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b. s. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WOMEN'S BUREAU MARY ANDERSON, Director BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S · BUREAU, NO. 9 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT' CONNECTICUT DECEMBER, 1919 W~HINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE . https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 1920 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WOMEN'S BUREAU MARY ANDERSON, Director BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, NO. 9 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT CONNECTICUT https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis DECEMBER, 1919 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1920 CONTENTS. Page. Letter of transmittaL________________________ _______________________ Introdu ction __________ ____________________ ___________________________ Memorandum of work done at home for facto ries________ ___ ___ _________ Summary of facts------ ----------- --------------- - ------- --~----Recornrrienda tions__ __ ___ ____ __ __ __ ___ ___ __ ___ __ __ ________________ Conditions under which home work is clone__________ __ ____ ________ The conference_____ ______________________________________________ ___ _ Regulation s, recommendations, and policies_________________ __________ State laws regulating home work..,________________________________ Recom mendations of commissions and governmental authorities_____ The r elation of the minimum wage to home work______ _____ __ _____ Elimination of home work through trade-union agreements______ ___ Community action ----------- -----------------------------------Charts of labor laws_________________________________________________ 2 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 3 5 9 9 10 11 17 21 21 21 23 25 26 28 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. u. s. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, WoMEN's BuREAu, W a8hington, December 16, 1919. · Sm: We submit herewith a report on an inquiry relative to the conditions of home work for factories in Bridgeport, Conn. This inquiry was made by the ·women's Bureau at the request of certain local agencies interested in industrial conditions. The memorandum of findings was sent to the manufacturers giving out home work, the State department of labor, the city health department, the various social agencies of the city, and the Corset Workers' Union. A conference called by the Women's Bureau to discuss the memorandum was held in Bridgeport an October 7. Representatives of the foregoing organizations and thG Children's Bureau and the w· omen's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor were present. A summary of the proceedings of the conference is included in this report. The following members of the staff of this bureau prepared the material: Mi ss Agnes L. Peterson and Mrs. Ethel L. Best, who conducted the inquiry, ·Miss Mildred L. ,Jones, who compiled the research material, and Miss Mary N. Winslow, who wrote the report under the direction of Miss Mary Van Kleeck, ~former director of the bureau. Respectfully submitted. MARY ANDERSON' Director. Hon. W. B. WrLSON, Secretary of Labor. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis s https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ,. . I · .. ' • :• INTRODUCTION. Investigations of home work and its attendant evils have been made many times, and the findings have been practically · identical. The evils of home work-low wages, long hours, insanitary condi- · tions, and child labor-are no recent discovery; but the problem is still a matter of discussion, as no solution has been found. It was with this fact in mind that the Women's Bureau (then the Woman in Industry Service) of the United States Department of Labor undertook a brief inquiry into the conditions of manufacture at home for factories in Bridgeport, Conn., in May, 1919. Certain persons interested in industrial conditions in Bridgeport had noted the practice of giving out home work and believed that with the possibility of unemployment during the period of reconstruction this custom might result in 1essening the opportunities of employment for women in the factories. They feared also that standards of labor conditions might be adversely affected by ~ome work, as has been the experience in other industrial commun_ities. They therefore requested the Women's Bureau to make a brief investigation. As the giving out of work to be done at home for factories is not prohibited or regulated by - law in Connecticut, action to change· conditions in advance of any possible legislation must necessarily be voluntary on the part of the employers acting on their own initiative, or through agreements with the trade-unions. The Women's Bureau planned, therefore, to submit its findings to the employers and to groups of the workers in advance of any publication of recommenda~ tions in order that action might be planned by the two groups directly interested. A memorandum giving an outline of the facts discovered in the investigation was, on June 12, accordingly· submitted to a group of employers, workers, public officials, and social • work~rs in the city of Bridgeport with the request that they meet in conference to consider them and to make recommendations for action. This bulletin contains·not only the memorandum-on the investigation but a summary of the conference which was held on October 7. The problems disclosed by the inv·estigation are not new. The contribution which this report can make is in . the results which may come through its consideration by the people of Connecticut and the action they may take. The facts given and conditions described can be assumed to be fairly indicative of the problem throughout the https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 5 6 INTRODUCTION. State, as, according to a report made by the State commissioner of labor on home work in Connecticut, there are 528 home workers in Bridgeport, which is over 20 per cent of the 2,575 home workers in the State. The importance which the problem should ~ssume to the people of Bridgeport is indicated by the figures included in the same report showing that. while home work throughout the State increased 15 per cent from 1917 to 1918, home work in Bridgeport increased 51 per cent during the same period. It is also 9ignificant to note that the survey which was made throughout the State reported average earnings for all home workers as $5 a week, while the investigators for the Women's Bureau found in Bridgeport that the median earnings were between $4 and $5 for · a week's work. Although there can be found several instances where a comparatively large amount has been earned by a home worker both in Bridgeport an~ in the rest of the State, the similarity of these average and median amounts earned points to the fact that the low earnings which were found to prevail in Bridgeport are common for the entire State. The Women's Bureau feels that home work should be abolished. There seems to be little reason why a gronp of workers should be obliged to carry a large part of the overhead expen es of the manufacturer, supplying housing, heating, lighting, equipment, and frequently machinery, while at the same time earning in many cases lower wages than do the workers who are employed in the factory itself. The added difficulty of regulating sanitary conditions under which home work is being done and the practical impossibility of preventing child labor through any system of leg·islation or inspection produce a condition which is clearly most undesirable. From the point of view of the employers, also, giving out home work has been found to be beset with many difficulties. At the conference and during the inve tigation testimony was gi ven of the reluctance which any conscientious manufacturer must feel in having his goods made under ,-vha.t very po sibly may be extremely insanitary conditions, of the heavy cost of supervision , and of the mistakes made by unsupervised workers. In the course of this investigation manufacturers were vi ited in several other ~ities in an attempt to discover their attitude o:i the question of horn t work. It was . found that while some of them were em ploying a large number of horr1e workers, others declared that they considered it an "oldfashioned eastern idea " and did not care to have their work done in this way. Although it was very difficult and in some cases impossible to discover what rates were paid for home work in other cities, the rates when quoted were very much higher than in Bridgeport. For instance, one firm in New York quoted a rate of 2½ cents a dozen for taping buttons, while th_e wage paid in Bridgeport for https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis INTRODUCTION. 7 similar work was reported by the workers to be only one-half or five-eighths of a cent a dozen. That home work is a community question, and that it is closely tied up with the general wage rate paid in the community, is shown both in the i:r'i.vestigation and by the numerous statements made at the conference attributing the ease or difficulty with which home workers could be secured to the adequate or inadequate wage for men which prevailed in the community. There are many problems connected with the home worker wp.ich can not be solved by one course of action alone. If the matter is to be disposed of in a satisfactory manner it will be necessary for all agencies to combine so that each may render the help it is especially fitted to give. How home work is to be abolished and how to avoid the privations which may be caused by removing even such undesirable work from this group of restricted . and underpaid women must be decided by the community. Each family in which home work is done will present a special problem for adjustment. Some of the recommendations contained in the memorandum were considered at the conference. Regulation of home conditions through a system of inspection was recommended by the employers. Two employers reported that they had started to deliver and call for the work given out. But the discussion was. left unfinished of the more fundamental recommendations, such as possible arrangement of short shifts for women who could not be at the factory all day, payment of equal rates to workers at home and in the factory, and possible adjustments which could be made by social agencies and city authorities in families where there is more need of social treatment than of home work. Before establishing a settled policy it will be necessary for those concerned to search carefully for the best solution. It is for this reason that the recommendation made at the close of the conference, by one of the Bridgeport people, is of the utmost value. T hat the people of Connecticut should look into this matter for themselves and get the exact facts, deciding then what is to be done about it, ,, ould seem to be the most satisfactory way to approach the subject. The speaker was right when he said that there would be much more enthusiasm for changing the situation if the impetus came from within the State. This report gives facts disclosed, remedies suggested, the attitude of the people of Bridgeport most concerned with the subject, and the legal remedies which are being applied in other States. It is hoped that from such a presentation the people of Connecticut may be aroused to a consideration of their problem ,a nd a realization that the solution of it is in their own hands. