The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
I
U,.. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
W. B. WILSON, SECRETARY
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
BUL:LETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, NO. 11
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS
AND TICKET AGENTS
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
•
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING O F FICE
1921
[
[PuBLio-No. 259-:-66TH CoNGRESs.]
[H. R. 13229.J
An Act To establish in the Department of Labor a bureau to be
known as the Women's Bureau.
I
,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of Am,erwa in Congress assembled, That there shall be
established in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women's Bureau.
SEc. 2. That the said bureau shall be in charge of a director, a
woman, ,~o be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensation of $5,000. It shall be the duty of said bureau to formulate
, . standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wageearning women, improve their working conditions, increase their
efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. The said bureau shall have authority to investigate and
report to the said department upon all matters pertaining to the
welfare of women in ·industry. The director of said bureau may
from time to time publish the results of these investigations .in such
a manner and to such extent as the Secretary of La9or may prescribe.
SEc. 3. That there shall be in said bureau an assistant director,
to be appointea. by the Secretary of Labor, who shall receive an
annual compensation of $3,500 and shall perform such duties as
shall be prescribed by the director and approved by the Secretary
of Labor.
SEc. 4. That there is hereby authorized to be employed by said
bureau a chief clerk and such special agents, assistants, clerks, and
other employees at such rates of .compensation and in such numbers .
as Congress may :from time to time provide by appropriations.
SEc. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby directed to furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture, and equipment, for the work of
this bureau.
SEc. 6. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and
after its passage.
, Approved, June 5, 1920.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
W. B. WILSON, SECRETARY
WOMEN'S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU, NO. 11
WOMEN STREET
. CAR CONDUCTORS
AND TICKET AGENTS
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
•
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1921
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CONTENTS.
Page.
Letter of submittaL__________________________________________________
Statement of Dr. Anna Howard Shaw before the National War Labor
Board___________________________________________________________
Part I : General introduction, summary, and conclusions---:------------Controversies regarding the right of women to work as conductors___
Qonditions of work demand certain legal restrictions________________
Purpose of this investigation______________________________________
Time and scope of survey--------------------------------------Unusual requirements ne~ssary for transportation companies_______
• Conditions of work for women street car conductors________________
Daily hours________________________________________________
Hours beginning and ending__________________________________
Weekly hours________________________________________________
Reasons for hours longer than those permitted by law__________
Night work________________________________________________
Wages______________________________________________________ _
Comparison of men's and women's runs________ ____ ____________
Effect of law regulating hours_______________________________
Conclusion________________________________________________ __ _
Conditions of work for women ticket agents and collectors____ ______ _
Daily hours----------------------------------------------Hours of extras-----------------------------------------~---Seniority__________________________________________________
Six-day week________________________________________________
Night work _______________________________ . __________________
"\'\7ages_________ ___________________________________________
Attitude of the unions_______________________________________
Effect of law regulating hours _____ -=------------ ----- ------ ---Conclusion___________________________________________________
Part II: Detailed reports of hours and conditions of work______________
The woman conductor__________________________________________
Age and marital condition__________________________ __________
Previous occupation________________________________________
Reasons for liking work on street cars_..:. __ -:__________ ___________
Opinions on legislation ______________ ..,.________________________
Hours and conditions of work in Detroit___________________________
Number of employees:_______________________________________
Special regulations for women________________________________
Seniority rights___________________________________________
Time, method, and scope of investigation_______________________
Actual and over-all hours of runs scheduled for women__________
Actual hours on duty, week days_______________ ____ ___ ____
Actual hours on duty, Saturdays______________ _____ _______
Actual ho-urs on duty, Sundays____________________________
Over-all hours___________________________________________
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
3
5
6
7
7
12
14
15
15
17
18
19
20
20
21
21
22
23
24
25
25
26
26
27
27
27
27
28
29
31
31
31
32
32
36
38
38
38
38
39
40
40
41
41
41
4
CONTENTS.
Part II : Detailed reports of hours and conditions of work-Continued.
Hours and conditions of work in Detroit-Continued.
·
Page.
Actual and over-all hours of runs scheduled for men conductors__
46
Actual hours on duty, week days__________________________
46
Actual hours on duty, Saturdays__________________________
46
Actual hours on duty, Sundays_______ _____________________
46
46
Over-all hours___________________________________________
Summary of actual and over-all hours for men and women______
50
Hours beginning and ending work_____________________________
51
Hours beginning and ending for women_____________________ ___
51
Week days______________________________________________
52
Saturdays______________________________________________
52
Sundays________________________________________________
52
Hours beginning and ending for men________________ __________
56
Week days_________________ ___ __________________________
56
Saturdays______________________________________________
56
Sundays _________________________ ..______________________
56
Summary of hours begin_ning and ending for men and women____
Weekly hours of work______________________________________
Wages____________________________________________________
Hours and conditions of work in Kansas City__ _____________________
Number of employees________________________________________
Special regulations for women_____________ _____ ______________
Seniority rights__________________________ __________________
Time, method, and scope of investigation__ ____ ___ _____ __ __ _____
I-lours__ _________ ___ __ ____ __ __ _____ _______ __ ____ ____________
Wages__________________________ ______ __________ ___ _______
Ticket agents and collectors______________ ___ _____ ___ ____ __ ____ ___ ___ _
Hours and conditions of work in Boston________ ____________ ____ ___
Number of employees________________________________________ _
Special regulations for women_______________________________
Time, method, and scope of investigation____________ _________ _
Effect of the law on number of women employed_____________ __
Seniority rights ________ -----------------_______________ ____
Choice of runs________________ ____ ___ ____________ _____ _______
64
66
70
72
72
73
73
73
73
75
76
76
76
77
77
77
78
78
Relief periods------------------------------------------ --Hours _________________ ·----------------- --- - - ------------ --Wages_________________________________ _______ __ ___________
Hours and conditions of work in Chicago_____ __ ____ _______________
Number of employees_______________________ ___ _______________
Special regulations for women_______________________________
Time, method, and ·scope of investigation___ __ ____ ______ ___ ____
Seniority rights____________________________________________
78
79
83
84
84
85
85
85
Relief periods--------------------------------------------Hours _______________________________ •--------------------·--Hours of regular agents________________ __________________
Hours
of extra agents------------:----------------------Wages
________________________________________
. ____________
86
86
86
87
89
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL.
u. s.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
-vvoMEN's BunEAu,
Washington, August 16, 19f 0.
Sm: I have the honor to submit the accompanying report giving
the results of a survey of the hours, wages, and conditions of work
of women conductors and ticket agents on the street railways in
Detroit (Mich.), Kansas City (Mo.), Boston, and Chicago.
The wholesale dismissal of women conductors on the street railways of New York City made it necessary for the department of
women in industry of the New York State Industrial Commission
to make an investigation in the city of New York. Miss Mary Van
Kleeck, at that time director of the Women's Bureau, offered assistance to the New York State Industrial Commission. While the
commission, through its department of women in industry, was
m}l.king an investigation of the facts in New York and Brooklyn,
the Women's Bureau undertook the study of the method of employing women in transportation in the above-mentioned cities.
This survey was conducted by Miss Agnes L. Peterson and Mrs.
Ethel L. Best. The report was written by Miss Mary N. Winslow.
Manuscript copies have been submitted to the transportation companies which come under this investigation.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. W. B. WrLsoN,
Secretary of Labor.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
•
"The tim,e has come when it is neither the right of m en
nor the duty of men nor justice for men to decide problems of work for w&men.
"When the service of the worker and of the world shall
be opened to the world workers then let us be tested
by our ability to render good service, and by .our ability
to be faithful in that service. If we fail then let us fail,
but do not let us fail by the direction of m en or by the
direction of any group of people.
"And there/ore I claim that the tim e has come now
when we women have a right to ask that we shall be free
to labor where our labor is needed, that we shall be free
to serve in the capacity for which we are fitted. No human being can tell what another human being can do
until that human being has had the opportunity to test
himself. A'nd so it has been with women." 1
1 Dr. Anna Howard Shaw in a statement made before the National War Labor Board
at the hearing of the case of the women street. car conductors of Cleveland, Ohio, December, 1919.
6
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PART
I.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, SUMMARY, AND CONCLUSIONS.
Conspicuous among the occupations which were opened to women
at the time of our entry into the war was the work o:f conductor
on street and elevated railways and subways. While women had
been employed as ticket agents by various companies for many years,
the woman street-car conductor was a complete innovation, and
about her employment in this capacity have c~tered much discussion
and several bitter controversies.
When they first appeared early in ).918, women conductors, and
to a less extent women ticket agents, were the recipients o:f much
attention from the public and press who were curious and interested
to watch the broadening of the field of industrial opportunity for
women. . While many women in many sphere~ were taking men's
places in hitherto unaccustomed tasks, the conductor, by the nature
of her work, was doing it so publicly, and her work was so open to
inspection and comparison with that o:f her predecessor, that her
success seemed particularly significant and likely to insure another
permanently open field of work for women.
Having once been accepted as a successful participant in transportation work, there were two factors which were to influence the
future employment of women in these occupations. First, Were
the men employees going to accept women as :fellow workers~
Second, Was it going to prove possible to provide such legal regulation as might be necessary for the protection of these women workers
and at the same time allow for the unusual difficulties with which
a transportation company is faced in arranging the working hours
of its employees~
CONTROVERSIES REGARDING THE RIGHT OF WOMEN TO WORK
. AS CONDUCTORS.
The first question was soon answered in one way for the women
conductors in Detroit and Cleveland, and in the opposite way in
Kansas City. The hisJ;ory 9:f the situation in Detroit and Cleveland,
as it affected the employment of ·women, is extremely significant.
The issue was a clear-cut one between the men on the one hand
who wished to maintain the work o:f street car conductors as strictly
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
7
8
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
men's work, and on the other hand the women who had proved that
. they could do the work well, and who were not ready to accept their
exclusion from an occupation where the pay was good, and the hours
and working conditions no more unsatisfactory than in many other
occupations considered to come .within the sphere of women's activities.
Women were put on as conductors during the latter part of
August, 1918, in Cleveland, when the street railway company of that
city claimed that it could not secure a sufficient number of men for
this work. The men objected to the employment of women and
threatened to stTike if it continued. But a compromise was finally
effected and the matter submitted to Department of Labor investigators, who were to decide whether the women should be retained
during the investigation and whether there was a sufficient shortage
of men to require the continued employment of women. The decision to retain the women during the investigation was made almost
immediately, but after the investigation it was decided that while there
was still a scarcity of male labor it was not sufficient to justify the
continued employment of women. This decision was rendered by
the investigators in spite of their statement that " It is true the
company will have to lower its standards somewhat, owing to
the extraction of the best men from civil life into the military service of the country." It was recommended that the women be discharged from the service by November 1. The women protested
against this and brought the matter before the War Labor Boa.rd.
They claimed that it was illegal :for the company and the men employees to make the original agreement to submit to arbitration the
question of whether the women should be kept, as the company had
engaged the women to work during good behavior and to be discharged only for incompetency, insubordination, or other unsatisfactory ser-vice. The company expressed itself as completely satisfied with the work of the women, who claimed that the contracts
between them and the company were still valid, and that they had
not been consulted in any of the negotiations or investigations relative to their dismissal. They also claimed that the agreement to arbitrate was a disregard of their right to be employed and to hold
employment as long as their work was satisfactory, and was an
abridgement of their constitutional right to work.
The men claimed that the question of the employment of women
was a matter between the company and the union. The union had
an agreement with the company that no women should be employed,
therefore the women had been engaged in disregard of this contract
and were not parties to the discussion. The War Labor Board
withheld decision for some time and the women were retained pend-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN S'rREE'r CAR CONDtiC'I'ORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
9
ing decision until, on December 2, the union formally demanded
that the women be discharged, and threatened to go on strike immediately if this were not done. The strike began .on December 3 and
the War Labor Board was hurriedly appealed to by the mayor of
Cleveland, and immediately hap.ded down a decision that the company should hereafter employ no more women, and that within the
next 30 days all women should be replaced by competent men. This
decision was not mandatory and the men refused to abide by it.
The strike was finally settled by the following agreement between
the union and the company:
It is hereby agreed by and between the undersigned that on and after this
date there will be no more women employed as conductors; that the Cleveland Railway Co. will remove and displace the women that are now in its
service as rapidly as possible.
This agreement was made by the officers of the union and the
company without including the women at any stage of the negotiations. Vigorous protests by various women's organizations as well
as by the women conductors themselves followed this settlement, as it
seemed to be a very dangerous precedent to deny women the right
to work in any occupation for no other reason than that their dismissal was demanded by the men, and without even giving the
women a hearing so that they might present their case.
As a result of many protests the War Labor Board held another
hearing which was unfortunately delayed until after all of the
women employed as conductors had been dismissed according to the
agreement made between the company and the union.
The final a ward of the War Labor Board in this case was handed
down on March 17, 1919, and was to the effect that the contract between the company and the union prohibited the employment of
women, but that the employment of women having been permitted
because of a necessity caused by a shortage of male labor these women
were entitled by the terms of the contract under which they were engaged to continue in this service until their employment should cease,
either by voluntary withdrawal or by discharge for cause or for other
sufficient reason. The board directed, therefore, that the 64 women
conductors who had been discharged by the company pursuant to
its agreement with the union should be reinstated. The company,
however, decided to abide by its original agreement with the union,
and would not accept the recommendations of the War Labor Board.
In a communication to that board the president of the company
wrote:
If your honorable board can prevail upon Division 268 of the Amalgamated
Association of Street Railway Employees of America to agree to the reinstatement of the women conductors, I shall be very glad to order their reinstatement.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
10
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTpRS AND TICKET AGENTS.
A similar situation arose in Detroit in September, 1918. Women
were taken on as street car conductors, with the consent of the union.
whose contract with the company contained the :following clause:
It is understood that no objection shall be made to the employment of women
or of colored men if necessity arises.
The arrangement between the Detroit United Railway and its
employees provided that the company should make its contract of
employment with the local union of the Amalgamated Association
of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America, and should
agree to employ as permanent employees only members of the union.
