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C OL E·ut-
Aug21'36
B R
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN'S BUREAU
Bulletin No. 145
SPECIAL STUDY OF WAGES PAID TO
WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
INDUSTRIES PRIOR AND SUBSEQUENT
TO THE OHIO MINIMUM WAGE LAW
FOR WOMEN AND MINORS
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
+
SPECIAL STUDY OF WAGES PAID TO
WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO INDUSTRIES
PRIOR AND SUBSEQUENT TO THE OHIO
MINIMUM WAGE LAW FOR WOMEN
AND MINORS
BULLETIN OF THE WoMEN's BuREAU, No.
145
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1936
For sale by the Suporintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. - - - - - - - - • • Price 10 cents
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CONTENTS
PaEe
Letter of transmittal______________________________________________
I. Wage-earning women constitute a large and growing element in the
working population of the State. They occupy this position because of their need for supporting themselves and their dependents __
1. During the past 30 years there has been a steady increase in the
number of employed women and _in the percentage they form of
all gainfully occupied persons in the State _____ .. _______ ____ __
2. Although women wage earners are still considerably younger, on
the whole, than men, the old idea that women are transients in
industry and work only for a few years before marriage is not
supported by fact. There has been a growing tendency for
women to continue working after marri~ge and to remain employed for long periods______ ___ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
3. Women are in industry and in other fields of employment because .
they must support themselves and their dependents_ _________
IT. Data regarding women's earnings reveal such discrepancies and variations in wages paid for identical work as to indicate that no relationship exists between the value of the services rendered and the
wageA paid______ __________________________ _________________
1. Women are paid widely varying rates for the same work. In many
industries there are employers who pay wages not commensurate
with the value of the services rendered, since they are far less
than those paid by the majority of the employers for the ~ame
work____________ ______ __________________________________
2. The fact that in many instances women are paid lower wages
than men for essentially similar work is a further indication that
women receive wages which · are not commensurate· with the
value of the services rendered ____ . ___________ . _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
III. Women as a group have always been paid low wages as measured by
the cost of Ii ving and the pure hasing power of the dollar ___·- ____ . _
1. Women have always been a low wage group in the labor market __
2. Considerable numbers of women receive wages which do not meet
the cost of living at subsistence levels, and still larger numbers
of women do not receive wages adequate to meet the minimum
cost of living necessary for health _______________ ________ ____
3. The employment of women at wages less than the cost of living is
a social problem. This is indicated by the fact that a considerable number of employed women turn to relief agencies for help
and are now on the relief rolls .. ____ ________ ___________ _______
IV. Wage-earning women cannot remedy the situation by their own unaided efforts ____ ___ _________________ .. _ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _
1. Their bargaining power is weak since they are largely unorganized_
2. Their bargaining power is weak since they are concentrated in the
highly seasonal industries and are subject to great irregularity
in employment_ ___ .. ______________________________________
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IV
CONTENTS
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V. Employers have been unable to remedy the situation through voluntary
efforts __ ____ ___ __ ____ ____ ____ __________ ____ ___ ___ _______ ___
VI. The application of the minimum wage law to the laundry and dry·cleaning industries has resulted in great benefits to women employed in these industries __ ____ __ _- - - ----- - ----- - ----------- 1. Conditions prevailing in the industries prior to the wage order_ __
2. Findings of the preliminary investigations in the laundry and drycleaning industries _______ _ ____ ____ _________ _.. _ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ _
3. Basis for recommendations of the laundry and cleaning and dyeing
minimum wage boards _ _______ ____ _________ -· _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _
4. The effect of the wage orders on the wages of women and minors
employed in laundries and dyeing and cleaning establishments
in Ohio ______ ___ ____ __ ___ -- - - - ------- - ------ --- --- - - - - -5. The effect of wage orders on the employment of women and minors
in the laundry and dry-cleaning industries__ ____ _____ _______ _
VII. Legislation on hours and wages in other States and countries______
Appendixes:
I. General tables ______ ______ . __ _ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _
II. Bibliography ____ ___ ______ ______ -· ___ . ____ __ - _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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65
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CHARTS
I. Females 10 years of age and over gainfully occupied in Ohio, 1900-30_
II. Married women 15 years of age and over gainfully occupied in Ohio,
1890-1930 _____ __ __ ·- _______ - _- _- _- _______ - _- ____ ·--· _ __ _ _ _ __ _
III. Average weekly earnings of men and women in representative New
York State factories, 1923-35 _________ _____ .. _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _
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4
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APPENDIX TABLES
I. Gainfully occupied persons in relation to the total population, by
sex, Ohio, 1900-30__ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _
IL Gainfully employed women in relation to total persons gainfully
occupied, Ohio, 1900-30______ _____ ___ ____ __________ _______
III. Proportion of women 10 years old and over gainfully occupied,
by age, Ohio, 1900 and 1930 ___ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __ _____________ _
IV. Duration of employment in the same industry, compiled from
special studies, 1913-34_ ____ ___ __ __________ _______ ____ __ _
V. Proportion of married women 15 years old and over _gainfully
occupied, Ohio, 1890-1930__ __ _ ___ _ _______ ___ __ _ _ _ _ ___ _ ___ _
VI. Proportion of married women in various industries, compiled
from special studies, 1922-34 __ ___ _ ---- -- -- - -- - -- - -- ------- VIL Hourly rates of women workers in Ohio dry-cleaning establishments, classified by occupation for weeks ending May 13 and
October 14, 1933_ ___ __ ______ ___ _______ __ _ __ __ _______ __ _ _
VIII. Average weekly earnings of men and women in representative
New York State factories, 1923-35__ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ ____ ____ _
IX. Members of the Ohio Laundry Wage Board, 1934 . ___ ___ ___.. _.. _ _
X. Members of the Ohio Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, 1934__
XI. Week's earnings of women and minors in 114 Ohio dyeing and
cleaning establishments reporting for 4 pay periods ______ __ __
XII. Hours worked by women and minors in 114 Ohio dyeing and
cleaning establishments reporting for 4 pay periods __ __ ___ ___
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CONTENTS
APPENDIX TABLES-Continued
XIII. Average hourly earnings of women and minors in 114 Ohio d yeing
a nd clea ning establishments reporting for 4 pay periods ____ __
XIV. Number a nd percent of the 114 Ohio dyeing a nd cleaning establishment s paying more or less than the minimum rate to women
a nd minors_ _ _ _ __ __ _ ___ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _
XV. Week's earnings of women and minors in all dyeing and cleaning
est ablishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum
Wage __ ___ ___ _.. ____ .. __ __.. _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _
XVI. H ours worked by women and minors in all dyeing and cleaning
establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum
W P,ge _ ___ - _ - ___ .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
XVII. Average hourly earnings of women and minors in all d yeing and
cleaning establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of
Minim um Wage ___ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _
XVIII. Number a nd percent of all d yeing a nd cleaning establishments report ing to the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage, paying more
or less than the minimum rate to women and minors .. ________
XIX. Proportion of men and women in total group of wage earners in
laundries and dry-cleaning establishments in Ohio, 1914- 32, as
reported to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics_ ___________
XX. Number and percent of men and women employed in laundry and
dry-cleaning establishments in Ohio in 1933 and 1934, as rep orted to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics___ ___________
XXI. Week's earnings of women and minors employed in 60 Ohio
laundries for which records are available for four periods__ ___
XXII. Average hourly earnings of women and minors in 60 Ohio laundries for which records are available for four periods___ __ ___ _
XXIII. Hours worked by women and minors employed in 60 Ohio laundries for which records are available for four periods__ ______ _
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,
Washington, July 6, 1936.
MADAM: I have the honor to submit a special study of wages, hours,
and employment of women and minors in Ohio industries, especially
laundries and cleaning and dyeing establishments, before and after
the issuance of wage orders under the Ohio minimum-wage law.
This study was made by the Women's Bureau at the request of
Mr. John W. Bricker, Attorney General, and Mr. Ora B. Chapman,
Director of Industrial Relations of Ohio, to be used as factual evidence of the social and economic status of industrial women in Ohio
which gave rise to the passage of the minimum-wage law of that
State, and of the effects of the law upon the wages and employment
of women in industries covered by minimum-wage orders in the State.
As the time available for the preparation of this material was very
short, it was thought best to use the plan of the factual brief submitted
by John J. Bennett, Jr., Attorney General of the State of New York,
to the United States Supreme Court in the case of Frederick L.
Morehead, as the Warden of the City Prison in the Borough of
Brooklyn, against People ex rel, Joseph Tipaldo. We have substituted Ohio figures from Women's Bureau studies and other sources
wherever possible in that portion of the report which describes general
social and economic conditions. The exact wording of the New York
brief, however, has been retained to a large extent. So much so that
we have omitted quotation marks and page citations for the same.
We hereby, therefore, make acknowledgment of our indebtedness to
the Hon. John J. Bennett for his permission to make such use of this
material.
The data concerning employment and wages of women in Ohio
laundry and dry-cleaning establishments before ahd after the minimum-wage orders were secured by the Women's Bureau from the
Department of Industrial Relations of Ohio with their full cooperation, and were prepared for this study by the Women's Bureau.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. FRANCES PERKINS,
Secretary of Labor.
VII
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SPECIAL STUDY OF WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND
MINORS IN OHIO INDUSTRIES PRIOR AND SUBSEQUENT TO THE OHIO MINIMUM WAGE LAW
FOR WOMEN AND MINORS
Part I.-WAGE-EARNING WOMEN CONSTITUTE A LARGE AND GROWING
ELEMENT IN THE WORKING POPULATION OF THE STATE- THEY OCCUPY THIS POSITION BECAUSE OF THEIR NEED FOR SUPPORTING
THEMSELVES AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
1. During the past 30 years there has been a steady increase
in the number of employed women and in the percentage they
form of all gainfully occupied persons in the State.
The United States Census shows that the number of gainfully
employed women in Ohio has more than doubled since 1900. (See
chart I.) In spite of the decline in child labor during this period, t he
number of employed females 10 years of age and over has increased as
follows:
1900 ___ _________ _______ ________________ 246,071
1930 _______ _____ _____ _____ _____ __ ___ __ 539,606
Of every 100 females 10 y ears of · age and over, 15 were gainfully
employed in 1900 and 20 in 1930. 1
The increase in the number of gainfully occupied women has been
greater, proportionately, than that of men. Consequently , of ever y
100 persons in the working population in Ohio in 1930, approximately
21 were women and girls, as compared with 16 in 1900.2
2. Alt.no ugh women wage earners are still considerably
younger, on the whole, than men, the old idea that women are
transients in industry and work only for a few years before
marriage is not supported by fact. There has been a growing
tendency for women to continue working after marriage and
to remain employed for long periods.
T he average 3 age of gainfully employed women in Ohio has
increased from 25 in 1900 to 30 in 1930. Of every 100 employed
women, 64 were at least 25 years of age in 1930, as compared with
only 51 in 1900. This change in age distribution h as been due in
2 See appendix table II.
1 See appendix table I.
a T he type of average used here, and throughou t t he report except where otherwise noted, is t hemedilm.
By definition the median is the mid-point in a series of items arranged in order of magnitude, half the items
being above and h<l.lf below this point.
1
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
part to the decrease in numbers of very young workers, but it is also
to be attributed to the growing numbers of women who have remained
at work into middle age and beyond. In 1930, 23 percent of all
women in the State who were 25 but less than 45 were working, .and
CHART
No. 1.-WOMEN 10 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER GAINFULLY OCCUPIED
IN OHIO, 1900-1930
6llr------------c----,--
4ddt----------
''ti
30D-----
~
~
~
✓
~
ZPO--
~
/10--
(911
/'Ill
ye a. r
/f3tl
Based on data from Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. (See appendix table I.)
approximately 14 percent of all those 45 years and over. 4 The
percentage which gainfully occupied women formed of all women in
Ohio in each of the various age groups in 1900 and in 1930 was as
1900
19so
follows:
10 to 24 years ______ __ __ ____ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 19. 8
25 to 44 years _____ __ ___ __·_________________ 14. 5
45 years and over _ ___________________ ___ ___ 9. 2
' See appendix t able III.
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22. 2
23. 3
13. 8
3
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS · IN OHIO
That women go to work with the intention of remaining there only
a short time has been disproven by numerous studies of the duration
of employment of women workers. Since such studies have been
limited to the length of time women have been employed in the same
industry or by the salfi'.e firm, the information obtained on this point
is an understatement and by no means indicates the total number of
years these women have been working, particularly in the case of
women employed in unskilled jobs. A group of packers in a candy
factory, for instance, may have been employed in numerous ·other
industries throughout the course of their working lives, but no data
are available to show how long they have been gainfully employed
since beginning work. Investigations made by the Women's Bureau
of the United States Department of Labor, the New York Department
of Labor, and other agencies, of the duration of employment in various
industries show, however, that considerable proportions of women
have been employed in the same industry or by the same firm for ,
long periods. See summary following.
Duration of employment in the same industry 1
Percent of women
employed in the
same industryIndustry and locality
Date
5years and 10 years
and over
over
-
Hotels and restaurants-New York State ________
Beauty shops-4 cities ________________________
Beauty shops-Columbus, Ohio ________________
Glove industry-Fulton County, N. Y ___________
Cigar industry-11 States, including 11 Ohio cities_
Cigarette industry-5 cities ________________ ____
Slaughtering and meat-packing industry-13 cities_
Various industries-industrial women attending
adult-education classes, including Ohio women __
Various industries:
44 Ohio cities ____________________________
Manchester, N. H ____ ____________________
Millinery industry-New York City _____________
Paper box industry-New York State ___________
-
1934
1933
1933
1933
1929--30
1929--30
1928
1928-30
1925
1922
1919-20
1914
1913
2
6
3
7
8
1
3
5
3
76. 6
99. 0
25.
54.
58.
2 23.
51.
52.
52.
8 4
35.
40.
57.
34.
1
7
8
9
2
7.
21.
27.
2 9.
28.
25.
18.
0
4
5
2
6
7
6
3·37. 7
3:47. 4
16.
19.
22.
14.
1
3
9
7
Based on appendix table IV.
These figures apply to length of employment with the same firm .
a These figures apply to length of employment "in industry" not necessarily in the same industry.
'Includes women with 4 or more years' experience "in industry."
1
2
The growing tendency for women to remain at work after marriage
bas been a factor in the increasing age of women wage earners and
the duration of their employment. Census figures show that the
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND M INORS IN OHIO
number and proportion of married women workers have increased
with each decade. (See chart II.) In 1890, less than 2 of every 100
married women in the State were._gainfully employed. By 1930, the
proportion had increased to 10 out of every 100 5 and married women
comprised over one-fourth (28.3 percent) of all -gainfully occupied
CHART
No. IL-MARRIED WOMEN 15 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER GAINFULLY
OCCUPIED IN OHIO, 1890-1930
Zoo------------------------/✓0----------------
~
~
~
~
!Po.----------------------
~
~
~
.JiJ-----------
Based on data from Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. (See appendix t able V.)
women 15 years and older and 34.8 percent of those in manufacturing
and mechanical industries. 6
Because of the widespread interest in the employment of married
women and the numerous problems involved, many studies have been
made of the marital status of wage-earning women in various industries and occupations. These indicate that there is greater concentration of married women in some industries than in others. Figures
on the proportion of married women as shown by various studies
are as follows:
o See
appendix table V.
U.S. Bureau of t he Census, Fifteent h Census of t he United States, 1930, P opulat ion, vol. IV, Occupations, by States, pp. 1299, 1302.
6
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Proportion of married women in various industries, 1922-1934 1
Industry and locality
Date
Percent or
married
women
Hotels and restaurartts-N ew-" Y ork State·_ ____ ________ __
1934 ·
29. 9
Beauty shops- 4 cities____________ ____ _____ ___________
1933
23. 7
Beauty shops- Columbus, Ohio_ ____________________ ___
1933
34. 0
South Bend, Ind_ __________ ___ ____________________ ___
1930
_______ _
All industries ___ ______________ _______ ____ ______ ____ _______ _
43. 7
Manufacturing industries _____ __ ____________________________ _
48. 9
Clerical _ ____________ ___________________ _________ __ ______ _ _
22. 4
Sales _____ ______ ________________________ _________________ _
39. 7
Cigar industry-11 States including 11 Ohio cities___ ____ _ 1929- 30
39. 3
38. 6
Cigarette industry- 5 cities. --- ------------ - ----------- 1929- 30
Laund_ry ~ndus_try- 23 cities_ ____ __ ___ _________________ 1927-28
42. 6
C1nc1nnat1 ______________________________ __________ _______ __
36. 9
Cleveland _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _________ _
45. 1
Ohio__________________________ __________ __ __________
1922
____ ___ _
All ind us tries_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ ________ _
28. 4
Manufacturing:
Advertising and other novelties __ __ ___ __________________ _
25. 3
Auto tops and other canvas products'____________________ _
40. 9
Candy ________________ __ ________ __ ___________________ _
34. 3
Clothing:
Shirts and overalls __ __ ______ ___ ____________ _______ _
13. 6
Suits and co~ts, men's __ ___ _____ ___________ ________ _
15. 6
Suits and coats, women's __ _________ ________ ________ _
41. 4
Other __________________________ __ ________________ _
28. 4
Electric products _________ _________ __ ____________ ______ _
14. ~
Food products __________ ______________________________ _
40. 4
Glass and glass products ___ __ _________________ _ _________ _
26. 5
Gloves _______________________________ ________ ________ _
23. 6
Metal products ___ _______ __________ ___________ ________ _
31. 7
Paper and paper products ____ __________________________ _
23. 4
Pottery _____ _____________ ________ ____________________ _
31. 4
Rubber and rubber products ____________________________ _
41. 0
Shoes _______ ________ _____ __ ____ ______________ ________ _
18. 9
Textiles:
Cordage:.. __ ________ __ ___ ___ ___ ___ _________________ _
42. 9
Hosiery and knit goods ___ ___ __________ ________ ____ _
28. 0
Woolen , goods__ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _________ _
32. 1
Other ________________ ___ _________________________ _
31. 6
Tobacco and cigars __ _ ____________ __ __ __ _______________ _
38. 8
General mercantile_ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _________ _
25.0
5-and-10-cen t stores ___________________ ____ _______________ . _
16. l
Laundries ____ ___ _____________________ ____________________ _
32. 3
1
Based on appendix table VI.
It is the practice of the Bureau of the Census to classify as married
women those who are living with their husbands and those who are
separated, and to include in a separate category those who are widowed,
and divorced. The same classifications were followed in the special
studies referred to, and for this reason the above figures are an understatement of the extent to which women with family responsibilities
are employed. In 25 studies made by the United States Women's
Bureau, covering 169,255 employed women, it was found that nearly
half the women were or had been married. In 10 of these studies
.single women formed less than one-half of the group.7
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. Women in Industry, Bulletin No. 91, 1931. p. 17.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
3. Women are in industry and in other fields of employment
because they must support themselves and_ their dependents.
Studies of the economic status of wage-earning women show· that
they are working to support themselves and in many cases also to
support others who are wholly or partially dependent upon them.
For the majority of women who are "on their own", without family
ties, the only source of income is what they can earn by their labor.
No comprehenseive statistics are available to indicate the numerical
importance of this group of "unattached" women in Ohio today. In
1920, however, the Bureau of the Census made a special study of the
family relationships of employed women, tabulating the census
schedules for such women in 11 cities in various parts of the country
.according to the living arrangements of the women. 8 As shown in
the following table, it was found that women not living with their
:families or with relatives comprised 27 percent of the 373,204 gainfully
employed women 16 years of age and over.fl
Percent
Living alone__ ____________ ________ _________________ 5. 9
Boarding or lodging___ ____ ___ ___ __ ___ __ _____ __ _____ 13. 5
Living in employer's family______ ___ __ _____ _________ 8. 0
Living in family of 2 or more members __ ___ _____ _____ __ 72. 6
Cincinnatic, Ohio, was one of the 11 cities included in the study.
The family relationships of the 50,231 employed women in that city
in 1920 were reported as follows: 10
Percent
Living at home as head of family (including women
living alone)_ ___ ________________________________ _
Boarding or lodging or living with employer_ _______ ___
Living with father ____ ________ _____ ___ ___ __________ _
Living with mother_ ____ ___ ____________________ __ ___
Living with husband or other relative __ _____ _____ _____
17. 6
19.
28.
14.
21.
0
0
3
1
These statistics do not give a complete picture, since women living
at home as heads of families were not separated in the analysis from
those living "at home" alone. Nevertheless, the figures do indicate
that more than a third of the employed women in Cincinnati were
either living at home as the heads of families or living apart from th:e
family group.
It is sometimes assumed that women wage earners who live with
their families are not dependent for their own support upon what
they can earn. Studies of tp.e responsibilities of working women living at home show, on the contrary, that a considerable number are
the only breadwinners in their families, and that even younger women
who are living with parents must contribute a large part of their
earnings to the support of the family group.
s U.S. Bureau of the Census. Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920. Census Monograph IX,
1929. pp, 122-156.
10 Ibid., p. 141.
t Ibid, p. 154.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
7
Women have always shared in the support of their families. In
the days of a self..:sufficing family economy, they contributed their
labor for the home production of clothing, food supplies, and other
family needs. With the growth of the industrial system and the substitution of factory-made goods for those produced wholly at home,
it became increasingly necessary for women to work outside the home
in order to contribute in cash their share of the family income.
"While industrial changes have been making it possible for
women to become wage earners, the altered economic conditions
of the modern family have been making it necessary. Compare
the budget of the rural family of two generations ago with that
of its city grandchildren today. The earlier family grew its food
and prepared it at home, knit its stockings and made most of its
clothing, chopped down trees for its fuel. There l'.ras no entertainment to be bought, no carfare to be paid. Women often
contributed more than men to the real income of the family . . . .
A family could well afford to support several 'dependent' women
who made its clothing, cooked its food, washed its clothes, and
even raised the vegetables arid milked the cows.
"But the 'typical working-class family' to"day, we are told, must
spend half its income for food, a third or a fourth of it for rent.
Then comes clothing-most of it, like the food, bought at the
store, much of it ready to wear-ga$ and electricity, carfare to
work, the movies Saturday night, and all the incidentals requisite
to living and working in a city. The significant fact is that all of
it must be secured in exchange for the pay envelope; all of it
reduced to terms of dollars and cents. When the credit side of the
family budget included a large percentage of raw materials made
up at home, (the) father produced only one part of the family
income. Now that the 'home mades' have almost disappeared,
or are costlier to produce than factory made, can he alone and
unaided produce the dollars nnd cents out of which they must be
supplied?" 11
Regarding the need for women to shar~ in support of their families,
the United States Women's Bureau quotes:
·
"The struggle to live on the husband's waga alone, in most
industrial families, is a failure. A canvass of nearly 12,000
families in 6 industrial sections of Philadelphia in 1918 showed
that the majority, 55 percent, relied on income from other wage
earners or from lodgers. Only 6 percent of this entire group
was of the conventional statistical type, husband, wife, and three
children under 16 years of age, supported by the husband alone.
"Families not supported by the father alone, as a rule, turn
first to the wages of children (18.6 percent), next to the wages of
the wife (1 7. 7 percent), and third to income from lodgers (15. 9
percent)." 12
Perkins, Frances. Should Women T ake Men's Jobs? The Women's Journal, April 1930, pp. 8-9.
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bulletin No. 91. Op. cit., p. 19. Quoted from a study
by Dr. Gwendolyn Eugbes Berry, published in The Annals, American Academy of Political and Social
Science, May 1929, pp. 31G, 317.
11
12
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8
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Although census figures are available on the family relationship of
employed women and the numbers of other wage earners in their
families, such figures do not indicate the proportions of women's
earnings which are contributed to their families or·the·extent to which
women are called upon to support others. For such information we
must rely upon special studies which have been made of groups of
wage-earning women in various localities.
Data on the contributions of working women to their families are
available from such sources for as far back as 1888. Of 61,679
women covered in 22 studies made between 1888 and 1923 and
summarized by the United States Women's Bureau, only 9 percent
of the women were making no contributions from their earnings to the
family income. More than half the women (53 percent) were contributing all their earnings, and 38 percent contributing part of their
earnings to their families .13
In order to secure more detailed information on the part played by
women in family support, the Women's Bureau made a special study
of the share of family support borne by men and women in Manchester, N. H., a community, in which large numbers of women are
~mployed. 14 It was found· that 68 percent of the women contributed
all their earnings to the family, and that the daughters contributed
a considerably larger proportion of their warnings than the sons,
60 percent of the daughters and 35 percent of the sons contributing
all their earnings to the family income. 15
P ercent ofDaughters
Sons
Contributing 50 percent or more of their earnings _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 5. 6
Contributing all their earnings_____ ______ ____ 59. 9
60. 9
34. 6
In connection with another study made by the Women's Bureau,
covering women employed in the meat-packing industry in 1928, data
were secured in eight cities on the proportion of the family income
earned by women who were not the sole support of their families. 16
The average percentage of family income contributed by these
women, according to the size of their families, was as follows:
1a Ibid., What the Wage-Earning Woman ·Contributes to Family Support, Bulletin No. 75, 1929, p. 12.
Ibid., The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. Bulletin No, 30, 1923, P art I.
u Ibid., p. 59.
16 Ibid. , The Employment of Women in Slaughtering and Meat Packing, Bulletin No. 88, 1932, pp.
]4, 15, 200-202.
H
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Siu of famil11
9
Per cent offamil11
income contributed
bu the women
Total ___ _________________________________ __
2 personF _____ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
3"petsO'n:s _.____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4 persons _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
5 persons ___ ___________________ _____________ _____ _
6 persons ____ ____________________ ______ ___________
?persons ___ ________________________ ____ ___ ___ ___ _
8 persons _____ __ ____________ ___ __ ____ __________ ___
9 persons _____ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ __
10 persons _____ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ __
40. 6
42. 1
43. 1
43. 3
42. 4
3~ 3
3~0
39. 9
28. 3
26. 3
Regarding the importance of women's earnings to their families the
Women's Bureau states:
"If an employed woman living at home does not earn enough
for her own support she is a financial burden on her family, and
to that extent the family- whether able to do so or not- must
subsidize both the girl and the industry in which she works . . . .
