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U N IT E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F L A B O R
Frances Perkins, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commissioner (on leave)
A . F. Hinrichs, Acting Commissioner

+

W a g e Structure o f the
Motor-Vehicle Industry
+

P repared b y
H a rold R . H osea an d G eorg e E . V o ta v a
D IV IS IO N O F W A G E A N A L Y S IS
R o b e r t J. M y e rs, C h ief

B ulletin 7<lo. 706
(Reprinted w ithout change from the M onthly Labor Review ,
February and March 1942]

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1942

For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, Washington, D. C.




Price 10 cents

CONTENTS
Page
Summary________________________________
Purpose and scope of the study_________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry__________________________________________
Coverage of the survey_________________________________________________
Trend of employment, pay rolls, earnings, and hours, 1923-41___________
Earnings and hours in the automobile division__________________________
Earnings and hours in the automotive-parts division____________________
Motor-vehicle industry as a whole______________________________________
Annual earnings of Michigan mo tor-vehicle workers_____________________

1
3
4
8
11
18
27
42
44

L E T T E R O F T R A N S M IT T A L

U n ited S tates D epartm e nt of L a b o r ,
B u r e a u of L ab o r S ta tistic s ,

Washington, D. C., February 14, 191$.
The S e c r e ta r y of L a b o r :
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report covering a study
made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the wage structure of the
motor-vehicle industry.
A. F. H in rich s , Acting Commissioner.
Hon. F ran ces P e r k in s ,
Secretary oj Labor.




(XI)

PREFACE

The field study of earnings and hours in the motor-vehicle industry,
upon which this report is based, was conducted during May and June
1940. Between that time and the virtual cessation of pleasure-car
production late in 1941, there were substantial increases in the earn­
ings of workers in the industry. The changes appear, however, to
have been of a character which raised general levels of earnings with­
out introducing important changes in the fundamental characteristics
of the industry’s wage structure. The data contained in this report
are thus rendered somewhat more important, historically at least, for
they supply a picture of an industry which, because of the conver­
sion to war production, no longer exists as such.
The report which follows appeared in the form of two separate
articles in the M onth ly L ab o r R e v ie w , February and March 1942.
The articles have been combined into this bulletin for convenience,
but the original text has not been changed.
Subsequent to the publication of these articles, the attention of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics has been called to certain statements in
the original articles which may well be further clarified.
It is pointed out that the discussion (see p. 6) of wages paid to
workers in the industry, which is expressed as a percentage of the
total value of the industry’s product, is somewhat misleading, because
of duplication in reporting product values to the Census Bureau.
The value of certain automobile parts may, for example, be reported
once as such, again by another plant in the form of a subassembly,
and a third time as part of a finished vehicle. If wages paid are ex­
pressed as a proportion of the total value added by manufacture,the
motor-vehicle industry ranks well above a number of the industries
with which it might be logically compared.
In connection with the discussion of turn-over rates in the industry,
insufficient weight was given to certain recording procedures followed
by some companies. Prior to 1940 several large firms recorded a
worker as laid off if he missed even a single pay period. This pro­
cedure was inconsistent with that of many other industries and tended
to inflate the turn-over rates. Late in 1939 the General Motors
Corporation discontinued collecting turn-over data for this reason;
elimination of the data reported by this large company was partly
responsible for the decrease in the published turn-over rate.




m

IV

PREFACE

The data for this survey were collected by field representatives of
the Bureau’s Division of Wage Analysis under the supervision of
O. R. Mann. The report was prepared by Harold R. Hosea, with the
assistance of George E. Votava, under the general direction of Victor
S. Baril. The Bureau is indebted to the officials of the many com­
panies who cooperated by furnishing the data for this survey, and
to the staff members of the Automobile Manufacturer’s Association,
the Automotive Parts and Equipment Manufacturers, Inc., and the
United Automobile Workers of America for their advice and counsel
in connection with the study.




A . F. H in r ic h s ,
Acting Com m issioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Bulletin

T^o.

706 o f the

U nited States Bureau o f Labor Statistics
[Reprinted without change from the M onthly L abor R eview , February and March 1942.]

WAGE STRUCTURE OF THE MOTOR-VEHICLE
INDUSTRY
Sum m ary

TH E wage structure of the motor-vehicle industry reflects, in large
part, certain fundamental characteristics of the industry itself.
The concentration of management is apparent from the fact that,
in 1940, more than half the automobile plants, in which over 90
percent of all the wage earners were employed, were operated by the
11 large companies producing virtually all of the Nation’s automobiles.
Half of the plants are in the five East North Central States which
comprise the “ automobile region” ; diming May and June 1940 they
employed 85 percent of the wage earners.
The industry is characterized by a high degree of mechanization,
and the labor force therefore includes relatively large numbers of
semiskilled workers. Virtually all of the larger establishments have
concluded agreements with trade-unions. The level of hourly earn­
ings in the industry has been relatively high almost from its begin­
ning, and there is a marked tendency for individual earnings to con­
centrate about the general average. The earnings of 471,270 em­
ployees in the 448 motor-vehicle establishments included in a special
survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May and June
1940 averaged 92.2 cents, and the earnings of half these workers dif­
fered from the general average by 11 cents or less.
Wage levels in the motor-vehicle industry rose about 17 percent
between the date of this special survey and November 1941. Because
the increases affected the majority of the wage earners in a compara­
tively uniform fashion, the fundamental characteristics of the wage
structure remained essentially the same until the early fall of 1941.
This survey covered the country’s largest single industry immediately
prior to its complete reorganization for the production of war materials.
Earnings in the automobile division of the industry are higher, on
the average, than those in parts plants which are smaller and more
widely scattered and show less concentration of management. The




1

2

WAGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

hourly earnings of 322,941 workers in the 167 automobile plants
included in this survey averaged 96.1 cents, or 12.3 cents above the
corresponding figure for 148,329 employees in 281 parts plants.
Earnings in automobile plants located in the “ automobile region”
were slightly higher in general than those in other areas. Average
hourly earnings in this area amounted to 97.7 cents, and Michigan
workers earned an average of 98.5 cents per hour. Geographic dif­
ferences among establishments operated by the larger companies were
relatively unimportant. Weekly hours during the period of the study
averaged 36.8, and average weekly earnings amounted to $35.42.
Basic differences in the characteristics of the automobile and
automotive-parts divisions of the motor-vehicle industry are ap­
parent in the wage structures of these two branches. The earnings
of 148,329 workers in 281 parts plants averaged 83.8 cents per hour
in May and June 1940. This figure is 12.3 cents below the cor­
responding rate for automobile plants. Compared with the auto­
mobile plants, the automotive-parts plants were hardly more than
one-fourth as large, were much more specialized, employed a much
higher proportion of women, and were less highly concentrated geo­
graphically and with respect to management. The hourly earnings
of half the individual workers in parts plants fell within a range of
about 15 cents above and below the general average; the corresponding
figure for the earnings of employees in automobile plants was 9 cents.
Male workers in parts plants earned an average of 88.6 cents per
hour as compared with 61.9 cents for women. Average earnings
varied as much as 27 cents between groups of plants manufacturing
different types of products, and the largest plants as a group paid
more than 30 cents above the average rate for the establishments
employing 50 workers or less.
Slightly more than half the plants reported union agreements.
In general, these were the larger plants in which earnings tended to
be higher. Most of the plants were operating on an official 40-hour
week and the average employee worked 37.9 hours during the pay­
roll period selected for study.
Earnings in the motor-vehicle industry as a whole rose about 17
percent between the period of this study (May-June 1940) and
November 1941. The increase in parts plants was probably slightly
less than that for the industry as a whole.
An average of $1,562 per worker was paid by motor-vehicle plants,
during the year ended June 30, 1940, to 153,682 Michigan workers
whose earnings records were selected at random. Approximately
85 percent of this group received their entire earnings, insofar as they
were subject to the provisions of the State unemployment compensa­




W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

3

tion law, as a result of employment in motor-vehicle plants during
at least a part of each of the four quarters of the year. Their aver­
age earnings were $1,667, or about 17 percent below the theoretical
rate of full-time annual earnings.
Purpose and Scope o f Study

Preeminent among American manufacturing industries and pre­
senting the outstanding example of mass-production methods, the
motor-vehicle industry has wielded a tremendous influence on Ameri­
can wage structure and has been the deserving subject of much re­
search. The Bureau of Labor Statistics first studied wages and
hours of work in this industry in 1919. Subsequent surveys of wages
and hours were undertaken every 3 years to 1928, and biennially
from 1928 to 1934.1 The availability, after the early thirties, of the
Bureau’s figures on average hourly earnings and average weekly
hours of work for the industry as a whole reduced the necessity for
frequent special surveys, and no other detailed study was under­
taken until May and June 1940. The results of the 1940 study are
described in the present article.
The scope of the 1940 survey is not limited to the establishments
included in the motor-vehicle industry as defined by the United States
Census of Manufactures. The census definition includes “ Estab­
lishments primarily engaged in the manufacture or assembly of com­
plete motor vehicles, motor-vehicle chassis, bodies and such parts and
accessories as gears, wheels, radiators, bumpers, shock absorbers,
frames, horns, windshield wipers, etc.; and trailers for motortrucks
and truck tractors. This industry does not include establishments
manufacturing tires and tubes, springs, ignition apparatus, batteries,
starting and lighting equipment, headlights, sheet-metal stampings,
hardware, etc.” The data for this survey were collected from estab­
lishments classified in the motor-vehicle industry as defined above
and, in addition, from plants whose principal products were automo­
tive stampings, automotive electrical equipment, automobile engines
and parts, automobile hardware, coil and leaf springs, and certain
widely used types of accessories. Omitted from the survey (as well
as from the census definition of the industry) are plants producing
forgings and castings (except machined forgings and castings made
primarily for use in motor vehicles), tools and garage equipment, tires
and tubes, batteries, trailers for attachment to passenger cars, and
products made in other industries for use in the motor-vehicle industry
such as upholstery materials, bolts, nuts, and wire (in bulk). Data oni
i See Monthly Labor Review, March 1936 (pp. 521-633): Wages, Hours, Employment, and Annual Earn­
ings in the Motor-Vehicle Industry, 1934. (Reprinted in U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Serial No. R. 356.)




4

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

the numbers and types of establishments included in the survey
appear in a subsequent section (p. 9).
The data collected in connection with the 1934 survey revealed sig­
nificant differences in earnings and employment as between those
establishments wrhich manufacture finished motor vehicles and bodies
and those which produce parts and equipment for automobiles. The
present survey therefore follows the procedure of the earlier study and
treats these divisions separately. The term “ motor-vehicle industry”
is used to indicate the combination of the two divisions. Plants pro­
ducing finished vehicles and bodies are grouped under the category
“ automobile division” ; the term “ automotive-parts division” includes
establishments producing parts and equipment for new vehicles and
for replacements.
Important changes in the motor-vehicle industry have taken place
since the data for the present survey were collected. Substantial wage
increases have been made, affecting the greater part of the wage
earners in the industry; most of these became effective during the
second quarter of 1941. Such changes are discussed in a later section
dealing with the trend of employment, pay rolls, hours, and earnings.
These recent wage increases are of considerable importance in an
analysis of the industry's wage structure, but they are probably much
less significant than other effects of the defense program which have
involved radical changes in product and major shifts in the industry's
occupational structure. Certain of these developments are discussed
in the following summary of the characteristics of the industry. It
may be noted in passing that the firms and establishments which
comprised the motor-vehicle industry at the time of this survey no
longer constitute a homogeneous group with respect to products, types
of employees, or wage structure. The data presented in this report,
therefore, assume added significance, at least historically, since they
supply a picture of the wage structure of the country's largest single
industry at the end of an era and just prior to a period of transition.
Any adequate analysis of the reorganized industry, as a whole, must
await the further development of the changes necessitated by the war
program.
Characteristics o f the Industry

The production of motor vehicles and parts has provided employ­
ment for some 4 to 7 percent of all the wage earners in manufacturing
industries for the past two decades. The motor-vehicle industry in
1939 ranked first in number of wage earners employed as well as in
value of products, according to the Census of Manufactures. Pay
rolls in the industry totaled nearly 7 percent of the amount paid to all
wage earners in manufacturing in 1939. In May 1940, the month




W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

5

during which the present survey was made, the motor-vehicle industry
employed approximately 440,000 wage earners and maintained a
weekly pay roll of more than $14,000,000.
The production of automobiles on a commercial basis began with
the turn of the century, and the principal problem of the industry
until about 1920 was that of producing a supply of dependable vehicles
sufficient to meet the rapidly increasing demand. By 1905, produc­
tion had reached an annual rate of 24,000 passenger cars; over 180,000
were built in 1910 and about half a million were in use in that year.
Almost a million vehicles were made in 1915, and the 1916 total was
well over a million and a half. In the boom year of 1929, the retail
cost of the 4,500,000 new passenger cars sold was about $4,000,000,000,
and more than $2,500,000,000 was paid for used cars. Although
the necessity for selling as well as producing automobiles became ap­
parent in the early twenties, the marketing problem first assumed
really serious proportions about 1929, and production was not main­
tained on the basis of the 7,000,000 cars originally scheduled for that
year. With the coming of the depression, output declined steadily
through 1932, and then rose to a total of 4,700,000 units (commercial
vehicles and chassis included) with a wholesale value of more than
$2,800,000,000 in 1937. The total units produced in 1939 were
slightly in excess of 3,500,000. During May 1940, approximately
390,000 units were produced, of which more than four-fifths were
passenger cars.
Several hundreds of companies have been organized for the manu­
facture of motor vehicles and parts; 676 different makes of auto­
mobiles were registered in Massachusetts in 1916, but 12 manufac­
turers had produced three-quarters of the total. Industrial mortality
in the field was enormously high and much of it occurred during the
infancy of the manufacturing companies. During the last 10 years
the “ big three” (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors) have made
about 90 percent of all the automobiles produced in the United
States.2
More than 80 percent of the 400,000 wage earners in the motorvehicle industry in 1939 were employed in plants in the five East
North Central States (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wis­
consin). Michigan alone accounted for nearly two-thirds of the
workers, and more than 90,000 wage earners were employed in motorvehicle plants within the city limits of Detroit. New England, where
the automobile was first developed, had 43 plants employing only
about 2,300 wage earners in 1939. Concentration of the industry in
2 For a detailed history of the industry with special emphasis on its organization and financial charac­
teristics, see Kennedy, E. D., The Automobile Industry; the Coming of Age of Capitalism’s Favorite
Child, New York, Reynal & Hitchcock, 1941.
474365°— 42------2




6

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

the East North Central States is somewhat less apparent from the
distribution of plants, although nearly half are in this area.
The motor-vehicle industry, particularly the automobile division,
has consisted of two general types of establishments. Of the 1,054
plants reported by the census in 1939, almost three-fourths had fewer
than 100 employees and were producing either specialized vehicles
(ambulances, fire apparatus, etc.) or small parts and accessories. At
the other extreme were 170 plants with 500 or more employees each;
a substantial proportion of these were the vehicle and parts plants
operated by the 11 largest companies in the field. The production
of motor-vehicles and parts also has been essentially an urban indus­
try. Well over half of the vehicle and body plants and about twothirds of the workers included in this survey were found in metro­
politan areas of 250,000 population and over. The parts plants were,
in general, smaller and more widely scattered, yet half the workers
in the parts plants studied were located in these densely populated
areas.
Total payments to wage earners in motor-vehicle plants amounted
to about 16 percent of the total value of the industry’s products
during 1939. This proportion was substantially below those in com­
parable industries despite the fact that motor-vehicle production,
with its high wage level, ranked first among all manufacturing indus­
tries in total wages paid during that year. This apparent incon­
sistency obviously results in large part from the high degree of mech­
anization within the industry, a condition which was further reflected
in the characteristics of the labor force. Semiskilled workers, par­
ticularly machine operators and assemblers, constituted a very large
segment of that labor force.
Motor-vehicle wage earners were characteristically males. Females
constituted about a fifth of the parts-plant workers, but in the auto­
mobile division, which was more than twice as large on the basis of
employment, only 2 out of every 100 wage earners were women.
Organization of the workers within the industry was relatively
slow in developing, but union agreements are now in effect in virtu­
ally all important plants of the automobile division and in most of the
larger establishments manufacturing parts. Partly because of the
fact that unionization was accompanied by the demand for abolition
of piece rates, the majority of the wage earners were paid on a timerate basis; less than a fifth were subject to any type of incentive
system at the time this study was made. The most common type of
shift differential was an additional payment of 5 percent, and most of
the plants paid at the rate of time and a half for all work above 8
hours a day, 40 hours a week, or either, with double time for Sundays
and holidays.




W AGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

7

RECENT CHANGES IN TH E INDUSTRY

The reduction of automobile production for civilian use late in 1941
and the transition by many plants to the manufacture of military
equipment have, of course, produced widespread changes in the indus­
try. These changes will be intensified in 1942 with the virtual
termination of pleasure-car output.
Experience during recent months has demonstrated that the tran­
sition to a wartime production schedule will affect the various indi­
vidual establishments quite differently. The manufacture of army
trucks and small tanks has, in some cases at least, involved but mod­
erate changes in productive processes. The production of aircraft
bodies, shell and bomb parts, or machine guns and anti-aircraft guns,
on the other hand, has typically required wholesale replacement of
machines and equipment and a complete reorganization of production
It is clearly impossible accurately to predict the effects of this
reorganization upon the labor force of the industry, but certain
general changes appear inevitable. In the first place, the essential
retooling will involve increases in the relative number of tool and die
makers, machinists, and other highly skilled workers; these additions
are likely to be reflected in a continuation of the rise in average earn­
ings within the industry. The workers formerly engaged in massproduction work, such as machine operators, assemblers, etc., will
continue to be laid off temporarily pending development of line pro­
duction for war equipment. The numbers of such workers subject
to this dislocation and the duration of unemployment among them
depend upon several factors. The production of automobiles for
military and emergency civilian use will require relatively minor
reorganization, and plants manufacturing such products as engine
parts will experience little or no change. It follows that the effects
of the shift upon the workers in these establishments will be unim­
portant. The extent to which labor is dislocated in plants subject
to drastic reorganization obviously depends upon the speed and
smoothness with which the process is accomplished. One fact is
nevertheless patent: to achieve the production levels planned will
require not only the total manpower of the industry but substantia]
additions to it as well.
Certain general changes in the characteristics of the labor force
can be outlined despite the fact that the details of the reorganization
are not yet apparent. It is clear, for example, that the diversity of
products to be produced by the reorganized and expanded industry
will increase greatly. This trend will be reflected in a greater spread
in the skills of the workers and, consequently, a decrease in the former
high concentration of the earnings of individual workers about the




8

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

general average for the industry. The proportions of highly skilled
workers, as already pointed out, will increase and the semiskilled
groups will become less important until line production of war equip­
ment is developed. Furthermore, it is possible that the reorganized
industry will require, at least temporarily, a larger proportion of
relatively unskilled workers, a group which was comparatively small
in the motor-vehicle industry prior to the defense program.
The recruitment of additional workers will be inevitable eventually,
and, since the supply of skilled workers is limited, heavy additions to
the semiskilled and unskilled groups and the necessity for training
them are likely. At the same time, increases in the combat forces
may well result in the employment of older workers (many of whom
are skilled) who would not be in the labor market in normal times.
Finally, the labor force of the reorganized industry is almost certain
to be augmented by the employment of women who formed a rela­
tively small proportion of the workers prior to the emergency.
The net effect of these changes, in the absence of unpredictable
developments, will be to increase the spread of earnings in the industry.
Earnings levels will probably be affected further by increases in over­
time work, additional shifts, and increased hours.
Coverage o f Survey

As defined in the Census of Manufactures, the motor-vehicle and
allied industries embraced 1,228 establishments in 1939, and in the
period May-June of 1940 employed approximately 465,000 workers.3
These establishments include, in addition to the 1,054 plants classified
in the motor-vehicle industry proper (Census industry No. 1810), 90
automotive-stamping plants (industry No. 1472) and 84 plants
producing automotive electrical equipment (industry No. 1640). A
fourth (308) of these plants, which employed 95 percent of the total
wage earners, were included in the present survey (table 1). The
relatively small proportion of the total plants studied results from the
fact that 598 of the 1,228 establishments employed fewer than 21
wage earners and were purposely excluded from the survey; nearly
all the large plants and more than half those with 21 or more wage
earners were surveyed.
* This figure is derived by adjusting average annual employment for 1939, as reported by the Census, on
the basis of the monthly employment indexes released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.




9

W AGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

T a b l e 1.— Plants and Estimated Wage Earners in Specified Census Industries, and

Number and Percent Included in Bureau's Survey, M ay-June 1940
Plants

Wage earners
Employed in
plants included
in survey

Included in
survey
Industry classification (census)

Total
(1939)

1
Total.................................................................. *1,228
Motor-vehicle industry (Census industry No.
1810)............ ......... ................... . ....... ........ *1,054
Automotive stampings (Census industry No.
1472)...............................................................
490
Automotive electrical equipment (Census
industry No. 1640).........................................
*84

Per­
Num­ cent
ber
of
total
2

3

Total
(1940)

Number
of wage
earners
included
in sur­
vey1
Percent
Number
of
total

4

5

6

7

308

25

464,737

443,132

95.4

421,543

276

26

436.113

428,297

98.2

407,056

19

21

9,431

3,829

40.6

3,426

13

15

19,193

11,006

57.3

11,061

1 Differs from column 5 since employees engaged on experimental work and wage earners not employed on
automotive products were ordinarily excluded from the survey.
* Includes 598 plants employing fewer than 21 workers and thus excluded from the survey.
* Includes 524 plants employing fewer than 21 workers and thus excluded from the survey.
* Includes 32 plants employing fewer than 21 workers and thus excluded from the survey.
* Includes 42 plants employing fewer than 21 workers and thus excluded from the survey.

In addition to the 308 plants included in these distinct census
classifications, the Bureau’s survey included 140 plants classified by
the Census in other industries. These establishments, which employed
a total of 61,825 wage earners, were producing automobile-body
hardware, bearings, pistons and piston rings, transmissions, leaf and
coil springs, and other parts excluded from the motor-vehicle industry
according to the census definition. No attempt is made to relate
the data from these 140 plants to any total for the country, since
separate figures for such establishments are not available from
census data. It is not possible, for example, on the basis of published
census information, to segregate those plants engaged principally in
producing automobile-body hardware from the general-hardware
industry as a whole. Similarly, data for plants manufacturing
motor parts for automobiles are grouped by the Census with those
producing similar parts for marine, stationary, and airplane engines.
The types of plants included in this group were selected in consulta­
tion with representatives of trade associations and manufacturers,
and, when combined with the 308 establishments classified in the
industry by the Census, provide an adequate basis for analysis of the
wage structure of the industry as it is here defined.
As indicated above, the detailed analysis of the data collected
treats the automobile and automotive-parts divisions of the industry
separately. Of the 448 plants included in the survey, 167, employing
339,698 wage earners, were engaged in the production of finished




10

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

vehicles (including passenger cars, trucks, ambulances, hearses, and
commercial trailers), bodies, and body parts (table 2). The data on
these plants (group A) are presented on page 18.
T able 2.— Plants and Workers Included in Bureau’s Survey o f M otor-Vehicle Industry,
by Type o f Product, M ay-June 1940

Type of product

Number of
plants

Total wage
earners em­
ployed

Wage earners
included in
survey1

1

2

3

Total...................................................................................

448

604,957

471,270

Vehicles and bodies (group A) _______________________
Parts (groups B and C )_____________________________
Parts (group B ) 2_______________________________
Parts (group C) 8_______________________________

167
281
141
140

339,698
165,259
103,434
61,825

322,941
148,329
98,602
49,727

* Differs from column 2 since experimental workers and wage earners not employed on automotive prod­
ucts were ordinarily excluded from the survey.
2 Includes only plants classified by the U. S. Census of Manufactures as motor-vehicle, automotive­
stamping, or automotive-electrical-equipment plants.
* Plants classified by the U. S. Census of Manufactures in industries other than motor vehicles, auto­
motive stamping, and automotive-electrical equipment.

To permit comparison with census data, the plants included in the
automotive-parts division are divided into two categories. Group B
is composed of those parts plants classified by the Census in the three
industries for which data are given in table 1. Group C includes the
establishments classified by the Census in various other industries.
These two groups (B and C) are treated as a single unit in the dis­
cussion of the automotive-parts division of the industry.
Data on earnings and hours were transcribed by field representatives
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from pay-roll and other records in the
plants surveyed. With rare exceptions, data were collected only for
wage earners working on automotive products; the number of workers
included in the survey is thus less than the total number of wage
earners employed in the respective plants. Central office and super­
visory employees (except working supervisors) were also excluded.
All data shown regarding clerical or office workers refer to persons
employed in production departments. Plants employing 20 wage
earners or fewer were ordinarily excluded.
Information on occupation, sex, method of wage payment, and
number of hours and total earnings for one pay-roll period during
May or June 1940 were transcribed for all workers in plants employing
21 to 1,000 wage earners. In larger plants, samples varying from 10
to 50 percent of the workers were taken. For such cases, special
sampling procedures were devised for the purpose of insuring adequate
representation of all types of workers. The data for all plants




11

W AG E STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

sampled, as shown in the various tables, have been weighted up to the
actual total automotive employment in the respective establishments
during the pay-roll period selected for study. Average hourly earn­
ings have been calculated by dividing gross earnings by total hours
actually worked during the pay-roll period. The basic rates are,
therefore, raised slightly as the result of relatively small amounts of
extra earnings during overtime periods.
The period during which the survey was made (May-June 1940)
represents neither a high nor a low point for the year. Industry
employment indexes for the 2 months were 109.8 and 104.9, respec­
tively, or almost midway between the low of 82.3 in July and the
December high of 130.2.

,

,

,

,

Trend o f Em ploym ent P a y Rolls Earnings and H ours 1 9 2 3 -4 1
EMPLOYMENT AND PAY ROLLS

Employment in the motor-vehicle industry has tended to fluctuate
in harmony with employment in the durable-goods industries as a
whole (table 3). However, the changes in motor-vehicle employment
have been more pronounced, a reflection, among other things, of the
extreme sensitivity of the industry to general business conditions as
well as the dependence of a major part of it upon the policies and
fortunes of a relatively small group of manufacturers.4
The annual index of employment in the industry reached its highest
level in 1937 when it stood at 128.3 and indicated an average employ­
ment of nearly 517,000 wage earners during that year. On a monthly
basis, May 1937, with an index of 140.4 and an estimated total of
more than 560,000 wage earners, was the peak (table 4). This figure
exceeds that for the highest previous month, April 1929, by almost
50,000 workers. Employment in the industry was low throughout
1938 except in November and December, and the index of 75.8 for
the year was the lowest since 1933. Increased demand and, later,
anticipation of restrictions on automobile production in connection
with the defense program resulted in rises in 1939 and 1940; the added
effect of defense activities is apparent in a further increase in the level
of employment to more than 540,000 in June 1941. Employment in
establishments classified in the motor-vehicle industry for the pur­
poses of this survey continued to rise during the second half of 1941,
4 The sensitivity of the motor-vehicle Industry to general economic conditions is suggested by data col­
lected in connection with the Study of Consumer Purchases (1934-36), which show that families with annual
incomes between $1,200 and $1,500 spent about $23.50 per year for the purchase of automobiles, while families
with incomes twice as large spent between three and four times as much for automobiles.




12

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

but the fact that this period marked the end, at least for the duration
of the war, of the industry as it existed formerly, makes these data
of little significance so far as this study is concerned.
T able 3.— Employment and Pay Rolls in M otor-Vehicle and Durable-Goods
Manufacture, by Years, 1923-401
Employment
Motor-vehicle
industry

Pay rolls

Durable-goods
manufacture

Motor-vehicle
industry

Year
Index1

Durable-goods
manufacture

Estimated
Estimated
Estimated
Estimated
wage
wage
weekly
weekly
Index * pay
Index*
Index 3 pay
earners
earners
rolls
rolls
(thousands)
(thousands)
(thousands)
(thousands)

1923.....................
1924.....................
1925.....................
1926.....................
1927.....................
1928.....................

100.6
93.6
105.8
104.8
91.9
108.1

404.6
377.1
425.8
421.6
369.6
434.8

104.1
96.4
99.5
102.5
96.5
97.7

4,008.9
3,712.5
3,831.1
3,947.8
3,714.9
3,760.4

100.6
90.6
108.8
104.8
93.3
113.9

$12,703
11,426
13,736
13,239
11,789
14,379

103.2
95.9
100.9
104.8
98.9
102.3

$103,421
96,057
101,157
105,053
99,049
102,462

1929.....................
1930.....................
1931.....................
1932.....................
1933.....................
1934.....................

111.3
80.3
71.0
60.5
60.6
94.5

447.4
322.8
286.0
243.7
244.1
380.6

106.2
87.6
67.7
52.8
57.5
72.4

4,089.9
3,375.0
2,607.8
2,034.1
2,215.1
2,787.2

111.6
65.7
53.4
38.8
38.3
68.2

14,094
8,299
6,740
4,900
4,835
8,601

111.2
83.8
55.6
33.4
36.8
52.2

111,374
83,969
55,731
33.468
36,867
52,298

1935.....................
1936.....................
1937.....................
1938.....................
1939.....................
1940.....................

110.4
113.9
128.3
75.8
97.9
111.3

444.5
458.6
516.7
305.4
394.2
448.0

79.8
90.7
104.3
78.9
90.2
104.3

3,072.1
3,492.5
4,017.2
4,036.5
3,475.2
4,015.1

89.5
102.8
124.1
69.2
97.5
121.1

11,297
12,976
15,663
8,737
12,299
15,274

64.1
80.7
102.4
67.9
86.2
107.8

64,206
80,840
102,559
68,047
86,334
108,008

1 Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics trend-of-employment and pay-rolls series.
* 1923-25-100.

Wide seasonal fluctuations have been characteristic of the industry
almost since its infancy. Prior to 1935 there was usually a long and
severe drop in employment during the autumn, and some attempts
were made to devise schemes for rotation of industrial and agricultural
employment to take up this slack. In 1935, the date for releasing new
models was shifted from winter to fall. As a result, the single and
severe seasonal slump was replaced by two more moderate contrac­
tions, one in August and another about the first of the year. Another
advance in the model date in 1939 again shifted the period of low
employment and distributed the slack season between July and August.
Instability of employment in the motor-vehicle industry prior to
1940 is also apparent from an analysis of labor turn-over. For every
year during the period 1931-39, the separation rates in both the auto­
mobile and the automotive-parts divisions of the industry were almost
twice as high as those for all manufacturing industries. In 1934,
there were no less than 117.3 separations for each 100 wage earners
on the average pay roll during the year. About three-fourths of these
separations were lay-offs. Discharge and quit rates in the motorvehicle industry were not greatly in excess of those for manufacturing




13

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

industries as a whole. As might be expected, accession (hiring) rates
were also high— \}{ to 2 times those for all manufacturing industries.
Increased employment and the development of trade-union organiza­
tion were reflected in significantly lower turn-over rates during 1940.
T able 4.— Employment and Pay-Roll Indexes in M otor-Vehicle Industry, by Months,
January 1935 to September 1941 1

Year and month

Employ­
ment
index *

Pay-roll
index *

1935: January ____________
February................. ....
M arch___ ___________
April_________________
M a y ..............................
June............................
July.............. .................
August...........................
September______ ____
October _ ..................
November.....................
December____________

109.6
119.1
121.1
121.5
118.0
108.7
102.0
96.4
85.1
106.4
117.1
119.7

82.6
98.8
100.9
104.9
94.1
83.7
76.8
72.2
64.6
87.5
104.5
103.8

1936: January. ........................
February......................
March_______________
April....... ......................
May........................ ......
June......................... ......
July................................
August.... ......................
September ..................
October...................... .•
November____________
December____________

117.8
113.5
112.2
115.3
116.9
115.5
110.7
97.6
89.6
109.8
128.5
139.2

96.2
84.3
95.0
110.1
112.2
108.3
100.4
83.6
77.4
102.1
127.2
137.2

1937: January......... ................
February.................. .
March_______ ________
April..............................
May_____ ______ _____
June.......... ................ .
July................. ..............
A u g u st.............. ........
September___________
October.................. ........
November____________
December____________

125.3
127.3
131.8
136.5
140.4
138.2
131.0
119.1
112.2
134.0
133.5
110.5

108.8
. 122.7
133 6
137.3
145.5
136.6
124.9
116.5
106.0
139.3
126.9
91.5

1938: January. ........................
February............. ........
March___________ ____
April.............................
M ay__________ _______
June..............................

84.7
82.1
79.3
72.9
68.6
61.5

64.4
62.7
62.3
63.3
56.8
54.4

Year and month

Employ­ Pay-roll
ment
index *
index*

1938: July................................
August_______________
September......................
October______________
November____________
December______ ____

53.1
48.0
64.9
86.3
101.9
106.8

47.4
47.0
66.3
91.3
107.6
107.4

1939: January..................... .
February........................
March............................
April..............................
M a y .................... .........
June...............................
July................................
August_______________
September___________
October ____________
November __________
December____________

106.1
104.4
103.8
101.8
93.3
91.6
76.4
70.4
98.7
107.8
102.3
118.1

101.3
97.3
97.0
99.5
88.0
88.6
72.9
75.0
102.9
113.3
106.0
127.9

1940: January........................
February..___________
March_____ ____ _____
A p ril............................
May_________________
June................................
J u ly ..............................
August_______________
September___________
October _____________
November____________
December____________

115.8
113.1
114.4
112.0
109.8
104.9
82.3
85.5
112.2
125.1
129.8
130.2

119.9
119.1
122.9
121.2
111.1
112.0
80.5
96.1
125.1
149.2
150.5
145.0

1941: January______________
February_____________
March_______________
April...............................
May_________________
June...............................
July................................
August_______________
September___ ________
October
November___ _ ____

128.5
130.1
131.5
132.4
134.1
134.8
126.9
109.3
123.4
128.9
129.7

147.7
159.6
163.1
147.3
170.6
188.3
158.0
137.3
158.9
176.6
175.8

* Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics trend-of-employment and pay-roll series.
*1923-25=100.

Aggregate pay rolls in the motor-vehicle industry have fluctuated
in close harmony with changes in employment. The annual index of
pay rolls reached the lowest point since 1923 in the year 1933 when
the index reached a level of 38.3 (1923-25=100.0) and the estimated
average weekly pay roll fell to $4,800,000. In the relatively good
years of 1928, 1929, 1936, and 1937, both employment and pay rolls
were greater than in the base period, 1923-25. In 1937, however,
employment had advanced farther beyond the 1923-25 level than had
pay rolls. Since August 1939 the reverse has been the case; pay rolls

------ 3

474365°— 42




14

WAGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

have been at a higher level, as compared with the 1923-25 period,
than has employment except during 1 month (July 1940). A high
level of pay rolls occurred in June 1941 when the index rose to 188.3
and weekly pay rolls amounted to $23,800,000. The extremely rapid
growth of motor-vehicle pay rolls can be seen by comparison with the
year 1904 when an average of about 12,000 wage earners were paid a
total of less than $140,000 per week.
AVE R AG E HOURLY EARNINGS

The level of average hourly earnings in the motor-vehicle industry
has been relatively high almost from its beginning. Average hourly
earnings in this industry have been roughly a fifth to a third above
those in the durable-goods industries as a whole during the entire
period for which comparable figures are available; in 1938 the differ­
ence was a third (table 5). The substantial increase in earnings during
1937 in part reflects the result of the trend toward unionization.
Between the period of this survey (May-June 1940) and November
1941, average hourly earnings in the industry rose 16.5 cents, or 17.4
percent. Changes in wage rates made during the last half of 1940
were not sufficiently important to cause any appreciable change in
the average for the industry; the figure of 95.4 cents for December
1940 is, in fact, identical with that for the preceding June.
A rise of 1.5 cents between December 1940 and January 1941 and
another of 0.5 cent in February reflect the first important change in
a series which resulted from the terms of new union agreements
effected during the first half of 1941. Data submitted to the Bureau
by manufacturers indicate that somewhat more than 80,000 wage
earners, or virtually all the employees of the companies reporting
wage increases, were affected. The information available shows a
flat increase of 2 cents per hour granted by the Chrysler Corporation,6
a raise of 5 percent in the plants of two moderately large companies,
and adjustments \arying from 2 to 10 percent in several smaller firms.
Except in a few of the smallest establishments, all wage earners in
these plants were affected in a relatively uniform manner.
The later wage adjustments made during March and April 1941
were restricted principally to the smaller concerns. The increases
varied from 4 to 18 percent, and, according to available reports, less
than 10,000 workers were involved. With minor exceptions, the
increases applied to all wage earners in the plants reporting changes.
The relative unimportance of changes in these 2 months is indicated
by the over-all figures on average hourly earnings which show an
increase of less than 1 cent between February and April.*
* Effective during the latter part of December.