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis PART ·I. MEMORANDUM OF WORK DONE AT HOME FOR FACTORIES IN BRIDGEPORT, CONN. I. SUMMARY OF FACTS. The outstanding facts which are described in this memorandum . show that home work in Bridgeport is done under conditions which usually characterize this system in urban communities. (a) The majority of the workers are foreign born. ( b) The families are large and the children so young as tomake the employment of mothers outside the home difficult. (c) The father is either not contributing to the family income or his earnings ·are too low to support the family. This results in economic pressure which compels the mother to contribute to the family support often by taking in lodgers as well as by work at home for the factories. (d) The earnings from home work are very low, however, and constitute merely a supplementary income in spite of the fact that several members of the household often take part in the work. This seems to be due to two main causes, (1) low rates of pay and (2) the small output of an unsupervised process and the general inefficiency of the entire home-work system, requiring, as it does, that the workers shall take time to call for the goods at the · factory and deliver them after they are completed, while also the worker is constantly interrupted by home duties and lacks the stimulus of a well-organized factory department to make possible effective production. (e) Children work at ages when their employment in factories is prohibited by law. This results in depriving them of recreation which they need and is often reflected in irregular attendance or a lower standing in school. (f) From the point of view of public health the danger is always great that work may be done while members of the family are ill from contagious or infectious diseases and this danger is increased by the crowded conditions in the home of the typical home worker. 158575°-20--2 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis _9 10 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICVT. II. RECOMMENDATIONS. In Bridgeport as in other industrial communities, as has been shown by many official and unofficial investigations, the practice of home work yields a very inadequate income to the workers, while from the point of view of the factory it is of doubtful efficiency. Nevertheless, when it is once established its sudden withdrawal would work hardship for the families whose already inadequate incomes are supplemented from this source. It is, therefore, exceedingly desirable that in any plan which may be developed the interests · of the workers should be safeguarded by their representatives. . It is therefore recommended(1) That these findings be jointly considered by the manage,, ment and the representatives of the workers in those estab• lishments in Bridgeport in which trade-unions are recog• nized and the workers have a share by this means in deter.. mining the conditions of employment. (2) That home work be gradually eliminated after steps hav& been taken to prevent hardship in individual ·families. For example, it is suggested that opportunities should be .given to the home workers to work in the :factory, pos• sibly arranging short shifts of four or five hours, which would make it unnecessary for mothers to be away from their children the entire working day. Moreover, the cooperation of the social agencies should be sought, preferably by the representatives of the workers, in securing adjustments of family conditions which would make it possible for the mothers of small children to remain at home instead of contributing to the family income either by home work for a factory or by work in the factory. (3) That in the meantime, while the practice of giving out work continues, the work be delivered and called for at the expense of the manufacturer and that home conditions be inspected by the State department of labor from time to .time in cooperation with health officials. (4) That the same rates be paid to the workers at home as would be paid in the factory and that such rates be determined on the basis of tests insuring a minimum wage for the standard working day prevailing in the plant. These recommendations are based on the results of interviews with workers in their homes while they were engaged in home work and ·with other persons familiar with conditions affecting wage earners .in Bridgeport. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. - lf III. CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH HOME WORK IS DONE IN BRIDGEPORT. 1. Scope of investigation.-One hundred families in Bridgeport were visited and inquiry made as to rates of pay and earnings, the employment of children, other sources of income in the family, and in general the conditions under which the work was done. These families were chosen at random through addresses secured from a variety of sources and there is no reason to believe that they are not typical of a laFger group. 2. Types of home work.-The workers visited were divided into three groups according to the following occupations: (a) Garter making ( G6 families) .-This is a series of operations consisting of stringing-that is, slipping the button and hook on the tape, and then stitching the tape down. The buckle is then slipped on the elastic and stitched. This work is part of the corset industry, but it is also given out by firms that do not make corsets, and includes not only women's garters but children's and men's garters and . armlets. 1 ( b) Foat-press work ( 17 families) .~The foot press is used to clamp onto the base the button over which the hook of the garter is slipped. Before the button is clamped on, a rubber ring is slipped by hand over the button. There are slight differences in the processes-for the garter buckle and for the buckle which is used· on suspenders or on the band fastened around the leg of boys' trousers. ( o) M isceUaneous work ( 17 families) .-The miscellaneous varieties of home work consist of ripping apart strips of lace insertion, stringing buttons on tape, stitching dolls' shoes, and finishing men's coats. 3. Nationality of workers.-In the entire group of 100 families, 57 were Italian, 27 native born, and the remaining 16 included Polish, Hungarian, Holland Dutch, Swedish, , English, Irish, and Swiss. The nationality of the workers differed somewhat in the three groups. All of the foot-press workers and all of the 17 miscellaneous workers were Italian and- almost as many of the garter makers were born in the United States. In many of the Italian families the mothers spoke no English and many of them did not know the name of the factory from which they secured their work nor the rates according to which they were paid, although of course they all knew their earnings. 1 In this group were included also two operations not part of garter making but processes in the manufacture ot corsets, namely, sewillg lace around the top of corsets and makin1 bows for corsets. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 12 HOME WbRK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 4. Size of families.-The households varied in size from 1 to 11. They included 300 children, of whom 268 were under t6 years of age. Nearly half of the mothers had 3 or more little children, and 6 out of 7 had children unuer 16. 5. Child labor .-Of the 268 children under 16 years of age, 110 were definitely shown to assist regularly in home work and it is - · probable that others in the group are also helping. One woman said: "Home work isn't worth bothering with if the children don't help." Instances were found of very young children working hard at home work. One little girl of 9, whose mother had died 6 months before, was operating a foot press at the noon hour when she was home from school. She seemed to be the principal home worker, but it was her aunt with whom she lived who took the work from the factory. A younger brother and a little cousin helped slip on the rubber bands while the 9-year-old girl worked the press. When she was asked, "When do you have time to play? " her answer was, "Sometimes on Sunday." In addition to taking part in the home work the children often carry the work to and from the factories. In the miscellaneous group where there was skilled machine stitcbing, as on dolls' shoes, the work of the children did not play so important a part, _but their employment in the other groups ~howed how the spirit and intent of child-labor legislation are usually evaded when home work is done. 6. Earnings from home work.-Although the earnings vary greatly from week to week and it is therefore difficult to make any definite statement about the amount received, a definite record was made of the last receipts from the factory. Results are shown in the following tabular statement : Weekly earnings from horn,e work, by class of work performed, Bridgeport, Conn., 1919. umb I of farnilie receiving specified weekly ea.mings. Weekly earnings. Garte making Footpr1 work. Miscellaneous. Total. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - --1- - - - - - - -· Lessthan $1......... . .. ....... .......... . ... ...... ......... .... 1 2 !it and le ; than $2.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ......... . ...... ... . $2 and less than $3.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 .......... 