And if the girPs earnings are too low to permit of sav~g and she
becomes ill or loses her job, this fact may be the final cause of
submerging an already overburdened family." 17
Even greater is the responsibility borne by women who are the only
breadwinners in their families or have others wholly dependent upon
them for support. Because of the far-reaching consequences of this
situation, many studies have been made of the extent to which women
wage earners must support others who are wholly dependent upon
them. For example, the Connecticut Department of Labor made a
study of the economic status of wage-earning women in 1915- 16 and
found that of 2,271 single women wage earners living with their
families, 33 percent were the only members of the family working. 18
In connection with the study of women in the meat-packing industry,
referred to above, the Women's Bureau found that 40 percent of the
self-supporting women had other persons wholly dependent upon
them. 19 Data brought together by the United States Women's
Bureau from similar studies may be summarized briefly as follows: 20
Of 16,964 women included in 8 studies made between 1912 and
1921, 14 percent were supporting persons who were wholly dependent
upon them.
In a study made by the Women's Bureau in 1919 covering 1,800
wage-earning women, 1 in 3 of the single women reported her mother
to be entirely dependent upon her and 1 in 7 of the married women
was the sole support of herself and husband.
A study of wage-earning women living away from home in Toledo,
Ohio, so-called nonfamily women, showed that 30.5 percent contribIbid .,
I bid .,
19 I bid. ,
2o I bid .,
11
1s
Bulletin No. 91, op. cit .. p . 59.
Bulletin N o. 30, op . cit., p . 152.
Bulletin No. 88, op. cit ., p. 200.
Wages of Women in 13 States, Bulletin No. 85, l!l31, p. 153.
79567 °-36-2
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10
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
uted money to support someone besides themselves. The report
states:
"This matter of dependency is easier to determine with a
nonfamily woman than with one who contributes to the family
group of which she is a part. Here the money is given without
any return, and goes very definitely for the support of someone
else." 21
For many women, both married and single, employment outside
the home must be combined with domestic responsib1lities. The
Secretary of Labor says in her annual report for 1935:
"Conditions arising during depression have increased the
extent and gravity of a situation that long has existed, namely,
that many employed women, both single and married, are supporting families or are carrying a considerable share in such
support. [An analysis made by the Women's Bureau of unpublished 1930 census material concerning employed homemakers reveals] the fact that that not far from half a million of
the women enumerated as employed homemakers were the sole
support of families of two or more persons. " 22
In Ohio 193,892 gainfully occupied women (36 percent of all
gainfully employed women 15 years of age and over) were listed in
the census as· homemakers in 1930; the homemaker was defined
as the woman member of the family group who was responsible for
the care of the household. 23 Approximately 12 percent of all women
homemakers in the State were gainfully employed; the proportions in the larger cities were as follows: 24
Percent
Akron_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __
Canton ___ ___ ____ ____ _______ ______: ____ ___
Cincinnati_ ___ _________ __ _______ __ ______ ___
.Cleveland_ _____________________ __________ _
Columbus__ _____ __ ______ ___ ____ ________ ___
Dayton __ ___ ____ _______ ___ ___ ___ ___ _____ __
Toledo ____ ______ ___ ____ ________ ___________
Youngstown __ __________ ________ __ __ ~-__ ___
16. 0
11. 1
15.
16.
19.
1~
15.
8.
8
4
5
4
2
9
Among these are many women with small children who are forced
by economic need to seek employment. A special tabulation by the
United States Women's Bureau of 1920 census data for four cities
showed that of 11,060 breadwinning mothers in these cities, 40 percent had children under 5 years of age. 25
In connection with a special study of the children of working mothers,
the Children's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor
21 Information Bureau on Women's Work. The Floating World, a Study of Nonfamily Women in
Toledo, 1927, p . 23.
21 Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor, fiscal year ended June 30, 1935, p . 127.
23 U. S. Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Population, vol. VI, Families, pp. 9, 1028.
2• Ibid, pp. 1028-1030.
23 U.S. Department of Labor, Woman's Bureau, Bulletin No. 75 op. cit., p. 17.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
11
made a house-to-house canvass in Philadelphia in 1928. 26 Of 12,227
mothers found at home with at least one child under 16, half had been
employed after marriage. Of the white mothers, 48 percent of those
with one chjld and 39 percent of those with ~five or more children
under 16 had been employed since marriage. Of the Negro mothers,
82 percent of those with one child and _75 percent of those with five or
more children under 16 had been employed since marriage. Eighteen
percent of the women working at the time of the investigation were
the only wage earners and an additional 9 percent were the chief
although not the only breadwinners in their families.
In other words, it has been shown again and again that large numbers of wage-earning women are responsible for the support of others
as well as themselves and that the welfare of many persons depends
upon their pay envelopes. In discussing this aspect of women's
work for wages the United States Women's Bureau states:
"From the point of view of the family, the woman's earnings
bear a large share in support. Studies in various industrial
communities have shown not only that the great majority of
wage-earning women, whether single or married, contribute to
the support of others, but that in an appreciable number of
cases women's earnings constitute the entire family budget.
"From the point of view of the individual working woman,
earnings represent a purchasing power that, while dependent
upon the fluctuating value of money, holds under the existing
economic order whatever possibility of satisfaction she may have
in life, since in her case income from other sources is likely to be
nonexistent or at best negligible. And this is quite as true of
the unmarried girl who lives at home as of the one who lives
independently, for if she does not earn enough for her own
complete support she is subsidized by her family; and of ten this
very fact may so reduce their standard that some unforeseen or
unpreventable circumstance may plunge the whole family, the
gfrl included, below the subsjstence level. In the great majority
of cases, the amount the employed woman can earn by working
during reasonable hours and under suitable conditions actually
does form her only financial support-the sole economic basis of
her health, the length of her life, her possihility of bearing and
rearing healthy children, and her personal efficiency and happiness.
"The early investigations of B. Seebohn Rowntree, the
English economist and manufacturer, made at a time of unusual
prosperity in the section of England studied, led to a picture of
the average worker as starting life as a child below the poverty
line, rising above it in early manhood, sinking below it again as
his own children begin fo arrive, emerging above it as the children
cease to be dependent upon him, and falling below it again as
old age approaches.
16
lbid., Children's Bureau, Children of Working Mothers in Philadelphia, Publica tion No. 204, 1931.
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12
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
"For the woman in industry the condition is similar. If she
be married, her child-bearing years represent, besides the added
expense to the family, an actual decrease in its total income.
If she be unmarried, she _is often called upon to contribute to
the .support of. young.er brothers a,nd sisters, and usually must
assist with the support of parents, who, unlike the children of
her married sisters or brothers, become, as the years advance,
an increasing financial burden." 27
A comparison of the average earnings of wage-earning women and
the estimated cost of living of individuals and families, many of which
are totally dependent upon women for support, shows how inadequate
women's wages are, and how great is the need for some remedy for this
grave problem. In 1929 the Consumers' League of Cincinnati made a
study of the cost of living of self-supporting women in Cincinnati and
found that an income of $17.50 a week was necessary "to provide a
minimum standard of health and self-respect for a self-supporting
girl" in that community at that time. 28 According to the figures of
the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics, half of all women wage earners
in Ohio in 1929, at the very peak of prosperity, were paid at a rate of
less than $16 a week. Eighteen and six-tenths (18.6) percent during
this same year were paid at rates of less than $12. 29 Sixteen dollars is
an overstatement of the average wages actually received by these
workers. The amounts r eported by employers to the Division of
Labor Statistics do not represent the actual earnings of employees,
but sums which workers would have earned if they had worked full
weeks. .A woman, for example, may work 1 day for which she is paid
$2.50, but her wage is reported to the Division as $15, or the amount
she would have earned if she had worked 6 days. 30 It is clear therefore
that the amount below which half the wage-earning women in the
State were actually being paid in 1929 was considerably less than $16.
The same discrepancy between the cost of a decent standard of
living and wages existed in 1932 and 1934. The Consumers' League
budget which amounted to $17 .50 in 1929, when adjusted to June
1932 prices, equals $14 .28 .31 In that year half the women wage
earners in Ohio were paid at a wage rate of less than $13. 32 This is
an inflated figure for the same reasons that were given in explaining
the median of $16 for 1929. In 1932 the median wage rates, com21
Ibid., Women 's Bureau, Bulletin No. 85, op. cit., pp. 1- 2.
Frances R ., What Girls Live On- and How. The Consumers' League of Cincinnati, 1930.
2s Whitney,
p.41.
29 Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statistics, Report No. 26 , Rates of Wages,
Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salary Payments In Ohio, 1929. Computed from data on p . 8.
3o Instructions on forms sent to Ohio employers for reporting to t he Ohio Devartment of Industrial Relations, Di vision of Labor Statistics.
3 1 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1931, p . 90, Cost of Living Index, June
1929, 170.2; December 1929, 171.4. Mont hly Labor Review, December 1935, p . 1726. Cost of living index,
June 1932, 138.9; December 1932, 133.5; June 1934, 136.5; N ovember 1934, 137.8. (Base 1913= 100.)
32 Computed from unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations,
Division of Labor Statistics.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
13
puted from the Division of Labor Statistics figures, were only $10
for women working in restaurants; $11 for the tobacco, women's
clothing, hotels, laundry and dry-cleaning industries; and $12 for
the boot and shoe industry and hospitals. 33 In June 1934 the items
included in the Consumers' League budget would have cost $14.04, and
according to the Division of Labor Statistics half the women in Ohio
working for wages were receiving less than this amount.
It is evident from these figures that in good years and bad thousands
of women in Ohio earn less than enough to enable them to live in
"health and with self-respect."
But as has been shown above, large numbers of wage-earning women
are responsible not only for their own support but for that of dependents. Half a million women enumerated as employed homemakers in the 1930 census were the sole support of families of two
or more persons in 1930.34 The Chicago Council of Social Agencies
estimated the cost of the weekly budgetary needs of a dependent
family of four, consisting of a mother and three children of 7, 5, and
3 years, at $19.97 a week in 1929.35 If one were to adjust this budget
to a family of three, a mother and two children of 5 and 3 years,
$17.27 a week would be required to maintain "mental and moral
health and efficiency."
The National Industrial Conference Board estimated that a "fair
American standard of living" for a family of four would cost the
following amounts per week in three Ohio cities in 1927: 36
Cleveland ______________________ ________
Dayton _____ ______ _______ ___ ___ ________
Marion_ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __
$29. 83
28. 91
27. 73
A decent standard of living for an American family costs no less when
that family is supported by a woman than it does if a man is the sole
breadwinner. Yet the wages of large numbers of women in Ohio are,
and always have been, less than enough to support an individual
worker in health and decency, and therefore of necessity much below
that required for the support of dependents.
aa Idem.
u Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor, fiscal year ended June 30, 1935, p . 127.
a5 Nesbitt, Florence. The Chicago St andard Budget for Dependent Families. Chicago Council of
Social Agencies, 1929, pp. 5, 45-48. Miss Nesbitt's estimated monthly budget for a family of 4 am ounted
to $64.50 for 1929 exclusive of rent and insurance, which items she estimates at $20 and $2, respectively.
When these items are added to $64. 50 the total estimated amount becomes $86.50. To arrive at the weekly
budget, $86.50 was divided by H~ weeks.
36 National Industrial Conference Board. The Cost of Living in T welve Industrial Cities, 1928. p. 51.
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Part IL-DAT A REGARDING WOMEN'S EARNINGS REVEAL SUCH DISCREPANCIES AND VARIATIONS IN WAGES PAID FOR IDENTICAL
WORK AS TO INDICATE THAT NO RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN
THE VALUE OF THE SERVICES RENDERED AND THE WAGES PAID
1. Women are paid widely varying rates for the same work.
In many industries there are employers who pay wages not
commensurate with the value of the services rendered, since
they are far less than those paid by the majority of.the employers for the same work.
In order to determine whether the wages paid to women under
similar conditions show conformity to some standard based upon the
character of the work or are largely in a chaotic and unstandardized
state, the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of
Labor brought together and analyzed material from previous Women's
Bureau studies and from other reliable sources, regarding variations
in wage rates paid to women under corresponding conditions. 1 Plantby-plant comparisons were made of the wage rates paid to women or
of women's actual earnings over comparable periods of time for the
same work, in 8 important woman-employing industries or groups of
industries in 17 States, including Ohio, in 1932 and 1933. The
findings of the study were summarized as follows:
"In each industry examined the wage payments in the typic a
sample establishments included showed striking differences from
plant to plant, even when other conditions were as nearly similar
as is possible with industrial data, and although in every part of
the study all possible efforts were made to select only strictly
comparable data. For example . . . median weekly rates
among 28 large New York laundries . . . show a difference of
86.5 percent from the lowest- to the highest-paying plant. Even
where other •factors, such as type of product, size of city, or
plant location, were taken into account, comparison made in
plants under conditions as nearly identical as obtainable showed
differences in payment so marked as to be attributable only to
lack of wage st andards." 2
"At least some indication of the value of the work done is
shown in the amounts the better paying employers can afford
to give for the job. For others to fall so far below such a standard as frequently appears to be the case creates a situation
grossly unfair not only to those who are performing the work
but to the better paying employers as well." 3
1 U. S. Depar tm ent of Labor, Women's Bureau, Variations in Wage Rates under Correspo nding Con.
ditions, Bulletin N o. 122, 1935.
2 I bid. , p . 4.
3 Ibid., p. 1.
14
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND· MINORS IN OHIO
15
Establishments in two industries in New York State were included
in the study: 28 large power laundries employing 1,900 women and
22 underwear mills employing 497 women seamers. In both industries there was wide variation between plants in the wages paid for
the same work. The average rates paid to shakers in the laundries
for a 48- to 49 }6-hour week ranged from $14.65 in the plant paying
the highest to $6.90 in the plant paying the lowest. One laundry
paid all of its shakers $14 to $18; others paid $10 to $16, $10 to $15,
$11 to $14, whereas one of the laundries was paying some of its
workers less than $7 a week and none as much as $10. Another
was paying all of its shakers $8 to $9.
There were similar variations in the wages of women seamers in
underwear mills in New York State. The average hourly earnings
in the highest paying plant were 38.1 cents; in the lowest, only 17½
cents. In the plants with the highest median wages the average
hourly earnings of the women ranged from 20 to 60 cents, from 18
to 60 cents, from 18 to 50 cents. In one plant at the other extreme
none of the women averaged as high as 30 cents an hour and some
averaged less than 5 cents an hour.
The study included 32 laundries in Ohio, in 1933, and the variation
in the earnings for time workers are given as follows:
"The May figures show that the median hourly earnings of the
time workers ranged from 13 cents to 28 cents, the highest thus
being over twice as great as the lowest. The median was over 25
cents in four plants, but in five it was below 20 cents.
"Over 10 percent of the women reported in four plants had
earned 30 cents or more an hour, in one plant as high as 44 percent
receiving such amounts; on the other hand, in six plants no
woman earned so much as 30 cents, in one of these none so much
as 18 cents, in another none so much as 23 cents.
"At the lower end of the scale, in three plants over 90 percent
earned less than 25 cents, in two of these all the women doing so;
on the other hand, in two plants no time worker earned less than
26 cents, in another fewer than one-third of those reported had
received less than :Z5 cents. 4
Additional evidence of the variation in women's wages was obtained
by the division of women in industry and minimum wage of the New
York State Department of Labor during the summer of 1935 in connection with a survey of women's wages in five manufacturing industries and in retail stores throughout the State. The extent to which
the average hourly earnings of women varied from plant to plant in
these industries and th e low wages paid by some employers are shown
in the following examples. 5
• Ibid., pp. 23, 24. Compiled from <lata collected by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage.
5 New York State Department of Labor, Division of Women in Industry and Minimum Wage, Wages
of Women in Six I ndustries, New York State, 1935, unpublished report, 1935.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
In the candy factories covered in New York City, the average hourly
earnings of all women employees ranged from 59}6 cents in the highestpaying plant to 29 cents in the two lowest-paying plants. Comparison
of earnings of individual women employed in the same occupation
revealed even greater variations. Hourly earnings of the packers in
the plants covered ranged from 78 cents to 22}6 cents. In half the
plants none of the packers received less than 35 cents an hour, their
hourly earnings ranging from 35 to 62% cents, from 40 to 41 cents, from
36 to 45 cents in the higher-paying plants. On the other hand, three
of the plants paid none of their packers as much as 35 cents an hour.
In the paper-box factories in New York City, the average hourly
earnings of all women employees ranged from 55 cents in one plant
to 32}6 cents in others. Women employed as strippers were receiving
from 32}6 cents to 84 cents an hour. Twenty-one of the 28 firms paid
all their strippers at least 40 cents an hour, and 11 firms at least 50
cents an hour, whereas 3 firms were paying none of their strippers as
much as 40 cents.
Average hourly earnings of operators in cotton-garment factories in
New York City ranged from 23 cents to $1.48. Operators in a third
of the plants covered received at least 40 cents an hour. At the high
range were two firms that paid none of their operators less than 90
cents an hour. At the other end of the scale were two plants paying
from 23}6 to 39 cents, and from 27}6 to 39 cents.
Finishers in the knitted-outerwear industry in New York City
earned from 20 to 77 cents an hour. Half the firms paid all their
finishers at least 40 cents an hour. One firm, however, was paying
more than one-fourth of its finishers less than 25 cents an hour and
almost half (43 percent) less than 30 cents.
Marked variations in wages paid to women in the same occupations were also found in the handbag industry and in retail stores
in New York City.
The Ohio Division of Minimum Wage, in a study of the dyeing
and dry-cleaning industry in Ohio, found great variation in hourly
rates of pay for identical operations. Figures were secured for a
period both before and after the President's Reemployment Agreement (this had the same provisions as the permanent National
Recovery Administration code for the industry) went into effect,
that is, for May 1933 and October 1933. The earlier date shows
the effect of total lack of regulation in the industry. Whereas 26.5
percent of the pressers were receiving a rate under 20 cents an hour,
12.8 percent were receiving rates of 36 cents or more an hour; spotters,
4.2 pe~cent under 20 cents, and 22.9 percent 36 cents or more; seamstresses, 13.5 percent under 20 cents, 6.7 percent 40 cents and over
(none 36 but less than 40 cents); inspectors, 20 percent under 20
cents, 13.4 percent 36 cents and over; checkers, 18.6 percent under
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WAGES PAI.D TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
17
20 cents, 9.3 percent 36 cents and over; markers, 25 percent under
20 cents, 12.5 percent 36 cents and over; cleaners, 2.8 percent under
20 cents, 11 percent 36 cents and over; finishers, 30 percent under
26 cents, 20 percent 40 cents and over (none 36 but less than 40
cents); store clerks, 33.3 percent under 26 cents, 33.3 percent 36
but under 40 cents. 6
2. The fact that in .many instances wo.men are paid lower
wages than .men for essentially si.milar work is a further
indicatiorr that wo.men receive wages which are not co.m.mensurate with the value of the services rendered.
Women's labor has traditionally been regarded as cheap labor, and
there is abundant evidence that women's wages are lower than men's. 7
In general the occupations in which women are employed in industry
are different from those engaged in by men. Wage data show, however, that even in those cases in which workers of both sexes are .employed in essentially the same occupation, the women are paid lower
wages than the men.
The most comprehensive figures relating to wages paid to men and
women in specific occupations are those obtained by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor from
monthly pay-roll reports of representative employers in various industries throughout the country. The cases in which women's
average hourly earnings are higher than men's are rare. The studies
cover a few Ohio woman-employing industries, and the data show
the following relationship between men and women's earnings in
these industries in the State. 8
Number of employees
Average hourly earnings
Industry, occupation, and date
Men
Furniture, 1929:
Assemblers and cabinetmakers __
278
Sanders, hand ___ __ __ _________
117
Boot and shoe, 1932:
Treers, hand and machine ___ ___
40
Repairers ____________________
5
Foundries, 1931:
Core makers _________________
262
Motor vehicles, 1928:
Laborers ________ ___________ __ 1,488
Top builders _________________
354
Trim bench hands ____________
49
Ratio
women's
earnings
to men's
Men
Women
27
14
$0. 546
. 417
$0. 321
. 425
58. 8
101. 9
33
31
. 405
. 418
. 317
. 330
78. 3
78. 9
8
. 759
. 496
65. 3
13
78
55
. 546
. 875
. 725
. 509
. 515
. 536
93. 2
58. 9
73. 9
Women
---
6 Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Industry Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the D yeing and
Cleaning Industry of Ohio. May 1934, pp. xl, xli. See appendix table VIL
1 The difference in the general wage level of men and women is discussed in part III.
s Compiled from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics : Wages and Hours of Labor in the Furniture Industries, 1910 to 1929, Bulletin No . 526, 1931, pp. 31-33; Wages and Hours of Labor in the Boot and Shoe
Industr y, 1910 to 1932, Bulletin No. 579, 1933, pp. 74-75; Wages and Hours of Labor in Foundries and
Machine Shops, 1931, Bulletin o. 570, pp. 84-85; Wages and Hours of Labor in the Motor Vehicle
Industry, 1928, Bulletin No. 502, pp. 45--49.
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18
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
In New York State, in this same series of studies, in all but 1 of
the 29 occupations in which at least 10 workers of either sex were
employed in the plants covered, women's average hourly earnings
were less than men's, ranging from less than half (46 percent) to 95
percent of the men's earnings.
There are, of course, cases in which men and women do not perform
identical work even though they are employed in the same occupation.
In many cases, however, women have been employed to replace men
or to work with them in the same occupations because they could
perform the work as well as men or better and could be hired at lower
wages. In a special study of the replacement of men by women in
New York State industries during the war, when the process of replacement was particularly widespread, the bureau of women in industry
of the State department of labor found that 80 percent of the employers in the plants investigated claimed that women were as satisfactory
or more satisfactory than the men whom they replaced. Yet,
even in cases in which the women produced more than the men, they
received lower wages than the men doing the same work in the same
plant. 9 Typical reasons given by employers for retaining women
after the armistice were: "Greater production at lower wages"; "No
man would take it" (referring to the women's pay envelope); "Fiftycent (an hour) men can be replaced by twenty-five-cent women";
"Better work at lower wages"; ''' They produce more and demand
less" .10 Of the 5,329 women who were retained in these plants after
the armistice in what had previously been men's jobs, 83 percent
were receiving lower wages than men doing the same work; their
weekly wages averaged $4.39 less than the men's.
Other studies show that it is a common practice to pay women less
than men when they are employed to perform identical work. The
following example was reported to the United States Women's
Bureau in a plant visited in the course of one of its investigations:
"A new screw machine was installed ... and men were assigned
to the job on a piecework basis at a certain rate per thousand.
After working on the machine a short time the men complained
that they were not able to make a decent wage at the rate paid,
and the employment manager and works manager decided to
try women on it, transferring the men to other work. Women
were put on at the same rate and, the employment manager
said, 'They ran riot with the job and before long were making
over $50 a week.' Then the men wanted another trial at the
job, and as the employment manager does not approve of having
women in the machine shop and tries to discourage it, the men
were given another try-out at a slightly higher rate than the
initial one. Again they failed to t urn out enough work to earn
9 New York State Department of Labor, Bureau of Women in Industry, The Industrial Replacement
of Men by Women in the State of New York, Special Bullet in No . 93, 1919, pp. 27-29.
10 Ibid., p . 33.
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19
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
a satisfactory wage. Women have been employed on this work
ever since (about 3 years). Rates have been lowered several
times since the women have been working on the machines, as
it was stated that the work was in an experimental stage when
the first rates were set. Machine setters were employed for both
men and women. The women now make $25 to $30 a week." 11
The Women's Bureau reported that visits to other plants of metaltrades manufacturers showed few jobs there for women, but that
where women were given jobs on which men had been or might be
employed it was usually because of the lower wage that could be
paid to women. 12
·
On the relation of men's and women's wages the division of women
in industry of the New York State Department of Labor reported:
"An effort to relate women's wages to their industrial efficiency
has been disappointing in any comparative study of wage rates
for men and women. Women's wages are almost always lower
than men's. This is true even where men and women are doing
the same work and the woman produces as much as the man.
In fact, it may make little difference whether a woman produces
more or less than a man; the wage rates may not vary with her
production. Being a woman is now too often a barrier against
adequate payment for service. The great need is for accurate
and scientific determination of the value of labor to the finished
product regardless of the sex of the worker." 13
The National Bureau of Economic Research quotes the results of
several studies, showing the ratio of women's earnings to men's m
the same industries, as follows: 14
Michigan, 1919:
Factories __ ___________________________________
Hotels_____________________ __________________
R estaurants ___________________________ _______
Stores_ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _
P ennsylvania, 1920:
All in dustries__ _______________________ ________
Laundries____________________________ __ ______
Public ser vice _________________________________
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1914: Boot and shoe
factories_ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _
P ercent
of men's
earnings
51.
5 7.
49.
55.
28
14
26
56
43. 48
46. 30
62. 50
58. 82
The Bureau of Economic Research says, in summing up this
material, "men earn about 1.9 as much as women when working for
wages or salaries", which is the equivalent to saying that women 's
earnings are 52.63 percent of the men's.
11 U.S. Depar tment of Labor, Women's Bureau, The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment
Oppor tunities of Women, Bulletin No . 65, 1928, p . 228.
12 I dem.
1a New York State D epartment of Labor, D ivision of Women in Industry, Women Who Work, Special
Bulletin o. 110, 1922, p . 27.
u Compiled from ational Bureau of Economic Research, Income in the Various States: Its Sources and
D istribu tion, 1919, 1920, 1921, p. 79.
