-
Industry
Manufacturing ___________
Textiles:
Seamless hosiery __
Full-f ash ioned
hosiery _________
Cotton mills ______
Knit underwear __
Silk and r ayon
fabrics __________
Woolen m ills _____
Bags, cotton and
burlap __________
--- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-55.1
34.1
26. 1
20. 6
6. 7
1. 7
24. 2 .36. 2
15. 2
13. 8
2. 9
1. 2
33. 1
11. 6
56. 0
40. 0
14. 0
26. 1
27. 9
32. 9
6. 6
12. 9
29. 9
.3
2. 8
6.3
1. 4
3. 6
4. 8
9. 6
12.. 9
83.1
33. 0
43. 6
24. 0
35. 0
12. 3
2.8
35.8
6.8
34. 6
36. 8
13. 6
35. 3
3. 7
16. 4
37. 0
1. 5
7.6
37. 9
19. 7
18. 2
13. 6
1. 5
53. 0
5,185
$15. 80
37. 8
2. 4
414
12. 65
36. 1
6. 5
207
773
140
25. 55
13. 25
14. 40
65. 9
.5
32. 7
35. 0
81
791
10. 40
15. 25
66
15. 50
8. 4
-----------
----------1. 5
.4
17. 3
53. 6
Clothing:
Men's suits and
overcoats ___ _____
Men's
work clothing ______________
Other _____________
159
22. 05
56. 0
------
.6
13. 2
27. 0
42.8
15. 7
.6
86. 2
249
81
14. ]5
1. 2
3. 7
9. fi
23. 5
45. 8
44. 4
28. 5
21. 0
10. 8
7. 4
3. 6
.4
12. 60
34. 5
30. 0
43. 4
28.4
Shoes _________________
894
20. 45
53. 9
.2
1.0
16. 4
30. 1
38. 8
12. 7
Food products:
B akeries .. ________
Candy ____________
185
132
14. 70
14. 00
35.0
35. 0
6.5
.8
8. 6
2.3
41. 6
59.1
24. 9
21. 2
13. 0
14. 4
4. 9
2. 3
136
15. 80
34. 3
.7
5. 1
38. 2
36. 0
18. 4
92
18. 35
47. 5
1.1
------
29. 3
39.1
21.8
170
263
72
280
28. 25
12. 25
16. 60
20. 15
65. 0
27. 0
39. 5
55. 0
1.8
5. 3
1. 4
3. 2
1.8
14. 8
5. 6
6. 8
8. 2
48. 7
36.1
15. 0
16. 5
16. 7
22. 2
24.3
2426
90
41
15. 30
15. 15
6. 8
13. 3
4. 0
13. 3
4. 9
37. 6
22. 2
36. 6
22. 3
28. 9
24. 4
Drugs and cosmetics __
Tobacco and tobacco
products ____________
Printing
and____
publishing ________
______
Wood products _______
P aper boxes _________ __
Other m anufacturing
Stores _____________________
Laundries. _______________
Dry cleaners _______________
(3)
33. 0
29. 4
(3)
------
------ -----.8
82. 3
.5
43. 2
37. 9
1. 5
-----------
3. 3
5.4
69. 6
26. 4
10. 3
22.3
36.4
27. 6
2. 7
12. 5
7. 5
17. 6
1. 5
88. 2
31.2
56. 9
75. 0
22. 3
16. 6
19. 5
3. 9
5. 6
14. 6
-----6.8
3.1
------
------
55. 9
51. 6
51. 1
58. 5
t Represents fewer men than those with week's earnings reported, as hours worked were not available In
all cases.
2 374 in department stores, 52 in limited-price stores.
a Median not computed; base less than 50.
43
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
44
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Larger proportions of men than of women were employed in maintenance and on supervisory and other jobs of an overhead nature, for
which reason the proportions of men operatives and of piece workers
are less for men than for women.
White men's earnings in all but hotels and restaurants are shown
in table 5.
Week's earnings of white men.
The median week's earnings for men in manufacturing are almost
$i6 ($15.80), or about $4 higher than those for women. In fullfashioned hosiery, men's suits and overcoats, and printing and publishing, median week's earnings for men are from $8 to $12 higher
than women's. Though some of the men in these industries are
doing highly skilled work as knitters, cutters, or pressers, and machine
fixers, and earnings of men and of women are not strictly comparable,
the figures show what the industries offer to the two sexes in the way
of wages.
Though higher than for women, the earnings of men are low except
in a few industries; the distribution figures show that about 45 percent
of the men had earnings of less than $15. In seamless hosiery twothirds of the men's earnings were under $15 and only 10 percent were
as much as $25. Men's work clothing and "other clothing" made a
poor showing. In work clothing slightly more than one-half were
earning less than $15 a week and only about one-sixteenth earned as
much as $25. In "other clothing", about 70 percent were earning
under $15. Men in these industries were employed as cutters and
pressers, and in general work such as packing or carrying supplies.
Printing and publishing has the highest median and also the highest
proportion of those in the upper earnings brackets. Shoes had a
median slightly less than that of men's suits and overcoats but in
general followed the same trend. Wood products had a low figure.
Median hourly earnings of white men.
Median hourly earnings in manufacturing were about 6 cents greater
for men than for women. While for men the median was 37 .8 cents
an hour, unpublished figures show that the most usual earnings were
in the 30-and-under-35-cent groups. The following industries had
the largest proportions earning less than 30 cents an hour: Silk and
rayon fabrics with about 73 percent, wood products with 54 percent,
laundries with 51 percent, stores with 42 percent, "other clothing"
with 36 percent, drugs and cosmetics with 25 percent, and men's
work clothing with 22 percent. Industries with at least 40 percent
of the men earning 50 cents and more an hour were these: Printing
and publishing 73 percent, full-fashioned hosiery 71 percent, men's
suits and overcoats 64 percent, shoes 57 percent, "other manufacturing" 57 percent, and tobacco products 42 percent.
Hours worked and earnings of white men.