W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

15

T able 5.— Average Hourly Earnings, W eekly Hours9 and Weekly Earnings in M otor
Vehicle and Durable-Goods Manufacture, 1922-41
Average hourly earn­
ings (in cents)
Year and month

Motorvehicle
industry

Durablegoods
manufac­
ture

Average hours worked
per week
Motorvehicle
industry

Durablegoods
manufac­
ture

Average weekly earn­
ings
Motorvehicle
industry

Durablegoods
manufac­
ture

1922...........................................
1925...........................................
1928...........................................
1930...........................................
1932...........................................
1933...........................................
1934.................. ..................— .
1935...........................................
1936...........................................
1937...........................................

•65.7
172.3
t75.0
172.4
68.0
59.3
70.0
73.9
77.4
89.1

(2)
(2)
(2)
(*)
50.8
48.5
56.7
58.7
59.7
68.6

(2)
(2)
1 46.9
134.5
31.3
35.2
33.3
37.1
38.5
35.9

0)
(2)
(2)
(2)
32.5
34.7
33.7
37.1
40.8
39.8

(2)
(2)
i $35.14
125.01
21.27
20.96
23.31
27.41
29.75
31.94

(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
$17.66
17.80
19.81
22.72
25.24
28.09

1938...........................................
January.............................
February...........................
March................................
April...................... ..........
May.................. ...............
June...................................
July...................................
August..............................
September.........................
October............................
November.........................
December..........................

92.5
91.5
91.6
91.9
92.0
92.0
92.5
93.0
93.6
93.3
92.8
93.2
92.4

69.8
70.5
70.2
70.2
70.1
69.9
69.6
68.8
68.5
69.0
69.6
70.6
70.9

32.9
27.6
27.7
28.4
31.4
30.0
31.9
31.8
34.6
36.3
37.7
37.5
36.0

34.8
32.2
33.0
33.6
33.5
33.8
33.9
33.4
35.8
36.4
37.5
36.7
37.1

30.45
25.27
25.34
26.10
28.83
27.65
29.49
29.56
32.33
33.81
34.98
34.89
33.22

24.77
22.90
23.42
23.69
23.80
23.93
23.86
23.32
24.84
25.65
26.86
27.02
27.27

1939..........................................
January.............................
February...........................
March................................
April..................................
May...................................
June...................................
July.............. ....................
August...............................
September.........................
October..............................
November.........................
December..........................

92.9
92.1
92.4
92.6
92.8
93.1
93.3
92.8
93.5
93.4
92.2
92.2
94.0

71.0
71.0
70.9
71.1
71.0
70.7
70.8
70.2
69.9
70.9
71.3
71.5
72.7

35.5
34.3
33.3
33.3
34.9
33.5
34.3
34.0
37.7
36.9
37.7
37.2
38.1

37.8
36.1
36.6
36.8
36.6
36.9
37.4
36.2
38.4
38.2
40.1
39.6
39.6

32.90
31.55
30.80
30.87
32.33
31.18
31.94
31.50
35,15
34.41
34.75
34.25
35.81

27.83
26.53
26.78
27.02
26.92
26.82
27.26
26.31
27.92
28.15
29.71
29.41
30.04

1940...........................................
January.............................
February...........................
March................................
April.................................
May...................................
June...................................
July...................................
August..............................
September.........................
October.............................
November.........................
December..........................

94.9
93.4
93.8
94.4
94.5
94.7
95.4
94.9
95.6
95.0
95.1
95.7
95.4

73.4
72.7
72.6
72.8
72.9
73.0
73.2
72.7
73.1
73.7
73.9
74.4
74.9

37.9
36.7
37.1
37.7
37.9
35.4
37.0
34.0
38.8
38.6
41.3
39.9
38.5

39.2
38.1
37.9
38.3
38.2
38.2
38.7
37.9
39.7
40.2
41.0
40.2
41.2

35.88
34.28
34.80
35.53
35.78
33.47
35.28
32.26
37.13
36.67
39.24
38.11
36.54

29.88
28.96
28.60
28.90
28.92
28.80
29.48
28.52
29.98
30.57
31.42
31.11
31.96

1941:
January.............................
February......... .................
March................................
April..................................
May...................................
June...................................
July...................................
August..............................
September.........................
October..............................
November.........................

96.9
97.4
98.2
98.3
101.4
106.3
106.6
105.7
108.5
1109.1
111.6

75.8
76.2
76.8
78.5
80.6
82.2
82.6
83.0
84.3
85.3
86.5

38.9
41.1
41.4
37.0
41.0
43.0
38.3
39.0
38.7
40.7
39.3

40.6
41.6
42.0
41.5
42.5
43.1
41.5
42.6
42.3
42.9
41.8

37.66
40.06
40.61
36.36
41.56
45.70
40.79
41.14
42.20
44.32
43.84

31.93
32.90
33.49
33.54
35.57
36.90
35.84
36.52
36.79
37.92
37.56

' 1 Data from special studies of the industry and based on a specific pay-roll period rather than on regular
monthly reports.
* Data not available.




16

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

Major changes in wage rates resulted from the agreements con­
cluded between the union and the principal manufacturers during
May and June. In general, the increases amounted to about 10
percent and more than 300,000 workers were affected. The great
majority of the adjustments were in the form of blanket increases.
Typical of the adjustments were the 10-cent raise granted to the
160,000 employees of 61 General Motors plants, 8 cents to the em­
ployees of Hudson, Packard, Briggs, and Chrysler,6 and similar in­
creases in a large number of smaller companies. The Ford M otor
Co. made adjustments varying from 5 to 15 cents. The Ford adjust­
ments involved increases for about 53,000 wage earners, and were
effected over a period of several months. These industry-wide
changes resulted in sharp rises in average hourly earnings which
reached $1,014 in M ay and $1,063 in June. It should be noted,
however, that these general averages were also affected by extra
earnings at overtime rates. Wage adjustments made in July were
limited to relatively few of the smaller companies, and the increase
in the industry’s average hourly rate amounted to only 0.3 cent.
On the basis of the above discussion it is apparent that the descrip­
tion of the wage structure outlined in this report is generally appli­
cable to the industry through July 1941; that is, to the end of the
1941 model year. While it is true that earnings have risen sharply,
the increase has affected some 80 to 90 percent of the industry’s wage
earners in a comparatively uniform fashion. The increases on an
occupational basis made to the remaining 10 to 20 percent introduce
only minor modifications in the wage structure; these were principally
of a sort which would tend to produce slightly greater uniformity of
earnings among certain semiskilled and skilled groups.
Employment in the industry declined sharply in August in con­
formity with the usual seasonal drop at the end of the model year.
The curtailment of normal output and the diversion of plant facilities
to defense production renders interpretation of data for September
and subsequent months difficult and inconclusive. It may be noted,
however, that the “ normal” activities of the industry, for all practical
purposes, came to an end at the close of the 1941 model year. It is
probable that the upward trend in average hourly earnings, which
reached $1,085 in September, $1,091 in October, and $1,116 in Novem­
ber, is largely a result of defense activities. Further, it is certain that
the employment of the relatively large numbers of skilled workers
essential to reorganization and retooling of the industry for the pro­
duction of war material, together with increases in overtime and night
shifts, will continue to exert an upward pressure on the hourly rate
of earnings for some months to come.•
• In the case of the Chrysler Corporation, this was in addition to the earlier 2-cent increase noted above.




17

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY
TREND OF EARNINGS BY OCCUPATION

Data on the earnings of individual occupational groups collected
in connection with the Bureau’s several special surveys of the industry
indicate considerable uniformity in the trend for various occupations.
The largest increases between earnings in 1922 and in 1940 are shown
for laborers, inspectors, and tool and die makers (table 6). There
appears to be little or no relationship between degree of skill and the
extent to which earnings rates have risen. It should be pointed out,
however, that'these comparisons are subject to certain limitations.
Changes in technology and in the nature of the duties performed by
many occupational groups between 1922 and 1940 have greatly re­
duced the number of job categories which can be logically compared.
Although it is believed that the occupational groups selected have
remained reasonably comparable throughout the period, small differ­
ences should not, in general, be interpreted as significant.
T a b l e 6. — Average Hourly Earnings o f M ales in 26 Selected Occupations in Automobile

Division, M otor•Vehicle Industry, in Specified Years
19221

19251

19281

19301

19321

Total industry8................................................ $0,662

Occupation

Assemblers, axle.................._...........................
Assemblers, chassis and final..........................
Assemblers, motor and transmission...............
Crane operators................................................
Cutters, cloth and leather................................
Die setters........................................ ...............
Dingmen............................. ............................
Drop hammermen, forge shop.........................
Forge shop workers, except hammermen........
Gear cutters........... ............ ............ ................
Hardeners and annealers__________________
Inspectors, testers, balancers, and straight­
eners....................... ................. ....................
Laborers and stock handlers............................
Lacquer and enamel rubbers_______________
Machine operators, group l 78
...........................
Machine operators, group 2 8...........................
Metal finishers..............................................
Millwrights—...................................................
Punch and press operators............................. .
Sanders and rough-stuff rubbers.....................
Sewers and trim bench hands.........................
Sheet-metal machine operators and assem­
blers...............................................................
Sprayers............................................................
Tool and die makers........................ ...............
Welders and brazers, hand..............................
Welders, machine.............................................

1934

1940

$0,729

$0,756

$0,733

$0,638

$0,730

$0,967

.676
.647
.661
(8)
(1
*4*)
(8)
(8)
.810
.698
.678
.676

.729
.694
.747
.726
.803
.797
1.037
.957
.753
.746
.725

.755
.758
.762
.707
.831
.849
1.128
.973
.735
.760
.749

.717
.681
.725
.673
.798
.819
.975
1.005
.782
.740
.720

.602
.570
.632
.658
.709
.741
.813
.800
.679
.623
.618

.694
.720
.745
.685
.857
.774
1.063
.871
.721
.778
.709

.971
.943
.960
.956
.982
1.055
1.248
1.165
1.006
.974
.975

•.611
.496
.669
.700
(8)
(8)
.715
(8)
4.650

.687
.570
.871
.727
.764
.851
(8)
.718
.843
.738

.725
.589
.841
.751
.792
.893
(8)
.746
.807
.793

.748
.589
.746
.713
.774
.738
.753
.717
.702
.734

.660
.575
.603
.634
.667
.633
.688
.646
.591
.495

.724
.613
.841
.714
.754
.867
.719
.693
.723
.742

.977
.836
1.059
.954
.987
1.048
.983
.955
1.001
1.002

8. 656
.723
.769
(8)
(8)

.783
.850
.875
.810
.792

.807
.824
.919
.852
.789

.711
.733
.887
.757
.735

.574
.615
.785
.659
.622

.752
.783
.899
.787
.743

.949
1.011
1.194
1.028
.979

1 Includes some workers in the automotive-parts division.
* Excludes office workers.
8 Averages not available.
* Cutters, cloth and leather, included in sewers and trim bench hands.
8 Dingmen included with sheet-metal machine operators and assemblers.
8 Straighteners were not included when computing the average for 1922.
* Includes automatic lathe and screw, drill-press, and milling-machine operators.
8 Includes boring-machine, grinding-machine, nonautomatic-lathe, and planer and shaper operators.
AVERAGE W EEKLY HOURS

Average weekly hours in the motor-vehicle industry have tended
to be slightly below those for the durable-goods industries as a group.
In general, the differences in the two series are slight throughout the



18

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

period for which comparable data are available (table 5). Hours in
the industry reached the high point of 43.0 in June 1941 but dropped
to 38.3 in the following month. As a rule seasonal changes do not
seem to have had any profound effect on the average hours of work
Instead, the fluctuations have been in volume of employment. Aver­
age hours during May and June 1940, the period of the present survey,
were 35.4 and 37.0,7 respectively.
AVERAGE W EEKLY EARNINGS

Average weekly earnings in the motor-vehicle industry were above
those for the durable-goods industries as a whole for each year during
the period 1932-40 (table 5). The differences ranged from 14 to 23
percent and were somewhat smaller than the differences in average
hourly earnings because of the fact that the motor-vehicle industry
has in general worked fewer hours per week than have establishments
in the durable-goods industries. There are no outstanding deviations
from the general trend of the relationship between average weekly
earnings in the motor-vehicle industry and in the durable-goods indus­
tries except in April 1941 when the two averages were only $2.82
apart. Earnings in the motor-vehicle industry reached their highest
point ($45.70) in June 1941 as the result of the general wage increases
already referred to and also, presumably, because of considerable
amounts of overtime payments during that month.8
Earnings and H ours in the Autom obile D ivision
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS

Hourly earnings of the 322,941 workers in the 167 automobile plants
studied averaged 96.1 cents in May and June 1940 (table 7). The
earnings of half the workers were within 9 cents per hour of the general
average. Fewer than 5 percent of the workers earned below 72.5
cents an hour. This high concentration of earnings about the average
is characteristic of a high-wage industry in which the majority of the
workers are employed in the plants operated by a small number of
large firms and in which the great majority of the employees are paid
on a straight-time rather than a piece-rate basis.
Regional differences.—The five East North Central States, as noted
earlier, contain the great majority of the workers in the automobile
division of the industry; more than half the 167 plants and almost 85
percent of the workers studied were in this region. The hourly eam-*2
7 The special-survey data show a slightly higher figure (37.2) because (1) the definition of the industry
as used in the survey differs slightly from that used in the trend-of-employment and pay-roll series, and
(2) proportionately more parts plants (in which average hours are higher) than vehicle plants are included
in the survey sample as compared with the group of plants reporting monthly.
» The figure of 43.0 hours per week for the industry as a whole involves an average of somewhat more than 3
hours of overtime per week for each worker since the legal maximum of 40 hours was in effect.




19

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

ings average for this region was about 1.5 cents above that for the
country as a whole; Michigan, with more than a fourth of the auto­
mobile plants and almost three-fourths of the workers studied, showed
average hourly earnings of 98.5 cents. As might be expected, the
tendency for the earnings of individual workers to concentrate about
the general average is even more pronounced in Michigan than in the
country as a whole.
T able 7.— Percentage Distribution o f Workers in Automobile Division, by Average
Hourly Earnings and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940

Hourly earnings (in cents)

Under 37.5 ............... .........
37.5 and under 42.5...............
42.5 and under 47.5...............
47.5 and under 52.5...............
52.5 and under 57.5...............
57.5 and under 62.5...............
62.5 and under 67.5...............
67.5 and under 72.5...............
72.5 and under 77.5...............
77.5 and under 82.5...............
82.5 and under 87.5..... .........
87.5 and under 92.5...............
92.5 and under 97.5...............
97.5 and under 102.5_............
102.5 and under 107.5............
107.5 and under 112.5............
112.5 and under 117.5............
117.5 and under 122.5...........
122.5 and under 127.5...........
127.5 and under 132.5...........

All
divi­
sions

162.5 and under 172.5...........
172.5 and over____________

0.2
.1
.1
.3
.5
.6
1.0
1.4
4.9
7.4
10.4
14.8
12.3
16.7
10.8
6.9
5.0
2.5
1.2
.8
.7
.5
.5
.2
.1
.1

Total...........................

100 0

132.6 and
137.6 and
142.6 and
162 6 and

under
u nd er
under
u nd er

137.6
142.6
162.6
162.6

_

_

Number of workers.............. 322.941
Number of plants.................
167
Average hourly earnings___ $0,961

New
Eng­
land
and
Middle Total
Atlan­
tic
0.3
.5
.4
1.5
2.2
3.0
2.7
32
7.7
8.8
14.9
17.7
14.7
8.9
3.8
4.8
2.4
1.4
.5
.2
.2
.1
.1

East North Central

Michi­
gan

Ohio

West Other
Illinois North
divi­
and
Central
sions 1
Indiana Wis­
consin
0.1
.2
.2
1.0
1.1
1.5
1.0
1.5
8.4
5.7
10.6
10.7
16.6
23.8
9.0
5.1
1.8
.7
.4
.1
.1
.]
.2
.l
(2)
(2)

0.1
.2
.2
.5
1.0
.6
1.6
.9
7.9
9.2
14.9
12.8
8.5
18.5
9.6
6.4
5.6
1.2
.2
.1

3.4
1.3
1.1
.8
.9
.5
.6
1.0
7.4
8.9
15.3
14.0
16.5
13.0
9.0
3.9
1.4
.6
.2
.1
.1
(2)
(2)
(2)

(2)

(J)
(2)
0.1
.2
.2
.3
.8
1.2
4.4
7.1
9.5
14.6
12.0
17.7
11.7
7.3
5.5
2.7
1.4
.9
.8
.6
.6
.2
.1
.1

(2)
(2)
0.1
.1
.1
.5
.9
4.1
7.2
9.7
15.0
11.4
17.6
11.7
7.4
5.9
3.0
1.5
1.0
.9
.7
.7
.3
.1
.1

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29,712 271,151 229,845
89
45
30
$0,877 $0,977 $0,985

15,185
19
$0,920

15,399
10
$0.950

10,722
15
$0,923

8,921
12
$0,908

13,157
36
$0,876

(2)
0.2
.9
1.3
1.9
3.4
3.3
4.1
5.1
8.9
6.8
10.6
12.4
15.7
10.5
5.7
3.5
2.2
1.8
1.1
.2
.1
.3
<2)
(2)

0.1
.2
.3
.4
.3
1.9
2.0
5.4
4.8
8.3
14.7
16.3
17 1
14.5
8.0
3.3
.8
.4
.3
.1
.1
.1
.l
.2
.3

1 Plants distributed as follows: Alabama, 2; California, 12; Colorado, 1; Georgia, 4; Kentucky, 3; Louisiana,
1; Mississippi, 1; North Carolina, 2; Oregon, 1; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Virginia, 2; Washington, 2.
2 Less than a tenth of 1 percent.