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'
20
WAGES PAID TO W OMEN AND M I NORS IN OH IO
A study of wage rates of men and women in Ohio, in 1926, based on
data gathered by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics, showed that
women wage earners were paid at median rates 52.76 percent of men's
rates; women clerical workers, a·t 58.7 percent of the men's median
rate; saleswomen at 47.02 percent of the median rate of salesmen; and
all women workers covered by the division's statistics at a median
rate of 56.10 percent of the men's. 16
Women's wage rates respond mvre slowly to increases in the cost of
living than do men's rates. This is apt to be true of all marginal
workers, where there is a large labor reserve, and also of all groups
unprotected by organization. From the following table, it will be
seen that women's rates failed to keep pace with the rapid rise in
living 0o~ts during the war, whereas the men, as a group, were throughout the period as well off as in 1914. Again, in the rise after the de• pression of 1921, women's rates did not register the increasing prosperity to the degree in which men's rates did so. The table shows
relative real niedian rates for 1915 through 1926, that is, rates deflated
by the changes in the cost of living, as compared with the median
rates paid in 1914: 16
I ndex numbers of real median weekly wage rates pai d to m en and women wage
earners in Ohio (1914 = 100)
Year
1914 _____ _____ _____
1915 _______ __ ____ __
1916 ______ __ ______ _
1917 ______________ _
1918 ______________ _
1919 ________ ____ __ _
1920 ______ ________ _
1921 _______ ____ ___ _
1922 __ ___ __ _______ _
1923 ___ __ _____ ___ __
1924 _____ _____ _____
1925 ______ __ _____ __
1926 ___ __________ __
1 No
Men
VVomen
100. 0
100. 4
102. 1
101.
101.
111.
116.
116.
(1)
1
5
100. 0
100. 3
97. 9
88. 2
94. 4
4
101. 7
8
2
107. 3
125. 7
127. 1
125. 1
126. 0
115. 1
123.
127.
123.
125.
9
0
9
9
record.
A study of the manufacture of textiles and textile products in Ohio
showed the same relation of women's wages to men's. In the textile
industry as a whole the median rate (weekly) for men was $28.53 and
for women $17.69 in 1927; in the men's clothing industry in the same
year the median for men was $32.43 and for women $19.23; in the
women's clothing industry the women's rate was $17.54 and the men's
15 Information Bureau on v\' omen 's Work , Wage Rates, Earnings and Fluctuation of Employment in
Ohio, 1914-26, pp. 69, 70.
16 Ibid., p . 64.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
21
$41; and in the manufacture of hosiery and knit goods the men's
ined1an was $24.73 and the women;s $16.25. 17
·
·
Again, in the rubber industry in Ohio in 1928, the median weekly
rate for men was found to be $37.19, while the women's rate was
$21.17. In the manufacture of tires and tubes, in. Summit County,
Ohio, the men's median rate was $38.26 and the women's $22.09. 18
17
Ibid., Ohio Wage E arners in the Manufacture of Textiles and Textile Products, 1914-1927, pp. 22, 42,
56, 66 .
1s Ibid ., Ohio Wage Earners in the Manufacture of Rubber Products, 1914-1928, pp. 21, 42.
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Part 111.-WOMEN AS A GROUP HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PAID LOW WAGES
AS MEASURED BY THE COST OF LIVING AND THE PURCHASING POWER
OF'THt: ·Do~µR
1. Women have always been a low wase sroup in the labor
market.
The Ohio Division of Minimum Wage found that in May 1933
over 29 percent of the women covered by the survey of the laundry
industry received less than $6 a week,1 and the investigation of the
dry-cleaning industry made by the same division revealed that over
16 percent of the women covered by that study received less than
$7 in May 1933. 2 The reports of the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics show that a large proportion of wage-earning women in good
times and bad in all industries is paid at rates of less than $10 a
week. In 1932 over 40,000 women, or one-fourth of all the wageearning women in Ohio, were paid wage rates of less than $10 a week.
This number fell to 17,485 in 1934, but in 1929, a year of relatively
high wages, 18,320, or 8.4 percent of the women· wage earners in the
State, were paid $10 or less. In 1929, 18.5 percent of the women were
paid at weekly rates of less than $12; 43.7 percent fell below $12 in
1932; and 18.9 percent were in this wage group in 1934.3
P ercent distrib·ution of weekly rates of women in 16 woman-employing industries
in Ohio, 1929, 1932, and 1934 1
Percent of women whose weekly wage rates wereIndustry
Year
$10, less $12,less $15, less $20 and
than $12. than $15 · than $20 :
over
--- ------ -----All industries __________ _______ _____
10.1 ·
8. 4
24.-'7
1929
31.3
25.5
25. 8
24. 2
21.1
1932
17. 9
11. 0
1934
9. 6
9. 3
41. 6
28. 2
11. 3
Boots, shoes, cut stock, and findings ______
1929
9. 2
13. 2
19. 9
29.1
28. 5
1932
31. 7
22. 3
21.5
16. 9
7. 7
1934
3. 3
9. 9
42. 2
33. 2
11. 3
Metal and metal products ___ __ ___________
1929
23. 3
1. 7
4. 5
49. 6
20.8
1932
15. 8
19. 7
27. 7
29. 9
6. 9
1934
1. 2
52. 6
6.3
35. 8
4. 2
Printing and publishing ________ __________
1929
2.3
12. 1
29. 3
29. 2
27.1
1932
10. 0
26. 1
26. 6
23.1
14. 2
1934
2. 2
6. 1
52. 9
28.8
10.1
1 Computed from wage data contained in Department of Industrial Relations, Divisjon of Labor Statistics, Report No. 26, Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salar y Payments in Ohio
1929, table I, and unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1932 and 1934
Less
than $1_~
1 Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Laundry Wage
Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry in Ohio, January
1934. Appendix table I, p. V.
2 Ibid., Report to the Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and
Minors in the Dyeing and Cleaning Industry of Ohio, May 1934. Appendix table I, p. I.
3 Computed from wage data contained in Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statistics, Report No. 26, Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salary Payments in Ohio,
1929, table I, and unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1932 and
. 1934.
22
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23
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Percent distribution of weekly rates of women in 16 woman-employing industries
in Ohio, 1929, 1932, and 1934 -Continued
Percent of women whose weekly wage_rates wereYear
Industry
Less
than $10
$10, less
than $12
$12, less
than $15
$15, less
than $20
$20 and
over
--- --- --- -----Rubber products ____ __ _____ __ _______ ____ _
1929
1932
1934
1. 3
9. 2
.6
2. 1
11. 5
6. 2
14.0
39. 3
34. 7
29.6
28. 9
48. 4
53.1
11. 1
10.1
Stone, clay, and glass __________ ___ ______ _
1929
1932
1934
7. 5
17. 0
4. 1
9. 9
25. 7
6. 5
31.0
37. 6
71.1
35. 6
14. 0
14. 5
16. 0
5. 8
3. 8
Men's clothing ______ __ __ __ ___ ______ ____ __ .
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
1929
1932
1934
5. 2
30. 5
2. 3
10. 7
41. 1
4. 1
3. 7
15. 5
2.3
18. 6
35. 4
14. 5
1.0
9.4
2. 8
28.4
32. 8
29.3
11. 3
37. 3
26. 2
8.0
36. 9
17. 9
18. 2
48. 9
32. 2
9.0
21.2
6. 5
4. 7
5.9
6. 7
8. 6
15. 1
3. 2
11. 8
16. 7
3. 8
7. 5
18. 6
2.8
12. 8
21. 7
22.6
2.5
19.3
4. 9
11. 9
15. 3
17. 1
33. 5
30. 5
24.9
13. 9
19.1
27. 6
19.5
20. 5
24.3
11. 1
20. 7
4. 1
7.0
6. 9
5. 1
17. 2
19. 8
41. 6
23. 1
18. 7
45. 6
29. 2
32. 7
43. 1
22. 1
28.9
43.1
21.8
31.1
42.0
13.1
15. 8
15. 8
27. 2
16.0
33.3
33. 5
25. 2
40. 9
21. 7
17. 0
32. 5
24. 7
25. 8
50. 6
21.3
11. 4
13. 9
25.8
21. 9
29. 7
25. 2
13. 8
22. 2
31. 9
20. 8
37. 4
36. 5
13.5
1•9. 5
33. 6
32. 5
41. 7
15. 3
12. 7
16. 2
19. 3
11. 2
13. 5
31.4
15. 0
11. 2
24.4
10. 7
9.3
31. 5
19. 5
27. 6
40. 0
41. 4
38.1
43. 2
12. 7
23. 2
29.1
9. 6
24. 3
2r;. 7
12. 4
14. 4
10. 0
.5
.3
41.1
7. ~
8.6
31.3
23.5
21. 6
8.8
5. 0
2.1
13. 2
3.8
2. 4
10. 2
2.9
1.8
23. 7
12. 8
11. 2
27. 0
34. 3
36. 2
Women's clothing _____ _____ __ _______ _____
Hosiery and knit goods ____ _____ ____ __ __ _
Tobacco __ _- - - --- - - - - - - -- - --- -- --- -- --- -Electrical 1m achinery ____ ____ __ __ __ _______
Hospitals ________ _________ _____ ____ ______
Hotels _____________ ______ ___ __ __ __ ____ ___
Laundries, dry cleaners __________ ________
Restaurants __ __ ___ ___ __ ____ ____ ___ ___ __ __
Stores, retail and wholesale _______________
Telephone and telegraph _________________
The United States Women's Bureau made a study of wage-earning
women in Ohio, analyzing their earnings for a week in September
1922. The following table shows the proportion of low earningsunder $15 per week: 4
Women receiv ing specified earnings
Week's earnings
Number
Less than $5 ___ __ ______ __ _____ _________ ____ ____ _______ _
$5, less than $10 _____ _____ ___________ ____ ______ __ ___ __ _
$10, 1ess than $12 _ ______ __ ______ ________ ____ ________ __ _
$12, less than $15 _ __ __________________ ________________ _
Percent of
total
1,651
4,368
4,262
7,481
'U. S. D epartment of L a bor, Women's Bureau, Women in Ohio Industries, Bull., No. 44, p . 26.
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5. 4
14. 3
13. 9
24. 5
24
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND "M I NORS IN OHIO
The Bureau found the following week's earnings in the laundry
industry: 5
All women earning
each specified amount
Women who worked
the ' fi rm's scheduled
time, earning each
specified amount
Number
Percent
Number
Total ______________________ __ __
1, 116
100. 0
446
Less than $6 ________ ___________ ______ _
$6, less than $10 ______________________
$ 10, less than $ 13 _______________ ______
$ 13, less than $16 _____________________
$ 16, less than $20 ________________ _____
$20 and more ____ -'--- _________________
64
232
386
282
116
36
week's earnings
5.
20.
34.
25.
10.
3.
P ercent ·
100. 0
7 -------- -------8
29
6. 5
6
168
37. 7
3
163
36. 5
4
65
14. 6
2
21
4. 7
In this same study the Women's Bureau also tabulated data on
yearly earnings of 4,336 women, who had worked 44 weeks or longer
during the year in any one establishment. The median of the
year's earnings of this group are shown in the following table: 6
Industry
Median of year's
earnings
Ali industrie~- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ $726
Advertising and other novelties__ ____________________ 619
Auto tops and other canvas products_ ________________ 773
Candy _____________ _______________________________ 556
Shirts and overalls ___ __ :. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ 808
Suits a nd men's coats _______________________________ 972
Suits a n d women's coats______ _______ _______________ 974
Other clothing _____________________________________ 740
Electric products ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 798
Foodproducts ___ ____ _______________ ___ ______ ______ 647
Glass and glass products _________________ ___ ______ . _ 604
GlOVP'-l . ____________ _ __ ____ .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
560
Metal products ____ ________ ____ -·-_____________ _____ 681
Paper and paper products ___________________________ 685
Pottery ________________ ___ ___ __ __________ ___ ____ __ 719
Rubber and rubber products_____ ____________________ 810
Shoes ________________ ___ _______________ ___ _____ ___ 875
H osiery and knit goods _______ ____ ______ _____ _______ 714
Woolen goods __ ·- _____________ .. ________ __.. _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ 730
Other textiles_____________________________ _______ __ 644
Tobacco and cigars ______________________________ ___ _ 590
G eneral mercantile_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 801
5-and-10-cen t stores_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 613
Laundries _________________________________________ 641
"During the time from early in 1920 to early in 1925, the Women's
Bureau made studies of women's earnings in 13 States, in each case
including a representative group in the industries employing the
a Ibid. , p. 95.
a Ibid., pp. 124, 125.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
25
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
greatest number of women." 7 The median of the week's earnings
of white women in manufacturing in these 13 States 8 ranged from
$8.35 in Mississippi in 1924 to $19.13 in Rhode Island in 1920. In
only two, Rhode Island and New Jersey, of the 13 States was the
median higher than $15. The median of the week's earnings for
18,488 Ohio women in 1922 was $14.52. In order that the wage
data for the various States might be more comparable, the figures
have been converted, by use of the cost-of-living index of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics,9 to the figures they would have represented in
1928. The following table shows the median earnings of white
women in manufacturing in 13 States at the pay-roll date and the
wages converted to 1928 value:
Median of the week's earnings of white women in manufacturing in 13 States at payroll dates and in converted 1928 values 1
Median earnings
State
Rhode Island ________________________ _
New Jersey __________________________ _
Ohio ________________________________ _
Delaware ____________________________ _
Oklahoma ___________________________ _
Kt:1~~~~i _____________________________ _
Tennessee ___________________________ _
Kentucky ____________________________ _
Arkansas ____________________________ _
South Carolina _______________________ _
Alabama ____________________________ _
Mississippi_ __________________________ _
1
Year in which
pay rolls were
taken
1920
1922
1922
1924
1924
1920-21
1922
1925
1921
1922
1921
1922
1924
At pay-roll
date
$19.
15.
14.
13.
13.
12.
12.
11.
10.
13
23
52
26
14
90
27
03
84
10. 24
9. 49
8. 39
8. 35
Converted to
1928 value
$16. 36
15. 69
14. 95
13. 31
13. 21
11. 03
12. 59
10. 95
10. 47
10. 52
9. 32
8. 62
8. 29
U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Wages of Women in 13 States, Bulletin No. 85, pp. 4, 32.
Women's wages are low, and much lower than men's, very often
equaling no more than 50 percent of those ·of men in the same industry. The accompanying table shows that the average wages for,
women in all industries in Ohio equaled only 51.6 percent of men's
in 1929, 56.5 percent in 1932, and 60.9 percent in 1934. In 1929 the
average wages of women in the laundry and dry-cleaning industries
combined were only 48.4 percent of men's, which were $31 a week.
Women's wages equaled 48.5 percent of men's in the printing and
publishing industries in 1929, and in the same year in the women's
clothing industry women's wages were only 39 percent of men's.
7
I
Ibid., Wages of Women in 13 States, Bulletin No. 85, p. 3.
Ibid., pp. 4, 169.
o U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, February 1929, p. 193.
79567°--36-3
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26
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Average (or median) wages per week for women and for men in 16 woman-employing
industries in Ohio, 1929, 1932, and 1934 1
1932
1929
Industrr
Men Women
1934
Percent
Percent
Percent
women's
women's
women's
Wornwages
Wornwages
wages
form of Men
form of Men
en
form of
en
men's
men's
men's
wages
wages
wages
--- - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - -
All industrfes ____ ____
$31
$16
51.6
$23
$13
56. 5
$23
$14
60.9
Boots and shoes •. . . . -.-··-Metal and metal products. _
Printing and publishing. __ .
Rubber products._ .... _..•.
Stone, clay, and glass. _. __ _
Men's clothing .• _. _. ...•...
W omen 's clothing ... .• ----Hosiery and knit goods.....
Tobacco ..•• ___ . . .. . ------·Electrical machinery.. _____
Hospitals •.• --·· -···-·-- - ·Hotels. __---- --·· ·-···-· · - Laundries and dry cleaners.
Restaurants. -.... . .•• . · · - ..
Stores, retail and wholesale ••........... -• - .. -- · .
Telephone and telegraph. --
27
29
33
36
28
33
41
24
22
30
21
17
31
19
16
17
16
20
21
22
33
19
19
23
18
12
14
14
14
13
13
17
15
19
14
13
15
13
59. 3
58.6
48.5
55.6
53.6
57.6
39. 0
70.8
68. 2
63. 3
66. 7
76. 5
48.4
68.4
22
21
27
28
20
26
36
19
18
22
23
14
10
60.0
63.6
50.0
53.8
61.9
59. 1
33. 3
68.4
57. 9
60.9
66. 7
78.6
47.8
71.4
15
14
14
16
14
15
15
15
13
15
13
12
12
11
68. 2
66. 7
51.9
57.1
70.0
57. 7
41. 7
78.9
72.2
68.2
81. 3
85. 7
57.1
73. 3
16
17 '
59. 3
60. 7
23
31
13
18
56. 5
58.1
14
18
70. 0
56.3
27
28
20
15
19
16
22
28
26
14
11
13
11
14
12
11
11
16
14
21
15
20
32
1 Computed from wage data contained in Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statistics, Report No. 26, R ates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salary Payments in Ohio,
1929, table I; and unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1932 and
1934.
A comparison of the proportions of men and women wage earners
in Ohio paid at rates of less than $10 a week and at more than $20,
also shows how much lower women's wages are than men's. The
accompanying table shows that in 1932, 25.8 percent of the women
wage earners in the State were paid at wage rates of less than $10
a week, while only 6.9 percent of the men were paid at such low rates.
On the other hand, 63.1 percent of the men were paid at the weekly
i:ate of $20 or more but only 11 percent of the women were paid so
much. In 1929, 1.7 percent of the men, as compared to 8.4 percent
of the women, were paid at rates less than $10; men paid $20 or more
equaled 88 percent of all the male wage earners, while only one-fourth
of the women were paid at these higher rates.
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27
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Proportion of women and men with weekly rates of less than $10 and $20 and over,
in 16 woman-employing industries in Ohio, 1929, 1932, and 1934 1
1929
Industry and sex
1932
1934
Percent with week- Percent with week- Percent with weekly rates ofly rates ofly rates ofLess than $20 and
$10
more
Less than $20 and
$10
more
Less than $20 and
'$10
more
--------------1---- ---- ---- .- - - - - - - - All industries:
Men __________________________ _
Women ___________ ____________ _
Boots, shoes, cut stock and findings:
Men
__ ------------------------------W omen
_____________________________ _
Metal and metal products:
Men
__------------------------------W
omen
_____________________________ _
Printing and publishing:
Men
___ _____________________________
------------------------------_
W
omen
Rubber
Menproducts:
______ __________________________ _
Women _____________________________ _
Stone,
clay,
and glass:
Men
________________________________
_
Women _____________________________ _
Men's
clothing:
Men
________________________________ _
1. 7
8.4
88.1
25. 5
6. 9
25.8
63.1
11.0
3. 3
9.6
62.0
11. 3
1. 6
9. 2
73. 7
28. 5
8.4
31. 7
51. 6
7. 7
4.5
3.3
58.8
11.3
.6
1. 7
87.8
20.8
2.5
15. 8
61. 7
6. 9
1. 2
.7
57. 2
4.2
11. 0
2.3
73.8
27.1
13.0
10.0
68.8
14. 2
8. 7
2. 2
68. 3
10.1
.3
95. 6
53.1
.4
9. 2
81. 5
11.1
1.9
•6
85.8
10.1
84.4
16.0
4.0
17. 0
53.0
5.8
1.1
4.1
'6.1
3.8
1. 3
.9
7.5
.9
Women_----------------------------Women's clothing: ·
Men
___________________
--------------_
W omen
________ _____________________
Hosiery
knit goods:
Menand
________________________________
_
5. 2
80.9
43. 2
6. 9
30. 5
56.4
12. 7
.2
2.3
68.2
23. 2
1.1
10. 7
89.0
29.1
2.6
41.1
79.1
9.6
4.1
82.1
24. 3
Women __ ------------------ ---- -----Tobacco:
Men __________________ --- ___ --- _____ _
Women _____________________________ _
Electrical
machinery:
Men ________________________________
_
Women _____________________________ _
1.2
3. 7
64.8
27. 7
5. 5
15. 5
46.9
12.4
.5
2.3
41.8
14.4
4.1
18.6
61.2
10.0
10. 5
35.4
43. 9
.5
4. 7
14. 5
43. 0
,3
•2
1. 0
91.1
41.1
1. 4
9.4
67.5
7.8
3.2
2.8
58.6
8. 6
6. 5
28.4
54. 2
31. 3
11. 9
32.8
41.1
23. 5
10. 5
29. 3
32.3
21. 6
12.8
11.3
39.0
8.8
26.0
37.3
26.5
5.0
21.4
26.2
21.8
2.1
1. 3
8.0
85.9
13. 2
5.6
36.9
61.1
3. 8
2. 7
17.9
56. 3
2. 4
7. 7
18. 2
44.4
10. 2
23. 9
48. 9
23. 3
2. 9
11. 6
32. 2
20.0
2.8
9.0
80.4
23. 7
5. 9
21.2
62. 9
12. 8
4.0
6. 5
6.1
4. 7
82.0
27.0
10.0
5.9
78. 7
34.3
12.6
6. 7
Host,~a~s: ______________________________ _
Women _____________________________ _
Hotels:
Men ________________________________ _
Women _____________________________ _
Laundries,
dry cleaners:
Men ________________________________
_
Women _____________________________ _
Restaurants:
Men
__ ------------------------------W omen
____ ______ __ _________________ _
Stores, retail and wholesale:
Men_-------------------------------W omen __ ___________________________ _
Telephone
and telegraph:
Men _________
_____ __________________ _
Women ________ _____ ________________ _
1.8
51.3 ·
11. 2
72. 9
36.2
1 Computed from wage data contained in Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Sta•
tistics, Report No. 26, Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and SalaryPayments in Ohio,
1929, table I; and unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1932 and
1934.
Since June 19.23 the New York State Department of Labor has been
publishing figures on the average 10 weekly earnings of men and women
in New York State factories, based on data collected from a fixed list
of representative factories which report for the week including the
15th day of each month. •These figures show that in every yea:r;
10
For these figures the type of average used is the arithmetic mean. See appendix table VIIL
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28
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
throughout the past 12 years women earned wages a little more than
half as high as the wages paid to men. This relationship between the
average weekly earnings of men and women appears in all manufacturing industries combined (see chart III) and also in the large womanCHART No. 111.-AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN
REPRESENTATIVE NEW YORK STATE FACTORIES, 1923- 1935
-
-
__/
~
MEN
~
~
\.
-...,,,,, /
/
~
~2.
"=:I .
0
,,
.......
~
~
/S
---·--- --......... . ........
..
--.
•,
·- -- --WOMEN
' ..
''
-- -•"''
,,
-·
Based on data from the Industrial Bulletin of the New York State Department of Labor. See appendix
table VIII.
employing industries such as clothing, candy, knit goods, paper box,
and shoes.
The reasons for the wide difference in the wages of men and women
have been much discussed. In a study of the earnin~s of men and
women in New York State factories for the years 1923-25 it was
pointed out that:
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
29
"* * * women are engaged in different occupations from.
those performed by men. The question is not, however, whetherwomen are doing as heavy or as skillful work as men but whetherdifference in skill alone justifies a return only ·about half as great
as that paid the men.
"There is little evidence for deciding what are the reasons for
the lower earnings of women. A few facts, however, stand out.
Women receive the highest earnings in industries where they are
organized, like clothing and publishing. They receive the lowest
wages in industries located in small towns or in one-industry
centers where the cost of living is lower and the possible alternative jobs are fewer.
"There are no women in the highest-paid industries for men,
again excluding the clothing manufacturers. This might be
explained on the ground that women cannot do the work requiring the greatest strength and skill, or that they are not admitted
to the highest-paid jobs, or that their limited bargaining power
tends to pull down the earnings of men in the occupations where
women are concentrated." 11
However, a·s shown in the preceding section, women's wages are
lower than those paid to men, ·even when they are employed in the
sam:e occupations.
2. Considerable numbers of women receive wages which do
not meet the cost of living at subsistence levels, and still
larger numbers of women do not receive wages adequate to
meet the minimum cost of Jiving necessary for health.
Budgets worked out by public and private relief agencies in Ohio
for single women provide for bare subsistence. They include only
those items, and in such amounts, as are absolutely necessary to life.
Everything else is excluded. No provision is made for medical care
or supplies, for recreation, newspapers, church, savings, education,
etc. Women on relief who are ill are expected to go to public clinics
or city physicians for medical aid. They are expected to abstain
from any kind of recreation, education, or reading, even of newspapers,
which would require expenditure of money on their part.
For purposes of determining the amount which must be given to a
single-woman relief client in order to supplement her casual earnings
and raise her income to a subsistence level, subsistence budgets
including carfare to and from the place of employment have been
estimated by relief agencies. Such an estimate by the Cuyahoga
County Relief Administration includes the following budget for a
single woman working and doing her own cooking in a furnished room. 12
u New York State Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics and Information, Employment.and Earning!! of Men and Women in New York State Factories, 1923-1925, Special Bulletin No. 143, 1926. p . 21.
u Letter of Jan. 30, 1936, from Frances Preston, supervisor of home economics for the Cuyahoga County
Relief Administration, Cleveland, Ohio.