In manufacturing the proportion of men working more than
40 hours was 28 percent. The largest proportion, 39.2 percent,
worked 40 hours. About three-fifths of the men in cotton mills, a
little more than one-half of those in tobacco, and practically one-half
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
45
MEN 1S EARNINGS AND HOURS
of those in woolen mills, wood products, and candy worked a 40-hour
week. Industries with one-half or more of the men employees working more than 40 hours were these: Men's work clothing, drugs and
cosmetics, paper boxes, printing and publishing, bags, silk and rayon
fabrics, laundries, and stores. In the last mentioned slightly more
than 50 percent worked 48 hours and more. Men's median week's
earnings and hours in manufacturing wereLess than 40 hours _____ ______ ____ __ ____ ___ ___ __ ______ $13. 90
40 hours_____ ____ _____ _____ ________ ____ ____ _____ ___ __ 15. 50
Over 40 hours____ _________ __ ____ ________ ___ ___ ___ ____ 17. 45
In all the individual industries where median earnings could be
computed for the various hour groups (except stores, where earnings
declined for those working more than 48 hours), men's earnings increased consistently as hours increased.
Piece-work earnings of white men.
General labor jobs, inside truckers, helpers, and maintenance jobs
are filled by men. Women are more likely to be machine operators,
inspectors, menders; that is, working in one way or another in connection with the product. Approximately one-third of the white
men in manufacturing were on piece work, in contrast to almost
four-fifths of the women. Full-fashioned hosiery in textiles had the
highest proportion of men on piece work, with about three-fourths.
The earnings of the men piece workers in this industry were about
twice those of the time workers, the median hourly earnings for piece
work being 73.2 cents and those for time work 37 .5 cents.
Earnings of Negro men.
The earnings of Negro men, while generally higher than those of
women, were low. The survey covered 445 Negro men, and their
most usual earnings fell between $12 and $13. In an array of median
earnings, the range for Negro men was from $9.35 to $16. The lowest·
field in men's earnings, as in women's, was the laundry industry.
The median week's earnings of N egro men follow.
Manufacturin g _______ ____ ___ ___________________ ______ $12. 45
Drugs and cosmetics _____ _____ __ ______ ____________ 12. 40
Tobacco and tobacco products ___ _________________ _ 16. 00
Wood products__ ____ _________ ______ ____ _________ _ 10. 15
Other m anufa cturing________ ____ ________ ________ __ 12. 65
St ores 1___ _____ __ _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _______ _ _ _________ _ ___ __
Laundries_ _____________ __ ____ __ _______ _____________ __
D ry cleaners __________ __ _____________________________
12. 55
9. 35
13. 45
A comparison with medians of white women on pages 8, 21, and 25,
shows that six of the eight medians for Negro men are higher
than the corresponding figures for white women . This includes stores,
of which it may be assumed th at if department and limited-price
stores were combined for women as for Negro men, the women's
median would be below $12.55.
1
Almost nine-tenths of the Negro men were in department stores.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
46
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
In a distribution of earnings, the following are the proportions of
· ·
Negro men who were receiving less than $15:
Percent
of total
Manufacturing __ ______________________________________
Drugs and cosmetics ___ __ _ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ __ _
Tobacco and tobacco products__________ ____ ________
Wood products_____________ _____________ __________
Other manufacturing___________ ____________________
70.
82.
27.
92.
74.
8
4
6
9
4
Stores__ __ _____________ ____ __ __ _________________ ______
Laundries___________________ _________________________
Dry cleaners __ _ __ _ _ ___ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _
89. 7
88. 7
70. 5
Tobacco manufacturing offered more to Negro men in earnings
possibilities than any other industry. Men in this industry were
more often operatives or actually on some productive process, while
in most of the others the majority of the jobs were in the nature of
cleaners and general labor, with low wage levels. _
Earnings of white men in hotels and restaurants.
1v1en employees in hotels and restaurants were predominantly
Negro. Of 810 men for whom data were secured, only 143 were white.
These men were employed as engineers, watchmen, maintenance
men, cooks, and stewards, but the bus boys, porters, bell boys, cleaners,
and elevator operators were almost all Negro.
The white men employed as engineers, watchmen, carpenters,
painters, and general maintenance men in hotels-67 in number-had
median week's earnings of $16.15. Abo ut one-half of these were given
one or more meals daily in addition to their earnings. In the food
departments of hotels, cooks, assistant cooks, and workers in the
stewards' departments had median week's earnings of $13.55. White
men as employees in commercial restaurants,not connected with hotels,
were a small group-an occasional cook, counter man, and waiter.
Their earnings ranged from $2 to $30, three in five earning $15 or more.
White men on jobs where pay would be supplemented by tips were so
few that their earnings were not tabulated separately.
Earnings of Negro men in hotels and restaurants.
Occasionally a hotel was scheduled whose bell boys received no pay
at all but were expected to obtain their earnings entirely from tips.
Even where bell boys had cash earnings, their wages were low. Porters also were poorly paid, but none were found depending on tips
alone. Monthly rates frequently were less than $10. Hotel employees usually are paid on a monthly basis-payment being semimonthly
-but for purposes of comparison all earnings have been reduced to a
weekly amount. On this basis, the week's median was $1.50 for bell
boys, porters, and other employees who would receive tips but had no
wage supplements from the management. A smaller group who received some meals had a median of $1.90. In both cases, however,
the employees were dependent on tips for their livelihood.
For Negro men employees in hotels whose work was such that
ordinarily tips could not be expected--for example, housemen, cleaners, window washers, elevator operators, and firemen-the median
was $6 .20. Dividing this group into those who received meals and
those who did not gives a week's median of $5.65 for the former and
of $8.45 for the latter.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MEN'S EARNINGS AND HOURS
47
Negro male waiters hsd a week's median of $3.60. Usually they
were required to furnish and to care for the laundering of their own
uniforms. Bus boys and kitchen helpers had a median of $5.60,
which was 20 cents higher than that for Negro women in the kitchen.
With only a few exceptions all employees, male and female, white and
Negro, in the kitchens and dining rooms received meals while on duty.
In commercial restaurants, Negro men included were chiefly working as kitchen helpers and bus boys, and their median was $8.55 with
the addition of meals in most cases.
For the Negro men in hotels and restaurants, it is significant that
the wage scale was so low that the highest week's median where tips
were expected was $3.60 and for jobs not having tips it was $8.65.
Men's hours in food divisions of hotels and restaurants.
In general, working hours in hotels were longer for men, both white
and Negro, than for women. Frequ9ntly the men waiters and cooks
and kitchen attendants were on duty for a period extending over the
three meals. In the food division more than one-half of the workdays reported had a spread of 10 hours or more, and most of those in
excess ·of 10 hours were 12 hours or more. The actual working hours
were more than 8 for two-thirds of the days of men in hotel food
divisions.
