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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 ages in Petroleum D rilling
and Production in the Southwest
A p ril 1944
B ulletin 7\[o. 810
fReprinted from the M onthly L abor R eview, February 1945J
For safe by the Superintendent o f Documents, U. S. Governm ent Printing Office
Washington 25, D. C. - Price 5 cents
Letter of Transmittal
U nited States D epartment of L abor ,
B ureau op L abor Statistics ,
1
Washington, D. C., February 18, 1945.
of L abor :
T he Secretary op
<
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on wages in petroleum drilling
and production in the Southwest, April 1944. This report was prepared in the
Bureau’s Division of Wage Analysis by Walter T. Watson, Regional Wage 1
Analyst
for the Dallas Region, with the assistance of Gladys D. Meisel.
Commissi
A. F. H inrichs, Acting Commissioner.
Hon. F rances P erkins ,
Secretary of Labor.
Contents
Summary_________________________________________________
Scope and method of study_____________________________________________
Characteristics of the industry__________________________________________
Oil-field workers___ ____________________________________________________
Unionization of workers________________________________
Factors affecting total earnings_________________________________________
Average hourly earnings________________________________________________
Occupational differences in earnings_______________________________
Area differences in occupational earnings___________________________
Differences in earnings and size of company____________ ____________
Differences in earnings andunionization...... ..............................................
(ii)
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B ulletin 7\[o. 810 o f the
U nited States B ureau o f Labor Statistics
[Reprinted fiom the M onthly L abor R eview , February 1945]
Wages in Petroleum Drilling and Production in the
Southwest, April 1944
Sum m ary
In April 1944, straight-time average hourly earnings for 22,907
male workers, employed by 355 companies engaged in petroleum pro
duction and the drilling of oil and gas wells, in Oklahoma, Texas, and
Louisiana, reached $1.07. This average is higher by 5 cents an hour
than the $1.02 average recorded in 1943 and probably exceeds all
previous average hourly earnings established in the petroleum industry
in the Southwest.
Bureau of Labor Statistics studies in 1943 and 1944 reveal that 67
percent of the workers covered in 1944 were employed in jobs paying
$1.00 or more per hour, as compared with 58 percent in 1943. In
these 2 years 10 and 8 percent, respectively, of the men were in jobs
paying $1.25 or more per hour.
Comparison of hourly earnings, by States, for 1944 shows that petro
leum workers averaged $1.09 in Louisiana, $1.07 in Texas, and $1.04
in Oklahoma. The highest average hourly wage ($1.12) was paid in
the Louisiana Gulf Coast area and the lowest ($1.03) in north Texas.
The wages paid by large companies were consistently higher than
those paid by the small ones. Companies operating under bargaining
agreements with unions— generally the larger companies— paid higher
wages than those without such agreements.
Among the 15 individual key occupations studied, that of rotary
driller showed the highest average wage, $1.57 per hour. Cable
drillers averaged only $1.20, ranking below class A maintenance men
($1.21), and equaled the rate for gang pushers ($1.20). Other averages
of $1.00 or more were received by derrickmen ($1.09), rotary firemen
($1.07), tool dressers- ($1.03), rotary floormen ($1.02), pumpers and
switchers ($1.01), and truck drivers, 2}{ tons and over ($1.00). Watch
men (70 cents) earned the lowest wages.
Scope and M ethod o f Study
This study of wages in petroleum production and drilling in 1944,
paralleling a similar study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1943,1
was undertaken to provide data for use by the War Labor Board in the
administration of the wage-stabilization program. The material has*(i)
i See Earnings in Oil-Well Drilling and Crude-Petroleum Production in the Southwest, April 1943, by
Joe E. Brown in Monthly Labor Review, February 1944. For comparison with the data here presented,
some of the 1943 tabulations have been modified slightly.
632950—45
(i)
2
also been of use to other administrative agencies and to the industry
itself. The present study not only provides the latest available in
formation on wage rates in the industry in the Southwest, but also
permits the measurement of wage trends in that region during a crit
ical war year.
In scope and method the 1943 and 1944 studies were closely similar.
The earlier study was based on a sample of 401 companies employing
27,310 workers, of whom 21,805 were included in the key jobs selected
for study.2 The 1944 study covered 355 companies employing 27,901
workers, of whom 22,907 were in the selected key jobs. Both samples are
believed to be representative of the industry in the Southwest region
for the years in which they were selected. Analysis of the samples for
the respective years reveals a slight gain in the proportion of medium
sized companies at the expense of small ones, and a slight increase in
the importance of the Texas industry at the expense of that in Louisiana.
As is characteristic of the oil industry, many of the companies were
engaged in multiple operations.3 The number of such operations
studied was 730 in 1943 and 601 in 1944. Of the total operations in
1944, 443 were in Texas, 104 in Oklahoma, and 54 in Louisiana.
The wage data used in this report were taken directly from pay-roll
records by trained agents of the Bureau. Care was taken to insure
comparability of occupation from company to company through the
use of standard job descriptions, each employee being classified
according to the duties he performed rather than by his occupational
title.
In the current survey average hourly earnings, exclusive of premium
overtime payments and shift differentials, were obtained for 15 key
occupations. Five classifications (carpenters, class A and class B,
electricians, class A and class B, and machinists, class A), comprising
half of 1 percent of the total force in 1943, were excluded from the
1944 survey. One occupation (maintenance men) was divided into
skill classes A and B.
Several criteria were used in the selection of these occupations: (1)
Definiteness and clarity of the occupational classification; (2) numer
ical importance; (3) critical importance to the war effort; (4) im
portance from the standpoint of collective bargaining; and (5) repre
sentativeness of skill and range of rates. It is apparent that all these
requirements are not equally satisfied by the occupations selected.