The number of plants and workers in areas other than the East
North Central States are, in general, too small to justify more than
broad generalizations concerning earnings. It should also be noted
that the automobile plants located outside of the principal area do not
comprise a homogeneous group. They are, rather, made up of two
types of establishments— the decentralized plants of large companies
and a group of firms, most of which are relatively small, producing
commercial bodies, trailers, and such equipment as busses, ambu­
lances, hearses, and fire engines. Substantial amounts of this work
are done on a special-order or custom basis. The wage structure in




20

WAGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IND USTRY

the outlying plants operated by the larger companies tends generally
to conform to that of similar plants located in the so-called automobile
States, and the level is, with a few exceptions, substantially higher
than that in the independent plants. This situation is reflected in
the distributions of workers by average hourly earnings in all areas
except the East North Central and is apparent in the minor peaks at
or near the lower ends of the distributions (table 7). It also explains
the close agreement between the average for the country as a whole
and those for the several regions, none of which varied from the general
average by more than 8.5 cents.
Plant averages.— The distribution of individual plants according to
the average hourly earnings of workers also reflects the fact that data
from a relatively small number of firms determine the statistical
characteristics of the wage structure of this industry. Almost half
the plants, which employed more than 85 percent of all the workers
studied, showed averages above 90 cents per hour. Almost twofifths of the workers were employed in the 29 plants in which hourly
earnings averaged $1.00 or more (table 8). Only 24 plants reported
hourly earnings of less than 60 cents. These establishments were
generally small, employing only about 75 wrorkers on the average,
and the entire group of wage earners in these plants amounted to
scarcely more than a half of 1 percent of the workers surveyed in the
automobile division of the industry.
T a b l e 8.— Distribution o f Plants and Workers in Automobile Division, by Plant Average

Hourly Earnings, and Size of Operating Companies, M ay-June 1940
Companies employingAll companies
5,000 or more

Plant average hourly earnings (in cents)
Number Number
of
of
plants
workers

Number
of
plants

Number
of
workers

Number
of
plants

91

301,481

76

21,460

9,250
20,306
92,959
56,978
121,988

3
3
7
5
6
9
6
9
5
8
7
4
3
1

274
157
60i
210
627
1,160
1,162
1,297
2,444
2,510
4,086
2,998
3,927
0)

All plants.....................................................

167

322,941

Under 40......................................................
40 and under 45...........................................
45 and under 50.......................... ...............
50 and under 55.................... ..................
55 and under 60________________________
60 and under 65...........................................
65 and under 70................. .........................
70 and under 75...........................................
75 and under 80...........................................
80 and under 85...........................................
85 and under 90............... ...........................
90 and under 95...........................................
95 and under 100..........................................
100 and over.................................................

3
3
7
5
6
9
6
9
5
12
23
23
27
29

274
157
608
210
627
1,160
1,162
1,297
2,444
11.760
24,392
95,957
i 60,905
121,988

Average hourly earnings............................

$0.961

i Workers of 1 plant included in interval 95 cents to $1.




Less than 5,000

4
16
19
24
28

$0,972

Number
of
workers

$0.825

W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

21

Hourly earnings and size of operating company.—Ninety-one of the
167 automobile and body plants surveyed were operated by 11 com­
panies. These 91 plants employed about 93 percent of all the workers
in this division of the industry. Average hourly earnings for the
plants of the large companies, taken as a group, were 97.2 cents, or
1.1 cents above the figure for the entire automobile division. None
of these plants showed average earnings below 80 cents per hour.
More than 40 percent of all the workers employed by these companies
were in the 28 plants in which hourly earnings averaged $1 or above
(table 8).
By contrast, the 76 smaller companies, employing the remaining 7
percent of the workers, showed average hourly earnings of 82.5 cents—
14.7 cents below the figure for the large companies and 13.6 cents less
than the average for all automobile plants as a whole. Plant averages
for more than two-thirds of these establishments were below 80 cents
per hour; these, as might be expected, were the smaller plants em­
ploying on the average only about 150 workers each. Four of the
small companies showed average hourly earnings of 95 cents or more
and, of these, only one averaged above $1.00.
The concentration of management in this division of the industry
and its effect on wage policy tend to offset the influence of such factors
as size of community. The wage rates paid by the large companies
vary but slightly from area to area, and a tabulation of earnings by
size of community has little or no significance because its character­
istics are largely a reflection of the types of communities in which the
plants of the few large companies happen to be situated.
Hourly earnings and size of plant.—The close correspondence be­
tween size of plant and level of earnings among automobile companies
is, of course, to be expected because of the concentration of manage­
ment within the industry. Of the 167 establishments, about threefifths (101) reported 500 or more employees each. These plants,
however, accounted for almost 98 percent of all the workers in the
automobile division of the industry (table 9). Nearly three-fourths
of the workers were employed in plants which averaged 2,500 or more
employees each. At the other end of the scale were 36 plants with
average employment of 100 or less, and this entire group contained
little more than a half of 1 percent of the workers. None of the units
with 2,500 or more workers showed average hourly earnings below 80
cents, and 14 plants, with a total of more than 105,000 workers, had
average hourly earnings in excess of $1.00. Again, by contrast, only
5 of the plants with 100 workers or less showed average hourly earn­
ings as high as 80 cents; the combined employment of the 5 small
plants was only 223.
474365°— 42-




-4

22

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

T able 9.— Distribution o f Plants in Automobile Division, by Plant Average Hourly
Earnings and Size o f Plant, M ay-June 1940
Total
Plant average hourly
earnings (in cents)

Size of plant in terms of number of workers

Em­
ployees Plants

Under
51

274
157
608
210
627
1,160
1,162
1,297
2,444
11,760
24,392
95,957
59,988
100 and under 105
112.869
105 and over______________ 10.036

3
3
7
5
6
9
6
9
5
12
23
23
27
23
6

1
1
3
4
4
3
2
2
1
2

Number of plants_________
Number of employees.......... 322,941

167

24
801

35 and under 40............ ........
■40 and under 45_________ __
45 and under 50....................
50 and under 55_________ __
55 and under 60....................
60 and under 65....................
65 and under 70______ ____
70 and under 75 _ . .
75 and under 8 0 .................
80 and under 85....................
85 and under 90....... ........... .
90 and under 95___________
95 and under 100__________

1

51-100 101-250 251-500

2
2
2
1

2

1

2
4
3
5

1
1
2

4
2

12
942

22
3,687

1
1
1

5011,000

1,0012,500

2,501
and
over

1

2
1
1
1

1
3
8
9
8
5
2

1
1
7
8
10
4
3

2
2
4
8
13
1

8
2,897

37
27,304

34
52,768

30
234,542

Occupational differentials among male workers.— More than threefourths of the male workers in the automobile and body plants studied
were employed in production departments; average hourly earnings
for this group were 95.5 cents or 1.2 cents below the average for all
males in this division of the industry (table 10). The average for
maintenance workers was only slightly (0.9 cent) below that for pro­
duction employees, while foundry occupations as a group showed earn­
ings 4.2 cents under the general average. Tool- and die-room workers,
with average earnings of $1,168 per hour were, of course, the highestpaid group. The highest average per hour for any single occupational
group was $1,416 for working foremen in tool and die rooms; except
for wrages of helpers and apprentices, the lowest average per horn* for
males was 77.2 cents for janitors. Within production departments,
the hourly earnings of males ranged from 81.5 cents for laborers to
$1,248 for dingmen. Despite this rather wide spread of 43.3 cents,
the earnings of male production workers offer striking evidence of the
concentration of individual earnings. The averages for 23 occupa­
tions, wilich included nearly half the total of 241,332 male production
workers, were within 3 cents of the general average of 95.5 cents for
the entire group.
More than a fourth of all the male workers were classified in the
28 occupational groups which showed average earnings of $1.00 or
more per hour. In addition to working foremen in tool and die and
in maintenance departments, seven occupational groups, with nearly
20,000 workers, had earnings in excess of $1.10 per hour. Included
in this total were dingmen ($1,248), drop-hammer operators ($1,165),
heaters in forge shops ($1,158), tool, die and lay-out inspectors




23

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE INDUSTRY

($1,208), tool and die makers ($1,194), other tool-room workers
($1,111), and pattern makers ($1,215). The 5,091 janitors with an
hourly average of 77.2 cents constituted the only male group (except
for apprentices) with earnings below the 80-cent level, and only six
additional occupations showed hourly averages less than 85 cents:
maintenance laborers (81.6 cents), miscellaneous service workers (83.9
cents), production-department laborers (81.5 cents), truckers and
material handlers (84.7 cents), male sewing-machine operators (83.8
cents), and watchmen (80.7 cents). These seven groups with earn­
ings of less than 85 cents an hour included about 37,000 male workers
or 11.5 percent of the total. It may be noted, however, that nearly
one-half of these 37,000 were truckers and material handlers whose
average earnings were within 3 mills of 85 cents.
T able 10.— Average Hourly Earnings of Workers in Automobile Division, by Sear,
Occupation, and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940
Total
Occupation

Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings

East North
Central

Other divisions
Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings

Num­
ber

Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings

Males
All departments............................................................. 315,013

?0.967 263,651

$0,983

51,362

$0,882

241,332
1,623
19,399
7,130
2,810
958
22,725
663
1,130
1,245
4,549
1,699
582
1,242
635
1,220
1,320
3,163
459
714
1,690
505
1,930
698
10,346
2,653
8,840
5,791
10,322
28,976
1,369
8,254
1,853
6,099
5,651
1,146
3,262
1,342
14,553
2,634
4,011
4,489

.955 197,274
.971
1,509
.943 12,341
.960
6,838
.957
2,501
.891
923
.941 16,040
1.011
649
.913
1,021
.913
964
.892
3,722
.956
1,568
.982
561
1.055
1,184
1.248
536
1.021
912
1.165
1,238
1.095
2,386
.960
410
.942
670
.975
1,639
1.158
493
.891
1,640
1.208
679
.964
8,929
1.056
2,515
.815
6,795
4,611
1.025
1.048
7,728
.963 27,384
.981
1,291
.941
7,843
.974
1,793
.994
5,852
.973
5,348
.953
1,079
.953
3,061
.905
1,117
.912 12,275
.859
1,748
2,944
.917
1.011
3,009

.970
.979
.961
.964
.974
.887
.967
1.013
.927
.913
.911
.973
.986
1.069
1.265
1.051
1.192
1.122
.995
.951
.977
1.173
.956
1.210
.968
1.054
.845
1.034
1.081
.969
.985
.947
.977
.997
.977
.958
.960
.927
.921
.875
.942
1.040

44,058
114
7,058
292
309
35
6,685
14
109
281
827
131
21
58
99
308
82
777
49
44
51
12
290
19
1,417
138
2,045
1,180
2,594
1,592
78
411
60
247
303
67
201
225
2,278
886
1,067
1,480

.885
.874
.911
.868
.825
0)
.880
0)
.788
.913
.811
.766
0)
.806
1.159
.931
.826
1.017
0)
0)
.911
0)
.528
(*)
.938
1.104
.717
.992
.952
.867
.914
.831
.895
.930
.903
.860
.856
.798
.865
.830
.852
.952

Num­
ber

Processing occupations...................................................
Assemblers, axle....... .............................................
Assemblers, chassis and final..................................
Assemblers, motor............................................. .
Assemblers, sheet-metal, subassembly. .................
Assemblers, small parts...................................... —.
Assemblers and trimmers, b o d y a...........................
Balancers____ ____ ______ ______________ ______
Bench hands, machined parts........................... .
Car loaders...............................................................
Clerical workers, factory..... ..................................
Crane and hoist operators.......................................
Cutters, cloth and leather.......................................
Die setters................................................................
Dingmen..................................................................
Door hangers......... ............... ..................................
Drop-hammer operators...... ...................................
Foremen and lay-out m en ....................- ................
Forge-shop workers, not elsewhere classified..........
Hardener and annealer helpers...............................
Hardeners and annealers.......................... ..............
Heaters, forge s h o p ................................................
Helpers, processing occupations, n. e. c..................
Inspectors, tool, die, and lay-out............................
Inspectors, n. e. c.....................................................
Job setters, machine................................................
Laborers, n. e. c ._ ...................................................
Leaders and relief workers.......................................
Metal finisheis— ............... ............ .......................
Operators, machining processes..............................
Boring machines.................. ............................
Drill presses.......................................................
Gear cutters.......................................................
Grinding machines...........................................
Lathes, automatic and semiautomatic.............
Lathes, hand.....................................................
Milling machines...............................................
Miscellaneous machines, n. e. c......... ..............
Other processing occupations, n. e. c......................
Packers and craters..................................................
Paint-shop workers, n. e. c......................................
Painters, spray.........................................................
See footnote? at end of table.




Num­
ber

24

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

T a b l e 10.— Average H ourly Earnings o f Workers in Automobile D ivision, by Sex>

Occupation, and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940— Continued
East North
Central

Total
Occupation

Other divisions

Num­
ber

Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings

Num­
ber

Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings

Num­
ber

Processing occupations—-Continued.
Platers..________ __________ _________ ________
Polishers and buffers, plating.......... .................... .
Polishers and rubbers, paint................. ...............
Punch and press operators.....................................
Repairmen, productive, n. e. c .......................... .
Sanders and rough-stuff rubbers.............................
Sewing-machine operators......... ................ ............
Sheet-metal machine operators, n. e. c__...............
Straighteners............................................................
Testers, car, final....................................................
Testers, motor and transmission............................
Trim bench hands..................................................
Truckers, hand, and material handlers................
Truckers, power (inside).......................... ............
Welders and brazers, hand ............................... .
Welders and brazers, machine.............................
Tool- and die-room occupations...................................
Foremen and leaders’..............................................
Tool and die makers..............................................
Tool and die maker apprentices...........................
Tool-room workers, n. e. c.....................................
Foundry occupations...................................................
Casting cleaners.....................................................
Chippers and sandblasters....................................
Coremakers.'................................. ......... ..............
Inspectors.............................................. ...............
Holders. ............... ..............................................
Pattern makers............. ........ ................................
Skilled and semiskilled foundry workers, n. e. c...
Unskilled foundry workers ................................. .
Maintenance and service occupations.........................
Carpenters............................. ................................
Electricians...........................................................
Foremen and leaders................... .........................
Helpers and apprentices........................................
Janitors.............. ............................ ............... ......
Laborers, n. e. c .......................................................
Repairmen, skilled................................................
Repairmen, machine tools................. .............
Repairmen, other equipment...........................
Millwrights..............................................................
Pipe fitters...................................................... .......
Semiskilled workers, n. e. c.....................................
Service workers, n. e. c ..........................................
Skilled workers, n. e. c............................... ..........
Tool grinders and cutters.....................................
Truck drivers.........................................................
Watchmen...............................................................

449
771
2,478
13,259
5,182
4,089
802
1,803
1,111
843
1,191
5,500
17,365
3,294
4,062
8,429
19,210
1,639
13,920
1,809
1,842
18,018
1,605
2,210
2,323
726
1,555
422
6,142
3,135
36,453
692
2,801
1,953
2,322
5,091
2,486
5,525
4,804
721
2,841
1,663
1.271
713
4,560
1,353
1,310
1,872

£0.929
1.072
1.059
.955
1.028
1.001
.838
.935
.978
.949
.982
1.Q28
.847
.892
1.028
.979
1.168
1.416
1.194
.759
1.111
.925
.909
.895
.963
.891
.973
1.215
.928
.862
.946
.966
1.027
1.142
.850
.772
.816
1.055
1.059
1.031
.983
1.015
.936
.839
.997
1.019
.897
.807

432
750
1,691
12,584
4,133
2,936
654
1,584
1,061
583
1,146
4,365
13,496
3,015
3,153
7,329
17,197
1,543
12,518
1,613
1,523
17,744
1,487
2,174
2,300
709
1,526
411
6,084
3,053
31,436
591
2,426
1,673
2,126
4.207
2,172
4,916
4,253
663
2,505
1,450
1,051
617
3,919
1,258
1,154
1,371

$0.832
1.076
l.0"2
.963
1.045
1.046
.838
.961
.981
.962
.895
1.044
.858
.905
1.064
.988
1.197
1.430
1.222
.794
1.139
.928
.911
.898
.964
.897
.976
1.222
.929
.868
.961
.974
1.046
1.152
. 855
.778
.835
1.067
1.072
1.036
.998
1.029
.954
.849
1.008
1.029
.910
.838

17
21
787
675
1,049
1,153
148
219
50
2( 0
45
1,135
3,869
279
909
1,100
2,013
96
1,402
196
319
274
18
36
23
17
29
11
58
82
5,017
101
375
280
196
884
314
609
551
58
336
213
220
96
641
95
156
501

Females
All departments.............................................................
Processing occupations...................................................
Assemblers, motor.................................. ...............
Assemblers, small parts.........................................
Assemblers and trimmers, body *.........................
Clerical workers, factory........................................
Inspectors, n. e. c.....................................................
Laborers, n. e. c ................ ......... ................... ........
Other processing occupations, n. e. c...................
Paint-shop workers, n. e. c............................ ........
Punch and press operators............................ .........
Sewing-machine operators......................................
Trim bench hands.................................................
Truckers, hand, and material handlers..................
Foundry occupations............ ........................................
Skilled and semiskilled foundry workers, n. e. c.._
Unskilled foundry workers....................................
Service workers, n. e. c ........................ ............. .. .

7,928
7,346
163
903
782
122
208
222
405
179
207
2,137
1,880
138
451
168
283
131

.720
.722
.730
.719
.711
.644
.683
.692
.733
.737
.747
.744
.714
.673
.697
.736
.673
704

7,500
6,937
163
903
643
109
204
219
364
172
179
2,120
1,724
137
439
156
283
124

.722
.724
.730
.719
.716
.668
.687
.694
.734
.739
.754
.745
.714
.675
.698
.742
.673
.711

1 Workers too few to justify computation of an average.
* Does not include body welders.




Aver­
age
hourly
earn­
ings
0)
0)
$1,029
.812
.959
.893
.842
.757
.917
.921
0)
.968
.810
.742
.908
.924
.923
1.223
.948
.501
.969
.762
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
.826
.640
.851
.921
.910
1.080
.793
.747
!689
.956
.954
.971
.869
.923
.849
.773
.925
.888
.805
724

428
409*

.683
.685

139
13
4
3
41
7
28
17
156
1
12
12

.687
0)
0)

7

0)
0)
(l)
0)
.710
0)
(l)
0)
0)

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

25

Interpretation of the regional differences in the average hourly
earnings for the several occupational groups is subject to limitations
on the basis of certain complex factors, most of which have their
origin in the fundamental characteristics of the industry itself. As
pointed out earlier, the large automobile manufacturers operate plants
both within the East North Central States and in other areas, and
the differences in wage levels between the two groups of plants are,
in general, small.9 Within certain limits, therefore, it may be said
that the occupations which have substantial numbers of workers out­
side the “ automobile area” might be expected to show relatively small
regional differences in occupational earnings averages, principally be­
cause of the fact that the large companies employ some 90 percent
of all the workers. This is true in the case of inspectors, trim bench
hands, chassis and final assemblers, and paint polishers and rubbers,
in which groups the regional differences in occupational averages are
well within the general regional difference of 10.1 cents.
In certain other occupations this generalization does not apply; a
case in point is the tool-maker group in which the regional difference
is more than 27 cents. In this instance the large difference probably
reflects the fact that the outlying plants of the major companies are
engaged principally in assembly and other processes which do not
ordinarily involve the use of tool makers and certain other highly
skilled groups. Most of the independent plants, in which wage levels
tend to be lower, do, however, employ tool makers, and these smaller
establishments are relatively far more important outside the East
North Central States than they are within the automobile area. Thus,
the difference in average earnings in this case is probably a result of
the management structure of the industry to a much greater extent
than it is a reflection of any marked regional differences in wage
levels. Similar reasoning may be applied to certain other occupations,
such, for example, as punch and press operators
This general situation may be illustrated further by reference to
the group of car loaders whose average hourly earnings are identical
for the two areas shown. It is likely that few, if any, of the smaller
independent plants have employees engaged exclusively in such work
and so designated on pay rolls. No regional difference in earnings
appears in this case, presumably because most, if not all, of the car
loaders included are employed in the plants of the large companies.
One additional factor is probably involved in these apparent regional
differences and may be illustrated by the fact that average earnings
for job setters in the East North Central States are 5 cents below
those outside this central automobile area. Job setters in the cen­
9 This comment relates, of course, only to similar establishments; most of the outlying plants of the large
companies are for assembly and distribution, and it is obviously illogical to compare earnings in these plants
with those in the central manufacturing plants in which the proportion of highly skilled workers and,
consequently, plant average earnings are higher.