Under this arrangement the company accepted for its employment
any person who seemed fit, and after 48 hours' test the applicant was
sent to the proper officer of the union to receive what is called a permit, and then after 90 days of service, if the company found him
competent and no reasonable objection to him was presented by the
union, he was admitted to the union.
According to this arrangement the women who were employed after
September, 1918, were given permit cards, but when, after the 90day period, they asked for admission into the union, they were refused, and on December .6, after the signing of the armistice, the
union demanded the immediate dismissal of the women and refused
to give permit cards to 15 women who had been in training and were
ready to go on as regular conductors.
This case was argued before the War Labor Board in January,
1919, and was slightly different from the Uleveland case because of
the clause in the contract between the union and the company which
permitted the employment of women " if necessity arise." There
were, therefore, two questions to be decided : Whether a necessity still
existed which would justify the company in continuing to engage
women to work as conductors, and whether the women already working as conductors should be dismissed, as was demanded by the union.
The first question required a judicial interpretation of the existence and extent of the" necessity" which, accoTding to the terms of
the contract, would justify the company in employing women.
Although the women claimed that a number of the men employees
who were being engaged as conductors were under age, or not
sufficiently acquainted with the English language to discharge their
duties properly, the board ruled that there was a sufficient supply of
available male labor, if the company used diligence to find it, and
therefore that the necessity to employ women no longer existed.
The second question was a more fundamental one, involving as it
did the right of a group of men to demand the discharge of women
who had been engaged in good faith, had performed their work in
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
11
a satisfactory manner, and who had fulfilled all of the terms of their
contract.
In its decision on this subject the board stated:
The further issue arises whether we should say to the company, under the
contract and circumstances, that it is its duty to discharge the women now in
its employ. We find no such express limitation upon the employment of women
in the contract. And we find that without such express provision equity and
fair dealing toward the women who have prepared themselves for this employment * * • require us to hold that no such implication arises from the
wording used and that the union must be content with the continued employment of the women now with the company * * • until in natural course,
by voluntary withdrawal, by discharge, or for other causes they cease their
connection with the company. * * * The order, therefore, will be that the
company may retain in its employ those women now engnged in its service and
may receive into its service the 15 already mentioned who prepared themselves
for duty as conductors, and that the union shall issue the proper permits to
them for such employment, but that no more women shall be employed.
The women were therefore retained although the union never
issued the permits, and the Detroit case, so far as it provided that
the women already employed should not be dismissed was a victory
for the women, who by this decision could hold on to their jobs until
they were ready to give them up. From the point of view of enlarged industrial opportunity for women, however, the result in each
city was a decided setback for the women, as the unions so effectively
controlled the situation that through their contracts with the companies they were able to shut out the women from this field of work.
A very different situation obtained in Kansas City, wheTe women
were first employed in June, 1918. The company had wished to
employ women in 1917, according to a statement made by the general
manager of the company,1 but had not done so because of the opposition of the union. In May, 1918, however, tli' s opposition was withdrawn, and shortly after this 10 women were put on as conductors.
In August, 1918, when there were 125 women employed there was
a controversy between the union and the Kansas City Street Railway
Co. regarding wages, the status of women employees, a revision of
schedules, and the constitution of the working day. From the
women's viewpoint the most significant thing about this controversy,
· which was submitted to the War Labor Board, was that under the
subject "status of women employees" the union was not demanding that the women be dismissed, but that their guaranteed minimum
pay be raised to equal the guaranteed minimum for the men. The
decision of the War Labor Board . recognized this demand and di.rected that "women employees shall receive equal pay with men
for the same work, and the guaranteed minimum for women shall
1
Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March, 1919, p. 215,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
12
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
be increased from $60 to _$75 per month, as now obtains in the case of
men." The women's guaranty was accordingly raised to the same
rate as the men's, but the entire award of the board was not put
into effect, and when in February, 1919, there was a strike called to
oblige the company to accept the full award of the board, all but
a very small number of the women joined in the strike with the men.
Although an interesting and important example of the possibility
of cooperation between the men and women working in the same
occupation, the Kansas City situation is not reflected in the general
policy of the union, for as recently as May 13, 1920, W. D. Mahon,
international president of the Amalgamated Association of Street
and Electric Railw~ Employees of America, stated in a letter to
the Women's Bureau:
The dispute that was raised by our organization was against women acting
as conductors on surface and trolley cars. Our organization took the position
that it was no fit place for a woman to work and has decided against it.
It would appear, then, that if women are to maintain their places
as street car conductors they must do so against the organized opposition of the men :who are engaged in this work.
CONDITIONS OF WORK DEMAND CERTAIN LEGAL RESTRICTIONS
FOR THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN.
The statement that work of a certain kind is not fit for women
is always a telling argument, but one which needs careful examination before it is accepted as a reason for excluding them from any
occupation. Protection of women from the ill effects of long hours:
and unsatisfactory working conditions must accompany their en- ·
trance into any new occupation, and in considering opportunities:
for them it is necessary to study the methods by which the needs:
of the industry can be reconciled with legal regulation of hours andi
working conditions. It is always possible that too stringent regulations of conditions for women may curtail their opportunities.
for profitable employment. On the other hand, it is extremely
important that certain minimum requirements below which condi- ·
tions of work for women may not fall should be established for
each industry in which they are employed. Provided that these
standards are met, there are very few occupations which can be
classed as unfit for women, but it is important that full information
should be had of the extent to which these standards can be maintained before large groups of women are employed in any new
industry. It is an easy and far too frequent occurrence to have
some group of persons declare, as did the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America, that.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
13
an occupation is not " fit for women," but in the words of the War
Labor Board in its a ward in the Detroit caseHe is no friend of the wise advance of women into the much to be desired
lndependence of self-support, _w ho does not exercise discretion by a prudent
discrimination between the work which women can do without injury to
health or subjection to unfavorable environment and that from which they
have been heretofore excluded solely by unreasonable custom or convention
or the ignorance and prejudice of men.
In an attempt to discover the exact conditions under which women
were working as street-car conductors and to formulate a policy regarding the desirability of their employment in this capacity the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
Labor made an investigation early in 1917 of women street-railway
employees in New York City and Brooklyn. 2
After a consideration of the nature of the work, working conditions, and hours the report of this investigation states :
It is practically impossible to make the conditions of street-railway employment even tolerably endurable to women employees and the operation of street
cars is one of the last occupations into which women should be lured or forced.
This conclusion was based. on facts collected in one city where
hours for women were long and irregular, where they were low on
the seniority list, and their wages not up to the current market price
for male labor. Many instances were quoted in this report which
indicated that conditions were much in need of improvement. But
it is equally true that in other communities satisfactory adjustments
have been made to permit of the employment of women ticket agents
and conductors, if not under ideal conditions, still under conditions
no worse and often better than in many other industries where the
woman worker is an accepted fact.
One of the most conspicuous attempts to regulate conditions for
women employed in transportation occurred in New York State in
1919, when a law was passed which limited the hours of women in
transportation to 9 in any day and 54 in any week. This law also
prohibited the employment of women after 10 p. m. or before 7 a. m.
and required that the nine hours of work should be consecutive except for one hour for lunch. The companies in ew York City
claimed that they could not employ women under these conditions,
and large numbers of the women were dismissed. This resulted in
great criticism of the law from the women employees who were
discharged and from certain organizations which were opposed to
any special legislation for women. It was claimed that solely because of this special legislation thousands of women had lost their
jobs and their means of livelihood, and there was much agitation for
2 Benjamin M. Squires, Woman Street Railway Employees, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review, May, 1918.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
14
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
the repeal of the law. A very different aspect of the matter, however, was brought out by the Bureau of Women in Industry of the
New York State Department of Labor when in June, 1919, it made an
investigation relative to the employment .of women in transportation
~ompanies in Greater New York. This investigation discovered the
very significant fact, that while the law regulating the employment
of women in transportation was not approved and pu.t into effect
until May 12, 1919, the companies had begun to lay off their women
employees in November, 1918. Since that time large additions had
been made to the force of men in the occupations in which women had
been employed, to such an extent that the total number of employees
had increased considerably from November, 1918, to May, 1919.
That compliance with the law regulating the hours of employment of
women would have involved considerable readjustment was brought
out in this report, which stated that on May 1, 1919, only 17 per cent
of the total number of women employed at that time were complying
with all the provisions of the law. The fact, however, that the
women were being laid off for many months before the passage of
the law, and that the companies had made no readjustments in an
attempt to meet the provisions of the· law, but instead had resorted
to the wholesale dismissal of the women, seemed to indicate that
women had not been considered as a permanent factor, and had been
employed only during the temporary emergency and labor shortage
caused by the war.
PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION.
Here, then, was the situation with which the women employed
in transportation w.ere faced. They were denied opportunity for
work as conductors in Detroit and Cleveland because they were not
wanted by the union, although the companies were willing and
anxious to keep them on; dismissc J from their work as conductors
and ticket agents in New York because the company claimed they
could . not meet the requirements of a law; and at least one official
report ·declared that unavoidable conditions of work on the street
cars made it very undesirable for women. And yet it was known
that women were being employed as conductors and ticket agents in
many other localities without undue hardships to them and without
antagonism from the men who worked with them.
It was to add to the small amount of information whi"ch was available relative to this situation that the Women's Bureau undertook
this investigation. The purpose of the investig•ation was to discover in several localities the hours of work and wages for women
street car conductors and ticket agents; the relation of the w·o rk of
women to that of men, as shown by methods of granting seniority
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
15
rights to men and women, and by special regulations for women ;
and the effect on hours and numbers o:f women employed o:f the
enforcement o:f legal regulation of hours J:or women employed in
transportation.
·TIME AND SCOPE OF SURVEY.
With these points in mind the cities of Detroit, Kansas City, Chicago, and Boston. were chosen. Women were employed as conductors in Detroit and Kansas City. In Detroit they were working
against the wishes of the union, and prior to August 26, -1919, there
had been no regulation of their hours of work. After that time,
however, their hours were limited to 10 a day and 54 a week. In
Kansas City the union had not objected to the employment of the
women as conductors, but had cooperated with them in an effort
to raise their wage. In this city women were employed under a
law which regulated their hours to 9 a day and 54 a week.
Women ticket agents and collectors were employed in Boston and
Chicago. In Boston before July- 17, 1919, their; hours were limited
by law to 10 a day and 54 a week. After that date the hours permitted were 9 a day and 48 a week. The hours of the women ticket
agents in Chicago were limited by law to 10 a day and 70 a week.
In none of the four cities was night work prohibited by law.
The material for this report was gathered in June, July, and
September, 1919, and i11 January, 1920. The officials o:f the Detroit United Railways, the Chicago Elevated trains, and the Boston
Elevated Railway offered the fullest cooperation to the agents of
the Women's Bureau, and to their helpfulness is due much of the
value of the material gathered. The Kansas City Street Railways
Co. was not willing to permit examination of its records, but gave
some information through personal interviews.
UNUSUAL REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY FOR TRANSPORTATION
COMPANIES.
Before considering the conditions which exist for either women
ticket agents or conductors it is necessary to emphasize the special
difficulties with which transportation companies are faced in arranging the hours of their employees. Transportation lines must
furnish continuous service, which involves night work and Sunday
work for both ticket agents and conductors, and makes necessary
special adjustments if women are to be employed and still given
adequate protection. Not only must service be continuous but it
must be adequate to handle the crowds which come regularly at certain hours of the day and night, and yet in the interests of efficiency,
during the part of the day when travel is light there must be a corresponding shrjnkage in the number of cars sent out. The necessity
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
16
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
for having cars run continuously with occasional "peaks" in their
number to handle the crowds which come at special times of the
day, results in many schedules which must be separated into two
and occasionally three parts, with a period of waiting between each
part, making a very long working day, although the actual hours
worked may not be excessive.
There is no opportunity for shutting down the plant to provide
for one day of rest in seven, as there is no day or night in the week
on which some part of the public does not wish to use their transportation facilities; therefore, a weekly holiday for employees on
transportation lines can only be arranged by a complicated system
providing for days off and extra employees to substitute for those
absent. The weather is also a very important feature in the maintenance of transportation service. The worse the weather and the
more difficult it is to maintain service, the more important does this
service become. At a time of blizzard weather, with sickness taking
its toll of workers, most industries expect a reduction in the number
of their employees and a corresponding reduction in output. It
is not so with transportation companies. If they have a reduction in
the number of their employees they must still keep the usual number
of cars running, which must be manned by trained operatives. This
means not only the maintenance of an " extra" force to meet such
emergencies, but also occasionally extra duty for the regular force.
Another factor which will materially affect the arrangement of streetcar runs is the geography of the city. In one town with a thickly settled
area to be served runs can be short, while in another with a spreadout settlement and many suburbs it may be impossible to arrange
short runs, and if a conductor must have a short schedule she must
be relieved before her run is completed. Special excursions, ball
games, theaters, conventions, and other such events also add to the
irregularities of the demands on transportation, and the problems
attendant upon the arrangement of schedules. Accidents or delays
to the car, which can not be forseen or prevented, are another factor
contributing to the difficulty of keeping a conductor's daily hours
of work within certain definite limits.
The hours of both the ticket agents and conductors are affected
by these special conditions, but the problem of arranging schedules
foT the conductors is much the more serious of the two. A ticket agent
has a fixed place of work, and the hours for a group of agents can
he arranged in shifts with definite relief periods, the main problem
with them being to arrange the work of extras who are engaged to
take the place of absentees, to fill in at rush hours, and to serve during relief p&iods, so that their hours of work are not too long,
irregular, or too few to insure an adequate wage·. Special arrangements must be made in the case of ticket agents, to eliminate night
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
17
work for the women. The hours for the conductors are very much
more difficult to arrange. Schedules for this group must be dependent on the routes of their cars, and on the number of cars which
must be run at different times of the day. All the difficulties with
which a transportation company is faced are reflected in the runs
scheduled for the conductors. An arrangement of schedules which
may be perfectly easy to bring about and perfectly satisfactory for
ticket agents may be quite impossible for conductors. The two
occupations are no more similar than that of a waitress and a
cashier in a restaurant, yet because, presumably, they may both be
employed by the same company, legislation to regulate their hours
has been drawn up for both groups together without special consideration of the very different demands of the two occupations.