Considered as a whole, however, they are believed to present an
adequate picture of the wage structure of the industry. The numbers
of workers studied are shown in table 1.
2 These data have been revised slightly, to increase their comparability with the 1944 information.
2 An “ operation” is considered to include all the drilling and/or production activities of a company which
are within any one of the areas designated for purposes of this study. For example, there are six such areas
in Texas, and this would be the maximum number of operations which any one company could have in this
State. The area subdivisions used are those accepted by the industry itself. They are determined primarily
by geological factors and consequent similarity in production problems encountered within the area; they
do not necessarily represent areas characterized by different labor-market conditions.
3
T a b l e 1.— M ale W orkers in Selected Occupations in O il-W ell D rilling and Crude•
Petroleum Production in the Southwest, b y State, A p ril 1943 and A p ril 1944
Southwest,
total
Occupation
1943
1944
'fexas
1943
1944
Louisiana
1943
All selected occupations............................... 121,805 22,907 114,262 15,384 12,456
Derrickmen..................................................
Drillers, cable
_ _
Drillers, rotary.............................................
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not otherwise
classified—.................................................
Firemen, rotary............................................
Floormen, rotary..........................................
Gang pushers..............................................
Maintenance men (class A and class B )___
Pumpers and switchers................................
Roustabouts.................................................
Tool dressers____ ______ _______________
Truck drivers, under 2H tons.....................
Truck drivers, 2 tons and over.................
Watchmen....................................................
1,012
198
1,353
1,651
213
1,895
683
144
943
1,136
141
1,323
172
4
195
1,539
785
1,836
947
167
7,945
5,271
(2)
284
196
148
949
930
3,287
851
287
7,669
4,427
172
339
157
80
1,277
551
1,186
620
77
5,151
3,104
(2)
183
122
123
736
666
2,304
579
166
5,021
2,821
113
222
101
55
93
151
372
91
44
715
530
(2)
54
7
14
1944
Oklahoma
1943
2,197 15,087
234
245
42
163
540
83
15
444
359
52
13
7
1944
5,326
157
50
215
281
72
327
169
83
278
236
46
2,079
1,637
(2)
47
67
11
171
101
443
189
106
2,204
1,247
59
65
43
18
1 The figures for all selected occupations for 1943 include carpenters, classes A and B, electricians,
classes A and B. and machinists, class A. These were distributed as follows: Texas, 98; Louisiana, 14;
Oklahoma, 12; total Southwest, 124.
2 Data not available.
Characteristics o f the Industry
Production in the Southwest— Approximately 37 percent4 of the
estimated total world production of oil in 1943 was pumped from
wells in the three southwestern States covered in the present study.
Sixty-seven percent of the world output came from the United States
alone and, within this country, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana
contributed 835,468,000 barrels or 55 percent of the national yield.
Texas, in first place, supplied 589,129,000 barrels or 39 percent of
the United States output. California (284,286,000 barrels), Louisiana
(125,780,000 barrels), and Oklahoma (120,559,000 barrels) followed
with percentages of 19, 8, and 8. Thanks largely to a substantial gain
in the output of Texas wells, national production surpassed all previous
records in 1943. It is of interest to note that increased output of
proved fields rather than gains from new discoveries account, in the
main, for the record set.
Drilling operations in the United States, unlike production, declined
both in 1942 and in 1943. The explanation of the decrease apparently
lies in a complex set of conditions which include progressive exhaustion
of the opportunities for exploration, rising costs, scarcity of materials,
and a fixed price for the product. The number of wells drilled fell 39
percent in the earlier year, less than 2 percent in the latter. In the
3-State area the 1943 drop was greater— 7 percent. While this total
decline in the Southwestern States was small, it applied primarily to
drilling in proved fields. The number of “ wildcat” or exploratory
wells drilled during the year increased 40 percent in Oklahoma, 17
percent in Texas, and 10 percent in Louisiana. Nearly half (48 per
cent) of all such wells drilled in the United States during 1943 were in
4 Production and drilling statistics used in this discussion are those reported in the Annual Number of the
Oil and Gas Journal, January 27,1944.
4
these States. The decline in drilling in proved fields was due in part
to the “ spacing” regulations of the Petroleum Administration for War,
prompted by wartime shortages in steel and other materials.
Both in production and in drilling the Southwest registered sub
stantial gains between early 1943 and early 1944, the periods covered
in the Bureau’s wage studies.
Accommodation to labor shortage.— The requirements of war have
made it necessary to protect, as far as possible, the labor supply vital
to increased production. Relatively high wages, active recruitment,
and the policy of local draft boards have generally prevented man
power crises in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. For example, no
instance of the abandonment of pumping operations because of
inability to obtain workers was reported by the Bureau’s representa
tives during their more than 350 visits to oil companies.
Labor shortages have, however, brought about numerous changes in
policy and in scope or method of operation. Perhaps the major labor
adjustment between April 1943 and 1944 was an increase in the number
of hours in the average workweek. There was also evidence of a
considerable amount of upgrading of labor. Other accommodations
to labor shortages repeatedly mentioned in field reports were (1) idle
ness of rotary rigs, especially in west Texas and the Texas Panhandle,
(2) operation of two tours (shifts), and sometimes only one, instead
of the customary three, by entire drilling crews, (3) the staying over of
one or two men of a 5-man crew for a double shift, (4) trend toward
“ mileage allowances” for employees living at a distance from their
work, (5) reduction in size of drilling crews, particularly the elimination
of one of the floormen and the distribution of his duties among the
remaining personnel, (6) deterioration in the maintenance of leases by
roustabouts, i. e., less cleaning up and repair, (7) increase in the number
of part-time workers at all levels and in all classifications, and (8) exten
sion of the range of operations by pumpers and switchers, i. e., caring
for additional wells by moving from lease to lease.
