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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
L. B. Schwellenbach, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isador Lubin, Commissioner (on leave)
A . F. Hinrichs, Acting Commissioner
♦
W ages in the Basic Lum ber Industry
in the Far W est, 1944
Bulletin ?s[o. 840
For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D. C. - Price 5 cents
Letter of Transmittal
U n it e d S t a t e s D e p a r t m e n t of L a b o r ,
B u r e a u of L a b o r S t a t is t ic s ,
Washington, D. C.t August 3, 1945.
The S e c r e t a r y of L a b o r :
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on wages in the basic industry
in the Far West, 1944. This report was prepared in the Bureau’s Wage Analysis
Branch by Victor S. Baril assisted by Norbert J. Prager and John Standish. J.
W. C. Harper and Leonard Linsenmayer, regional wage analysts in the Bureau’s
Seattle and San Francisco offices, directed the collection of the data on which the
report is based.
A. F. H in r ic h s , Acting Commissioner.
H o n . L e w is B . S c h w e l l e n b a c h ,
Secretary of Labor.
Contents
Page
Summary_____________________________________________________________
Characteristics of basic lumber inlustry in Far West______________________
Location of the industry-----------Organization of production____________________________________
Production techniques____________________________________________
The labor force____________________________
Logging occupations______________________________________________
Mill occupations__________________________________________________
Unionization in the lumber ndustry________________________________
Scope and method of survey___________________________________________
Wage-payments practices________________________________________________
Wage structure of the industry___________________________________________
Occupational average hourly earnings________________________________
Influence of incentive earniigs on wage structure of industry-----------Comparison of earnings in uiion and nonunion operations---------------Variations in earnings, by si® o f operation ___________________________
Trend in wage rates during the m r period_____________________________
Changes in occupational earrings, 1939-44____________________________
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Bulletin T^o. 840 o f the
U n ited States Bureau o f Labor Statistics
[Reprinted from the M onthly L abor R eview July 1945!
Wages in the Basic Lumber Industry in the
Far West, 1 9 4 4 1
Summary
Workers in the basic lumber industry in the Far West earned an
average of $1.19 an hour in August 1944. Approximately threefifths of the workers earned between 90 cents and $1.20 an hour and
nearly a fourth earned between 90 cents and $1.00 an hour. Only a
tenth of the workers received less than 90 cents an hour, while a sixth
earned $1.50 or more.
The highest wages (averaging $1.45) were paid in shingle mills and
the next highest ($1.38) were paid in logging camps. Workers in
sawmills and in plywood mills received much lower wages, their
respective earnings per hour being $1.05 and $1.03.
Among the individual occupations, the highest earnings were re
ceived by saw filers in sawmills and shingle mills and by such incentive
workers as fallers and buckers in logging camps, lumber pilers in
sawmills, and shingle sawyers and packers m shingle mills. The next
highest earnings were generally received by skilled maintenance and
processing workers. Helpers on machines were among the lowestpaid workers in the industry.
The trend in wages in the basic lumber industry in the Far West
has been sharply upward since 1939, straight-time hourly earnings
increasing nearly 55 percent and gross hourly earnings increasing
about 61 percent. Most of the increase took place after January 1,
1941. Straight-time earnings have risen about 41 percent since that
date and gross earnings nearly 47 percent.
The largest absolute increase in earnings (55 cents) between 1939
and 1944 occurred in logging camps, the next largest (48 cents) in
shingle mills, and the smallest (27 cents) occurred in plywood mills.
The earnings of incentive workers increased much more than did
those of time workers. Within branches of the industry, there was
a marked degree of uniformity in absolute increases among occupar
tions, regardless of level of skill, largely because most of the general
increases granted since 1939 havebeenflat “ across-the-board” increases.
Characteristics of Basic Lumber Industry in Far West
Forest lands constitute the most important natural resource of the
Far West, and in normal times lumber production is the leading
industry of the region. A substantial proportion of the population*
*The full report on the Nation-wide study of wages in the basic lumber industry in 1944 will be published
in a later issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The most recent previous Nation-wide survey of the lumber
industry was made during the winter of 1939-40 (see Monthly Labor Review July 1941: Hourly Earnings
in the Lumber and Timber Products Industry).
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depends directly or indirectly on this industry for a livelihood. It is
estimated that approximately 130,000 workers, or somewhat more than
one-fourth of the total in the basic lumber industry, are employed in
the Far West.
More than three-fifths of the remaining saw-timber stand in thiscountry is in the Far West; Oregon alone accounts for a fourth, Wash
ington for a sixth, and California for an eighth. Fully seven-eighths
of this saw-timber stand is mature old growth and virtually all is
composed of soft woods 3; much of it however, is not commercially
available at present.
Since 1927, the Far West has led all other regions in lumber produc
tion and in 1943 it accounted for 43 percent of the national output.
Oregon alone produced 19 percent of all of the lumber in 1943, wThile
Washington produced 13 percent, California 7 percent, and Idaho*
and Montana 4 percent.
Lumbering in the Far West is, on the whole, a seasonal operation.
Although both logging and sawmilling follow roughly the same
seasonal pattern, logging appears to be somewhat less stable than
sawmilling. Because of climatic conditions which either impede or
prohibit operations, production of logs is generally lowest during the
winter months; it also falls off in the summer months when it is often
necessary to close logging camps because of fire hazards. The avail
able supply of logs and, particularly, market conditions determine the
operation of sawmills. Many sawmills, however, are able to build
up log reserves which enable them to operate for a somewhat longer
season than do the logging camps. Sawmill production is lowest
during the winter months when building activity is at a low level and
when many logging operations are closed.
Because of dependence on the building and construction industry
which, in normal times, consumes more than half of the lumber pro
duced, the lumber industry has been profoundly affected by the wide
fluctuations that have characterized the building and construction
industry in the past. Equally serious has been the problem of over
capacity and overproduction. The availability of very great quan
tities of standing timber, the constant pressure to liquidate these
holdings at the first opportunity, and excess sawmill capacity have
been responsible for chronic overstocking of the market and inter
mittent unemployment.
L O C A T IO N O F T H E IN D U S T R Y
Douglas Fir region.—Although lumber is produced throughout the
Far West, the industry has long been centralized in the Douglas Fir
region, which includes those areas of Washington and Oregon situated
west of the summit of the Cascade Range. Though smaller in area
than most lumber-producing regions of the country, the Douglas Fir
region is nevertheless more important than most of them, largely a&
a result of the density of its forest stand and the great size of its trees.
About half of the saw-timber stand in the Far West is in this region,
which alone produces more than a fourth of the national lumber out
put. Douglas fir is the principal species in this region, but many
other species, such as spruce, hemlock, and cedar, are also found.
Within the Douglas Fir region the industry has attained its greatest*
* Forest Statistics—Area, Stand, Growth and Drain (U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service).
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development around Puget Sound, Grays and Willapa Harbors, and
the Columbia River area. With the gradual exhaustion of the sawtimber stands adjacent to the tidewater in western Washington, the
industry has shifted to Oregon and in particular to the Willamette
Valley.
Western Pine region.— Next in importance is the Western Pine
region which covers 11 Western States, with the exception of the
Douglas Fir region in western Washington and western Oregon and
the Redwood region along the northern coast of California. Most of
the western pine lumber is produced, however, in the States of Cali
fornia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. For purposes of
the present survey the Western Pine region is limited to these five
States. Three principal species are found in this region. Of these,
ponderosa pine is by far the most important and is widely distributed
over the region. Sugar pine, one of the largest of the western pines,
is next in importance and is largely confined to California and Oregon.
The third important species is western white pine which is found in
northern Idaho and adjacent territory in Montana and Washington.
Redwood region.— The Redwood region, by far the smallest of the
three lumber-producing regions in the Far West, covers a narrow strip
of land along the northern coast of California. F iv e ,counties are
included, namely Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, and
Marin. This region has very large trees and a very dense timber
stand. Output is dominated by a few large companies.
It should be borne in mind that although one species predominates
in each region, such as fir in the Douglas Fir region and pine in the
Western Pine region, these same species are also found to some extent
in other regions. For example, fir accounts for a substantial per
centage of the lumber output of the Redwood region.
O R G A N IZ A T IO N O F P R O D U C T IO N
Varying degrees of integration are found in the basic lumber indus
try in the Far West. The variations, however, are largely confined
to logging camps and sawmills, as shingle mills and plywood mills
are as a rule operated by firms or individuals not connected with
lumber manufacture.
In certain sections, particularly in the Douglas Fir region, logging
is carried on independently of lumber manufacture, by firms or
individuals who either own timber stands or obtain timber from
'overnment-owned land. In some areas these operators sell their
ogs in open market and in others they dispose of them under contract
to lumber manufacturers. Some of the sawmills that possess timber
stands supply all of*their own mill requirements; others are able to
supply only part of their needs, obtaining the remainder through pur
chases in open market or under contract. Many sawmills own no
timber, and must buy their logs on the market or on contract either
with independent loggers or with integrated operators whose produc
tion exceeds their mill requirements.
Much of the logging is done by “ gyppo” loggers, i. e., small inde
pendent operators who contract to log for a stipulated price per
thousand board feet. In some instances only part of the logging
operation (such as felling and bucking or hauling) is contracted outand the owner or principal operator does the yarding, loading, ana
when not contracted out, the hauling.
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Most sawmills in the Douglas Fir and the Redwood regions produce
only lumber, which they sell in either rough or finished form. In
certain districts of the Western Pine region, however, much of the
lumber produced in the sawmill is manufactured into box shooks in
box factories operated in conjunction with the mill.