26

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

tral plants of the large companies are engaged principally in duties
connected with mass-production methods, and their work may in some
cases tend to be more standardized than would normally be true in
a small plant subject to frequent changes of set-up. Further, it is
likely that the job setter in a small plant will be expected to assume
additional duties as foreman or repairman, and his rate of pay will,
in consequence, tend to be higher. Since this is an occupation which
would not be common in outlying plants of the large manufacturers,
the explanation may well be based on this combination of circum­
stances rather than on any actual regional differences in wage levels
for a standardized job.
Female workers.—The majority of the 7,928 female workers were
employed in the larger plants, and their average hourly earnings were
72.0 cents, or 24.7 cents below those for males. The earnings of half
the women employed were within 4 cents of the general average for
female workers. Small-parts assemblers, body assemblers and trim­
mers, sewing-machine operators, trim bench hands, and core-room
workers in foundries accounted for the great majority of the female
employees. The number of women in plants outside the East North
Central States is insufficient to provide an adequate basis for general­
ization.
W EEKLY HOURS

Full-time weekly hours.— Practically four-fifths (133) of the 167
vehicle and body plants studied wrere operating on an official 40-hour
week. Most of the remaining plants reported a standard week of
42 hours (the maximum normal week established at the time of the
survey under the Fair Labor Standards Act). Only four plants
showed a general workweek of less than 40 hours, and an equal num­
ber were scheduling a week of more than 42 hours. The 40-hour week
was found more frequently in the “ automobile States” (the East
North Central region), where almost 90 percent of the plants wTere
on this schedule. This situation also results from the fact that most
of the establishments were operated by a few large companies. More
than three-fourths of the plants which scheduled more than 40 hours
of work per week were outside the automobile area, and none of the
four establishments reporting more than 42 hours were in the East
North Central region.
Actual weekly hours.—The 322,941 automobile-plant employees
studied worked an average of 36.8 hours per week in the pay-roll
period for which the data were collected (table 11). Variations in
the averages for the several regions are not large except in the case
of the West North Central States where the low average reflects a
slack period in several large body and assembly plants. It may be
noted that the average weekly hours in automobile plants were slightly




27

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

more than an hour below the figure for the parts plants studied.
This difference may be in part a result of the fact that the industry was
approaching the end of a model year, and any slight effect of the
seasonal dip would naturally be more apparent in automobile plants
than in parts plants.
AVERAGE W EEKLY EARNINGS

The management structure and regional distribution of the auto­
mobile division of the industry are reflected in the data on weekly
earnings as in the case of the other wage data. The average of $35.91
for the 271,151 workers in the East North Central States and the
Michigan rate of $36.09 are slightly higher than the figure ($35.42)
for the country as a whole. As in the case of weekly hours, the
average for weekly earnings in the West North Central States is
affected by the short workweeks in several large plants. The varia­
tions in average weekly earnings between regions would, of course,
be greater were it not for the fact that the data from decentralized
plants of the large companies carry sufficient weight virtually to
eliminate the influence of the relatively lower earnings rates obtain­
ing in the independent plants.
T a b l e 11.— Average Hourly Earnings, Weekly Hours, and W eekly Earnings o f Workers

in Automobile Division, by Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940

Geographic division

Number of
workers

Average
hourly
earnings

Average
.weekly
’ hours

Average
weekly
earnings

All geographic divisions____________________________

322,941

$0,961

36.8

$35.42

New England and Middle Atlantic__________________
East North Central.................................... ....................
Michigan______________________________________
Ohio............................................................................
Indiana_______________________________________
Illinois and Wisconsin__________________________
West North Central_______________________________
Other divisions____________________________________

29,712
271,151
229,845
15,185
15,399
10,722
8,921
13,157

.877
.977
.985
.920
.950
.923
.908
.876

38.9
36.8
36.6
38.4
36.6
37.6
31.5
37.2

34.12
35.91
36.09
35.32
34.73
34.68
28.64
32.62

Earnings and H ours in the Autom otive-Parts D ivision
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIVISION

The establishments which produce parts and accessories for auto­
mobiles vary widely with respect to size, organization, and type of
product, and the industry division in which they are included is not
clearly defined. “ Parts plants” operated by the large motor-vehicle
manufacturers are, with minor exceptions, definitely classified within
this division of the industry as are also independent* plants manufac­
turing automotive stampings, automotive electrical equipment, and
numerous other products essential to automobiles. Many automo­




28

WAGE STRUCTURE, M OTO R-VEH ICLE IND USTRY

bile parts and accessories, however, such as body hardware, wire
and cable, bearings, and other motor parts, are manufactured in
plants which also produce articles not related to the motor-vehicle
industry. It follows, therefore, that any group of establishments
chosen to represent this division of the industry must be selected
somewhat arbitrarily, and that an attempt to relate the sample of
plants included in such a survey to any available statistical universe
is beset with unusual difficulties.
The 281 parts plants and 148,329 workers covered by the Bureau's
survey were selected in consultation with manufacturers and trade
associations and are believed to constitute a representative sample of
the industrial division as it is ordinarily conceived. They include
establishments manufacturing products which fall into 15 general
categories. The numbers of plants and workers in each of these
product groups appear in table 2 (p. 10).
A number of the characteristics of this division of the industry,
which exercise a marked influence on wage structure, differ substan­
tially from those of the automobile division. For example, more than
half of the automobile plants included in this survey, in which more
than nine-tenths of the wage earners were employed, were operated by
the 11 large companies which produced virtually all of the Nation's
motor vehicles. The concentration of management among parts
plants is considerably less important, for little over a fourth of the
plants studied, which employed about 70 percent of the workers,
were operated by 24 large companies. These differences have a pro­
found effect on the levels and distributions of earnings.
Parts plants tend also to be more specialized. This fact inevitably
results in less uniformity among establishments in occupational and
wage structure. The variety of products is also greater in the parts
divison; many of the plants manufacture types of parts and acces­
sories that are not produced in any of the larger automobile plants.
Women constituted nearly a fifth of the parts-plant workers while the
number employed in the automobile division was little more than 2
percent of the total.
Finally, the parts plants studied were, on the average, little more
than a fourth as large as the automobile and body plants. This is
significant since wage levels in the industry tend, in general, to vary
directly with size of plant.10
The labor force of this division of the industry is characterized by
relatively large numbers of semiskilled workers, notably operators of
various types of machines. Although trade-union organization
developed fairly late in the history of the motor-vehicle industry,
10 Additional data on the characteristics of the industry, its laborf orce, and the wage structure are con­
tained in Part 1 of this report.




W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

29

union agreements were in effect in about half the parts plants at the
time this survey was conducted. These were the larger plants and,
as a group, employed more than three-fourths of the workers.
Wages in the industry as a whole rose about 17 percent between
May-June 1940, the period covered by the Bureau’s survey, and
November 1941. As pointed out earlier in this report, most of the
increases were effected during the second quarter of 1941 as a result
of new union agreements. These changes were, in general, of an
industry-wide character and appear to have affected some 80 to 90
percent of the wage earners in a relatively uniform manner. Although
the precise effects of these changes upon the wage structure of the
automotive-parts division of the industry cannot be stated, it may be
assumed that the workers in plants affected by the general wage
changes received relatively uniform increases. There is, however, a
group of plants, many of which were small, that were not immediately
affected by the wage increases. Certain of these plants were not
operating under union agreements at the time the changes took place.
In other cases, the principal products of the plants were such that, from
the point of view of union organization at least, the plants may not
have been considered a part of the motor-vehicle industry proper;
thus, any wage increases in these plants may have differed in amounts
and effective dates. In view of the foregoing, it appears likely that
wage increases in this division averaged somewhat less than the
17-percent change shown for the industry as a whole between the
spring of 1940 and the fall of 1941.
The shift from civilian production to the manufacture of war
materials has already occasioned profound changes in this division of
the industry. As early as October 1941, virtually all of the product
of some of the larger parts plants was devoted to defense orders.
With the cessation of pleasure-car production, this trend will be
accelerated. Many of the plants, particularly those equipped to
produce motor parts, have shifted to war orders with a minimum of
dislocation, and the only major problem is one of expansion. Others,
however, have already been faced with the necessity for drastic reor­
ganization to produce materials for which they were not equipped
previously. It is in this second group that dislocations and changes in
occupational distributions and wage structures are most pronounced.




30

WAGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

T able 12.— Percentage Distribution o f Workers in Automotive-Parts Division,
East North Central
New England and
Middle Atlantic

All divisions
Hourly earnings
Total

Male

Female Total

Male

1.2
1.8
3.2
4.4
9.0
9.1
8.7
9.1
11.9
11.4
10.0
6.7
4.0
3.4
2.0
1.3
.8
.5
.4
.3
.2
.2
.1
.1
(2)
.2

0.8
1.3
2.1
2.9
3.5
4.9
7.0
10.4
15.0
14.2
12.6
8.4
5.0
4.3
2.6
1.6
1.0
.6
.5
.4
.2
.3
.1
.1
(2)
.2

100.0

100.0

Under 37.5 cents.....................
37.5 and under 42.5 cents.......
42.5 and under 47.5 cents.......
47.5 and under 52.5 cents.......
52.5 and under 57.5 cents.......
57.5 and under 62.5 cents.......
62.5 and under 67.5 cents____
67.5 and under 72.5 cents.......
72.5 and under 77.5 cents.......
77.5 and under 82.5 cents-----82.5 and under 87.5 cents.......
87.5 and under 92.5 cents.......
92.5 and under 97.5 cents____
97.5 and under 102.5 cents----102.5 and under 107.5 cents.. .
107.5 and under 112.5 cents...
112.5 and under 117.5 cents.._
117.5 and under 122.5 cents.. .
122.5 and under 127.5 cents__
127.5 and under 132.5 cents__
132.5 and under 137.5 cents...
137.5 and under 142.5 cents__
142.5 and under 152.5 cents__
152.5 and under 162.5 cents__
162.5 and under 172.5 cents__
172.5 cents and over________

0.8
1.6
2.3
2.6
4.3
4.9
7.5
6.8
8.8
7.9
8.9
10.2
7.6
7.9
5.8
3.8
2.9
2.0
1.1
.8
.4
.3
.3
.2
.1
.2

0.5
.8
1.4
1.7
2.6
3.1
4.1
5.2
8.0
8.5
10.6
12.5
9.4
9.6
7.1
4.7
3.6
2.4
1.3
1.0
.5
.4
.4
.2
.1
.3

2.0
4.8
6.6
6.3
11.8
12.7
22.1
13.9
13.0
5.0
1.0
.5
.2
.1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)

Total.............................

100.0

100.0

100.0

281
Number of plants__________
Number of workers........... . 148,329 120,288
Average hourly earnings........ $0,838 $0,886

(2)

55
28,041 27,809 22,169
$0.619 $0.745 $0,790

Total

Female Total

Male

Female

0.5
1.4
2.0
2.0
3.0
3.8
7.2
6.3
8.2
7.1
8.7
11.3
8.6
9.0
6.8
4.5
3.5
2.4
1.2
.9
.5
.3
.3
.2
.1
.2

0.3
.6
1.0
1.3
2.1
2.5
3.3
3.9
6.3
7.2
10.4
13.9
10.5
11.1
8.3
5.5
4.3
2.9
1.5
1.1
.6
.4
.4
.2
.1
.3

1.5
5.0
6.2
5.1
7.0
9.5
24.2
16.4
16.4
6.3
1.3
.7
.3
.1
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)

100.0

100.0

100.0

207
5,640 117,315
$0.558 $0,866

95,337
$0,915

21,978
$0,638

2.7
3.7
7.4
10.6
30.8
25.6
15.0
4.0
.1
.1

____
____
____

100.0

(2)

i Plants distributed as follows: California, 8; Kentucky, 1; Oregon, 1. The number of women (52) em­
ployed in these plants is too small to justify computation of distributions by sex.
* Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS

The earnings of the 148,329 workers in the 281 automotive-parts
plants included in this survey averaged 83.8 cents per hour in May and
June1940 (table 12). This figure is 12.3 cents below the corresponding
rate in automobile and body plants. The earnings of about half the
employees in these parts plants were within a range extending 15
cents above and 15 cents below the general average. More than a
fourth of the workers were earning 97.5 cents or more per hour; at
the other end of the range, fewer than a sixth received less than 62.5
cents per hour. That this industry was not affected significantly by
the Fair Labor Standards Act is apparent from the fact that less than
1 percent of the workers earned under 37.5 cents per hour.




W AGE STRUCTURE, M OTO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

31

by Average Hourly Earnings, Geographic Division, and Sex, M ay-June 1940
East North Central.—Continued
Ohio, Indiana, Illi­
nois, and Wisconsin

Michigan

West North Central

Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
0.1
.6
.9
.8
1.7
2.6
5.2
6.0
8.8
7.4
9.2
10.9
9.5
10.9
7.8
5.1
4.2
3.1
1.6
1.2
.6
.5
.5
.3
.1
.4

(’ )
0.1
.2
.4
.9
1.1
1.3
2.1
5.4
7.2
11.0
13.3
11.7
13.5
9.7
6.4
5.2
3.9
2.0
1.5
.7
.6
.7
.4
.2
.5

0.2
2.6
3.5
2.5
5.1
8.9
21.4
21.9
22.7
8.2
1.6
.8
.3
.2
.1
(2)

____
____

1.1
2.5
3.5
3.6
4.7
5.3
9.7
6.6
7.5
6.7
8.0
11.9
7.4
6.6
5.4
3.7
2.6
1.4
.8
.5
.3
.1
.1

0.6
1.2
2.1
2.5
3.6
4.2
5.8
6.2
7.5
7.3
9.7
14.4
9.0
8.0
6.5
4.5
3.1
1.7
.9
.6
.4
.1
.1

(2)
(2)
(2)

(2)
(2)
(*)

7.3
7.6
9.5
8.5
13.8
10.4
7.2
8.0
5.0
4.0
4.2
3.2
2.0
2.8
2.3
(2)
.1
2.2
(2) * 1.4
.3
(2)
.2
.1
3.4
8.4
10.1
8.9
9.6
10.3
28.0
8.4
7.3
3.7
.9
.5
.3
.1

(2)

(a)
(a)
<2)

4.3
23.1
7.3
9.4
7.9
17.2
7.8
11.6
11.8
14.0
4.6
1J.2
4.3
7.7
8.9
7.8
2.2
5.6
2.2
4.4
1.9
4.7
1.1
3.5
.3
2.4
3.2
.5
.3
2.7
2.6
.3
1.7
.4
.2 ........ ~Z
.2
.1
.1
.1

Other
divi­
sions *

Total
0.6
1.3
1.9
4.4
4.5
5.9
7.9
10.6
11.6
12.0
13.4
7.2
8.8
5.6
1.5
.3
.9
.6
.7
...

.1
.1

.1
100.0

100.0

9
117
90
65,948 53,069 12,879 51,367 42,268 9,099 2,345 1,974
371
$0,914 $0,969 $0,673 $0,806 $0,849 $0,588 $0,644 $0,670 $0,496

10
860
$0,767

100.0 100.0

100.0 100.0 100.0

100.0 100.0 100.0

Hourly earnings

Under 37.5 cents.
37.5 and under 42.5 cents.
42.5 and under 47.5 cents.
47.5 and under 52.5 cents.
52.5 and under 57.5 cents.
57.5 and under 62.5 cents.
62.5 and under 67.5 cents.
67.5 and under 72.5 cents.
72.5 and under 77.5 cents.
77.5 and under 82.5 cents.
82.5 and under 87.5 cents.
87.5 and under 92.5 cents.
92.5 and under 97.5 cents.
97.5 and under 102.5 cents.
102.5 and under 107.5 cents.
107.5 and under 112.5 cents.
112.5 and under 117.5 cents.
117.5 and under 122.5 cents.
122.5 and under 127.5 cents.
127.5 and under 132.5 cents.
132.5 and under 137.5 cents.
137.5 and under 142.5 cents.
142.5 and under 152.5 cents.
152.5 and under 162.5 cents.
162.5 and under 172.5 cents.
172.5 cents and over.
Total.
Number of plants.
Number of workers.
Average hourly earnings.

The average hourly earnings of males were 88.6 cents while those
for women were 61.9 cents. As might be expected, the earnings of
women showed the greater concentration—half of them were within
8.6 cents of the average, above or below, as compared with a corre­
sponding range of 12.5 cents from the average for men. More than a
fifth of the men showed earnings in excess of $1,025 per hour, but the
proportion of women in this category was negligible. Conversely,
scarcely more than 1 percent of the men received less than 42.5 cents
per hour but the earnings of almost 7 percent of the women were
below this level'.




