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Woman Worker

JULY 1941

United States Department of Labor

Women’s Bureau

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins, Secretary

WOMEN’S BUREAU
Mary Anderson, Director

THE WOMAN WORKER
PUBLISHED EVERY 2 MONTHS

No. 4

Vol. XXI

July 1941

CONTENTS
Migrant Workers in Delaware Canneries__________________________________
More Women Placed in Defense Jobs______________________________________
Women Workers in Great Britain__________________________________________
Old-Age Pensions for Women______________________________________________
Toward Minimum Fair Wages______________________________________________

Fair Labor Standards Administration—Minimum Wage in the States—Progress
in Public Contracts.
Women in Unions__________________________________________________________
Court Decision—Progress in Defense Industries, in Women’s Apparel, in White
Collar Work.
News Notes_______________________________________________________________
Safeguards Needed for Defense Labor—Labor Laws Passed for Women, 1941—Equal
Pay for Equal Work—Hour Law Enforced in Louisiana—Married Women’s Work
Now Sought—Women’s Earnings Rise in Texas—Industrial Injuries to Women—
Hard for Teachers in Dayton, Ohio, to Make Ends Meet.
Recent Publications______________________________________________________

Published under authority of Public Resolution No. 57, approved May
11, 1922 (42 Stat. 541), as amended by section 307, Public Act 212, 72d
Congress, approved June 30, 1932. This publication approved by the
Director, Bureau of the Budget

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., at 5 cents a copy
or 25 cents a year

Page

3
4
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WOMAN’S COLLKE
DUKE UNIVERSE
DURHAM, N. C.

Migrant Workers in Delaware Canneries j(JL 23
number of workers who go from moving from crop to crop being surpris
place to place in search of jobs has been ingly low. On the other hand, a very strik
growing. It becomes a problem in an ing
in proportion who were in camp in 1940
creasing number of communities. Mush had not moved out of their home State the
room growths in defense manufacture em year before. Poor earnings in Florida in the
phasize it in new localities. The picture of winter of 1939-40 because of frozen crops,
the migrant is like the mosaic of the kaleido and a poor season in Maryland and Vir
scope, slight changes altering the arrange ginia oyster fisheries in the same winter, may
ment and no pattern ever repeated exactly. have caused the greater search for work in
However, certain elements keep recurring, 1940.
such as low wages and long gaps between What the Migrants Were Paid.
jobs, with resultant inadequacy in the bare
Hourly rates of pay varied markedly from
necessities of life and almost complete lack plant to plant, but at least for women they
of decent housing and medical care. Little usually were the same for all in any one
more than a hand-to-mouth existence is plant. This indicates that rates were fixed
possible, despite the expending of much arbitrarily and not based on differences in
effort and the enduring of much discomfort. work done. One firm paid 20 cents to all
A cross section of the migration up and women, with 2% cents an hour extra for
down the Atlantic coast was studied in Dela staying all season. Two paid 30 cents to all.
ware last fall by the Women’s Bureau. Eight One firm paid 22 cents to Negroes and 25
of the Delaware canneries visited had camps cents to white women. Piece rates for peel
for migrants. Such employees comprised ing tomatoes and sorting beans are hard to
well over one-third of the labor force of compare, since the basis of payment was so
these plants, almost half the men and about varied. Average earnings of women during
one-third of the women being migrants. their employment in camps in the 1940 sea
The plants canned from one to seven prod son were 55.20 a week.
ucts in the season. When migrants began
Members of families pooled their money,
with the early crop there might be an idle and often the average for such groups would
period before the next was ready, and it was be scant even for an individual. Twoa question whether they gained by waiting person families, both members earning, had
or by seeking work elsewhere.
averaged 5346 for the entire year 1939 and
5212 up to the time of interview in 1940.
Where the Migrants Came From.
In the camps visited about 300 persons Six-person families with four wage earners
were interviewed, over half of them members had averaged only 5171 in 1940 and those
of family groups of from two to seven per with three wage earners had averaged 5629
sons, the remainder being individuals trav in 1939. The largest average amount in
eling alone. Of the 425 wage earners in 1940 was 5485 for a family with five wage
cluded, just over half were women. Prac earners; in 1939, 5940 for the same number.
tically all were Negroes. Though about How the Migrants Were Housed.
In addition to cash wages, the migrant
one-fourth of the entire group gave Mary
land as their permanent residence, and workers were given a room in the camp with
another fourth Florida, a total of 14 States out charge. The rule of a room to a family
and the Bahama Islands were represented. meant that in 26 cases from four to seven
Most of the workers had come direct to Del persons occupied one room. The sleeping
aware from their home State, even those facilities provided consisted usually of
from Florida or Alabama, the proportion built-in bunks with straw. Tables and
he

323386—41

THE WOMAN WORKER

chairs generally were lacking, and crudely
made benches or boxes served as seats. In
one camp an oil cook stove was in every

room, but community cook stoves were more
usual. Water and toilet facilities were outof-doors and not always adequate.