Large sawmills dominate the lumber output in the Far West,
whereas in other regions small sawmills account for the bulk of the
lumber produced. Of the lumber produced in the Far West in 1943,
fully four-fifths came from mills with an annual cut of 10,000,000
board feet or more, two-thirds came from mills with a cut of 25,000,000
or more board feet, and over one-third from mills with a cut of
50,000,000 or more board feet. In Washington, over half of the
lumber was produced in mills cutting 50,000,000 or more board feet
>er year. In the East, on the other hand, less than 15 percent of the
umber produced in 1943 came from mills cutting 10,000,000 or more
board feet, whereas more than half was produced in those cutting
between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 board feet and a third was produced
in those cutting less than 1,000,000 board feet per year.3
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P R O D U C T IO N T E C H N IQ U E S
Production methods in both logging and sawmilling in the Far
West are quite different from those used in other lumber-producing
regions of the country. These differences, which exert a profound
influence on the occupational structure of these two segments of the
industry as well as on the level of wages paid, are due very largely to
the density of the timber stand, the large size of the trees, and the
rugged topography of the area. In the manufacture of shingles and
plywood, however, production techniques in the West are much the
same on the whole as those used in other regions.
Aside from the felling and bucking operations which are still very
largely performed with hand tools, logging in the Far West is highly
mechanized. Large power skidders have long been used in the
Douglas Fir region to move logs from the cutting area to the landing
or loading point; the logs are transported by railroad from the loading
point in the woods to their destination. The skidder method of
yarding was well suited to this region because of the great density of
the timber stand, the large size of the trees, the rugged terrain, and
the prevalence of the practice of “ clear-cutting.” In recent years,
however, the trend has been in the direction of more flexible equip
ment and, as a result, tractors are replacing power skidders, and trans
portation by truck is replacing that by railroad. In the Western
Pine region, tractors are used almost exclusively in yarding opera
tions, and trucks are generally used to move logs either to the mill or
to the railroads. Mechanical loaders are generally used in the Far
West, owing to the size of the logs. In operations using power
skidders, the mechanical loader is generally a part of the skidder
unit. Elsewhere, the power loader is a separate piece of equipment
which may be either stationary or mobile.
Logging equipment varies widely as to type and size. Mechanical
loaders, for example, vary from crude home-made apparatus powered
by small gas engines to large steam- or Diesel-powered loaders. Wide
differences are also found in yarding and hauling equipment.*
* Census of Forest Products, 1943 (U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census).
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Lumber manufacturing is generally a somewhat more complex
process in the Far West than in other regions. As had been pointed out
earlier, medium-size and large sawmills account for a very high propor
tion of the lumber cut in this area. These mills, particularly the large
plants, produce a wide variety of items ranging from molding and
interior finish to large timbers for heavy construction. The small mills,
on the other hand, manufacture few items and do not differ appreciably
from the many thousands of small mills operating in other parts of the
country.
Sawmills in the Far West may be classified into two broad groups on
the basis of the type of head saw used to cut lumber. Large- and
medium-size mills generally are equipped with band saws, whereas
small mills have circular saws. The larger mills also have resawing
equipment to reduce the cants or slabs cut on the head rig to smaller
dimensions. The largest mills, for example, may have pony rigs, gang
saws and a variety of resaws, whereas the medium-size mills are
equipped as a rule only with band or circular resaws. Equally wide
variations exist among mills in methods of handling materials both in
the mill proper and in the yard.
Finishing facilities are found only in the larger mills. The essential
equipment includes sizers, planers, matchers, resaws, and trim saws.
Only the larger mills have dry kilns, as most mills air-dry their lumber.
Small sawmills dispose of their lumber rough and often without even
air-drying it.
Shingle manufacture is carried on in small mills and the process is
simple as compared with lumber manufacture. It consists essentially of
cutting logs or bolts into blocks, splitting the blocks into quarter
sections, cutting the sections on special-purpose saws to produce
shingles, packing and drying the shingles, and then loading the bundles
onto cars or trucks for shipment.
The making of plywood is entirely different from that of lumber
manufacture. The principal operations include the slicing of thin
layers (veneer) from logs, the preparation of veneer sheets of the de
sired size and grade, the assembling of veneer sheets and glue-covered
cores into alternate layers which are later pressed to form plywood of
the desired thickness, and the preparation of plywood sheets (patching,
cutting to size, and sanding) for shipment.
The Labor Force
Lumbering is essentially a man's job. On the whole the work is
arduous and hazardous. In many occupations it is highly specialized
and the skill requirements are very high. Throughout the war period,
the industry has had great difficulty m replacing experienced workers
who went into other war industries in the area or were inducted into the
armed forces. Inexperienced recruits have been used to fill vacancies
in the less-skilled occupations, while vacancies in the more highly
skilled occupations have been filled either through upgrading or by
combining occupations. For example, separate rigging crews in log
ging have nearly disappeared, the rigging now being done by the
yarding crews; in many camps yarding crews are working short-handed.
The employment of women to perform some of the lighter tasks in
sawmills and plywood mills has helped to relieve the manpower
situation to some extent and has released some men to perform the
more arduous work.
663103°—45----- 2
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LOGGING OCCUPATIONS
As was pointed out earlier, there are four basic operations in logging,
namely, cutting, yarding, loading, and transportation. The cutting
operation is performed by fallers and buckers who, working in pairs and
generally with the aid of hand tools (axe, cross-cut saw, wedge, and
hammer), cut down trees, remove limbs and cut the trees into logs of
the desired length. Fallers and buckers are highly skilled workers.
The work is both hard and dangerous. A third or more of the workers
in logging camps are fallers and buckers.
The composition of yarding crews varies, depending on the method
of yarding. If tractors are used, the crew generally consists of a
tractor driver, a choker setter who secures the cable to one end of the
log, and a hooker who attaches the open end of the cable to the tractor.
A larger and more diversified crew is found in logging operations using
power skidders (high-lead or skidder-slackline). Under normal con
ditions such a crew consists of the following: A hook tender who is in
charge of the yarding and loading operations; an engineer who operates
a yarding engine in accordance with signals received from the yarding
crew; a head rigging slinger who is second in command in the yarding
crew and who selects the logs to be taken out for each load; a second
rigging slinger who acts as leadman in the choker-setter crew and who
hooks chokers to and unhooks them from the butt-rig; a choker setter
who sets the chokers around one end of the log; a chaser who unhooks
chokers at the landing and signals to engineer to pull choker from
log and return butt-rig to cutting area; and a whistlepunk who relays
signals from the yarding crew to the yarding engineer.
The loading crew generally consists of an engineer who operates the
loading engine, a head or top loader who selects the logs to make up
a load and is responsible for the proper placement of logs on the car
or truck, and a second loader who places and releases tongs on logs.
Transportation crews vary depending on the type of transport
employed. For example, if rail conveyance is used, standard crews
(engineers, head brakeman or conductor, and second brakeman or
brakeman) are found. Truck drivers constitute the transportation
crew if trucks are used; they operate a wide variety of trucks, ranging
from light gas-powered trucks to heavy diesel-powered trucks. At
times they also help in the loading and unloading. In some areas,
water transportation is used, drivers moving the logs downstream
either to mills or to points where they are assembled into rafts and
towed to their destination.
All logging camps have numerous auxiliary occupations. The
larger camps employ bulldozer operators, jackhammer men, powdermen, and road monkeys in the construction or repair of roadways,
and maintenance crews which include blacksmiths, saw filers, donkey
doctors (skidder-engine repairmen), cat doctors (tractor repairmen),
and machinists who maintain and repair logging equipment. Equally
important are the cooks who prepare the meals, the bull cooks who
perform general chores around the camp, and the flunkeys who assist
in the camp kitchen.
M ILL OCCUPATIONS
The occupational structure of a sawmill is even more varied than
that of a logging camp and is determined largely by the size and the
end product of the mill. Small sawmills are manned by a small crew
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of men which includes a sawyer in charge of the operation, a carriage
operator (when this work is not performed by the sawyer), an offbearer who removes the slabs from the head rig, possibly a trimmer who
cuts boards to length, and one or two lumber handlers who stack the
lumber. The duties of most workers in small mills are not clearly
defined, and as a result workers perform a number of different tasks
about the mill as needed. Larger mills, however, are departmentalized,
each department having its own job structure within which workers
regularly perform definite tasks.
The most skilled worker in the head mill is the head sawyer who
directs the operation of the head rig, estimates the grade and value
of lumber in each log, and signals cutting instructions to the carriage
crew. The head sawyer is assisted by a crew which generally consists
of a setter and a dogger on the carriage, a deckman who lines the logs
up on the deck and otherwise prepares them for cutting, and an offbearer who removes the cants, flitches, or slabs from the head rig, and
guides them onto transfer rolls. Among the other important occupa
tions in the head mill are those of the gang sawyer who operates a large
resaw known as a gang saw, the resawyer who operates band and
circular resaws to reduce lumber to smaller dimensions, the edgerman
who cuts boards to the desired width, the trimmer operator who trims
boards to length on either a multiple or gang trimmer or on a single
or double trim saw, and the green-lumber grader who judges lumber
on the green chain and indicates grade and dimension by means of
chalk or crayon. Many workers are also employed as line-up men
and off-bearers on the various saws and as lumber pullers on the green
chain.
Among the several occupations required in the seasoning or drying
of lumber, perhaps the most important are lumber pilers (when lumber
is air-dried in the yard) and lumber stackers and unstackers, transfer
car operators, and kiln tenders (when lumber is dried in kilns). The
piling and stacking of lumber is generally done by hand, although a
number of the larger mills use special equipment. The principal and
more-skilled occupations in the planing mill are those of sizer, planer
and matcher operator, set-up man (when this work is not performed
by the operator), resawyer, and finished-lumber grader. As. in
sawmills, a number of workers act as helpers on the various machines,
either lining up or off-bearing, and a number are also engaged in
pulling lumber from the chains and stacking it on skids or trucks or
in bins. Within planing or finishing mills the occupational structure
varies somewhat, depending on the products of the mill. Some mills
are equipped only with a sizer or a planer to dress lumber, while
others have matchers, molders, and a variety of resaws and trim saws.
The material-handling group of occupations varies considerably
among mills owing to wide differences in mill practice. In small mills
lumber is handled manually and is moved about the mill and yard by
means of buggies; in the larger mills, it is handled by means of carriers,
tractors and cranes. Conveyors and transfer rolls are used extensively
in the more highly mechanized mills to move lumber from one opera
tion to the other.