The difference in the requirements of the wo~k, in the arrangement of hours, and in the attitude of the unions for the two groups
has appeared so marked in the four cities studied that in this report
the ticket agents and collectors are considered separately, as it was
felt that the adjustments made for one group could, because of the
a,bsolutely different conditions under which the other group must
work, have no comparative significance.
CONDITIONS OF WORK FOR WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS.
The special regulations which govern the hours of work for women
conductors are nearly the same in Detroit and Kansas City. The law
of Missouri provides for a weekly limitation of 54 hours and a daily
limitation of 9 hours of work for women in transportation. The
law does not prohibit night work nor limit the number of hours
within which work must be completed. The Michigan law before
August 26, 1919, did not regulate in any way the hours of women
in transportation, but after that date a law became effective which
limited their hours to 10 a day and 54 a week. As in Missouri, the
Michigan law does not limit the number of hours within which the
day's work must be completed, hor is night work prohibited. The
only difference, then, between the regulations under which women
work in the two cities is that in Detroit they may not work longer
than 10 hours, while in Kansas City they can work only nine hours
in any one day.
The method of adjusting the women's schedules in order to conform to the provisions of the law was quite different in the two
cities. Particularly interesting is the way in which the women's
schedules were worked out in Kansas City. It was the policy of the
company in that city to arrange for an eight-hour day for the women
conductors, although the law would permit nine hours o:f work. As
15201°-21-2
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
18
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
practically all of the runs on the line on which the women were
employed were considerably over eight hours, the women's schedules
were arranged so that they took only one part of a run, being transferred then to a short part of another run. In Detroit an attempt
was made to meet the legal requirements by limiting the women to
a choice of runs which did not exceed 10 hours.
In addition to the legal regulations of their hours, the schedules
of women conductors are further influenced by their standing on the
seniority list. This list is maintained in both Detroit and Kansas
Uity for men and women employees together. Position on the list
is determined by the length of service, the newcomers being put at
the bottom of the list and gradually ri sing on it as more recent employees appear and older ones leave the service. When the schedules
are posted for the week each employee is given his choice of runs,
the person highest on the seniority list having the first choice.
The term "choice of runs" is one frequently used by transportation companies, but where this term is used it must be emphasized
that it does not mean the runs which were most desirl;'Jl by either
group. There is only one person among all the conductors who has
absolute freedom of choice to select the run he most desires. That
one person is the one who stands first on the seniority list. He has
the entire lot of runs to choose from, and his choice is valid testimony of what he considers the most desirable run. The lower a
conductor's standing on the seniority list, the more undesirable are
the runs from which he must make a choice. As the women are
far down on the list the runs chosen by them can not be considered
as an indication of the runs they would prefer, their " choice " in
many cases being so restricted as to become practically "Robson's
choice."
Although because of the complexity of the subject of hours for
conductors it is necessary to present the detailed figures for each
city separately, an outline of the conditions will serve to illustrate
the most significant facts in the two cities investigated.
Daily hours.
According to the runs scheduled for the women on week days during one week in January in Detroit, the daily hours of work were
less than 10½ for 98.4 per cent of the women. For Saturday runs
during the same period 69.7 per cent of the women were scheduled
for less than 10½ hours on duty. Sunday runs were very much
shorter, and during this week in January 75.8 per cent of the women
were scheduled for runs with less than 8½ hours on duty.
In Kansas City the schedules of 10 women for one week showed
only one with as long as nine hours of actual work. The greater
number were scheduled for between seven and eight hours of work a
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
19
day. Sunday runs for Kansas City women conductors were also
short-three, four, and five hours, with only one as long as six hours.
The peculiar needs of transportation service, however, do not permit the consideration solely of the actual hours of work. · Where the
day's work is broken up into several parts the time within which the
work is done, or the "over-all" hours, becomes significant. Considerable stress has been laid by different authorities on the hardships of the long hours consumed by the day's work on the street
cars, although these hours have not all been spent in actual work.
During this study interviews were held with many women conductors, and an attempt was made to combine the choice of runs ·with
the seniority rights of those choosing the runs in order to find ,mt
which arrangement of schedules was considered most desirable. It
was found to be quite impossible to make any accurate statement on
this subject, as the choice of special schedules was affected many
times by individual matters. Some women liked the schedules with
long over-all hours, as they then had time for a rest between the
two shifts, some preferred the straight runs, some liked to get home
at midday for lunch, and some liked a schedule that gave them a
little time off in the middle of the day.
Over-all hours, then, within certain bounds, may be considered as
being of only limited significance, although they give a clearer picture
of the conditions under which the conductors' work is done than
would be afforded by a discussion merely of the actual hours worked.
Forty-two per cent of the women conductors in Detroit on week
days in January were scheduled to finish their day's work in less than
11 hours, and 54.7 per cent of them were scheduled to finish in less
than 12-½ hours. Over-all hours on Saturday were longer, for only
28.8 per cent of the women were scheduled for runs with less than
11 hours over all, while 69.7 per cent were scheduled for runs with
less than 13-½ hours over all. Sunday runs were, with one exception,
straight runs, so that the actual and over-all hours coincided.
The over-all hours in Kansas City, as given for 10 women, were
even shorter than those in Detroit. The longest period required to
perform the day's work was 13 hours and 18 minutes, 10, 11, and 12
being the more usual hours.
Hours beginning and ending.
More important to the worker than her over-all hours are the
hours at which she must begin and end her day's work, although
. in this case, too, individual preference plays so large a part that it
is difficult to draw a hard and fast rule as to which is the more
desirable time. The hours of beginning and ending work for the
majority of the women conductors in Detroit seemed, however, to
be the most undesirable conditions connected with their work. Dur-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
20
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
· ing one week in January, 48 per cent of the women were scheduled
for week-day runs which began between 4 and 6 in the morning
and almost all of these runs ended etween 6 and 9 in the evening.
Another large group of women, 25 per cent, was scheduled for runs
which began between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, which meant that
they must work late into the night. In fact over one-third of the
women had week-day runs which were scheduled to end between
midnight and 2 in the morning. On Saturday almost the same proportion of women as on week days were scheduled for the early morning and late afternoon starting hours, but on Sunday 54 per cent of
the women were scheduled for runs beginning late in the day and
:finishing between 11 p. m. and 2 a. m.
As the runs scheduled for women are based entirely upon their
standing on the seniority list which is maintained for men and
women together, and as the women have been employed for a very
much shorter time than the men and consequently have a low standing on the list, their choice is apt to be limited to runs with undesirable beginning and ending hours. The women in Kansas City
were also on the same seniority list as the men and were limited in
their choice of runs to those not exceeding nine hours, but the method
of arranging their runs in two parts, one long and one short, tended
to make the available choice more desirable.
Weekly hours.
A record of the actual weekly hours of work for the women in
Detroit shows that 24 out of. 61 women worked more than 54 hours,
th~ legal maximum during one week, the largest single group, 13, or
21.3 per cent, having worked between 54 and 60 hours. In Kansas
City the record of 10 women showed 1 woman who had worked
more than 60 hours, against the rules of the company which limited
hours to 54, 4 who worked from 50 to 53 hours, 3 who worked between
40 and 48½ hours, and 2 who worked between 30 and 35 hours.
Reasons for daily and weekly hours longer than those permitted
by law.
The scheduled hours and actual hours worked do not always coincide, as there may be occasions on which, because of lateness, accident,
or assignment to extra runs, a conductor's hours may be lengthened,
or because of transfer to another than the scheduled run her hours
may be shortened.
It was possible to secure a record of the actual daily hours of work
for the women conductors in Detroit during one week in January.
This record showed 42 instances in which the runs exceeded 10 hours.
For only 18 of these runs were the scheduled hours more than 10,
lateness, accident, or extra trips having prolonged the hours of the
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR dONDUCTORS
AND
TICI(ET AGENTS.
2i
remaining 24 until they exceeded the legal limit. The fact, however,
that in January more than 43 per cent of the women in Detroit were
scheduled for week-day Tuns with 9-½ and less than 10 hours on duty
seemed to indicate that the daily schedules are based on so nearly the
maximum legal time that any slight lateness or accident would make
illegal overtime almost unavoidable. The practice in Kansas City of
basing the schedules on considerably less than the legal daily maximum seems to have produced better results as far as the law is concerned.
Of the 11 Detroit women who worked 60 hours and over during
one week it is extremely significant to note that all but two of them
had worked seven days in spite of the fact that it was the stated
policy of the company to arrange for one day of rest during eveTy
seven. For a total group of 24 who worked over 54 hours, 11 worked
seven days and 13 worked six days in the week. It seems possible
from these figures that adherence to the policy of one day of rest
each week would result in a considernble shortening of the long
weekly hours which are a real hardship to the women in addition to
being an infringement of the law.
Night work.
Night work is not prohibited by law in either Detroit or Kansas
City. Many women conductors were found in Detroit whose schedules required them to work far into the night, 2 a. m. being no
uncommon hour for them to end their runs. In Kansas City, however, the women were not l:!_llowed by the company to work between
8 p. m. and 5 a. m. and none of the schedules obtained from 10 women
conductors showed that this rule had been infringed. The continued
employment of the women in Kansas City shows that this selfen:forced standard is not too arduous :for the company to maintain
for the protection of its women employees from the hardships of
night work.
Wages.
One of the chief reasons for which the women have fought to re. tain their positions as conductors is found in the rate of pay, which
compares very favorably with rates prevalent in other industries
where women are employed. According to the reports given by
47 women conductors in Detroit only one of them had ever received
as high a wage in any former occupation as she was getting for her
work as a conductor. Each of these women testified that she was
getting more than $27 a week as a conductor, and only one had previously made as much as that.
The wage received by the women street car conductors in Detroit
was considerably higher than in Kansas City. More than 44 per
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
22
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
cent of the women in Detroit received over $33 during one week
in January. In Kansas City a wage of $75 a month based on 50
hours and 38 minutes of work during one week is guaranteed to both
men and women. It was impossible to secure :figures showing the
actual earnings of the women in that city, but the fact that the
company objected to this guaranty, as they said the women did not
work long enough to earn it, indicates that $75 a month, or slightly
over $18 a week, can be considered a usual wage for women conductors in Kansas City. This comparatively low wage is probably
due partly to the fact that the women in Kansas City have special
schedules arranged for them and are considered as a separate group.
In Detroit, where the women receive a much higher wage, they take
their runs as they come without any special arrangement of schedules
for their benefit, but because of their standing on the seniority list
their choice of runs is limited. The runs available for choice by
the women would, of course, increase in desirability as the period
o:f their employme~t becomes longer and they rise on the seniority
list, but it is only seniority and the limitation to runs not exceeding
10 hours a day or 54 hours a week which differentiates the women
from the men street car conductors in Detroit. This lack of differentiation is shown in the similarity of the wage rate :for men and
women in that city. In January the median wage for the men conductors in Detroit was $39.40 and for the women $31.69.
Comparison of men's and women's runs.
The low standing of the women on the seniority list in Detroit
is reflected by a comparison of the hours of beginning and ending .
the runs for which they were scheduled with those for which the
men were scheduled. • Apparently the men, who all had their choice
of runs before the women, preferred the runs which began early
in the morning, as 78 per cent of them were scheduled for week-day
runs beginning between 4 and 6 a. m., while only 48 per cent of the
women had such hours of beginning. Only 9 per cent of the men
began theiT work in the afternoon between 2 and 4 o'clock, while
25 per cent of the women started work at this time. The difference
between the ending hours for the men and women indicates an even ·
more successful selection on the part of the men, for 39 per cent of
them on week days and 52 per cent on Saturdays :finished their
day's work between 2 and 4 p. m., while no women had runs scheduled :for these early-ending hours. On the other hand, 34 per cent
of the women on week days and 25 per cent on Saturdays were
scheduled to end their day's work between midnight and 2 a. m.,
while only 8 per cent of the men's week-day runs and 6 per cent of
their Saturday runs had such ending hours. .The Sunday runs for
the two groups show an even more striking differentiation, 75 per
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
23
cent o:f the men being scheduled to begin their runs in the morning
between 4 o'clock and noon, while 95 per cent of the women were
scheduled to start work between noon and 8 p. m. Apparently the
men liked and, by exercising their seniority privileges, secured
early working hours on Sunday, for 47 per cent of them were scheduled to finish their runs on Sunday between 1 and 5 p. m., while
no women finished their work during these hours.
Where men and women are on the same seniority list, a sjtuation
such as this is bound to arise when the women are newcomers and
have a low seniority standing. If the employment o:f women were
to continue, however, they would have a larger lot of runs open to
them for choice and their hours would be more nearly comparable in
desirability with those of the men.
Effect of law regulating hours.
In Detroit a law went into effect on August 26, 1919, limiting the
hours of work :for women in transportation to 10 a day, and 54 a
week. There was no evidence to show that women had been dismissed because of the difficulty of complying with the terms o:f this
law. There was a smaller number of women e~ployed in January,
1920, than in July, 1919, before the law went into effect, but this reduction was probably due to a normal labor turnover and to the fact
that the company was not permitted by the terms o:f its contract with
the union to hire any new ·women. This law did result, however, in
a considerable curtailment of the actual hours of work for women.
In July only 80.9 per cent of the women conductors were scheduled
for runs with less than 10½ hours on duty, but in January 98.4 per
cent of all the week-day runs scheduled :for women required less
than 10½ hours. Although, during the week in January for which
the figures were gathered, there were a number of cases in which
women were not only scheduled for but actually worked more than
the number o:f hours permitted by law, the record of shortened hours
is a good one when allowance is made for the fact that during that
week the company was struggling _with a shortage of employees due
to an influenza epidemi_c, and unusually long or extra runs were
necessarily assigned to some of the women employees in order to
maintain the service.
·
In Kansas City the women have always been employed under a
law limiting their hours of work to 9 a day and 54 a week, and the
company did not find this too much of a handicap to take them on
as new employees in 1918 when labor was scarce.