More Women Placed in Defense Jobs
jobs have called women to are in defense jobs. Of course the number
many tasks. These range from nurs changes daily.
ing, operating power sewing machines, or1. Census data by industry, when they become avail
dietetic work, to assembling gas masks and able, will show how many women worked in the spring
doing fine precision work for airplane instru of 1940 in industries that later developed defense
ments. The Civil Service Commission has production. The number since added to these is un
known, and the situation is constantly changing.
sent a letter to government agencies urging
2. Reports of placements in defense jobs show only
them to employ women rather than men those made by public employment agencies, and there
wherever possible. Two questions asked re is no complete information on numbers hired at plamt
peatedly cannot be fully answered, though gates.
3. Indexes of employment trends are made from
some indications can be given: One, How
questionnaires sent out to employers. These are pub
many women are being added to defense
lished, by sex, twice a year by the United States Depart
employment? the other, What new jobs are ment of Labor. They are the best available indications
women doing?
of the trend, but they are samples based on particular
There is no basis for arriving at the full States and industries and hence show only the move
numerical increase in woman employment, ment of employment and not the complete numbers.
4. Finally, there are scattered reports for important
though the increases can be told for impor
particular plants. These are based on occasional
tant scattered plants—too small a sample special investigations, and show nothing as to complete
for a complete estimate. In fact, even the numbers except for those plants at the time investigated.
full increase during World War I is not However, they are very interesting and they indicate
known, though in a large sample of war the situation. (See Woman Worker, May 1941.)
implement and war instrument industries
Types of Work Women Are Doing.
investigated by the Women’s Bureau,’women
Women’s delicate workmanship and skill
employees more than doubled in number
are
a boon to defense operations, but the
from 1916 to 1918.
great numbers employed are in much the
Defense Placements of Women Increase.
same kinds of factory work long done by
Total placements of women by public women. Reports that women are driving
employment offices were declining in the taxis, or tending filling stations, do not mean
early months of 1941, but women finding the absorption of great numbers in such
jobs in manufacturing were increasing some occupations. Where women are in jobs un
what. The Bureau of Employment Security usual for them they are relatively few, and
makes special tabulations of placements in in most cases have specialized experience or
some 400 defense occupations, but only aptitude for the work.
about 1 percent of all women’s placements
Of women’s placements in early 1941 in
are in these jobs. However, such place defense occupations listed by the Employ
ments were more than three times as great ment Service, 60 percent were in textile mills,
in the early months of 1941 as in the late most of them as yarn winders, frame spin
months of 1940.
ners, weavers, slubbers, and throwers—
Numbers of Women in Defense Jobs.
traditional employments for women. Some
There are at least four sources of data on were in electrical plants, as radio assemblers,
number of women employed, but none can or armature winders. A few were in less
give the complete picture as to how many usual jobs, such as work at engine lathes,
efense

July 1941

MORE WOMEN IN DEFENSE JOBS

milling machines, or as core makers, spot
welders, or airplane coverers. Women are
proficient at inspecting cartridges and
polishing small parts for rifles, and in one
plant they are reported as assembling, shap
ing, sharpening, testing, and chrome plating
bandage shears for government use. Women
work in rubber factories on the bullet-proof
gas tanks—rubber lined and covered—so
vital to life in aircraft, but here again the
actual process is not unusual for women.
They work also on silk parachutes, but the
jobs consist of skilled cutting and sewing.

women would need considerably more ex
perience than they have had.

Women’s Work on Airplane Parts.
In airplane assembly factories1 women
constitute a very small part of the produc
tive labor force, thus far only a fraction of
1 percent, and their chief work is sewing.
Of course, many do the usual types of clerical

Medical Association recently refused to en
dorse this. In Great Britain 80 women hold
commissioned rank in the Royal Army
Medical Corps. Senior medical students
graduating in 1941 from accredited medical
schools are given the chance to gain com
missions as first lieutenant in the Medical
Corps Reserve. This should be open to
young women as well as young men doctors.
Other professional services engaging rela
tively small numbers of women are dental
hygienists, therapy aides, and dietitians.
The American Dietetic Association is seeking
the rank of commissioned officer for members
who go into Army service, now entailing
danger without protection so that other
fields are more attractive to trained women.
The need increases for nurses, both on the
military and the civilian front. The follow
ing numbers have been asked for: Army
Nurses Corps, 4,000; Veterans’ Administra
tion, 1,100; U. S. Public Health Service,
hospital division, 200; Indian Bureau, 164.
Nurses are needed in the Navy Reserve
Corps, but the number is not stated. In
1940 there were 7,269 nurses in the Federal
nursing services, an increase of 50 percent
in 5 years. In civilian service there is need
for supervisors and nurses to carry on
health programs among students, and for
“one-nurse” service in rural areas. Nurse
technicians are needed in rural hospitals
for work in anesthesia, X-ray, physiotherapy,
and laboratory technique. It is estimated
that 300,000 graduate registered nurses,
chiefly women, now practice in the United
States and its possessions

work in the plant offices. Reports of any
appreciable number of women in “Aircraft
plants” refer chiefly to the places making the
■parts and accessories for planes. Women
are especially good at certain processes on
airplane instruments, primarily the same
types of work women long have done in
electrical or other plants, such as coil wind
ing, bench work, inspection, or assembly of
delicate parts.
In assembly factories, the force of women
could be considerably increased. One of the
predominating jobs in the assembly of a
plane is riveting, with its concomitant
processes of drilling, counter-sinking, dim
pling, and bucking. A large part of this
work, though not all of it, might be done by
women after a little training.
Much of the bench work on the simpler
subassemblies could be done by women, and
the skills required do not differ materially
from those of women in many other indus
tries. Women could do at least one-fourth
of the inspecting, and in case of shortage of
male workers considerably more. This
refers to inspection of the parts, not to the
floor inspection of the assembling of the
plane. Inspectors usually advance after
plant experience, and to do this work
1 For further details see Women’s Bureau multilith: Women’s
Factory Employment in an Expanding Aircraft Production Pro
gram. June 1941.

Need for Women Nurses and Doctors.
Women Army nurses have Army rating
with proper rank and war-risk insurance.
Not so the woman physician, though more
than 2,500 are registered as qualified for
national emergency service, about 500 of
them willing to serve overseas. Medical
societies in New York, as well as the Ameri
can Medical Women’s Association, are
pressing for adequate rank for these women
doctors if called to serve, but the American