Sawmills require the services of a number of highly skilled workers
to service and maintain mill equipment. One of the most important
and highly skilled occupations in this group is that of saw filer; he
checks, sharpens, and conditions mill saws. In large mills the filer is
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assisted by a helper. Other workers who help to maintain the mill
in good running order aro blacksmiths, millwrights, electricians,
machinists, and carpenters.
Perhaps the simplest occupational structure in the lumber industry
is found in shingle mills. The two principal occupations from the
standpoint both of skill requirements and number of workers employed
are shingle sawyers and shingle packers. The shingle sawyer operates
a special saw to cut shingles from quarter sections of cedar blocks and
also sorts and trims shingles, while the shingle packer counts out the
necessary number of shingles to form a bundle, packs them, and secures
them with wood strips and metal bands. Other important occupa
tions in the manufacture of shingles are those of cut-off sawyer who
cuts bolts or logs into blocks and the knee bolter and splitter who splits
blocks into quarter sections.
A plywood mill consists of two separate units, one engaged in the
production of sheet veneer for use in the manufacture of plywood,
and the other engaged in the actual manufacture of plywood. The
following are the principal occupations in the veneer unit: Lathe
operators, who are in charge of the rotary lathes and who are respon
sible for the production of the desired grade of veneer; lathe helpers,
who “ spot” the bolts on the lathe and handle the veneer at the back
of the lathe, directing it onto the veneer rack; clipper operators, who
cut the strips of veneer into sheets of desired size; drier crew (operator,
feeder, and off-bearer) charged with the drying of the green veneer;
and patchers and tapers, who prepare the sheets for use in the manu
facture of plywood. The principal occupations in the plywood unit
are those of the feeders and catchers on the glue spreader, who
prepare and assemble the various layers of veneer to form plywood of
the desired thickness; the press crew (pressmen and helpers), who
apply pressure mechanically to the plywood to set it; the patchers,
who repair surface defects in the plywood; the sawyers, who cut the
sheets of plywood to size; and the graders, who grade the plywood
sheets.
U N ION IZATION IN TH E LU M BER IN DU STRY
Workers in the basic lumber industry in the Far West are extensively
organized. The two principal unions in the field are the International
Woodworkers of America, a C. I. O. affiliate, and the United Brother
hood of Carpenters and Joiners, an A. F. of L. affiliate. Under the
United Brotherhood, there are chartered loggers, lumber and sawmill
workers, plywood and veneer workers, lumber handlers, shingle
weavers, etc.
At the time of the Bureau’s survey, roughly one-half of the logging
camps and sawmills, virtually all of the shingle mills, and all of the
plywood mills had collective agreements with labor unions. Well
over four-fifths of the workers were employed in unionized operations,
indicating that a preponderance of the larger operations were in the
unionized group. Most of the large logging camps and sawmills
and half or more of the medium-size operations were organized, as
compared with less than 5 percent of the small logging camps and
sawmills. Of the workers employed in union operations, slightly
more than half were members of the International Woodworkers of
America (C. I. O.) and slightly less than half were members of the
three unions affiliated with the United Brotherhood (Lumber and
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Sawmill Workers Union, Lumber Handlers Union, and WashingtonOregon Shingle Weavers District Council.) Less than 1 percent of
the workers were members of the Sawdust Makers Union, an inde
pendent union which had an agreement with one large mill in central
Washington.
Union organization was more prevalent in the Douglas Fir region
than in either the Western Pine or the Redwood region, the respective
percentages of workers in operations with union agreements being
88, 77, and 77. Within the Western Pine region the proportion of
workers in operations with union agreements varied from a little
over 70 percent in the Snake River district to fully 80 percent in the
central Oregon district.
The numerical strength of the respective unions varied with regions
and, in the Western Pine region, with districts. The International
Woodworkers of America appear to have enrolled approximately
three-fifths of the union workers in the Douglas Fir region, while
A. F. of L. unions appear to lead by the same margin in the Western
Pine region as a whole. Within the latter region, however, the
International Woodworkers of America appear to lead in the Inland
Empire and central Oregon districts, while A. F. of L unions lead
in the other districts. At the time of the survey most of the union
workers in the pine districts of California and all of those in the
Redwood region were members of A. F. of L. unions.
The above statement on the extent of unionization in the basic
lumber industry in the Far West reflects conditions at the time of the
survey in August 1944. It is understood that more operations have
been unionized since that time, particularly in the Redwood region,
where an active organization campaign has been under way.
Scope and Method of Survey
This report is based on wage and related data for workers in four
important branches of the basic lumber industry in the Far West—
logging camps, sawmills, shingle mills, and plywood mills. No infor
mation was obtained for workers in the veneer and cooperage stock
mills, as these two segments of the industry are comparatively un
important in the Far West.
The wage and related data on which this report is based were ob
tained by trained representatives of the Bureau, who visited the
operations and transcribed the data from pay rolls and other records.
The earnings data for most operations relate to a representative
pay-roll period in August 1944.
Information was obtained from 464 firms having 654 separate
basic-lumber operations4 and employing a total of 61,782 workers.
Approximately a fourth of all the logging camps and sawmills, half
of the shingle mills, and virtually all of the plywood mills 5 were
visited by field representatives of the Bureau. In selecting the sample
of firms and operations to be studied in those segments of the industry
in which the sampling technique was used, consideration was given*
4 The term “ operation” relates to a single unit, such as a logging camp, a sawmill, a shingle mill, or a ply
wood mill. In the case of partially or completely integrated companies, each unit was counted separately.
For example, a company which did both logging and sawmilling was included in both the logging-camp and
sawmill counts.
*The figures for plywood mills do not include two cooperatives in which virtually all workers own stockand receive a uniform rate of pay, regardless of work performed, and another mill which refused to partici
pate in the study. The loss of the latter mill was offset, however, by weighting the data for a comparable
plant in the same locality.
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to all important factors— such as size and type of operation, corporate
affiliation, geographical distribution, and unionization— which might
have a bearing on wages. As the various operations in each of the
segments of the industry studied were not sampled in the same
proportion, it was necessary in combining the data to assign different
weights to the various operations so that each type and size studied
might be represented in proportion to its importance in the industry.
The figures appearing in this report represent the results of the study
after appropriate weighting. This weighting yields a total of 2,001
operations and 131,500 workers, which is believed to represent the
approximate size of the four segments of the basic lumber industry in
the Far West (table 1).
T ab le 1.— Operations Surveyed and Estimated Total Operations and W orkers in K e y
Occupations Studied, by Region and Branch o f Industry, August 1944
Number of
operations
Region and type
of operation
Actu
ally
sur
veyed
Esti
mated
total
Esti number
of
mated workers
total
repre
repre
sented sented 1
Far West.........................
Logging camps..........
Sawmills. .................
Shingle mills.............
Plywood mills...........
654
320
286
20
28
2,001
998
904
70
29
85,155
34,890
44,705
1,678
3,882
Douglas Fir region..........
Logging camps_____
Sawmills...................
Shingle mills____•___
Plywood mills...........
334
158
130
20
26
1,057
527
433
70
27
48,487
20,898
22,102
1,678
3,809
Number of
operations
Actu
ally
sur
veyed
Esti
mated
total
repre
sented
Esti
mated
total
number
of
workers
repre
sented1
Western Pine region.......
Logging camps_____
Sawmills...................
Plywood mills...........
291
150
139
2
862
437
423
2
33,553
12,737
20,743
73
Podwnnd
roorirm . ••••»••
XVvUWUUUXv/glvilLogging camps..........
Sawmills...................
29
12
17
82
34
48
3,115
1,255
1,860
Region and type
of operation
1 These figures relate to the estimated total number of workers in the Far West employed in the selected
key occupations studied. It is estimated that in all occupations there are approximately 131,500 workers,
of whom 73,000 are in the Douglas Fir region, 50,500 in the Western Pine region, and 8,000 in the Redwood
region.
Occupational wage data were obtained only for selected key occu
pations which are believed to be representative of the skill and earn
ings levels of the four segments studied. Approximately two-thirds
of all the workers are employed in these key occupations.
In order to insure as full comparability as possible among operations,
the Bureau’s field representatives used uniform job descriptions in
classifying workers in the selected occupations studied. The field
representatives also made a very careful check of significant duties
performed in each of the occupations, actually observing operations
in many instances, and reporting any important variations. On the
basis of this supplementary information on duties performed by
workers, it was possible for the Bureau to overcome interplant vari
ations to a considerable extent and to arrive at dependable occupa
tional classifications as a basis for the wage information.
The wage data presented in this report are straight-time average
hourly earnings, exclusive of premium overtime and shift-differential
payments. These earnings reflect incentive earnings resulting from
piece work and production bonuses, but do not reflect earnings from
nonproduction bonuses.
11
Wage-Payment Pra,ctices
Workers in most occupations of the basic lumber industry are paid
on a time-work basis. The few exceptions are fallers and buckers in
logging camps, shingle sawyers and packers in shingle mills, and car
loaders, lumber pilers, stackers and unstackers in sawmills, all or
part of whom are paid on a piece-work basis. Production-bonus
systems (as distinguished from simple piece rates) are seldom found
in the lumber industry, and when found, consist generally of a flat
amount paid to workers in certain occupations for production in
excess of a specified quota.
Nonproduction bonuses are rarely found in the industry. One
large firm which has both logging and sawmilling operations paid its
workers a length-of-service bonus which amounted to 3 percent of
their earnings after 1 year of service and 7 percent after 5 years of
service. A second plant paid its truck drivers an additional 2% per
cent after 6 months of service with the firm, 5 percent after 2 years,
and 7% percent after 3 years, the bonus being paid quarterly.
The most common work schedule in the basic lumber industry at
the time of the survey was 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week;
nearly three-fourths of the logging camps, two-thirds of the sawmills,
and all but three of the plywood mills had such a schedule. Some
logging camps and sawmills had an 8-hour day and a 40-hour week,
while others had a 9-hour day and a 54-hour week. Shingle mills
had only a 6-hour day and a 36-hour week.
Overtime in logging camps, sawmills, and plywood mills was gen
erally paid for at the rate of time and a half after 40 hours per week.