In restaurants not in hotels, indications are that workdays for men
were even longer; with allowance made for time off-meal and other
periods between shifts-the most frequent workday (more than 1 in
4) was of 9 hours, and about one-fifth of them were longer than this.
Somewhat more than 40 percent of the men's reported days had a
spread of 12 hours or more.
Men's hours in lodging_sections of hotels.
Before the National Recovery Administration standards were set
up the most common arrangement for daily hours of hotel employees
who tended elevators, answered bells, and served as porters was the
alternating of long and short days. The longer day usually began at
6 in the morning, had a break at noon until 6 in the evening, when
work began again and lasted until midnight. The following day had
work hours of 12 to 6. This gave 1 day a spread or overall of 18 hours
and the next day one of 6 hours. The long and short day was quite a
hotel institution. The National Recovery Administration set-up
discouraged this alternating of long and short days, and though hotels
were found that still had such an arrangement, many had their bell
boys and others to whom the long shifts used to apply working on a
continuous 8-hour shift. On such a shift there usually was no time
allowed for meals, but only a few minutes' relief, dependmg on business
demands, when the employee might eat a sandwich. In the present
survey, 31.5 percent of the days had a spread of 8 hours, but almost
60 percent of the workdays were longer than this. About 30 percent
of the days were spread over 12 hours or more. Hours to be worked
were 9 or more for practically 40 percent of the days reported. The
8-hour day is not established as yet for either men or women.
7-day week.
Almost all the men in the lodging divisions of hotels, like most of
the women, worked 7 days a week. Service such as these employees
rendered is a 7-day necessity, but it is possible for shifts to be so
arranged that evervone has at least 1 day a week free.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
48
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Men in hotel restaurants-both dining-room and kitchen employees-were more likely than women to have a 7-day schedule, the
proportions being about five-sixths of the men and slightly more than
one-half of the women.
A number of cafeterias and commercial restaurants were closed on
Sundays, which eliminated the 7-day problem in these cases. However, in those that were open 7 days a large proportion of both men
and women were on duty every day. Those who worked on 7 days
were not employees who came in for only a few hours, but to a large
extent were the regular full-time workers.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part VII.-WORKING CONDITIONS
Most State labor laws set up standards and regulatory provisions
with the object of providing healthful working conditions. Such
provisions usually deal with toilets, washing facilities, seats, and
safety measures. The general labor law of Tennessee governing the
division of factory inspection covers seating and toilet facilities for
women as well as making provision for the safety and welfare of all
workers. An order of the commissioner of the department of labor
concerning toilets, washrooms, and foundry baths sets forth in greater
detail specifications for adequate conveniences of this nature.
In a good many instances employers seem unaware of what actually
constitutes good working conditions. During the course of inspection
agents of the Bureau often pointed out especially bad features and"
facilities, and the person in charge of the department or plant seemed
completely unconscious of the need. In this State, as in others, there
is a marked need for educating employer and employee alike along lines
of standards for better working conditions and maintenance.
In formulating standards for working conditions for wage-earning
women the Women's Bureau has made certain recommendations as
minimum essentials. Examples of some of these follow:
Workroom floors should be kept clean. Lighting should be
without glare and so arranged that direct rays do not shine into the
workers' eyes. Ventilation should be adequate and heat sufficient
but not excessive.
A large number of plants were visited where floors were not cleansurface debris usually was swept away but floors were spotted, dirt
and dust was evident under tables, and housekeeping generally was
poor. Dirty windows were noted much too frequently. Natural light
1s greatly dimmed when windows are almost opaque with a film of
soot and dust.
In some of the plants, especially in full-fashioned hosiery, artificial
lighting was very good, but in a larger number lighting was haphazardin some instances good and wretchedly bad within the same plant.
Drop-cord lights hung at eye level without shades. Lighting h as a
very direct relation to productivity, and lighting improvements may
be justified on a cost basis as well as a health measure for employees.
Ventilation, particularly in laundries and a few of the textile mills,
· could be greatly improved by the introduction of exhausts and airblowing devices. Poor air conditions are debilitating both psychologically and physically, and workers should not be subjected to such .
strain. On the whole, heating was adequate, except in a few plantsusually small clothing shops, wood-working plants, and at least one
cosmetic factory-where stove heat did not provide enough radiation
for comfort on the cold days of midwinter.
49
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
50
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Drinking water should be cool and accessible, with individual
drinking cups or sanitary bubbler provided.
Bubbler fountains were found quite generally, but many of them
were of the insanitary type where the jet of water falls back on the
orifice. To be sanitary the jet of water should be projected not
vertically but at an angle of at least 30 degrees. Common cups were
not much in evidence, but individual drinking glasses owned by
workers were passed vround. Like the insanitary bubbler, the
individual drinking glass, when carelessly used, may be a carrier of
colds and other infections. In the South, where outdoor temperatures
are high over long periods of the year, cooled water is a necessity.
Fortunately, an increasing number of firms are installing the electrically
refrigerated type of water cooler with the sanitary type of bubble
facility.
Washing facilities with hot and cold water, soap, and individual
towels should be provided in sufficient number and in accessible
locations to make washing before meals and at the close of the
workday convenient.
For the State as a whole washing facilities were poor in equipment
and adequacy. The number of plants that furnished hot water, soap,
and towels was small. A workroom sink or a somewhat clean basin
(more often very dirty) with only cold water was too common. Every
toilet room should be equipped with washing facilities, and in most
places workroom. washbasins and facilities should be considered a
necessary convemence.
Dressing rooms should be provided adjacent to washing facilities
making possible change of clothing outside the workrooms.
Rooms in which wraps can be hung and clothing changed when this
is necessary should be provided as part of the employees' service
facilities. In many instances, dressing or cloak room, rest room, and
lunchroom combined meets the needs of a small plant if the provisions
are well planned. In a fairly large number of Tennessee establishments the only facilities consisted of hooks and nails around the walls,
with an occasional shelf for hats and packages. Unless closely supervised and inspected, lockers become cluttered and generally untidy,
with broken doors. Racks with han~ers and shelves-high for hats
and low for shoes-seem the most satisfactory arrangement.