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30
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Food ________________ ~--------------------------- $2. 19
Lunches ________________________ -. ___ ________ .___ _
. 90
Rent (furnished room) ______ ______________________ _ 1. 84
Clothing allowance _______________________________ _
. 75
Carfare _________________________ ________________ _ 1. 15
Insurance _______________________________________ _ 13, 50
Household necessities _______________ .. _____________ _
. 50
Total _____________________ ________________ _
7. 83
Half of the women in Ohio covered by the division of minimum
wage laundry study received less than $7.80 in May 1933, and half of
those in Cleveland received less than _$7 .24 for the same date. 14
These figures indicate that half of the women in the laundry industry
in the State were receiving in 1933 wages below the subsistence level
computed by a relief agency. The dry-cleaning study revealed the
fact that 16 percent of the women whose wages were reported received
less than $ 7. 15
The Toledo Social Service Federation, a relief organization, has set
up more inclusive budgets for single women, living as members of
families and living alone. These budgets are as follows: 16
Amount allowed per month
for single woman
Items in minimum cost of living
Living wi th a Living alone 1
family
Food ____________________________________________ _
Clothing _________________________________________ _
Rent ____________________________________________ _
Carfare __________________________________ ________ _
Health __ _________________________________ ________ _
Insurance _____________ _________ __________________ _
Church or organization dues ________________________ _
Education (newspaper) ____________________________ _
Recreation _______________________________________ _
Total ______________________________________ _
Per week 2 ___________________ ._______________ _
$7. 40
2. 55
15. 00
5.00
. 40
00
1.
1.
.
1.
50
50
00
34.35
7. 93
$51. 53
11. 89
1 To secure a budget for a woman living alone, the federation adds 50 percent to the budget for a
woman in a family group.
1 Weekly allowance by director, Toledo Social Service Federation.
u Ibid., "Insurance is put in the budget only when the woman has insurance in force and··t hen not to
exceed the amount needed to carry a $500 straight-life policy" sufficient to cover the cost of the last illness
and funeral expenses.
u Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Laundry Wage
Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry in Ohio, January
934, table VIII, p. 16.
u Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Dyeing and Cleaning
Industry of Ohio, May 1934, appendix table I, p. I.
10 Data furnished by director, Toledo Social Service Federation.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
31
The federation change.; the budget as follows, when lunches must
. be eaten away from home: "Subtract one-fourth of the home food
cost, and add 25 to 35 cents per day." This would change the food
item above, allowing only 25 cents per day for 26 days, to $12.05
per month, changing the total budget per week to $9.00.
The federation sets up a relief budget for the woman living alone,
by adding 50 percent to the budget for a woman in a family group;
this would bring the total per week to $11.89.
The federation explains the health budget by saying:
"In all low income groups, free clinics and dispensaries should
be used when possible. An allowance of 40 cents per person per
month will cover cost of first-aid supplies, laxatives, plus carfare
to clinics."
It is certainly questionable wliether full-time workers should be
forced to accept the charity of free clinical care.
According to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics, 25.8 percent of
the wage-earning women in all industries in Ohio were paid at wage
rates of less than $10 in 1932, and 43.7 percent were paid at rates of
less than $12. The percent earning less than $10 ran as high as 48
in ~ome Ohio indu8tries in 1932. 17 Even in 1934, when wages were
higher, 19 percent of the women wage earners were paid at rates of
less than $12 a week. It is evident that large numbers of wageearning women in Ohio are paid less than relief agencies estimate as
the very minimum amounts on which women should live.
In 1922, the Ohio Council on Women in Industry made a study of
actual budgets of wage-earning wonien who were trying to make ends
meet on an income of $15 or less a week. It is interesting to see what
items, generally conceded to be essential in an American standard of
living, were eliminated from these budgets: 18
"12 percent omitted any sum for recreation.
"17 percent omitted any sum for doctor or dentist.
"20 percent omitted any sum for newspapers or magazines.
"24 percent omitted any sum for carfare.
"27 percent omitted any sum for vacation.
"32 percent omitted any sum for savings.
"39 percent omitted any sum for laundry.
"43 percent omitted any sum for organization or club dues.
"54 percent omitted any sum for education.
"10 percent omitted any sum for church dues."
Even after the President's Reemployment Agreement went into
effect, the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage found that in the drycleaning industry in Ohio 73.3 percent of the women were earning
t 11 Computed from unpublished wage data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1932.
11
Quoted in The Annals, American Academy of Political and Social Science, May 1929, p. 101.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
32
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
less than $15 per week 19 and 95.5 percent of the women laundry
workers less than $14 a week.20
It is worth noting that the Works Progress Administration allows
$55 per month ($12. 70 per week) for unskilled labor; $65 per month
($15 per week) for semiskilled; and $85 per month ($19.62 per week)
for skilled work, on the basis of a 30-hour week and 4½ weeks to the
month. The minimum wage set by the Ohio Division of Minimum
Wage is $8.25 for a 30-hour week in the laundry industry, or $35.72
a month calculated on a 30-hour-week basis, and $45.50 for a similar
work period in the dry-cleaning industry. 21
3. The em.ployment of women at wages less than the cost
of living is a social problem. This is indicated by the fact
that a considerable number of employed women turn to relief
agencies for help and are now on the relief rolls.
The Cuyahoga County Relief Administration made an analysis of
the earnings of 1,589 women relief clients who were employed August
1935, either full or part time. The earnings of these women were
insufficient for the support of themselves and their families, and they
were granted public aid. Eighty-one percent of these women earned
less than $30 a month; 36.3 percent earned less than $10 during
the month of August. The average earnings per woman for August
1935 were $19.91. These figures do not account for employed
women m Cuyahoga County who were assisted by private relief
agencies.
Month' s earnings of women relief clients in Cuyahoga County who worked part
time and full time i n August 1935 1
Mont h's earnings
N umber
Percent
Total ____________________ _____ ___________ __ _
1, 589
100. 0
$5, less t han $10 ___ ______ ________ _____ ____________ _
$10, less than $15 ________ __ _...,__________ ____________
$15, less than $20 ___ ______________ ____ _____ ________
$20, less than $30 _______ ___ ________ ___ _____________
$30, less than $40 _ ------- -- ---------------------- - $40, less than $50 _________________________________ _
$50, less than $55_________ ______ ___ __________ ______
$55, less than $100__________ ______________________ __
573
289
178
245
105
112
33
54
36. 3
18. 1
11. 2
15. 4
6. 6
7. 0
2. 0
3. 4
1 Un published study made by Frances Preston, of the Cuyahoga Count y Relief Administration, 140
E. 9t h St., Cleveland , Ohio.
19 Ohio D epartment of Industrial Relations, Division of M inimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Dyeing and Cleaning
Industry of Ohio, M ay 1934, table IV, p. 13.
20 Ibid., Report to the Laundry Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in
the Laundry Industry of Ohio, January 1934, appendix table I, p. V.
21 Minimum hourly rate for the laundry industry is 27~~ cents, and for the dyeing and cleaning industry
it is 35 cents.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
33
Surveys made by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration
indicate that: "There are workers in practically all important occupational groups whose earnings are being supplemented by relief,
but the number of people requiring this aid is greatest amongst the
least-skilled groups." 22
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration in its monthly
report for June 1935 points out that:
" . . . supplementing inadequate private earnings is a widespread phenomenon, approximately half a million employed
urban workers receiving relief in May 1934. This practice has
been adopted by local relief administrations to meet the problem
of deficiencies in family budgets. Thus, those families whose
budgets fall below the standard established by the social-service
division of the local relief administration become eligible for
supplementary relief . . .
". . . Whether the need to supplement these low wages is
due to temporarily depressed conditions in industry, or to
permanently depressed conditions, or to the exploitation of the
demoralized labor market by industry for competitive advantages, is not revealed by the data . . .
"The importance of the problem of supplementing wages by
relief arises largely from the fact that this practice may in certain
cases tend to encourage the offering and acceptance of jobs at
low wages. If widespread over a long period, this would tend
to depress the wage-rate structure . . . The possibility of
potential wage cutting, however, is acute where the expectation
of obtaining relief grants induces employers to offer, and workers
to accept, jobs paying less than subsistence wages. 23
The policy of the Administration in relation to this problem was
stated as follows:
"The Relief Administrator has already announced that the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration is opposed to supplementing by relief the full-time earnings of workers employed in
private industry. This policy is based upon the fact that workers
with supplemented earnings create a dangerous situation in the
labor market. A labor market in which subsidized workers compete with other workers is both unhealthy and undesirable, for
all competing employers will be forced, or at any rate encouraged,
to lower wages to meet the lower costs of production of the employers with a large number of subsidized workers. Since the
depressed wages would also tend to spread to competing industries, all possible pressure should be exerted to prevent such a
depressing effect upon wage rates, with its threat of demoralization to workers generally.'' 24
Mrs. Sidney Webb has expressed the growth of public recognition
of the fact that low wages are a detriment to the whole State, thus:
Monthly Report of Federal Emergency Relief Administration, June 1935, Washlngton, 1935, p. 15.
as Ibid., pp. 9, 10.
2, Ibid., p. 15.
22
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84
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
"The community came gradually, though very tardily, to realize that the existence of large numbers of persons on 'earnings
barely sufficient to maintain existence; hours of labor such as to
make the lives of the workers periods of almost ceaseless toil,
hard and unlovely to the last degree; sanitary conditions injurious to the health of the persons employed and dangerous to the
public', amounted to a serious deduction alike from the productive efficiency, the material prosperity, the physical health, and
the social well-being, not merely of the individuals concerned,
but also of the Nation as a whole, the outcome was the conception
of prescribing and enforcing a national minimum in the conditions
of the wage contract below which in the public interest no
person could be permitted to be employed." 25
11
Quoted, Information Bureau on Women's Work: Are Women's Wages a Special Problem?, pp. 9, 10
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part IV.-WAGE-EARNING WOMEN CANNOT REMEDY THE SITUATION
BY THEIR OWN UNAIDED EFFORTS
1. Their bargaining power is weak since they are largely
unorganized.
Individual employees are seldom upon a level of equality in bargaining with their employers in regard to minimum fair-wage standards. But in industries or occupations in which employees are organized in trade unions, employees dealing as a group with employers
have been able to improve their wage situation and to establish wage
standards. Women workers, however, are largely unorganized. It
was estimated-few unions keep accurate membership statistics-that
in 1927 about 260,095 women workers were members of trade unions.
This number represented about 3 percent of the gainfully employed
women in the United States at that time, or approximately 8 percent of
the women eligible for trade union membership. 1
One of the principal causes for the lack of organization among
women, the division of women in industry of the New York State
Department of Labor stated in its survey in 1920, was that:
"* * * the greater the skill of the worker, the greater is the
degree of organization, and women for the most part are performing the unskilled, routine jobs in industry." 2
The Women's Trade Union League of New York, which for 30
years has had as one of its principal aims the organization of workers
in trade unions, likewise points out in its annual report for 1929-30 that
it is:
" . . . the less skilled and unorganized trades into which the
majority of our women workers go. Not only do girls and
women leave specific shops or trades, but from year to year,
some of these lesser, subsidiary trades themselves go out of
existence. The league has often found, after painfully building
up a local union, often without help from any other source, that
its membership, due to poor pay, marriage, and the high mortality
rate of these businesses, has drifted to other industries. . . Women today are going into the two extremes which characterize
1 These estimates were made by Dr. Leo Wolman of the National Bureau of EconoLlic Research and
quoted by Theresa Wolfson in Trade Union Activities of Women, The Annals, American Academy of
Political and Social Science, May 1929, p. 120.
1 New York State Department of Labor, Division of Women in Industry, Women Who Work, Special
Bullet.in No. 110, 1922, p. 28.
35
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
36
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
modern industry-the large, highly mechanized, highly centralized industries which form the impressive majority, and the
small, sweated establishments which, though they may proport ionally be of lesser importance, are greater in number than
they were a decade ago.'' 3
Although only a small proportion of women workers are organized,
where trade-union agreements exist, wage conditions are improved.
For example, according to a study of the paper-box industry in New
York City by the State department of labor in 1926,4 average weekly
rates of pay for women in union shops were from nearly $2 to $4.50
higher than in nonunion shops. In union shops none of the women
had rates of less than $13 a week, as compared with 3 percent of the
women in the nonunion establishments. Rates were less than $16
for 6 percent of the organized women and for 16 percent of the
unorganized women.
.
Women employed in the women's outer clothing industry in New
York State are highly organized. Average weekly earnings of women
workers in this industry for the year 1934 were $20.38, or nearly
$5.50 higher than the average for women in all manufacturing industries.5
2. Their bargaining power is weak since they are concentrated in the highly seasonal industries and are subject to
,great irregularity in employment.
In a study of employment fluctuation and unemployment of women
from 1928 to 1931 the United States Women's Bureau concludes:
"The available data indicate that relative to the extent of
employment of either sex, fluctuations and declines frequently
have affected women to a greater extent than they have men;
that women to a greater extent than men are employed at the
peak periods in certain highly seasonal industries and later laid
off; and that the industries and occupations in which the variations are most extreme often are exactly those within which
women workers must make their livelihood." 6
In this same study the Women's Bureau analyzed the extensive
employment data collected by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics
and found:
"From the highest point in 1929 to the lowest in 1931, for both
sexes the decline in the employment of wage earners was much
more extreme in manufacturing than in all industries, and the
difference was much more extreme for women than for men." 7
The Women's Trade Union League of New York, Annual Report, Apr: 1, 1929, to Apr. 1, 1930, p. 6.
• New York State Department of Labor, Bureau of Women in Industry, The Paper Box Industry in
New York City, Special Bulletin No. 154, 1928, pp. 35-'36, 68-69.
• See appendix table VIII; the average used in this case is the arithmetic mean.
• U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Employment Fluctuations and Unemployment of
Women; Certain Indications from Various Sources, 1928-31. Bulletin No. 113, 1933, p. 4.
r Ibid, p . 98.
1
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
37
The Women's Bureau's findings concerning the effects of seasonal
variations in employment in Ohio industries upon men and women
may be summarized as follows: 8
"Men's clothing.-. .. The variation from high to low employment was greater for women than for men in every year but
1931, when it was the same for the two sexes. The decline from
the highest to the lowest index in the 4 years was the greater for
women-32 points for them in contrast to 21 points for men.
"Women's clothing.-. .. Fluctuations from high to low employment within each year, and also the decline from highest to
lowest in the 4 years, were greater for women than for men.
"Hosiery and knit goods.-. .. The variations from high to low
within each year and the decline from highest to lowest employment in the 4 years were considerably greater for women than for
men.
"Tires and tubes.-. .. . (The rubber industry) employed onetenth of the women wage earners in manufacturing (and) over
80 percent of the women in the rubber industry were in tire and
tube factories . . . Employment changes within any- one year
were considerably greater for women than for men, as was also
the decline from highest to lowest point in the en~ire period.
"Food and kindred products.-. .. The food industries employed
nearly 8 percent of the women wage earners reported in manufacturing ... The difference between the high and low point during
the 4-year period was 78 points for women and 35 for men.
"Paper and printing.-. .. In this group, as in other industries,
women suffered more extreme employment change in the 4-year
peri_o d than did the men; the difference between the highest and
lowest index in the 4 years was 16 points for men but it was 22
points for women.
"Cigar and cigarette.-. .. The entire decline from the highest
to the lowest index in the 4 years was somewhat similar for the
two sexes; for men it was 48 points, for women 51 points.
"Boot, shoe, cut stock and findings.- . .. This is another industry in which fluctuations from month to month are more marked
for worn.en than for men; ... in every year the points of difference
from the highest to the lowest index within the year were considerably greater for women than for men.
"Stone , clay, and glass products.- ... The difference from high
to low point within any one year was greater for women than for
men, and the decline from the highest to the lowest index in the 4
years was also greater for women.
"Copper, tin} and sheet-iron products.-The difference between
the high and low indexes (of employment) for the year was markedly greater for women than for men in 1928 and 1929, but was
greater for men in 1930 and 1931. The difference from the high
point of employment to the low for the 4-year period was greater
for women than for men-41 points for the former and 36 for the
latter.
" Gas and electric fi xtures, lamps and reflectors.- . .. The
decline from the 1929 high to the lowest point in 1931- the
s Ibid ., p p. 100-114.
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highest and lowest points in the 4 years-was 56 points for the
men, but it was as much as 150 points for the women.
"Automobiles and parts.-. .. The changes from high to low
employment in each year were gre'ater for women than for men.
This was true also of the decline from the highest to the lowest
point in the 4 years, which was 88 points for men, 97 for women.
"Women wage earners in trade.-. .. The entire decline in
employment from the highest to lowest month in the 4 years
was 31 points for women and only 18 for men.
"Salespeople (not traveling).-. .. In the entire 4-year period,
the lowest points for both sexes were early in 1928, the highest at
the end of 1929, the difference between the high and the low being
very much greater for women than for men, due primarily to
the December peak."
It will be seen from the overwhelming weight of this evidence,
covering the 4 years 1928 to 1931, how much more uncertain and
fluctuating is the demand for women's services than men's.
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Part V.-EMPLOYERS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO REMEDY THE SITUATION THROUGH VOLUNTARY EFFORTS
The helplessness of the better employers in an industry to maintain
decent standards for their workers, in the face of uncontrolled, unfair
competition is recognized by the secretary of the Ohio State Association of Dyers and Cleaners, in a bulletin sent to the members of
that organization on January 24, 1935. The bulletin says: "If you
finance the fight (against the minimum wage law) and win, you are
in a way subsidizing a certain chiselling element in this business."
And again, in a letter the secretary of the dyers and cleaners says:
"Please remember when you see a low price on any article or
service that the businesses offering the same, in a majority of cases,
are paying low wages and working long hours because that is the
only way they can cut their price, inasmuch as they have the same
overhead as every other operator in respect to taxes, license fees,
cost of supplies, depreciation, and insurance." 1
In the laundry and candy industries in New York State within
recent years groups of employers have attempted to maintain minimum wage rates for women through voluntary agreement. The
difficulties encountered by these employers in paying the wages agreed
upon, in the face of competition from other firms which refused to
join in the movement, and the final abandonment of their efforts,
illustrate the futility of such attempts to set a bottom to wages in
the absence of minimum wage legislation.
The New York Department of Labor says of the laundry voluntary
experiment:
"The inability of the industry to adopt a voluntary minimum
wage for women workers and later to maintain wage levels was
due partly to the depression and partly to the competitive situation in the industry. Laundry owners with lower wage standards were reluctant from the very beginning to raise wages to
those being paid by competitors with fair wage standards. The
recession in business activity intensified competition until employers with fair wage standards also felt unwilling or unable
to pledge themselves to maintain a voluntary minimum wage." 2
During depression periods employers, as well as employees, require
some force stronger than their own efforts to curb competition and
Letter to the president of the Toledo Consumers' League, Feb. 5, 1935.
New York State Department of Labor, Report of the Industrial Commissioner to the Laundry Mini•
mum Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Other Conditions of Employment of Women and Minors in
the Laundry Industry, New York State, mimeographed report 1933, pp. 11-13,
1
2
39
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maintain a level below which wages cannot go. Barbara Armstrong
tells of the effect of the minimum-wage law upon wages during the
depression in England in the following words:
". . . Before the depression ·wage rates set by the trade boards
showed no tendency to become the maximum rate paid. After
the industrial depression set in, there was a distinct tendency in
that direction. The better-than-minimum wages went down
. . . until checked by the legal minimum. The lowest wages,
already at the minimum, which would undoubtedly have gone
down also in response to the general downward pressure of the
business depression, were by the force of the legal rate kept
from a fall to starvation levels. This indicates that the legal
minimum in England during the severe economic stress following
1921 did just what was demanded of it, that is, put a bottom
into the wage situation." 3
For 5 years the Consumer's League of New York maintained a
~'Candy White List", in which it published the names of firms which
agreed to adhere to certain standards regarding wages and working
conditions. The circumstances which led to the abandonment of
the "White List" were described in a report of the Consumers'
League as follows:
"The failure of voluntary efforts to fix a bottom level for
wages in industry is exemplified in the experience of the Consumers' League with its Candy White List. After 5 years of
work in this industry based on cooperation with members of the
industry, backed by such public opinion a.s the League has been
able to rally, the White List was finally abandoned in 1932. It
had become clear that legal coercion is necessary to bring the
ever present recalcitrant minority into line if standards which
the better element in industry is willing to maintain are to be
protected.
"The 1923 study by the New York State Department of Labor
of working conditions and wages for women candy workers
revealed that half of the candy workers in New York City were
earning less than $13.75 per week during even the comparatively
busy month of March in a year when all business was prosperous
and healthy. Forty-five percent of those in the industry worked
less than a full week even in a peak period at this time. A
majority of the candy factories were than starting their workers
at a weekly wage, usually of $12, while a few plants reported a
beginning wage of $13 to $15 a week. But in such a highly
seasonal industry all but the most skilled workers expected and
received prolonged lay-offs during the season after Easter and
just prior to Christmas. Therefore this beginners' wage was
found to be practically the permanent wage for this large section
of the candy workers which is laid off each season to begin anew
the next.
"Because of these low wages the Consumers' League of New
York 4 years later undertook a further study of the industry.
Its report was first presented to the members of the Consumers'
a Armstrong, Barbara, Insuring the Essentials.
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Macmillan Co., New York, 1932, p. 88.
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
41
League on March 17, 1928. Within 10 days thereafter the New
York Association of Manufacturers of Confectionery and Chocolate held a meeting and appointed a committee to confer with
the officers of the League on the report and its findings . . .
"The Confectioners Association, through its committee, formally accepted the general health and sanitary standards proposed by the League but rejected the minimum wage provision.
In cooperation with this committee, however, the League addressed a letter to 200 candy manufacturers in New York City
enclosing the list of standards including the $14 minimum wage
and asking if they wished to be included on the list of those who
met the League's requirements.
"So wide a response was received requesting an immediate
inspection and endorsement that the League at once employed
four competent investigators who visited and reported on every
factory to which they were invited. On May 18 a White List
of 57 firms was presented to the League membership and to the
representatives of 50 social organizations. It was pointed out
that each manufacturer on this list had met all the requirements
both as to wages and sanitary conditions and had promised to
maintain these standards. Ten out of these 57, at the time of
inspection, were found to comply with every requirement of the
League. Forty-one raised the wages of beginners to $14 a week.
The League felt that by insisting on this weekly wage of $14 for
beginners it did no more than accept a standard set by the most
progressive manufacturers in the industry itself. The cooperation of responsible candy manufacturers alone made the White
List possible.
"For more than 4 years this White List was maintained and
regular inspections made by the League's investigators. The
idea of the Candy White List spread to other States and at its
peak included 101 leading firms in the four important industrial
States-New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
"During the lifetime of the Candy White List the League
widely advertised the list and so far as was possible, by letter
addressed to all known manufacturers and by advertisment,
endeavored to extend the list to include all employers in the
industry. Investigators for the League were indefatigable in
their efforts to persuade employers by personal visits to join the
move for better working conditions. At least twice a year the
cooperating plants were subjected to rigid inspection by the
League's investigators. At such times suggestions for improving
production methods were made in an effort to make it possible
for these firms to raise their wages. Actually the League offered
a trained service in scientific management without cost as an
inducement to higher wages.
"The candy firms who did join in maintaining the $14 minimum wage were enthusiastic and admitted the benefits accruing
to them from better workmanship and more interested and alert
personnel, and expressed the belief that any additional labor cost
was amply repaid. But in the fall and winter of 1929 a number of firms began to complain of the lowered rates in other
establishments. It became necessary to drop 11 firms from
the White List because of their failure to maintain the wage
79567°-36-4
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
agreed upon. A special plea to the consuming public was made
at this time . . .
~~ ,"Throughout 1930 and 1931 the League found the cooperating
firms experiencing increasing difficulty in maintaining these
minimum wage standards against the pressure of competition
from those firms who refused to join in the movement to raise
standards.
"The number of firms on the White List shrank steadily.
Testimony by an officer of one of these cooperating firms given
at the hearing on the New York State minimum wage bill in 1933
well describes the plight of employers at this time:
'The Hills Brothers Co. accepted the minimum-wage
principle in 1929 and continued to support it under the
White List of the Consumers' League until 1932. The
officers and workers of the Hi1ls Brothers Co. believe in the
principles set forth in the Wald bill. During the 3-year
period that a minimum wage was in effect in our Brooklyn
plant, it cost us money. The year that it cost the most was
one in which the company was forced by cheap competition ·
into a mad production scramble. Under a minimum-wage
plan short seasonal increases in a labor force are expensive
because of the high training cost. This is a cost that shows.
If stabilization of the work year is a good thing (and the
Hills Brothers Co. believes that it is) a minimum-wage plan
fits well into a stabilized production program.
'Of recent years many small producers have become our
competitors. 'Their labor standards may be open to question.
In a price market the production unit of our business is under
constant fire. "X Company does this for 25 cents. Our
costs are 30 cents. Why?" We believe, therefore, that a
legal minimum wage that can be enforced on all employers
will be a help to the employer who wants to maintain
standards in his own industry, and of course a tremendous
help to the workers involved.
'In the spiral of deflation in which we have found ourselves
in the last 4 years, it is possible th at a legal minimum wage
may be a peg· to arrest this deflation. . . . '
"In February 1933 the League regretfully terminated the
Candy White List and sent a letter t o the 85 cooperating firms
remaining and to patrons, explaining that:
' . . . because of the widespread break-down of labor standards which has affected the candy industry as well as many
other industries, we find ourselves forced to discontinue
the issuance .,,of the White List of candy manufacturers.
'One of the most important standards set up by the White
List was a minimum wage of $14 for a full week's work.