In addition, nearly half of the logging camps and more than a third
of the sawmills also paid time and a half after 8 hours per day. Most
shingle mills paid time and a half after 36 hours per week and many
also paid that rate after 6 hours per day. Payment of overtime after
40 hours per week and 8 hours per day in shingle mills was confined
very largely to a few mills operated in connection with sawmills.
The entrance rates of pay of common laborers in logging camps,
sawmills, and plywood mills followed very closely the minimum rates
of pay set by the West Coast Lumber Commission for unskilled workers
in the various wage-stabilization districts in the Far West. These
rates are 90 cents in the Douglas Fir region and 82.5 cents in the Red
wood region. In the Western Pine region the rates range from 80.0
cents in the central Washington district to 87.5 cents in the Central
Oregon and northern California districts. The rates set for the other
three pine districts are 82.5 cents in the Inland Empire and Snake
River districts and 85.0 cents in the central California district. Of
the 49 shingle mills reporting entrance rates for common laborers,
33 paid 95 cents an hour and 16 paid 90 cents an hour. The remain
ing mills either did not employ common laborers or failed to report
on the entrance rates paid to such workers.
Multiple-shift operations were found in about a sixth of the saw
mills, in more than three-fifths of the shingle mills, and in all but two
of the plywood mills. In logging camps it is not feasible to work more
than one shift, as operations must be conducted during the daytime.
Of the 128 sawmills operating more than one shift—virtually all of
which were large mills— 102 operated two shifts and 25 operated three
' shifts. Two-thirds of these mills paid shift differentials, varying from
12
2% to 4 cents an hour for work on the second shift and from 3 to 7
cents an hour for work on the third shift. The most common shift
differential in sawmills was 3 cents an hour, paid in 53 mills for work
on the second shift and in 13 mills for work on the third shift. Cer
tain other mills paid a differential of 3% cents on both shifts. All
plywood plants working more than one shift paid a shift differential
which was 4 cents an hour in all but 2 of the 27 plywood plants work
ing a second shift and 7 cents an hour in all 23 plants operating a third
shift. Forty-four of the shingle mills operated a second shift, but
only 4 paid a shift differential to shingle sawyers and packers; this
amounted to 1 cent per square. Although no shingle mills operated a
third shift at the time of the survey, a few indicated that they paid a
differential of from 3 to 5 cents an hour when a third shift was worked.
Paid vacations were granted to workers by somewhat more than
half of the logging camps and sawmills. Of the operations with paidvacation plans, nearly two-thirds of the logging camps and nearly
half of the sawmills granted 1 week of vacation with pay after 1,400
hours' work; a vast majority of these same operations also gave
workers 4 days paid vacation $fter 1,120 hours' work and 3 days
vacation after 840 hours' work. The next most common vacation
plan provided for 1 week after a year's service; a fifth of the logging
camps and more than a third of the sawmills with paid-vacation plans
were in this group. At the time of the survey, paid vacations in
logging camps and sawmills were much more common in the Douglas
Fir region than in either the Western Pine or the Redwood regions.6
All 29 plywood plants granted 1 week of paid vacation after service
periods ranging from 36 weeks in 1 plant to 1 year in 20 plants. In
addition, 4 plants also granted 4 days of paid vacation after 1,120
hours of work and 3 days after 840 hours of work. All but 4 of the
shingle mills gave a paid vacation of 1 week, but during the war period
all workers elected to remain on the job and to accept, instead, a flat
pay increase of 3 cents an hour.
Wage Structure of the Industry
Workers in the basic lumber industry in the Far West earned an
average of $1.19 an hour in August 1944 (table 2). This figure
represents the average level of straight-time hourly earnings of 85,155
workers in 165 selected key occupations in logging camps, sawmills,
shingle mills, and plywood mills. Despite the wide range in the
earnings of individual workers, approximately three-fifths of all workers
•earned between 90 cents and $1.20 an hour, and nearlv a fourth
earned between 90 cents and $1 an hour. Only a tenth of the workers
received less than 90 cents an hour, and less than 2 percent had
earnings under 80 cents an hour. In contrast, a sixth of the workers
earned $1.50 or more an hour, and nearly 5 percent $2.00 or more.
Widely different wage levels were found among the four branches
of the industry studied. Workers in shingle mills had the highest
straight-time average hourly earnings, $1.45, and workers in logging
camps had the next highest earnings, $1.38, while workers in plywood
mills received the lowest earnings, $1.03. The average earnings of•
• Of the logging camps studied, 70 percent in the Douglas Fir region, as against 40 percent in the Western
Pine region and 50 percent in the Redwood region, provided vacations with pay. Among the sawmills, the
percent varied from 62 percent in the Douglas Fir region to 43 percent in the Western Pine region and to,
44 percent in the Redwood region.
13
sawmill workers, $1.05, were only 2 cents above those of plywood
workers. Equally wide variations in earnings of individual workers
are indicated by the distributions shown in table 2 for each branch.
For example, less than a tenth of the workers in both shingle mills and
logging camps had earnings under $1 an hour, while somewhat over
half of the workers in sawmills and plywood mills earned less than
that amount. In contrast, well over a fourth of the workers in
logging camps and not far from half of those in shingle mills earned
$1.50 or more an hour, whereas no workers in plywood mills and only
6 percent of the sawmill workers received earnings as high as these.
T ab le 2.— Distribution o f Workers in B asic Lumber Industry in Far W est b y StraightTim e Average H ourly Earnings and Branch o f Industry, August 1944
Percentage distribution
Average hourly earnings
All
branches
Logging
camps
Saw
mills
Shingle
mills
Plywood
mills
Under 80.0 cents_________ _____________
80.0 and under 82.5 cents________________
82.5 a n d u n d e r 85.0 c e n t s _ _ __ ..................
85.0 a n d u n d e r 87.5 c e n t s
..
87.5 a n d u n d e r 00.0 c e n t s
_. _
90.0 a n d u n d e r 02.5 c e n t s
_ ___
1.2
.8
2.4
2.6
3.1
8.2
0.1
.2
.8
.6
1.3
2.5
2.3
1.3
4.0
4.6
4.9
11.8
92.5 and under 95.0 cents________________
95.0 and under 97.5 cents.............................
97.5 and under 100.0 cents..........................100.0 and under 102.5 cents..........................
102.5 and under 105.0 cents..........................
105.0 and under 107.5 cents..........................
5.3
6.4
4.2
7.3
3.3
4.2
1.3
.8
2.1
4.9
2.1
5.1
8.2
10.3
5.4
9.6
4.1
3.6
2.4
3.7
3.8
3.3
4.1
11.2
11.5
9.0
4.7
4.3
2.6
107.5 and under 110.0 cents..........................
110.0 and under 112.5 cents..........................
112.5 and under 115.0 cents..........................
115.0 and under 117.5 cents..........................
117.5 and under 120.0 cents..........................
120.0 and under 122.5 cents..........................
3.6
3.7
2.8
4.1
3.0
2.6
3.8
4.8
2.9
4.4
5.0
3.8
3.6
2.8
2.7
3.5
1.5
1.7.
2.1
1.2
2.3
1.3
1.5
2.1
3.2
5.0
3.9
9.6
2.3
3.9
122.5 and under 125.0 cents..........................
125.0 and under 127.5 cents........................ .
and under 130.0 cents..........................
130.0 and under 135.0 cents..........................
135.0 and under 140.0 cents..........................
140.0 and under 145.0 cents..........................
1.6
3.9
2.6
2.2
1.9
2.3
6.2
2.8
4.1
3.6
3.0
1.1
2.1
.7
1.5
1.3
.9
1.9
2.0
2.0
3.9
5.0
5.4
1.2
4.4
1.5
.7
.1
.1
145.0 and under 150.0 cents,........................
1.6
2.7
1.5
1.2
.9
.7
2.6
5.0
2.5
1.7
1.3
1.2
.7
1.1
.6
.8
.4
.3
6.6
5.4
7.4
4.6
6.0
2.6
1.1
.7
.9
.6
.6
4.9
2.0
1.3
1.8
1.3
1.1
9.7
.4
.3
.1
.1
.1
1.6
4.1
3.5
3.1
2.7
1.8
4.2
127.5
150 0
155 0
100 0
105.0
170.0
and
and
and
and
and
under
under
under
under
under
155.0
160.0
105.0
170.0
175.0
c e n ts
c e n ts
c e n ts
cen ts.
c e n t s ____
_ _
175.0 and u n d e r 180.0 cents______________
180.0 and under 185.0 cents______________
185.0 and under 190.0 cents_______ _______
IpO.O a n d u n d e r 105.0 ce n ts
195.0 and under 200.0 cents__ _____ ______
200.0 cents and over____________________
1 .6
0)
0.3
.4
20.1
0)
Total...................................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total number of workers.............................
Average hourly earnings..............................
85,155
$1.19
34,890
$1.38
44,705
$1.05
1,678
$1.45
3,882
$1.03
>Less than a tenth of 1 percent.
Significant differences in earnings as between regions and districts
are found in the logging camps and sawmills of the Far West. In
logging camps the earnings of workers in the Douglas Fir region were
11 cents higher than those of workers in the Redwood region and 20
cents higher than those of workers in the Western Pine region. More
14
over, within the Western Pine region, earnings were somewhat higher
on the whole in central Oregon and California,than in the remainder
of the region. Important geographic variations were found also in
the earnings of sawmill workers.
OCCUPATIONAL A V E R A G E H OU RLY EARN ING S
The figures presented in tables 3-6 for selected key occupations in
each of the four branches of the industry studied indicate that inter
branch variations in wage levels result very largely from basic differ
ences in occupational structure and in skill requirements. Logging, for
example, requires the sendees of highly specialized workers and for that
reason the occupational structure of this branch of the industry is
radically different from that of either sawmills, shingle mills, or
plywood mills. This factor no doubt accounts to a considerable
extent for the comparatively high level of earnings in most occupations
in logging camps.
T a b l e 3.— Straight~Time Average H ourly Earnings o f Workers in Logging Camps in
Far W est, by Occupation, Region , and D istrict9 August 1944
Western Pine region
Occupation
Total, selected occupations...............