Rest rooms or any rest-room provisions in the way of cots and
comforta.ble chairs were lacking in most cases. The value of a rest room,
not only as a place for employees who are injured or become ill but
as a place for rest and relaxation during the lunch period, should be
impressed on all employers. Rest and cloak rooms can be simply and
inexpensively furnished, but a high standard of maintenance is
needed. A dirty couch with a mattress losing its stuffing, shoes, paper,
· discarded lunches, broken chairs, several days' accumulation of newspapers, lost rubbers, and bits of clothing do not constitute much of a
combination as a rest and cloak room.
A room separate from the workroom should be provided wherein
meals may be eaten, and whenever practicable hot and nourishing
food should be served.
As far as the product is concerned, it is generally undesirable to
have lunches eaten at work table or bench. If workers live near
their place of employment and go home for their noon meal, or there
are nearbv commercial lunchrooms which the workers as a whole
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WORKING CONDITIONS
51
prefer to patronize, plant lunchrooms are not important, but for
those who must eat in the plant there should be a clean place equipped
with table and chairs and some facility for obtaining a hot drink or
hot water for coffee and tea. Where most of the workers come from
a distance, or when the lunch period is very short, the provision of a
lunchroom falls in the category of essentials.
Toilets should be clean and accessible and separate for men and
women. Their number should have a standard ratio of 1 toilet to
every 15 workers employed.
An adequate number of toilets, conveniently located, is a necessity,
but toilet equipment is not the only need, maintenance of a high grade
being just as necessary. A bad feature found repeatedly in Tennessee was lack of enclosure of toilet seats. In many cases the door to
a toilet room opened on an array of five or six seats placed close together, affording no privacy. In others there would be walls between
but no doors in front. Two important features in toilets are proper
ventilation and lighting. Where natural ventilation is inadequate,
the provision of artificial measures should be required. Some form
of artificial lighting in addition to natural lighting is a necessity.
Inspection of toilets and daily cleaning, and in cases where as many
as 25 or more use a toilet room an extra midday cleaning, should be a
regular routine of housekeeping.
Posture at work: Continuous standing and continuous sitting
are both injurious. A chair should be provided for every woman
and its use encouraged. It is possible and desirable t o adjust the
height of the chairs in relation to the height of machines or work
tables, so that the workers may with equal convenience and efficiency
stand or sit at their work. The seats should have backs. If the
chairs are high, foot rests should be provided..
Posture seating was rare in Tennessee. The hard common kitchen
chair or the simple cane-seated chair was found most frequently.
In many places the first floors of "department and limited-price stores
had no chairs. Where the hinged counter chair was provided, it
was rarely seen in use. In some factories seats had been purchased,
but for some reason their use did not seem practicable, and they were
piled up in odd corners of the workroom or along the walls, laden
with goods in process. 1fany workers on standing jobs had no nearby
seats for use when a pause ca.me in the flow of work for a few minutes'
respite after hours of standing. Most of the work in laundries does
not lend itself to sitting operations, but there should be seats available
nevertheless. Then, too, where the floors are cement and the worker
must stand, platforms or mats should be provided.
Other excerpts from the standards set up by the Women's Bureau
which concern working conditions are these :
Safety-risks from machiner y , danger from fire, and exposure to
dust, fumes, or other occupational hazards should be scrupulously
guarded against. First-aid equipment should be provided. Adequate fire protection should be assured. Fire drills and other forms
of education of the workers in observance of safety regulations
should be instituted.
Job efficiency and human well-being are supported and encouraged
by healthful conditions of work, and all hazards and strains that
interfere needlessly with them should be attacked and remedied.
Guarding of machines is a technical matter, and such an inspection
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
52
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
was not attempted in this study. Many bad features could be altered
easily without much effort or financial expenditure. One of the first
steps seems to be to make employers conscious of the bad featm·es
they allow to exist and to suggest needed changes and improvements.
Large plants, with plenty of capital, high standards, specialization,
and efficient management, are more likely than the small plant with
less than 100 employees to offer special conveniences such as rest
rooms, well-equipped hospital rooms, a first-aid nurse, shower baths,
and cafeterias, but there are minimum essentials to good conditions
that even the smallest plants should, and in some cases do, provide.
Size of an establishment, however, is not the determining factor.
Good conditions were found in some small plants and very bad ones
in some large plants.
The following comments are based on notes taken from schedule
· write-ups on working conditions.
Hosiery.
Hosiery plants were visited that had only about 25 employees and
others that had more than 500. Two of the smallest plants had bad
working conditions. About the only feature in the nature of a service
facility was a toilet. In one of these, two toilet seats were crowded
into a dark little closet without natural light or ventilation, the only
light being a small low-voltage bulb dangling on the end of a cord
and tied back to the wall to prevent its being knocked out by the door.
In the other, the toilet was badly in need of general overhauling,
scrubbing, and disinfectant. Washing facilities were common sinks
in the workroom without towel, soap, or hot water. Wraps hung
around on nails and hooks. Rest-room or lunchroom facilities were
undreamed of.
·Following are descriptive notes from the schedules of plants with
several hundred women employed on seamless hosiery:
The general service facilities were poor. Toilets were not designated, and some toilet rooms were dirty. Only some of the seats
were enclosed. There was no water, no soap, no towels. The foreman or firm officer escorting the agent through the plant said, "They
don't use soap at home, why should we give it to them here?" The
cloak rooms were small, crowded, and dirty. There was no rest
room. The buildings were old and generally dilapidated.
For another large seamless plant not quite so bad, the conditions
were described as follo·ws:
There were five toilets, all dirty and the floors littered. Seats
were not enclosed. Paper was furnished. Washing facilities provided were a dirty sink on each floor. Cloak rooms were two small
sections of the workroom partitioned off, with a window in each;
racks were provided for wraps and floor was clean. Each floor had
an insanitary bubbler. There was a small dilapidated cafeteria in
which food was sold at low prices. There were no chairs for girls
on standing jobs and girls on sitting jobs had hard kitchen chairs.
The general impression was that of an old building, wholly inadequate, small windows, narrow steep steps, and little evidence of any
improvements.
·
To show good conditions, the next describes a seamless-hosiery plant
with several hundred women employees that was well above the
average.
The toilets were adequate in number, convenient, clean, enclosed,
and screened from view of the workroom. with outside ventilation
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WORKING CONDITIONS
53
and good lighting. A matron was in charge and good supervision of
service facilities was evident. Washbasins were clean. There was
hot water and soap, though no towels. Walls of workrooms were
clean, re~ently painted a light color; there were new venetian blinds,
and the artificial light was well arranged and adequate for all jobs.