THE WOMAN WORKER

Women Workers in Great Britain
needs 500,000 more women unemployment insurance was that of house
in war industries and arrangements hold workers, who numbered about 1%
have been made to start their impressive
million in 1931. The labor situation in
march. Registration of women 20 years old Great Britain from May to October 1940
was required on April 19, and about 350,000 was surveyed by the International Labor
signed up. Those of 21 years followed May Office. In this period, many men entered
3, and other age groups may be called on military service, and many persons not
later. Lists of those qualified for war work usually in the labor force took insured em
will be kept ready for use as required. ployment.
Acceptance of jobs will be voluntary as long Scale of Women’s Wages.
as possible. A Women’s Consultative Com
At first many collective agreements con
mittee has been appointed to advise the tinued to fix different rates of pay for women
Minister of Labor on questions affecting and men, though two or three agreements
recruiting and registration and on the best applied the principle of “the rate for the
methods of securing women’s services in war job.” (See also Woman Worker, Septem
efforts.
ber 1940, p. 15.) The old idea of different
From Hosiery to Munitions.
rates for women may lead to curious anom
A more immediate source of woman labor alies. For example, in the printing trades
for munitions work is from employment in during 1940 a 5-shilling increase was al
less essential industries. Early in 1941 lowed for men and for women on men’s
hundreds of women operatives, clerks, and work, but other women were allowed only 2
warehouse employees in hosiery mills were shillings and 6 pence. More recently the
released for work on armaments. A census principle of equal pay and conditions is being
of hosiery workers was made and each manu recognized in other trades, and agreements
facturer called on to supply a quota of have been reached in the case, for example,
women. A committee assisting in the of paper mill and chemical workers.
The rise in earnings from October 1938 to
transfer includes representatives of workers
and employers. Within about 2 weeks 1,000 July 1940 was much greater in war-supply
women went from textile mills to take industries than in those producing mainly for
charge of drills and lathes in munitions civilians. In the latter, real wages fell,
factories. These women have astonished when a 24-percent rise in cost of living is
foremen by the ease with which they have considered. Women’s average earnings in
creased by 34.4 percent in metals, engineer
mastered such entirely different work.
When war was declared over 4 million ing, and shipbuilding, and by 25.5 in tex
British women were in insured jobs. About tiles. In clothing the increase was only 10.4
400,000 of these were in metal, engineering, percent, in food, drink, and tobacco, 7.5.
and vehicle factories, industries since ex With Hours Too Long Production Falls.
panded for war production. On the other
In May and June 1940 the 70-, 80-, and 84hand, some 832,000 were in the distributive
hour week became widespread. Not only
trades, and some 314,000 in hotels, restau did men work very long hours but all Fac
rants, and taverns, industries to be greatly tories Act limitations on hours of women
curtailed by the war. Textiles and clothing, and young persons were ignored, and some
to a limited extent essential industries, ac of them worked 70 or 80 hours a week. At
counted for 678,000 and 443,000, respec the same time holidays and rest periods
tively. The chief group not covered by were either cancelled or drastically reduced.
ngland

July 1941

WOMEN WORKERS IN GREAT BRITAIN

There was constant realization, however,
that such schedules must not be continued.
Production was on the decline rather than
increasing. Industrial accidents had be
come too frequent and it was believed that
reduced hours were needed to increase out
put and preserve the health of the workers.
Effects of long hours as reported in one
plant making airplanes showed about 4
percent of the workers absent each day from
extreme fatigue.
In August a special effort was made to
arrange some holidays, to be taken in rota

tion to avoid complete stoppage. These
varied in length from a long week-end to a
full week. The full enforcement of the
Factories Act began again. By October the
excessive hours of May and June were being
reduced, in most cases. Where rest pauses
had been introduced it was found that pro
duction had gone up. With the beginning
of the heavy air raids in September, plans
were made to enable workers living in
crowded industrial areas to spend occasional
nights and days in quieter places, either in
hotels and rest homes, or in private homes.

Old-Age Pensions for Women
extent to which women are pro Number of Women Receiving Benefits.
tected under the Social Security plan
In the early months of the program,
for old-age pensions becomes increasingly
through February 1938, about 33,500 death
clear in reports recently issued. This great claims had been certified, nearly 7 percent
effort toward security finds a very consider for women (see Woman Worker, November
able justification in figures indicating that 1939, p. 5). During the first 6 months of
it has given the hope of at least some in 1940, 62,166 claims for benefits to the in
come after the work period of their lives to sured worker were allowed, 12 percent of
approximately 10 million of the 12% million them for women. Only 2 of these retired
working women in the United States. In women had dependent children. Of 11,674
time, larger numbers will benefit.
claims for survivor benefits, 201 were for
dependents of women—about three-fourths
Number of Women With Account Numbers.
for children, one-fourth for parents.1 How
The number of women at present actually many persons still living have withdrawn
holding account numbers has not been re from employment without qualifying for
ported, but of more than 40 million applica compensation is not known.
tions for numbers, by the end of 1938,
Women’s Jobs Regular Enough for
practically 11% million (or 29 percent) were Are Benefits?
from women. This is a good proportion,
To be eligible for benefits at age 65, the
since it cannot include the many women in
worker must have received at least $50 in
occupations not covered, such as domestic
wages in a covered employment in each of
service and professional and government
one-half as many quarters as have passed
work, and even with these included the
since January 1, 1937 (or since the worker
April 1940 census reports women as consti
became 21 years of age, whichever date
tuting 24 percent of the total labor market.
comes later). For example, workers who
The latest report shows about 52% million
retired on January 1, 1940, must have
account numbers established, with attempts
earned at least $50 in each of 6 quarters.
being made each month to eliminate dupli
Once a worker has earnings for at least 40
cation. Of course, at any given time not
quarters, she is then qualified without
all holders of account numbers are working,
further employment.
and not all working are currently employed
1 The widower of a woman worker may receive a lump sum, but
in a covered occupation.
has no right to monthly benefits as has the widow of an insured man.
he

THE WOMAN WORKER

To what extent do women seem to be ful
filling these requirements? Revised figures
show from employers’ records that just over
9 million women and well over 23 million
men earned taxable wages in 1937. On the
basis of the labor force reported in 1940,
these represented about 70 percent of the
women and not quite 60 percent of the men.
However, it is easy to see that many women
must have failed to secure two quarters of
employment, if three-tenths of them had
earned less than $100. In 1938, almost 8%
million women had reported taxable wages,
more than 7 million of them in both years.
Men fared better, since 85 percent of those
reported in 1937 also were included in 1938,
but only about 80 percent of the women.
Many more details are available for
workers reported in 1938. About 83 per
cent of the women and 87 percent of the men
had taxable wages in two quarters or more.
For those reported in four quarters the
difference between men and women was
greater, 53 percent of the women and
practically 60 percent of the men having
earned taxable wages.