Red
Total Doug
Cen Cen North Cen wood
las
In
Far Fir
ern
tral
tral
All
re
tral
West region dis land Snake Wash
Cali gion
Em River ing Ore Cali
for
for
tricts pire
gon
ton
nia
nia
$1.24
$1.14 $1.36
1.28
1.18
1.07
1.53
1.44
1.39
1.40
1.12
1.10
1.36
1.10
1.07
.98
1.40
1.29
1.24
1.24
(2)
1.00
00
1.09
0)
0)
1.17
1.24
1.10
1.14
(2)
.91
(2)
1.10
0)
0)
1.73
1.31
1.15
1.10
(2)
.95
(2)
.98
0)
1.34
1.33
1.23
1.78
1.97
1.43
1.01
1.38
00
1.27
1.17
1.58
1.61
1.17
.96
1.29
(2)
1.22
0)
1.43
1.25
1.00
0)
1.27
1.31
1.47
(2)
1.26
1.52
0)
1.21
1.20
1.24
1.29
1.20
$1.38 $1.46 $1.26 $1.17
Blacksmiths....................................... 1. 21
Brakemen, head................................
1.14
■RrakATTiAn, sftmnri
1.03
1.48
Bull buckers...................- .................
Bulldozer operators_____ *................. 1.36
1.29
Cat doctors........................................
Cat drivers (tractor).......................... 1.30
Chasers, high-lead and skidder-side._ 1.12
Choker setters, cat side..................... 1.06
Donkey doctors.................................. 1.36
Engineers—
High-lead and skidder-slackline. 1.34
Mechanical loading..................... 1.30
Rail transportation.................... 1.20
Fallers and buckers, hand................. 1.70
Fallers and buckers, power............... 1.86
Filers, woods...................................... 1.36
.99
Firemen, rail transportation............
Head loaders, mechanical loading... 1.34
Head rigging slingers, high-lead and
skidder-slackline............................. 1.31
Hook tenders, cat side....................... 1.41
Hook tenders, high-lead and skidderslackline.......................................... 1.52
Limhfirs and lrnntters
1.08
Motor patrol operators...................... • 1.18
Powdermen........................................ 1.12
Rigging slingers, cat side................... 1.12
1.17
Scalers, w oods............. ....................
Second loaders, mechanical loading.. 1.13
Second rigging slingers, high-lead and
skidder-slackline............................. 1.18
.88
Section hands.....................................
Tire and grease men.......................... 1.02,
Truck drivers, hauling...................... 1.12
Truck mechanics.............................. 1.22:
Whistlepunks, high-lead and skid
der-slackline.................................... 1.07
$1.32 $1.21 $1.34
0)
1.16
1.06
1.31
(2)
1.00
(2)
1.19
1.14
1.03
1.24
1.34
1.34
1.27
(2)
1.03
(2)
1.12
1.07
1.01
1.59
1.33
1.29
1.29
C2)
1.06
(2)
0)
1.01
.91
1.23
1.29
1.28
1.28
(2)
1.01
(2)
1.18
1.07
.95
1.21
1.29
1.25
1.22
(2)
1.06
(2)
(2)
1.12
0)
1.58
1.34
1.06
0)
1.14
(2)
1.19
0)
1.30
0)
1.00
0)
1.32
(2)
1.54
1.24
1.87
1.77
1.30
.99
1.45
(2)
1.30
1.17
1.72
1.55
1.30
.98
1.30
(2)
1.20
1.11
1.35
1.79
1.17
.91
1.25
(2)
1.16
1.11
1.29
1.90
1.19
.92
1.20
(2)
0)
(2)
0)
(2)
(2)
1.39
(2)
1.26
(2)
1.31
(2)
1.36
(2)
1.08
1.16
1.02
1 02
1.03
1.08
(2)
.84
1.07
1.01
.94
.93
1.10
(2)
0)
1.13
0)
(0
.96
1.03
(2)
.92
.95
.93
(2)
1.22
1.29
1.04
1.10
1.09
1.09
(2)
1.11
1.18
1.04
1.04
1.04
1.03
(2)
.96
.99
(2)
1.03
1.22
1.03
1.08
1.18
1.12
1.18
.90
1.06
1.18
1.26
(2)
.85
.97
1.07
1.15
(2)
.83
.91
1.00
1.08
(2)
.83
.99
.94
1.10
(2)
(*)
h
1.03
1.04
(2)
.88
1.01
1.10
1.11
(2)
.87
1.02
1.14
1.27
(2)
.83
.99
1.10
1.19
.85
0)
1.10
0)
1.07
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
C2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
0)
1.08
1.21
1.09
1.07
(2)
i Number of workers and/or plants insufficient to justify presentation of an average,
a No information obtained for workers in this occupation, as the high-lead or skidder-slackline method
o f yarding is seldom found in this region.
15
The very wide range in occupational earnings in three of the four
branches is due in part to high incentive earnings in some occupations,
such as fallers and buckers in logging camps, and in part to the high
earnings of some very skilled workers such as saw filers in sawmills and
shingle mills. In three-fourths of the occupations, however, workers
earned between $1.05 and $1.40 in logging camps and between 90 cents
and $1.25 in sawmills. The total range in earnings in plywood mills
was from 90 cents for watchmen to $1.27 for machinists.
Among the highest-paid workers in the basic lumber industry are
head filers in sawmills and shingle mills, who are perhaps the most
skilled workers in the industry, and shingle sawyers in shingle mills
and fallers and buckers in logging camps who are incentive workers.
Earnings in these occupations averaged $1.70 or more an hour. Other
workers who earned $1.50 or more an hour were hook tenders on a
skidder side in logging, filers’ helpers in shingle mills, and second
filers, head rig sawyers and yard pilers in sawmills. Pilers are very
often paid on an incentive basis and this explains their high earnings.
The next highest wages are generally paid to skilled maintenance
workers and to skilled workers in a number of processing occupations,
most of which are in logging camps. In logging camps, earnings be
tween $1.20 and $1.40 were received by all maintenance workers and
by engineers operating yarding, loading, and railroad engines, by cat
and bulldozer operators, and by head loaders and head rigging slingers.
Maintenance workers in the other branches earned somewhat less,
their earnings varying from $1.10 to $1.25 in sawmills and from $1.15
to $1.30 in plywood mills.
T a ble 4.— Straight-Tim e Average H ourly Earnings ojf W orkers in Sawmills in Far
W est, by Occupation, Region, and D istrict, August 1944
Occupation
Total, selected occupations...............
Sawmills, including planing mills:
Blacksmiths.................................
Car loaders............. ....................
Carpenters...................................
Carrier drivers.............................
Clean-up men..............................
Cut-off-saw operators..................
Deckmen
Doggers, head rig........................
Dragsaw men..............................
Edgermen....................................
Edger-off-bearers.........................
Electricians..................................
Filers, bench................................
Filers, head..................................
Filers’ helpers, floor....................
Filers, second...............................
Firemen......................................
Gang-saw off-bearers...................
Gang-saw spotters.......................
Gang sawyers..............................
Garage mechanics........................
Graders, finish chain...................
Graders or markers, green
chain.........................................
Graders, rough dry chain...........
See footnotes at end o f table.
Western Pine region
Doug
Total las
Cen Cen North
Far Fir Total In
West re
afl land Snake tral
tral
ern
gion dis Em River Wash
Cali
ing Ore
tricts pire
gon
fornia
ton
$1.05 $1.03 $1.06 $0.97
1.15
1.15
1.12
1.04
.88
.96
.96
.96
.98
1.14
,91
1.20
1.34
1.88
1.10
1.56
.96
.97
.94
1.13
1.14
1.10
1.21
1.06
1.16
1.05
.90
.98
.98
.97
.99
1.16
.93
1.21
1.37
1.80
1.12
1.46
.99
.97
.94
1.13
1.15
1.07
1.11
1.26
1.11
1.01
.86
.91
.94
.96
.96
1.11
.89
1.20
1.31
1.98
1.07
1.64
.94
(2)
(2)
(2)
1.13
1.15
1.09
1.14
1.07
1.06
1.11
1.16
$1.03
$0.90 $1.12
1.00
1.03
1.05
1.08
(0
1.00
.82
.84
.89
.92
.86
1.03
.85
(0
1.23
1.82
1.04
1.69
.91
(2)
(2)
(2)
1.01
1.12
1.05
.85
0)
.95
.81
.84
.88
.88
(0
1.05
.86
0)
1.20
1.63
(9
1.55
.86
(2)
(2)
(2)
.99
1.03
1.16
1.42
1.09
1.01
.88
.93
.98
1.03
1.03
1.16
.93
1.20
1.40
2.49
1.13
1.77
.97
(2)
(2)
(2)
1. 18
1.28
.95
1.00
.99
1.03
.94
0)
1.23
1.34
1.13
1.13
1.02
.94
.83
.90
.91
.96
.91
1.03
.84
1.24
1.25
1.87
.99
1.58
.90
3
(2)
Red
Cen wood
tral
re
Cali gion
for
nia
$1.14 $1.15 $1.06
1.15
1.53
1.16
1.05
.88
.99
.96
.93
1.00
1.15
.91
1.22
0)
1.92
1.14
1.59
.96
(2)
(2)
1.26
1.30
1.05
1.16
1.23
1.03
.87
.94
1.01
.95
.92
1.16
.87
1.12
0)
1.90
1.05
1.56
.97
(2)
(2)
(2)
1.15
0)
1.11
1.40
1.05
.99
.85
.99
.92
.98
1.07
1.26
.90
1.12
1.23
1.68
1.01
1.42
.97
C2)
(2)
(2)
1.25
.99
1.18
1.27
1.19
1.19
1.10
0)
16
T a b l e 4.— Straight-Tim e Average H ourly Earnings o f W orkers in Saumills in Far W est,
by Occupation , Region , and District, August 1944 — Continued
Western Pine region
Occupation
Doug
Total las Total In
Cen
Far Fir
all
land Snake tral
dis Em River Wash
West re
gion tricts pire
ing
ton
Sawmills, including planing mills—
Continued.
Hog feeders........................ *........ $0.91 $0.95 $0.86 $0.84
Kiln tenders................................