Adjustable lights for loopers and seamers had in most cases a dullpainted blackboard behind the machine to absorb some of the glare.
Posture chairs for most of the sitting jobs, and girls on standing jobs
had convenient stools. Cloak-room facilities were racks, hangers,
high shelves for hats and low ones for shoes and rubbers. Each girl
had a tin box in which to put her lunch, pocket book, and other
small articles. These were all painted white and in good repair.
Conditions were decidedly superior to those in most plants. There
was no lunchroom, but the town was small and most employees
went home at noon, and there was a good commercial lunch counter
across the street from the plant.
Full-fashioned · hosiery had better workrooms as well as better
wages. Plants had been built more recently and more attention was
given to upkeep, conveniences, and general comforts for the worker.
Good lighting and seating were found more often than bad. Notes
from two schedules follow:
A modern building with air conditioning that changes air in rooms
every 7 minutes. Employees reported as having very few colds
since air conditioning, and it was felt that the effect had been beneficial from a health standpoint. Floors were maple throughout and
were clean. Venetian blinds were provided. Lighting excellent;
saw-tooth roof, enameled ceiling, and modern type of artificial lighting were good illumination features. Washbasins were of the circular-fountain type. Seats were adjustable chairs. Cloak rooms had
racks, chairs, tables, mirrors. Rubber mats were provided where
there was danger of slipping. There was no lunchroom, but three
small restaurants nearby served the mill.
This firm had a comparatively new building-only 7 years oldand workrooms were good. Drinking fountains were sanitary.
Toilets clean and adequate in all respects. Dressing rooms adequate. Nurse in charge of first aid had general supervision of conditions and maintenance of workroom and service facilities. Lighting good.
Cotton mills.
Most of the cotton mills were large. On the whole, working conditions were not good and many improvements were needed. The
first of the following excerpts points out features in a good mill and
the other is typical of less favorable workplaces.
Toilets convenient, good equipment, adequent number, enclosed
compartments-wall tiled and clean, floor clean. Cleaning women
make rounds several times a day and keep rooms in good condition.
For washing there were good porcelain basins, hot and cold water,
soap in most cases, and clean scraps of cotton cloth for towels.
Dressing rooms were combined with toilets and large lockers and
benches were provided. There was a hospital room with several
beds and a nurse in charge. Sanitary and insanitary bubblers,
cooled water, in all rooms. Employees worked a straight 8-hour
shift with no lunch period, but a food cart made several trips each
shift and so]d milk, sandwiches, and cool drinks. The food cart
had an electric icing arrangement and could be plugged into a socket
to keep milk and drinks cool. There was a cafeteria. Many more
seats than are usually found in most cotton mills were in evidence
and not so much lint and humidity as usual. Lighting and ventilation were good. The general impression was that of a very good
mill in contrast to some others.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
54
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Quite different was the following:
Toilet conditions were as bad as any seen in mill employing over
50 women. There were three seats-none enclosed or separated;
one seat was out of use and boarded over, the plumbing of the
others was filthv; floor was wet and slippery, walls were dirty and
much written on; a small ,vindow and a dim electric light; door
leading to workroom had sa gged on hinges. Only washing fa cility
was a sink in the workroom with cold water. Wraps hung around
the walls on nails and were covered with lint from short-staple
cotton. A new electrically-cooled bubhler was completely enveloped in a furry coat of sticky lint. A few broken stools and a
rough bench were the only seats seen. Windows were dirty and
covered with lint. Maintenance was generally wretched. There
was nothing good to report in the way of workmg conditions.
Most mills fell between these two in work standards, but more
attention to m aintenance, ventilation, and service facilities was
needed by mills generally.
Other textiles.
Two large mills making knit underwear had good conditions on the
whole, but smaller mills in the industry could only be classed as
mediocre and were poor in service facilities and maintenance.
One woolen mill visited was considered bad. It was run-down
inside and out; walls were dirty and rooms dark. The product was a
shoddy one, and much dust and lint had draped itself on overhead
rafters and supports. The entrance was cluttered and crowded and
everywhere there seemed to be boxes and impediments in the aisles
to fall over.
All the plants weaving silk and rayon fabrics (not making rayon
chemically) were poor. When the Women's Bureau agent, on walking
through one of these mills, pointed out the need of seats, platforms
(women standing on cement floors), and better toilet, washing, and
drinking facilities, the manager's reply was to the effect that he had
always felt that conditions were good enough as long as the workers
did not complain. He had considered a rest and-cloak room in some
unused space on the second floor; but as the employees had made no
request for it, he had let it slide.
Rayon yarns and cellophane.
These plants were new, well-equipped, and well-maintained. All
were reported as good.
Clothing.
The plants making men's suits and overcoats were better in working
conditions as well as wages than the plants making work clothing and
other cotton clothing. In the work-clothing plants, including shirt
factories, conveniences for the employees' comfort usually were confined to the bare necessities. In m any cases toilets were poor and
seats not separated. In the workroom,· wraps hung around on the
walls or on racks. Rest and lunchrooms were unusual features.
There were a few good plants, but they were in the minority. One of
the good ones was described as follows:
A large modern plant in a good brick building. Housekeeping
excellent. Service facilities were clean; reported as repainted
several times a year. There were 15 toilet seats, with separating
partitions though no doors. Two cots were provided in the cloak
room but they were not equipped with pillows or clean bedding.
There wa.s a. r.afeteria in an adjoining building.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WORKING CONDITIONS
55
Not so good was the one next described:
In a small overall factory women were sitting in the middle of a
large barn-like room. Natural light was insufficient and the artificial light was such that some were subjected to a strong glare. A
pen-like arrangement had been boarded up in part of the room with
cloth around to serve as a dressing or rest room but most of the
coats were hanging on walls.
This illustrates both good and bad conditions:
In a relatively small plant toilets were reported as deplorable in_
several respects-dark and dirty with broken plumbing. The
cloak room was serving as a place for storing large bales of scraps and
rags. Each worker paid 15 cents a week for soap and towels. However ventilation was good and there were skirt guards on all power
machinery.