O il-Field Workers
The oil-field workers in the Southwest are typically rural, male,
energetic, migratory, and married. In general they spring from the
soil and return to it in their declining years. Obviously the above
portrait generalizes broadly and requires qualification for specific place
and occupation.
Drillers.— Perhaps the most picturesque figure in the petroleum
industry is the driller. On duty 7 days a week, responsible for the
safety of his crew, charged with the care of the costly equipment
of which the rig is composed, threatened with emergencies created by
high gas pressures, blow-outs, fire, broken cables, overhanging weights,
and unexpected geological formations, he labors under continuous
strain and danger.5 A moment of fatigue or carelessness may result in
•Drilling is the most hazardous branch of the petroleum industry, according to statistics reported by both
the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the National Safety Council. Bureau of Mines figures on 108 drilling com
panies in 1942 show an accident-frequency rate of 52.74 per million man-hours. The rate for 530 production
companies was 18.27. Both rates were far above those of the 12 other branches of the oil industry listed.
(National Petrcleum News, December 29, 1943, p. 9.)
National Safety Council figures, based on reports from 180 companies, indicate a similar degree of danger in
drilling occupations. Although the petroleum industry as a whole showed an accident-frequency rate of
11.72 in 1942, the rate in producing departments was 15.28. and in drilling departments 46.34. Not only
were accidents more frequent among drilling departments, but they were also more severe. (National Pe
troleum News, December 8, 1943, pp. 42,43.)
5
his breaking a leg or smashing an arm. B y “ dropping” a “ string” of
pipe he may cost his company from $5,000 to $25,000. Typically, he
has served an “ apprenticeship” as a “ roughneck,” 6 slipping and shuf
fling about ankle-deep in mud over innumerable derrick floors. He
knows intimately every operation performed in the field and is some
what older than his associates. One large Texas company, for ex
ample, reports the average age for its crew members as follows:
Drillers 38, firemen 36, derrickmen 32, floormen 32. Another com
pany, reporting only its Texas Gulf Coast workers, gives correspond
ing averages oi 44, 41, 36, and 34.
It is sometimes asserted that “ drillers don’t quit— they’re fired.”
Not infrequently, in fact, there are successive discharges for care
lessness, injury, drunkenness, or age. Many a “ broken-down driller”
finishes his career with lowered status and diminished earnings— as
pumper, machinist in a shop or plant producing oil-field equipment,
or farmer. In rare instances, however, the driller may end his days
as lease owner, contractor, or producing executive.7
Derrickmen.— The derrickman works on a small platform suspended
above the well. He must be able on occasion to cover the 100 feet of
vertical distance to the top of his work station with speed and agility.
Youth and skill are clearly demanded. In the entire industry, pro
duction and drilling alike, only drillers, gang pushers, and some main
tenance men (employed chiefly by larger companies) receive higher
average hourly earnings than the derrickmen.
Rotary firemen.— The rotary fireman, though commonly only 4 or 5
years older than the derrickman, may outlast him by a dozen years.
However, it should be noted that firemen are gradually being replaced
by motormen and enginemen as steam power gives way to electricity,
Diesel motors, gasoline, and other more modern forms of energy.
This change is especially apparent in areas where there is a scarcity of
water or where water requires much costly treatment.
Production crew.— The production crew, organized on a lower skill
level than the drilling crew, normally includes pumpers and/or switch
ers and roustabouts. The switcher operates in fields where wells flow
under natural gas pressure and do not require pumps. The pumper
oftenliveson the property (“lease” ) being worked for oil, with house and
utilities furnished. Sometimes he is given space for a garden, chickens,
and cows. Though paid for a basic week ranging as a rule from 40 to
48 hours, the pumper may labor many more or many fewer hours.
One firm reported 84 hours as the workweek of its pumpers for a given
period. If equipment is in satisfactory condition, however, relatively
little actual work may be required. As a consequence, numbers of
pumpers have small farms which they maintain along with their
duties as employees. Not infrequently men in the occupation hire out
to several companies operating in the same territory, and spend part
of the day with each company. Very often a farmer living in the
vicinity of a producing field will accept part-time employment and
tend wells on one or more leases.
Roustabouts, who perform those duties of lease and well mainte
nance requiring relatively little skill, are quite generally referred to
• Rotary fireman, rotary floorman, or derrickman.
7 An item from the “ Personal Notes” column of an oil journal (names and places altered) reads as follows:
“ A. D . Smith recently promoted to drilling superintendent for the X Oil Corporation in the Texas Gulf
Coast area at Eouston started as a roughneck in Spindletop in 1917, joined the Y Petroleum (now X Oil) as
driller at Smackover In 1927.”
a
6
as the “ common labor” of the oil industry. The duties of roustabouts,
however, are usually more responsible than those of common laborers
and involve work which is consistently heavy and frequently dan
gerous. Wages of these men, therefore, are higher as a rule than those
paid to ordinary common labor.