Perhaps the fact that the employment o:f women has continued
under the conditions imposed by law in these two cities is due to
the lack of restriction of the length of over-all hours. In Kansas
City the prohibition by the company of work for women between
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
24
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS ANH TICKET AGENTS.
8 p. m. and 5 a. m. provides, of course, a-certain limitation of over-all
hours, but this limitation is so broad that it would affect only a
very limited number, if any, of the runs on which a conductor might
be employed. As the arrangement of schedules in regard to the
matter of over-all hours is so technical a matter dependent upon the
season, the locality, and the events which take place in that locality,
and as there has been considerable testimony on the part of the
women who work as conductors that, under certain conditions, a
break in the working day with consequent long over-all hours is
preferable to one straight shift, it would seem that the most successful law, both from the point of view of the employer and of the
women employed, would either leave the adjustment of over-all
hours to the cooperative effort of the management and its employees,
or if a limitation is to be put into the law this limitation should be
established for separat"e communities by people with expert knowledge of local conditions and of the necessities of a transportation
system.
Conclusion.
On the whole, the facts reported for these two cities do not show
any royal road to ideal conditions for women street car conductors.
The Kansas City women had comparatively short hours and no
night work, but their wage rate did not compare favorably with 'that
of the Detroit conductors. The Detroit women worked longer hours,
at night, and frequently seven days a week, but their pay was good,
and each woman who was interviewed found th.e work congenial,
not too taxing physically, and better paid than any work she had
ever done _before.
Although conditions were not ideal, however, no particular reason
was disclosed either through a careful study of hours and wages, or
through investigation of actual working conditions, or through interviews with the women themselves, to prove that the work of a street
car conductor was unfit for women. On the contrary it seemed to
combine many advantages not always found in the traditional occupations for women.
Street car conductors do not have to stand continuously, they get
plenty of fresh air and variety · of employment, there _is no heavy
work to be done, their wages are good, and their hours are no longer
than in many other occupations in which women have worked for
years. Forty-six women conductors in Detroit told the investigators
of the Women's Bureau that they preferred the work of a conductor
to any work they had ever done be-fore. Only one woman, who used
to drive a rural free-delivery wagon, liked her previous occupation
better. No evidence was found to show that the work on the street
cars involved exposure to risks or dangers which women are not
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
25
facing and coping with successfully in other forms of work. The
10-hour day and 54-hour ,veek law in Detroit, although adherence
to it had not been absolute, seemed to have resulted in a considerable
shortening of hours for the women without decreasing their numbers
or their pa.y. Whether, under the peculiar conditions incident to
the conduct of a transportation system, absolute adherence to an inelastic regulation of hours can be arranged for without handicapping
the women can not be asserted from any facts included in this survey.
The difficulties with which both the companies and the women
were faced in complying with the law in Detroit and Kansas City
emphasizes, however, the need for a very careful study of local conditions before any phase of a transportation law is decided upon,
with a view to determining possible local adjustments to make compliance more feasible and less likely to wreak disaster upon those
it was framed to benefit.
'
CONDITIONS OF WORK FOR WOMEN TICKET AGENTS AND
COLLECTORS.
The conditions under which women ticket agents and collectors
were employed in Chicago and Boston showed several very important
adjustments which had been made in order to make the work satisfactory for them. These adjustments were the outcome of years
of experience, as women have been employed in this capacity in
both cities for many years. In fact this work has come to be accepted as "women's work" in both communities, for in Boston practically the entire force of collectors and in Chicago over half of the
ticket agents are women.
Although called by different names in the two cities the duties
of the ticket agent arid collector are nearly the same. The ticket
agent sells and receives tickets and makes change, while the collector merely makes change. At the end of the day's work each must
make up simple accounts.
The law regulating the work of these women limits their hours
to 10 a day and 70 a week in Chicago, and in Boston to 9 a day and
48 a week. Prior to July 17, 1919, the hours of the Boston collectors
were limited to 10 a day and 54 a week. Night work is not prohibited by law in either city. In the light of these legal regulations
it is interesting to see how in each city conditions are far in advance
of those required by law.
Daily hours.
Although 10 hours of work per day is permitted in Chicago and
9 hours in Boston, in both places the 8-hour day is the rule for the
women. In both cities the 8-hour day for regular collectors is
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
26
WOMEN STREET CAB, CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
achieved by arranging the working day into three straight 8-hour
shifts, and two or more "split trick shifts" or shifts whose hours
do not coincide with those of the three straight shifts or which are
divided into two parts with a period of waiting between but for
which the total hours worked do not exceed eight.
Hours of extras.
In addition to the regular agents whose time is spent on one of
these shifts there is a group of extra agents whose work must be
more irregular, as they are engaged to fill in in case of absences or
unusual demands at certain stations. It is the work of this group
of extras which is particularly difficult to arrange, as they are used
for more or less emergency and irregular service yet must be guaranteed sufficient work to yield an adequate wage, and their hours
must be arranged so that they are protected from excessively long
or irregular shifts. In both Chicago and Boston the extras as well
as the regulars seem to be assured of fairly regular and remunerative work. During a 15-day period in Chicago more than one-half
of the extra agents did not work over 8 hours on any one day, and
during a 14-day period in Boston more than two-thirds of the extra
collectors did not work more than 8 hours in any one day.
Regularity of work for extras seems to have been more successfully arranged for in Chicago than in Boston, for in the former
city during a 15-day peTiod, only 7.8 per cent of the extra agents
worked less than 11 days, while in Boston during a 14-day period
over 34 per cent worked less than 7 days. In Boston, however, every
extra is guaranteed and paid for 6-½ hours' work for six days a week,
unless she is disqualified by reporting late or refusing to take the
position assigned to her. In Chicago extras are guaranteed pay for
three hours' work only when they are called.
Seniority.
Although the shifts and the stations for work for collectors and
agents are so similar as to make choice of shift or division on which
to work less important than the choice of runs for conductors, there
is still, of course, a considerable range of desirability both as to hours
and location of work for the agents and collectors'. Seniority lists
are maintained, therefore, in both Boston and Chicago. In Chicago
where a number of men are employed as agents for night work and
. duty at special stations :four seniority lists are maintained, one each
for the men and women regular and extra collectors. Promotion is
made from the extra list to the regular list in order o:f seniority, and
choice o:f location of station and shift is also given according to
seniority standing.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
27
Six-day week.
In addition to the careful arrangement of hours, and the guaranty,
the Boston agents are given one day off each week, this being made
possible by the employment of relief collectors who are engaged to
take the place of regular collectors on their days off. No such arrangement is made in Chicago, where the agents work a 7-day week.
Night work.
In New York City it was claimed that the prohibition of night
work for women must automatically eliminate them from their work
with transportation eompanies, but Chicago has proved that this
form of protection for women can be voluntarily and successfully
adopted without handicapping their work in any degree. In that
city, although there is no legal restriction against night work for
women, this is entirely eliminated, and has been ever since women
were employed, by the hiring of men especially to work on the night
shift. It is only on the night shift that men are considered an important factor in the group of t:rcket agents, and they are hired for
and have seniority rights only for this duty, although a limited
number of men work on the day shifts at special stations. In Boston
night work for women, again not contrary to law, is eliminated because the lines do not run all night, and so there are several hours
during which no one is employed.
Wages.
Wages for collectors and ticket agents are not so high as for conductors but are still far in advance of those paid in many other industries where women are employed. In Chicago the regular agents
receive $66.15 every 15 days. During the period studied extra agents
in Chicago received almost as large a wage as the regulars, the
median rate for women being $61.04 for 15 days' work. In Boston
the wage was not so high as in Chicago. For the regulars the wage
for a 14-day period was $46.08, and for the extras the median wage
received during this period was $40.38. The wages for Chicago and
Boston are hardly comparable, however, as during the 15-day period
in Chicago, 15 days were worked by the regular agents, while in
Boston, because of the observance of the 6-day week, pay for a 14-day
period represents pay for only 12 days of work. The daily rate for
eight hours' work in Boston is $3.84, and in Chicago $4.41, which
compares very favorably with rates in other occupations at which
women are employed.
Attitude of the unions.
Perhaps the most significant fact about the employment of women
as ticket agents and collectors in these two cities is the way in which
better hours and wages for them have been achieved. Women are
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
28
WOMEN S'rREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICI{E'r AG~NTS.
members of the union in both Chicago and Boston, and it is with
the assistance of the union that their hours have been shortened and
their wages increased. In Chicago at the time when the 10-hour law
for women was about to be · passed in Illinois the union worked for
this law, appearing befo;e the legislature in favor of it, although
its members were threatened with a reduction in pay. In subsequent
strikes on the street railways the women have stood with the men in
their efforts to improve conditions. The result in Chicago has been
that conditions for women employed on the elevated railways are far
ahead of the maximum legal requirement, and adjustments have been
made, as in the elimination of night work for women, which can
serve as an example to many other communities.
In Boston women have been full-fledged members of the union
since 1912, when they were taken in after a strike on the part of
the men, in which they had offered to join. By agreement with the
union the eight-hour day has been ~stablished as the standard, although the legal limit is nine hours. Of course, the fact that in
Boston practically all of the collectors are women, makes the attitude
of the union toward them less significant than in Chicago, where there
are both men and women agents, but.the whole attitude of the unions
in both cities is very different from their behavior in other localities
toward the women street car conductors.
Effect of law regulating hours.
During the period of this investigation more stringent provisions
as to hours were put into force for the women collectors in Boston,
where they had previously worked under a law which permitted 10
hours of work a day and 54 hours a week. The -law which went
into force on July 17, 1919, cut down the hours which they might
work to 9 a day and 48 a week. This new law required an extensive
rearrangement of schedules for the women who under the 10-hour
law had worked from 9 to 10 hours, and under the new 9-hour law
were to have their hours reduced by the company to 8 a day. This
shortening of hours does not seem to have curtailed the employment of women collectors. The company had originally expected
that under the new arrangement of 8-hour shifts they would have
to enlarge their force of collectors. At about the time when the
new law went into effect, however, the fare was raised to 10 cents,
which, besides causing some reduction in traffic, so lightened the
work of making change-as pennies were seldom handled with a
10-cent fare-that a slightly smaller number of collectors was
needed. There was no substitution of men for women, and no
special difficulty was reported in arranging the women's schedules
to comply with the law. At the same time the actual hours worked
and _the amount of overtime were considerably reduced, while there
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
29
was an increase in the wage rate, so that weekly earnings were ,
greater than they had been under the longer schedules.
Conclusion.
The records from these two cities show that with the 8-hour day
and 6-day week, without night work, and with a wage far superior
to that paid women in many other occupations, the woman ticket
agent and collector is an accepted and permanent fact in two large
cities. The fact that these conditions are far better than those prescribed by law in the same communities shows that some other contributory factor must be present when women are dismissed from
this work because of the requirement for them of reasonable hours
of work. In the matter of the length of over-all hours the same
difficulty is met a.s with the conductors. It is essential that some
of the shifts should be broken into two parts so that the " peaks"
of traffic may be satisfactorily handled. Many women prefer the
broken shifts, as they find eight hours too long to work steadily at
such a confining task. This is a subject which will require long
and careful study before a decision can be made as to an advisable
limit for the time within which this w◊-rk must be done, and here
again is a task for persons with very expert knowledge of local
conditions and the requirements of a transportation system.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
PART II.
DETAILED REPORTS OF HOURS .AND CONDITIONS OF
WORK FOR WOMEN CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS
IN DETROIT, KANSAS CITY, BOSTON, AND CHICAGO.
THE WOMAN CONDUCTOR.
No description of the work of any group of women is complete
without the testimony of representative members of that group.
Believing that the opinions and experiences of the women street-car
conductors of Detroit would add significance to any report of their
hours and conditions of work, 47 of these conductors were interviewed in January, and the facts obtained from these interviews are
given before the detailed figures for hours or wages, in order that
the reader may have a picture of these women to form a background
for the facts secured from the records of the company.
Age and marital condition.
The 47 women conductors who were interviewed ranged in age
from 20 to 45 years, with the greater number of them between 23
and 33 ; 12 of them were single, 15 were married, 8 widowed, and 12
were separated or divorced. Twenty-two of these women were entirely supporting 47 persons and 15 were partially supporting 32
persons, making a total of 79 dependents for the 34 women, as three
women had both entire and partial dependents. Table I shows
the marital condition and number of dependents for the entire group
of women who were interviewed.
TABLE
!.-Marital condition and number of dependents supported by 41 women
street car conductors interviewed in Detroit, January, 1920.
Number of women who wereNumber of dependents.
Single.
o..• ----·---········································· ·
1. ...•••••••••••••••••••••....•.••••••.•••.•••••••••..
2····•••••·•••·••·•····•··. ···••·· ··••· ..••. ··•••••·•·
45
2
Married.
Widowed.
Total.
Eeparated.
44
24
52
~
········2·
f
i
2
2
t.-:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::: ·········· ··········
1131
~·········· ···: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: :: :::::::::: ······· ·i· :::::::::: ........ i. ····· ····2
7 •.•• •••••••• ••••••••••.•••.••.•.•••••••••••••••••.•..•••••••••. •••••••• •.• •••••••• •••••••.•..•••••••••
s...... ··············································
1 ··•······· .......... ··••···· ..
1
Total..........................................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
--------------12
15
8
12
47
31
32
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Three of the unmarried women were entirely responsible for either
mother or father, and one was helping to support her mother and
father and six brothers and sisters. Of the married women, the
greater number had only partial dependents, but one married woman
was supporting entirely her mother, two sisters, and her husband;
another was supporting entirely six children, and two others were
entirely responsible for the support of three children. Of seven
married women with parti~l dependents, two were helping support
their husbands, three had partially dependent children, one had a
partially dependent mother-in-law, and one was helping to support
her mother-in-law, stepson, and stepdaughter. Of the widows and
women who were separated or divorced, all of their dependents, with
two exceptions, were entirely dependent, . and all were children.
Previous occupation.
Women have not been employed for very long on street railways,
so, of course, the greater number of them have worked in other occupations. In the light of the many criticisms that have been made of
the suitability of conductors' work for women and to emphasize the
value of the opinion of the women themselves as to the relative
advantages of their present and former employment, it is important
to know from what occupations these women had been recruited.