32

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

Regional Differences

Nearly three-fourths of the parts plants studied, as compared with
a little over half of the automobile and body plants, were in the five
East North Central States. The concentration of employees in this
area, however, was slightly less in the parts division than in the auto­
mobile division of the industry. Michigan, which had almost threefourths of all the workers in the automobile division, had less than
half the parts-plant employees. Average hourly earnings of partsplant workers in the five “ automobile” States as a group were less
than 3 cents above the rate for the country as a whole, but the Mich­
igan figure exceeded the industry average by 7.6 cents. Inter-area
differences in averages were considerably greater in this division of the
industry than in the automobile division. A comparison of the rate
for parts plants in the East North Central States with the figure for
all other areas combined shows a difference of 12.8 cents, and average
earnings in Michigan were 17.6 cents per hour above the combined
rate for all States outside the East North Central region.
It should not be assumed, however, that the differences in these
averages or those shown in table 12 are due to regional factors alone.
The classification of plants on a regional basis does not result in groups
which are strictly comparable. Any adequate interpretation of these
regional differences in rates must take into account a complex series
of factors, some of which appear to accentuate the differences whereas
others seem to offset them. The relatively low earnings shown for the
West North Central States will serve as an example. This region
happens to be the only area that does not include one or more plants
operated by one of the large companies which, in general, tend to have
higher wage levels. On the other hand, the high-wage area, that is,
the group of East North Central States, shows a disproportionately
large number of plants producing wheels and brakes, frames, and axles,
in which relatively high wages are paid. The functional and manage­
ment structure of the industry, the extent of trade-union organization,
sex ratios among employees, and various less tangible influences may
have combined to maintain a high level of wages among automotive
workers in this area quite apart from these product differences. It
may be noted that earlier studies of this industry by the Bureau have
consistently shown higher wages in Michigan than in other States.
The differences in sex ratios among parts-plant employees in the
several regions are not striking. The proportions of women varied
from 6 percent in the 10 plants located in California, Kentucky, and




W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

33

Oregon to 20 percent in Indiana, but the former group showed too few
woman employees to furnish a significant ratio. The inter-area differ­
ences in the average hourly earnings of men and women followed
essentially the same pattern as for all workers combined, except that
women’s earnings showed smaller differences in terms of cents per
hour as a result of the universally high concentration of women’s
earnings around the general average. As in the case of the average
for men, the comparatively low earnings of women in the West North
Central States is partly accounted for by the fact that this area in­
cludes none of the plants operated by the larger companies. The
average earnings of women in the 10 plants in California, Kentucky,,
and Oregon are not significant because of the small number of workers.
Earnings and Type o f Product

The 281 parts plants studied have been classified according to type
of product on the basis of categories generally accepted by the indus­
try.11 Average hourly earnings for workers in the several product
groups range from 71.5 cents in plants producing pistons, valves, and
parts thereof to 98.7 cents for axle plants (table 13). As has already
been pointed out, the earnings in any group of plants or in any area
are affected by interrelated factors which are difficult to isolate.
Other things being equal, however, it would be expected that product
groups of plants showing hourly earnings above the general average
would tend to be concentrated in the high-wage area, to contain
relatively small numbers of female workers, and to include dispropor­
tionately large numbers of wage earners employed by the larger
companies. Of the six product groups in which earnings are above
the average for all parts plants, three (wheels, rims, and brakes;
frames; and axles) had all of these characteristics. In two of the three
remaining groups— the plants producing leaf springs and bumpers and
those producing gears— the relatively high average earnings resulted
principally from the skills required and the type of working conditions.
In addition, a relatively larger number of the gear plants were in the
higher-wage East North Central States. Earnings in body-hardware
plants were comparatively high despite the employment of large
numbers of females, but it may be noted that the earnings of women
in these plants were the highest for any product group where women
constituted a substantial proportion of the workers.1
11 It is recogBized that such classification may result in some inaccuracies, particularly in the case of plants
manufacturing more than one type of product (such plants were classified on the basis of major product by
value). Since the categories are those used by the industry itself, it is believed that the results will be useful
and that any errors involved are inconsequential.




34

WAGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

T able 13.— Average Hourly Earnings o f Workers in Automotive-Parts D iviEast North
Central

All divisions

Type of product

All products..................................

Num­
ber of
plants

Males

All workers

Females

All workers

Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
age
age Num­ age
age
Num­ hourly
Num­ hourly
Num­ hourly
hourly
ber
ber
ber
ber
earn­
earn­
earn­
earn­
ings
ings
ings
ings

281 148,329 $0.838 120,288 $0,886 28,041 $0.619 117,315 $0,866

Wheels, rims, and brakes........... .
Chassis frames............................
Pistons, valves, and parts thereof

8
5
29

9,421
7,348
8,130

.921
.929
.715

8,991
7,189
6,972

.930
.932
.752

430
159
1,158

.688
.822
.481

8,817
7,002
6,910

.943
.939
.728

Leaf springs and bumpers....... .
Automotive stampings.................
Miscellaneous machined parts__

21
54
33

4,790
12,827
11,583

.883
.779
.808

4,716
9,785
10,495

.887
.828
.831

74
3,042
1,088

.590
.606
.555

3,756
10,099
7,921

.898
.823
.842

Instruments t...............................
Automotive electrical equipment.

4
35

5,543
22,024

.731
.796

3,105
15,092

.834
.875

2,438
6,932

.586
.616

5,380
19,401

.737
.818

Radiators......................................
Carburetors.......................... ......
Coil (wire) springs........................
Gears........................... .................
Bearings........................................
Axles......................... ..................
Automobile-body hardware.........

11
7
14
13
18
12
17

4,251
3,070
7,238
6,466
15,426
14,025
16,187

.786
.826
.788
.896
.795
.987
.881

3,769
2,026
4,892
6.446
12,184
14,013
10,613

.809
.910
.856
.897
.849
.987
.974

482
1,044
2,346
20
3,242
12
5,574

.614
.642
.636
.651
.585
.595
.687

897
2,451
5,884
5,688
6,599
13,309
13,201

.747
.837
.808
.920
.846
.995
.896

•Speedometers, ammeters, gasoline gages, oil-pressure gages, thermometers, etc.

Average hourly earnings were relatively low in plants manufactur­
ing pistons and valves and in those producing instruments. The low
earnings in plants manufacturing pistons, valves, and other machined
motor parts are explained in large part by the extent to which these
products are manufactured on a mass-production basis with the use of
automatic machinery; skill requirements in this product group are
consequently comparatively low. The average hourly earnings of
males in these plants were the lowest of any of the product groups.
Women constituted more than two-fifths of the total labor force in the
plants making instruments, and the earnings average for the product
group consequently reflects their generally lower earnings level.
Plant Averages

A distribution of individual plants according to the average hourly
earnings of all their workers together shows approximately half the
plants with average earnings levels between 60 and 85 cents per hour;
these plants employed a little more than two-fifths of the workers in
the parts division of the industry (table 14). Less than a fifth of the
plants had earnings averages above 90 cents per hour, and these,
as might be expected, were the larger plants; as a group, they in­
cluded almost two-fifths of the workers. All of these highest-wage
plants, except one comparatively small establishment, were in the
East North Central States. Twenty-three plants showed average
hourly earnings below 50 cents. These were the smaller plants,



35

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IND USTRY

si on, by Type o f Product, Geographic Division, and Sex, M ay-June 1940
East North Central--Con.
Males

Females

Other divisions
All workers

Males

Females
Type of product

Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
age Num­ age Num­ age Num­ age Num­ age
Num­ hourly
hourly
hourly
hourly
hourly
ber
ber
ber
ber
ber
earn­
earn­
earn­
earn­
earn­
ings
ings
ings
ings
ings
96,337 $0.915 21,978 $0,638 31,014 $0,738 24,951 $0,780

6,063 $0,555

8,428
6,843
5,860

.951
.941
.770

389
159
1,050

.713
.822
.485

604
346
1,220

.611
.752
.634

563
346
1,112

.620
.752
.653

41

.484

108

.444

3,686
7,946
7,284

.904
.870
.862

70
2,153
637

.591
.630
.579

1,034
2,728
3,662

.833
.630
.736

1,030
1,839
3,211

.833
.664
.762

4
889
451

.577
.555
.519

3,016
13,147

.840
.902

2,364
6,254

.591
.630

163
2,623

.543
.646

89
1,945

.628
.697

74
678

.438
.499

805
1,592
3,914
5,668
5,200
13,297
8,651

.764
.932
.881
.921
.902
.995
.991

92
859
1,970
20
1,399
12
4,550

.586
.650
.654
.651
.629
.595
.705

3,354
619
1,354
778
8,827
716
2,986

.796
.786
.694
.739
.759
.840
.816

2,964
434
978
778
6,984
716
1,962

.820
.845
.750
.739
.812
.840
.907

390
185
376

.619
.604
.538

1,843

.554

1,024

.604

All products.
Wheels, rims, and brakes.
Chassis frames.
Pistons, valves, and parts
thereof.
Leaf springs and bumpers.
Automotive stampings.
M iscellaneou s machined
parts.
Instruments.1
Automotive electrical equip­
ment.
Radiators.
Carburetors.
Coil (wire) springs.
Gears.
Bearings.
Axles.
Automobile-body hardware.

employing an average of less than 120 workers; 13 of the 23 were in
the East North Central States.
Hourly earnings and size oj operating company.— The concentration
of employees in plants operated by large companies, as already noted,
T able 14.— Distribution o f Plants and Workers in Automotive-Parts Division, by Plant
Average H ourly Earnings, Size o f Company, and Region, M ay-June 1940
All companies
East
Plant average
hourly earn­ All divisions North Other
divi­
Cen­ sions
ings
(in cents)
tral

Companies employing 1,500
or more workers

Companies employing fewer
than 1,500 workers

East Other
All divisions North
Cen­ divi­
sions
tral

East Other
All divisions North
divi­
Cen­ sions
tral

Work­
Work­
Plants Work­
ers Plants Plants Plants ers Plants Plants Plants ers Plants Plants
Under 40.0___
40.0-44.9.........
45.0-49.9.........
50.0-54.9.........
55.0-59.9.........
60.0-64.9.........
65.0-69.9.........
70.0-74.9.........
75.0-79.9.........
80.0-84.9.........
85.0-89.9.........
90.0-94.9.........
95.0-99.9_____
100.0 and over
Totalr-Average
hourly earn­
ings.............

208
478
2.002
2,774
iz ,m
7,313
*5,726
13,137
15,722
20,130
21,344
27,388
10,747
17,999

1
2
10
17
14
18
14
22
17
26
19
22
11
14

3
4
3
7
8
7
8
14
10
6
3

281 148,329

207

74

4
6
13
24
22
25
22
36
27
32
22
22
12
14

$0,838

1

$0,866 $0,738

(0
3,846
(*)
8,068
10,349
14,560
19,056
25,000
7,861
15,786

1
2
1
6
6
10
11
14
8
6

4
4
2
2

79 104,526

65

14

2
3
1
10
10
12
13
14
8
6

$0,881

1Workers in 2 plants included in interval 60.0-64.0 cents.
* Workers in 1 plant included in interval 7a 0-74.9 cents.




1
1

$0,903 $0,780

208
478
2,002
2,774
3,361
3,467
5,726
5,069
5,373
5. 570
2,288
2,388
2,886
2,213

1
2
10
17
13
16
13
16
11
16
8
8
3
8

3
4
3
7
7
6
8
10
6
4
1

202 43,803

142

60

4
6
13
24
20
22
21
26
17
20
9
8
4
8

$0,735

1

$0,759 $0,681

36

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

is somewhat less in the parts division of the industry than in the
automobile and body division. About 70 percent of all the work­
ers were employed in parts plants operated by the larger companies
as compared with 90 percent in the automobile division.12 The
104,526 workers employed in the parts plants of large firms showed
average hourly earnings of 88.1 cents, or 14.6 cents above the aver­
age for employees of the smaller firms. The corresponding differ­
ence between large and small automobile and body manufacturers
was slightly less— 13.5 cents. More than four-fifths of the parts
plants operated by large companies were in the East North Cen­
tral States and included a similar proportion of their employees.
The regional difference between plants of the larger companies, which
amounted to 12.3 cents (table 14), appears to be striking, but it must
be borne in mind that groups of plants in the East North Central
States are not strictly comparable with those in other areas, even when
they are operated by the same company. This apparent large regional
difference is partly a reflection of the fact that the East North Central
States include disproportionately large numbers of parts plants in
which hourly earnings were above the general average because of the
nature of the product and its requirements in terms of highly skilled
workers. Conversely, 12 of the 14 plants operated outside the
“ automobile States” by the large companies were manufacturing
products which showed earnings below the general level for all parts
plants. It is probable that the inter-area difference of 12.3 cents in
earnings among plants of the large companies tends to overstate the
actual regional difference, whereas the regional variation of 7.8 cents
between small companies may be an understatement.
None of the plants operated by the larger companies showed aver­
age earnings under 55 cents per hour, but nearly a fourth of the
small-company plants had averages below that level. At the other
end of the scale, a third of the large-company plants had earnings
averages above 90 cents per hour, but only a tenth of the plants
operated by small companies were in this category.
Earnings and size of plant.— The relationship between average
hourly earnings of workers and size of establishment is somewhat
more pronounced among parts plants than in the automobile divi­
sion of the industry. Only 6 of the 69 establishments with 100
employees or less showed plant average hourly earnings of 80 cents
or more, but only 4 of the 14 plants with more than 2,500 workers each
had averages below 80 cents (table 15); of the 26 plants in which
12 It is recognized that these ratios as well as the differences in plant average hourly earnings are affected
by the definition of large and small companies, both of which are arbitrary. However, in the case of the
automobile division, the two groups of companies were clear-cut and a dividing point of 5,000 employees
was used. In the case of parts plants, which are about a fourth as large, companies employing 1,500 or
more workers were considered as large.




37

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

earnings averaged 95 cents or more per hour, 15 had more than 500
employees each. More than a fourth of all the establishments
showed between 101 and 250 workers each and the plant average
hourly earnings among this group were widely distributed.
T able 15.— Distribution o f Plants in Automotive-Parts Division, by Plant Average
Hourly Earnings and Size o f Plant, M ay-June 1940
Total
Average hourly earnings

Under 40-0 cents
40-0-44.9 Pent.a
__
46.0-49.9 cents. „
500-64.9 cents
55.0 59.9 cents____________
60.0-64.9 cents.......................
65.0 69.9 cents___
70.0-74.9 cents __ r_
75.0-79.9 cents.......................
80.0-84.9 cents.......................
65.0-69.9 cents____
90.0-94.9 cents__ ^
95.0-99 9 cents
_____
100.0 cents and over.............

Size of plant in terms of number of workers

Em­
Under
ployees Plants
51

208
478

2.002

2,774

3,894
6.780
6.226
12 ^37
15. 722
20.130
21. 344
27.388
10. 747
17.999

4
6

13

24
22

25
22
36

27

32
22
22
12
14
281

Number of plants.......
Number of employees_____ 148,329
Average hourly earnings___ $0,838

2
1
3

7
2
4
3

4
1

51-100 101-250 251-500

3

5
7
5

6

4

6
1
2
3

501-

1,000

1,001-

2,500

2,501
and
over

2
2

4
7
9
8

1
1

2
6

2

3

4

5
8
8
5
2
5

4
7
4
7
4
7
5
1

78

55

42

11

8
7
9
2

2
10

1
1
2
3
3
3

1
3
2
2

1
5
2

4

23

14

881
2,889 11,787 18,378 24,790 34.255
$0,599 $0,627 $0,698 $0,791 $0,808 $0,847

55,349
$0,904

27

42

5

2

Size o f Community and Unionization

The earnings of workers in organized parts plants in the East North
Central States tended, in general, to be higher in the larger cities
than in the small, although the relationship was neither close nor
uniform. There was virtually no relationship between earnings and
size of city in States outside the East North Central area or in the
nonunion plants, as a whole.
Earnings in union plants were, as might be expected, somewhat
higher than those in nonunion plants, and the differences were larger
in the East North Central States than elsewhere. Slightly more than
half (146) of the plants reported union agreements in effect at the
time this study was made. The organized plants were, on the
average, more than three times as large as the plants which reported
no union agreements in effect, and the latter group employed less
than a fourth of all the workers. Of the 207 plants in the East North
Central States, 115 reported union agreements, but these establish­
ments employed 80 percent of the workers in the region. Approxi­
mately two-thirds of the workers outside this region were employed
in the 31 organized plants; 43 plants, with the remaining third of the
employees, reported no union agreements.