Roustabouts are not only employed in oil-production activities;
on occasion they are also engaged in pipe-lining, and in drilling opera
tions that are getting under way or that are approaching completion,
in the preparation of slush pits, laying of water and fuel lines, moving
equipment on and off the drilling site, and like tasks. Such work is
discontinuous. When a well clean-up or servicing job is finished, or
when a drilling site has been prepared, activity ceases. As a result
large companies tend to transfer roustabouts from one lease or area to
another, thus keeping them continuously on the pay roll. Smaller
establishments, on the other hand, report the employment of perma
nent roustabouts in limited numbers only. Local men, temporarily
hired and less skilled than in pre-war years, often constitute the
majority of the workers.
Substantial age differences distinguish the “ production end of the
business” and the “ drilling end of the business,” according to the
Subcommittee on Manpower, Petroleum Administration for War,
District III. In M ay 1944 the age distribution of 15,057 production
workers in the four States of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and
Texas was as follows: 2 percent under 26 years, 7 percent between 26
and 30 years, 26 percent over 30 but under 38 years, and 65 percent
over 38. The corresponding percentages for 5,559 drilling workers
were 7, 13, 35, and 45. Available Southwestern records indicate that,
though the number of boys and old men hired during wartime has
been greater than usual, the employment trend away from the inter
mediate age groups, both in drilling and production, has been less
marked than in industries less essential to the war economy.
U nionization o f Workers
Of the 355 representative companies surveyed in the Bureau’s
study, only 14 reported collective-bargaining agreements with unions.
Seven of these unions were affiliated with the Oil Workers’ Interna
tional Union, C. I. O., and two with the International Union of Oper
ating Engineers, A. F. of L. Five were independent unions. The 14
unionized companies, although constituting only 4 percent of the
total number of companies, conducted 11 percent of the total number
of operations and employed 33 percent of the workers. This indicates
that union organization is more frequently found in large than in
small companies. Eleven percent of all operations in Oklahoma, 10
percent in Texas, and 19 percent in Louisiana were handled by firms
with union agreements.
Factors A ffecting Total Earnings
The average workweek among the operations studied was 49.2
hours. The most usual week was 48 hours, reported by 37 percent of
the operations. A 56-hour week was reported by 33 percent, and a
7
40-hour week by 20 percent. Hours in the remaining instances
ranged from 35 to 84.
Almost 99 percent of the establishments in the survey paid time
and a half for hours in excess of 40 per week, and over 20 percent also
paid this premium rate for hours in excess of 8 in any 1 day. About
80 percent of the establishments paid double time for work on the
seventh consecutive day, while a few reported time and a half on the
sixth or seventh consecutive day. Forty-five percent paid time and
a half for work on 6 specified holidays; and about 2 percent paid
different premium rates on 5 or 6 holidays.
Paid vacations were granted in 57 percent of the companies. In
general, the length of the vacation varied from 1 to 4 weeks, depending
in many cases on the period of service with the company. Twenty
percent gave 2 weeks after 1 year of service; 17 percent gave 1 week
after 1 year and 2 weeks after 2 years. Less than 10 percent
paid for vacations of more than 2 weeks, and in most of these the
long vacations were contingent upon extended service. An example
is that of one company which allowed 4 weeks after 20 years, and 4
weeks for each 5 years thereafter.
Half of the operations in this study were conducted on a 3-shift
basis, 3 percent had two shifts, and 47 percent had a daylight shift
only. No differential was paid by any company for work on a late
shift. Shift rotation was reported in 10 percent of the operations.
Wages were paid exclusively on a time-rate system. No incentive
system was reported on any operation.
Average H ou rly Earnings
The 22,907 employees covered by this survey earned a straighttime average of $1.07 per hour in April 1944. Louisiana reported an
average of $1.09, Texas $1.07, and Oklahoma $1.04. While these
averages were obtained from the wages paid to workers in 15 selected
occupations, they are believed to be representative of the straighttime earnings of all the workers in the industry. These selected oc
cupations were well distributed across the wage structure, and they
accounted for more than four-fifths of the total employment at the
time of the 1944 survey.
The average for all workers in the 3-State region as a whole was 5
cents higher in April 1944 than in April 1943. The average in
Louisiana rose by 7 cents, that in Oklahoma by 5 cehts, and that in
Texas by 4 cents in the 1-year period.
When the 9 producing-area subdivisions are compared, the Loui
siana Gulf Coast ranked highest and north Texas lowest. The four
areas with lowest averages were north Texas $1.03, Texas Panhandle
$1.04, Oklahoma $1.04, and north Louisiana $1.05. Since these
areas are, in general, characterized by shallow drilling, low yield per
well, and high degree of stripper activity, it would appear that the
marginal nature of operations may be partly responsible for the some
what lower wage rates. At the same time this type of operation
generally requires a less-skilled type of worker, particularly on drilling
crews, and this factor also influences the level of wage rates.
Areas in which high gas pressures and deep drilling are factors, on
the other hand, demand the most-experienced and most highly skilled
8
workers in the industry. Danger both to personnel and to expensive
equipment is great, and rates of pay reflect these hazards. The Gulf
Coast areas of Texas and Louisiana, where such operating conditions
prevail, had the highest average hourly earnings ($1.10 and $1.12,
respectively) in 1944, as they had in 1943 ($1.06 and $1.05).
Although the average hourly earnings in an area are determined to
some extent by the character of the geologic structure and hence by
operating conditions, they are also influenced by other factors such
as dominance of large (generally higher-rate) companies, relative
importance of drilling and production activities, degree of unioniza
tion, etc.