In general, larger proportions of the
women than of the men with taxable wages
were in trade (including finance) and in the
personal and business services. On the
other hand, larger proportions of the men
were in manufacturing, and this of course
was true also of transportation,2 construc
tion, and mining. Considering the total of
covered employees in various occupation
groups, women in manufacturing, communi
cation,2 and trade were a somewhat larger
proportion than might be expected from the
census figures.
Amounts Women Can Receive.

The average taxable wage reported for
1938 was $515 for women and $973 for men
(a little lower than in 1937). For one-third
of the women, wage credits for the year were
less than $200; for a little more than oneeighth, $1,000 or more. A woman who dur
ing a working life of 45 years had averaged
$500 a year might receive a monthly annuity
of about $24.15 on retirement at the age of
65.
2 This group includes transportation, communication, and public
utilities.

Toward Minimum Fair Wages
Fair Labor Standards Administration
Industry Able To Pay Overtime.

Wage-Hour Administrator Fleming,
speaking in New York, made it clear that
National defense is revealing to industrial
management that the payment of time and
a half for overtime work has not handi
capped industry. A study among 70 indus
trial companies showed “that every one of
these industries could have worked its em
ployees 48 hours a week each in 1939, paid
the penalty for the overtime, and still have
made more money than it did make,”
General Fleming said.
New Minimum-Wage Rates.
June 30 marks wage raises for the largest
number of workers ever to have increases

by an industrial wage order, 300,000 in
textile mills (other than wool and knit), two

thirds of them in cotton mills. The new
rate of 37% cents takes the place of a 32%
cent minimum set in the original order of
1939. Lowest scale workers now receiving
$13 will earn $15, in each case for the
standard 40-hour week.
A minimum rate of 40 cents an hour for
the portable lamp and shade industry be
came effective July 1. Women predominate
in the making of lamp shades, and well over
half of them, but somewhat less than half
the men, should have wages raised by the
order. Of workers on portable lamps less
than one-tenth are women, but nearly twothirds of these averaged less than 40 cents
early in 1940, compared to about threetenths of the men. There is no complete
record of home workers on lampshades, but
during a 15-month period ending in May
1940 permits for the employment of 262

July 1941

MINIMUM WAGE

home workers in the industry had been re
quested, chiefly in New York and New
Jersey.
Effective in May, the following minimum
rates were set for Puerto Rico: 25 cents for
straw hats, manufactured coconut, ciga
rettes, cigars, full-fashioned hosiery, hair
nets, mattresses, quilts, and pillows, and bay
oil, bay rum, and aromatic alcohol; 15 cents
for vegetable packing; and 12% cents for
hand sewing and 20 cents for other opera
tions on raffia handbags.
Coverage.

The Wage and Hour Division’s position
that a wholesale establishment selling en
tirely within one State but receiving its
products from other States is covered by the
Fair Labor Standards Act, though the goods
do not thereafter leave the State in which
the distributor is located, has been upheld in
its first test before a Federal court.
Federal courts have decided also that the
act is applicable to (1) maintenance em
ployees of a loft building rented to a manu
facturer whose product crosses State lines,
and (2) a manufacturer whose product is
sold entirely within the State, but who
knows that his customers intend to ship
the product outside the State.
New Committees; Rates Recommended.

A minimum of 40 cents an hour is recom
mended for the making of men’s shirts,
single pants, and allied garments, which had
minimums of 32%,'35, and 37% cents. The
committee also suggests a modification of
the learner employment regulations. Under
this, the proportion of learners allowed
would be 10 percent instead of the present
5 percent of total production workers. The
training period of 8 weeks at 75 percent of
the basic minimum was increased to 12
weeks with rates as follows: First 4 weeks,
20 cents; second 4 weeks, 24 cents; third 4
weeks, 32 cents.
Women in Puerto Rico will receive very
large increases in earnings if the recom
mended minimum rate of 20 cents for the
leaf-tobacco industry is approved. In the
year ending June 30, 1940, more than 5,500

women doing such work averaged 12.3 cents
an hour, while 730 men averaged 13.3 centsThe addition of a miscellaneous handwork
division to the needlework order has been
recommended to include needlework on all
articles not already enumerated. A mini
mum of 12% cents is suggested for hand
sewing and 20 cents for other operationssuch as cutting, stamping, sorting, washing,
pressing, and examining.
A minimum of 34 cents has been recom
mended for brick, tile, and other clay build
ing materials.
The recommended rates of 40 cents and
35 cents for two divisions of the jewelry
industry have been disapproved, since these
were inconsistent and overlapping in the
definitions and it was not clear in all cases,
in which of the two categories certain
articles belonged. A new committee was
appointed. Of the five public representa
tives, two are women—Teresa M. Crowley
of New York and Elizabeth B. Raushenbush
of Madison, Wis. This committee has.
recommended 40 cents for the entire jewelry
industry. If this rate is approved it will
increase the wage rate of approximately
11,500 of the 35,000 workers normally
employed.
A new wage rate is being sought for the
women’s and children’s apparel industry
now operating with a 35-cent minimum
under the apparel order. The new com
mittee met early in June and included three
women members: Jane Perry Clark of New
York City and Gladys Boone of Sweetbriar,
Va., public representatives, and Rose Pesotta of Los Angeles, an employee member.
A committee has been appointed for
knitted underwear and commercial knitting
and for men’s and boy’s woven underwear.
These industries are now covered by the
apparel order with minimum rates of 33%
and 32% cents. Among the committee
members are four women: Myrtle Brooke,
Montevallo, Ala., and Mary B. Gilson of
Chicago, public representatives; Willie M.
Watson, Anniston, Ala., and Dorothy J.
Bellanca, New York City, employee repre
sentatives.