38

WAGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

Occupational Differences

Male workers.—Almost four-fifths of the males employed in the
automotive-parts division of the industry were working in production
departments. As in the case of the automobile division, hourly
earnings of male workers in these departments were slightly below
(2.1 cents) the general average for all men in the parts division as a
whole (table 16). Maintenance workers received an average of 88.1
cents per hour or one-half cent below the figure for all males, and the
rate for all male foundry workers was 2.5 cents below the general
average. The average for males in tool and die departments in
parts plants was $1,088 or 20.2 cents above the average earnings
of all men.
T able 16.— Average Hourly Earnings o f Workers in Automotive-Parts Division, by Sex,
Occupation, and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940
All
divisions
Occupation

East North
Central

Other
divisions

Aver­
Aver­
Aver­
age Num­ age Num­ age
Num­ hourly
hourly
hourly
ber
ber
ber
earn­
earn­
earn­
ings
ings
ings

Males
All departments..................................................................... 120,288 $0,886 95,337 $0,915 24,951
Processing occupations------------------------------------------------- 95,328
1,522
Assemblers, axle..............................................................
1,557
Assemblers, sheet-metal, subassembly...........................
7,866
Assemblers, small parts..................................................
408
Assemblers, spring and bumper......................................
478
Bench hands, machined parts.........................................
Clerical workers, factory.................................................. 2,624
472
Crane and hoist operators................................................
907
Die setters.........................................................................
645
Drop-hammer operators..................................................
Foremen and lay-out men............................................... 1,968
946
Forge-shop workers, not elsewhere classified..................
438
Formers and fitters, springs and bumpers......................
Hardener and annealer helpers........................................ 1,302
Hardeners and annealers.................................................. 1, 210
542
Heaters, forge shop...........................................................
Helpers, processing occupations, not elsewhere clas­
803
sified......... ................... ................................................
329
Inspectors, tool, die, and lay-out.....................................
Inspectors, not elsewhere classified................................. 7,050
2,605
Job setters.......................................................................
5,225
Laborers, not elsewhere classified...................................
Leaders and relief workers............................................... 1,127
337
Metal finishers...... ..........................................................
Operators, machining processes...................................... 23,051
548
Boring machines........................................................
Drill presses............................................................... 4,268
836
Gear cutters...............................................................
Grinding machines.................................................... 6,075
Lathes, automatic and semiautomatic..................... 5,924
Lathes, hand.............................................................. 1,270
Milling machines......................... .................. ......... 1,501
Miscellaneous machines, not elsewhere classified... 2,629
Other processing occupations, not elsewhere Classified- 5,647
1,063
Packers and craters.......................... . ..... .....................
795
Paint-shop workers, not elsewhere classified..................
620
Painters, spray.................................................................
912
Platers.............. _.............................................................
Polishers and buffers, plating.......................................... 3,356
222
Polishers and rubbers, paint...........................................
7,956
Punch and press operators.............................................
820
Repairmen, productive, not elsewhere classified............
684
Sheet-metal-machine operators, not elsewhere classified.
Straighteners....................................................................
457
Truckers, hand, and material handlers........................... 5,784




$0,780

.865 76,065
.983 1,476
.799
748
.814 6,201
327
.870
.865
375
.786 2,036
413
.860
.982
778
1.361
575
.996 1,705
813
.939
324
.946
951
.844
935
.896
450
1.035

.894 19,263
.986
46
.794
809
.842 1,665
.891
81
.905
103
.815
588
.877
59
.994
129
1.416
70
1.017
263
.958
133
.957
114
.883
351
.930
275
1.070
92

.753
.891
.804
.710
.790
.710
.687
.748
.909
.942
.862
.834
.917
.743
.779
.868

632
.740
257
1.083
.825 5,491
.956 1,841
.741 4,141
.957
796
279
.890
.886 18,155
.910
495
.871 3,697
.940
680
.892 4,179
.914 4,662
.852 1,147
.865 1,218
.838 2,077
.871 4,857
.691
707
.829
626
.894
528
729
.862
1.019 2,845
1.006
196
.853 6,544
554
.897
549
.848
.911
430
.746 4,743

.791
1.111
.860
.995
.764
.983
.940
.916
.929
.891
.981
.933
.946
.869
.882
.877
.889
.717
.868
.929
.891
1.028
1.049
.886
.917
.879
.916
.770

.563
.987
.704
.866
.657
.896
.683
.778
.732
.750
.756
.805
.798
.695
.784
.697
.766
.639
.697
.712
.755
.975
.691
.714
.860
.727
.825
.644

171
72
1,559
764
1,084
331
58
4,896
53
571
156
1,896
1,262
123
283
552
790
356
169
92
183
511
26
1,412
266
135
27
1,041

39

W AG E STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

T a b l e 16.— Average Hourly Earnings o f Workers in Automotive-Parts Division, by Sex,

Occupation, and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940— Continued
All
divisions
Occupation

East North
Central

Other
divisions

Aver­
Aver­
Average Num­ age Num­
Num­ hourly
hourly
hourly
ber
ber
ber
earn­
earn­
earn­
ings
ings
ings

A/a/e*
*—Continued
Processing occupations—Continued.
Truckers, power, inside..................................................
Welders and brazers, hand............................................ .
Welders and brazers, machine........................................

802 $0,821
1,088
.966
1,710
.874

672 $0,840
971 1.010
1,415
.905

Tool- and die-room occupations............................................
Foremen and leaders..................................................... .
Tool and die makers..... ................................ - ................
Tool and die maker apprentices.....................................
Tool-room workers, not elsewhere classified................

9,042
354
7,641
819
228

1.088
1.354
1.126
.635
.969

6,907
270
5,935
538
164

Foundry occupations............................................................
Casting cleaners...............................................................
Chippers and sand blasters.............................................
Coremakers......................................................................
Inspectors.........................................................................
Molders......................................— ................................
Pattern makers
- _
Skilled and semiskilled foundry workers, not elsewhere
classified........................................................................
Unskilled foundry workers..............................................

2,070
231
241
119
60
438
63

.861
.821
.837
.886
.758
.950
1.073

571
347

.869
.752

Maintenance and service occupations................................... 13,848
314
Carpenters........................................................................
989
Electricians......................................................................
538
Foremen and leaders.......................................................
1,156
Helpers and apprentices..................................................
960
Janitors.............................................................................
995
Laborers, not elsewhere classified...................................
Repairmen, skilled........................................................... 2,608
2,490
Repairmen, machine tools........................................
118
Repairmen, other equipment...................................
1,189
Millwrights........................................................... *------470
Pipefitters.........................................................................
571
Semiskilled workers, not elsewhere classified____ _____
309
Service workers............... ................................................
1,395
Skilled workers, not elsewhere classified........................
758
Tool grinders and cutters................................................
415
Truck drivers..................................................................
Watchmen........................................................................ 1,181

Females

All departments......................................................- ..............

28,041

Processing occupations........................................................... 27,801
661
Assemblers, sheet-metal, subassembly............................
Assemblers, small parts............................ ...................... 11,110
221
Clerical workers, factory............................... - ................
4,854
Inspectors, not elsewhere classified.................................
528
Laborers, not elsewhere classified....................................
3,661
Operators, machining processes......................................
Drill presses.............................................................. 1,017
306
Grinding machines....................................................
73
Lathes, automatic and semiautomatic.....................
163
Milling machines.......................................................
Miscellaneous machines, not elsewhere classified___ 2,102
769
Other processing occupations, not elsewhere classified..
862
Packers and craters......................... ................................
640
Paint-shop workers, not elsewhere classified--------------200
Painters, spray..................................................... —........
Punch and press operators...................... ........................ 3,599
590
Truckers, hand, and material handlers..... .....................
106
Welders and brazers, machine.........................................

130
117
295

$0,727
.630
.730

1.128
1.370
1.162
.658
.980

2,135
84
1,706
281
64

.962
1.305
1.006
.592
.942

1,646
191
180
92
52
340
55

.869
.825
.842
.897
.761
.974
1.085

424
40
61
27
8
98
8

.823
.796
.821
.851
0)
.855
0)

470
266

.867
.749

101
81

.879
.762

.881 10,719
241
.883
810
1.009
1.109
405
.792
764
735
.680
.761
738
.984 2,014
.985 1,922
92
.960
.919
966
1.001
373
470
.826
232
.713
.954 1,095
645
.917
.800
306
925
.687

.907
.901
1.030
1.137
.823
.695
.792
1,013
1.014
.984
.940
1.032
.836
.735
.977
.941
.822
.702

3,129
73
179
133
392
225
257
594
568
26
223
97
101
77
300
113
109
256

.794
.822
.921
1.024
.731
.630
.672
.886
.887
.881
.829
.878
.781
.649
.871
.788
.743
.631

.619 21,978

.638

6,063

.555

.619
.629
.617
.540
.586
.589
.631
.637
.564
.576
.596
.644
653
.490
.686.
.567
.686
.618
.649

.638
.628
.633
.551
.604
.605
.652
.652
.573
.576
.607
.659
.680
.512
.698
.557
.706
.642
.659

6,015
317
1,867
61
1,437
121
793
212
280
7
17
277
172
193
75
21
755
194
9

.555
.630
.538
.511
.546
.539
.559
.578
.564
0)
0)
.544
.568
.418
.596
0)
.607
.570
(>)

21,786
344
9,243
160
3,417
407
2,868
805
26
66
146
1,825
597
669
565
179
2,844
396
97

Foundry occupations *...........................................................

27

.60i

25

.616

2

Service occupations................................................... .............
Janitresses............................................................ .............
Service workers, not elsewhere classified_____________

213
176
37

.604
.595
.646

167
136
31

.628
.619
.663

46
40
6

i Workers too few to justify computation of an average.
* Numbers insufficient to classify by detailed occupational groups.




0)
.519
.512
0)

40

W AGE STRU CTU RE , M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

Working foremen in tool and die rooms, as in the case of automobile
and body plants, were the highest-paid single occupational group in
the parts plants; their average of $1,354 was 6.2 cents below that for
similar employees in automobile plants.13 Except for apprentices, the
janitors, with average earnings of 68.0 cents per hour, were the lowestpaid group. Earnings among male workers in production depart­
ments varied from $1,361 per hour for drop-hammer operators to 69.1
cents.for packers and craters. In the automobile and body division
the averages for 23 occupations, which included nearly half the male
production workers, as already pointed out, were within 3 cents of
the general average for the group. No such high degree of concen­
tration was found in the earnings of men employed in the production
departments of parts plants; a range 3 cents above and below the
group average of 86.5 cents included only 16 occupations which
employed less than two-fifths of the workers.
About one-eighth of all the men employed in parts plants were
classified in the 11 occupational groups for which average earnings
were $1.00 or more per hour, as compared with a quarter of the men
classified in 28 occupations in automobile and body plants. Pour
occupational groups totaling about 9,000 parts-plant male employees
showed average hourly earnings in excess of $1.10; included were
maintenance foremen and leaders ($1,109), tool and die makers
($1,126), foremen and leaders in tool and die rooms ($1,354), and
drop-hammer operators ($1,361). Fourteen occupational groups,
in which nearly a fifth of the male workers were classified, showed
average hourly earnings below the 80-cent level; in the automobile
division the 5,091 janitors were the only employees (apprentices
excepted) in this category. Six occupational groups (in addition to
helpers and apprentices in production departments), which included
more than 14,000 male parts-plant workers, had average earnings
under 75 cents per hour. These groups were janitors (68.0 cents),
watchmen (68.7 cents), packers and craters (69.1 cents), miscella­
neous service workers (71.3 cents), laborers in production depart­
ments (74.1 cents), and truckers and material handlers (74.6 cents).
Data on regional differences in the earnings of occupational groups
are, in general, not conclusive. As is pointed out above in connection
with the general averages of earnings, none of the geographical rate
differences is clear cut. Further, the numbers of workers in several
of the occupational categories shown are too small to justify the com­
putation of averages even when data for all the States outside the
East North Central area are combined.
18 It should be noted that important differences In the technological characteristics and occupational
patterns of the two divisions of the motor-vehicle industry make comparisons of occupational earnings rates
somewhat hazardous. Certain occupations, such as line assembly work, which are very important
in large vehicle plants, do not appear in the parts division. Further, a few occupations shown under the
same headings may not, because of differences in technology, be strictly comparable from one division to
another.




41

W AG E STRU CTU RE , M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

Female workers.— Practically all of the 28,000 women employed in
the parts plants studied were working in production departments.
Nearly 40 percent were small-parts assemblers whose earnings aver­
aged 61.7 cents per hour. The highest earnings paid to women were
received by paint-shop workers and by punch and press operators.
The rate for both of these occupational groups was 68.6 cents per
hour and the latter included about an eighth of the total females.
The 862 women classified as packers and craters had the lowest rate
of earnings. Inspectors with average hourly earnings of 58.6 cents,
drill-press operators (63.7 cents), and miscellaneous machine operators
(64.4 cents) were the only other occupational groups which included
substantial numbers of women.
W EE K LY HOURS AND EARNINGS

Full-tim e W eekly Hours

Four-fifths (223) of the 281 parts plants included in the survey
were operated on the basis of a 40-hour week. The majority of the
remainder had a 42-hour schedule although 11 were operating less
than 40 hours and 7 were normally working overtime, i. e., more
than the 42 hours then allowed at basic wage rates by the Fair Labor
Standards Act. Full-time hours showed little variation between
the East North Central or “ automobile” States and the other areas.
Actual W eekly Hours

Employees in the parts plants studied actually worked an average
of 37.9 hours per week during the pay-roll period for which the data
were collected. Regional differences in average weekly hours were
not striking; none varied from the combined average by more than 2.2
hours (table 17).
T able 17.— Average* H ourly Earnings* Weekly Hours, and W eekly Earnings o f Workers
in Automotive-Parts Division* by Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940
Number Number Average
of
of
hourly
plants
workers earnings

Geographic division

All divisions._r

__ _

_

New England nnri Mid dip. Atlantic__
_ ___
East North Central_____________________________

Michigan
_
___
__ . . ..
_ .
Ohio_____________________________________
Indiana..___________________________________

Illinois and Wisconsin .
West. North Control
Other divisions .
_ *_

_ ..

_

_

281

148,329

55
207
90
51
25
41
9
10

27^809~
117,315
65,948
19,733
18,149
13,485
2,345
860

Average
weekly
hours

Average
weekly
earnings

$0,838

37.9

$31.75

.745
.866
.914
.823
.834
.747
.644
.767

39.2
37.6
37.0
37.3
38.2
40.1
38.2
35.9

29.18
32.54
33.80
30.73
31.83
29.94
24.56
27.55

Since the data on weekly hours are based on a single pay roll, they
necessarily reflect the different slack and busy periods of the various
groups of plants. This is apparent from the averages for the several
groups of workers employed in establishments manufacturing different



42

W AGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

types of products. However, none of the group averages diifered
from the general figure by as much as 4 hours per week (table 18).
T able 18.— Average H ourly Earning?, W eekly Hours, and W eekly Earnings o f Workers
in Automotive-Parts Division, by Product, M ay-June 1940
Number Number Average
hourly
of
of
plants
workers earnings

Product

All prndnets_
Wheels, rims, and brakes _

_ _ __

.......

Chassis frames__________________________________

Pistons, valves, and parts thereof
Leaf springs and bumpers
AjitomntivA stampings
....
Miscellaneous machined parts. _

_

.......

. _
___ ___ _

__

Instrumentsl— _________________________________
AufnnintivA eleetrinal equipment
__ _

Radiators
Carburetors

.

__ _

_. _

Coil (wire) springs_______________________________

Gears „_
Bearings
_
Arles
Automobile-body hardware

_

__

_ ..

Average
weekly
hours

Average
weekly
earnings

281

148,329

$0,838

37.9

$31.75

8
5
29
21
64
33
4
35
11
7
14
13
18
12
17

9,421
7,348
8,130
4,790
12,827
11,583
5,543
22,024
4,251
3,070
7,238
6,466
15,426
14,025
16,187

.921
.929
.715
.883
.779
.808
.731
.796
.786
.826
.788
.896
.795
.987

36.0
40.8
39.1
36.0
36.7
38.2
38.8
37.4
38.7
38.0
34.0
36.3
38.6
39.9
38.3

33.13
37.94
27.93
31.82
28.56
30.89
28,36
29.81
30.45
31.38
26.78
32.53
30.65
39.40
33.73

.881

1Speedometers, ammeters, gasoline gages, oil-pressure gages, thermometers, etc.

Average W eekly Earnings

Weekly earnings for all parts-plant workers averaged $31.75 during
the pay-roll period used as the basis for this study (table 17). The
lowest average is that for the West North Central States and is
explained by the low average hourly earnings rate discussed earlier.
The highest weekly figure was that for Michigan workers who earned
an average of $33.80. As in the case of hours, weekly earnings data
were affected by the operating schedules of individual plants during
the pay-roll period used as the basis for the study.
M otor •Vehicle Industry as a W hole
AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS

The average hourly earnings of the entire group of 471,270 employees
in the 448 plants included in the survey of the motor-vehicle industry
amounted to 92.2 cents during May and June 1940, and the earnings
of half of the workers were within approximately 10 cents of the
general average (table 19). The comparatively high level of earninga
in the industry is emphasized by the fact that the rates for a fourth of
this large group of workers were in excess of $1.03 per hour, whereas
fewer than 3 percent, principally women employed in parts plants,
earned less than 52.5 cents per hour. Comparison of the earnings of
workers in plants in the “ automobile region,” that is, the East North
Central States (Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin),
with the average for other areas reveals a difference of 11.7 cents.
The data shown in table 19 provide a general picture of wage levels
in the industry as it is popularly conceived.



43

W AG E STRU CTU RE , M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U ST R Y

T able 19.— Percentage Distribution o f Workers in M otor-Vehicle Industry by Average
Hourly Earnings and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940

Hourly earnings
(in cents)

Under 37.5........................
37.5 and under 42.5..........
42.5 and under 47.5..........
47,5 and under 52.5.........
52.5 and under 57.5-------57.5 and under 62.5-------62.5 and under 67.5..........
67.5 and under 72.5_____
72.5 and under 77.5_____
77.5 and under 82.5_____
82.5 and under 87.5..........
87.5 and under 92.5..........
92.5 and under 97.5_____
97.5 and under 102.5------102.5 and under 107.5----107.5 and under 112.5----112.5 and under 117.5___

All
divi
sions
0.4
.6
.8
1.1
1.7
2.0
3.0
3.1
6.2
7.5
9.9
13.4
10.8
13.9
9.2
5.9
4.4

East
North
Central^
0.2
.5
.7
.7
1.1
1.4
2.7
2.7
5.5
7.1
9.2
13.6
11.0
15.1
10.2
6.4
4.9

Other
divi­
sions
1.3
1.2
1.7
2.5
4.5
4.7
4.4
4.8
9.1
9.6
13.0
12.3
10.3
8.6
4.6
3.5
2.0

All
divi­
sions

East
North
Cen­
tral!

117.5 and under 122.5___
122.5 and under 127.5___
127.5 and under 132.5___
132.5 and under 137.5___
137.5 and under 142.5..,..
142.5 and under 152.5___
152.5 and under 162.5___
162.5 and under 172.5___
172.5 and over..................

2.3
1.2
.8
.6
.4
.4
.2
.1
.1

2.6
1.3
.9
.7
.5
.5
.2
.1
.2

0.9
.4
.2
.1
.1
.1
(2)
(2)
.1

Total......................

100.0

100.0

100.0

Number of plants............
448
296
Number of workers_____ 471 270 388,466
Average hourly earnings. $0 '«?2 $0,943
Average weekly hours.
37 2
37.0
Average weekly earnings $3 4 . 26 $3189

152
82,804
$0,826
37.9
$31.30

Hourly earnings
(in cents)

Other
divi­
sions

* Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
* Less than a tenth of 1 percent.