The change in averages in the period between the two surveys is
noteworthy. The fact that increases occurred in each of the areas
seems to imply a fairly widespread increase in rates of pay throughout
the industry. Information on general wage-rate changes was collected
as part of the survey, and although no detailed analysis of the influence
of these changes on the area averages has been made, a preliminary
check of the data permits the following statements: General wagerate increases (those affecting 10 percent or more of a company’s
employees, or those affecting key occupations) were reported most
often among drilling contractors; these companies accounted for 53
percent of the general increases. Approximately 23 percent of all
small establishments, 48 percent of all medium-size, and 22 percent
of all large companies granted wage-rate increases of the type de
scribed. Of the 355 companies studied, 28 percent increased their
rates.
Another factor contributing to the increase in the averages shown
for the two periods is the greatly accelerated drilling activity that
took place throughout the region during the year. Drilling operations
are the high-rate jobs of the industry, and any disproportionate
increase in the number of such workers would be expected to influence
the averages accordingly. Still a third factor is the reclassification of
workers to higher-skill jobs at higher rates of pay.
These three factors have contributed in varying degrees to the
increases in the average hourly earnings shown in the accompanying
tabulation. Limitations of the data collected preclude any precise
evaluation of each factor separately, and no effort has been made to
gauge their relative importance.
Average hourly earnings
in A pril
A pril
Southwest....... ....................
Texas___________________
Texas Panhandle____
West Texas_________
North Texas________
East Central T exas.Southwest Texas____
Texas Gulf Coast___
Louisiana_______________
North Louisiana____
Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Oklahoma_______________
194S
19U1
$1. 02
1. 03
1. 01
1. 03
.9 5
1. 04
1. 04
1. 06
1. 02
.9 9
1. 05
.9 9
$1. 07
1. 07
1. 04
1. 07
1. 03
1. 08
1. 08
1. 10
1. 09
1. 05
1. 12
1. 04
1
1All data are exclusive of premium payments for overtime and night work. In the preparation of these
averages constant occupational weights were used, based on the distribution of workers by occupation in
the Southwest as a whole in the respective years.
9
OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS
Straight-time average hourly earnings for individual occupations in
oil-well drilling and crude-petroleum production in the Southwest in
April 1944 ranged from 70 cents for watchmen to $1.57 for rotary
drillers (table 2).
T able 2.— Average H ou rly Earnings1 o f M ale Workers in Selected Occupations in O ilW ell Drilling and Crude-Petroleum Production in the Southivest, A p ril 1944
Occupation
Num
ber of
Workers
opera
tions
in
which
occu Num Per
pation ber
cent
was
found
All selected occupations:
Number of workers____________
Percent..........................................
22,907
Derrickmen.........................................
Drillers, cable_____________________
Drillers, rotary_____________ ____
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not other
wise classified...................................
Firemen, rotary___________________
Floor men, rotary................................
Gang pushers......................................
Maintenance men, class A _________
Maintenance men, class B .................
Pumpers and switchers......................
Roustabouts........................................
Tool dressers........................................
Truck drivers, under 2M tons............
Truck drivers, 2H tons and over.......
Watchmen_______________________
Number of workers in operations in
which occupational hourly earn
ings averaged—
Average
hourly
earn
$0.80 $0.85 $0.90 $0.95
and
ings Under and
and
and
$0.80 under under under under
$0.85 $0.90 $0.95 $1.00
100.0
$1.07
1.07
1,477
6.4
461
2.0
514
2.2
1,255
5.5
3,876
16.9
1
1
3
10
3
73
3
12
1
1
16
6
3
18
5
83
6
110
28
4
191
203
9
* 10
12
1
1
248
186
12
22
7
3
8
587
312
19
53
17
19
398
45
1,568
16
4
59
1,074
579
13
25
22
166
61
209
1,651
213
1,895
7.2
.9
8.3
1.09
1.20
1.57
48
103
162
180
63
26
482
343
43
117
71
43
949
930
3,287
851
139
148
7,669
4,427
172
339
157
80
4.1
4.1
14.4
3.7
.6
.6
33.5
19.3
.8
1.5
.7
.3
.99
1.07
1.02
1.20
1.21
.98
1.01
.97
1.03
.96
1.00
.70
9
12
1
2
715
610
3
55
22
44
Number of workers in operations in which occupational hourly
earnings averaged—1
Occupation
$1.00 $1.05 $1.10 $1.15' $1.20 $1.25 $1.30 $1.35
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
under under under under under under under under
$1.05 $1.10 $1.15 $1.20 $1.25 $1.30 $1.35 $1.40
All selected occupations:
Number of workers...................... 3,303
Percent.......................................... 14.4
Derrickmen
261
Drillers, cable......................................
22
Drillers, rotary......... ................... ......
Drillers* hell ers, rotary, not other
wise classified________________ __
410
Firemen, rotary_____ ______ _____ __
131
Floor men, rotary__________________
787
Gang pushers......................................
48
Maintenance men, class A .................
5
Maintenance men, class B _________
56
Pumpers and switchers......................
327
R oustabouts.________ _ _ . . .
1,150
Tool dressers______________________
74
Truck drivers, under 2M tons______
26
3
Truck drivers, 2H tons and over..
3
Watchmen_____________________ _
$1.40
and
over
3,630
15.9
4,025
17.6
1,640
7.2
424
1.9
165
.7
26
\1
172
.7
1,939
8.5
176
6
848
41
3
96
33
137
36
1
45
46
9
10
4
19
12
1,863
24
428
171
66
14
11
2,187
415
3
97
22
10
13
134
304
74
16
6
1,595
953
9
11
18
139
319
241
19
1
700
19
18
39
16
4
3
145
1
46
15
2
37
6
118
44
32
17
34
4
4
3
3
4
1
14
3
1
2
1
1 Exclusive of premium payments for overtime and night work.
Only one of all the fifteen occupations studied, that of watchman,
reported average hourly earnings under 80 cents per hour for any of
the 9 petroleum area subdivisions; these workers represented but
10
three-tenths of 1 percent of the total number of workers scheduled.