THE WOMAN WORKER

Committees have been appointed for the
wood furniture and the lumber and timberproducts industries.

Minimum Wage in the States
Arizona.

A wage board has been appointed in
Arizona to consider fixing minimum rates
in the hotel and restaurant industry.
California—Reconsideration of Orders.

Public hearings have been held in San
Francisco and Los Angeles on revision of the
series of wage orders that long have been in
effect in California. Orders in this State
cover maximum hours and other labor
standards as well as wages. The San
Francisco hearing was so well attended by
both employers and workers that it had to
be extended for an additional session. The
Heller report released in April of this year
shows $21.67 to be the minimum amount
necessary for a proper living standard for
women workers in San Francisco. Accord
ingly, workers asked that the new orders
fix a higher minimum than the $16 formerly
in effect. They also asked that the orders
define the “standard week” (to which the
minimum applies) as 40 hours; and that the
learning periods, during which lower mini
mums are permitted, be reduced or omitted.
California Court Defines Standard Week.

An association of laundry owners in
southern California sought a declaration by
the Superior Court in Los Angeles County
as to the term “standard week” used in a
number of minimum-wage orders. The
court upheld the contention of the Division
of Industrial Welfare that the standard week
for which the $16 minimum must be paid is
the usual number of hours an establishment
may operate, even if less than 48.
Hotel Workers Endorse Minimum Wage.

The Hotel and Restaurant Employees’
International Alliance, at its convention in
Ohio in April, adopted a resolution favoring
the enactment of minimum-wage laws in all
States now without such legislation, and
further recommending wage orders for
women in hotels and restaurants in all

States now having laws in effect. It was
pointed out that 22 States were without such
legislation, and 11 more had no order in
effect for the industry. On the other hand,
women and minors in IS States had been
greatly benefited by orders in effect.
New York—Minimum-Wage Law Upheld.

Several recent decisions in New York
courts have upheld the State’s minimumwage law.
A Brooklyn court recently up
held its constitutionality in an action brought
against a laundry owner. The Brooklyn
court is one of several courts of equal rank
with the Court of Special Sessions, Bronx
County, to disagree with a decision of the
latter rendered in February of this year
holding the minimum-wage law unconstitu
tional because of invalid delegation of legis
lative function to the Industrial Commis
sioner to declare what is and what is not a
crime. The Brooklyn court held that the
only delegation of power is that of preparing
the minimum-wage standards; in this duty
the discretion is limited by certain stand
ards in the act. There is no discretion
conferred to determine what violations of
the minimum-wage order constitute a crime;
the legislature has specifically set forth the
offenses and the penalties.
The court also denied the employer’s con
tention that since the fixing of a $14 weekly
minimum was in effect a guaranteed wage,
it violated the due process clause of the
Federal Constitution. It was held that
even if the wage were fixed by day or hour
it would be in effect a guaranteed wage for
that period; this does not void the statute.
The law does not require the employer to
hire any particular worker or number of
workers; it simply forbids payment of rates
below those fixed as a minimum for health
and decent living.
Since the unfavorable decision in the
Bess Morgan case, in at least seven similar
cases the courts have upheld the constitu
tionality of the law.
New York—Wage Order Helps Candy Workers.

The gains reported for women in confec
tionery in November 1939, as a result of

July 1941

MINIMUM WAGE

the wage order, were found to be maintained
when sworn pay rolls for November 1940
were examined. The average (median)
hourly earnings had increased slightly, as
had the proportion receiving 40 cents or
more, well above the minimum rate. Hours
remained stable, few working less than 32
hours or so long as 48. Almost 90 percent
of the employers were found to be in com
pliance, though the order is still directory.
North Dakota—Administration.
A minimum-wage inspection made in
North Dakota in the spring showed that most

violations were in the small towns. The
most consistent cooperation in enforcing
labor laws comes from organized workers,
especially where the women themselves are
organized. It is easier to induce a union
member to make a complaint than one who
is not a member. Officers and members of
men’s unions also give much valuable in
formation as to violations in their localities.
Ohio—Beauty Parlor Order Mandatory.

The Ohio beauty parlor order which went
into effect December 5, 1940 (see Woman
Worker, March 1941), was made manda
tory April 4. Before that date visits to
351 shops subject to the wage order disclosed
violations in 133 of these establishments.
This was considered just cause to declare
the order mandatory.
Oregon—Reconsideration of Orders.
Following public hearings, Oregon has
raised the 30-cent minimum rate to 33 cents
an hour for laundry work and to 35 cents for
7 other important groups. The new orders
omit low-paid learner periods (except by
special permit). A new order for the can
ning industry (effective June 8) raised wom
en’s rates from 37j4 to 42*4 cents, and recom
mended a 55-cent minimum for men.
Utah—New Orders.
A minimum rate for laundry occupations
of #13.05 for a standard week of 45 hours
became effective June 16 in Utah. Time
and one-half is to be paid for over 45 hours.
Women who work less than 24 hours a
week shall be paid for at least 4 hours’

work a day and at the rate of 30 cents an
hour. Learners are to be paid #12.05 a
week for the first month. At least 1 week’s
vacation with pay is required after 12
months’ service.
An order for public housekeeping will be
put into effect soon.
Wage Collections.
The District of Columbia Minimum Wage
Board made 6,525 inspections in 1940. In
the same period the Board collected #13,472
in back wages paid voluntarily to 1,119 wom
en and minors covered by the minimumwage law, and #5,091 for 136 men, women,
and minors covered by the provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. The entire
amount paid in back wages from the effective
dates of the various orders to December 31,
1940, is #33,684.
In New Hampshire, in the year ending
June 30, 1940, back wages of more than
#6,000 were collected for 922 women and
minors in stores, restaurants, laundries, and
beauty parlors. This does not include
reports for dry cleaning, since that order
had been in effect for less than 2 months
in the year; nor for knit goods and clothing,
since the State did not enforce orders in
these industries because higher rates were
set by Federal than by State orders.