Although through the splendid cooperation of many candy
manufacturers it was possible for approximately 5 years to
maintain this wage standard, our project must now be
abandoned because of the fact that candy manufacturers
included in our White List have been compelled through the
ruthless force of competition to reduce wages below this
mLimum standard.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
43
' . . . in spite of the fact that we stood ready to reduce the
minimum wage standard by 10 percent, we were informed
by practically all White List candy manufacturers that they
could not give any reasonable assurance that they would
be able to meet even this reduced wage standard. We were,
therefore, compelled to recognize the fact that, despite the
remarkable cooperation given by the leaders in the candy
industry, a voluntary agreement such as we had established
could not meet a situation such as the one which confronts
us today, and that we must now place our reliance for the
maintenance of certain minimum labor standards on the
enactment of legislation which makes the terms of competi- ·
tion equal for everybody.' " 4
'Consumers' League of New York, Voluntary Minimum Wage Standards in the Candy Industry, by
Elinore Morehouse Herrick, former Executive Secretary, unpublished report, 1935. See also, Elinore M.
Herrick, Why Organized Consumers Want Minimum Wage Legislation, World Convention Dates, March
1933, pp. 10-11, 46; also, National Consumers' League, statement on the Candy White List issued February
1933; and Candy White List, published annually by the Consumers' League of New York, 1928-32.
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Part VI.-THE APPLICATION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE LAW TO THE
LAUNDRY AND DRY-CLEANING INDUSTRIES HAS RESULTED IN
GREAT BENEFITS TO WOMEN EMPLOYED IN THESE INDUSTRIES
1. Conditions prevailing in the industries prior to the wage
order.
The laundry industry had long been recognized as a low-wage
industry and one in which there was little standardization of the
wage rates paid to women employees. "Although the wages were
not as low in the dry-cleaning industry as in the laundry industry,
they were low, and extremely low considering the type of skill required.
More than half, 51.4 percent, of the women working in dry-cleaning
establishments in Ohio in May 1933, before the code for the industry
went into effect, were earning. less than $11 a week, and almost a
fourth, 23.3 percent, were earning less than this meager amount in
October, after the dry-cleaning code became effective." 1
Even in 1929, according to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics,
8 percent of the women employed in laundry and dry-cleaning establishments in the State were paid at weekly rates of less than $10.
Only 1.3 percent of the men in these industries were paid at these
low rates. 2
In 1933 the department of industrial relations received letters from
women working in laundries in Ohio, who stated they worked from
50 to 60 hours a week for $3 and $4 and $5 a week. One woman said
she made as little as $2 for 5 days' work, and never made over $5 a
week when she worked as much as 12 hours a day. In all of these
letters appeals were made to the State to relieve the unbearable
conditions described. 3
By 1933 the continued price cutting, made possible by the payment
of unreasonably low wages, had resulted in such a chaotic condition
in both the laundry and dry-cleaning industries that the trade associations of both industries were seeking for some means of stabilizing
conditions in their respective trades. Although the National
1 The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women in the Dyeing and Cleaning Industry or
Ohio, mimeographed report May 1934, p . 1.
2 Computed from wage data contained in Depart ment of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Sta•
tistics, Report No. 26, Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salary Payments in Ohio,
1929, table I.
3 Copies of letters from workers in the industry will be found in the Report of the Director of Industrial
Relations to the Laundry Minimum Wage Board, op. cit. pp. 5, 6.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
45
Recovery Administration code never became effective for the laundry
industry in Ohio, the code for cleaners and dyers did prove an effective
check on unfair competition in the cleaning business. The bulletin
of the Ohio State Association of Dyers and Cleaners for December
14, 1933, while the code was still in operation, carried the following
statement which shows the attitude of the industry toward any
stabilizing influence:
"We will have in the division of minimum wage another enforcement officer, and you have everything to gain and little to
lose by extending to them your assistance. This is just another
step toward stabilizing conditions in the industry."
The size of the laundry and dry cleaning industries in Ohio, and the
number of women who are dependent upon them for a livelihood, made
the question of women's wages in these industries one of vital public
concern. In 1933 approximately 8,000 women, including those doing
laundry work in hotels and restaurants, were employed by the laundry
and dry cleaning industries in Ohio. The two industries combined
ranked seventh according to the number of women employed among
the leading woman-employing industries in the State in 1933. 4
Because of the importance of the industries, the existing wage
situation, and the widespread demand for relief from unfair competition, the department of industrial relations began the application of the Minimum Fair Wage Act to the laundry industry in 1933,
and followed immediately with a wage for the cleaning and dyeing
trade.
2. Findings of the preliminary investigations in the laundry
and dry-cleaning industries.
As the first step in bringing the laundry industry under the minimum fair wage law, the department of industrial relations made an
investigation of the wages being paid to women and minors in
laundries throughout the State, as provided in section 154--45g of
the law. The purpose of the investigation was to ascertain whether
an appreciable number of women and minors were receiving oppressive and unfair wages and, should such be the case, to provide data
on prevailing wages and conditions in the industry for the consideration of a laundry wage board. Laundries of varying size and type
in 37 cities and towns were visited by trained investigators of the
division of minimum wage, who interviewed employers and transcribed pay rolls for the week including May 8, 1933, a week before
the President's Reemployment Agreement went into effect, and for
the week including September 18, 1933, a week following the Presi• Unpublished employment data compiled by the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of
Labor Statistics, for 1933.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
dent's Reemployment Agreement. A. record of annual earnings was
also obtained for a number of workers.
The analysis of the records revealed that wages paid both before
and after the National Recovery A.ct were oppressively low for women
working in laundries in Ohio. Half the women covered by the study
received less than $7.80 in May 1933, and half less than $8.83 in
September. 5 How greatly wages had been reduced in this industry
during the depression is shown by a comparison of wages in Cincinnati
and Cleveland in 1928 and in 1933. In 1928 the Women's Bureau of
't he United States Department of Labor secured for late 1927 or
early 1928, data on the wages of 1,056 women working in laundries in
Cleveland, and of 589 such workers in Cincinnati. Half of the Cleveland group at the time the Women's Bureau made its study were receiving more than $13.25 a week. 6 The division of minimum wage
found the median earnings for Cleveland women laundry workers in
May 1933 to be $7.24. 7 The median earnings in Cincinnati in 192728 were $13.90 and $9.97 in May 1933 according to the same sources.
These figures show a decrease of more than 45 percent in wages in
Cleveland, and 28.3 percent in Cincinnati during a 5-year period.
The minimum wage division study further revealed great variation
in wage rates being paid to women and minors for similar work.
Investigation of annual earnings of women laundry workers from
May 1932 to May 1933 shows a wide variation, the low of $127.22
for 52 weeks' work being only 16 percent of the high of $816.37 for 51
weeks of labor. The median earnings · for the year were $344.50.
Half the women who worked 52 weeks during the year earned less
than $386.24, and eight of these women earned between $250 and
$300. 8
The complete lack of standardization in wages paid in Ohio laundries is further illustrated by the fact that 20 women included in the
division of minimum wage study earned less than $2 a week while
other earned as much as $32. 9
· Irregularity of hours worked accounts to a limited extent for the
wide range in earnings, but that this explanation holds only in specific
cases is proved by the fact that weekly earnings of women who worked
the same number of hours-44 a week-ranged from $6.90 to $17.34. 10
1 The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Laundry
Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry of Ohio,
January 1934, mimeographed report, p. 14.
0 U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in
23 Cities, Bulletin No. 78, 1930, pp. 63-65.
7 The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Laundry
Minimum Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry
of Ohio, January 1934, mimeographed report, p. 16.
s Ibid., p. 30.
v Ibid., p.14.
1o Computation made by the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, from data collected•by the
Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, in its study of the laundry..industry of Ohio in 1933.
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47
.Annual earnings for 52 weeks ranged from $127 .22 to $778.54. 11
Differences in the type of work performed also fail to explain the
variation in wages, since the week's earnings of flat ironers, all
working 44 hours, ranged from $_7 .05 to $17 .34; the earnings of pressers
ranged from $8.00 to $12.48 for 44 hours; and those of ironers ranged
from $6.90 to $14.88 for the same number of hours. 10
Lack of standardization in wages, regardless of the hours worked, is
also revealed by a comparison of the rates of pay, which represent the
maximum a women can expect to earn by working a full week. The
weekly rates ranged in the Ohio laundry industry in May 1933, before
the National Recovery .Administration, from $3.43 to $17 and in
September from $5.40 to $17. 12
These figures show the intense competition that' existed in the industry in 1933. It is clear that wages that varied so greatly for the same
work and the same number of hours of work could not all be commensurate with the value of the services rendered. Individual
employers were helpless to correct this situation. Women workers
relatively unskilled, and almost completely unorganized, had no
alternative, due to their necessitous condition, but to accept whatever
wages were offered them .
.After a study of the detailed findings of the investigation, the
director of industrial relations concluded that the situation warranted
the summoning of a wage board to recommend minimum fair wage
standards for women and minors employed in laundry occupations.
He therefore appointed the laundry wage board, composed of three
representatives of the employers in the industry, three representatives
of the employees, and three impartial members representing the
public. 13
In December 1933 and January 1934 the division of minimum wage
made an investigation of the hours and wages of women employed in
the dry-cleaning industry in Ohio. Four hundred and fifty-three
establishments located in 89 different cities and towns and employing
1,531 women were visited. Wage data·were secured for 864 women. 14
This investigation, like the laundry survey, revealed that many women
working at dry-cleaning occupations were receiving unreasonably
low wages, and that wages varied so greatly from plant to plant that
there seemed to be no relationship between work done and the
compensation received.
10 Computation made by the U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, from data collected by the
Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, in its study of the laundry !industry of Ohio in 1933.
11 The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Laundry
Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry of Ohio,
January 1934, mimeographed report, p. 30.
u Ibid., p. 39.
18 For a list of the members and their affiliations, see appendix table IX.
u Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women and Minors in the Dyeing and Cleaning
Industry in Ohio, May 1934, mimeographed report, pp. 6-7.
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Half the women covered by the investigation received less than
$10.86 in May 1933, before the President's Reemployment Agreement
was put into operation, and half received less than $13.44 in October,
after the temporary codes had become effective. 15 Even after the
President's Reemployment Agreement, 23.3 percent of the women received less than $11 a week. 16 Wages ranged in May from 85 cents
to $38.15. The woman who earned $38.15 worked more hours than
the low paid worker, the first woman being paid at the rate of 75
cents an hour and the second at the rate of 12 cents, the lower rate
only 16 percent of the higher. 17
Weekly wage rates, the maximum amount a worker can receive a
week irrespective of hours worked, showed the same wide variation.
Some store clerks in Cleveland were paid at the rate of $5 a week for
50 hours, while in the same city other women serving the same
capacity were paid at the rate of $32.50 for 44 hours. 18
The annual earnings of women who worked the entire 52 weeks from
May 1932 to May 1933 ranged from $235.60 to $1,591.59. The
average weekly earnings of these two women were $4.53 and $30.61
respectively, the lower only 15 percent of the higher. Half of the
women for whom annual earnings were secured earned less than
$596.32 during the year. 19 The variation in annual earnings for women employed in the dry-cleaning industry was as great as that discovered in Ohio laundries.
The great differences in earnings of employees working the same
number of hours and at the same occupations proves that the variations in earnings of women in the dry-cleaning industry are not due
entirely to differences in the length of the work week or to types of
work. The earnings of women working 48 hours ranged from $6
to $21.19 in May 1933. Pressers who worked 48 hours earned from
$8 to $17.56; spotters earned from $6 to $21.19; seamstresses from
$9.02 to $16; store clerks from $6 to $14. All of these women worked
48 hours. 20
After a careful consideration of the results of the investigation of
wages paid to women employed in the dyeing and cleaning industry,
the director of industrial relations was of the opinion that a substantial number of women in this industry were receiving oppressive
wages, and determined to call a wage board to recommend a fair
minimum wage for women and minors engaged at cleaning and dyeing
occupations. The wage board consisted of three representatives of
u Ibid, p . 12.
Ibid., appendix table no. 1, p. 1.
11 Ibid., pp. 12-14.
18 Ibid., p. 21.
IP Ibid., p. 34.
2 Computation made by the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, from data collected by the
Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, in its study of the dyeing and
cleaning industry of Ohio in 1933 and 1934.
16
°
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49
the employers in the industry, three representatives of cleaning and
dyeing employees, and three disinterested members representing the
public. 21 In submitting his report to the wage board, the director
of industrial relations stated:
"An extensive investigation of the cleaning and dyeing industry
made by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage has revealed that a
substantial number of women in the industry are receiving wages
which are 'both less than the fair and reasonable value of the
services rendered and less than sufficient to meet the minimum
cost of living necessary for health.'
"As the 'payment of such low and oppressive wages encourages
and promotes cutthroat competition in industry to the detriment
of employers and employees alike, and to business and industry in
general', I am summoning a wage board for the cleaning and
dyeing industry as authorized by section 4 (154-45g) of the
Minimum Wage Act of Ohio." 22
3. Basis for recom.m.endations of the laundry and cleaning
and dyeing m.inim.um. wage boards.
The laundry wage board met January 3, 1934. "After careful
study of the report on hours and earnings in the industry submitted
by the division of minimum wage, of an analysis of the laundry .
wage data of the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics prepared by the
Ohio Information Bureau on Women's Work, and an exhaustive
report made by the employers on the financial and competitive
conditions in the laundry industry" 23 the board on January 17 submitted its recommendations, unanimously adopted, to the director of
industrial relations.
The minimum rates proposed for women and minors eIJ?,ployed in
laundry occupations were considerably lower than those originally
proposed by the labor representatives on the board as providing ·a
"living wage." The board in its report to the director said:
"The study and full discussion of all the material presented
convinced the board members that wages in the laundry trade
must be raised above those being paid at present to women and
male minors working in that industry . . . A majority of the
board, all of whom were eager that the rate be set as high as
possible, was of the opinion that due to the depressed condition
of business in general, and of the laundry trade in particular,
which trade must meet, as do few other industries, the competition
of the housewife and of cheap domestic labor in the home, the
hourly rate recommended in this report is as high as is practical
at this time. The law provides that after a wage order has been in
effect for one year or more, the minimum fair wage rate may be
21 For a list of the members and their affiliations, see appendix table X.
u Report of the Director of Industrial Relations to the Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, op. cit. Letter
of transmittal.
23 Ohio Laundry Minimum Wage Board, Report of the Laundry Wage Board to the Director of Indus•
trial Relations of Ohio, mimeographed report 1934.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
50
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
reviewed, and a board set up to modify it so that it may meet
changed conditions. The opinion was frequently expressed by
members of the board that if the rate recommended in this
report is accepted, it should be reconsidered at the end of a year,
if industrial conditions have materially improved by that time
"The hourly rate of twenty-seven and a half (27}~) cents
recommended by the board, although low, will mean an increase
in hourly rates for eighty-five (85) percent of the women working
in Ohio laundries, if accepted. For two-thirds of the women it
will mean a ten (10) percent increase." 24
The minimum rate recommended by the wage board was 27½ cents
an hour or $11 a week for a week of 40 hours. The board also recommended an increase in the rate of earnings-of those who work only
part of any week, and an additional recompense to those who work
more than a full week. In connection with this recommendation the
board stated:
"The study of the division of minimum wage reveals that
many women are earning low weekly wages, not only because
hourly rates are low, but also because the opportunity to do a
full week's work is denied them. In order to encourage employers to regularize their employment and in order to increase somewhat the wholly inadequate wages resulting from short hours,
the board recommended that ten (10) percent more than the
regular rate be paid to workers who are permitted to work less
than twenty (20) hours per week. This provision means that
the hourly rate for a week of less than twenty (20) hours will
be thirty and one-fourth (30¼) cents.
"Equally undesirable is the long week. Even in these depression times some women are working excessively long hours in
Ohio laundries. Following the provision in the proposed laundry
code, the board recommends that hours of work in excess of
forty-five (45) shall be paid for at a rate of one and one-third
(!}~) times the regular rate, or thirty-six and one-half (36 1 ~)
cents per hour." 25
After public hearings the director of industrial relations approved
the report of the wage board and issued Directory Order No. 1 Governing Women and Minors in Laundry Occupations, effective March
26, 1934.
.
"On July 25, .1934, after the directory minimum wage order
had been m effect 90 days, a public hearing [pursuant to sec.
154- 45m of the General Code] was held in Columbus to give those
persons favoring and those opposing the wage order's being declared mandatory an opportunity to speak. There was no
opposition to a · mandatory order, and on July 26, 1934, the
director of industrial relations signed the mandatory order." 26
2•Idem.
26ldem.
16 Division of Minimum Wage, Department of Industrial Relations, Annual Report of the Superintendent for the year ending June 30, 1934. Mimeographed report.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND M I NORS IN OHIO
51
On June 4, 1934, a wage board appointed for the dyeing and cleaning industry met to consider a minimum fair wage for women employed
in that trade. On June 5 the board submitted a report to the director
of industrial relations signed by seven of the nine board members,
which report recommended a minimum fair wage rate of 38 cents an
hour, and one and one-half times the normal rate for each hour
worked in excess of 40.
Although the director recognized that the minimum fair wage must
be commensurate with the value of the service rendered, and that the
superior skill required of dry-cleaning workers justified a h;gher
minimum wage for workers in the dyeing and cleaning industry than
for laundry workers, he believed that the differential between the
wages for the two industries should more nearly conform to the
differential authorized by the National Recovery Administration in
the codes for these two industries. He also was of the opinion that
the overtime rates for store clerks should begin with the forty-ninth
hour as provided in the Dry Cleaning Code, rather than with the
forty-first hour as recommended by the wage board. He therefore
rejected the report, and returned it to the board for reconsideration
accompanied by the following letter:
"The report of the dyeing and -cleaning minimum wage board
was submitted to me June 16, 1934. After careful consideration
of the report I am returning it to the wage board for reconsideration for the following reasons:
"l. The hourly rate of 38 cents recommended by the wftge
board is 38 percent higher than the Ohio minimum wage for
the laundry industry. It seems desirable that the difference
between the legal minimum wages for the laundry and drycleaning industries should more nearly approach the 32-percent wage differential authorized by the National Recovery
Administration in the codes for these two industries.
"2. The Ohio minimum wage law vests the authority to regulate overtime and part-time rates in the director of industrial relations and the superintendent of minimum wage (sec. 154-45j of
the General Code). In order to set overtime rates the basic week
for which regular hourly rates shall be paid must be determined.
The director and superintendent, in the case of the dry-cleaning
industry, referred the matter of overtime and part-time rates to
the dyeing and cleaning wage board for its recommendation.
The board recommended a time and one-half rate for all hours
over 40. As the Dry Cleaning Code establishes 48 hours as the
basic week for store clerks, and 40 hours for all other workers, it
seems advisable to reconsider the number of hours for which
overtime shall be paid to store clerks.
"As the affirmative vote on the proposed administrative regulations . . . was unanimous, it seems unnecessary for the wage
board to reconsider these proposed regulations.
"I, therefore, summon the minimum wage board for the dyeing
and cleaning industry to reconvene at 1 o'clock, July 5, 1934, in
committee room no. 1, of the State Office Building, to reconsider
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52
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
the matters pertaining to fair minimum wages for women and
minors in the dry-cleaning industry referred to above in paragraphs 1 and 2.
"Respectfully,
"T . A . E DMONDSON,
"Director of Industrial Relations."
The board reconvened July 5, 1934, and following the director's
suggestion revised its recommendation for a minimum fair wage rate
for women and minors in the dyeing and cleaning industry from 38cents to 35 cents, and its recommendation that women and minors
employed in the industry as store clerks be paid a time and a half rate
for all hours worked in excess of 40 to the same overtime rate for all
hours worked in excess of 48. Two of the employee representatives
on the board who had voted for the 38-cent rate refused to vote for
the 35-cent recommendation, because they did not believe that 35
cents was commensurate with the value of the services employees in
dyeing and cleaning industry render.
That 35 cents an hour is a reasonably fair minimum wage for the
dyeing and cleaning industry is witnessed by the fact that the State
Cleaning and Dyeing Board of New Jersey, created by the legislature
in 1935 at the request of the cleaning and dyeing industry of the State
and composed entirely of businessmen, has established 35 cents per
hour as the minimum wage to be paid unskilled workers in the industry, and 45 cents as the minimum wage for skilled employees.
"No other employee shall be paid at less than $14 per week." 27
After public hearings had been held, t he director of industrial relations approved the revised wage board report August 20, 1934, and
issued Directory Order No. 2 Governing Women and Minors in Cleaning and Dyeing Occupations, effective September 10, 1934. On January 7, 1935, after a public hearing, the director of industrial relations
declared the minimum-wage order for the dyeing and cleaning industry
mandatory.
4. The eHect of 'the wage orders on the wages of women and
minors employed in laundries and dyeing and cleaning establishments in Ohio.
At the end of the directory periods for both the laundry and dry
cleaning industries, the division of minimum wage of the department
of industrial relations pointed out that the directory orders had been
effective in raising the wages of. women and minors in laundries and
dry-cleaning establishments th~oughout the State, and bad brought
about substantial wage increases for individual women; that there had
been no discernible tendency for the minimwp wage to become the
27 State Trade Board for the Cleaning and Dyeing Trade of New Jersey, Rules and Regulations Govern•
Ing the Cleaning and Dyeing Trade, Dec. 20, 1935.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
53
maximum, or for wages of the higher paid employees to be reduced.
The records of the minimum wage division show 28 that the median
of the week's earnings of women employed by commercial laundries in
Ohio had increased from $8.83 in September 1933 to $10.61 in July
1934, an increase of $1.80 or 20.5 percent. In May 1933, before the
President's Reemployment Agreement went into effect, the median
earnings for this same class of workers was only $7.80. Under Federal
and State regulation, therefore, wages increased for women laundry
workers between May 1933 and July 1934, 36 percent. The records
show that in July 1934, 31.8 percent of the women employed by commercial laundries earned more than the minim!}Jll hourly rate of 27½ cents.
A more detafled analysis of the effects of the Ohio laundry order
upon wages and hours was made by the Women's Bureau of the
United States Department of Labor in the spring of 1936. Sixty
laundries for which there were wage and hour records for four periods
were selected for this study. The records include the original schedules of the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage used in its investigation
of the laundry industry before a wage board was called, and the reports
of the proprietors of these 60 }aundries to the minimum wage division
for three periods, 1 week under the directory order and two weeks
under the mandatory order.
In May 1933, the period chosen by the diviaion of minimum wage
for the original survey, half the women for whom wage records were
secured in these 60 laundries earned less than $8.15 29 a week. Seventy-six and six-tenths 30 'percent of these wvmen averaged hourly
earnings of less than 27}~ cents, the minimum hourly rate established
by the department of industrial relations in March 1934 for the laundry industry. The reports of the employers in April 1934 under the
directory order show that the median of the week's earnings of women
employed in these 60 identical laundries had increased to $10.80, 29 and
at this time only 2.1 30 percent of the women employed were paid less
than 27½ cents an hour. At the time of the first report under the
mandatory order, August 22, 1934, the median of the week's earnings
was $10.15 29 and the percent of women averaging less than 27}~ cents
an hour bad dropped to 0.7 percent. 30 The second mandatory report
was for the week of April 27, 1935, at which time the median of the
week's earnings was $11.40. 29 This increase in earnings over the
median of $8.15 in May 1933 was partly due to the longer hours
worked, which had increased from a weekly median of 37.1 hours in
May 1933 to a median of 39.6 in April 1935.31 At this latter date
none of the women in the 60 laundries was reported as earning less than
27}~ cents an hour, while 40.7 percent were reported to earn more. 30
21 Ohio Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, unpublished material compiled, 1934.
29 See appendix table XXI.
ao See appendix table XXII.
11 See appendix table XXIII.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Frum May 1933 to April 1935, the median of the week's earnings of
women employed by these 60 laundries increased 39.9 percent, and
median weekly hours increased 6. 7 percent.
In order to d'e termine the effects of the minimum-wage law upon
the wages of women and minors employed in the dyeing and cleaning
industry in Ohio, the Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor compared the wages received and hours worked by
women in this industry in four periods: First, a week before the
minimum-wage order for the industry was issued; second, after the
directory order went into effect; and last, two periods following the
mandatory order. The first of these mandatory periods was the
week of January 26, 1935, immediately after the wage order became
mandatory, and the second was the week of October 26, 1935, almost
10 months after the order was made mandatory. 32 One hundred and
fourteen identical firms which had been investigated by the Ohio
Division of Minimum Wage before the wage order was issued, and
which reported the wages and hours of their women employees under
the directory and twice under the mandatory order were selected for
this comparison.
The figures thus secured show a marked increase in the week's
earnings of women employed in these 114 establishments under Government regulation, as well as a shortening of the weekly hours. The
increase in week's earnings from May 1933 to October 1935 was 39
percent, while the decrease in the median weekly hours during the
same period was 3.1 percent. The increase in the median hourly rate
was 37.4 percent. The median of the week's earnings increased from
$10.90 to $15.15, median hourly earnings from 28.1 cents to ·38.6
cents, and the median of hours worked decreased from 41.6 to 40.3.
M edi an earnings and hours of women and minors as reported to the Ohio Division
of Minimum Wage by 114 identical Ohio dyeing and cleaning establishments for
four pay periods 1
Median
Median or the week's earnings__________ _____ _~--- ----Median or the hours worked ___ __ ______ _______ ___ _ __ __
Median or the average hourly earnings (cents) ____ _____
Ohio Divisionof Min- Directory
imum Wage period ,
original
September
schedules 2
1934
May 1933
$10. 90
41. 6
28. 1
$13. 95
40. 6
35.0
M andatory period
January
1935
$13. 95
37. 3
38.4
October
1935
$15.15
40. 3
38. 6
' Based on appendix tables XI, X II, XIII.