2 10 $3 and less than $4. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2 6 21 $4 and les ; than $5 .... . .... ............. . ...................... 12 6 4 22 $6 and les than $6 .•........................ . .. "= ...... : . . . . . . . . 11 . . . • • • . . . . 2 13 $6 and less than $7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 L 8 $7 and less than $8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . •. . . . . . . . ••••. . . 5 $8 and less than $9...................... . ...................... 3 . . . . •. . . . . 1 4 $9 and less than $10.................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . .. ... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 2 $10 and less than SIL . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 .......... 6 $11 and less than $12 ..••................ . .........................•.......••••.................•.• . : . .. $12 and less than $13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 5 $13 and more..•....•••...•.••.•...•..... .. .. . ... ~... .. . . .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Total. ..••••••••••••.••••..•.....................••••••... https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 66 17 17 100 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 13 As the table shows, the median earnings were between $4 and $5 for a week's work with only 31 of the group of 100 reporting earnings of $6 or more. The di:fferences between the three groups are slight. The median for the garter makers was between $4 and $5, for the foot-press workers it was between $6 and $7, and for the miscellaneous groups it was between $3 and $4. It has been noted that these earnings vary greatly from week to week.. The amounts reported by this group of 100 families varied from 71 cents to $17. The women reported also that sometimes-when they went to the factory they did not succeed in securing any work. One woman, a widow with two little children, said she had tried all kinds of home work" but none of it is steady so you c~n depend on it to pay your rent." Whether the rate of pay would be the same if the work were done in the factory was not possible to ascertain from the workers' reports nor could very definite information regarding rates for home work be secured. For button work the pay is rated per pound and varied from 6 cents to 9 cents a pound. The rate of pay for dolls' shoes was 5 cents a dozen. One woman who worked in the shop at the same work 26 years ago said that the rate had not changed in that time. 1 Lace ripping is paid for at various rates according to the number of threads to be pulled. For example, a piece 24 yards long and consisting of 14 rolls with four threads each brought 40 cents. Another worker reported pay of $1.16 for pulling two threads in each of 51 pieces, each piece 24 yards long. She reported that if she worked steadily all day and evening with help in the evening she could earn $1.16 a day. · In the finishing of men's clothing the rate reported for sewing the too of the lining in the trousers, basting the hems, and tacking the placket was 6 cents a pair, and for hemming the lining in sleeves of coats, 5 cents a coat. One woman said that if she worked steadily ·she could earn as much as a dollar a day. _ Another who had worked for 16 years at this trade in a New York shop said: "This is my trade, bui pay small-awful small. Yesterday I worked from 6 in the morning until half-past 9 at night and earned $1.25; -only took 10 minutes for each meal, too." In her work, however, no time wa~ lost in going to the factory, as the garments were delivered and called for at the · expense of the manufacturer, thus saving the worker car fare. The unstandardized nature of the work makes it impossible to estimate what these rates mean in terms of hourly earnings. One experienced op'e rator who had worked for several years in the fac1 At the conference this statement was challenged by the woman's employer, who stated that although the same rate was still paid the type of machine had been changed, making possible a greater output and consequent larger earnings. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 14 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. tory said that the most she could earn on garter making, if she worked alone, was 10 cents an hour. Another worked at stringing garters from 1 p. m. to 11 p. m., stopping only to eat the supper which her mother prepared, beginning again the following morning at 7 a. m., she worked until 9.30 a. m. Her earnings were $1.45 for the 10 packages, which she finished in that time or an average of approximately 12½ cents an hour, assuming that she took one hour for supper. The rate for bows for corsets was 3- cents a dozen and one woman said she could make as many as nine dozen in an hour if she worked at it steadily. The foot-press operato_rs must pay a deposit of $10, which is returned when the machine is brought back to the factory. It should be pointed out that the home worker also contributes rent, light, heat, and, if her work is stitching, the cost of the sewing machine. 7. Total family income.-Although it is exceedingly difficult to secure accurate information about the total income when it is made up from several di~erent sources, as is true of these home workers,. nevertheless, the impression as one talks with them is strong that the chief reason for home work is an inadequate income from other sources. Among the 100 households, in 13 the :father, normally the chief breadwinner, was dead, and in 12 he was not employed. In 75 households, or exactly three-fourths, there was a man breadwinner. 0:f the 58 men, heads of families, who were employed and whose earnings could be ascertained, one-half received less than $20 a week and only six received $25 a week or more. For the large families, of which this group of home workers was composed, these earnings alone would be obviously insufficient. The income was increased, therefore, by home work and by renting rooms. Twentytwo :families rented rooms, and in some instances they had two, three, or four lodgers. Generally the number of lodgers was an index of the economic need of the family rather than a sign of any surplus space, :for the overcrowding was very great. An effort was made to ascertain the percentage of the total income which was derived from home work as based on the statement o:f the workers regarding their total income and their last weekly earnings from home work. An estimate was possible :for 81 families, although it can not be regarded as more than a rough indication of the ratio between two indeterminate and varying· quantities. In two :families home work appeared to be the only source of income, but in only seven others did it constitute more than 40 per cent of the total. In 36 households, or more than two-fifths, the income from home work was less than 20 per cent of the total family income. Roughly, the receipts :from home work were regarded as coveri:Q.g the rent. Of the 98 ~amilies concerning whom the facts about rent https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 15 were reported, 18 owned the houses they lived in and three liad rent free in return for janitor service. For the remaining 77 the median rate was between $17 and $18. 8. Horne conditions.-Twenty-two families living. in flats rented rooms to lodgers. These flats consisted of from three to five rooms. In one home a widow with four children under 9 years of age had three lodgers in a three-room basem~ent flat. Another family of mother, daughter, two boys, and a grandchild had two lodgers in .a three-room flat. Crowding was evident also in home where no boarders or lodgers lived. One family of eight lived in three rooms. The kitchen was used for cooking, eating, washing, and manufacturing. Housework was necessarily often neglected, and little time could be given to caring for the children. No adequate protection is assured against manilfacturing where members of the family are ill. One home was visited in which a child was in bed with a rash, which appeared to be measles, and the older child, who had 'just recovered, was helping a neighbor to string garters. In a number of households the children had had diphtheria during the past year, and in many more members of the family had been ill with influenza. In . view of the fact that no adequate inspections of the homes of these workers is provided, it is quite possible that the public health would be jeopardized through the making of these goods in the presence of contagious or infectious diseases. Another serious health problem was illustrated in the number of pregnant women working on foot-power machines and carrying heavy packages of work to and from the factory. One package of garters was weighed and registered 34 pounds. Buttons are paid for by the pound and are usually taken out in lots of 3 bags of 30 pounds each. Many of the women use baby carriages or little express carts to carry the goods if they live within walking distance, but even then the bundles must often be carried upstairs at the home end. One woman with six little children and another expected drew her express cart a distance of 2 miles to save car fare and carried the bundle up three flights of stairs. She was glad to get the · work even under these conditions, but surely she and the future generations are paying a high price for the privilege. One worker paid a neighbor 20 cents a morning to take care of her children when she went to the factory, and of course she -carried as much work as possible in order to avoid too many trips. ; 9. Effect of home work on unemployment in the factory.Very little information was available on this point, which was one of the questions raised by those who were t nterested in having the inquiry made. In some firms practically all the work of certain https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 16 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. operations is done in the home, and this, without doubt, results in fewer opportunities for full-time factory workers. There was no evidence of preference given to home workers while factory workers e.ngaged in the same occupation were idle or on part time. One woman reported that it was impossible to get girls to work in the garter department of the factory because" piece rates were too low." T,his would seem to indicate that home work is sometimes resorted to because lower rates of pay can be given than would be accepted by full-time workers in the plant. Certai"nly the home-work system, with its lack of supervision or training and its wasteful carrying of work for long distances from the plant, would seem to be as unproductive for the plant as it is too low paid for the worker. It is doubtful whether in the nature of the case it could be made more efficient. Efficiency in modern industry requires effective organization and supervision of processes and it is the resultant output which should make possible adequate e2,rnings for the worker as well as a satisfactory product for the plant. 