Progress in Public Contracts
The Die-Casting Industry.
A minimum rate of 50 cents an hour has
been set in plants making die castings for
sale, not for incorporation in another prod
uct. Learners may be employed at 40 cents
an hour, not to exceed 60 days, if the total
number so classified does not exceed 5 per
cent of all workers. The determination
became effective in the case of all contracts
of #10,000 or more for which bids were
asked on or after April 5.

Record Keeping.

The Administrator has ruled that if an
employer does not keep adequate records,
an inspector may accept as evidence records
kept by individual employees if found to
be substantially correct.

THE WOMAN WORKER

Women in Unions
Court Decision.
he Supreme Court has ruled that the
National Labor Relations Board has
constitutional power to require an employer
to hire a man once denied employment be
cause of his union connection.

Progress in Defense Industries.
A steel company that employs about half
of the estimated 5,000 women in steel has
arranged with the union that women shall
receive the same minimum rate as men. In
the North their minimum has been raised
from 56 to 72% cents, giving them a net gain
of $6 a week compared with an average of $4
for men. In the South the minimum for

women has been advanced to 56 cents,
which is equal to the pay of men. All
workers, both production and maintenance,
had a raise of at least 10 cents an hour.
Most women in steel plants work in tin
mills, inspecting thin sheets of steel that
have been coated with tin. Vacation pro
visions have been much improved, giving 1
week after 3 years’ service, and 2 weeks
after 15 years, instead of the former 1 week
after 5 years.
Other union contracts grant less to women
than to men. An agreement in the auto
mobile field in Ohio secured increases of 5
cents an hour for men and 4 cents for women,
giving a minimum of 75 cents for men and 59
cents for women on production. In a tire
and tube plant in the same State women
secured an increase of 2 cents an hour, men
of 3 cents. In Michigan an automobile
appliance contract fixed a minimum scale
after 50 weeks of 75 cents for men, 65 cents
for women.
The 120,000 employees of two large firms
making many kinds of electrical supplies
have secured an increase of 10 cents an
hour. More than a fourth of the workers in
this industry are women, and on some
products women outnumber men.
An agreement covering 135,000 workers in

men’s clothing, chiefly suits and overcoats,
provides for 10- and 13-percent increases
according to type of garment, the first gen
eral advance since 1937. About 55 percent
of the workers in this industry are women,
and they received the same increases as
men. Cutters and nonfactory help, such
as ticket sewers and shipping clerks, re
ceived 10-percent increases, not to exceed a
specified amount weekly. The agreement
covers all union plants in the country, that
is, 90 percent or more of the industry. Men’s
and boys’ clothing manufacture is found
chiefly in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois,
and Ohio. The same raises in rates were
negotiated for 10,000 workers on men’s and
boys’ single pants. All increases became
effective May 19.
In the textile field, a contract with an
important maker of synthetic yarns covers
18,000 workers, perhaps a third of them
women. Increases were 5 cents an hour for
men, 3 cents for women. A new clause pro
vides that all employees laid off because of
technological changes shall receive a dis
missal wage of 1 week’s pay for each year
of service. Vacation pay is to consist of 2%
percent of a year’s earnings. Strikes and
lockouts are prohibited.
Progress in Women’s Apparel.

A union election was won among 2,000
cotton-dress makers in Massachusetts, many
of them teen-age girls. A series of skits
given by the girls over a local radio station
told their story effectively and helped to
influence the election. The contract pro
vided for a $15-a-week minimum, #1 above
the Federal standard. If the Federal rate
is raised, workers in the plant are to con
tinue to receive at least $1 more than the
standard.
Glove workers and manufacturers in Ful
ton County, N. Y., have agreed on increases
for the industry averaging 11 percent.
About 30 percent went to the lowest-paid

July 1941

WOMEN IN UNIONS

workers. In 1936 there were some 3,000
men and 2,800 women in the Fulton Countyglove factories.
Progress of White-Collar Workers.

Wage increases have been granted, or soon
will be, to some 25,000 telephone employees
in the New York area. They range from
$1 to #3 a week. An additional group of
10,000 will benefit by the raising of the
maximum for each craft and the propor
tionate increases in intermediate scales, but
these will not become effective immedi
ately.
What is considered a model contract has

been signed with a family welfare agency
covering 101 workers. Annual salaries are
increased by #60 for clerical workers, #180
for case workers, and #200 for supervisors.
Minimum salaries have been set at #1,650
for professional workers and #1,080 (#20.75
a week) for clerical. The 5-day 37-hour
week is continued, with time and a half
for clerical overtime. Vacations vary from
2 to 5 weeks for various categories, from
office boy up. Sick leave of 40 days with
pay is provided, as well as maternity leave
of from 3 to 6 months, dismissal notice of
from 2 weeks to 2 months, and separation
allowance in case of retrenchment.

News Notes
Safeguards Needed for Defense Labor
“Governmental standards established by
law for the protection of labor should not be
weakened, even temporarily, unless clear
necessity therefor exists.” This is the first
point stressed in recommendations made by
the Labor Committee of the Twentieth
Century Fund in its report on Labor and
the National Defense. Quoting an order of
General Crozier, Chief of Ordnance in No
vember 1917, which recently was reaffirmed
by the National Defense Advisory Commis
sion, the Committee declares:
We agree with this declaration, and we find no reason
for any relaxation of these legally established standards
at this time. Modification should be made only as
clear need therefor is shown, and only after consultation
with the representatives of management and workers.

The statement of General Crozier was as
follows:
In view of the urgent necessity for a prompt increase
in the volume of production vigilance is demanded of
all those in any way associated with industry lest the
safeguards with which the people of this country have
sought to protect labor should be unwisely and un
necessarily broken down. It is a fair assumption that
for the most part these safeguards are the mechanisms
of efficiency. Industrial history proves that reasonable
hours, fair working conditions, and a proper wage
scale are essential to high production.
Every attempt should be made to conserve in every
way possible all of our achievements in the way of
social betterments. But the pressing argument for

maintaining industrial safeguards in the present emer
gency is that they actually contribute to efficiency.