The greater number of them, eight, had previously worked in clerical
occupations, six had done general housework and two had done day's
work, six had been waitresses in restaurants and two had done other
work in restaurants. Three had operated sewing machines and three
had operated other machines in a factory, five had done different
kinds of light factory work, such as sorting and inspecting. One
dressmaker, two janitresses, one telephone operator, two salesladies,
one attendant in a State institution, and one driver of a rural freedelivery wagon complete the list. Only three women had never done
any work before, and of the entire group only _the woman who used
to drive the rural free-delivery wagon preferred her former to her
present employment.
Reasons for liking work on street ca1·s.
The popularity of work on the street cars was very striking.
Every woman had some reason for liking it; some had as many as
eight or nine.
Table II shows the more important reasons which were given for
preferring this work and the number of women giving each reason
as either the main consideration or a secondary consideration.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
3.3
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
II.-Reasons given by 47 women interviewed in Detroit, January, 1920, for
preferring employment as conductors o,n street railwavs to any former
TABLE
~~~~
.
Number oI women
giving each reason, asTotal.
Reasons.
The chief
reason.
17
Better wages than in former employment . . • • • . • • • • •• • •• • • • . • • •• • • •• •• • • .
Out-of-door work.........................................................
11
Better for her health ..............................-........................
4
Worker can arrange for break: in day and time o:t'C for personal matters and
rest.....................................................................
1
Worker is not on feet all day as in former occupations..................... . . . . . . . . . .
Not so straining, tiring, or difilcult to please; in every way easier than
former occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Constant change in scenery and interest...................................
1
Feel more independent; no one checking up on you so constantly.........
3
Not lonely or monotonous................................................ ... .......
Shorter hours than in former employment................................ . . . . ......
0
~~~\~ ~t~~1ro~:~ :~%ie.-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::
No strain on eyes .......... ·. ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nolifting................................................................. ..........
A sec-
~!~~
13
19
16
30
30
20
21
22
14
14
16
11
26
12
4
3
4
3
8
;2
2
ll
~
2
2
Total. ..•••••••••.•••.•...•.•...•.......•.•.........•••••.•• •.•••.•• ---47- ~1~
Thirty women liked their present employment because of the wages
which they earned and 29 liked it because the work was out of doors.
This last reason is one which contradicts the many statements which
have been made to the effect that the exposure incident to this work
made it particularly hard for women. The most significant thing
which was brought out in the interviews with the women was that
there were so many things about this occupation which made it
desirable. Almost every interview showed a different aspect of the
question of desirable conditions of employment, and many of the
interviews were so enlightening that they could not be separated
into one subject and another, but must be quoted in :full to bring out
the many questions which affect the desirability of a job from the
point of view of the worker herself.
Better Health-Best Wages.
I have tried a number of occupations. Began with housework when 16, but
it was so lonely, no one ever spoke to me except in a hurry to give me orders or
to find fault. The work was heavy and the hours long. After two years I
tried clerking in a bakery store, then a dry goods store. The hours were better,
and it was not so lonely, for I did see people, of course, but the pay was so
small I couldn't live on it, so I took up tailoring and dressmaking, and worked
at that 12 years. The pay was some better than clerking, and I was not on my
feet, which meant a lot. When the war came I went to an automobile factory,
operated a lathe first, then milling and screw machines, and had to lift steel
pieces weighing 10 to 12 pounds-had to lift them, put them in the machine,
take them out and lift them aside, one after another, for nine hours u nay.
It was very heavy work, and with the standing on my feet all day was just
more than I could stand.
15201 °-21--3
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
34
· WOMEN
STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
I had headaches all the time while doing general housework, clerking, and
in the machine shop; never have them now. So you can't wonder I prefer
this work, which is out of doors, not heavy, and does not mean being on my
feet all the time and still pays me the best wages I have ever had.
You see, my father is 76 and can only care for himself; couldn't do that
but for the small pension he gets. I have to support my mother and a niece
3 years old, so I have a mighty good reason for hoping I won't have to give
up this job.
Time for Her Children.
Well, before the war I kept house for my husband. But he was a German
through and through. I am an American through and through. He wouldn't
have anything to do with anyone who found fault with his country. So it
was up to somebody else to provide food and shelter for our three children, and,
of course, that some~ody was me. I went into a machine shop and made good
money, but my children are 13, 11, and 6, and I had to leave early and they
had to get lunch alone. Now I have breakfast and lunch with them, and can
often arrange to be at home for supper, but a friend who works during the
day lives with me so they have her at night when I am on my run.
l\'Ian's Work-Man's Pay.
Lightest work I ever did and best pay. Have worked at housework, checking orders in a drug factory, done clerical work, and as a telephone operator.
Had to do heavy lifting when I checked orders in the drug company; filled a
man's place at $15 a week, while m~n beside me got twice that. Do you
wonder I appreciate being treated as well and paid just the same as a man?
Then they fuss about our late runs; why I worked at the telephone exchange from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. night after night, but no one got excite<l over
that.
·Site's Her Owl\ Boss.
You are practically your own boss; at least you are if you attend to your
work. Somebody isn't trailing you about, so you feel really independent.
Then it isn't lonely or monotonous like housework. My! I was lucky to get in.
I have six small brothers and sisters in the old country, and my father is
sick, so I send $20 each pay day to them. That is all the money they have
had for some time, but now my brother has come to America and he will send
them money so they can get on. He tells me things cost more there than here,
so goodness knows $40 a month has not been enough.
Out-of-Doors Work.
I like the work because it is out doors and good pay. I was almost a nervous
wreck when I came on, and now I'm perfectly well.
When I worked as a waitress I earned about the same as now because of
the tips, but I walked miles and miles every day and carried tons of trays,
it seemed so at least, they were so heavy, and people were always complaining
of slow service and all kinds of things, so that I sometimes went into the
kitchen and worked as a cook, giving up the tips, just to get away from it.
But I couldn't indulge in that for a long period at a time because I have a
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
35
small boy and girl to support. This is pleasant work, no kicks, and you can sit
down at times during the day.
I have always worked on a job where I had to stand all day and I do appreciate being able to drop on a seat for a few minutes off and on.
She Can Support Four.
Hours are irregular and I can pick the hours I want. I found inspecting ·
small parts in a factory very hard on my eyes and I found it so hard to attend
to my duties at home. For a long time while my children were small I had
to do washing at home, but it was so hard on my back I couldn't stand it.
Why do I like this better? Well, I have lived through years of want and
have not had sufficient food for my children so naturally I like being able to
provide enough for them.
No one who has worked in a factory can fail to appreciate or understand
why we prefer this outdoor work. I tried driving a taxicab, but found that
too cold. This is not work, it's being on duty without special exertion, and
being on duty under pleasant conditions with constant change of scenery ; always seeing people and interesting things.
Then the good wages have lifted my children out of the ranks of those in
want. I am supporting four, and thank God, my earnings now make it possible
to give them the food, clothing, and shelter they need.
Easier Than Washing.
Oh, I like it so much better than anything I ever did. The wages are
good, it's outdoor work, and a million times easier than washing by the day.
Laundry work by the day means new bosses every day and often unpleasant
matters come up. Here no one bothers us if we attend to our job.
Although these accounts by the women themselves are so illuminating as to need hardly any comments, it is significant to note in
Tables III and IV the comparative figures for their present and
:former wages and hours of work.
III.-Wages of 34 women conductors in Detroit interviewed in January,
19<£0, sh<YWing _weekly wage in present occupation and in former occupation. 1
TABLE
Number of women who were receiving in present
occupationWages in former occupation.
$27 to $30 $30 to $33 $33 to $36 1$36 to $3~
Total.
-1~-t_g_:_t_:_::-:-::-:-::-::-:-: :-:-::-::-:-::-:-::-:-::-::-:-::-:-::-::-:-::_:_::-:i---..-•.-.-_--i• ·•••••· •s· _. _... _.
J::::::::: ---~
$9 to $12 . . • . • . • . • . • . . . • . • . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . • . . . • . • . • . • . . . • . • . • . • . •
S12 to S15 . ..... .. . ..... . . ... ................. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 . •. • . • . • . .
3
1 ···-··-·i • • • • • • • • . • • • • • •• • • . •
1
~
2
1 . . . .. . . . . .
1
9_ 1_ __4_
- - -3-4
mig m::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
$21 to $24 . . . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . . . . . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • . • • • • • • • . •
1 _. _ . . . . . ~.
S24 to $27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . • . . . . . • . • . • . . . .
2
2 . .. . . . . . . .
~
2
1
$50. ... .. ...... . . .. .. .... .. .. .. .. ...... . ......... .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. •. •.•...•.•.•.•.•.• . •.• . •...•.• . •. •.•.. . • -
- -2- - - 19- _ __
3
1 .•• -• • . • . .
5
2
t Six of these women had previously done general housework and six had been waitresses in restaurants.
The "wages in former occupation" does not include any allowance for meals or lodging which may have
been received.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
36
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Table III shows that as far as wages are concerned only one
woman ever worked in an occupation which would compare with
that o:f a street-car conductor. Every one o:f the women reported
that they got over $27 a week as street-car conductors, while only
one had made as much as that previously.
IV.- Hours of employment of 32 w om en conductors i n Detr oit ·interviewed
i n January, 1920, showing weekly hours in pr esent and in former occupation.
· TABLE
Number of women who were working
in their present occupationWeek ly hours in form er occupation.
42 and 48 and 54 and 60 and
U nd er under under under under
42
54
60
63
48
hours. hours. hours. hours. hours.
- -- - -- - - - - - - - - -- 1-- - -·- - - - - - - Under42...... ... ... .............. .. . . . . . . . . . ....... ..
42 and under 48. . ..... . ...... . . . ... .. .. . . . . . . . ..... . ..
48 and under 54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . .
2
54 and under 60. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60 and under 66.. . . •...... . . .. .... . . . ... . . .. ...... ... .
I
66 and under 72. . . .•.... ... . . . ..... . .. ... .... ..... . . ..
I
72 and under 78. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. • . .
84 and under 00 .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
90 and under 96.. . . •. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I
96 and under 102..... ... . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I
.•.• . ... . •.•....
Totai.
- -
1 .•.•.•.•
. . . . . . ... . . . ..... . . ......... . .. .
I . •. •. . . .
I .•.• . •. .
2
I
2
2
I
I
I . •.• . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .•
2 .•......
I
I ... ..... .•.•.•.•
. . .• . . . .
1
l- •• • ••• • •
1 .• . •.•.. . •.•.• . ..•.•.•.•
2
I .• . •.•...•.••• . •
115.. . . . ... . . . ... . ... . . ... ....... . . . ....... . ..... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . .
T otal. ... .•.•••.•.• . •. •.• .• . •.• . •.• . ••• . • ••••.•.• - - 8,-
1 ....... .
-8 - - 5- 9 -2 --3-2
A similar condition is found in Table IV, when the hours are considered: All except two o:f the 32 women who reported on this
question worked less than 60 hours a week on the street cars, while
only 14 had worked less than 60 hours in their previous occupations, and nine had :formerly worked more than 84 hours a week.
Opinions on legislation.
There was naturally a considerable diversjty of opinion as to the
advantages or disadvantages of the law l_imiting hours of work.
Twenty-six women stated definitely that they liked the law and its
effects, while six objected to all the provisions o:f the law. Four
women said they were satisfied with the law because they felt it
necessary for their protection. Three women said they did not
object to the 10-hour daily limit, but did not want a 54-hour weekly
limitation. Their reason for this was that they wanted to be able
to work every day in the week occasionally when they were in need
of money, and they thought six 10-hour days were not too much
for a regular thing. They did feel, however, that more than 10
hours a day was undesirable. Eight women objected to the 10-hour
dail y limitation, but thought the 54-hour week was a good thing.
They st ated that they did not have a :free choice of runs when the
10-hour limitation was in effect, and that frequently they were
obliged to give up a run where the hours were only slightly over
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
37
10, and thereby lose a considerable bonus. They seemed to feel that
it was almost impossible to keep withjn the 10 hours unless only runs
with very much less than 10 hours on duty were chosen, so that in
case of lateness or accident the time would not exceed 10 hours.
The following statements of their attitude toward the law are
typical and give an indication of several points of view:
Would Like Nine-Hour Runs.
Would like law better if we could pick 9-hour runs. Now, sometimes, we
have to let men finish our run, which means he gets time and a half while
I sacrifice the bonus on the run and have to give up several minutes of my
run. The company doesn't always find it possible to put a man on to take the
car to the end of the line and back, when we get in late, but when they can
they do, to keep us from working over 10 hours, but it costs us money.
Hasn't Made Much Difference.
Hasn't made much difference, because I always took time off. Fifty-four
hours a week ought to be long enough for anybody, and the pay is high
enough to make it a sufficient wage for everyone except, perhaps, those with
big families. Not having any dependents I find it so, at least.
Fifty-four Hours Enough for Anybody.
Think 54 hours long enough for anybody, but as we've taken men's places
we ought not to be handicapped from taking our runs as they come.
Shorter Hours Mean Less Pay.
Believe women should have equal rights with men. Some of the women
working here have had to give up money they needed badly by being forced
to cut their hours. When you are strong and have children to support it is
rather difficult to understand why such restrictions are placed, especially
when you know of many women working two shifts in restaurants so as to
increase their pay. Some work 16 hours, six and seven days each week.
Why pick on the street car women?
Time Off Worth Pay Lost.
The time off for yourself is worth the money sacrifice.
supported a daughter for eight years.]
Women Need Laws Regulating
[This woman has
Hour■ •
Ten hours a day and 54 hours a week are long enough for anyone. If there
were not laws to limit the hours of werk for women, some employers would
work them to death.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
38
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
HOURS AND CONDITIONS OF WORK IN DETROIT.
Number of employees.
In July, 1919, the Detroit United Railway Co. employed 111
women on four street car lines. On these same lines were also employed at that time 604 men, making a total of 715 employees, with
the women forming slightly over 15 per cent of the total number of
employees on the four lines. There were 66 men and 17 women
employed as extra conductors. All of tlte others were regular conductors.