1•.' . ,, ' ' ( ,t ., .J https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ' ' PART- _II. THE CONFERENCE. After the foregoing memorandum had been submitted to a group of people who would be interested in the subject, a conference was called by the Women's Bureau, on October· 7. This conference was held in Bridgeport in the office of ·one of the employers of a large . number of home workers. . Present at the conference were representatives from five factories where home work was given out, one labor union, the city health department, and the State labor department, the Charity Organization Society, the Visiting Nurses' Association, the -public charities, the Young Women's 'Christian Association, and the Children's Bureau and the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor. Miss Mary Van Kleeck, who was the Director of the Women's Bureau· (then the ·woman in Industry Service) when the investigation was being made, presided at the conference . . , As each person had ,received a copy of the me~orandum there was no detailed discussion of the facts found- by the investigators, but general p,olicies and points of view on the subject were expressed by the various representatives and several courses of action were suggested . .The policy of .t he Government as expressed by the Women's Bureau was stated as being that no work should be given out to be done in rooms used for living or sleeping purposes, or in rooms directly connected wjth living or sleeping rooms in any dwelling or tenement. The employers considered home work necessary for two reasons. First, the women needed the extra money, and second, the employers could not get the work done in the factory. Their attitude was: well expressed by one who said: " Home work is not our choice; it is a necessity. We do it for two reasons. One is, we are constantly being applied to by people who want assistance, and it is a great benefit to them. Home work is their support. ' The other is that it is difficult to get it done under the roof." Another employer said. that he did not get as quick results from home work as from work in the factory, that he would niuch prefer- to have work done at thefactory, but that he could not get workers to come. It was suggested that this shortage of labor might be due to the low wage rate1585700-20---,...S https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis , 11 18 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. prevailing in the operations for which home work was used, but no ·definite statement was made on this subject. The social workers who were present at the conference had no ·very well-defined policy regarding home work. One of them stated that she did not think the women would give up the work because they needed the money, as their husbands did not make an adequate income. • The former secretary of the associated charities said in answer to a question that he had not found that home work had ever solved the problem of restoring a family to a self-supporting basis. The commissioner of labor said the women were doing home work only because they ~id not have sufficient income to maintain their :families, and he thought that if home work were taken away they would either have to send their children to the county homes or be·come dependent upon charity. As :far as the manufacturers were concerned, he felt that they did not want to use outside work, but were obliged to~ because women for factory work were at a premium: In support of these statements he presented the results of an investigation of home work throughout the State which had just been made by his department. He stated that his investigators had found that 73 employers in the State gave out home work to 2,600 families and that over 20 per cent of these families were in Bridgeport. They also found that about half the home work done in the State was Shelton, Derby, and Ansonia; that home work was on the increase in ·B ridgeport, Chester, Derby,. New Britain, New Haven, New London, Stamford, and Waterbury, and that it was on the decrease in Hartford, Ansonia, Seymour, South Manchester, and South Norwalk. The investigation covered 1,316 families; of these families 569, or over 43 per cent, have from thr~e to eight children. There was a total of 3,418 children· in the families investigated. The pay was . found to run about the same throughout the :factories, $5 a week. On _piecework it was found that the women made from $1.11 to $2.23 ·a day. Sometimes they made $15 ·a week for full-time work. Outside of -Bridgeport they got $4 to $8 a week In corset work, threading snaps :and hooks, they usually made from $2.13 to $7 a week, although one woman made $11. Sanitary conditions were generally found to be ·fair. The city health officer felt that while the danger from communi.: -cable disease in home work was inconsiderable, the effect of this .system on the health of the workers should be considered. He :also thought thrut there was as much danger for children whose :mother and father were both employed away from home, because of lack of supervision, as there was for those who did home work. As a result of this remark it was emphasized by others present that children should not be obliged to grow up under either of these conditions. No one who joined in the discussion felt that continuous https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in HOME WORK IN BRIDGEP9RT, CONNECTICUT. 19. •employment away from the home for both parents was a possible solution of the home work problem. The first suggestion for regulating the conditions under which home work was done was offered by one of the employers, who said that while the question of outside labor was complex and troublesome for manufacturers to such an extent that· he would rather not have it at all, he felt that it was a perfectly legitimate system atl.d knew that some factories were entirely dependent upon home products. Because of this situation he felt that the only possible thing to do was to regulate the conditiop.s under which wor:k was done at home. He advocated that every person who wanted to do home work should be required to apply to the board of health for a permit. This suggestion was approved by the other manufacturers present, who s_eemed to feel that such a system of permits would relieve them of considerable responsibility. Others at the conference, however, pointed out that it would be very difficult to devise a permit system which would guarantee sanitary working conditions and prevent child labor. · Details of such a system were discussed and it was emphasized by several people, including the representative from the Children's Bureau, that even with trained social workers with medical experience it would be practically impossible to enforce properly any inspection law of this sort. Several of the employers would not admit that child labor was a general custom in-the homes where factory work was taken, although the investigators of the Women~s Bureau had ample proof that this was true. The attitude of those who did admit that this condition was possible was .that the manufacturer could not be held responsible, and that there was no way to keep a woman from lying about the ages of her children if she ·wanted them to do home work. One of the recommendations made in the memorandum was that transportation should be furnished by the factory for the work sent to and from the homes. Two manufacturers reported that they had instituted this system, but that it had not been running long enough for them to know just what were the results. Every group at the conference gave testimony to the fact that insufficient w·ages were the cause of home work. As stated by one of the representatives of the Women's Bureau," It is one of those situations that come about where there have been too low wages for men. Home work is not a solution, because it does not provide a .living. It is not the support of those families. In the majority of cases the fathers are living, but eari:iing very low pay." The manufacturer complained that he could not get women to take work home "because their husbands' wages were sufficient, I suppose," and the so-c ial w6rker said: "-The women will not give up the work, because they need the money, and their husbands do not make an adequate in- https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 20 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. come." One employer submitted a ta;ble of weekly wages received by a group of home workers who had been working for him. The•. amounts varied from $39.93 a week in one case to $3.42 and $2.34 in two others. These figures are significant of the usual lack .of information about the manner in which home work is done, as no informa-tion was given to show whether the amounts were paid to one person for ~he product of that person's labor alone or whether she had received assistance from others, nor was the length of time stated for· which she had worked to earn this sum. Another employer gavefigures for the amounts which could be earned by a ·number of employees who worked for him for many years. He said that onewoman who had been with him for 15 years was able, if she put in nine full hours, to stitch 25 dozen dolls' shoes at 10 cents a dozen; 35 dozen of another kind of shoe ·at 6½ cents, or 45 dozen at 5 cents on a third kind, requiring less stitching. When these amounts are computed for the day's work it will be seen that the earnings for nine hours' work after 15 years' experience were $2.50, $2.27, and $2.25 a day, respectively. In addition to these figures he said: "Another worker has been with me 12 years. She does 100 dozen at onehalf cent a dozen and in addition does her housework. She can do 150 dozen in nine hours with no housework." He did not describe the processes on which this woman worked, but the total amount earned, 50 cents a day when doing housework, and 75 cents a day for nine hours' work, would seem to be very inadequate earnings regardless of process. · The conference concluded with the following remarks from one the social workers of Bridgeport: of Realizing all the time that it is a Connecticut" problem and it would take Connecticut people to meet the situation whatever is done, I wonder if we could request the agencies in the city to undertake this coming year to get the exact facts and then meet again with the manufacturers to see what had best be done. There will not be much enthusiasm for changing the situation as long as the impetus comes from outside the State. We should be much more liable to do more about it to remedy the situation, if we acted within the State. CHAIRMAN. We agree. It was our purpose in coming to put the matter into your hands. Have you any suggestions as to how that could be done? ANSWER. It seems to me that within a year we ought to be able to give a good report of what is going on. CHAIRMAN. Can we leave it with you to see that · the Connecticut organizations do concentrate on this? It is surely most important that if this is a problem for Connecticut there should be some definite plan of action on it by the citizens of the State. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis PART III. REGULATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND POLICIES. STATE LAWS REGULATING HOME WORK. The charts which are presented with this report give in br~f outline the laws affecting home work and home workers in the various States. These laws are grouped in two sections showing, first, th~ conditions under which home work is absolutely prohibited and, second, conditions under which it is permitted but for which certain regulations must be met. RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMISSIONS AND GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES. In addition to these laws there is a mass of authoritative material on the subject of. home work which has been assembled by numerous commissions appointed from time to time to study the subject and devise methods for improving conditions. From the point of view of the situation in Connecticut the recomm~dations on home work made by the Factory Investigating Commission in New York State in 1913 1 are most significant. These recommendations were made after an extensive investigation of the conditions throughout the State, when it was felt that the State law needed amendm~t. Weak points in the law, many of them similar to those in the Connecticut law, and possible remedies are brought out in the :following quotation :from the report of the commission : , We realize that manufacturing in tenement houses is a serious evil, that it is, in fact, a blot on our industrial system. It is to be condemned because it is injurious to the health of the women and children directly engaged in this work and because it unjustifiably invades their homes. Moreover, the health of the public using such products is endangered. From an economic point of view its continuance is unjustified; it undermines the wage scale of the factory workers; it is wasteful both of human labor and of material. Public welfare would be promoted by its eradication. In the long run the home worker would gain precisely as the men working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania were benefited when thei.r young children were prevented from working and thus from competing with their parents. The commission did not feel justified, however, in recommending that the whole system be rooted out at once. It is deeply entrenched in our industrial 1 State of New York, Second Report of the Factory Investigating Commission, 1913. Vol. 1, pp. 118, 119. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 21 22 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. life, and to overturn existing conditions too suddenly would, perhaps, cripple certain industries and would work great hardships to thousands of workers engaged in them. It is true that for more than 20 year.s there has been a statute regulating home work, but it is also true that no serious effort bas been made to enforce this law in the spirit in which the legislature undoubtedly intended it to be carried out. The inadequate resources of the department of • labor account in a large measur e for this failure. Licenses have been issued as a matter of form and prosecutions for violations of the law have rarely been in stituted. Licenses, moreover, · have not been revoked for unsanitary condition of premises as often as circumstances demanded. The present law is in many respects entirely inadequate. It covers only tenement houses in which the 41 a rticles specified in the law are manufactured and leaves the manufacture in tenement homes of all other articres withoµt supervision of any kind. Our recommendations are therefore embraced under the fo llowing heads: 1. Entire prohibition of the employment of children .under 14 years of age in tenement-house work. 2. Immediate prohibition of work in tenement houses on all articles likely to become contaminated and therefore injurious to public health; or on a rticles by which it is clear that disease may be communicated. 3. Extension of the present law to cover manufacturing in any ten ement house of all articles and the strengthening of the administrative features of the law. 4. Adequate number of inspectors to enforce t he la w. 5. Further investigation and study by the industrial board. Following this report an amendment to the law was passed which prohibited work in tenement houses on dolls, children's clothing and articles of food, thus introducing the principle of prohibition of employment in the New York law. As it now stands the law states : * * * no artic!P. of food, no dolls or doll's clothing, and no article of children's or infant's wearing appa rel shall be manufactured altered, repaired. or finished in whole or in part for a fa ctory, either directly or through the instrumentality of one or more contractors or other third person, in a tenement house, ,in any portion of an apartment, any part of which is used for living purposes. 1 Recommendation No. 3 of the commission was also followed by the amendment of the law so that it includes the manufacture of "any articles whatsoever" except "collars, cuffs, shirts, or shirtwaists made o:f cotton or linen fa brics that are subjected to the laundering process before being offered for sale." 2 At the same time the prohibition of child labor was accomplished by an amendment to the child-labor law which caused it to read: No child under the age of 14 years shall be employed, permitted, or suffered to work in, or in connf'ction with any factory at any place in this' State, or for any factory at any place in this State. 3 The attitude o:f the United States Government in r rgard to this problem is shown in the recommendations made at the beginning of 1 Cb. 31, sec. 104, as amended by ch. 260, Acts of 1913. • Ch. 31, sec. 100. as amended by ch. 2.6 0, Acts of 1913. • Ch. 31, sec. 70, as a mended by ch. 529, Acts of 1913, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis HOME WORK IN · BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 23 the war by the Quartermaster General's Department in its "Stand:ards of Employment in vVar .vVork," 1 ·w hich states: , ro work shall be given out to be done in rooms _used for living purposes, or in rooms directly connected with living rooms in any dwelling or tenement. As already emphasized in the body of this report the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor concurs in this attitude and has issued a similar statement in its" Standards for the Employment of vVomen in Industry." Such a point 9f view is the ·n atural outcome of the findings of Government investigators in previous years. In 1911 Congre s authorized a special investigation of the condition of woman and child wage earners in the United States. The report of this investigation stated: 2 Officials in seYeral States have testified to the physical impossibility of enforcing laws regulating home finishing. No single State can afford to employ a corps of inspectors sufficiently numerous to make more than a cursory inspection of licensed house . * * * It has proved impossible in spite of all existing laws merely regulating tenement house manufacture, either in the United States of America or elsewhere, to guarantee to the consumer that clothing made or finished in the home is free from disease and vermin. Private organizations interested in industrial subjects are unanimous in their condemnation of the practice of home· work. The National Consumers' League has for years conducted a campaign against the manufacture of articles in insanitary surroundings by low-paid workers. The National Child Labor Committee has stated as its policy : 3 Expedence has shown that where the older members of the family work at home the children are almost sure to help. It has shown as well that the existing licensing system does not regulate, but, on the contrary, gives a cover of legality to the work. Complete and universal prohibition of home work for adults as well as children is therefore the only efficient means of preventing child labor in tenements. It is to the immediate interest of the consumers, the workers, and all humane employers to put an end to it once for all. THE RELATION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE TO HOME WORK. • Widespread recognition of the close connection between low wages and home work has led to many recommendations for minimum wage laws, both to reduce the amount ·of home work and to raise th rate of pay for that which still continues. In 1908 a special committee was a ppo,i nted in England to report to the House of Commons on means of remedying existing abuses in Sammary or recommendations to Employers. Circular No. 18, Nov. 15, 1917. S. Doc. 645, 61st Cong., 2d sess., Report on Conditions of Woman and Child Wage Elarn~rs in the United States. Vol. II, Men's Ready-made Clothing, p. 317, 1911. • National Child Labor Committee, Child Work in the Honie, pamphlet No. 232, 1918. 