The next lowest occupational average for the Southwest was that of
truck driver (under 2% tons) at 96 cents per hour. Three other aver
ages fell within the 95 cents to $1.00 range, namely rotary drillers’
helpers (not otherwise classified), class B maintenance men, and rousta
bouts.. These four occupations in the classification $0.95 and under
$1.00 included 25.5 percent of all workers tabulated. Pumpers and
switchers, largest employee block (33.5 percent of all workers), earned
$1.01 per hour. Roustabouts, next operation in size (19.3 percent),
averaged 97 cents. Rotary drillers, comprising 8.3 percent of all
workers studied, were the only workers receiving more than $1.25 per
hour. The second highest occupational average, for class A main
tenance men, was $1.21 per hour.
The distribution of all employees by wage-rate interval (based on
occupational averages within each occupation) reveals that 6.4 per
cent were in jobs averaging less than 80 cents per hour, 26.6 percent
in jobs paying 80 cents to $1.00, and 67 percent in jobs paying $1.00
or more. Ten percent were in occupations averaging $1.25 or more.
Comparison with similar figures for 1943 shows an increase in the
percentage of workers in the higher rate ranges.
Percentage distribution
tm
19 Jfi
Under $0.80_____________ . . . . 6 .4
$0.80 and under $1.00___ . . . . 26.6
$1.00 and under $1.25___ — 57.0
$1.25 and over__________ . . . . 10.0
11.9
30.7
49. 8
7. 6
T otal_____________ --.1 0 0 .0
100.0
It should be noted that this shift in the distribution of workers to
the upper ranges does not reflect increased wage rates alone; changes
in the volume of employment at jobs within the higher rates will as
readily produce such variations in the distribution. The increased
drilling activity known to have taken place in 1944 and the consequent
percentage increase in number of workers in the higher-paid drilling
occupations were undoubtedly factors of significance in the present
instance. Detailed comparison of the distribution of average hourly
earnings, shown in table 2, with a similar analysis for 1943 shows that
the shift to higher earnings is primarily accounted for by changes in
the groups receiving $1.05 and under $1.10, $1.10 and under $1.15,
and $1.40 and over. These are the earnings intervals in which a major
ity of the drillers, derrickmen, and firemen fall and these jobs in turn
are the occupations in which increased employment has occurred.
Although the averages for individual occupations varied widely
from one operation to another, a large proportion of the workers in
several of the jobs were employed in operations paying very similar
rates. Thus, 94 percent of all rotary drillers’ helpers (not otherwise
classified) were employed in operations paying 90 cents to $1.05 for
this work and 78 percent of all derrickmen and 75 percent of all
rotary firemen were in the $1.00 to $1.15 range. The averages among
different operations for gang pushers, pumpers and switchers, and
11
roustabouts, on the other hand, were characterized by a greater
spread and a greater unevenness in distribution of workers. These
occupations are the least standardized in job content, show the great
est variability in duties from company to company, and present
certain other scheduling and tabulating difficulties which may be
reflected in the averages. The workers* in these occupations are
frequently paid on a monthly or weekly salary basis for certain speci
fied duties, and a detailed record of hours worked may not be kept.
Pumpers, for instance, as elsewhere stated, are often on call for 24
hours per day, balancing days of long hours with others on which few
or no hours are worked, as their duties require. In such cases, esti
mated “ normal” hours must be used to arrive at average hourly
earnings. The occupations of pumper, switcher, gang pusher, and
roustabout are all predominantly associated with maintenance and
production rather than drilling activities. The workers in these
occupations are less mobile than the typical drilling-crew worker.
They are not often required to move from remote location to location
but are commonly drawn from local labor markets. Their rates of
pay consequently reflect to some degree the differences in such market
conditions.
AREA DIFFERENCES IN OCCUPATIONAL EARNINGS
Average hourly earnings for the occupations studied show relatively
small differences from one petroleum area to another, as compared
with those found within each area (table 3).
T able 3.— Average H ou rly E arnings1 o f M ale W orkers in Selected Occupations in
PetroleumJDrilling and Production in the Southwest, by A rea, A p ril 1944
Texas
Texas Pan West Texas
handle
Entire State
Occupation
Num
ber of
work
ers
Derrickmen.............................................
Drillers, cable..........................................
Drillers, rotary........................................
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not otherwise
classified...............................................
Firemen, rotary............... .......................
Floormen, rotary.....................................
Gan? pushers..........................................
Maintenance men, class A .....................
Maintenance men, class B ...... ..............
Pumpers and switchers..........................
Roustabouts............................................
Tool dressers...........................................
Truck drivers, under 2H tons................
Truck drivers,
tons and over...........
Watchmen...............................................
See footnotes at end of table.