Women were first employed as conductors during the war in June,
1918, and by August, 1918, a total of approximately 300 women were
working in this capacity. The number has decreased steadily since
that time, and the company has stated that they intend to keep on
whatever women may wish to stay, but not to take on any new women
employees.
In addition to the women employed as conductors there were also
11 women employed as cashiers in the barns. Their duties were to
give out and receive change and transfers, and they also started work
in June, 1918.
Special regulations for women.
In June, 1919, when this investigation was started, the Michigan
law did not limit the hours of work for women on transportation
lines, but in 1919 a new law had been passed to become effective
August 26, 1919, limiting the hours of work for women in transportation to 10 in any day and 54 in any week. This law does not stipulate that the daily hours shall be consecutive, nor does it limit the
hours within which the day's work shall be performed. There is
no prohibition of night work for women.
The company has a rule that women must take one ·d ay off in
every seven, but the figures in this report show that this rule was not
always followed.
Seniority rights.
The policy of the company, as stated by their representatives, is
to give women the same opportunities as men. One seniority list is
maintained for all employees on each line. The order in wh~ch
employees stand on the seniority list determines their opportunity
for choosing a desirable run. As the women have been employed for
a much shorter period than the men, and as returned soldiers took
their former places on the list, the majority of the men have a right
• to choose before the women. ·
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
39
Time, method, and scope of investigation.
Because of the passage of the law affecting the employment of
women in this occupation, it was necessary to secure figures covering
two periods, one before and one after the law went into effect. Facts
on wages and hours were accordingly secured from the records of
the company for one week in each period. The dates for which this
material was secured were June 29 to July 5, 1919, and January 1 to
January 7, 1920. The officials of the company cooperated in every
way with the agents of the Women's Bureau by giving access to their
records and supplying much other information. The facts collected
in this way were supplemented by interviews with State labor officials
and members of the union.
Because of the irregularity of street-car work, the methods of
recording the hours of employees, and the fact that the data were
collected after the records had been closed, it was impossible to secure
for the July week figures which gave the actual hours worked by any
employee.
·
The wage paid is not a true indication of the number of hours
which have been worked, as many bonuses and special allowances are
included in the weekly wage which have not been earned by actual
hours of work. As the original records of these additional allowances appear in the form of minutes and not dollars and cents it is
sometimes difficult to separate the minutes worked from those which
merely indicate payment of a bonus. For instance, if a woman has
chosen a run, and has been assigned to it, and then for some reason
has been put on another run, she is paid at the rate of time and a
half for the hours on this other run which do not coincide with the
hours of the run she had chosen. Thus, if a conductor should choose
a run with hours from 8 to 10, and from 12 to 2, and be then put
on a run the hours of which were from 10 to 12 and from 1 to 3, she
would be paid at the rate of time and a half for the two hours from
10 to 12, and the one hour from 2 to 3, which hours were outside of
the hours she had originally chosen. A special allowance is also
given on some trips when a car must be taken to the barn, when it
is taken to the end of the line, or when it is brought out to meet or
relieve another conductor, and when a car is late there is also an
additional payment at the rate of time and a half for the minutes
late. If an additional run is taken after the regular run it is paid
for at time and a half and on Sundays and holidays all time actually
worked over 8 hours is paid for at time and a half. All conductors
are required to report 10 minutes before their first daily run, and
they are paid for this 10 minutes. ·
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
40
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
In addition to the figures giving the hours for which pay was
received, the other available figures which deal with the hours of
employees are the "run sheets," which give the hours of the runs
available for choice during a week. There are in Detroit three
groups of these'· run sheetst one for week days, Monday to Friday,
inclusive, one for Saturdays, and one for Sundays.
This triple arrangement of hours is necessary because of the varying traffic which must be handled at different times of the week.
Saturday traffic is apt to be heavier and its demands spread over
a longer period than that on week days, whil~ on Sunday the demands are so much lighter that shorter runs can be arranged for
almost every one. The run sheets show what runs were chosen by
each man and woman for their work during the week, on Saturday,
and on Sunday, but they do not show on how many of those days
. any one person worked, whether the working hours were prolonged
by accident and lateness, or whether the person choosmg that run
was transferred to another where the hours were different. The
run sheets are, however, a definite indication of the extent to which,
according to the plo,ns of the company, the hours are long or short,
whether the hours are adjusted so that the over-all is not excessively
long, and whether the choice open to the women is at all comparable
in desirability with the choice open to men. A comparison of the
run sheets for the two periods for which the material in this report
was gathered will also show what adjustments the company has
made to conform to the requirements of the new law.
In January, by an intensive study of the amount paid each woman
on each day during the period and a deduction of all bonus and
overtime payment, it was possible to secure figures giving the actual
hours which were worked by the women during that period. As
such figures were unfortunately not available for July, in the tables
comparing January and July hours the material used was secured
from the run sheets for the two weeks.
Actual and over-all hours of runs scheduled for women, July, 1919,
and January, 1920.
Table V shows the runs scheduled for the women on week days,
Saturdays, and Sundays in one week in July and one week in
J anuary.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, WEEK DAYS.
T he figures given in Table V, section A, are the most important,
as they show the prevailing hours for five days in the week. During
this period in July 80.9 per cent of the women were scheduled for
runs with less than 10½ actual hours on duty. In January 98.4 per
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
41
cent of the women were scheduled for such runs. The greatest number of women-28-had runs with 9½ or less than 10 hours on duty
during each period, 29.8 per cent of the women in July and 43.7
per cent in January being scheduled in this group.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, SATURDAYS.
The runs scheduled for Saturdays in July and January, as shown
in section B, indicate that the hours worked on tne Saturdays in
January we-re longer than on the Saturdays in July, although there
was a slight improvement in the over-all hours in January. In July
76.8 per cent of the women were scheduled for runs with 10 and less
than 10-½ hours on duty. In January only 69..7 per cent of the
women's runs fell within this group.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, SUNDAYS~
The hours on duty on Sundays in January were shorter than on
Sundays in July. In July 50.6 per cent of the women were scheduled
for less than 8-½ hours on duty, while in January 75.8 per cent of
their runs came within these hours.
On the whole, then, the actual hours on duty for women as shown
by the scheduled runs were shorter in January than in J·uly. The
one instance in which there was a smaller number of shorter runs in
January than in July was found in the Saturday runs. The fact
that 7.1 per cent more women in July than in January had Saturday
runs with hours less than 10½ can be explained largely by the fact
that very abnormal conditions existed in Detroit during the week
for which the January figures were taken. At this time the city was
in the grip of the influenza epidemic, which so depleted the force of
street car employees that runs could not always be arranged suitably.
OVER-ALL HOURS.
The over-all hours or "hours within which duty is performed"
of the runs scheduled for the women were also somewhat shorter in
January than in July. Much stress frequently has been laid on the
hardship of the very long over-all hours on the street railways. The
investigators who collected the information for this report were not
able to find, however, any definite expression of preference on the
part of the women street car conductors for· shorter over-all hours.
Many of the women found the work congenial and easy, especially
because there was a break in their working hours during which they
could get away. Sometimes a very long break, making the over-all
hours extremely long, would be found preferable to a short one of
an hour or two, as little use could be made of the shorter interval.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
42
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
There is a general tendency throughout the country to shorten the
over-all as well as the actual hours on duty, but no hard-and-fast rule
can be drawn at present which will indicate the most desirable overall hours.
In July the over-all hours for the runs scheduled for the women
were longer than they were in January. Of the week-day runs in
July, as shown in Table V, section A, 26.6 per cent had an over all
of less than 11 hours and 42.6 per cent of less than 12-½ hours. In
January, however, 42.2 per cent of the women were seheduled for
runs for which the over-all hours were less than 11 and 54. 7 per cent
had runs with over-all hours less than 12½.
Even the Saturday runs, the actual hours of which were shorter in
July than in January, show in section B over-all hours longer in
July than in January. Saturday runs with less than 11 hours
over all were scheduled for 27.4 per cent of the women in July and
28.8 per cent in January 1 while runs with less than 13½ hours over all
were scheduled for 65.3 per cent of the women in July and 69.7 per
cent in January.
·
Sunday runs for women in both months were, with one exception,
·straight runs, so the actual hours worked and the over-all hours
coincided.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
44
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
TABLE
V.-Runs scheduled for women conductors in Detroit, classified by hours
A. WEEK
Number of runs with hours on duty of-
Hours within which duty was performed.
4½and
under
5.
5and
under
5½.
5½and
under
6and
under
6.
6½-
6½and
under
7.
7and
under
7½.
7½ an d
under
8.
------ --- --- ---------
~::,
~
~
>-,
A
C!!
>-,
-
~
~
-
~
2
-
~
~
>-,
to
~::, -~ &
::,
i,::, ::,A
A
A
~
Cl!
Cl!
C!!
>-,
-
>-,
-
Cl!
>-,
-
>-,
-
C!!
>-,
t,
t'
Cl!
::,
A
~
~
>-,
~
~
>-,
Cl!
>-,
- --
-
Cl!
::,
A
...,C!!
-
B. SATUR
~a~:Jr~;t~n,~~::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: ::: t :: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: ::::
~::Jr~t~n9to:::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: ::::1:::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: ::::
!~11IE:~t••· : : ••••••••••••••••••··••••••••••••••••• >••···i•<
J~f~Jf~;~n iL:::::::::::::::::::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: ::::
12 and less than 12½ ... .................. . ........ . ............................ .. .. ............... .
12½ and less than 13 ..................... . ............ . ... .. .......... . .. . .. ....... ............ ... .
1
14 and less than 14½ ..................... . ..... . ................ .. ........... .. ....... .. .......... .
~~1ii:ii•···················· ••••••. !••·· •••• ···• •.••..•.•.•• ••• I········J·••t••·
••••••••
·1· ...... .
···· ···· ···· ··· ·
Total. ................•........•............ ,....... -,- .. ·1· .. -1· ... ,... -,- .. -1- ...... ·1· ..
Cumulative per cent ................... -. - -.. - - -• - •· •· • • • • • •· · · · · · · · · · ··• · · · · ·
C. SUN
4½ and less than 5. . . • . . . . . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
5andlessthan5½................................ 2 1 ....... ... .. ......................... .
5½ and less than 6............ .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 . . . . .. . ........... . ....... .... .
~a~ir:str:~.61.-.::::::::::::: : ::::::::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: --~- --~-
""ia ... 6 :::: :::: :::: ::::
!illli\l\\l\ll\\\\llIIlll\lll\ \\\\\\'.\\I Il \\\\ \\\'. \\\'.\\\'.\I:~~: tl )! :i~
Total................. . . . • . . . • • . . . . .
2 ....
2 1 2 7 5 8 13 6 7 3 4 12
Cumulative per cent...................... 2. 2 . • • • 4.4 1. 5 6. 6 12.112.124. 3 26. 4 33. 3 34. 137. 9 38. 5 56.1
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
45
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
on d11,ty and hours within which duty was performe,d, July, 1919, and January, 1920.
DAY RUNS.
Number of runs with hours on duty ofSand
under
8½.
8½and
under
9.
9and
under
9½,
t,
t,
t,
d
::s
%
.... ....
A
d
>,
::l
....
d
::s
A
....d
lOand
under
10!,
9½and
under
10.
lland
under
lO½and
under
11.
11½,
12and
under
12½,
Cumulative
per cent.
Total.
--- ------ --- --- ------ ----
t-
t-
t-
"'::s >, ::sA >, "'::sA >, "'::sA
::l .... ::l
.... ::l.... ...."' ""
"' .... ....
>,
d
A
::l
....
ll½and
under
12.
d
t-
d
t-
t-
"'::s
....d ::l.... .... ::l
.... ....
d
>,
::s
.::i
::l
....
d
>,
::s
A
>,
a
....
::l
....
d
Cil
t-
~
>,
A
d
::s
>,
A
'3
....
d
....
d
· · · · · · · · · · ·i · · ·4 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : -· --· · --4 -- i:i -- a: 3
. ••. •. . . . . . . . . . .
:ii: :i::
5
2 . .. . . .. . ... . ... . . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. ... . . . ... ... . . ... .
<<: ~:\: : : \: :;<J: )
2 ....
8
3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . •• . . . . . . . .
5
3
5
2
1
1
2 . . . . . . . •.
.. .
11
::;
+
2
6. 4
9. 1
rn:t :'.:i::: J--·i 1]1m
1 .... ..... .... .... .....
I. •
I
. .
:::: :::: :::: :::: ---~ ~ :::: ~ f ---~ :::: ::::: :::::
5
:::::::::::I::::::::
17
4
10 78. 71 79. 7
2 83. 0 82. 8
~ i
ikg ~J
1
........... ~ :::: ... ~ :::: ... ~ i :::: :::: ... ~ :::::::::: :::::::::I::::I:::::::::....'. _J ~~-- ~ 1gg:g
...• ....
7
6 26 16 28 28 15 13 12
1
61···· 1····· 1···· 1···· 1·····
94 64 ...•. ' •••••
. . . . . . . . 7. 4 9. 4 35.1 34. 4 64. 9 78.1 80. 9 98. 4 93. 6 100. 0tlO. 0 ........................................ .
1
1
DAY RUNS.
:::: :::: :::: ... i :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :: ::: ::::: :::: ::::: ::: : ::::i::::: ::::: ···i ::::: ··rs
. ••.
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 ... . .. .. .. .. . . . .. . .. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
.... .... .... .... ....
8 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.... .... .... .... .... .... ....
4
2 .. ...
•••••. ••••..... . ..•. -··· ..•••.•.
2 . •. .. •. . ··••·
1
.... .....
.... .....
.... .....
.... .....
3.....
....
....
....
....
....
....
. . •.
.. . .
....
....
.. .. .
. ... .
.....
.... .
.....
····
···· ···· ···· ···i:::: :::: :::: ···i i i .... s:::::2 ::::1 :::::
L:: :::::
.............. -i 1 1 . . . . . . . . 4 2 . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
........ ... i
1
8
4
.... .... .... .... ....
1
.... .... .... ....
1 ....
9 ....
2
1
1 ....
3
1
1
.... .... .... .... .... ....
1 .... .... ....
5
2
3
2
.... .... ....