1 2 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 24 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. trades in which home work was prevalent. mittee stated: In its report 1 this com- No proposals which fail to increase the income of these people can have any appreciable effect in ameliorating their condition. Improved sanitary conditions are important, and necessary; greater personal and domestic cleanliness in many cases is desirable; Q_Ut the poverty, the miserably inadequate income, of so many of the home workers is the great difficulty of the situation. With au increase in their earnings many of the other unde$irable conditions which intensify and in turn are aggravated by the ever-present burden of grinding poverty would be very appreciably modified and improved. * * * Your committee are of the opinion that, unless Parliament steps in and gives them the protection and support which legislation alone can supply, the prospects of any real and substantial improvement in their position and condition being brought about are very small and remote. * * * Upon the question of the general policy of Parliament fixing or providing for the fixing of a minimum rate of payment for work, below which it should be illegal to employ people, your committee are of the opinion that \t is quite as legitimate to establish by legislation a minimum standard of remuner ation as it is to establish such a standard of sanitation; cleanliness, ventilation, air space, and hours of work_, * * * It is doubtful whether there is any more important condition of individual and general well-being than the possibility of obtaining an income sufficient to enable those who earn it to secure, at ariy rate, the necessaries of life. If a trade will not yield such an income to average industrious workers engaged in it; if is a parasite industry, and it is contrary to the general well-being that it should continue. Experience, however, teaches that the usual result of legislation of the nature referred to is not to kill the industry but to reform it. 1 During the same year the British Government -appointed a commission to investigate the workings of the. wages boards and industrial concUiation and arbitration acts in Australia and New Zealand. The wage rates established in those countries applied to home as well as factory workers, so the report on this subject is significant. In speaking of conditions in Victoria after the establishment of the wages boards, Mr. Aves, the commissioner, said : There is also a very widely spread belief that the boards have been instrumental, some say in abolishing, and others in modifying the evils of " sweating," and, from the complex motives, there is in Victoria a great preponderance of opinion amongst all classes in favour of the retention of the boards. 1 In many European countries the need for a higher wage rate to remedy the evils of home work has long been recognized. Testimony on the present attitude toward the subject in foreign lands was given at the First International Congress of Working Women, held in this country in October, 1919. ft this conference during t~e discussion 1 Great Britain. House of Common s, Report from the Select Committee on Home Work, 1908. 2 Idem. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis • HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. . 25 on home work Mme. Stychova, speaking for the Republic -0£ CzechoSlovakia, said : We feel that if the · pay is adequate in other lines, home work will not be necessary. Mlle. Bouillott, representing the working women 0£ France, said : There should be special regulations for men who are supporting families and for women who are supporting families so they will get enough salaries so they ·will not have to take outside work. - The French deLegates a·r e of the opinion that home work should be abolished as soon as possible. The attitude 0£ Poland was given by Mme. Konopaka, the Polish representative, who said: The question of home work is strictly related to low wages. favor of the cessation entirely of home work. Poland is in ELIMINATION OF HOME WORK THROUGH TRADE-UNION AGREEMENTS. For many years the trade-unions have recognized the serious effect on wages, working conditions, and public health produced by a system which permits the payment of a very low wage and which can not regulate either hours or conditions of work _for a large group of persons. One of the first of the unions to attempt to relieve this condition was the Cigar Makers' Union, which started about 1880 to wO&'k for a law which would prohibit the manufacture of cigars and preparation of tobacco in tenement houses in New- York City. In 1883, a law on this subject was passed by the New York State Assembly. This law was entitled "An act to improve the public health in the city 0£ New York by prohibiting the manufacture 0£ cigars or the preparation of tobacco in any form in the tenement houses of said city." In commenting on the passage of this law the Cigar Makers' Official Journal for February, 1883, said : The working classes and cigar makers in particular owe a debt of gratitude • to those assemblymen and senators who have successfully fought for a great sanitary reform. The law was subsequently declared unconstitutional, but the manufacture of cigars was afterwards included in the law regulating home work for the entire State. Another and more modern example of the achievements of the trade-unions in eliminating home work is found in the protocol agreement made between the International Ladies1 Garment Workers' Union and the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association in New York City, September 2, 1910. One clause in the agreement. isNo work shall be given to or taken to employees to be performed at their homes. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 26 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. This agreement was the result of a protracted strike. The part that the abuses of the home-work system played in the successful termination of this controversy is brought out in a- study of trade agreements in the women's clothing industries in New York. 1 This report says :' The disgust of the public with the sweating system, which was accompanied by home work and most of the other evils peculiar to these trades, was partly responsible for the development of collective bargaining in these trades in spite of the instability in the membership of the labor organizations. Agreements similar to the one in this protocol were afterwards included in the dress and waist protocol in New York City, January, 1913; the kimona and house-dress protocol in New York City, February, 1913; the misses' and children's dresses protocol in New York City, March, 1913; and in the cloak and suit and dress and waist protocols in Boston i.n March, -1913. These examples are representative of the continuous efforts of organized workers to abolish this form of industrial exploitation. COMMUNITY ACTION. As with any group of low-paid workers, the condition of the home worker will be affected by any action of the community for the solution of its problems of poverty. A program which includes sickness and unemployment insurance, maternity benefits or mothers' pensions, by relieving certain conditions will shut off the supply of certain groups of potential home workers. But the effect of such legislation is indirect. Action by prohibition or by strict regulation of wages and working cqnditions will produce the most immediate and lasting results. 1 Boris Emmet, "Trade Agreements in the Women 's Clothing Industries in New York City." Bu reau o! Labor Statistics, U. S. Department ot Labor, Monthly Review, December, 1917. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis LAWS PROHIBITING HOME [Compiled by the Women 's Bureau from Bulletins: State. Mandatory clause. Places covered by law. Illinois (Bul. 148, pp. 547-48) (Hurtl's Revised Statutes, 1906, ch. 48, secs. 21-28). "No room or rooms * • • shall be used * * •." Room or rooms, apartment or apartments in any tenement or dwelling house used for eating or sleeping purposes. Indiana (Bul. 148, pp. 647-48) (Annotated Statutes 1901, secs. 7087n-7087o). Room or rooms, apartment or apart"Noroomorrooms • • * ments in any tenement or dwelling shall be used * * *·" house. Maryland (Bul. 166, p. 103) (Acts of 1914, ch. 779). * * * shall be Ulled * * *·" Massachusetts (Bul. 148, pp. 982-83) (Acts of 1909, ch. 514, secs. 106-111). * * * "No room or apartment Room or apartment in any tenement or dwelling house, or part of any tenem ent or dwelling house. "A A room or apartment in a tenement or dwelling house. room or apartment shall not be used for the purpose of m aking * * *·" Any room or apartment used for Iiv- ~~~rct~Je~~li ~:~s~~ ~~~~i~se~ for such purposes~ and which has not a separate and aistinct outside entrance. Missouri (Bul. 148, pp. 1181-82) (Revised Statutes 1909, sec. 7853-7855). * "No room or apartment * * shall be used." Room or apartment in any tenement or dwelling house. New York: (Bul. 148, pp. 1516-1520) (Consolidated laws 1909, ch. 31, sec. 100-106, 110, Amended Acts 1913, ch. "No article shall be manufactured, etc. * * *·" Any room or apartment of a tenem ent house. "No article of food • • • shall be manufactured * * *.'' Tenement house, in any portion of an apartment, any part of which is used for living purposes. In a part of a cellar or basement of a tenem ent house more than one-half of its height below the level of the curb. Room or apartment in a tenement or d welling house used for eating or sleeping purposes. ~). "No articles shall be manufactured, etc. * * *·" (Bul. 148 p. 1553) (Consolidated 1aws 1909, ch. 48, * sec. 33) . Ohio (Bul. 148, pp. 1650-51) (General Code, 1910, secs. 1020-1021). 