Then there were clothing plants where local business-boosting
organizations had allured garment factories to their communities with
promises of free power, no taxes, and no immediate charge for buildings. Employees were paying for the buildings from their meager
earnings. As a member of one of these organizations said, "The
workers have jobs which they might not otherwise have"; but such
firms were not carrying their full operating expenses, though they
sold in the same markets as did their competitors who paid taxes and
rents out of their earnings. Thus the subsidized firms could undersell, and they had a depressing effect even beyond the communities
immediately concerned.
Food products.
Consumers should be interested in conditions in all plants, but
especially have they a very close interest in the cleanliness and sanitation surrounding the production of food products. In most instances food plants were cleaner than textile plants. Bakeries, both
the fresh-bread type and those making crackers, were cleaner and
more adequately equipped with facilities for their employees than
were candy factories and some of the other food producers.
In most cases candy factories were old and not well maintained.
Notes on one include comments on poor lighting, gray-painted walls
adding to the gloom, dirty floors, absence of stools for most of the
women, towels provided but used again and again. No lunch period
was allowed, and a girl was seen eating a sandwich while standing at
her worktable surrounded by boxes in process of packing.
Notes from a bakery schedule are indicative of better conditions:
Place clean and well kept- well painted and modern in equipment. Comfortable chairs and footstools provided for packers. A large dressing room with cot,
tables, and chairs where girls may eat lunches. Toilets clean and satisfactory.
Shower baths and washbasins, with towels furnished three times a week . Lockers
available for all.
In going through one bakery, the forelady reported that girls wore
their •fingers sore scraping the rough wire conveyor which carried the
cookies past them for packing.
Nut shelling.
Three nut-shelling plants with Negro women employed were included. Work of this kind is seasonal, and as little equipment is
needed almost any kind of building can be used. Since the industry
cannot be considered a prosperous one in most respects, cheap rent is
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
56
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
an essential and all the plants were in old buildings. Work arrangements were most informal. Women sat around on low stools and
picked the kernels from nut shells. Little was done in the way of conveniences in any plant. Due to local health regulations women wore
uniforms. E xcept for a sweeping away of surface dirt, maintenance
was not hlgh. T oilet and washing arrangements were simple and
generally inadequate.
Drugs and cosmetics.
Women's work in drugs and cosmetics was chiefly packaging and
packing into car tons. Conditions varied greatly, from very good to
very bad. On the whole, work was not speeded and in several places
seemed to go on at a leisurely pace. More places were good than bad.
One of the large, long-established firms had a rather rambling building,
but toilet and washing facilities were adequate in number and conveniently located for all. One of the toilet rooms was very clean and
light, but seats were not enclosed. When this latter condition was
pointed out to the superintendent as a bad feature he said that it had
never been called to his attention before, and he volunteered that since
repairs were being made in other parts of the building he would have
the carpenters install partitions and doors. This fact is noted merely
as an instance where management, not aware of a bad feature, was
most ready to act on suggestions.
In a drug and cosmetic plant where a fairly large number of Negro
women were employed, much to warrant unfavorable comment was
found. Toilet facilities were inadequate--one seat for more than 25
women-and inconveniently located, as it was necessary for the women
to walk the length of a cluttered warehouse to reach the toilet. The
inspection was made on a cold February day and water pipes had
frozen, there being no heat in this part of the building; as a consequence, the pipes had cracked and the water was seeping out. Sawdust had been piled up to absorb the excess moisture, and the place was
a sorry sight. The employee escorting the agent described it en route
as "terrible." Sinks used for washing bottles were the only washing
arrangement. Cloak, rest, and lunch rooms were unthought of. Heating was poor, and some of the girls were wearing their outside wraps
and had bound their feet in burlap sacks. Lights were dim. Workroom was crowded with boxes and had packing debris in the aisles.
Empty boxes were used by some women for seats, as chairs and stools
were almost entirely lacking.
In two plants women were reported on jobs where respirators seemed
to be needed. Two women were acting as assistants at a machlne used
in packaging a bug exterminator containing naphthalene and nicotine.
There were fumes around the machine. Men on the job, but not the
women, were wearing respirators. In another plant where two or three
women were employed on a dusty operation (powder filling) the air
was thick; the manager reported that the company had respirators,
but none were seen.
Wood products.
Only one of the woodworking plants visited was reported as having
good working conditions for women. In the others, failure to provide
cloakrooms, washing facilities, or any convenience other than a toilet
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WORKING CONDITIONS
57
was usual. Lighting was poor. Buildings in some cases were shedlike and draughty, with too much natural ventilation. Dinginess was
the common condition.
Tobacco and tobacco products.
Two large plants and a small one making snuff or chewing tobacco
were inspected. Conditions were good in both the large ones, and
more attention than usual was paid to conveniences for the worker.
Though neither had posture chairs, ordinary stools and chairs in
sufficient numbers were available. Drinking fountains were not of the
sanitary type. Both plants had cafeterias and one served hot coffee
or tea free at noon. Though conditions wer.e not outstandingly good,
there was a general impression of good housekeeping and an attempt to
make the best of available facilities for employees.
In plants in which Negro women were employed almost exclusively,
conditions were not good, but even here they were not so bad as m
some places. In the seasonal warehouse work the surroundings were
crude and shedlike. Little or no attention was given to facilities for
the workers' comfort.
Paper boxes.
All the paper-box plants visited were small, and small paper-box
plants proverbially have a tendency toward poor housekeeping and
poor arrangement. Floor space is unnecessarily cluttered and machinery poorly arranged. Paper wrappings, boxes in process, paper
stock, and tools seem to be dropped or deposited wherever there is
a bit of space. Seating is unsatisfactory, and all service facilities
are haphazard and poor. Except in one or two cases, Tennessee
paper-box plants visited conformed to this general pattern.
Printing and publishing.
Printing and publishing were characterized by a high wage level,
and work conditions, too, were better than ordinary. One of the
best plants visited in the State was in this group, and from its schedule
the following resume is submitted:
Plant quite new and modern; housekeeping excellent, and a great
deal of attention given to comfort of employees. Everywhere cleanliness prevailed; corners and stairways painted a light green; aisles
wide. Artificial light excellent. Proofreaders have individual
desks and individual lamps. Toilets ample in number, spotlessly
clean. Washbasins clean, and liquid soap, hot water, and paper
towels provided. Lockers provided for all. A nurse was in attendance for first aid and in a small room were two cots freshly made
up for emergency illness and for lunch-hour resting. For recreation
or for use after work there was a room that would do credit to a clubhouse. Modernistic cushioned chairs, couch, radio, reading lamps,
current books, and magazines were all available and used. In addition, this company had group insurance with death, sickness, and
hospitalization benefits, and a credit union.