2
2
1
3 . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
1 . .. . . . ...
1 . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
1
1
3
1
1 .. ... .... .. ... .... ... .
1
2....
2
1 . . . . . . . . . . .. .
3 ....
11
6
8 10
4
2
3
3
~
7
21
1
8
4
14
3. 2
14. 7
23. 2
27. 4
30.5
~~:i !U
~
5 43. 2 53. 1
11 65. 3 69. 7
3 66. 3
4 74. 8
3 79. 0
7 93. 7
: : : : : : : : : : : : · -- 2· -- i -- -i : : : : : : : : · --4: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :: : · · ··5 · -- a
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
1 . . .. . . . ... . ... . . .. . .. .. ... . .. .. .
1. 5
10. 6
25. 8
28. 8
33. 3
74. 3
80. 3
84. 9
95. 5
i~: i 1M: g
1 .... 100. 0 ..•..
··1
··•·1···· 1 1
6 17
8 30 10 25 22 14
11
7
4
1
3 ..
2
95 66 .. ··- .. ...
. . . . . . . . 1. 1 9. 118. 9 21. 2 50. 5136. 3 76. 8 69. 7 91. 6 86. 4 98. 9 92. 4100. 0 97. 0 .... 100. 0 ..•.............•..
DAY RUNS.
2 •••••
2
2
5
13
7
4
2.2 . ....
1 4. 4 1. 5
7 6. 6 12.1
8 12.1 24. 3
6 26.4 33.3
3 34.1 37. 9
12 38. 5 56.1
11
111 13/ 91 4 101 9 161
.... 1 9 31 11..... 1= = 1 = 1 · · · : =1-:-:-:-:-rulMJ1~
so.6i75.Si6°"5l81.s11.4 9s.5 o.oi9s,5i93-o 100 10\···-I-···· .•...........••...•..•.........
1
1
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
:::::1:::::
46
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Actual and over-all hours of runs scheduled for men conductors,
July, 1919, and January, 1920.
Table VI shows the hours of the runs scheduled on week days,
Saturdays, and Sundays for the men conductors on the same lines and
for the same period for which the hours of the women are given. As
the number of men was so much greater than the number of women
employed, it was not considered necessary to list the runs scheduled
for each man, but instead the hours of every fifth man of those
who stood above the women on the seniority list were taken.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, WEEK DAYS.
The week-day runs show almost the same groupings in the hours
on duty for the men as for the women, with less di:fference between
July and January for the men than was the case among the women's
choice. In July 83.7 per cent of the· men and in January 92.8 per
cent were scheduled for week-day runs with less than 10½ hours on
duty, showing an increase of shorter runs of 9.1 per cent in January.
The increase of shorter runs for the women was 17.5 per cent.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, SATURDAYS.
There was a slight decre'ase in January in the number of men
scheduled for Saturday runs with less than 10½ hours on duty,
although this decrease was not so great as the decrease in the number of women scheduled for the shorter runs on Saturdays in J anuary. Of the Saturday runs for men 86.2 per cent in July and 85.6
per cent in January required less than 10½ hours on duty.
ACTUAL HOURS ON DUTY, SUNDAYS.
Sunday runs with less than 8½ hours on duty were scheduled for
more men in January than in July, although the number having
the shorter runs in January does not show so large an increase over
the July number as in the case of the runs scheduled for the women.
Of the men's Sunday runs 58 per cent in July and 63.9 per cent in
January required less than 8½ hours on duty.
OVER-ALL HOURS.
The hours within which work was performed for the runs scheduled for the men decreased considerably from July to January. On
week days in July 45.3 per cent of the men were scheduled for runs
with less than 11 over-all hours,. while in January 62.9 per cent of the
men had such hours. Runs with an over all of less than 12½ hours
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
47
were scheduled on week days for 47.7 per cent of the men in July
and 69.1 per cent in January. On Saturdays in July 64.4 and in
January 73.2 per cent of the men's runs had an over all of less than
11 hours.
Sunday runs were, with two exceptions, straight runs, so the overall and actual hours worked coincide.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
/
48
TABLE
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
VI .-Runs scheduled for men conductors in Detroit, classified by hoiirs on
A.
WEEK
Number of runs with hours on duty of4½and
under
Hours within which duty was performed.
5.
---
5 and
under
5½and
under
6and
under
6½and
under
7and
under
7½and
under
7.
6.
8.
7½.
5½.
5½
- - - - - - - - - --- - - - - --
····1····1····1···· ····:····1····1····1···· .... = 1=1=1:~
.
TotaL per
..............................
Cumulative
cent ...................................... \....
...•....... . .•.•.•...•.•.•••.•••••• •
1
C. SUN
Total.~·························· ·· ·····1· ···
2
1 ....
6
7
7
5
51 3
21 5 20
Cumulative per cent. ..................... . . . . .•.• 2. 5 1. 0 2. 5 7. 211. 114. 417. 3 19. 6i21. 0 21. 6 27. 2 42. 3
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
49
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
duty and hours within which duty was performed, July, 1919, and January, 1920.
DAY RUNS.
Number of runs with hours on duty ofSand
under
8½ and
8½
9.
9and
under
under
9½.
------ ---
9½and
under
10.
10 and
under
10½.
,,__
_____________
___
1~
11 and
under
11½.
10½ and
under
11.
11½ and
under
12and
12.
12,.
under
Total.
Cumulative
per cent.
___, __________
,_
t'
t- ' t'
~
I>,
11>,
I>,
I>,
~
I>,
I>,~ -~1>,~1>,~1>,1 I>,!·~ I>, !i,11»!1>, ~
;J
1-,
g'3'g-; rJ:3 g:3
1-,
,-,
1-,
1-,
1-,
1-,
1-,
1
!;i ;;\ 11:i :/:::~:~:'.'. ;::::::1
1
1
~~
.... ....
1 ... · 1
3 ••. .
6
w
1-,
1-,
3
:3
1-,
'3'
w
1-,
i);\ir::;;
5 ............. ·
I
1-,
I
g :3
>-,
-~
1-,
::s
1-,
1-,
-~Ew:3
1-,
~
1-,
g
1-,
1-,
I::ItI! ~:I
!;i'. i ii!I i!( i'f:
:r ] ;
2 ..............
·I·... ....
17
3 67. 5 72. 2
1
:::: :::: :::r:: ··I::~ I___;...: !·---~ ::\·-}::::(::l::::F:: :::: J !iH !!J
:::: ,::::l--·i1
=
- . . ::::l::::!.·I·....1· :::: :::: :::: :----, - -i :::::~::::r:::':::::·:::: :::: --, 5~:i ~::
• • • • • ••
1· . . . I
1
1 .....
1 .•. ·I· .... I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ·-· 1· . . .
2 1100. 0 100. 0
51.... ; 151 21 34' 44 18
23
9
61 51
1I. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 86 97 .........•
•••• 2.11 5.81 2.\23,3?3.7162.869. 183.7 92.8 94.2199,0/00.01100.0 .. . ....... ···· 1···· ........... . .... .
I• • • •
....... -I
DAY RUNS.
1
1
1.11 1.0
~I 1t 1
1: 1~ 2g:
22 35 46. 0
9 15 56. 3
7 5 64.4
3 .•. 67.8
6 2 74. 7
2 ... 77.0
3 11 80. 5
9 7 90.8
1 1 92.0
2 3 94.3
52. 6
68. 0
73.2
73.2
75.2
75.2
86. 6
93.8
94.8
97.9
: }::: :::: :::f:~ : :~ : :~ :::: :::i :::::\::::: :::~ ::::: ::::: ::::~ ::::: :::: :::: i: ~ l;J~~:~
1
2
1
61 21 20 16 32 42 15
Z:!I 10, 11 1 1 I 2' ···· 1···· 87 97 ....•...••
2.31 1.0 9.2 3.132.219.669.062.986.2 85.61 97.7!95.9 98.9 97.9100.0100.01-··· ......•........•...••
DAY RUNS.
:::{:::l::::' ::::
25
1
:::: :::: :::: \ :' \ :
:i:: : : ):: :::::
t : : [:):: : : fJit ii
21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . .
25 21 58. 0 63. 9
:• :. :. :. :. :. :. :. ... •:~• . .... :~. . ·--a1 .--io
:::8: :::7: :• :•:. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :• :• :• :• :• :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. :• :• :. :. :. :. :. I:. :. :. :. :. :. :. :. 1g9 rn7 ~U
~: ~
...
88. 9 97. 9
:::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: :::: ::::/... ~ ....: ····s,:::: ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::r :: :::: L: 1&U,:~:~
25 21 13 16
4 10
8
11 4 2 51.... __________ .•.•• ••••• ••.. ____ 8l 97 -----1----:
58. o63. 9i74.1 so. 4 79. o90. 7 88. 9l97. 9!93. s 100. o100. o;...•..................•.........................•
1
15201°-21--4
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
50
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Summary of Actual and Over-All Hours for Men and Women.
A summary of the foregoing tables is given in Tables VII and
VIII. The figures showing the extent of the increase or decrease in
the percentage of men and women scheduled for the shorter runs
in January are particularly significant.
VII.-Per cent of men and women conductors "in Detroit who were scheduled for runs with less than 10½ hours on duty on week days and Saturda11s,
arid less than 8½ hours on duty on Sundays in July, 1919, and January, 1920.
TABLE
Percent of men and
women scheduled
for runs with less
than 8½ hours on
duty.
Per cent of men and women scheduled
for runs with less than 10½ hours on
duty.
Month.
Week days.
Saturdays.
Sundays.
Women.
Men.
Women.
Men.
Men.
Women.
-----------------86.2
76.8
July, 1919 .......................... . ......
83. 7
80.9
58.0
50.6
98.4
85.6
January, 1920 ...................... .......
92.8
69. 7
63.9
75.
Increase ( +) or decrease ( - ) ........
+9.1
+17.5
-0.6
-7.1
I
+5.9
+25.2
VIII.-Per cent of men and women conductors in Detroit who were scheduled for runs with less than 11 hours over all o,n week days and Saturdays in
July, 1919, and January, 1920.
TABLE
Per cent of men and women
scheduled for runs with less
than 11 hours over all.
Month.
Week days.
Saturdays.
Men. Women Men. Women
July, 1919.. ... .........................................................
January, 1920. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. • • .. .. .. .. .. • .. . . .
45.3
62. 9
26.6
42. 2
Increase............................................................
li. 6
15. 6
64.4
73. 2
8. 81
27.4
28. 8
1. 4
Except for the actual hours of the Saturday runs, both actual hours
of work and over-all hours were shortened in January. How much
this shortening was due to the necessity for conforming to the restrictions of the new law it is impossible to say. The fact that an
increased number of short runs were chosen by both men and women
would seem to indicate that there was a general shortening of hours,
and not a local readjustment only of the hours of the women conductors. The difference between the winter and the summer schedule
contributed somewhat to the change in hours for both the men and
the women. The figures giving the extent of the· increase or decrease
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
111 ·
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
51
in the percentage of men and women scheduled for shorter actual
hours of work show clearly, however, that the women benefited to a
greater extent than did the men in every case except on Saturdays
in January, when the runs were longer than in July, and when t,here
was a smaller decrease in the number of men than in the number
of women having the shorter runs. The over-all hours in .J anuary
as shown in Table VIII were shortened for the men to a greater
extent than for the women.
wt
Hours beginning· and ending work.
Work on transportation lines can be classed as being work in a
practically continuous industry. Street-cars must be run all night,
or almost all night, and in some localities very heavy traffic is handled late in the evening when the theaters_are letting out. For this
reason there are always many runs where the hours of beginning
and ending are, to say the least, inconvenient for the workers.
Anyone who has studied the actual conditions of street-car employment and the opinions of the workers themselves would hesitate
before making a statement of exactly what were the most desirable
hours. A large num~er of men whose seniority rights are greater
than those of the women chose the runs which began early in the
morning. They also seemed to prefer the straight runs. Many of
the women, however, gave as their chief reasons for liking the work
on street cars the fact that their hours were arranged so that they
could be at home in the morning, or could get home for some time
during the day. Although almost all of the men had seniority rights
superior to the women, the choice of runs beginning or ending at a
certain time, or with certain over-all or actual hours, was never
unanimous, and in _o nly one case even so nearly unanimous as to be
very significant. This one case was in the choice of runs on Sundays,
where over 70 per cent of the men were scheduled for runs beginning
in the morning and over 90 per cent of the women for those beginning in the afternoon. This is surely an indication . that Sunday
afternoons at home are particularly prized by the men who were
exercising their seniority rights in choosing these hours, leaving the
runs later in the day for the women.
Hours beginnin'g and ending for women.
Table IX gives the hours of beginning and ending work £or the
runs scheduled for women on weeks days, Saturdays, and Sundays
in July and January.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
52
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
WEEK DAYS.
The figures in this table do not show any great change between
the t3Vo months. Table IX, section A, shows that 46.8 per cent of
the women in July and 48.4 per cent in January were scheduled for
week-day runs with starting hours between 4 and 6 in the morning.
Another comparatively large group of women, 22.4 per cent in July
and 25 per cent in January, had runs which began between 2 and 4
in the afternoon.
Almost all of the women who started work b~tween 4 and 6 in
the morning ended their day's work between 6 and 9 in the evening.
The ending hours for 41.5 per cent of the women's week-day runs in
July and 36 per cent in January were between 6 and 9 p. m.
For the group of runs with hours beginning between 2 and 4 in
the afternoon the ending hours are between midnight and 2 in the
morning. In July 37.2 per cent and in J anu:ary 34.3 per cent of the
women's runs were scheduled to end between midnight and 2 a. m.
SATURDAYS.
The hours of beginning and ending for the ·Saturday runs of the
women are shown in Table IX, section B. The grouping for these
runs is very similar to the week-day runs. The predominating starting hours were the same as for the week-day runs, from 4 a. m. to 6
a. m. In July 52.7 per cent and in January 53 per cent of the runs
scheduled for women on Saturdays started between 4 and 6 in the
morning. Next to the runs which start in the early morning the
most important group · of runs, as far as the women are concerned,
on Saturdays as on week days, is that group with starting hours
between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. In this group came 21 per cent
of the women's Saturday runs in July and 19.7 per cent in January.