2 Schedules used by the Ohio Division or Minimum Wage in making its wage study or the industry for
the dyeing and cleaning wage board .
u Material used for t his study were t he original schedules used by t he Ohio Department or Industrial
Relations, Division or Minimum W age, in making t he study or wages and hours or women in the drycleaning industry for t he report to the dyeing and cleaning minimum wage board, and employers' wage
reports to the division of minimum wage under t he directory and mandatory wage orders for the industry.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
55
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
That the increase in earnings and decrease in weekly hours under
Government regulation noted above for 114 identical dry-cleaning
·e stablishments were characteristic of the industry as a whole can be
seen from the following table which includes all reporting firms:
Median earnings and hours of women and minors as reported to the Ohio Division
of Minimum Wage by Ohio dyeing and cleaning establishments 1
Ohio Division of
Minimum Wage Directory period,
original schedSeptember 1934
ules, M ay 1933 ,
Median
Mandatory period
January 1935
October 1935
Number
Number
Number
Number
of estabof estabof estabof estab •
lish- Median lish- Median lish- Median
lishMedian ments
ments
ments
ments
reportreportreportreporting
ing
ing
Ing
--- - Median of t he week's earnings __ $10. 65
Median of t he hours worked ____
41. 5
Median of t he average hourly
earnings (cents) __________ _____
27.4
173
173
$14. 00
40. 5
173
35. 0
- - - - - - -- - - - - 362 $13. 90
445 -------- --------362
36. 7
445 -------- --------362
38. 4
445 -------- ---------
t Based on appendix t ables XV, XVI, and XVII.
1 Schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making Its wage study of the industry for
the dyeing and cleaning wage board.
The median of the week's earnings of women employed by 445
establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage
under the mandatory order for the week of January 26, 1935,33 was
$13.90, as compared with the median of $10.65 for the women employees of 173 firms in May 1933. These figures show an increase of
30.5 percent. During the same period and in the same plants the
median of hours worked decreased from 41.5 to 36.7 or 11.6 percent,
and median hourly rates increased from 27.4 cents to 38.4 cents or
40.1 percent.
When the percent increase and decrease in median earnings and
hours are compared for the same dates for the 114 identical firms
and the industry as a whole the results show striking similarity with
the advantage in favor of the entire industry as can be seen from the
following table:
P ercent increase or decrease from May 1933 to January 1935
Median
114 identical establishments
Total number of
establishments
reporting
+28. 0
-10. 3
+ 36. 7
+ 30. 5
- 11. 6
+40.1
Median of the week's earnings _______ __ ___ ____ ___
Median of the hours worked ___ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___ _
Median of the average hourly earnings ___________ _
aa Reports for the entire industry for October 1935 are not yet available.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
56
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND M INORS IN OHIO
That the minimum wage did not become the maximum is proved
by the fact that under the mandatory order 68.5 percent of the women
employed by the 114 identical firms received more than the legal
minimum rate of 35 cents an hour in January 1935, and 78.1 received
more than that amount in October 1935. Almost as large a percent
of the women were paid more than the minimum by the industry as
a whole; 1,126 or 59.0 percent of the the employees received more
than 35 cents in January 1935. These figures contrast strikingly
with the figures for May 1933, when only 19.1 percent of the women
employees of the 114 firms received more than 35 cents an hour, and
only 17 .2 percent of the women employed by all the firms for which
there is wage data for May 1933 were paid more than that amount.
The percent receiving le:;s than 35 cents before and after the wage
order is equally significant. In May 1933, 77.3 percent of the women
employees in the identical firms received less than 35 cents an hour
as compared with 2.4 percent in January 1935, after the mandatory
order. The proportion is practically the same for the whole industry,
only 44 women, or 2.3 percent of the total, were paid less than 35
cents by 445 establishments in January 1935, while 79.3 percent were
paid less by 173 firms in May 1933.
Percent of women in Ohio dry-cleaning establishments pai d more and less than the
legal hourly rate of 35 cents 1
Original study
D irectory period
M ay 1933
Sep tember 1934
M andatory period
J anuary 1935
October 1935
Establishment s
Less
More
than M ini- than
m ini- m um m inimum
mum
- - - - - - --,- -
More
than
m inimum
Less
than Minim ini- mum
mum
-------- -- - -
114 identical establishments ____ ___ __ __ _______ 77. 3
3. 6 19.1
Total number of reporting establishments:
173 __ ____ ________ ___ __ 79. 3
3. 4 17. 2
362 ______ __ ___________ ---- - - ------ -- -- -445__ ___ ___ __ __ ____ ___ --- -- - --- - -- ----- J
Less
than M inimini- mum
m um
43. 5
23. 8
32. 7
2. 4
M ore
t han
m inim um
Less
than M inimini- mum
mum
M ore
t han
m inimum
---------29. 1
68. 5
2. 6
19. 3
78.1
------ ------ ------ --- - -- --- - -- -- - -- - -- - --- --- --- --- --37. 2 21. 7 41.1 ------ ----- - --- --- -- --- - -- ---- ---- --- -- - - --- - -- - -- -- - 2. 3 38. 7 59. 0 --- - -- ------ --- - --
Based on appendix tables XIII, XVII.
It is also important to note that under the mandatory order rates
above the minimum were paid by a majol'ity (54.2 percent) of the 445
reporting firms to at least some of their women employees, and that
46.1 percent of the firms paid half or more of their women more than
the legal rate. Sixty-nine and nine-tenths percent of the 173 firms for
which there are records paid none of their women more than 35- cents
an1hour in May 1933, before the regulation of wages was undertaken
by the Government.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
57
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Percent of reporting dry-cleaning establishments paying some of their women employees more or less than the minimum rate of 35 cents 1
Original study
Directory period
May 1933
September 1934
"i::j
·s
Establishments
(!)
I>
(!)
I>
0
.0
"'
~s
a:>::,
~s ~s
~ ::l
o."
~s
er-si: l
0
0.
s
s0
0
0
Q)
Q)
Q)
z
114 identical establish•
ments .......... ·----·-· 64.9
Total number of report•
ing establishments:
i
I»
as
s s::l
a:, ·(!)
... i::i
s·s
... Q)
0 I>
.... 0
-.o
1"'
"i::j
·s
(!)
January 1935
u,
I>
(!)
Q)
.0
0
0
Mandatory period
I»
-as
s s::i
"i::j
·s
(!)
~
I>
Q)
.0
0
0
I»
October 1935
"i::j
·s
~
(!)
I>
Q)
I»
0
.0
0
-as
"' -as
s ::ls
s s s::l I>0
~s
a:>::,
::l
~s ~§ ... A ~s ~s ,_A ~s ~s ... A
~ ::l
~ ::l -a·i::l
a"§
i§
-a·i::l s·s ~s
o."i::l s·s l»s
I»
s·-s 0 I> 0
s·-s 0 I>
0
~-§ 0 I> 0
0.
0.
0.
~_g
~_g
s
s
~~
"9"' s
cl,
cl,
s0
s0
s0
0
0
0
A
A
A
Q)
I>
0
"'
iS
Q)
Q)•-
Q)
I>
0
"'
u,
al
... Q)
Q)
(!)
(!)• -
Q)
(!) • -
... Q)
... (!)
(!)
Q)
(!)
Q)
Q)
(!)
Q)
Q)
.Q"'
Q)
z
z
z
0
0
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -0 A
Ul
0
35.1
20. 2
Ul
41.2
58. 8
Ul
38.6
41.2
58.8
Ul
50.9
22. 8
73.7
63.2
173_·------------·--·· 69. 9 30.1 19. 7 ---·-- ---·-- ------ ------ ---·-· -··-·- -·---- -·---· -····362_.-·-·-·----------- -·-- -- -----· ------ 40. 6 59. 4 43. 6 ------ ------ ------ ---·-· -·---- -----445 __________ ·-·------ ------ ---··· ------ ---·-- ------ -- ---- 45. 8 54. 2 46.1 ------ ----- - -----1
Based on appendix tables XIV, XVIII.
Chart IV 34 shows how generally the dry cleaning industry in
the Ohio Minimum Wage District No. 1 (Toledo) was able to adjust
to the mandatory order. The chart shows the frequency distribution,
according to wage rates, for three different periods: First, unregulated
competition before the N. R. A. codes or the minimum-wage orders
went into effect; second, after the N. R. A. codes began to operate;
third, after the mandatory minimum-wage order. The median rates
at these three different periods were as follows:
Per hour
(a) Before N. R. A _________ _____________________________________ _ $0. 25
(b) After N. R. A ________________________________ ___ _____________
. 308
(c) After minimum wage mandatory order_ ___ __ ____________________
. 354
Further analysis of the rate after the mandatory order shows the
following detail:
Per hour
The
The
The
The
first quartile rate was _____________________________ _____ _____ _ $0. 3514
median rate was _________ _______________________ ___________ _
. 354
third quartile ra'te was ______________________________________ _
. 3773
average rate was _____________ ______________________________ _
• 3733
59.6 percent received more than the minimum-wage rate.
Directly bearing on the fact that the employers have been able to
pay the minimum wage rate, and that therefore it was not fixed at
t m unduly high figure, is the fact that only three workers were found
to be paid at rates below the minimum set.
u Chart IV was prepared by the Toledo Consumers'' League, Mar. 9, 1935.
79567 °-36--5
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58
WAGES PAID T O W OMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
·s. The effect of wage orders on the employment of women
and minors in the laundry and dry-clea n ing industries .
The Women's Bureau of the · United States D epartment of L abor
m ade an analysis of the employment figures of the Ohio Division of
L abor Statistics to determine changes, if any, in the employment of
women in t he laundry and dry-cleaning industries in Ohio aft er t he
minimum-wage orders became effective for these trades. The Ohio
D ivision of Labor Statistics does n0t compile the employment and
wage data for laundries and dry-cleaning extablishments separately,
but reports them as for one industry. An examination of the employment figures for these combined industries for a 21-year period (see
the following table )35 shows a decrease from 1914 through 1934 36 in
the proportion which women form of the total group of wage earners
in these industries. In 1914 women comprised 67.74 percent of the
entire group; by 1924 the proportion had decreased to 6i.85 percent,
and ·by 1934 to 56.63 percent.
Proporti on of m en and women in total grou p of wage earners i n laundries and drycleaning establi shments i n Ohi o, 1914-34, as reported to the Ohi o Division of
l,q,bor .Statistics
Percent of total number of
employees
Year
Men
1914 ___ _______ ____ _______ __ _____ __ ___ ___ ____ _____ _
1915 __ ______ ___ ___ ________________ _______________ _
1916 ______ _____ ____________ ______ _____ __ ___ ______ _
1917 __ _____ __________________ _____ _______________ _
1918 ___________ _____________________________ _____ _
1919 ____ ___ ___ __ __________ _______________________ _
1920 ___ __ __________ __ ____________________________ _
1921 __________ __________________ _________________ _
1922 _____ ____________________________________ _____
1923 _______ _______________ _____ _____ _______ __ ____ _
1924 ___ _________________ ________ ___________ ______ _
19~5 __________________ _________ __________________ _
1926 _________ _______ __ __________ ______ ____ _______ _
1927 ____________________ _________ ____________ ____ _
1928
- --------1929____
· __· ----____ ______
___ _· -__-------------------------_______________ __ ___ __ ___
1930_, -- - --- - - - - - - --- - - - - - ------ - --- - - ---- -- -- - - - 1931
- ----------- ---------------- --- - ----_
1902 -~-----__ ________
______________
_____________________
1933 ________ ______ ___________ ____________________ _
1934 ___________ - - --- - - - ----- - ---------------- - ---
32. 26
33. 91
32. 78
32. 54
33. 47
35. 52
37. 13
38. 81
37. 77
37. 33
38. 15
38. 21
38. 90
38. 96
38. 83
39. 20
41. 14
40. 79
42. 33
·43_ 09
43. 37
Women
67. 74.
66. 09
67. 22
67. 46
66. 53
64. 46
62. 87
61. 21
62. 23
62. 65
61. 85,
61. 79
61. 10
61. 04
61. 16
60. 80,
58. 86
59. 21
57. 67
56. 91
56. 63
This change in the proportion of women to men may be due to a .
variety of causes such as. changes in equipment used or shifts in
35 Information Bureau on Women's Work, Ohio Wage Earners in Laundries and Dry-Cleaning Estab-lishments, table 2, p . 5. Based on appendix, table XIX.
ao Employment and wage data of the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 1935 are not yet available.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
59
types of services rendered. But up to 1934 the change could not be
attributed to the regulation of women's wages by the State, because
the Ohio minimum-wage law was not passe·d until June 1933, and the
minimum-wage orders for these industries did not become effective
until 1934. The order for the laundry industry became effective in
March, and that for the dyeing and cleaning industry in September.
The proportion women formed of total employed decreased only
0.28 point from 1933 to 1934. (See table on p. 58.)
The average numbers of men and women employed in these 2 years
are as follows: 37
Year
1933 _________________________
1934 _________________________
Number of
firms reporting
517
512
Total
10,855
11,292
Men
4,677
4,898
Women
6,178
6,395
Although the change in proportion is so small as to lack significanc'0',,
no matter what its cause, the combined figures for the two industries·
make it impossible to determine whether employment changes have
been the same in laundries and dry-cleaning establishments. In order
to throw light on this question, the United States Women's Bureau
separated the original reports submitted to the Division of Labor
Statistics by employers in the two industries for the years 1933 and
1934. The month of November was chosen as the month for which
to compare the employment figures for men and women in these2 years. A careful analysis of the data thus separated reveals that
the proportion of women to men in the laundry industry decreased
only four-tenths of 1 point from 1933 to 1934, or from 65.2 to 64.8
percent. In the dyeing and cleaning industry the proportion of
women increased from 36.6 percent to 37.6 percent or by 1 point. In
over 60 firms which did both laundry and dry cleaning the proportion
of women to men increased from 62.6 to 63.7 percent.
The actual number of men and women employed in the laundry
industry increased from 1933 to 1934, as did the number of women
employed in dry cleaning, but the number of men employed in the.
latter industry decreased 1.65 percent. (See appendix table XX.}
There is no evidence, therefore, to be secured from the employment
figures of the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics which shows that the
minimum-wage orders have caused a decrease in the · number or
proportion of women employed in either the laundry or dry-cleaning
industry.
11
Unpublished employment data compiled by the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics for 193a and. 1934'..
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Part VII.-LEGISLATION ON HOURS AND WAGES IN OTHER STATES
AND COUNTRIES 1
Government regulation of the hours and wages of women workers
is by no means new.
Since 1852 the State of Ohio has had legislation limiting women's
hours of work, and hour legislation in other States dates back to 184 7.
Today 44 States and the District of Columbia have hour regulations
for some occupations or industries (all except Alabama, Florida, Iowa,
and West Virginia). The list of States, with the year when the first
law was passed regulating working hours of adult women, follows:
1847.
1848.
1849.
1851.
1852.
1858.
1863.
1863.
1867.
1874.
1885.
1886.
1886.
1887.
1887.
1889.
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Maine
New Jersey
Ohio
Minnesota
South Dakota
North Dakota
Wisconsin
Massachusetts
Michigan
Rhode Island
New York
Louisiana
Connecticut
Georgia
1890.
1890.
1893.
1899.
1899.
1901.
1903.
1903.
1908.
1909.
1911.
1911.
1911.
1912.
1912.
Virginia
Oklahoma
Illinois
Indiana
Nebraska
Washington
Colorado
Oregon
Tennessee
Missouri
South Carolina
Utah
California
Maryland
Kentucky
1913.
1913.
1913.
1913.
1913.
1913.
1914.
1914.
1915.
1915.
1915.
1915.
1917.
1921.
Montana
Vermont
Idaho
Delaware
Arizona
Texas
Dist:i;ict of Columbia
Mississippi
Wyoming
North Carolina
Arkansas
Kansas
Nevada
New Mexico
In 1934, 38 States and 2 Territories had laws restricting the working hours of men in some occupations in private employment. Many
States, whether or not they regulate such hours, have legislation requiring the observance of an 8-hour day on public works.
Many foreign countries, including the following, have hour legislation, usually applying both to men and to women, and in sonie cases
dating back to the early part of the nineteenth century:
Argentina
Australia (by province)
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Greece
Guatemala
Holland
Honduras
Canada
Chile
Colombia
China
Costa Rica
Cuba
Mexico
Norway
Panama
Peru
Czechoslovakia
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
France
Great Britain
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
1 Compiled by the Women's Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor. The most recent statutes or
amendments are not necessarily included. For list of publications used, see Bibliography, pt. VII, in the
appendix.
60
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
India
Italy
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Poland
Portugal
Rumania
61
Uruguay
Venezuela
Yugoslavia
By April 1936 the following countries had ratified the Hours of
Work in Industry Convention of the International Labor Organization.
Argentina
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
Dominican Republic
Greece
India
Lithuania
Luxemburg
Nicaragua
Portugal
Ru mania
Spain
Uruguay
Seventeen States and many foreign countries have minimum-wage
laws on their statute books.
The States with dates of passage of the laws are as follows:
Massachusetts, 1912 (new law, 1934,
amended 1936)
California, 1913
Colorado, 1913
Minnesota, 1913 (for minors only)
Oregon, 1913
Washington, 1913
Wisconsin, 1913
North Dakota, 1919
South Dakota, 1923
Connecticut, 1933
Illinois, 1933
New Hampshire, 1933
New Jersey, 1933
New York, 1933 2
Ohio, 1933
Utah, 1933 (earlier law 1913)
Rhode Island, 1936
New Zealand passed the first minimum-wage law in 1894. Since
that year many other countries, including the following, have enacted
some form of minimum-wage legislation:
Australia (by province)
Great Britain
Germany
France
Mexico
Canada (by province)
Argentina
Norway
Union of South Africa
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Uruguay
Spain
Italy
Russia
Chile
Ecuador
Costa Rica
Cuba
Peru
By April 1936 the following countries had ratified the MinimumW age-Fixing Convention of the International Labor Organization:
Australia
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Cuba
France .
Germany
Great Britain
Hungary
Irish Free State
Italy
Mexico
Nicaragua
Norway
South Africa
Spain
Uruguay
Practically all States in the United States have other legislation
dealing with the payment of wages, such as method, form, time, or
frequency of such payment.
1
Declared un'C'onstitutibrla\ by the
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u. s. Supreme Court by a 5 to 4 decision, June 1, 1936.
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APPENDIXES
I. GENERAL TABLES
II. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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APPENDIX !.- GENERAL TABLES
TABLE
!.-Gainfully occupied persons in relation to the total population, by sex,
Ohio, 1900-1930 1
Persons 10 years of
age and over gainfully occupied
Census year
Population 1- - - -- - - 10 years of
Percent
age and
of popuover
10
lation
Number years of
age and
over
TOTAL
1930• •• • -• - - -- - - - -- - -- -- - - - - - - - - -- -- - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1920 _______ - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1910 __ -- - __ - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - 1900 _______ - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5,434,261
4,624,456
3,848,747
3,289,921
2,615,764
2,301.516
1,919,055
1,545,952
48.1
49.8
49. 9
47.0
MEN
1930 _____ • _- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - 1920 __ --- --- ------ -- -- ------- - --- --- - ----- -- ---- ------ -- -- ------ --- --1910 __ _____ __ ____ - _____ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1900 __ -------- -- - - - -- - -- -- ---- -- ----- -- - - - -- - --- -- -- -- --- --- -- -- -- - ---
2,746,256
2,382,040
1,970,027
1,663,595
2,076,158
1,891,546
1,572,343
1,299,881
75. 6
79. 4
79. 8
78. 1
WOMEN
1930___- -- - --- -______________
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -___________________
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -__________________
- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -___
- - __
- - -_
_______
1920
1910 _______ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1900. - ___ . ____ -- _- ___ - - - - - - - - - _- - - - - _- - - - - - - _- - - _- - - . - . - - - - - - - - - _- _- - -
2,688,005
2,242,416
1,878,720
1,626,326
539,606
409,970
346,712
246,071
20. 1
18. 3
18. 5
15.1
1 Complied from Fifteenth Census tor the United States, 1930, Population, Vol. IV, Occupations, by
States, table I, p. 1237.
TABLE
IL-Gainfully occupied women in relation to total persons gainfully
occupied, Ohio, 1900- 1930 1
Census year
1930_. __ __ -- __ ___ • __ -- -- _•• • __ -- •• _. _. ____ -- ___ __ • -- -- _. _. _. _. __ • _. - _1920. _______ -- ____ -- ____ ___ -- ___ -- __ __ __ -- -- -- __ -- ______ -- ____ ____ -- __
1910 ______ -- __ -- ___________ • ____ -- -- __ -- ______ -- __________ __ _____ __ _-1900 ____ -- -- .. __ -- _. __ -- -- .. _. __ -- _. ___ . ______ -- __-- _. -- _- - . _. _____ . _.
Women 10 years of age
Total numand over gainfully
ber of peroccupied
sons 10years1-- - - - , - - - of age and
Percent
over gainof total
fully occu- Number
pied
number
of persons
2,615, 764
2,301,516
1,919,055
1,545, 952
539,606
409,970
346, 712
246,071
20. 6
17. 8
18.1
15. 9
1 Compiled from Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Population, vol. IV, Occupations, by
States, table 1, p. 1237.
65
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66
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
III.-Proportion of women 10 years old and over gainfully occupied, by age,
Ohio, 1900 and 1930
1900 1
Gainfully occupied
women
Totalnumber
Age
Number
Percent
of total
number
of women
TotaL _________________________ . ___ - • _----- __ ---- -- --------- - --
1,626,326
246,071
15.1
10 to 24 years ....••••.• ···- _••••.•.••.•..•.••..• ···-··-· ...•.....•....
25 to 44 years_ .. _.•.••..•.••...•... _......... _....................... .
45
years and over_·······-······-·····-················-·····-·------Unknown._.
__ . ___ . ________________________________________ ... ______ .
608,188
596,445
419,524
2,169
120,603
86,450
19. 8
14. 5
9. 2
38,624
394
1930 2
TotaL _. ________ -· _________ . ____ - -- - _-- - _- _____ -- -- -- -- -- --. - --
2,688,005
539,606
20. 1
10 to 24 years ... _____________________________________________________ _
25 to 44 years-·- --·--- -·------·-·-----·-·-· -·--- ----- ------ -·---·----45
years and
over-- --··------ --------·-·-·----- ----·------- -------- --_
U nknown.
____
. _____________________________________________________
879,983
988, 51>6
818, 105
1,361
195, 371
230,581
113, 174
480
22.2
23. 3
13.8
t Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, vol. II, Population, pp. 78-79: Special Reports, Occupations,
table 41, p. 363.
2 Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Population, vol. IV, Occupations, by States, table 8, p.1267.
TABLE
IV.-Duration of employment in the same industry, compiled from special
studies, 1913- 1934
Industry and locality
Percent of women
Tota
employed in the
number
same industryDate of of women 1_ _ _ _ _ _ __
study
report5 years
10 years
ing
and over and over
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1934
Hotels and restaurants-New York State 1-----------------·-··
Beauty
shops-4
cities
3-·-·--·-···--··-·-----·--·------·-----·- 1933
Colum
bus 3._._
•• __ ••. ____________ ..• _______ • ____ ••••••• __ _
1933
1933
Glove industry-Fulton County, N. Y '--··-·--·--·-·-·-·---·Cigar industry- 11 States including 11 Ohio cities 6-- --- ·--·--- 1929-30
1929-30
Cigarette industry-5 cities 6-----·-------·-·-----·------------1928
Slaughtering and meat packing-13 cities 6-·-------------··-·-·
Various industries-industrial women attending adult education classes, including Ohio women_··-········----·-·--···-- {7 1928-30
91925
Various industries-44 Ohio cities 11 _____ · - - - - - - - - · · - - · · - · - · · · · 1922
Various industries-Manchester, N. H.11 __________ .___________ 1919-20
Millinery industry-New York City 13________________________
1914
Paper box industry-New York State u------------·-----·----1913
8, 94.5
1,163
182
563
11, 885
2,374
760
608
97
14,604
533
1,351
7,330
25.6
54. 3
58. 7
2 23.8
51. 1
52.3
52. 5
2
8
10
76. 6
99. 0
35. 1
40. 7
57. 8
34. 9
'7. 0
21.4·
27. 5
2
9. 2
28.6
25. 7
18. 6
8 37.
8 47.
7
4
16.1
19. 3
22. 9
14. 7
1 New York Department of Labor, Wages and Working Conditions in Hotels and Restaurants. Un·
published data.
2 These figures apply to length of employment with the same firm.
a U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bul. No. 133, p. 23.
'Ibid., Bul. No. 119, p. 7.
6 Ibid., Bul. No . 100, p. 152.
6 Ibid ., Bui. No. 88, p . 55.
7 Ibid., Bul. No. 89, p . 41.
s These figures apply to length of employment "in industry", not necessarily in the same industry.
e U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bul. No. 54, p . 4.
10 Includes women with 4 or more years experience in industry.
11 U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bul. No . 44, pp. 8 and 120.
u Ibid., Bul. No. 30, p. 93.
u New York Factory Investigating Commission, 1915, vol. 11, p. 419.
1. Ibid., p. 263,.
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67
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
V.-Proportion of married women 15 years old and over gainfully occupied,
Ohio, 1890- 1930 1
Gainfully occupied
women
Total
number of
m arried
women
Census year
1930_-- ____ - -- - - _- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - 1920 _______ -- - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - 1910 __ ______ - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - -- -- -- - - - - - - ---- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - 1900 __ __ -- _- -- -- - --- - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -- -- - - - -- 1890__-- -- -- ______ -- __ - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - --- -
Number
Percent
of total
number
of married
women
152,592
7fl, 655
53,958
20,429
12,567
1,496,574
1,241,451
991,870
813,106
689,331
10. 2
6. 2
5. 4
2. 5
1. 8
t Fifteenth Cen sus of the United States, 1930, Population, vol. IV, Occupations, b y States, table 14, p.
1299.