1.06 1.06 1.05 (9
Knife grinders.............................. 1.17 1.17 1.19 1.09
Machinists____________ _______ 1.21 1.25 1.19 1.09
.97 1.01
.91
.89
Matcher feeders..........................
Matcher off-bearers_______ ____
.90
.94
.86
.84
1.02 1.04
Millwrights' helpers...................
.95
.92
.92
Off-bearers, head rig....................
.95
.98
.90
.92
.90
.96 1.00
Oilers_____________ __________
Operating engineers....................
1.08 1.13 1.05 1.00
Operating millwrights................. 1.19 1.20 1.15 1.11
.97 1.78 1.19
Pilers, yard.................................. 1. 57
Pipefitters.................................... 1.18 1.14 1.23 1.16
.99 1.02
.95
Pondmen.....................................
.89
Pullers, dry chain
1.02
.93 1.07 1.04
.97 1.12
Pullers, green chain.................... 1.02
.89
.90
.92
.87
Resaw off-bearers, planing mill..
.83
Resawyers, head mill. ...............
1.09 1.10 1.05 (9
.99
.98 1.01
.89
Resawyers, planing mill.............
Sawyers, head rig........................ 1.50 1.54 1.47 1.38
1.09 1.07 1.11 3.04
Setters, head rig..........................
Set-up men, planing mill............ 1.16 1.18 1.14 1.09
.99
.93 (9
Sizer feeders................................
.96
.92
.87 (9
.94
Sizer off-bearers...........................
Sizer operators
_ _ __ __
1.13 1.10 1.17
.94
.90
Slipmen........................................
.97
.88
.91
.93
.87
Sorters, planed lumber...............
.83
.97
Stacker-carrier operators............ 1.03 1.07
.91
Stackers, dry kiln........................ 1.23 1.05 1.38 1.13
.93
.93 (2)
Straighteners, green chain..........
(2)
1.05 1.06 1.03
Tallymen.................... .......... .
.94
Timber handlers.........................
.93
.93 (2)
(2)
.97
.94
Transfer-car operators, dry kiln.
.95
.85
1.02 1.05
Trimmermen, head m ill............
.98
.95
.92
.98
.88
Trimmermen, planing mill.........
.96
.97
.94
Trimmer spotters........................
.96
.88
.98
.94
Truck drivers, yard....................
1.00 1.04
.98 1.19
.88
Unstackers, dry kiln............ ...... 1.11
U tility m e n ........................................
W a tch m e n ..........................................
B o x factories:
C ar loaders........................................
C u t-off-saw off-bearers_____ _____
C ut-off-saw op erators.................
M a ch in e h ik e a w a y s ... ................
N a ilin g , staplin g, an d stitching
m achine operators...................... .
Planer feeders....................................
P la n e r m e n ______________________
R esa w y ers ..........................................
R esa w off-bearers......... ...................
T iein g-m ach in e o p e r a t o r s ...........
.88
.84
.90
.87
.85
.81
.82
.77
$0.81
(i)
(l)
(i)
.91
.87
.94
.86
.89
.97
1.01
1.87
<9
.89
.95
.91
.89
.93
1.10
1.42
1.06
1.10
(9
<9
.83
.91
.91
1.25
(2)
.99
(2)
.87
.92
.94
.84
.94
.92
.8 4
.78
Red
Cen North Cen wood
tral
ern
tral re
Ore Cali Cali gion
gon fornia for
nia
$0.80 $0.92
1.08
C9
1.26
(9
1.21
(9
.96
(9
.91
.89
.95
.89
.95
.84
.96
1.04 1.10
.99 1.19
1.15 2.16
1.22
.87
.97
.99
.96 1.18
(9
1.04
1.01
1.38 1.56
1.03 1.17
(l)
1.20
.94
(9
1 .84
.80
<9
(9
1.18
.94
.91
1.01
1.55
(9
(2)
(9
9
.91
.86
<9
.87
(9
(2)
1.11
.98
1.04
.95
.98
.99
1.36
.81
.69
.87
.87
$0.89 $0.86 $0.88
1.07 (9
1.11
1.25 1.30 1.11
1.25 1.23 1.18
.91 (9
1.02
.88
(9
(9
1.01 1.01
.99
.94
.94 1.02
.95
.91 1.01
1.11 1.00 1.11
1.21 1.20 1.33
1.98 2.08 1.12
1.27 (9
1.06
1.05
.95
.94
1.24
.95 (9
1.25 1.52
.99
.89 (9
.92
1.13 1.09 1.01
1.05 (9
(9
1. 53 1.52 1.46
1.18 1.12 1.11
1.23 (9
(9
.93 (9
(9
.89
.89 (9
1.31 1.19 (9
.93
.91
.93
(9
(9
(9
1.02 1.02 1.25
1.65 (9
1.26
(9
(9
(2)
1.10
.96 1.06
(9
(*)
(9
1.00 (9
(9
1.00
.99 1.12
.91 (9
.89
.98
.91
.88
1.00 1.06 (9
1.29 (9
(9
.88
.84
.85
.82
.88
.81
1.05
.81
(9
(9
(9
(2)
.88
.81
1.05
.81
.80
.80
.93
( l)
0)
0)
(9
.78
.72
.93
.74
.89
.8 5
1.11
.8 6
.96
.85
1.14
.86
.84
.83
1.11
.8 4
.88
.91
1.15
.96
.81
.87
(2)
( 2)
( 2)
.88
.91
1.15
.96
.81
.87
.84
.84
(9
.90
.74
.83
0)
(9
.80
.83
(9
.84
.74
.79
.9 2
.97
1.20
1.02
.86
1.04
.94
.94
1.19
1.04
.87
1.00
(9
.99
.84
.91
(9
(2)
( 2)
(9
0)
(9
.91
.90
.8 2
(9
(9
(9
(9
9
(9
(9
(9
(9
1Number of workers and/or plants insufficient to justify presentation of an average.
2No information obtained for workers in this occupation, which is seldom found in this region.
Most of the machine operators in sawmills and plywood mills and
a number of moderately skilled workers in logging had earnings within
the 20-cent interval from $1 to $1.20. Also included in this group
were workers in a number of other occupations such as lumber graders
and green and dry chain pullers in sawmills, veneer driers and patchers
in plywood mills, choker setters, chasers and truck drivers in logging
camps, and deckmen in shingle mills.
Earnings under $1 an hour were very largely confined to sawmills
and plywood mills and were paid to workers in about half of the
occupations. In both branches this group of occupations includes
17
helpers on a wide variety of machines. Also included are such workers
as car loaders, hand and power truckers, and veneer graders, matchers,
tapers and repairers in plywood mills, and deckmen, firemen, hog
feeders, pondmen, slipmen, and some of the lighter machine operations
in planing mills and box factories.
T ab le 5 ,— Straight-Tim e Average H ourly Earnings o f Workers in Shingle M ills in
Douglas F ir Region , b y Occupation, August 1944
Number of
workers
Occupation
Average
hourly
earnings
All selected occupations..............................
1,678
$1.45
Block pilers.................................................
Cut-off-saw operators..................................
Deckmen......................................................
Filers, head..................................................
Filers’ helpers...............................................
Knee bolters.................................................
Loaders, car and truck................................
Millwrights..............................................
Shingle packers............................................
Shingle sawyers............................................
Splitter-men.................................................
Tallymen..................................... ...............
Watchmen....................................................
151
105
54
42
22
68
56
11
485
548
19
66
51
1.07
1.35
1.17
2.00
1.50
1.48
1.02
1.14
1.45
1.71
1.11
1.08
.98
In all selected key occupations in logging camps and in more than
half o f the occupations in sawmills, earnings were higher in the Douglas
Fir region than in either the Western Pine or the Redwood region.
In most o f the occupations for which comparative figures are shown,
the differential in hourly earnings in favor of Douglas Fir workers was
between 10 and 20 cents in logging camps and between 5 and 10 cents
in sawmills. The differences in occupational earnings between the
Western Pine and the Redwood regions were neither consistent nor
large. In about half of the occupations earnings were higher in the
Western Pine region and in the remainder they either were the same
in both regions or were higher in the Redwood region.
T a b le 6.— Straight-Tim e Average H ou rly Earnings o f W orkers in Plyw ood M ills in
________________________Far W est, b y Occupation, August 1944 _______
Occupation
Num Average
ber of hourly
workers earnings
A ll selected occupations.................
3,882
$1.03
Barkers............................... - .......... .
Blacksmiths.................................... .
■Car loaders...................................... .
Carpenters........................ ...............
Clean-up m en................................. .
Clipper-machine operators, auto
matic............................................. .
Clipper-machine operators, hand.
Crane followers................................
Cranemen........................................ .
Cut-off-saw operators................... .
E lectricians.................................... .
Electricians’ helpers......... *............
Glue-spreader catchers...................
Glue-spreader feeders.................... .
Glue-spreader helpers.....................
Inspectors........................................ .
Machinists...................................... .
M illwrights............................... ......
Millwright’s helpers.......................
Off-bearers, saws.............................
Oilers.................................................
Patchers, plywood and/or panels..
72
7
133
40
95
1.11
1.21
.95
1.17
.90
56
54
16
67
58
39
8
207
124
49
70
32
102
21
77
17
285
1.13
1.11
.98
1.02
1.11
1.21
1.07
1.20
1.10
.95
.96
1.27
1.21
1.03
.91
LOO
1.16
Occupation
Pipefitters......................................
Plug cutters...................................
Plywood stock craters...............
Pondmen.......................................
Pressmen.......................................
Pressmen’s helpers........................
Rip-saw operators.........................
Truckers, band.............................
Truckers, power................. ..........
Veneer driers.................................
Veneer drier feeders......................
Veneer drier-off-bearers................
Veneer graders..............................
Veneer jointermen.........................
Veneer lathe apron men...............
Veneer lathe operators..................
Veneer lathe spotters....................
Veneer matchers.......... .................
Veneer repairers, automatic pluggers....................................i .......
Veneer repairers, hand plugger...
Veneer repairers, machine cutters.
Veneer tapers, machine................
Watchmen............................. .......