The group of establishments from which the data for table 20 were
collected include only those classified by the 1939 Census of Manu­
factures as belonging to the motor-vehicle, automotive-stamping, or
automotive-electrical-equipment industries. This group is somewhat
more homogeneous than the larger group on which table 19 is based
because of the exclusion of establishments manufacturing such items
as hardware, coil springs, locks, and other products which, as far as
technological processes and occupations are concerned, have little in
common with the motor-vehicle industry proper. This greater
similarity of plants included is apparent from the somewhat higher
concentration of individual earnings about the general average and
T able 20.— Percentage Distribution o f Workers in M otor-Vehicle and A llied1 Industries,
by Average Hourly Earnings and Geographic Division, M ay-June 1940
Hourly earnings (in
cents)
TTtuW

37 fi

37,5 ftnd under 42.5
42.5 and under 47.5__ . .
47.5 and under 52.5__
52.5 and under 57.5
57.5 and under 62.5...
62.5 ftnd under fi7.5 _
67.5 and under 72.5
72.5 and under 77.5.........
*7
K ttuu
onH H
Tirfoi* 8 9 f\
4*7
4*o
unuer
82.5 and under 87.5-------87.5 and under 92.5..........
92.5 and under 97.5__
97.5 and under 102.5__
102.5 and under 107.5----107.5 and under 112.5----112.5 and under 117.5___

East
All di­ North
visions Central
0.3
.3
.4
.6

1.0
1.3
2.6
2.3
5.8
7.5
10.1
14.0
11.4
15.1
9.8
6.3
4.7

0.1
.2
.3
.4
.6
.9
2.3
2.0
5.2
7.1
9.4
14.1
11.3
16.1
10.7
6.8
5.1

Other
divi­
sions
1.3
.9
1.0
1.7
3.2
3.3
4.1
4.0
8 .6

9.3
13.7
13.5
11.8
9.8
5.2
4.1
2.3

Hourly earnings (in
cents)

East
Other
All di­ North
divi­
visions Central
sions

117.5 and under 122.5___
122.5 and under 127.5.......
127.5 and under 132.5
132.5 and under 137.5
137.5 and under 142.5
142.5 and under 152.5
152.5 and under 162.5
162.5 and under 172.5
172.5 and over__________

2.5
1.2

Total......................

1.1
.4
.2
.2
.1
.1

.2
.1
.1

2.7
1.4
1.0
.7
.5
.6
.2
.1
.2

100.0

100.0

100.0

N u m b e r of plants._
308
197
Number of workers
421,543 354,017
Average hourly earnings. $0,941 $0,958
Average weekly hours.
37.1
37.0
Average weekly earnings. $34.93 $35.46

111
67,526
$0,852
37.7
$32.13

.8

.6
.5

.5

.1

t As classified by Census. Includes automotive-stamping and automotive-electrical-equipment plants;
excludes establishments producing passenger trailers,
s Less than a tenth of 1 percent.




44

W AGE STRUCTURE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

from the fact that the regional difference is smaller than that found
among plants included in the broader definition of the industry.
Despite the greater homogeneity of this second group of plants, the
elements which explain variations in earnings are too complex to justify
detailed analysis on such a broad basis, and any adequate discussion
necessitates separate treatment of the two broad divisions of the
industry. It may also be noted that, quite apart from these varia­
tions resulting from differences in definition of the industry, the mere
combination of the automobile and automotive-parts divisions of the
industry tends to obscure certain characteristics of both. The dif­
ference in average earnings, for example, between these two divisions,
each treated as a whole, is more than 12 cents.
During the pay-roll period selected for study, employees in the
entire motor-vehicle industry worked an average of 37.2 hours per
week. Since the production of automobiles is a seasonal industry,
the number of hours worked in a particular week or pay-roll period is
not highly significant. The effect of varying the definition of the
industry noted in connection with hourly earnings is apparent here
also. Hours in the industry as defined in table 20 were shorter by
one-tenth of an hour. Average weekly earnings showed a slight dif­
ference in the opposite direction, and amounted to $34.26 and $34.93,
respectively, for the broader and narrower definitions of the industry.
Annual Earnings o f M ichigan M otor •Vehicle Workers

Data on the annual earnings of approximately half the Michigan
wage earners included in the Bureau’s survey of the motor-vehicle
industry were made available to the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the
State Unemployment Compensation Commission for the year ended
June 30, 1940. An average of $1,562 was paid by motor-vehicle
plants to the 153,682 workers whose records were selected at random
for this tabulation (table 21). The 120,400 employees in the auto­
mobile division of the industry earned an average of $1,589, while
the corresponding figure for 33,282 workers in parts plants was
about 8 percent less or $1,464. The average hourly earnings of
Michigan workers in these two divisions of the industry during May
and June 1940 also differed by almost 8 percent. It appears that the
automobile and parts plants provided approximately equal amounts
of employment for these workers.
These averages are affected by several factors which must be
eliminated before any adequate analysis of annual earnings can be
made. The form in which the data are available does not permit all
the statistical refinements required for precise determinations, but
two important factors can be isolated.
In the first place, about 8 percent (12,568) of this group were with­
out earnings from the motor-vehicle industry during one, two, or



W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

45

three quarters of the year. As might be expected, the average amxual
earnings of the remaining 141,114 workers who were employed for at
least a part of each of the four quarters were somewhat higher; they
amounted to $1,625 for the industry as a whole and $1,654 and $1,520,
respectively, for the automobile and parts divisions. The irregularly
employed workers constituted a relatively small proportion of the
total and were made up primarily of the industry’s reserve labor force,
workers who transferred from one industry to another during the
period, and wage earners who entered or left the Michigan labor
market during the year.
In the second place, these data on earnings take no account of
amounts received as a result of employment in industries other than
motor vehicles. Information is available on such earnings as were
received from industries covered by the Michigan unemploymentcompensation law. However, the total amounts involved are very
small. In fact, the average for the 153,682 workers as a group would
be increased by only $34, that is to $1,596, if all such earnings were
included. This result, taken by itself, is misleading because these
earnings from other covered employment were not, of course, dis­
tributed among the entire group of motor-vehicle workers. They
were divided among only 12,128 workers (about 8 percent of the total)
and averaged $428 each for the particular group affected (table 22).
It is not possible to estimate the amounts received by these workers
from sources other than covered employment within the State. It
appears likely that the average for the whole body of motor-vehicle
workers would be affected but slightly by the inclusion of unreported
income. It is certain that substantial amounts were received by some
individual workers on account of public employment, domestic serv­
ice, agricultural employment, work outside the State, and other
employment not covered by the law. Income received from annui­
ties, investments, insurance policies, and similar sources was, of course,
not reported. For these reasons, it is important to avoid interpreting
any of these data on annual earnings as indexes of total earnings,
total income, or levels of living.
Despite the presence of complicating factors, the tendency for
individual earnings to concentrate about the general average is
apparent. Well over half the 153,682 employees received between
$1,200 and $1,800 in the form of wages from the motor-vehicle indus­
try. As in the case of hourly earnings, this concentration is more
marked in the automobile division of the industry than it is among
workers in parts plants. It should be noted that the group of workers
for whom annual earnings are known is somewhat heterogeneous, since
it includes those employed in various types and sizes of plants, resi­
dents of large and small places, and workers of both sexes. Women
constituted a negligible proportion of total employees in automobile



46

W AGE STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

plants, but approximately a fifth of the workers in parts plants.
These factors tend, at least in part, to decrease the concentration of
annual earnings about the average.
T able 21.— Percentage Distribution o f Michigan Workers, by Average Annual Earnings
from M otor’ Vehicle Employment, Year Ended June 30, 19401
Workers employed at any
time during year, in—
Annual earnings

Under $100...................................................
$100 and under $200.....................................
$200 and under $300.....................................
$300 and under $400....... .............................
$400 and under $500.....................................
$500 and under $600.....................................
$600 and under $700................................... .
$700 and under $800....... .............................
$800 and under $900.....................................
$900 and under $1,000..................................
$1,000 and under $1,100...... ................... .
$1,100 and under $1,200...............................
$1,200 and under $1,300...............................
$1,300 and under $1,400...............................
$1,400 and under $1,500..................... .........
$1,500 and under $1,600...............................
$1,600 and under $1,700...............................
$1,700 and under $1,800...............................
$1,800 and under $1,900...............................
$1,900 and under $2,000...............................
$2,000 and under $2,100...............................
$2,100 and under $2,200...............................
$2,200 and under $2,300...............................
$2,300 and under $2.400...............................
$2,400 and under $2,500...............................
$2,500 and under $2,600...............................
$2,600 and under $2,700...............................
$2,700 and under $2,800...............................
$2,800 and under $2,900...............................
$2,900 and under $3,000...............................
$3,000 and over............................................

Motorvehicle
industry
1.4
.3
.5
.6
.6
.6
.8
1.0
1.6
2.6
4.1
4.9
5.8
7.9
9.0
9.7
11.3
10.2
7.5
5.0
3.5
2.6
2.0
1.6
1.2
1.1
.8
.6
.4
.3
.5

Workers employed during all
four quarters of year, in—

Auto­ Automo­ Motormobile tive-parts vehicle
division division industry
0.5
.2
.5
.6
.6
.5
.7
.8
1.4
2.3
3.8
4.6
5.7
8.2
9.4
10.1
11.8
10.9
7.9
5.2
3.5
2.7
2.0
1.5
1.2
1.0
.8
.5
.4
.2
.5

5.0
.5
.5
.6
.7
1.0
1.4
1.8
2.4
3.9
5.2
5.8
6.0
6.8
7.5
8.0
9.4
7.9
5.9
4.3
3.3
2.3
1.9
1.8
1.5
1.5
.9
.8
.5
.3
.6

1.3
0)

.1
.1
.2
.2
.4
.5
1.0
1.8
3.2
4.5
5.8
8.2
9.5
10.4
12.3
11.2
8.1
5.4
3.8
2.8
2.2
1.7
1.3
1.2
.9
.6
4
.3
.6

Auto­ Automo­
mobile tive-parts
division division
0.4
0)
.1
.1
.1
.1
.2
.3
.7
1.4
2.7
4.1
5.7
8.5
10.0
10.9
12.8
11.9
8.6
5.7
3.8
2.9
2.2
1.6
1.3
1.1
.9
.6
.4
.3
.6

4.8
0)

.1
.2
.3
.5
.9
1.2
2.0
3.4
5.0
5.7
6.1
7.1
7.9
8.6
10.3
8.4
6.3
4.6
3.6
2.5
2.1
1.9
1.6
1.6
1.0
.9
.5
.3
.6

Total..................................................

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Number of workers.....................................
Average annual earnings from motor-ve­
hicle employment...................................

153,682

120,400

33,282

141,114

110,202

30,912

$1,562

$1,589

$1,464

$1,625

$1,654

$1,520

« Data from records of the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission.

T able 22.— Average Annual Earnings from all Covered Employment o f Workers in
Michigan Motor•Vehicle Plants, by Source o f Earnings, Year Ended June 30, 19401
Average annual earnings
received from—
Classification of workers by source of earnings and length of Number of
workers
employment

All
sources

MotorOther
vehicle
industry industries

All workers_______________ ____ ____ _____ _______________

153,682

$1.596

$1,562

$34

Earnings from motor-vehicle industry only....................... ......
Earnings from motor-vehicle and other covered industries.........
Earnings in all four quarters.—.......... ..............................
Earnings from mo tor-vehicle industry only........ ........
Earnings from motor-vehicle and other covered in­
dustries.......................................................................
Earnings in less than four quarters.....................................
Earnings from motor-vehicle industry o n ly ...............
Earnings from motor-vehicle and other covered in­
dustries........................................................................

141,554
12,128
141,114
130,835

1,609
1,442
1,659
1,667

1,609
1,014
1,625
1,667

428
34

10,279
12,568
10,719

1.556
888
901

1,089
857
901

467
31

1,849

809

601

208

' Data from records of the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission.




47

W AG E STRU CTU RE, M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

Not quite 4 percent of the Michigan motor-vehicle workers received
$2,500 or more from the industry during the year 1939-40. The
slightly larger proportions of workers in these higher earnings brackets
reported by parts plants is probably not significant. The experimental
and development work in the large automobile plants is ordinarily
done by special research departments, and the employees of such
departments were excluded by definition from the Bureau’s survey.
On the other hand, experimental work in parts plants, which are
generally smaller, may sometimes be done by specialized tool-makers
or machinists designated on pay rolls as wage earners and, therefore,
included in the survey. To the extent that this occurred, the upper
ends of these distributions are not strictly comparable.
T able 23.— Distribution o f Workers with Compensable Employment in Michigan
M otor•Vehicle Plants Only, by Annual Earnings, Year Ended June 30, 1940 1
Percent of workers
employed—
Annual earnings

U nder $500
_ _ __
$500 and under $600
$*>00 ftnd under $700 _ ____
$700 and under $800
$800 and under $000
_ _ __ _
$900 and nndftr $1,000
___
$1,000 and nndftr $1,100. T__ __
$1,100 and nndftr $1,200
_ _
$1 ,*?O0 and nndftr $1,300 _
$1,300 and nndftr $1,400 _____
$1,41)0 and nndftr $1 ,600___ _ _
fip1i,U
KU
flrt
v and
uUU nndor
UUUvi $1 000
$1,000 and nndftr $1,700 _ _ _
Ha
ftOO
$ljfUU arid
oiiu iiti
UJiU
uil* $1
(pi)Ow,••••..
$1,800 and nndftr $1,900
$1,900 and under $2.000.............

At any
time dur­
ing year
1.4
.4
.7
.9
1.4
2.4
3.9
4.8
5.7
8.0
9.3
10.1
1L 8

10.7
7! 9
5.2

During

Percent of workers
employed—
Annual earnings

At any
During
time dur­
all 4
ing year quarters

8114

quarters
0.1
.1
.2
.4
.7

1.6
2.9

$2,000 and
$2,100 and
$2,200 and
$2,300 and
$2,400 and
$2,600 and
$2,600 and

n n d «r
nndftr
nndftr
nndftr
nndftr
nndftr
nndftr

$2,100
$2,200
$2,300
$2,400
$2,500
$2,600
$2,700

4.3

$2,700 and under $2,800

5.7
8.3
9.8
10.7
12 ! 8
11.6

$2,800 and nndftr $2,900
$2,900 and nndftr $3,000
$3,000 and n v«r _.
_

&5

5.7

3.6
2.8

_
_

2.1
1.6
1,3
1.2
.9

_
_

.6

.4
.3

3.9
3.0
2.2
1.8
1.4
1.3
1.0
.7

.4

.3

.6

.6

100.0

100.0

.

141,554

Average annual earnings........

$1,609

130,835

T o ta l

____

N u m ber o f w orkers

_

$1,667

* Data from records of the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission. Workers with earn­
ings from any covered industry other than motor vehicles are excluded

Approximately 4 percent of the entire group showed annual earnings
below $500; for workers employed for at least a part of each of the
four quarters, the corresponding proportion was less than 2 percent.
This latter group was probably made up largely of workers whose
employment was intermittent or confined to peak periods. Since the
4 percent shown for the group as a whole presumably involved a sub­
stantial proportion of workers who were not in the Michigan labor
market during the entire period, little significance can be attached to
the figure.
Earnings from other industries.— Slightly less than 8 percent (12,128)
of the workers for whom data on annual earnings were tabulated
received earnings from other covered employment in addition to the
amounts paid them by motor-vehicle plants (table 22). The average
earnings of this group from all covered employment were $1,442, or



48

W AGE STRU CTU RE , M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

more than 10 percent below the average ($1,609) for the 141,554
workers whose entire earnings from covered employment came from
the motor-vehicle industry. Of this average of $1,442, about 70 per­
cent ($1,014) was paid by the motor-vehicle industry.
Five-sixths (10,279) of the workers who reported earnings from other
industries (12,128 workers) received some earnings from covered em­
ployment in the State during each of the four quarters of the year.
These 10,279 employees earned $1,556, of which $1,089, or about 70
percent, was in the form of wages paid by motor-vehicle plants. The
total earnings of the remaining 1,849, that is those who were not
employed in covered industries during one or more of the four quarters,
amounted to $809, of which nearly three-fourths ($601) was received
from the motor-vehicle industry.
Earnings oj motor-vehicle workers without other covered employment.—
It is clear from the foregoing data that employment in other covered
industries within the State was relatively unimportant among workers
officially recorded by the Michigan Unemployment Compensation
Commission as attached to the motor-vehicle industry. Nevertheless,
the further analysis of the level of earnings in the industry necessitates
elimination of this relatively small group of workers who were depend­
ent in part on earnings in other industries. Ideally, those workers
who received earnings from uncovered employment should also be
eliminated, but this is not possible on the basis of the data available.
It is unlikely, however, that the inclusion of the latter group results
in any serious error, so long as the data are not interpreted as
significant in terms of total income or standards of living.
Approximately 92 percent (141,554) of the workers whose annual
earnings were tabulated received their entire income from covered
employment in the form of wages paid by the motor-vehicle industry.
This group, whose annual earnings averaged $1,609, may be regarded
as representative of the industry’s regular labor force. The earnings
of more than two-fifths of this group were within a range of $200 above
and below the general average, and the distribution shows a high
degree of symmetry; for example, the proportion of workers whose
earnings fell in the $500 interval between $1,100 and $1,600 is almost
equal to those in the $500 range between $1,600 and $2,100 (table 23).
The earnings of about 2.5 percent of the regular labor force of the
motor-vehicle industry in Michigan amounted to less than $700. This
group is made up principally of those who, for one reason or another,
worked for only part of the year. This is apparent from the fact
that less than half of 1 percent of the 130,835 workers employed in
the industry for at least a part of each quarter earned less than $700.
As might be expected, this latter group, who worked during all four
quarters, showed an even greater concentration of individual earnings
around the average of $1,667 per year.



W AG E STRU CTU RE , M O TO R-VEH ICLE IN D U STRY

49

The average ($1,667) for these 130,835 more or less regularly em­
ployed workers falls short of the theoretical full-time earnings of
$2,015.50 14 by about 17 percent. The time lost undoubtedly con­
sisted of a combination of short days, weeks of less than 40 hours,
and lay-offs, but the data available do not provide any basis for a
precise statement on the relative importance of these factors. The
usual seasonal decline in employment during July and August must,
however, account for the major proportion of the net amount of lost
time.
The remaining 8 percent (10,719 workers) who received their
entire earnings from the motor-vehicle industry, but who were
employed during three quarters of the year or less, earned an average
of $901. Some of these workers undoubtedly entered or left the
Michigan labor market during the year, while others may have been
employed during a portion of the year in an industry not covered
by the unemployment-compensation law. It is likely that a signifi­
cant proportion of the group constituted a part of the industry's
reserve labor supply and were workers employed in motor-vehicle
plants intermittently or only during periods of maximum operation.
It should be noted, however, that the group reported as employed
during three quarters or less by the motor-vehicle plants of Michigan
did not represent the entire labor reserve of this industry. Although
the proportion cannot be accurately estimated, a part of the 12,128
workers (see table 22) who received earnings from other covered
industries as well as from motor-vehicle plants may be regarded as
part of this reserve. That this is the case is apparent from the
fact that, as already pointed out, about 70 percent of the reported
earnings of the 12,128 workers were received from the motor-vehicle
industry, irrespective of the number of quarters during which they
were employed within the State.
u Theoretical full-time annual earnings were calculated by multiplying the total normal hours (2,060)
by the average hourly earnings rate resulting from the Bureau’s survey of May and June 1940.