Probably few plants would care to have all these features, but
many could do more of this sort of thing than they do now.
Only two of the printing plants were reported as poor and they
were both small, the total number of women being less than 20.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
58
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
Laundries.
Cleanliness is the service sold by laundries, but in the housekeeping
in their own plants it is often of secondary importance. In too many
instances laundries offer women merely a place of work, with little in
the way of good ventilation, seating, or facilities for the workers' convenience. Two or three laundries stood out as offering conditions
better than average.
From the schedule of one of the best is the following:
All employees were furnished with uniforms, provided and laundered at no cost to the worker. A cafeteria served a plate lunch for
15 cents. Toilets, though not clean, were adequate and had seats
enclosed. Washrooms. had both hot and cold water. White girls
had a la rge cloa k a nd dressing room with outside windows, chairs,
benches, lockers, racks for coats, and mirrors, and all was clean and
neat. Though workrooms were better than most, some equipment
was old and in need of repair. Lighting was good. Ventilation
inadequate, in spite of devices. M ore had been done before the
depression than was being done at the present time.
From other schedules the following have been selected:
This laundry employed about 65 women, more than three-fourths
N egroes. There were two toilets for white women . Both were
filthy. They were screened from view of the workroom, but the
door opened inward, m a king a difficult entrance because of room
arrangem ent. Liquid soap and cold water but no towels. In the
cloakroom clothes, shoes , and debris were strewn around. There
was no cot or rest-room facility . There were no drinking fountains
and the general water spigots had cream bott les, broken cups, and
such, serving as drinking cups. Maintenance of workrooms was
poor- floors were wet and sloppy. Cloak and toilet rooms were
cleaned only once a week.
Chairs and seats were generally missing. Floors were slanting and
rather slippery. The walls had a concrete inside finish and in cold
weather the natural laundry dampness condensed and the walls
literally streamed with wet. All the workrooms were in need of
paint. At the flat-work ironers the women were working under a
canopy to prevent water dropping from the ceiling onto the finished
work. A rack of clean clothes was covered with paper to keep the
water off.
The building was in poor condition t hroughout. The floor was
wet. M a rkers were working near steamy washers and near to a
door on loading platform, and strong draft was pouring in. Both
artificial and natural lighting were poor. Walls and windows were
dirty. A dressing room had hooks along the walls, a bench, a dirty
couch, and the whole place was littered with old shoes and papers.
The toilet was poor-two seats not enclosed, in a very small compartm ent off the workroom. There was a washbasin in this small toilet
room.
A bad feature reported in a number of laundries was the use of old
foot-power presses, which are strenuous for the operator. Modern air
presses are more expensive 'for the management, but such expense is
more than compensated by their safety and the prevention of workers'
fatigue.
Stores.
Workroom conditions in stores ordinarily tend to be fairly good,
partly because the customer as well as the employee is affected by the
surroundings. In alteration and drapery workrooms space is limited,
rooms are small and crowded, seats of machine operators are poor,
and lighting may be poor, but the number affected is small. First-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WORKING CONDITIONS
59
floor salesrooms do not provide enough seats for the sales force, and
aisles are too narrow for convenient work space. Limited-price stores
are worse in this respect than department stores. In small department stores employees generally use the same toilet and washrooms
as customers, and maintenance is good. Rest rooms and cloakrooms
are a usual provision. Most limited-price stores have a standardized
type of toilet, rest room, cloak room, and lunchroom combined, on
the second or third floor. When the manager's standards of housekeeping are high these are quite acceptable. In a few instances in
Tennessee limited-price stores had basement rest-toilet rooms. The
stairs leading to these were narrow, and in at least one instance
treacherous because of twists, turns, and unexpected step-offs. Ventilation and lighting were poor in these basement or sub-basement
rooms.
Some of the large department stores in cities provided exceptionally good service facilities, and the following is a description of one of
these:
General employees' service facilities were on one of the upper
floors. Here there were cloakrooms, rest rooms, hospital, and cafeteria. Toilet rooms were located at convenient places on the sales
floors as well as in this general room. The arrangement for caring
for wraps was especially well planned and supervised. Each depart•ment had certain racks and each person her individual location and
hangers, with boxes for overshoes or extra shoes and other boxes for
hats, gloves, and so forth. A hospital room with nurse in attendance was well equipped, and in addition there was a rest room with
wicker ch airs and tables for reading. The employees' cafeteria was
nearby and practically the same m enu as was served in the company's tearoom was available at prices about one-half those of the
tearoom.
Restaurants.
Small restaurants with only a few employees can hardly be expected
to provide special personnel facilities in the way of rest room and
cloakroom. The need is less, relatively, and in small places personal
adjustments can be made with greater freedom and the informality
which a small staff allows. There should, however, be provision for
such minimum conveniences as a clean toilet, washing facilities with
towels and soap , and chairs to rest in between standing duties; and if
street garments must be changed for uniforms, a place to make the
change, satisfactory from the standpoint of privacy, sanitation, and
care of clothing. The criticism of small restaurants and some of the
larger ones in Tennessee and elsewhere is that no provision at all is
made for the comfort of employees. Girls often come dressed in their
uniforms because there is no place to change or leave street clothesexcept perhaps a basement storeroom- and sometimes toilet facilities are lacking and employees must go to nearby stores, filling stations, or a public building. The only washing facilities are the
kitchen sinks.
One of the best arrangements of service facilities reported in restaurants visited in Tennessee was this:
There were clean toilets, adequate in number, and for washing
facilities besides the usual basins there were shower baths, soap, hot
water, and towels available. The dressing room had plenty of racks
and benches and all was neat. The white girls had the use of the
same rest room as is provided for the cust omers, and it was an attractive room, well carpeted-couches, chairs, and outside windows.
The kitchen was not so crowded as most and was ventilated with
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
60
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
washed air. Though service facilities for the Negro women were
not so good as for the white women, they were adequate and better
than most.
A larger cafeteria had the following notes on working conditions:
There were about 80 women employees and practically one-half
were Negro. The toilet arrangements for the Negro women were
poor-one seat for more than 30 women and in the basement. The
washing facilities were inadequate, and on the day of inspection
the floor of the toilet room was dirty, covered with paper, and the
washbasins were very dirty. The cloakrooms were so crowded that
with only a few of the girls in they seemed packed. There was no
rest room.