28 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 7°. rs~:il b~rus!N~tment "Nodwelling * be used * * *.'' • *shall Dwelling or building or room or apartment thereof, in or connected with a tenement, dwelling or other building. WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. of the Bureau of :r,abor Statistics, December, 1919.] Occupations covered by law. Exceptions. Manufacture, in whole or in ~rt, of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, c oaksflshirts, ladies' waists* purses, feathers, artificial owers, ciaars * * made altered, repaired, cleaned, sorte or finished, in whole or in part, for sale or for wages. Immediate members .or famny living therein. Manufacture of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, cloaks.f furs, fur trimminfs, fur garments, ~~rrr;:ie~urses, eathers, artificial owers or cigars, Immediate members of family living therein. Manufacture, in whole or in p1trt 1 altering, repairing or finishing of any articles whatsoever. Immediate members of family living therein, i. e. husband, wife, their children, or the children of either. Tailor or seamstress employed by family on articles for family. Articles for exclusive use of person occupying house. Workshop on main or ground :floor not used for cooking or sleeping purposes and having a separate entrance and which is entirely separate from the rest of the building. ,. Making, altering, repairing or finishing therein, coats, vests, trousers or wearing apparel of any description. Members of family dwelling therein. Room or apartment in a tenement or dwelling house, not used for living or sleeping purposes, having a separate entrance and not connected with any room used for such purposes. Manufacture of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, skirts, dresses,cloaks,hats,caps, suspenders,jerseys, blouses, waists, waist bands, underwear:., neckWear, furs, fur trimm.ings1 fur garments, shirts, hosiery, purses,!. feathers, artificial flowers, cigars, cigarettes 1 * * or making of these articles in whole or m part. Seamstress manufacturing articles for family use. Manufacture or wearing apparel, purses, feathers, artificial flowers, or other goods for male or female wear. Members of family dwelling therein and three additional persons. Any article manufactured, altered, repaired or finished. Immediate members or family living therein. Dressmakers, who deal solely in the custom trade direct to the consumer and whose shops are on the ~round or second floor, and who have a permit issued by the commissioner of labor certifying ;hat the premises are well lighted, well ventilated, and sanitarfi, and that there is 1,000 cu. ft. of air space for eac person employed therein. Bakeries for which certificate of exemption is issued. Food,dolls,or dolls' clothing,articles ofchildren's or infants' wearing apparel, manufactured, altered, repaired, finished, in whole or in part. Articles manufactured, altered, repaired, finished. Manufacture, wholly or in part, or coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, cloaks, shirts, purses, feathers, artificial flowers or cigars. Members of family living therein, i. e. husband, wife, their children or the children of either. Carrying on any process of making wearing appa.rel or goods for wear, use or adornment, manufacturing cigars, cigarettes or tobacco goods in a~y Immediate members of family living therein. Room or aJ?artment having no window or door or oth<1r openrng into a livintor sleeping room of a tenement or dwelling, and aving a separate entrance, and not in use for living or sleeping purEoses and sufficiently lighted, heated and ventiated. form. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 29 30 HO M ~ WORK IN BRIDGEP ORT, CONNECTICUT. LA \VS PROHIBITING HOME St ate. l'lar es covered by law. Mandatory clause. Pennsylvania (Bui . 148, pp. 1847-48) (Acts of 1905, N o. 226, sec. 14). " No person fl rm or cor poK itc hen , living room or bedroom ration engaged in the mann- in any tenemen t house or d welling facture or sale of clothing house. bargain or con*tract * with * shall any person * * for t he m anufact ure." * Tennessee (Bui. 186, pp. 377-78) (Acts of 1915, ch. 28.) R oom or rooms, apartment or a part"No room or rooms * * * m ents iu an y tenem ent or dwelling shall be used for t he m anufac. house used fo r ea ting or sleeping purture for sale * * *·" poses . Worksho p, i. e. place where goods or prod ucts are m anufactured, repaired, cleaned, sorted, in whole or in part, for sale or for wages. . LAWS REGULATING HOME (Compiled by t he Wom en 's Bureau from Bulletins Occu pat ions covered Persons whose work is controlled by la w. State. Places covered by law. Connecticut (Bui. 148, p . 405) (General Statutes 1902, sec. 4527- 4530) . All buildings, apartments, rooms, and places in an y tenem ent or dwelling house used for residen tia l purposes. Illinois (Bui. 148, pp. 547-48) (Hurd's Revised Statutes 1906, ch. 48, sec. 21- 28). Manufar.t ure, in whole Room or rooms, apar tment or apartmen ts in or in part, of coat , vests, an y tenem ent or dwell- t rousers, knee p,mts overin~ house used for eat- alls, cloaks, shirts, ladies' ting or sleeping pur- waists1 purses, feathers, artificial flowers, cigars, or pose5. House, room or place. an y wearin~ apparel of an y kind whatsoever. Any process of m aking, altering or finishing{ cleaning. sort ing in who e or in part, for sale or for wages. Immediate mem bers of family living therein. Indiana (Bul. 148, pp. 647-48) (Annotated Statutes 1901, sec. 7087n- 7087o). One room or rooms, apartmen t or apartm ents in an y tenement or dwelling house, or building in the rear of a tenement or dwelling house. Makin~, in whole or in part, an y vests, coats, trousers, knee pants, fur, fur trimmin gs , shirts purses, feathers, artificial flowers or cigars for sale. Immediate members of family living therein. A room or apartment Manufacturing in whole in an y tenement or or in part.i · altering1 redwelling house, part of pairing or nnishing tnerean y tenement or dwell- in any articles- whatsoing house. ever. Immediate members of family Ii.ving therein. (Husband, wife, their children or the children of either.) Maryland (Bui. 166, pp. 101-104) (Acts of 1914, ch. 779). https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis by law. Manufacture of artificial Others t han t he imflowers, purses, cigars. cig- · m ediate m em bers of ar<'t tcs or an y art icles of the family . wearing app,,rel intended for sale. . 31 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. WORK IN THE UNITED STATES- Continued. Occupat1orn; covered by law. Except ions. , Manufacture, or partial m anufacture of clothing or other wearing apparel, cigars, cigarettes. Resident members of family, i. e., parents and their children or the children of either. Manufacture for sale, in whole or in part, of coats, vests. trousers, knee pants, overalls, cloaks, shirts, 1ladies' waists, purses , feathers-, artificial flowers, cigars, all wearing apparel. 1 Immediate m embers of family living therein. WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, De:)ember, 1919.] Requ irements which must be met before home work is permitted. Exceptions. Person engaged in such work to notify factory inspector within 30 days a fter the time of commencing work . Work to be done in clean, sanitary rooms properly lighted and ventilated. . Persons so occupied or havin§ control of such workshop, to not ify board of hea lth wi thin 14 ays after the time of commencinf:i.:i~;~f work for fema les and list of children empl~yed with their ages to be posted. Premises to be kept in a cleanly state, free from any matter of infectious or contagiou s nature . All a rticles made are subject to inspection and examination. Employer t o keep list of all workshops in hi s employ. Person, firm or corporation hirin_g work done to obtain written permit from chiefinspector who investigates before granting permit. P~mises to be adequately ventilated. Permit states maximum number of persons who may be employed , groviding for not less than 250 cubic feet of air space per person etween the hours of 6 a . m. and 6 p . m ., and for not less than 400 cubic feet of air space per person between the hours of 6 p . m. and 6 a. m . Chief inspector may modify latter provision a llowing 250 cubic feet of air space per person if electricity is used for lighting. Permit may be revoked at any t ime if health of community or of those employed therein require it. Permit to be posted. I - License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work Articles for the exclusive use of per. from chief of bureau of statistiC's, who consults records of local son occupying house. Employment of tailor or seamstress health authorities and if premises are reported satisfactory has prem ises reinspected to verify report. by person or family to do work for such License states maximum num ber of perti,ons who may be em- person or family. ployed, providing for not less than 500 cubic feet of air space per Workshop on main or ground floor of any tenement or dwelling house not person . Premises to be inspected every six months. used for cooking or sleeping purposes, Premises to be free from infectious, contagious or communi- and havin~ separate entrance and cable disease, and from a ll unsanitary conditions. which is entirely separate from the rest Permit may be re voked at any time if health of community or of the building. of those employed therein require it. Em31oyer giving out work to keep register of persons employe on home work and to be sure that such home workers are licensed. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis I 32 ROME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. LAWS REGULATING HOME State. Places oovered by law. Massachusetts (Bui. 148, pp. 982-8.1) (Acts of 1909, ch. 514, sec. 106- A room or apartment in a tenement or dwelling house. Making, altering, reFamily dwelling pairing, or finishing coats, therein. vests, trousers or wearing apparel of any description. Room or apartment in anv tenement or dwelling house, building or parts of building. Manufacture of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, skirts, dresses, cloaks, h_ats, caps1 suspenders, Jerseys, b10uses, waists, waistbands, underwear, neckwear, furs, fur trimming, fur garments, shirts, hosiery, purses, feathers, artificial flowers, cigars, cigarettes, or making of these articles in whole or in part. lll). Michigan (Bui. 148, pp. 1068-69) (Acts of 1909, No. 286, sec. 22). Missouri (Bui. 148, pp. Room or apart ment in 1181-82) (Revised Stat- any tenement or dwellutes 1909, sec. 7853- ing house. 7855). Occupation covered bylaw. Manufacture of wearing :re~~i~i K~~~s ~:~t!i goods for male or female wear. Persons whose work is controlled by law. Members of family 1 t~:!i ~t1Wti~~ ~i sons. New Jersey (Dul. 244, pp. 237-38) (Acts 1917, ch. 176), Manufacturing, altering, Room or rooms, apartof ment, or apartments in repairing, or finishing for any tenement or dwell- wages or for sale any articles whatsoever. ing house. Building si,t uated in the rear of a,ny a.p artment or dwelling house. ,I New.York: Manufacturing, altering, Tenement house or (Bul. 148, pp. 1516- anA part thereof. repairingf or finlshing of 20) (Consolidated ny room or apart- any artic es whatsoever. laws 1909, ch. 31, ment of a tenement sec.. 100-106, 110; house. Amended Acts 1913, ch. 260.) Immediate members ~f family living thereIll. ; i, , (Bui. 148, p. 1553) Members of family Manufacture, in whole Room orapartmentin (Consolidated laws a tenement or dwelling .or in part, of coats, vests, living therein; i. e . 