Num Aver
age
ber of hourly
workers earnings
20
74
27
86
150
90
51
27
40
69
352
277
179
77
57
72
70
15
$1.20
.95
.96
1.09
33
241
124
61
61
.94
.91
.95
.99
.90
1.10
.95
1.11
.97
.98
1.05
.92
.91
.99
.96
.96
1.25
1.02
.99
18
Within the Western Pine region occupational earnings were generally
higher in the central Oregon and the northern and central California
districts than in the Inland Empire, Snake River, and central
Washington districts.
I N F L U E N C E O F IN C E N T I V E E A R N IN G S O N W A G E S T R U C T U R E O F IN D U S T R Y
Although only slightly more than a sixth of the workers in the
basic lumber industry are incentive workers, the high earnings of these
workers exert considerable influence on the wage structure of the
industry. As a group, incentive workers averaged $1.87 an hour in
logging camps or 68 cents more than time workers (table 8). In
sawmills and shingle mills the average hourly earnings of incentive
workers exceeded those of time workers by 59 and 36 cents, respec
tively. These differences are borne out by the figures shown in
table 7, which indicate that 69 percent of the incentive workers
earned $1.50 or more an hour and only 3 percent earned less than $1,
whereas only 5 percent of the time workers received as much as
$1.50 an hour and as high as 40 percent received less than $1.
T a b le 7.— Percentage Distribution o f W orkers in B asic Lumber Industry in Far W est,
b y H ourly Earnings and M ethod o f W age Paym ent
Percent of workers with average hourly earnings of—
Under $1
Branch of industry
Time
workers
All hranfihfls
Tagging ramps ,
Sawmills
ShinflA mills
Plywood mills _ _
__
_
$1 and under $1.50
Incentive
workers
Time
workers
Incentive
workers
$1.50 and over
Time
workers
Incentive
workers
40
3
55
28
5
69
12
56
16
53
2
4
77
41
65
47
21
48
38
11
3
19
77
48
62
The very uneven distribution of incentive workers among the four
branches of the industry studied accounts for some of the differences
in wage levels between these branches. There are no incentive work
ers in plywood mills, and only 6.7 percent of the workers in sawmills
are paid on an incentive basis. These two branches, it will be recalled,
had respectively the lowest and next lowest general level of wages in
the industry. In contrast, in shingle mills where the highest wages
were found and in logging camps, next in order, 62 and 28 percent of
the workers, respectively, were incentive workers.
To a considerable extent the interregional and interdistrict differ
ences in earnings indicated in tables 3 and 4 for both logging camps
and sawmills are also the result of variations in the proportion of
incentive workers and in the level of the earnings of these workers.
This is true of much of the 8-cent advantage in earnings which logging
workers in the Redwood region enjoyed over similar workers in the
Western Pine region, as the earnings of time workers in both regions
were only 2 cents apart.
19
T a b le 8.— Straight-Tim e Average H ourly Earnings in Logging Camps, Sawmills, and
Shingle M ills , b y Region , D istrict, am? M ethod o f Wage Paym ent, August 1944
Logging camps
Region and district
Time
workers
Sawmills
Shingle mills
Incentive
Incentive Time
Incentive Time
workers workers workers workers workers
Total, Far West..........................................
$1.19
$1.87
$1.01
$1.60
$1.23
$1.59
Douglas Fir region......................................
1.25
1.10
1.01
1.05
1.03
1.16
1.17
1.11
1.12
1.96
1.70
1.53
1.67
1.36
1.87
1.88
1.73
1.79
1.02
.99
.94
.96
.89
1.03
1.04
1.04
1.02
1.42
1.69
1.27
1.83
1.40
1.76
1.73
1.95
1.25
1.23
1.59
W e s t e r n P i n e re g io n _ _
I n la n d E m p i r e d is t r ic t
S n a k e R i v e r d is t r ic t
Central Washington district................
Central Oregon district........................
Northern California district................
Central California district...................
Redwood region____________ __________
C O M P A R IS O N
OF
E A R N IN G S
IN
U N IO N
AND
N O N U N IO N
O P E R A T IO N S
Wages in union operations as a whole were higher than those in non
union, but the difference was very slight. Since the Bureau’s 1939-40
study revealed somewhat greater differentials in favor of the union
operations, it is apparent that the extraordinary conditions of wartime
have operated to the advantage of the lower-paid nonunion workers.
In the present study the comparison of earnings between union and
nonunion operations is necessarily limited to logging camps and saw
mills, as all plywood mills and virtually all shingle mills have collective
bargaining agreements with organized labor.
As may be seen from the figures shown in table 9, earnings in basic
lumber operations in the Far West were only slightly higher on the
average in union than in nonunion operations, the respective averages
being $1.19 and $1.18. Union workers earned more than nonunion
workers in logging camps ($1.39 compared to $1.35), but less in saw
mills ($1.04 to $1.05) . Earnings of union workers were slightly higher
than those of nonunion workers in the Douglas Fir region, but slightly
lower in the other two regions.
T ab le 9.— Straight-Tim e Average H ourly Earnings o f W orkers in Basic Lumber
Industry in Far W est, by Region , D istrict, and Unionization , August 1944
Total all
branches
Logging camps
Sawmills
Region and district
Total, Far West.
Douglas Fir region......................
Western Pine region....................
Inland Empire district.........
Snake River district.............
Central Washington district.
Central Oregon district-.......
Northern California districtCentral California district...
Redwood region..................... . . .
Union
Non
union
Union
Non
union
Union
$1.19
$1.18
$1.39
$1.35
$1.04
$1.05
$1.45
$1. 0&
1.23
1.13
1.05
1.13
.94
1.18
1.19
1.18
1.17
1.22
1.15
1.04
1.04
1.03
1.30
1.25
1.17
1.20
1.46
1.25
1.20
1.28
1.12
1.33
1.28
1.19
1.34
1.43
1.28
1.11
1.15
1.31
1.50
1.37
1.32
1.34
1.03
1.07
.96
1.05
.88
1.10
1.15
1.18
1.03
1.05
1.05
.98
.97
.96
1.19
1.10
1.03
1.12
1.45
1.03
i Includes earnings of 20 workers in small nonunion mills.
Ply
Shingle wood
mills
mills
Non
union Union i Union
20
Any discussion of union-nonunion wage differences in the western
lumber industry should mention a number of special factors that have
tended to reduce or obscure their magnitude. One consideration
is the extent and recency of union organization. In the Douglas
Fir region union organization is somewhat more extensive and opera
tions have been organized for a longer period of time than in either
the Western Pine or the Redwood regions. Other factors which may
affect earnings and tend to obscure somewhat the actual influence of
unionization on wages are size of operation and type of equipment.
Unionization, it will be recalled, has been confined chiefly to the larger
operations, whereas the smaller operations have generally been un
organized. It should also be borne in mind that, under the wagestabilization program, trade-unions have had comparatively limited
opportunities to seek wage advances for their members. Further
more, such general increases as were granted by the War Labor Board
to workers in union plants which were parties to dispute cases before
the Board were also authorized for all workers in basic lumber opera
tions in the region.
V A R I A T IO N S I N E A R N I N G S , B Y S IZ E O F O P E R A T IO N
There appears to be no consistent relationship between size of
operation and level of wages in the industry. An examination of the
data reveals that wages were slightly higher in general in the larger
camps than in the smaller camps. In some occupations in sawmills,
earnings tended to vary with the size of the mill, but the amount
of the difference varied considerably with regions.
Trend in Wage Rates During the War Period
The wage rates of 1944 represent a considerably higher level of
wages than prevailed before the outbreak of the war. With the
inauguration of the defense program and a sharp increase in demand
for all types of lumber and timber products, labor unions in the
Douglas Fir region demanded and obtained a series of wage increases.
The minimum rate of pay, which had been 42% cents under the
NRA, increased to 50 cents as a result of the strike settlement of
1935; it stood at 62 ^ cents at the start of the war and rose to 75 cents
early in 1941 as a result of a 5-cent increase in 1940 and a 7^-cent
increase in 1941. An increase of 7K cents was granted by the
National War Labor Board early in 1942 in connection with dispute
cases involving both unions. The latest general increase in wages in
the Douglas Fir region (7K cents) was granted in December 1942 and
made retroactive to September of that year by the West Coast Lumber
Commission of the National War Labor Board. This raised the
minimum rate for the industry in the Douglas Fir region to 90 cents
an hour. Wages in this region were further stabilized in 1942 when
the War Labor Board approved the report of a special panel which
recommended that wages in the Willamette Valley of Oregon be raised
to the level of those of the region as a whole.
A special tabulation of data reported monthly to the Bureau’s
Division of Employment Statistics by a large number of logging and
sawmill operations reveals that between January 1939 and October
1944 straight-time average hourly earnings of lumber workers in the
21
Douglas Fir region have risen by about 53 percent, while gross hourly
earnings have advanced by nearly 59 percent (see table 10). 7 Most,
of the increase in earnings, however, took place after January 1941,,
straight-time earnings since that time rising by approximately 40
percent, and gross earnings advancing by about 45 percent.
T a b le 10.— W eekly Hours and H ourly Earnings in Basic Lumber Industry, Douglas
F ir and W estern P in e Regions, in Far W est, 1 9 3 9 -4 4
Douglas Fir region
Year and month
Western Pine region
Hourly earnings1
Weekly
hours
Unad
Ad
justed 8 justed 8
Hourly earnings1
Weekly
hours
Unad
Ad
justed 2 justed 8
1939—January.......................................................
April............................................................
July.............................................................
October........................................................
35.1
34.5
32.9
37.2
$0.75
.76
.75
.76
$0.75
.76
.75
.74
35.5
36.2
34.9
39.6
$0.72
.71
.72
.73
$0.72
.70.72
.72
1940—January.......................................................
April...........................................................
Jiffy..............................................................
October........................................................
34.6
36.0
33.4
36.7
.76
.77
.75
.78
.76
.76
.75
.77
33.1
36.7
35.4
38.5
.75
.73
.74
.75
.75
.72
.74
.74
1941—January....................................... ...............
April............................................................
July.............. ..............................................