Hotels.
Hotels pay very little attention to personnel problems relating to
the convenience of employees on the job. Waitresses usually have
broken shifts, and unless they live nearby they need a place in which
to spend the time between shifts. Rest room, cloakroom, toilet, and
washing facilities frequently are crowded together in a small, dark basement room with no outside ventilation or light and with poor artificial
light. Rest-room facilities for Tennessee women hotel employees were
much more frequently inadequate than satisfactory. An arrangement
that seemed satisfactory in a medium-sized hotel had allotted the use
of a regular hotel bedroom on the fourthfloor-near the service elevator- to the white waitresses and other employees. There were three
single beds, dressers, closet and lockers for clothing, ironing board,
writing table, comfortable chairs, and a fully equipped bathroom.
In cases of unusually late hours, due to special parties, girls had been
allowed to spend the night in this or other vacant hotel rooms.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
APPENDIX
SCHEDULE FORMS
I
SCHEDULE
This schedule was used for recording the firm's scheduled hours,
the number of employees, and data on working conditions.
U. 8.
DEPARTMENT OF L AB OR
WOMEN'S BUREAU
TENNESSEE
1. Establishment _____________
Industry ____________
Product __________ _
Address__________ _______ __
City __________ _______________ __________ _
Home office__ _________ ____
Personinterv______ ___
Position __________ _
2. Pay roll:
Date of current_ _____ __
Pay period__________
No. work days _____ _
Date of early__________
Pay period__________
No. work days _____ _
3. Number employed current pay roll:
I Total
White
------/---
Shift 1
Negro
Shift 2
Shift 3
---ll·- ------1-------f-- - - - -
Men ________________ ___ _
Women _________ -------TotaL ____________________________ _
- - - - -- - - - - - -·----1-------1------
4. No. F. 25 cards ____________ ____ _
5: Scheduled hours for women employees:
Shift 1
Begin End Lunch Total
Shift 2
Shift 3
Begin End Lunch Total Begin End Lunch Total
Daily ____________________ ------ ------- ------ ------- -- -- -- ------- ------ -- --- -- ------ ------- -----Saturday _______________________ _________________________ _______ _____________ ------ ------- ----- Other. _____________________________________ _
Total
weekly____ Days_______ Hours _____ _
Days__ _____ Hours _____ _
D ays_______ Hours ______ _
Are there any differences in hours of men operatives? ___________________ _
If so, specify: _______ _______________________________________________ _
61
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
62
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN TENNESSEE INDUSTRIES
6. Changes in scheduled hours in 1935: (Give dates, daily and weekly changes,
and reasons.) ________ ____ __ __ ____ _______ __ ___- - - - __- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7. Changes in rates and methods of payment in 1935: __ ___ __________ ______ _
8. Supplements to wages and special deductions: - ------ ---------- - ---- ---- -
9. Explain any other basis of payment than straight time and straight piece
rates · ------------- - - ---- ------ -- ------ -- -- ---- - - - - - ---- ------------
10. Working conditions:
Describe in a brief summary bad features of workrooms such as poor
ventilation, lighting, inadequacy of washing, toilet, and general service facilities (cloak rooms, rest rooms, etc.), lack of seats, poor maintenance, and any
appreciable hazards or strains.
SCHEDULE
II
Pay-roll information was copied onto this card, one card being used ·
for each woman employee .
. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
F.24
WOMEN'S BUREAU
I Address
Firm
I
Name or Number
of Employee
~rner
I Occupation
Department
I
Piece
Basis of
Payment
Hours worked
I
I
I
~eek
Overtime hours
I Additions
Earnings this period
NOTES:
I:•1
~our
I
I
~onth
I
Other
Days on which worked
I Deductions
I
I
·
Sch. hrs.
Days
• • L
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
••YDNMaNT raDITDHI emc,a
H--2593
Date
0
.....
ilJ~;: }-------------------------------Earnings __________________
Date
Earnings
Occupation_______________ _ Firm _____ _-------------------------------
Earnings
Date
Ad dress ____ ___ ________________ __________ _
Earnings
Date
Earnings
40 __--- --- _______· ----------1--------- -------------------- 14 ________-------------------- 27 -------- - - - - - - - 2 _________ -------------------- 15 ________ - - - 28 ________ -------------------- 41 -------- ------------------3 _________ -------------------- 16 ________ -------------------- 29--------1----
4---------1----
0
5 _________
1----
6 _________ - - - - - - - -
7_________ - - - - - - -
1:
o,...o
i:= ::,s::o Ct>
Bonus _____________ __ _ Total ____ _________ __
• Date
~
l::.i ::,o,...,_..
F. 25-U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR-Wm.t:EN'B BUREAU
42 ________ -------------------
17 -------- _ ·_________________ _ 30 ________ -------------------- 43 ________ -------------------
~o...
~s
0
Ct>
s~
Ct> ~
l::.i r:n
i:=
r:n
Ct>
0...
c+
0
>-j
Ct>
(':)
18--------1---
31--------1----
44 ________- - - - - - - - -
1g ________ -------------------- 32 ________ -------------------- 45 ________ ------------------20 ________ - - - - 33 ________ -------------------- 46 ________ -------------------
8 _________ -------------------- 21 ________1 - - - -
34 ________ ---------
9 _________ -------------------- 22 ________ -------------------- 35 ________1 - - - -
10 _________ -------------------- 23 ________ - - - - - - - -
36 __ _____ _----------
0
>-j
0...
s·l::.i
H
H
H
-
47-------- -------------------
0
1-j
Ct>
~
(':)
50 ________ ------------------
12 _________ ---------
5 l ________ ----------------
25--------1-----
38 ________ - - - - - -
::,~
Ct>
Ct>
p:;--'
13 _________ -------------------- 26 ________ -------------------- 39 ________ -------------------- 52 ________ -------------------
s·
c+
::,-
CD
~
Ct>
~
1-j
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cl
t'4
t.".l
>-j
48 _______ _ -------------------
11 _________ -------------------- 24 ________ -------------------- 37 -------- - - - - - - -
~
t.".l
t:;j
~
Ct>
(TQ
Ul
49 ________ -------------------
[f).
Q
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
@FedFRASER