TABLE
VI-Proportion of married women in various industries, compiled from
special studies, 1922-1934
Industry and locality
Date of
study
Hotels and restaurants-New York State t _______________ __ _________ _
B eauty shops-4 cities 2 _ _ ___ ____ _ ____________________________ _ ______ _
Beauty shops-Columbus, Ohio 2_ ----------------------------------South Bend, Ind.: a
All industries _____ __ _________ __ ----- ---- ____ ______________ ___ ___
Manufacturing industries_ - ---- -------- -- --- ---- -- ---- --------- --
1934
1933
1933
-1
1930
~!r~cal
======11==States.
== ======
== ========11== Ohio
======cities
== === =
== =====
=== =
=====
Cigar
industryincluding
4_==
_______
____
_____
_ 1929--30
Cigarette industry-ii cities a________ ____________ ___________ __________ 1929-30
Lau 1~;i~1;~~rry- 23 cities~ _____________ __ : _______ ___________________ 1927-28 _
0
Cleveland _____________ _---- ____ --------- _________________________ _________ _
Ohio : 7
All indu tries ____________________ -------------------- -- ________ __
M anufacturing:
Advertising ·and other novelties_-- ---------- ----- ------ ---- -Auto tops a nd other can,as products __________ _____ __ ______ __
Candy _______________ ----------- -- _____ ------ ---- _____ _____ __
Clothing:
Shirts and overalls _________ _____ __ _____ ___ ___ ______ __ __ __
Suits and coats, men's _______ ___ __ __ __________ ___________ _
Suits and coats, women's _______ __________ _______________ _
Other ___ ____ ________________________ _______________ _____ _
Electric products _____ __ _____________________________________ _
Food products ________________ _______ ____________________ ___ _
Glass and glass products ____________________________________ _
Gloves ___ ____ _- _- _- - - - - - - - - - -- -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - 1922
Metal products ____ ------------------------"- _______________ _
P aper and p Rper products ___________________________________ _
Pottery __ _______________________________ __ _________ _____ ____ _
Rubber and rubber produr.t,s ________________________________ _
Shoes _·-___ ------------ --- ----------- - --------- -- - ---- ------ -Textiles:
Cordage __________ ___________________ _____ ___ ____________ _
Hl)siery goods
And knit
goods __ ------------ ----- ---_________
----------Woolen
_______________________________
__ _-_
Other _______________________________ __________________ ___
Tobacco a nd cigars ______ ___ _______ __ _____ ___ ____ ___ _________ _
General m ercan tile ____ _______ ____________ _______ _______ _______ _
5- and 10-cent stores __ ____ _________________ ______ ____________ __ _
Laundrie~ ----- ___ ______ __ ________________ _____________________ _
Percent
Total num- married
ber of
women
women
form of
reporting all women
employees
l
8,918
1,216
200
29. 9
23. 7
34. 0
3,243
2,094
624
179
13, 791
2,387
16,554
550
883
43. 7
48. 9
22. 4
39. 7
39. 3
38. 6
42. 6
36. 9
45. 1
16,222
28. 4
166
66
216
25. 3
40. 9
34. 3
449
1,174
249
327
1, 192
545
405
322
1, 599
928
812
1,570
602
13. 6
15. 6
41. 4
28. 4
14. S
40. 4
28
486
243
76
1,776
2,195
193
600
42.9
28. 0
32. 1
31.6
38. 8
t New York Department of Labor, Wages and Working Conditions in Hotels and Restaurants.
lisbed data.
2 U.S . Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bul No. 133, p . 22.
a Ibid., Bui. No. 92, p . 8.
1 Ibid., Bul. No. 100, p. 151.
a Ibid., p . 156.
a U. S. Department of Labor,!Women's Bureau, Bul. No. 78, p. 143.
7 Ibid., Bul. No. 44, p . 103.
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26. 5
23. 6
31. 7
23.4
31. 4
41.0
18. 9
~
25. 0
16. 1
32. 3
Unpuo-
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
VIL-Hourly rates of women workers in Ohio dry-cleaning establishments
classified by occupation for weeks ending May 13 and Oct. 14, 1933 1
Total
Seamstresses
Spotters
Pressers
Hourly rate
May 13 Oct.14 May 13 Oct. 14 May 13 Oct.14 M ay 13 Oct. 14
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -1- -Total- number _______ __ _____ _
Percent distribution __ _____________ _
405
100.0
- - - - -!i57
100. 0
- - - --- --- - -- ---
132
32. 6
200
35. 9
48
11. 8
!i9
10. 6
74
18. 3
96
17. 2
13. 5
48. 6
56. 7
64. 9
93. 2
5. 2
13. 5
Percent
Under 20 cents ______ _______ ________ _
Under 26 cents ___________ __________ _
Under 28 cents __ __ _______________ ___
Under 30 cents ______________ ________
Under 36 cents _____ ____ _____ _____ __ _
36, under 40 cents _________ ____ _____ _
40 cents and over_ ________ __ _____ __ _
16. 8
50. 9
62. 0
69.1
87.4
3. 9
8. 6
4.8
14. 7
16. 9
64.8
11. 7
23. 5
26. 5
61.4
66. 7
74. 2
87. 1
3. 0
9. 8
6. 5
20. 0
20. 5
69. 0
10. 5
20. 5
4. 2
29. 2
41. 7
54. 2
77.1
10. 4
12. 5
45.8
11. 9
42.4
Median hourly rate-cents _____ ____ _
25. 9
33. 4
24. 6
31. S
29.3
37. 0
Inspectors
C heckers
1.7
13. 5
16. 9
Markers
6. 7
li. 7
68. 7
9. 4
21.9
26. 3
32. 7
Cleaners
Hourly rate
May13 Oct. 14 Mayl3 Oct. 14 May13 Oct.14 May13 Oct. 14
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - Total- number __ __ _____·----Percent distribution ___ __ _______ __ __
15
3. 7
17
3.0
43
10. 6
61
10. 9
32
7. 9
43
7. 7
36
8. 9
40
7. 2
Percent
Under 20 cents __ __ ___ ____ _________ __
Under 26 cents _________ __ ________ __ _
Under 28 cents ____ _____ ___ __________
Under 30 cents __ ________ ____ __ ______
Under 36 cents __ __ ____________ ___ __ _
36, under 40 oents ______________ _____
40 cents and over_ _________ ______ .. __
20.0
46. 7
46. 7
53, 3
86. 7
6. 7
6. 7
Median hourly rate-cents ____ ______
29.0
41. 2
29.4
29. 4
18. 6
67.4
83. 7
88. 4
90. 7
2.3
7.0
4. 9
11. 5
11. 5
62.3
14. 7
23. 0
25.0
59. 4
75.0
78.1
87. 5
3. 1
9. 4
4.6
11. 6
16. 3
69.8
4. 6
25. 6
2.8
27.8
63. 9
66. 7
88. 9
5. 5
5. 5
60. 0
22. 5
17. 5
36. 7
25. 2
33.4
24.0
31. 8
'27. 2
35. 2
Finishers
Store clerks
Foreladies
General
Hourly rate
May 13 Oct. 14 May 13 Oct. 14 May 13 Oct. 14
______________ ,_May
__13 -Oct.14
- - --- --- - - - --- - - - - - Total- number _________ __ _____
Percent distribution ____ _______ __ __ _
10
2. 5
17
3.0
3
1.0
4
0. 7
1
0. 2
3
0. 5
11
2. 7
17
3. 0
Percent
Under 20 cents _______ __ ____ __ _____ ___ __ ______ __ ____ ____ ______ ________ ___ _____ __ ___ __
Under 26 cents __ ____ ___ _c__ _______ __ 30. 0
5. 9
33. 3
25. 0
100. 0
50. 0
5. 9
33. 3
25. 0
100. 0 _____ ___
U.n 4~r 28.cents____ ____ _____ ___ ____ __
Unrler 30 cents_ __ ____ _______ __ ____ __
50. 0
52. 9
33. 3
25. 0
100. O _____ ___
Under 36 cents_____ __ _____ ___ ____ ___ 80. 0
88. 2
66. 7
100. 0
100. 0
33. 3
36, under 40 cents_____ ______ ________ ________ __ _____ _
33. 3 ________ _____ __ _
33. 3
40 cents and over_ ___ _______ ____ ____
20. 0
11. 8 ___ __ ___ __ ______ ____ __ __
33. 3
9.1
45.4
54. 5
54. 5
90. 9
9.1
Median hourly rate--eents_ __ ____ __ _
27.0
30. 0
31.8
(2)
(2)
11. 8
41. 2.
47.0
64. 7
11. 8
23. 5
30. 5
1 The OhioDepartment of Industrial Relations, Division of Minimum Wage, Report to the Dyeing and
Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of Women in the Dyeing and Cleaning Industry of
Ohio. Mimeographed report May, 1934, Appendix table 23.
1 B!ll>e too small for the computation of a median.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
VIII.-Average weekly earnings of men and women in representative New
York State factories, 1923-1935 1
Total
Candy
Knit goods
(except silk)
Paper boxes
and tubes
Women's
clothing
Shoes
Year
Men
Worn•
en
Worn• Men Worn• Men Worn• Men Worn- Men
en
en
en
en
-----------------Men
Worn•
en
----
1923 2••••••••• $31. 43 $16. 31 $25. 17 $14. 10 $26. 76 $16. 65 $26. 65 $16. 02 $27. 61 $17. 81 $40. 34
1924 •. _____ ___ 31. 01 16. 65 25. 63 14. 60 26. 50 15. 34 27. 53 16. 54 26. 68 16. 55 43.18
1925 .• -- -- _--- 31.48 17. 12 25. 91 14. 63 26. 78 16. 34 28. 14 17. 11 28. 42 16. 59 45. 10
1926 ________ __ 32. 72 18. 08 27.17 15. 61 27. 29 15. 93 30. 91 17. 35 29.84 17. 87 46. .'i9
1927 __________ 33. 20 18. 62 28. 20 15. 83 28.13 16. 41 31. 21 17. 08 30. 69 18. 30 47. 64
1928 __________ 33. 47 18. 49 28. 21
16. 45 26. 81 15. 62 31. 51 17. 61 30.13 17. 68 49.18
1929 ______ ____ 33. 97 18. 75 29. 73 15. 58 27. 21 15. 89 32. 90 17. 92 30. 63 18. 29 49.01
1930 _________ _ 32. 37 17. 97 29. 49 15. 03 25. 89 13. 89 31. 48 16. 73 26. 62 15. 89 47. 66
1931_ ________ _ 29. 56 16. 60 26. 38 13. 86 24. 17 12. 63 29. 77 14. 83 23. 09 13. 13 43. 28
1932 __________ 25. 36 13. 75 25. 22 12. 61 21. 84 10. 99 24. 46 12. 84 19. 92 11.01 37. 01
1933 .. -- -- --- - 24. 27 13. 35 22. 42 11. 51 20. 81 11. 63 22. 46 12, 51 19. 43 11. 36 33. 51
1934 ___ ___ ____ 25. 62 14. 90 23.13 13. 42 21.18 13. 12 22.88 13. 92 20. 61 13. 02 35. 32
1935 3• _ ___ ____ 26. 79 15. 40 23. 50 13. 24 21. 23 13.10 23. 89 14.14 22. 78 14. 43 35. 85
$22. 52
23. 63
24. 97
26.02,
27. 26
27. 35·
27. 92.
28.41
25. 0319.85,
18. 39'
20. 38 ,
19. 91
1 Compiled from figures published monthly by the New York State Department of Labor, Division of
Statistics and Information, in the Industrial Bulletin, 1923-35.
2 Inrludes the period from June to December; data not available prior to June 1923.
a Includes the period from January to August .
TABLE
IX.-Members of the Ohio Laundry Wage Board, 1934
Representing the public:
Dr. H. Gordon Hayes of Columbus, professor of economics, Ohio State
University, chairman of tne Columbus Compliance Board, special arbitrator for the National Labor Board, chairman of the Wage Board.
Miss Helen Phelan of Cleveland, treasurer of the Consumers' League of
Ohio, superintendent of Merrick Settlement House.
Mrs. W. C. Stillwell of Cincinnati, member of the Ohio League of Women
Voters, of the Consumers' League of Cincinnati, and of the Cincinnati
Woman's Club.
Representing the employees:
Mrs. Elma McCall of Columbus, formerly an employee of the New Method
Laundry, member of the Columbus Laundry Workers' Local Union
No . 128.
Mrs. Lenora Tomlinson. of Cincinnati, employee of the Model Laundry.
Miss Geraldine Knight of Cleveland, employee of the Mireau Laundry.
Representing the employers:
Mr. Andrew S. Ormsly of Cincinnati, executive secretary of the Ohio Laundry
Owners' Association.
Mr. William E. Kenney of Cleveland, officer of the Davis Laundry, first
vice president of the Ohio Laundry Owners' Association.
Mr. J. A. Kirchwehm, president of Perfection Laundry, member of the Ohio
Laundry Owners' Association.
Secretary: Louise Stitt, superintendent of the Division of Minimum Wage
of the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations.
T ABLE
X. - M embers of the Ohio Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, 1934
Representing the public:
Dr. I. M. Rubinow of Cincinnati, actuary, executive secretary of B'Nai
Brith, member of the Governor 's Unemployment Insurance Commission,
chairman of the Wage Board.
Miss Amy Maher of Toledo, president of the Toledo Consumers' League,
director of the Information Bureau on Women's Work, member of tbe
Ohio League of Women Voters.
Mrs. F. H. Krecker of Athens, president of the Athens Association of University Women, member of the Ohio League of Women Voters.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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TABLE
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
X.-Members of the Ohio Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, 1936-Con.
Representing the employees:
Miss Mary Condon of Akron, formerly a worker in the dyeing and cleaning
industry, secretary of the Akron Cleaners, Pressers, and Dyers Union.
Mrs. Lola G. Clark of Columbus, employee of the Brown Dye House.
Miss Eva Hand of Cincinnati, employee of the Naegele Dry CJeaning
Company.
Representing the employers:
Mr. Albert J. Graham of Cleveland, president of the Heights Cleaners,
president of the Ohio Association of Cleaners and Dyers.
Mr. Max Read of Akron, president of the Read-Benzol Company, member
of the Ohio State Association of Cleaners and Dyers.
Mr. E. J. Stuybel, Jr. of Cincinnati, officer of the Dana Cleaners Co.,
member of the Ohio State Association of Cleaners and Dyers.
Secretary: Louise Stitt, superintendent of the Division of Minimum Wage
of the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations.
'TABLE
XI.- Week's earnings of women and minors in 114 Ohio dyeing and clean-
ing establishments reporting for 4 pay periods
Original
study
Directory
period
May
1933
September
1934
1
Mandatory period
Week's earnings
TotaL __________________ ________________________ _
Median earnings _____________________________________ _
2 467
$10. 90
Less than $L _________________________________________________ ____ _
4
$1, less than $3________ _____________ ____________________
19
$3, less than $5 __ _____ __ ______ __________ _______________
$5, less than $7______ _______ ____ ________________________
54
$7, less than $9_________ ____ ____________________________
59
$9, less than $IL___________________ ____________________
104
$11, less than $13________ ______ _______ __________________
81
$13, less than $14____ _________________ ________________ __
36
$14 __ --- -- _-- -- -- _-- _-- -- ---------- ----- --------- -----15
Over $14, less than $17___ ____ ______ ____________________
55
$17, less than $19_______________________________________
20
$19, less than $2L________________________ _____ _________
10
$21, less than $?4 ______________ __ ______ :________________
2
$24, less than $27______ _________________________________
4
$27, less than $29 ___ ___________ ____________________________________ _
2
$29, less than $3L______________________________________
$31, less than $33 ______ __ __________________________________________ _
$33, less than $35___ ____________________________________
1
1
$35, less than $40____ ___________________________________
899
$13. 95
1
6
19
28
45
72
124
159
51
231
77
35
31
January
1935
780
$13, 95
3
22
21
23
47
79
131
68
October
1935
851
$15.15
2
11
14
24
33
46
94
53
38
33
256
363
105
47
18
21
37
18
12
5
8
2 - ----------3
2 -----------6
2
1 ------------
1 -----------1
1
1 'J'hesources of the materialin this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor,
are 'the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
ll 785 were employed by the 114 firms; wage data were secured for 467.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
XII.-Hour·s worked by women and minors in 114 Ohio dyeing and cleaning
establishments reporting for 4 day periods 1
Original
study
Directory
period
May
September
January
1933
1934
1935
Mandatory period
Hours worked
TotaL __________________________________________ _
Median hours __ _____________________________________ __
467
41.6
2
Less than 15 __ ________________________________________ _
15, less than 19 ___ _______ ___ __ __________ __________ _____ _
19, less than 2L _______________________________________ _
21, less than 30 ________________________________________ _
30, less than 3L ______________________________________ _
40----------------------------------------31,
40, less
less than
than 4L
_______________________________________ _
41, less than 48 _______________________________________ __
48, les~ than 49_ : ____ _________________________________ _
49, less than 50 ________________________________________ _
50, less than 5L _______________________________________ _
51 and more_------------------------------------------
10
9
2
42
11
98
51
124
39
10
40
31
October
1935
853
40. 6
780
37. 3
851
40.3
19
17
18
58
22
215
125
231
111
12
10
15
52
30
20
3
24
12
103
19
259
111
119
78
8
78
25
232
130
268
39
-----------1
6
7
2
8
t The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedule,; used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
2 785 were employed by the 114 firms; wage data were secured for 467.
a 46 did not report hours worked.
TABLE
XIII.-Average hourly earning~ of women and minors in 114 Ohio dyeing
andfcleaning establishments reporting for 4 pay periods 1
Original study Directory period
May 1933
September 1934
January 1935
October 1935
PerNum-1
cent
ber
PerNum-1
ber
cent
PerNum-1
cent
ber
PerNum-1
ber
cent
Average hourly earnings (cents)
TotaL _. __ __________ -- -- -- -- -Median earnings (cents) ____________
Mandatory period
2
467 13 100. 0
28. 1
4
I
853 3100. o
35.0
780 13100. 0
38.4
I
a 100.0
851
38. 6
- - - --- - - - - - - --- - - - --- - - -
10, less than 12½-------------------1 ________ -------- -------- -------- _______ _
12½,
less than 15____________________
43 _______________________________________________________
_
15, less than 17½--- ----------------26 _____ ___ _______________________________________________ _
17½, less than 20____________________
22
1 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------1 -------1 -------- -------- -------20, less than 22½--- ----------------66
22½, less than 25____________________
30 _______ _
1 -------- -------- -------- -------2
32
2
25, less than 27½-------------------73
27½, less than 30____________________
41
12
102
9
4
165
6
30, less than 32½ -------------------74
32½, less than 35____________________
22
4
1
68
227
164
203
35 _______ -- --- _--- -- -- -- _-- ----- -- -17
More than 35, less than 40__________
29
316
398
87
40, less than 45______________________
37
102
136
95
45, less than 55______________________
19 _______ _
92
101
78
55, less than 60 ______ _______________________________ _
12
8
5
60, less than 70______________________
1
17
10
9
70, less than so______________________
2
2
4
1
80 and more________________________
l
3
1
1
Less than 35 __ _____________________ _
2. 4
22
2. 6
43. 5
19
361
77. 3
371
19. 3
227
29.1
164
203
23.8
17
3. 6
35
___ ___
---------------------------More
than
35 ______________________ _
68.5
665
78.1
32. 7
534
19.1
279
89
--------
1 The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
2 785 were employed by the 114 firms; wage data were secured for 467.
a Percents shown for significant groups only.
' 46 did not report hours worked.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
XIV .-Number and percent of the 114 1 Ohio dyeing and cleaning establishments paying more or less than the minimum rate to women and minors 2
TABLE
Period
Firms with no employees over the
(35
minimum
cents)
Firms with some
employees over
the minimum (35
cents)
Number
Number
Percent
Percent
Firms with one-half
or more over the
minimum
(35
cents)
Number
Percent
---- ---- ---- ---- ---Original study-May 1933 ____ ___ _________
Directory period- September 1934________
Mandatory period:
J anuary 1935 ___________ ___ ___ ________
October 1935 _________________________
3
74
47
64. 9
41. 2
40
67
35.1
58. 8
47
26
41. 2
22. 8
67
84
58. 8
73. 7
23
44
20. 2
38. 6
58
50. 9
63. 2
72
1 4 firms with "no employee" in October 1935.
2 The sources of the m a terial in this table compiled by the W omen's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the d irectory and mandatory orders.
a 1 firm employing 1 woman did not employ her in October 1935.
TABLE
XV.-Week's earnings of women and minors in all dyeing and cleaning
establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage 1
Original
study
Week's earnings
TotaL
__ . --------- - - -- ----- ----- --- --- ---- - ---- ---------_
Median
earnings
________ ---__________________________________________
Directory Mandatory
period
period
May 1933 September
(173 estab- 1934 (362
lishments) establishments)
610
$10. 65
Less than $L___ ______ ___ ___ _____ _____ __ __ ____ ___ ___ ______ __ __ _____ _
1
$1, less than $3_ ______ __ _____ ___ ____________ __ __ __ ____ __ __ __ ____ ____
6
$3, less than $5 ____ ___ ___ __ ___________ ___ ___ ___ __ _____ ____ __ __ ______
26
$5, less than $7 _---------------------------------- ____ __ ____________
77
$7, less than $9_ ____ ___ ____ _____ ____ ____ __ __ __ __ __ _____ ___ __ __ ______
86
$9, less than $IL_ __________ ____________ _______ __ __ ____ __________ ___
134
$11, less than $13___________________________________________________
101
$13, less than $14_-·· ______________________ __ ______ _-"- ___ ___ __ __ ____
42
$14 _-- _--- _-- -- __ ______ -- -- ---- -- -- --- -- _-- -- -- __-- __ -- -- -- __ -- -- -21
Over $14, less than $17 _____ ___ ___ _________ ____ __ __ ___ ___ ___ __ ___ __ __
66
$17, less than $19___________________________________________________
24
$19, less than $2L.__ __ ____ ___ ___ __ __ _______ _______ ____ ____ __ __ __ ____
12
$21, less than $24_ __ __ __ ___ ___ ______ __ __ __ __ __________ ________ __ ____
4
$24, less than $27 _______ ___ ___ ___ _____ __ __ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ___ __ __ __ __
5
$27, less than $29 ________________________ ____ ________________ ________ __ ________ _
$29, less than $3L ____ __ ___ _____ __ __ ___ __ _______ __ ___ _____ ______ ___ _
3
$31, less than $33_ -------------------------------------------------- ___________ _
$33, less than $35_ ________ ______ __ ____ ___ __ ___ __ __ _______ ___ __ __ __ __
1
$35, less than $40 _____ ______ __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ __ ___ _____ __ ______ ____ __
1
J anuary,
1935 (445
establishments)
22,051
$14. 00
1,910
$13. 90
1
19
37
67
116
205
270
313
111
513
186
98
9
56
57
78
141
189
298
144
110
573
143
56
38
12
1
2
3
54
39
8
5
6
1
2
--------------- ------- -
1 The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning ind ustry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board, and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
2 Includes 46 for whom hours worked (and average hourly earnings) were not reported.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
XVI.-Hours worked by women and minors in all dyeing and cleaning
establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum wage 1
Original
study
Directory Mandatory
period
period
Hours worked
J anuary,
1935 (445
esta blishments)
May, 1933
(173 establishments)
September
1934 (362
establishments)
Total.
_____
__ __ - - - - -_____
-- - . ______
- - - - - --____
- - - _--. -- - - - - -- - -__- -____________
- - - - --- - - - - -_
Median
hours
____ ________
__________
610
41. 5
2,005
40. 5
1,910
36. 7
Less than 15 ______ ___ ___ ________________ ____ ________ __ __________ ___
15, less than 19. ___ ______ ______ _________________ ___________________ _
19, less than 21_ ________________________________ _____________ ______ _
21, less than 30 ____ ___ ____________________ _____ _______ _______ ____ __ _
30, less than 3L _____ ______ ______ __ ____________ ______ __ __________ __ _
31, less than 40 ____________ ____ __________ ____________ ______________ _
40, less than 4L _______ __________ __________________________________ _
41, less than 48 __________________ ________ __________________________ _
48, less than 49 _____ __ ___________________ _________________________ __
49, less than 50 ____ ______ __ _____________ __ _____ ___ ____ _____ ______ __ _
50, less than 5L _______________ ____________________________________ _
51, and more ______ ________ ------ - ---- - -------- - --------------------
13
10
2
57
16
127
69
146
61
12
52
45
60
37
29
178
56
475
334
538
214
19
41
24
139
63
48
275
49
602
279
294
146
1
10
4
1 The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U . S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board, and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the dinictory and mandatory orders.