1909, ch. 45, sec. house used for eating or trousers, knee pants, over- husband, wife, their . 33.) sleeping purposes . alls, cloaks, skirts, iurses, children, or the chilfeat~ers, artificial owers, dren of either. or cigars . . https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. 33 WORK IN THE UNIT.ED STATES-Continued. Requirements which must be met before home worll. is permitted. . Exceptions. Room or apartment in a tenement or License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work dwelling house not used for living or from State inspector of health. Premises subject to inspection by State inspector of health. sleeping purposes having a separate Premises to be in cleanly condition, free from vermin and .all entrance and not connected with any room used for such purposes. infectious and contagious matter. Tailor or seamstress making articles Employer giving out work to keep register of persons employed on home work and to forward such requests monthly to for family wear. State board of health and to be sure that such home workers are licensed. License to be posted. Written permit, to be obtained by persons desiring to do home worK: from factory inspector, who investigates before grantin~ permit. . Permit states maximum number of persons who may be employed, providing for not less than ?50 cubic feet of air space per person. · Permit ma~ be revoked at any time if health of community or of those employed therein require it. Factory inspector to prescribe amount of light, beat and ventilation. Premises to ·be clean, sanitar,r, fit for occupancy and free from contagious and infectious diseases. Employer giving out work to keep register Q( persons em-ployed on home work and to be sure that such home workers are licensed. Permit to be posted. Seamstress manufacturing articles for family use. Premises to be in a clean ·a nd healthy condition. Employer giving out work to keep register of persons employed on home work. • Written permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do Tailor, seamstress women's exchanges not organized for profit. home work or by employer desiring to give out home work from commissioner of labor, who investigates premises for which permit is requested before granting permit. Permit to last not longer than six months. Permit states maximum number of persons who may be employed tberein,providing for not less than 250 cubic feet of air space per person between the hours of 6 a. m. and 6 p. m., and for not 1ess than 400 cubic feet of air spaoo per person between the hours of 6 p. m. and 6 a. m., but the commissioner of labor may modify the latter provision. Permit may be revoked at any time if health of the community or of those employed therein require it. Premises to be properly lighted, in_clean and healthful condition, free from vermin, and every matter of infectious and contagious nature. Employer to be sure that all home workers in his employ have a license. Permit to be posted. License to be obtained by owner of tenement where persons desire to do home work, from commissioner-of labor who acts upon favorable report by local board of health and verification of this report by his own office. Premises to be inspected every six months, to be well lighted and ventilated and allow 500 cubic feet of air space per worker, to be in a clean,healthful, and sanitary condition, to be free from infectious, contagious, or communicable diseases, and from vermin. Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community or of those employed therein may require it or if children under 14 years of age are employed therein. Employer giving out work to obtain permit from commissioner of labor and to keep a register of persons,,emploved on home work and to be sure that such home workers are licensed. Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work from the local board of health within 14 days of the time of commencing work. Permit may be revoked at any t ime if health of community or of those employed therein require it. Premises to be free from infectious or contagious diseases. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Articles for sole use of occupant or his family. Collars, cuffs, shirts, or shirt waists made of cotton or linen and laundered before selling. Dressmakers who deal solely in the custom trade direct to the consumer and whose shops are on the ground or second floor and who have a permit issued by the ,::ommissioner of labor certifying that the presmises are well lighted, well ventilated, and sanitary, and that there is 1,000 cubic feet of air space for each person employed therein. Rooms on m ain or ground floor having separate entrance, unconnected with living rooms not used for cooking or sleeping purposes. 34 HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT. LAWS REGULATING HOME State. Places covered by law. Room or apartment in Pennsylvania: (Bul. 148, pp. 1839- ·any tement or dwelling 40) (Bri ghtley's house, or any building or Digest, 1893-1903, parts of buildings. p. 825, sec. 1- 4.) (Bul. 148, pp. 184748) (Acts of 1905, No. 226, sec. 14). Kitchen, living room, or bedroom in any tenement or dwet:'mg house. (Bui. 148, pp. 192728) (Act s of 1913, No. 428, sec. 34.) (Bui. 186, p . 339) (Acts of 1915, No. 420, sec. 32.) Any part or ad welling or rooming house or tenement. Tennessee (Bul. 180. pp. 377- 78) (Acts of 1915, ch. 28.) Room or rooms, a partmcnt or apartments in any t enement or dwelling house used for eating or sleeping purposes. Occupation covered by hw. Manufa"ture of coats. vests, trousers, knee pants, overalls, skirts, dres es, cloak's, bats, cats, suspenders, jerseys, louses, w aists, wa ist bands, underw ear, n e e kw ea r, furs, fur trimmings, fur garments, shirts, hoisery, Nurses, feathers, artifi< ial owers, cigarettes, or cigars - or making in whole or in part of these arti"les . Manufacture of clothing, R esident members wearing apparel, ci~ars, cigarettes, or the partial ~~~~~i~ ic~t:,:ni; manufa!'ture of these arti- the children or eitber. cles. "Mimufacturing purposes. Tenant, members of bis family, others. Manufa -- ture for sale, in whole or in part, of coats, vests, trousers, knee pants, overalis, rloaks, shi rts, ladies' waists, purses , feathers, arti.fi( ial flowers, cigars. all wearing apparel. Work hop: i. e. pla"'e where goods or produ-ts are manufa"tured , repaired, cleaned, sorted, m whole or in part, for sale or for wages. · Manufa"turing, altering, Room or apartment in Wisconsin (Bui. 148, pp. 263-66) (St atutes of any tenement or dwell- repairing, or finishing for ing hou e, or building wages or for sale, coats, 1911, sec. 1631- 71situated in the rear of vests, knee pants,trousers, 1636-73). any t enement or dwell- overalls, cloaks, hats, caps, s u spenders, j e r seys, ing housil. blouses, dresses, waists, waist bands, underwear, neckwear, knit goods of all kinds, furs, fur trimmings, fur garments, ski rt s, shirts, purses, feathers, cigars, cigarettes, umbrellas. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Persons whose' work is controlled by law. Immediate members of family living therein. HOME WORK IN BRIDGEPORT, OONNECTIOUT. 35 WORK IN THE UNITED STATES-Continuec_l. Requirements which must be met before home work is permitted. Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work from factory inspector who investiftes before granting it. Permit to state maximum num er of persons who may be employed therein providing for not less than 250 cubic feet of air space per person. Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community or of those em~oyed therein require it. Premises to e clean, sanitar:fu, flt for occupany, adequately ventilated, and firovided with re escapes. Employer giv ng out work to keep register of persons emfllo ved on home work and so be sure that such home workers are censed. Permit to be posted. ' Certificates to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work from board of health. Premises to be free from infectious or contagious diseases. Permit mav be revoked at any time if.health of community or of those employed therein require it. Permit to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work from board of health. Permit to last one vear. Permit may be revoked at any time if health of community or of those emplornd therein require it. Processes of work not to be hazardous to health or to create dust, foul odors or undue noise. Premises to ailow 400 cubic feet of air space per person. Exceptions. Seamstress,manufacturlngarticleator use of family living therein. Domestic ·work. Persons engaged in such work to notify board of health within 14 da vs of the time of commencing work. Premises to be kept in a cleanly state, free from all matters of infectious or contagious nature, and from vermin. Articles manufactured to be ins~ected. Employer giving out work to eep register of persons employed on home work. License to be obtained by persons desiring to do home work from the industrial commission which investigates before granting it. License to state maximum number of thersons who may be employed therein, providing for not less t an 250 cubic feet of air space per feerson between the hours of 6 p. m. and 6 a. m ., and for not ess than 400 cubic feet of air space yer person between the hours of 6 ~- m. and 6 a. m., but this atter provision may be modified y a special permit if the building bas suitable lightint. License may e revoked at any time if health of community or of those emtloyed therein require it. Premises to em a clean and roper sanitary condition, free from vermin and all matter of in ectious and contagious nature, to be heated properly, J?rovided with toilets, and suitable light and ventilation at all trmes. License to be J?Osted . E~loyer givmg out work to keep register of persons emRloy on home work and to be sure that such home workElrs are icensed. Industrial commission may require that rooms used for manufacturing have no door 1 window, or other opening into rooms used for living or sleepmg purf:oses, and that they contain no bed, bedding, or cooking utensi s, and have an outside entrance. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 0 Tailor, seamstress, for making any article of wearing apparel for famil y use.