Labor Laws Passed for Women, 1941
During the legislative sessions of 1941,
laws that directly affect women workers
have been approved as follows:
Maine.

The hour law has been amended to exempt
women employed in executive, administra
tive, professional, or supervisory positions
and their personal office assistants who
receive at least #1,200 a year.
Nebraska.

Amendment to the 9-54 hour law exempts
public service corporations and permits em
ployment of women until 1 a. m. instead of
12:30, but employer may secure permit from
Labor Commissioner to employ women all
night. Commissioner may also permit 11
hours a day in emergencies in plants process
ing agricultural products.
New York.

An 8-hour day, 40-hour 6-day week, has
been fixed for women bindery workers over
21. A week of 48 hours may be allowed if
overtime is paid.
Ohio.

The 8-48, 6-day-week law has been
amended to provide unlimited daily hours
for women in financial institutions during
any period of the year requiring preparation
of government reports. This provision ap
plies only to women working on such reports.

THE WOMAN WORKER

Further amendment extends to all com
munications companies (not only telephones
as before) exceptions allowing 13-hour spread
and emergency overtime; adds pharmacy
to professions exempted; defines “day”
as the period from midnight to midnight;
requires 10 hours’ rest between workdays;
clarifies the exemption for canneries, mak
ing it apply only to women over 21.
Massachusetts.
Suspension of the 6 o’clock law for women
in textile mills has been extended for 2
years. This permits employment until 10
p. m. as in other manufacturing.
Rhode Island.
The minimum-wage law has been amended
to clarify enforcement provisions. The em
ployer or his agent is now made directly
responsible for compliance.
Puerto Rico.

A law has been approved providing machin
ery for establishing minimum-wage rates,
maximum hours, and proper working condi
tions for all employees in any occupation,
business, or industry, except domestic service.
This act does not repeal the old minimumwage and maximum-hour laws for women.

Equal Pay for Equal Work
The problem of equal pay is still with us
with women’s employment increasing. How
ever, under the Fair Labor Standards Act
some progress has been made, since it for
bids the setting of minimum-wage classi
fications on the basis of sex. The data
available indicate that relatively more
women than men have received wage in
creases as a result of the statutory rates and
the special orders issued under this Act.
For example, in the shoe industry, a study
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1939
shows that 43 percent of the women com
pared with only 12 percent of the men were
earning less than 35 cents, the rate after
ward set for the industry. But the prob
lem is still vexing, not only to the woman
who must work for less, but to the man whose
job may be given to a woman. Recent
studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
enable a comparison to be made of the earn
ings of men and women on the same job
classifications. These studies cover leather,

enameled utensils, and jewelry. While not
all are defense industries, all may well fur
nish workers with needed skills.
Considering only jobs reported by both
men and women, the average of women’s
hourly earnings was most often about threefourths as much as that of men. In the
leather industry, the women received from
60 to 81 percent as much as men; in making
medium- and low-priced jewelry, from 61
percent in skilled work to 75 percent or more
in semiskilled; in making enameled utensils,
from 63 to 95 percent.
The jobs classified under the same heading
are not necessarily identical. It is stated
often that men do the heavy work, women
the light, on jobs in other respects the same.
Thus women may dip in enamel or may
solder and weld small pieces, men large.
On these jobs women’s earnings were not
quite 80 percent of men’s. One questions,
however, whether these differences would
exist in a plant where men did both the
light and the heavy work. On the basis of
supply and demand, is it harder to find
strength than dexterity? If both are nec
essary to a product, does one add more value
than the other?
The individual woman cannot gain equapay. Perhaps the most hopeful approach is
through union activity. The American Fed
eration of Hosiery Workers at its convention
in May resolved that where women workers
replace men in “equivalent employment
* * * there shall be no reduction in
any rates of pay or lowering of current
standards.”
A recent study made at Princeton Uni
versity points out that “the experience both
in the United States and England during
the World War showed that the rule ‘equal
pay for equal work’ was more likely to be
applied where women were replacing men
than when they were doing work usually
done by women. This irregular application
of the policy of ‘equal pay’ caused many
difficult situations, especially when experi
enced women operators on one type of work
were paid less than ‘green’ operators replac

July 1941

NEWS NOTES

ing men on another type of work in the
same plant.”

Hour Law Enforced in Louisiana
The maximum sentence for violating the
8-hour law for women workers in Louisiana
was pronounced recently against a laundry
official in New Orleans. In giving this
decision, Judge Frank T. Echezebal pointed
out that “Students of current history cannot
fail to reach the conclusion that now, more
than ever, laws intended for the enforcement
of social justice must be strictly administer
ed.” As part of the reason for the penalty
imposed, the judge quoted from an address
delivered by Archbishop Joseph Francis
Rummel at a meeting of the Young Men’s
Business Club.
Archbishop Rummel, after challenging New Orleans
business men to build a better economic, civic and social
structure and to fight totalitarian philosophies by
respecting the dignity and rights of the individual, said:
“This will express itself in the wages and salaries you
pay, in the treatment of those who are in your employ,
in the fairness of your attitude toward your clients
and customers, and even toward your competi
tors. . . .”
“Your mission,” Archbishop Rummel further declared,
“is to attract and create more and better opportunities
of employment, to apply sound principles and policies
to business management, to put forth sincere efforts to
promote social justice in the relations between workers
and employers.”

Married Women’s Work Now Sought
It is the usual experience the world around
that when industry grows a bit short of work
ers married women’s work begins to be appre
ciated again. So England found. So this
country is more quickly realizing. In States
where of late certain legislators sought fever
ishly to save society by sending married
women back to the kitchen, the public now
calls on them to save industry by going back
to paid jobs. For example, factories in a
number of Connecticut towns and stores in
Ohio are calling on the married women anew.