XVII.-Average hourly earnings of women and minors in all dyeing and
cleaning establishments reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage 1
TABLE
Original study
Average hourly earnings (cents)
Directory period
May 1933 (173 estab- September 1934 (362
lishments)
establishments)
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Mandatory period
January 1935 (445
esta blishments)
Number
Percent
----------------1---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---Total. ____________________________ _
Median earnings (cents) __ _____ _____ __ ___ _
610
27. 4
10, less than 12½------ - ----- - - - ------ -- -12½, less than 15. __ __________ ___________ _
15, less
than
17½------------- - - ---------_
17½,
less
than
20 . _____ __________________
20,
less
than
22½
----------------22½, less than 25 ____________ ___ __ ___- ----__ __ _
25. less than 27½ ________ _______ _____ _____
27½, less than 30 _______ _______ __ _____ ___ _
30, less than 32½- --- -- - ------------- - - - - 32½, less than 35 ___ __________ ___________ _
35 __-- ____ _____________________________ ___
More than 35, less than 40 _____________ ___
40, less than 45 ________ ____ ____ ___ ___ __ __ _
45, less than 55 _____ ____ ___ _____ ___ ____ ___
55, less than 60 ___ __ _________ ____ ________ _
60, less than 70 ___ __ ____ __ ___ ___ ___ __ ____ _
70, less than 80 _____ _____ ___ _____ ____ __ __ _
80 and more _____ _____ ___ _____ ___________ _
5
12
49
31
82
36
94
46
102
27
21
35
41
23
2
Less than 35 _____ ______·__ ______ ________ ___
35
__ ----- _-_--- ------ - --- - -__----- -- _- _More
than
35-______
__ ______
____
_______
484
21
105
1
2
100.0
2,005
35. 0
2
100. 0
1,910
38. 4
2
100.0
2
4
1
2 ----------
4
20
7
96
175
5
16
10
324
112
11
435
309
280
178
15
24
14
5
1
2
1
79. 3
3. 4
17. 2
745
435
825
740
614
294
172
18
21
5
2
37. 2
44
2. 3
21. 7
41.1
740
1,126
38. 7
59. 0
The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U . S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board, and the wage reports of the employers
in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
2 Percents shown for significant groups only.
79567°-36-6
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
XVIII.-Number and percent of all dyeing and cleaning establishments
reporting to the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage, paying more or less than the
minimum rate to women and minors 1
TABLE
Total reporting
each
period
Period
Firms with no employee over minimum
Number
Percent
Firms with some
employees over
minimum
Number
Percent
Firms with onehalf or more Amployees over mini•
mum
Number
Percent
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---Original study_________________
Director y period _______________
Mandatory period _____________
173
362
445
2121
147
204
69. 9
40.6
45. 8
52
215
241
I
30. 1
59.4
54. 2
34
158
205
t
19. 7
43.6
46.1
1 The sources of the material presented in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, are the original schedules u sed by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage
study of the dyeing and cleaning industry for the dyeing and cleaning wage board, and the wage reports of
the employers in the industry to the division of minimum wage under the directory and mandatory orders.
21 firm employing 1 woman did not employ her at later dates.
XIX.-Proportion of men and women in total group of wage earners in
laundries and dry-cleaning establishments in Ohio, 1914-1932, as reported to the
Ohio Division of Labor Statistics 1
TABLE
Average number employed
on the 15th of the month
Percentoftotalnumber of employees
Year
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
- - - - - - - - - - - - - ------1- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1914 __ ___ --- --- --- --- -- _-- _-- _-- __ ___ -- -- -- ________ ·_
1915_______ -- --- ___ -- ____ -- __ - - -- _-- _______ -- __ -- __ -1916______ --- - - -- - - - - - - - _- - -- - --- - - -- -- -- --- - - - - - -- - .1917 ---- _--- _-- -- ____ -- ____ -- -- -- __ -- _______________ _
1918 _____
__ ___--- -- - -- ----- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - -- -- - -1919
__________________
____________
__
1920 _________ -- __ -- ____________________ - - ___________ _
1921_ _____ --- -- -- ____ __ ___ ___ -- ____ - - __ -- ____ -- ___ -- _
1922 ____ -- ____ -- ____ -- ___ -- ____ -- __________________ -- .
1923 _____ - --- -- - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1924 _______ -- -- -- -- _-- . -- _--- _____ . _________________ _
192-5 ____ -- -- -- ___ -- -- __ -- ____ -- ________ -- ______ _____ _
1926 ____ --- -- -- -- __ -- -- __ -- -- ___ -- _______________ -- __
1927 ------ __ ___ ___ _-- ________________________ -- _____ _
10?3 ______ -- _-- -- __ -- __________________________ -- ___ _
1929 _______ -- -- _______ __- ___ -- -- -- -- __ _- - - - - - - - - - - - 1930 _____ -- ---- -- - -- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - -- - - - -- -- - -- - - - - - - 1931_ ____ -- _-- _____ -- __ -- _____ --- __ -- -- -- -- _-- __ --- -1932_ ----- -- _-- _____ -- _____ --- ___ -- ________ --- ____ _-1933 _________ -- __ -~_--- ______ -- ___ _-- ____ -- ______ -- __
1934 ____ --- -- __ -- __ -- -- __ -- ____ -- -- -- ____ -- _________ _
2,180
2,622
2,766
2,807
2,599
2, 784
3,091
2,836
2,709
3,31 9
3,707
4,046
4,529
4,934
5,172
5,679
5,994
5,477
5,044
4,697
4,898
4,577
5,110
5,673
5,820
5,166
5,052
5,234
4,473
4,463
5,570
6,010
6,543
7,113
7,730
8,145
8,81)8
8,577
7,951
6,871
6,178
6,395
6,757
7,732
8,439
8,627
7,765
7, 837
8,325
7, 308
7, 172
8,890
9,717
10,589
11, 642
12,664
13,318
14,487
14, 571
13, 428
11,915
10, 855
11, 292
32. 26
33. 91
32. 78
32. 54
33. 47
35. 52
37.13
38. 81
37. 77
37. 33
38.15
38. 21
38. 90
38.96
38.83
39.20
41.14
40. 79
42. 33
43.09
43. 37
67. 74
66.09
67. 22
67.46
66. 53
64.4.6
62.87
61. 21
62. 23
62. 65
61.85
61. 79
61.10
61.04
61.16
60.80
58.86
59. 21
57. 67
56. 91
56. 63
1 Information Bureau on Women's Work, Ohio Wage Earners in Laundries and Dry-Cleaning Establishments, table 2, p. 5.
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TABLE
XX.-Number and percent of men and women employed in laundry and dry-cleaning establishments in Ohio in 1933 and 1934, as
reported to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics 1
November 1933
Number
of establishments
Industry
Men
Number
· Total. _____________________________
448
Laundry ________________________________
Dry cleaning _____________________ ____ ___
Both laundry and dry cleaning __ _______ _
179
207
62
Women
I Percent
of total
Numbe,
I Pe,eent
of total
3,044
1,089
1,561
---------64. 8
36. 9
62. 7
November 1933
Industry
Men
Number
of establishments Number Percent
of total
I
Numbe<
Men
Women
I Pe,omt
of total
Number
I Percent
of total
I Percent
of total
Number
I Percent
of total
~
t_:rj
Ul
~
H
tj
4,468
----------
1,679
1,849
940
---------- ---------- ----------
5,828
35.4.
61. 4
37.0
3,064
1,163
1,601
64. 6
38. 6
63. 0
Women
I
Men
Number
of estabPercent lishments Number Percent
of total
of total
I
24
-14
12
1. 45
-. 75
1. 29
-~
November 1934
Number
Number
~
Women
1-:l
5,694
35. 2
63.1
37. 3
1,863
928
Men
Number and percent increase'
Identical establishments
4,«6ht
---1,655
November 1934
0
0. 66
6. 79
2. 56
20
74
40
Number and percent increase t
Women
Number
Women
Men
I Percent
of total
Number
I Percent
of total
Number
I Percent
of total
Total establishments
H
l2j
Total ___________________
Laundry ____ __________________
Dry cleaning __________________
Both laundry and dry cleaning __________________________
1
1
- - - - - --- ---------506
4,698
508
4,785
198
244
1,716
2,049
34. 8
63. 4
3,215
1,181
65. 2
36.6
204
239
1,804
2,015
35. 2
62. 4
64
933
37. 4
t~ 1-----~~:r---=~-
1,565
62. 6
65
966
36.3
1, 693
5,961
----------
----------
63. 7
Compiled by the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, from reports submitted to the Ohio Division of Labor Statistics.
Increase except where preceded by minus sign.
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33
---------- ---------- ---------5. 12
-1.65
102
35
3.17
2. 96
3. 53
128
8.17
0
~
H
0
76
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
XXL- Week's earnings of women and minors employed in 60 Ohio laundries
for which records are available for 4 periods 1
Mandatory period
Before wage order Directory period
Survey of May
Report, Apr. 25,
8, 1933
1934
First report
Aug. 22, 1934
Second report
Apr. 27, 1935
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
,veek's earnings
Number Percent Number Percent
-----Total. . ______.. __ _____ 21,131
Median earnings ___ _______ __
$8. 15
Less than $L ____________ ___
5
$1, less than $3 ____ __ ______ __
34
$3, less than $5 __ _______ _____
123
$5, less than $7 __ ______ ____ __
262
$7, less than $9 ____________ __
244
$9, less than $11. _____ ___ ____
215
100. 0
1,835
100. 0
$10. 80
$11. ___ - - - - -- -- -- - -- - -- - - - - -More than $11, less than $13_
$Vl, less than $15 __ _____ ____ _
$15, less than $17 __ ___ ___ ____
$17 and over ___ ______ __ ___ __
15
114
74
27
18
0.4 - ---- --- 3. 0
14
10. 9
36
23. 2
83
21. 6
307
19. 0
531
1. 3
97
10. 1
540
6. 5
132
2. 4
49
1. 6
46
Less than $11. ___ _________ __
$IL __ __ ___ ______ ___ ____ ___ _
More than $IL ______ _______
883
15
233
78.1
1. 3
20. 6
1,889
100. 0
$10. 15
Number Percent
-----1,806
100. 0
$11. 40
2. 0
4. 5
16. 7
28. 9
5. 3
29. 4
7. 2
2. 7
2. 5
6
21
30
125
377
657
52
423
118
44
36
0. 3
1. 1
1. 6
6. 6
20. 0
34.8
2.8
22. 4
6. 2
2. 3
1. 9
2
18
27
81
163
466
101
627
193
67
61
0.1
1.0
1. 5
4. 5
9. 0
25. 8
5. 6
34. 7
10. 7
3. 7
3.4
52. 9
5. 3
41.8
1,216
52
621
64. 4
2. 8
32. 9
757
101
948
41. 9
5. 6
52. 5
--------0.8
971
97
767
Numbe<I Pommt
1 The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
laundry industry for the laundry wage board and the wage reports to the division of minimum wage under
the directory and mandatory laundry orders.
2 Sample.
TABLE
XXII.-Average hoiirly earnings of women and minors in 60 Ohio laundries
for which records are available for 4 periods 1
Before wage order Directory period
Average hourly earnings
(cents)
Mandatory period
Survey of May
Report, Apr. 25,
8, 1933
1934
First report
Aug. 8, 1934
Second report
Apr. 27, 1935
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
Women and minors employed
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
--- --- --- --- ------ --Total. ____ __ ______ ____ 21,131
100. O
Median earnings-cents_____
22. 9
10, less than 12½-- ----- -- - -12½, less than 15___________ _
15, less than 17½------ --- -- 17½, less than 2Q ___________ _
20, less than 22½-- - --- -- - --22½, less than 25 ___ _____ ___ _
25, less than 27½-- -- --- - -.- -27½ ----- --- --- - ---- ------ -More than 27½, less than 30_
30, less than 32½--- -- -- --- -32½, less than 35 ___________ _
35 and more ____ ____ ___ ____ __
47
70
151
240
124
196
1
87
57
61
59
Less than 27½- ___ ______ __ __
27½---- ---- -- -- ---- -- - - -- --More than 27½-- -- -- -- ---- -
866
1
264
38
1,835
100. 0
3 27. 5
1,889
3
100. 0
27. 5
1,806
3
100. 0
27. 5
3. 4
4. 1
6. 2
5.0
5. 4
5. 2
6
4
2
26
1,184
182
215
79
137
0. 3 --------- ------- -- ----- ---- --------0. 3 --- -- -- - - -- --- - - -.2
5
.1 ----- -- -- -------- -- -- ------- ---- ---- 1. 4
9
. 5 ----- ---- --------64. 5
1,141
60. 4
1,071
59. 3
182
10.1
261
9. 9
13. 8
180
11. 7
9. 5
196
10.8
4. 3
113
106
5. 6
6. 3
9. 9
244
13. 5
187
7. 5
76.6
.1
23.3
38
1,184
613
2.1
64. 5
33.4
13. 4
21.2
11. 0
17. 3
.1
7. 7
14
1,141
734
.7
60. 4
38. 9
----------------1,071
59. 3
735
40. 7
1 The sources of the material in this table complied by the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
laundry industry for the laundry wage board and the wage reports to the division of minimum wage under
the directory and mandatory laundry orders.
2 Sample.
3 Note that in these distributions the median can be interpreted only as the middle case; see summary
at botton of table for proportions earning more and less than 27½ cents.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
77
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
TABLE
XXIII.-Hours worked by women and minors employed in 60 Ohio laundries
for which records are available for 4 periods 1
I
Before wage order Directory period
Mandatory period
Survey of May 8,
Report Apr. 25,
First report Aug.
1933
, 1934
22, 1934
Second report
Apr: 27, 1935
Hours worked
Number of
women
and
minors
Total _________________
Median hours ______ ______ ___
Number of
Percent women
and
minors
Number of
Percent women
and
minors
Number of
Percent women
and
minors
Percent
- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21,131
100. 0
37.1
1,835
100. 0
38.0
1,889
100. 0
35.6
1,806
39.6
100. 0
Less than 15 ________________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 43
31
than 19 ______________
than 21. _____________
than 30 ______________
than 3L _____________
than 40 ________ ______
than 4L _____________
than 48 ______________
than 49 ______________
tHan 50 ______________
50, less than 51_ _____________
51 and over _________________
216
38
321
31
250
62
15
32
3. 8
2. 7
1.8
19. 1
3. 4
28. 4
2. 7
22.1
5. 5
1. 3
6. 4
2.8
Less than 40 ____ ____________
40, less than 48 ______________
48 and over _________________
669
281
181
59. 2
24. 8
16. 0
15, less
19., less
21, less
30, less
31, less
40, less
41, less
48, less
4il,'Jess
20
72
42
23
37
215
57
703
184
568
5
2. 3
1. 3
2. 0
11. 7
3. 1
38. 3
10. 0
31. 0
.3
43
31
35
299
69
915
151
327
4
4
2
9
2. 3
1. 6
1. 9
15. 8
3. 7
48. 4
8.0
17. 3
.2
.2
.1
.5
40
12
28
176
24
649
221
635
9
7
2
3
2. 2
.7
1. 6
9. 7
1. 3
35. 9
12. 2
35. 2
•5
.4
.1
•2
1,077
752
6
58. 7
41.0
•3
1,392
478
19
73. 7
25. 3
1.0
929
856
21
51. 4
47. 4
1. 2
--------- -- ----------------------1
.1
1 The sources of the material in this table compiled by the Women's Bureau, U . S. Department of Labor,
are the original schedules used by the Ohio Division of Minimum Wage in making the wage study of the
laundry industry for the laundry wage board and the wage reports to the division of minimum wage under
the directory and mandatory laundry orders.
1 Sample.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
APPENDIX 11.-BIBLIOGRAPHY
Classified list of publications referred to in the report
I.
STATUS OF WAGE-EARNING WOMEN.
United States Department of Commerce
Bureau of the Census
Twelfth Census of the United . States, 1900, Volume II, Population,
pp. 78, 79.
Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, Special R eports, Occupations, p. 363.
Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Population, Volume IV,
_Occupations, by States, pp. 1237, 1267, 1299, 1302; Volume VI,
Families, pp. 9, 1028-1030.
Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870 to 1920, Census Monograph IX,
1929, pp. 122- 156.
United States Department of Labor
Secretary of Labor
Annual R eport, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1935, p. 127.
Children's Bureau
Children of Working Mothers in Philadelphia, Publication No. ·204,
1931, pp. 5, 13- 29.
Women's Bureau
Changing Jobs, Bulletin No. 54, 1926, p. 4.
The Effects on Women of Changing Conditions in the Cigar and Cigarette Industries, Bulletin No. 100, 1932, pp. 151, 152, 156, 1.57.
Employment Conditions in Beauty Shops 1 Bulletin No. 133, 1935,
pp. 22, 23.
The Employment of Women in Slaughtering and Meat Packing,
Bulletin No. 88, 1932, pp. 14, 15, 55, 200- 202.
Hours and Earning~ in the Leather-Glove Industry, Bulletin No. 119,
1934, p. 7.
.
The Industrial Experience of Women Workers at the Summer Schools,
1928 to 1930, Bulletin No. 89, 1931, p. 41.
The Shar~ of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support, Bulletin No. 30,
1923, pp. 59, 93, 152.
A Surv~y of Laundries and their Women Workers in 23 Cities, Bulletin
No. 78, 1930, p. 143.
Wage-Earning Women and the Industrial Conditions of 1930: A Sur- '
vey of South Bend, Bulletin No. 92, 1932, p. 8.
Wages of Women in 13 States, Bulletin No. 85, 1931, pp. 1, 2, 158.
What .the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support,
Bulletin No. 75, 1929, pp. 12, 17.
Women in Industry, Bulletin No. 91, 1931, pp. 17, 19, 59.
Women in Ohio Industries, _A Study of Hours and Wages, Bulletin 44,
pp. 8, 103, 120.
·Perkins, Frances
Should Women Take Men's Jbbs? ···:The Woman's Journal, April 1930, ·
pp. 7-9, 39.
79
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80
WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
Information Bureau on Women's Work-Ohio
The Floating World, a Study of Non-Family Women in Toledo, 1927,
p. 23.
New York State Department of Labor Division of Women in Industry 1
Wages and Working Conditions of Women and Minors in Hotels and
Restaurants in New York State, Unpublished data, 1934.
New York State Factory Investigating Commission
Fourth Report, 1915, Volume II, pp. 263, 419.
II. VARIATIONS IN WAGES PAID TO WOMEN
United States Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wages and Hours of Labor in the Boot and Shoe Industry, 1910 to 1932,
Bulletin No. 579, 1933, pp. 7 4, 75.
Wages and Hours of Labor in Foundries and Machine Shops, 1931,
Bulletin No. 520, pp. 84, 85.
Wages and Hours of Labor in the Furniture Industries, 1910 to 1929,
Bulletin No. 529, 1931, pp. 31- 33.
Wages and Hours of Labor in the Motor Vehicle Industry, 1928,
Bulletin No. 502, pp. 45- 49.
Wom~n's Bureau
The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities
of Women, Bulletin No. 65, 1928, p. 228.
Variations in Wage Rates under Corresponding Conditions, Bulletin No.
122, 1935, pp. 1, 4, 23, 24.
National Bureau of Economic Research
Income in the Various States: Its Sources and Distribution, 1919, 1920,
1921, p. 79.
Information Bureau on Women's Work, Ohio ·
Wage Rates, Earnings, and Fluctuation of Employment in Ohio,
1914- 1926, pp. 64, 69, 70.
Ohio Wage Earners in the Manufacture of Textiles and Textile Products:
1914-1927, pp. 22, 42, 56, 66.
Ohio Wage Earners in the Manufacture of Rubber Products, 1914-1928,
pp. 21, 42.
Are Women's Wages a Special Problem? 1926, pp. 9, 10.
New York State Department of Labor
Division of Women in Industry 1
The Industrial Replacement of 'Men by Women in the State of .New
York, Special Bulletin No. 93, 1919, pp. 27-29, 33.
Wages of Women in Six Industries, New York State, 1935, Unpublished Report, 1935.
Women Who Work, Special Bulletin N o. 110, 1922, p . 27.
III._ LOW WAGES OF WOMEN, COMPARISON WITH COST OF LIVING
AND PURCHASING POWER OF DOLLAR
United States Department of Labor
Secretary of Labor
Annual Report, Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1935, p. 127.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1931, p. 90.
Monthly Labor Review, February 1929, p. 193.
1 The title of this division has varied. It was at one time, "Bureau of Women in Industry." Since
1933 it has been "Division of Women in Industry and Minimum Wage. "
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
81
United States Department of Labor-Continued.
Women's Bureau
Wages of Women in 13 States, Bulletin No. 85, 1931, pp. 3, 4, 32, 169
Women in Ohio Industries, Bulletin No. 44, 1925, pp. 5, 26, 95, 124, 125.
Chicago Council of Social Agencies
Nesbitt, Florence, The Chicago Standard Budget for Dependent
Families, 1929, pp. 5, 45-48.
The Consumers' League of Cincinnati
Whitney, Frances R., What Girls Live on and How, 1930, p. 41.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Monthly Report; June 1 through June 30, 1935, Washington, 1935,
pp. 9, 10, 15.
Information Bureau on Women's Work-Ohio
The Floating World, A Study of Non-Family Women in Toledo, 1927,
p. 23.
National Industrial Conference Board, Inc.
The Cost of Living in Twelve Industrial Cities, New York, 1928, p. 51.
Ohio Department of Industrial Relations
Division of Labor Statistics
Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Equipment, Wage and Salary Payments
in Ohio, Report No. 26, 1929, 8ff.
Wage figures for Ohio Industries, 1932, 1934. Unpublished.
Division of Minimum Wage
Report to the D yeing and Cleaning Wage Board Relating to Wages
and Hours of Women and Minors in the D yeing and Cleaning Industry of Ohio, mimeographed report, 1934, pp. 13, I, XL, XLI.
Report to the Laundry Wage Board Relating to Wages and Hours of
Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry in Ohio, mimeographed
report, 1934, p. v, 16.
New York State Department of Labor
Division of Statistics and Information 2
Employment and Earnings of Men and Women in New York State
Factories, 1923- 1925, Special Bulletin No. 143, 1926, p. 21.
IV. WEAK BARGAINING POWER OF WOMEN
United States Department of Labor
Women's Bureau
Employment Fluctuations and Unemployment of Women: Certain
Indications from Various Sources, 1928- 31, Bulletin No. 113, 1933,
pp. 4,98, 100, 101-1 14.
American Academy of Political and Social Science
Wolfson, Theresa, Trade Union Activities of Women, The Annals,
May 1929, p. 120.
New York State Department of Labor
Division of Women in Industry s
The Paper Box Industry in New York City, Special Bulletin No. 154,
1928, pp. 35, 36, 68, 69.
Women Who Work, Special Bulletin No. 110, 1922, p. 28.
The Women's Trade Union League of New York
Annual Report, April 1, 1929 to April 1, 1930, p. 6.
2 The
title of this division was formerly "Bureau of Statistics and Information."
aSee footnote, p. 80.
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82
WAGES PAID -TO WOMEN .AND . MINORS IN OHIO
V.
FAILURE OF EMPLOYERS' EFFORTS TO STANDARDIZE WAGES
THROUGH VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS
Armstrong, Barbara
Insuring the Essentials, Macmillan, New York, 1932, p. 88.
Consumers' League of New York
Candy White List, published annually, 1928-1932.
Voluntary Minimum Wage Standards in the Candy Industry, by
Elinore Morehouse Herrick, former Executive Secretary, unpublished
report, 1935.
Herrick, Elinore M.
Why Organized Consumers Want Minimum Wage Legislation, World
Convention Dates, March 1933, pp. 10, 11, 46.
National Consumers' League
Statement on Candy White List, issued February 1933.
New York State Department of Labor
Report of the Industrial Commissioner to the Laundry Minimum Wage
Board relating t o Wages and Other Conditions of Employment of
Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry, New York State,
mimeographed report, 1933, pp. 11-13.
VI. THE APPLICATION OF THE MINIMUM WAGE LAW IN THE LAUNDRY AND DRY-CLEANING INDUSTRIES
United States Department of Labor
Women's Bureau
A Survey of Laundries and their Women Workers in 23 cities, Bulletin
No. 78, 1930, pp. 63-65.
Ohio Department of Industrial Relations
Director of the Department of Industrial Relations
Let ter of June 26, 1934, to the members of the Dyeing and Cleaning
Wage Board.
Division of Labor Statistics
Employment figures for Ohio laundries and dry-cleaning establishments
for 1933, 1934, unpublished.
Rates of Wages, Fluctuation of Employment, Wage and Salary Payments in Ohio, Report No. 26, 1929, p. 8 ff.
Division of Minimum Wage
Annual Report of the Superintendent for the year ending June 30, 1934,
mimeographed report, 1934.
Directory Order No. 1, Governing Women and Minors in Laundry
Occupations, March 15, 1934.
Directory Order No. 2; Governing Women and Minors in Cleaning and
Dyeing Occupations, August 20, 1934.
Mandatory Order No. 1, Governing Women and Minors in Laundry
Occupations, July 26, 1935.
Mandatory Order No. 2, Governing Women and Minors in Cleaning
and Dyeing Occupations, January 7, 1935.
Report to the Laundry Wage Board, Relating to Wages and Hours of
Women and Minors in the Laundry Industry in Ohio, mimeographed
report, 1934.
Report to the Dyeing and Cleaning Wage Board, Relating to Wages
and Hours of Women and Minors in the Dyeing and Cleaning I~dustry in Ohio, mimeographed report, 1934.
Ohio Laundry Minimum Wage Board
Report of the Laundry Minimum Wage Board to the Director of
Industrial Relations of Ohio, January 17, 1934, mimeographed report,.
1934.
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WAGES PAID TO WOMEN AND MINORS IN OHIO
83
Ohio Dyeing and Cleaning Minimum Wage Board
First Report of the D yeing and Cleaning Minimum Wage Board to
the Director of Industrial R elations of Ohio, June 5, 1934, mimeographed report, 1934.
Second Report of the D yeing and Cleaning Minimum Wage Board to
the Director of Industrial R elations of Ohio, July 5, 1934, mimeographed report, 1934.
Information Bureau on Women's Work
Ohio Wage Earners in Laundries and Dry Cleaning Establishments,
1933.
State Trade Board for the Cleaning and Dyeing Trade of New Jersey
Rules and R egulations Governing the Cleaning and D yeing Trades,
D ecember 1935.
VII. LEGISLATION IN OTHER STATES AND COUNTRIES ON HOURS
AND WAGES
United States Commerce and Labor Department
R eport on Condition of Women and Child Wage-Earners in the United
States, Washington, 1910, Volume IX. Submitted by the Secretary
of Commerce and Labor in response to an act approved J anuary 29,
1907.
United States Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Laws R elating to Payment of Wages, Bulletin No. 408, 1926.
Legal Restrictions on Hours of Labor of Men in the United States, as
of January 1, 1933, Monthly Labor Review, January, 1933, pp. 1- 10.
Legal Restrictions on Hours of Labor of men in the United States as of
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