October........................................................
36.0
37.9
35.6
38.2
.82
.83
.88
.91
.82
.82
.88
.89
35.5
36.5
36.6
38.8
.79
.79
.84
.86
.79
.78
.83
.85
1942—January.......................................................
April...........................................................
J u ly ...........................................................
October........................................................
34.6
37.7
38.0
41.3
.91
.94
1.01
1.06
.91
.92
1.00
1.02
35.3
37.1
38.2
41.7
.87
.89
.98
1.02
.87
.88
.96
.99-
1943—January.......................................................
April............................................................
July.............................................................
October........................................................
33.9
40.8
39.9
41.9
1.12
1.15
1.18
1.18
1.12
1.12
1.14
1.14
36.0
40.6
40.5
41.9
1.00
1.06
1.13
1.15
.92
1.02
1.09
1.10
1944—January................................ ......................
April............................................................
Jiffy.............................................................
October........................................................
39.6
41.9
37.9
41.7
1.18
1.19
1.20
1.19
1.15
1.14
1.19
1.15
39.5
40.7
39.6
43.3
1.11
1.15
1.18
1.18
1.08
1.11
1.15
1.12
1Figures for any one month have not been adjusted to include any retroactive wage increases.
* Gross earnings including both premium overtime and shift-differential earnings.
8Net earnings excluding premium overtime but including shift-differential earnings.
Although the general increases in wages obtained by the unions
through collective bargaining or awarded or authorized by Govern
ment agencies prior to 1943 pertained only to the Douglas Fir region*
it appears that much the same general pattern of increase took
place in the Western Pine region. For example, workers in the West
ern Pine region appear to have received in 1942 increases equivalent
to the 7K-cent increase granted by the Commission early in 1942 to
the Douglas Fir workers. The most important recent wage increase
in the Western Pine region was granted by the West Coast Lumber
Commission during the spring of 1943. Workers in the pine operations
which were parties to the dispute cases before the Commission were
granted a 7^-cent increase, which was retroactive in full to September
1942 and in part to the spring of 1942. Other pine operations not
7 The figures for each month are based on wages received for work performed during a pay-roll period
nearest to the 15th of that month. No adjustments have been made in the figures to take into account
retroactive wage increases, as information is not available regarding the amount of the retroactive payments.
The figures for October 1942 and for January and April 1943 for the Western Pine region would undoubtedly
be a few cents higher if the increase which was retroactive from May 1943 to September 1942 was included.
Similarly the figure for October 1942 in the Douglas Fir region would be a few cents higher if it included tho.
increase which was retroactive from December to September of that year.
22
parties to the dispute cases were permitted by the 'Commission to
grant a similar increase but, although most of them availed themselves,
of the opportunity, many did not make the increases retroactive. The
Commission, with labor members dissenting, did not establish a single
minimum rate for the Western Pine region as a whole, as had been
done in the case of the Douglas Fir region, but established instead
six labor-market areas and set minimum rates for these areas ranging
from 80 cents for central Washington to 87H cents for central Oregon
and northern California. The Commission later recommended a
minimum rate of 85 cents for the Redwood region, but this was
reduced to 82% cents by the Director of Economic Stabilization.
The increase in earnings after January 1939 was somewhat greater
in the Western Pine region than in the Douglas Fir region. During
this period straight-time earnings rose nearly 56 percent and gross
earnings rose approximately 64 percent (see table 10). As in the
Douglas Fir region, most of the increase in earnings occurred after
January 1941. Since that time straight-time hourly earnings have
risen by 42 percent and gross earnings by 49 percent.
Although no figures are presented in table 10 for the Redwood re
gion, it is believed that the pattern of change in earnings in that region
since 1939 follows that in the other two regions in the Far West.
C H A N G E S IN O C C U P A T IO N A L E A R N I N G S ,
1939-44
The comparative figures8 presented in table 11 for 46 selected basic
lumber occupations, show that the wage increases which have occurred
since the fall of 1939 have varied considerably among branches of
the industry. The greatest absolute increases during this period,
55 and 48 cents, respectively, took place in logging camps and shingle
mills; the smallest increase, 27 cents, occurred in plywood mills.
Workers customarily paid on an incentive basis received much
greater increases in earnings than did time workers. The earnings
of hand fallers and buckers in logging camps, for example, increased
by 83 cents on the average, while those of yard pilers in sawmills
rose 76 cents and those of shingle sawyers and packers in shingle
mills advanced 54 and 53 cents, respectively. The increases in
earnings of time workers were on the whole much more moderate, and
were markedly uniform within branches. For most of the selected
occupations the wage increase was between 25 and 30 cents in plywood
mills and between 30 and 40 cents in logging camps and sawmills. In
shingle mills 4 of the 8 selected occupations showed increases in
earnings ranging from 25 to 35 cents an hour. The marked uniformity
in the absolute increases within departments is due very largely to
the fact that most wage increases since 1939 have been flat “ acrossthe-board” increases.
Only in few instances did skilled time workers receive appreciably
greater absolute increases in earnings than other workers. In sawmills,
for example, filers received a much greater increase in earnings than
other time workers (49 cents compared to 35 cents or less for most
of the other occupations), but head rig sawyers, also one of the most
skilled occupations, had the smallest increase in earnings of any of the
8 These figures are based on detailed occupational wage data collected by the Bureau during the course of
Nation-wide surveys of the lumber industry, conducted in 1939 and 1944. The two surveys did not cover
the same operations in all cases, but both are believed to be representative of the industry as of the time of
the study.
23
occupations (32 cents). In logging camps loading engineers, head
loaders, hook tenders and cat drivers received only slightly higher
absolute increases in earnings than chasers, second loaders and choker
setters who on the whole are somewhat less-skilled workers.
T
a b le
11.— Straight-Tim e Average H ou rly Earnings o f Workers in Selected Occupations
in B asic Lumber Industry in Far W est, Fall o f 1939 and August 1944
Branch of industry, and occupation
Averagei hourly
earnings
Total
number
of
workers,
August
1944
August
1944
Fall of
1939
Amount Percent
of
of
increase
(in cents) increase
Total, 46 occupations....................................................
47,437
i $1.24
1$0.78
46
59.0
Logging camps (16 occupations)..................................
Brakeman, head......................................... ..........
Brakeman, second..................................................
Cat drivers (tractor)..............................................
Chasers, high-lead and skidder-side......................
Choker setters, cat side..........................................
Engineers, mechanical loading..............................
Engineers, rail transportation...............................
Fallers and buckers, hand.....................................
Firemen, rail transportation.................................
Head loaders, mechanical loading.........................
Hook tenders..........................................................
Scalers, woods........................................................
Second loaders, mechanical loading......................
Truck driyers, hauling..........................................
Truck mechanics..................................................
26,634
260
227
1,670
432
2,881
1,191
282
10,786
266
1,049
946
619
1,602
3,677
948
1.39
1.14
1.03
1.30
1.12
1.06
1.30
1.20
1.70
.99
1.34
1.48
1.17
1.13
1.12
1.24
.84
.88
.76
.91
.75
.71
.91
.94
.87
.73
.96
1.09
.84
.76
.71
.92
55
26
27
39
37
35
39
26
83
26
38
39
33
37
41
32
66.5
29.5
35.5
42:9
49.3
49.3
42.9
27.7
95.4
35.6
39.6
35.8
39.3
.48.7
57.7
34.8
Sawmills (14 occupations)............................................
Car loaders.............................................................
Deckmen................................................................
Doggers, head rig...................................................
Edgermen...............................................................
Edger off-bearers...................................................
Filers......................................................................
Filers* helpers, floor...............................................
Graders or markers, green chain...........................
Off-bearers, head rig....... .......................................
Pilers, yard.............................................................
Pullers, green chain...............................................
Sawyers, head rig...................................................
Setters, head rig.....................................................
Trimmermen, head mill........................................
17,694
2,466
729
706
1,241
877
680
262
801
1,166
1,131
4,468
1,121
1,139
1,027
1.13
1.15
.96
.96
1.14
.91
1.62
1.10
1.09
.95
1.57
1.02
1.60
1.09
1.02
.72
.67
.58
.61
.80
.68
1.13
.75
.73
.61
.81
.65
1.18
.75
.68
41
48
38
35
34
33
49
35
36
34
76
37
32
34
34
56.9
71.6
65.5
67.4
42.5
56.9
43.4
46.7
49.3
55.7
93.8
56.9
27.1
45.3
50.0
Shingle mills (8 occupations) .......................................
Block pilers............................................................
Cut-off saw operators.............................................
Deckmen................................................................
Loaders, car and truck..........................................
Shingle packers.......................................................
Shingle sawyers......................................................
Splitter men..........................................................
Tallymen. .............................................................
1,*484
161
105
64
66
485
648
19
66
1.45
1.07
1.35
1.17
1.02
1.45
1.71
1.11
1.08
.97
.73
.87
.75
.71
.92
1.17
.83
.78
48
34
48
42
31
53
54
28
30
49.5
46.6
65.2
56.0
43.7
57.6
46.2
33.7
38.5
Plywood mills (9 occupations).....................................
Clipper-machine operators................................. —
Glue-spreader catchers..........................................
Glue-spreader feeders.............................................
Pressmen................................................................
Truckers, hand.......................................................
Veneer driers (feeders and off-bearers)..................
Veneer graders....................... ..............................
Veneer lathe helpers...............................................
Veneer lathe operators...........................................
1,625
110
207
124
160
27
629
179
127
72
1.02
1.02
1.20
1.10
1.10
.97
.92
.99
.99
1.25
.75
.76
.98
.78
.83
.69
.64
.72
.69
.97
27
26
22
32
27
28
28
27
30
28
36.0
34.2
22.4
41.0
32.5
40.6
43.8
37.5
43.5
28.9
i In order to Insure that the wage level of each branch w ould be represented in the general average in
proportion to its importance in the industry, the averages for each branch w hich appear in this table were
weighted b y the total number of workers covered in the branch and not b y the actual number in the selected
occupations for which figures are presented in this table.
U. S . GOVERNMENT PRINTING O FFICE: 1 * 4 *