Women’s Earnings Rise in Texas
Women in factories in Texas earned an
average of 512.30 a week in the 2-year
period ending August 31, 1940, according to
information secured in the course of regular
inspections. Average earnings were not
reported for the previous biennium, but the

fact that more than half the women in that
period earned less than 512 is indication of
an improvement in wages under the Fair
Labor Standards Act. The gain was marked
for women in clothing. The average was
about 514, though in the earlier 2 years
more than half had earned less than 512.
Under the impetus of Fair Labor Standards
the pecan-shelling industry was quite ex
tensively mechanized and employment de
creased markedly. At the same time there
was an increase in union activity. The
women remaining in the industry found
their earning power greatly increased.
Weekly wages averaged 58.49, while earlier
practically all had earned less than 55.
In the retail and service fields there was no
indication of improvement in earnings.

Industrial Injuries to Women
Industrial injuries to women are in general
more severe in manufacturing than in other
industries, Pennsylvania statistics for 1939
show. While only two-fifths of all women
involved were in manufacturing, just over
half of those left with permanent disabilities
were employed in factories. Nearly 3,500
cases of injuries to women were reported,
chief of those in manufacturing being in
textiles and clothing, with food and paper
and printing also important. In 7 cases
death resulted; in 6 a permanent disability
was recognized as preventing further em
ployment. In 112 cases there was a per
manent injury resulting in partial disability;
such injuries may or may not prevent the
woman from continuing the same job.
The compensation rate depends on the
woman’s earnings, and for nearly one-third
of all temporary liabilities the wage reported
was less than 512.50 a week; for more than
half it was less than 515.50.
In Florida 424 injuries to women were
compensated in 1940, with some permanent
disability resulting in 3 cases only. More
than one-fourth of these women were earning
less than 510 a week, two-thirds earning less
than 515. Injuries reported that were not
compensable, perhaps because they resulted
in no loss of time or none over the 4-day
waiting period, numbered 1,400.

THE WOMAN WORKER

Hard for Teachers in Dayton, Ohio, To
Make Ends Meet
Most Dayton teachers can get through
the school year with careful management if
no emergencies arise, or if the term is not cut,
but must borrow during the summer months
or for emergencies, according to a recent
.survey. Over two-thirds of the unmarried
men and women were found to have de
pendents. More than three-fourths of the
entire force, including principals and assist
ant principals, were women.
This survey followed a financial crisis in

Dayton that resulted in the closing of the
public schools. It gave much information
on the teaching staff in the school year
1939-40, and also included other local
government services.
The recommendation made for the imme
diate improvement of the school situation
was to insure teachers at least 9 months of
employment at the present salary level with
salaries paid promptly when due. For the
future, salary schedules should be adjusted
as soon as the financial position improves,
taking into consideration increased training,
especially in elementary schools.

Recent Publications
Women’s Bureau—Printed Bulletins 1
State Minimum-Wage Laws

and

Second Supplement to Bui. 167.

13 pp.

The Migratory Labor Problem

Bui. 185.

24 pp.

Orders: 1940.
in

5$.

Delaware.

lOfL

Women’s Bureau—Mimeographed Material1
Earnings and Hours in Stores and Restaurants in
Michigan. April 1941.
'Women’s Factory Employment in an Expanding
Aircraft Production Program. June 1941.
Series of State Bulletins on Labor Laws for
Women: Illinois, 29 pp.; Massachusetts, 30 pp.
State Minimum-Wage Orders for Beauty Culture
Occupations. April 1941. 68 pp.
.Standards for the Employment of Women in In
dustry. (In Spanish.) Leaflet.

Other Department of Labor Publications
Money Disbursements of Employed Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers, 1934-36. Twelve cities of

the South. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bui. 640.
Study of Consumer Purchases, Urban Series, 1935-

36. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Family Income and Expenditure:
New York City, Bui. 643, Vol. I, Income.
East Central Region (9 cities), Bui. 644, Vol.
II, Expenditure.
Family Expenditures in Selected Cities, Bui. 648,
Vol. Ill, Clothing and Personal Care; Vol. IV,
Furnishings and Equipment; Vol. VIII, Changes
in Assets and Liabilities.
Labor in the Territory of Hawaii, 1939. Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Bui. 687.
1 Bulletins may be ordered from the Superintendent of Documents,
Washington, D. C., at prices listed. A discount of 25 percent on
orders of 100 or more copies is allowed. Mimeographed reports are
■ obtainable only from the Women’s Bureau,

Visual Information on Problems of the Wage
Earner. Division of Labor Standards. A guide to

exhibits, motion pictures, slides, posters, and charts
available from the United States Department of
Labor.
Care of Children Coming to the United States for
Safety Under the Attorney General’s Order
of July 13, 1940. Children’s Bureau. Bui. 268.
Organization and Management of Consumers’ Co
operatives and Buying Clubs. Bureau of Labor

Statistics. Bui. 665.
A series of 13 recordings of radio
programs. Consists of dramatic episodes based on
actual experiences from the lives of America’s
workers. They show the protection given these
workers by Federal and State labor laws. Records
are available to noncommercial organizations for use
on the special play-back mechanisms in local broad
casting studios; they cannot be played on ordinary
phonographs. To be secured from Division of Labor
Standards. A small transportation charge to
borrower. See Woman Worker, January 1941, for
similar series of 10 programs “The Pay Envelope.”

This Might Be You.

Other Recent Publications
By Dorothy
D. Crook. National Federation of Business and
Professional Women’s Clubs., Inc. New York.
1940. Summarizes court opinions and government
action, upholding or denying the right of married
women to work.
Your Son’s Career. Article by Lyle M. Spencer in
the Kiwanis Magazine, May 1941. Could apply as
well to daughters, and gives exceptionally good advice
for the young person seeking a job.
British Women in War. By Peggy Scott. Hutchin
son and Co. (London.) 1940.
State vs. Married Woman Worker.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1941

Full text of The Woman Worker : July 1941, Vol. XXI, No. 4

FRASER