Low High
Gen est
est Num
eral oper oper ber of
aver ation ation work
age aver aver ers
age
age
1,136 $1.10 $0.72 $1.27
141 1.23 1.00 1.77
1,323 1.57 1.25 1.87
736
666
2,304
579
85
81
5,021
2,821
113
222
101
55
.99
1.08
1.02
1.20
1.24
.99
1.02
.97
1.05
.96
.99
.72
.80
.88
.75
.61
.63
.70
.38
.30
.80
.40
.60
.19
1.09
1.27
1.18
1.77
1.57
1.16
1.44
1.12
1.33
1.31
1.35
1.08
Gen Num Gen Num Gen
eral ber of eral ber of eral
aver work aver work aver
ers
age
age
ers
age
39 $1.01
43 1.21
45 1.51
20
27
83
50
3
10
434
242
36
21
4
5
North
Texas
.99
.99
.97
1.17
1.12
.96
1.01
.98
1.03
.94
1.01
.54
381 $1.10
57 1.23
427 1.56
111
27
180
$1.06
1.26
1.51
129
150
773
92
21
8
735
478
44
71
18
10
279
41
150
85
7
5
759
418
25
31
18
7
.99
1.06
1.00
1.17
1.07
.95
.95
.94
.97
.90
.87
.45
.99
1.08
1.01
1 19
1.16
1.05
1.03
.99
1.06
.90
.96
.73
12
T able 3.— Average H ou rly Earnings1 o f M ale Workers in Selected Occupations in
Petroleum D rilling and Production in the Southwest, b y Area, A p ril 1944— C on.
Texas—Continued
East Cen
tral Texas
Occupation
Num
ber of
work
ers
Louisiana
Texas Gulf
Coast
Southwest
Texas
Entire State
Low High
Gen Num Gen Num Gen Num Gen est
est
eral ber of eral ber of eral ber of eral oper oper
aver work aver work aver work aver ation ation
ers
ers
age
ers
age
age aver aver
age
age
age
Dcrrickmen.............................................
56 $1.13
9 1.24
Drillers, cable_______________________
Drillers, rotary........................................
97 1.57
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not otherwise
.98
classified............................................... 168
46 1.10
Firemen, rotary.......................................
Floormcn. rotary..................................... 116 1.05
130 1.20
Gang pushers ........................................
22 1.18
Maintenance men, class A ................... .
4
.91
Maintenance men. class B ___________
Pumpers and switchers.......................... 1,435 1.02
Roustabouts.......................................... 610 1.00
6 1.00
Tool dressers________________________
34
.99
Truck drivers, under 2K tons................
13 1.03
Truck drivers, 2V%tons and over...........
.96
10
Watchmen...............................................
109 $1.14
(»)
(2)
123 1.63
440 $1.10
3 1.25
451 1.59
48
74
246
70
4
.97
1.12
1.04
1.19
1.18
501
316
1.01
.94
27 1.03
3 1.23
(2) , (2)
92
328
936
152
28
54
1,157
757
(2)
38
45
21
1.02
1.07
1.02
1.24
1.40
.99
1.06
.97
(2)
.96
1.04
.72
234 $1.13 $0.80
$1.26
245
1.64
1.20
1.87
42
163
540
83
12
(2)
444
359
1.02
1.09
1.04
1.24
1.17
(2)
1.03
.99
.75
.80
.80
.60
.96
(2)
.36
.50
1.12
1.20
1.18
1.87
1.24
(2)
1.37
1.12
52
13
7
.97
1.07
.63
.50
.62
.55
1.09
1.24
.90
Louisiana—•Continued
North Loui
siana
Louisiana
Gulf Coast
Oklahoma: Entire State
Occupation
Num Gen Num Gen Num Gen
ber of eral ber of eral ber of eral
work aver work aver work aver
age
ers
age
ers
ers
age
Derrickmen......................................................
Drillers, cable____________________________
Drillers, rotary.................................................
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not otherwise clas
sified..............................................................
Firemen, rotary...............................................
Floormen, rotary.............................................
Gang pushers...................................................
Maintenance men, class A..............................
Maintenance men, class B..............................
Pumpers and switchers...................................
Roustabouts.....................................................
Tr»r»l Hrftssftrs
.
Truck drivers, under 2H tons.........................
Truck drivers, 2H tons and over....................
Watchmen.......................................................
81
$1.08
153
$1.15
87
1.56
158
1.69
26
62
179
36
6
(2)
158
112
.99
1.04
.98
1.15
1.14
(2)
1.00
.97
16
101
361
47
6
(2)
286
247
1.05
1.13
1.07
1.32
1.20
(2)
1.05
1.00
14
(2)
(2)
.82
(2)
(2)
38
12
6
1.03
1.06
.58
Low High
est
est
oper oper
ation ation
aver aver
age
age
281
72
327
$1.04
1.15
1.53
$0.95
.91
1.12
$1.19
1.35
1.77
171
101
443
189
42
64
2,204
1,247
59
65
43
18
.98
1.03
1.00
1.15
1.16
.96
1.00
.95
.98
.94
.97
.66
.90
.95
.95
.83
.99
.94
.43
.50
.79
.55
.60
.24
1.00
1.15
1.12
2.30
1.35
1.11
1.21
1.16
1.12
1.12
1.16
1.04
* Exclusive of premium payments for overtime and night work.
* Number of plants and/or workers too small to justify presentation of an average.
As the above table indicates, in 11 of the 15 occupations there was
less than 20 cents difference between the highest and the lowest
area averages; in 9 occupations the difference was less than 15 cents,
and in 4 it was 10 cents or less. In most areas, some occupational
averages were higher, others lower, than those for the Southwest as a
whole. Only in Oklahoma were the figures consistently lower than
those for the 3-State region. In no case did the averages in north
Louisiana exceed, or those in the Texas Gulf Coast area fall below,
13
the corresponding figures for the Southwest region as a whole. The
Louisiana Gulf Coast area paid relatively high wages in all but two
occupations, and these were numerically unimportant. In view of
the small differences among area averages and the lack of consistent
patterns of variation, regional differences on a producing-area basis
cannot be considered as of great significance in the determination of
wage rates in this segment of the petroleum industry.
DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS AND SIZE OF COMPANY
Two factors of apparent importance in contributing to interplant
variations in occupational wage rates are unionization and size of
company as measured by number of employees. As shown in table 4,
large companies pay the highest rates, small ones the lowest, and the
rates of medium-size plants lie between these two. The table also
indicates less change from 1943 to 1944 in average hourly earnings in
large establishments than in those of the other size categories.
Rotary firemen, for instance, earned $1.02 in small, $1.04 in mediumsize, and $1.12 in large companies in 1944. The increase over 1943
earnings in the occupation was 6 cents in both small and medium-size
companies and 3 cents in the large ones. For rotary drillers' helpers
(not otherwise classified) the year's increases were 6 cents, 7 cents, and
1 cent, respectively, for the successive size classes.
T able 4.— Average H ou rly Earnings1 o f M ale W orkers in Selected Occupations in
Petroleum Drilling and Production, b y Size o f Com pany, A p ril 1943 and A p ril 1944
Average hourly earnings
Occupation
Medium-size
Small companies
(51 to
(9 to 50 employees) companies
250 employees)
Large companies
(251 or more
employees)
1943
1944
1943
1944
1943
1944
All selected occupations:
Number1........................................................
Percent............................................................
4,709
21.7
3,722
16.2
4,934
22.8
6,480
28.3
12,038
55.5
12,705
55.5
Derrickmen.......................... ................................
Drillers, cable. - ....................................................
Drillers, rotary......................................................
Drillers’ helpers, rotary, not otherwise classified.
Firemen, rotary....................................................
Floormen, rotary. ................................................
Gang pushers........................................................
Maintenance men, class A ...................................
Maintenance men, class B ................................... }
Pumpers and switchers........................................
Roustabouts..........................................................
Tool dressers..................... ...................................
Truck drivers, under 2 \i tons..............................
Truck drivers,
tons and over.........................
Watchmen............................................................ *
$1.05
$0.95
1.16
1.11
1.51
1.43
.97
.91
1.02
.96
.98
.96
1.08
1.06
f
1.12
.96 l
.84 }
.82
.80
.74
.73
1.01
(3)
.69
.69
.88
.83
.50
.45
$1.06
$1.00
1.22
1.21
1.48
1.52
.93
1.00
1.04
.98
.99
.93
1.18
1.12
f
1.14
1.01 \
.99 }
.94
.95
.91
.86
1.04
(3)
.84
.70
.99
.95
.64
.52
$1.09
1.23
1.61
.98
1.09
1.05
1.21
1.02 /\
1.07
1.03
(3)
.99
1.06
.72
$1.14
1.26
1.65
.99
1.12
1.06
1.22
1.25
.98
1.07
1.04
1.06
1.05
1.11
.90
1 Exclusive of premium payments for overtime and night work.
* Numbers reported for 1943 exclude 124 workers in occupations not shown in this table.
* Data not available.
DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS AND UNIONIZATION
Companies with union agreements differ from those without such
agreements (table 5) in much the same ways as have been indicated for
large and small plants. Average hourly earnings are higher, and they
14
have been more stable in union than in nonunion establishments.
For example, average hourly earnings of derrickmen, floormen, and
roustabouts in union firms did not change between April 1943 and
April 1944, but in nonunion companies increased by several cents an
hour. Union averages not only changed less during the year, but they
were also higher. This is well illustrated by these same occupations:
union derrickmen, $1.22, nonunion $1.07; union floormen, $1.14,
nonunion $0.99; union roustabouts $1.06, nonunion $0.89.
T able 5.— Average H ourly Earnings1 o f M ale Workers in Selected Occupations in Union
and N onunion Petroleum Companies in the Southwest, A p ril 1943 and A p ril 1944
Average hourly earning
Occupation
Companies with union
agreements
1943
All selected occupations:
Number of workers *____________________________
Percent_______________________________________
Derrickmen..... .................................................. .............
Drillers, cable_________________ . ___________________
Drillers, rotary______________ _____________________
Drillers' helpers, rotary, not otherwise classified............
Firemen, rotary____________________________________
Floormen, rotary__________________________________
Gang pushers________________________ _____ ___ ____
Maintenance men, class A __________________________ 1>
Maintenance men, class B_____________________ ____
Pumpers and switchers___________ ____ ____________
Roustabouts.... .........................._.....................................
Tool dressers_____...._______________________________
Truck drivers, under
tons_______________________
Truck drivers, 2 }6 tons and over____________________
W atchm en....................................... ...............................
1944
7,084
32.7
7,496
32.7
$1.22
1.40
1.80
.71
1.17
1.14
1.20
AO f
.98
{
1.08
1.06
$1.22
1.32
1.81
<*)
.98
1.10
.84
1.16
1.14
1.23
1.21 }
1.07
1.10
1.06
1.02
1.06
1.15
.96
Companies without
union agreements
1943
14,597
67.3
$0.99
1.13
1.47
.93
.99
.95
1.14
1.02 \f
.93
.86
<*)
.76
.98
.60
1944
15,411
67.3
$1.07
1.19
1.53
.99
1.04
.90
1.16
1.21
97
.94
.89
1.03
.90’
.93
.54
i Exclusive of premium payments for overtime and night work.
* Numbers reported for 1943 exclude 124 workers in occupations not shown in this table.
* Data not available.
The union companies included in this survey are predominantly
large companies. The factors of size and unionization are so closely
related that evaluation of the influence of either separately is not
possible from the tabulations presented.
tl. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OF FICE : 1 9 4 5
@FedFRASER