The ending hours for most of the Saturday runs which began between 4 and 6 a. m. were, as for the week-day runs, between 6 and
9 p. m. In July 42.1 per cent and in January 39.4 per cent of all
the Saturday runs scheduled for the women ended between 6 and 9
p. m. The Saturday runs, beginning between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, all ended after midnight. For 30.5 per cent of the runs
scheduled for the women on Saturdays in July and for 25.8 per
cent ·of those in January the ending hours came between midnight
and 2 a. m.
SUNDAYS.
The hours of beginning and ending the runs chosen by the women
on Sundays as given in Table IX, section C, show a situation very
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
53
different from the hours of the week day and Saturday runs. In
Table V, section C, the fact is brought out that, except for one run,
all Sunday runs were straight, with the over all no greater than the
actual hours of work. The figures given in this section show _that
practically all of the runs which were scheduled for the women on
Sundays began late in the day and finished between 11 p. m. and 2 a. m.
These runs were scheduled for 71.5 per cent of the women in July
and 54.6 per cent in January.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
•
54
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
TABLE
IX.-Number of runs scheduled for women oonductors in Detroit,
A. ENDING TIME,
12
Beginning time.
1
f {:1·f a~re
~ ~;1"t
afore
a.m.
a.m.
I
2 a. m.
3 a. m.
1 p. m.
3 p. m.
and before and before and before and before
3a.m.
4a.m.
2p.m.
4p.m.
-~--1--.......,---1---,-- - - --
----
ci
...,
~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11--1-- -- -- ------ -- - - -- -4 a. m. and before 5 a. m................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .
1 .............. .
5 a. m. and before 6 a. m .................. .. . ... ..... .. .......................................... .
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ..... ...................................... .. ......................... .. -.
7 i;i,. m. and before 8 a. m .. . ..... ................. ... ...................... . .................... .. .
10 a. m. and bPfore 11 a. m ................. ... ....... . ........................................... .
11 a. m. and before 12 noon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 .................................................... .
12 noon and before 1 p. m................
!\. •. .
1 ......................................... . .. .
UJ~iiHI:::••:: •: ) : : ! r:;< : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Total. . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
7f 22
151 ·
3:
Per cent ......•.........•..••••......... .. 13. 8 10. 9i23. 4 23. 4 . 3. 2
l , . . ...·,-. - .. ,
1 ....... •. - -. •. •
1. 6 . . . . . . . . . .
1. 1
.............. .
1
1
B. ENDING TIME,
12 p. m. and before 1 a. m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 .............. .
2 .... .
4 a. m. and before 5 a. m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 a. m. and before 6 a. m ........................................................... 1• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ....... . ... ................... . ....... . .... .. ............. . ..... . ...... ..•
7 a. m and before Sa. m .... , ...................................... .. ............................ .
10 a. m. and before 11 a. m ............... .. .....................................................•.
11 a. m. and before 12 noon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
fff~fIfIffffti::::::::::•••: ;:;i :::: ::::! ::::; :::•i:::: :::•; :::::::::: :::: :::::
Total. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5 19
12
Per cent ...•••••••........................ 10. 5 7. 6 20. 0 18. 2
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2
2. 1
1 ·· ···1
1. 51.....
21
3. 0
2 ..... ,
2.1 . . . . .
2 ·····
2. 1 .....
C. ENDING TIME,
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
55
classified by beginning and ending hours for July, 1919, and January, 1920.
WEEK-DAY RUNS.
la.
I
I
I
4 m. 5 p. m. 6 p. m.
7 p. m.
8 p. m.
9 p. m.
10 p. m. 11 p. m.
Total.
aforebf afo~ebt and before and before and.before and before and before and before1------,---p. m.
p. m.
7 p. m.
8 p. m.
9 p. m.
10 p. m. 11 p. m. 12 p. m. Number. Per cent.
- - - - - - - - - , - - - 1 - - ~ --1 - - - - 1 - -- - - 1 - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - -
g i,
....,:::l
....,g
....,
g
0
....,ol
....,
4
2
3
5.....
1 ..... ····· ................... . ····· ·····
3
7
14
7
9
5
7
3
2
1
1. ............. .
... . .... .... ....
3
2 ..... .....
1 .......... 1• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. .
1 .......... I. .... . . .. .
1.. .. .
1
:::: ::: : :::: :::: ::::: :::: : ::::: :::: : :::: : :::: : :::: :I::::: :::: : .. .. ~. -.. ~:: :: :
: : : : : : : : : : : :): : : : : : :<>: :td :: : : :·: : :
•... .... •... .... ..... .. ... ..... ..... ... .. ..... ····· '····· '····· .. ...
2
2
8
36
4
1
3
8 8.5 12. 5
23 38. 3 35. 9
21 4.3 3. 1
2 1. 1 3.1
1 3.2 1. 6
2 •••.• 2. 1 . .. ..
9
2 9. 6 3.1
5
4 5.3 6.3
12
8 12. 8 12. 5
9
8 9.6 12.5
5
6 5.3 9.4
····1····1
1114.191 21.3
20
••...... 7.41
SATURDAY RUNS.
~ ····g26 45.d·ir6
3 39.4
::::
::::
::::
::::
....
i
:::::
:::::
:::::
~ .... ~ i ·---~ ····i:::::: ::::: ::::: i .... ~ iJ .. ~:~
... . . . . . ... . . ... .. .. . . . .. . .. .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. .
1.. .. .
3.. .. .
4.. .. . 6.1
:::: :::: ···4 ···5 .... i ····4 ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: :::::::::::::::!:::::I:::::':::::
1 . ..• . .. . . .. .
17
9
•••• . . . . . . •• . •. . . . . . . . . . . .
•• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
•••. . ... .... ...... ... .. ...
....... ...•.......... ·· ···
•.... .........•...... ·····
............•..........•..
. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . •. . . . ...
1.~/::::
4Jl
1JI
20~~
2
5
13
7
7
3
3
2.. .. . . . .. .
43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . •. . . . . . • . . •. .
1
4
3
. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . •. . . . •. . . . .. .
1
3
.. ... ..... . . .. . .. ... .. ... . . .. . .. ... . .•.. •. •. . . . .. .
2
............•.. .... ...•..............• ....•.. ·····
12
.. ... ..... ..•.. ..... ..... ..... .. ... ..... ..... .....
8
· · ··· ····· ............•....... ··.··· ..... ..... ..•..
4
. . .. . •. ... .. .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .•• •. .. .
19~~1
2. i
7-~ i 2l~ j i2jl 1l~, 6.i
4J: 4ji 1.~112j ·- -~~
4 3. 2 6.1
1 3. 2 1. 5
2 2.1 3.0
6 12.6 9.1
7 8.4 10.6
4 4.2 6.1
1.. .. . 1.5
·--~~~~:~~~:~
SUNDAY RUNS.
:::: :::: :::i ::::
••• • • . • • . . . . • . . .
--·-1::~ ::::: ····i ::::; ::::i ····t ···-i ::::; ::::i ::::i ::::: · J t~n J~
3 . . •. • • . • . . . . •• •
3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. .
•• ..................... •..... ......... -- .
... . .. .. . .. . . .•. . . .. . .. ••• . . •. . . . .. . .. •. .
• • . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . •• .
• • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . •. . • . . . . . . . . .
••. . . . • . • .. . . . . . . . .. . . . ... . . •.• . . .. . . . .. .
:::l ::I 1.~ ::::\
5JI 1.{::::
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1J\
1
1
7.. .. .
. . .. .
1 . . . . . .. •• .
. . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . •. .
.. .. . .• •.. •. ••• •. ••.
• . . . . . . •• . • . •. • . . • • .
. . •• . . . •• . . . • • . . . •• .
. • ••• •. ••• • . .•. . . ••.
6.i1 3.~
5j 1/~
3
10 • • • . .
2
9
2
. . .. .
1
2
1.. .. .
1
2
1
. . •. .
. . . . . . . •• .
1
•. •. . •• •. . •. •••
3j 10.~
17
12
10
7
16
12
4
12 18. 7
5 13. 2
4 11. 0
7 7. 7
8 17. 6
11 13. 2
5 4.4
18. 2
7.6
6.1
10.6
12. 1
16. 7
7.6
25~110.~!---~~i---~,~~:~ ~~:~
56
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND ~ICKET AGENTS.
Hours beginning and ending for men.
The prevailing hours of beginning and ending work for the men,
as shown in Table X, illustrate a real difference between the runs
which are chosen by the men and those which are chosen by the
women and show the advantage given by the higher seniority standing of the men.
WEEK DAYS.
The predominating hours for starting work on week days :for the
men are shown in Table X, section A, to be between 4 and 6 in the
morning. In July 80.2 per cent and in January 78.5 per cent of the
runs scheduled on week days for the men started between 4 and 6
a.
ID.
As there was this large group of the men's runs which started early
in the morning there was naturally a correspondingly large group
of runs which ended in the late afternoon. In July 25.6 and in
January 39.2 per cent of the runs scheduled for the men ended between 2 and 4 p. m., and between 4 and 6 p. m. came the ending
hours for 13.9 per cent of the men's runs in July and 13.4 per cent
in January.
There was no large group of men, as there was of women, who were
scheduled for hours which began in the afternoon, nor was there any
considerable number of men with runs which ended after 11 p. m.
SATURDAYS.
The Saturday runs scheduled for the men show a situation similar
to the distribution of the week-day runs. In July 80.5 per cent and
in January 83.5 per cent of all the Saturday runs scheduled for the
men started between 4 and 6 in the morning. Ending time for 40.2
per cent of the men's runs on Saturdays in July and for 52.6 per
cent in January was between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. Between
4 and 6 p. m. ended 18.4 per cent of the runs in July and 13.4 per
cent of those in January.
SUNDAYS.
The Sunday runs scheduled for the men as given in Table X , section C, show a very different arrangement of hours from those
scheduled for the women for the same day. The men's runs were
massed in the early part of the day, 72.9 per cent in July and 75.3
per cent in January beginning between 4 a. m. and noon. The ending time for most of the Sunday runs scheduled for the men came in
the afternoon, in July 51.8 per cent and in January 47.4 per cent
of these runs having an ending time between 1 p. m. and 5 p. m.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
TABLE
X.-Number of runs scheduled for men conductors in Detroit, classified by beginning and ending hours, for July, 1919, and January, 1920.
A. ENDING TIME, WEEK-DAY RUNS.
12p. m. and
before 1 a. m.
1 a . m. and
before 2 a. m.
2 a. m. and
before 3 a. m.
3 a. m. and
before 4 a. m.
4a.m.and
before 5 a. m.
5a.m.and
before 6 a. m.
Beginning time.
July.
Per
ce!f:~~·.·.:::::::::::::::::: :: ::::: :::: ::::: ::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::: ::
Beginning time.
1
1. 2
ea.m. and 7a.m.and Sa .m . and
before
• before
before
9 a. m.
8 a. m.
7 a . m.
Jan.
3
3.1
July.
5
5.8
Jan.
July.
5 ....... .
5.2 ....... .
Jan.
4
July.
Jan.
July.
Jan.
July.
fan.
1········ ................ 1.. --· .. ·1· ·· .... .
......
............ .. .......... . ........... .
...........
4.1 ..
9a.m.and lOa.m.and na. m.and 12noonand lp .m . and 2p. mf .rand 3p.m . and
before
b0 0 0
before
before
before
before
before
4 p. m.
3 p. m.
2 p. m.
1 p. m.
12 noon.
11 a. m.
10 a. m.
I
July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan . July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - •I- - - - ·1- - - 1 - - -1· - - L _ _ _ _ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- --
---
2 ....................................................................... .
1
12 p. m. and before 1 a. m ..•.••... _•. _.......... . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . . . . . . .. .. .. . .
2 ............................. .
3 a. m. and before 4 a . m......................... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ... ... ...... ...... ...... ....... ..... ......
1
1
20
16
3
7
ia. m. and before 5 a. m......................... ...... ...... .....• ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... . ..... ...... . ..... ...... ...... ......
6
1
11
4
2
......
......
......
......
.
.
....
......
......
5a.m.andbefore6a.m......................... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ..................................................................... ........ .................... . .............................................. .
7 a. m . and before 8 a. m .. ............. : ......... .............................. . .......................................... . ............................ . .............. . . .
10 a. m. and before 11 a. m ................................................................................. ........................................................... .. .
12 noon and before 1 p . m ... . ........................................... .. ............................................................................. .. ............... .
½E::::a~:ig~:H::::::::::::::::::::;:::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::::::
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cl
00
i,~~~~~~~~~::'.~~~~'.L-L/: : : : : ::/ :://:: : : r ::::i: ::::;: ::::t: E::1'./I:/:/:::::::::::::::::::::<:+;: :::t: <l Er+;
Percent...........................................................
Beginning time.
2.1
3.5
1.0
1.2
2.1 ........................ \...... \...... 10.5
5.2
23.3 32. 0
2.3
7.2
Total.
4 it:or~nd 5 pb:or~nd 6 pb:or~nd 7 pb:or~nd 8 pb:or~nd 9 pb:or!nd 10 tefo~:nd 11 teTo~:nd t-----,-- - - 5 p. m.
6 p. m.
7 p. m.
8 p. m.
9 p. m.
10 p. m.
11 p. m.
Per cent.
12 p. m.
Number.
July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. J~y. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1---1--- - - - - - - --- - - - - - - --- --- - - - - - - - - - - -- --- - -- --- --- --- --- --12 p. m. and before 1 a. m... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . •• . .
3 a. m. and before 4 a. m. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 a. m. and before 5 a. m.. ...... ........... ......
2
2
5a.m.andbefore6a.m .....................................
Ii a. m. and before 7 a. m.. ..•.... .... . . ..... . . .. . ... ... ......
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...... ...... ...... ......
......
1 ...... ......
4
6
·4
4
6
4
11
10
...... . . ....
1 .. . ...
...... ...... ...... .... ..
. . •. . .
......
.... ..
7
......
......
...... ..... . ......
.... .. ...... ......
1 . .. .. . .... ..
2
4
2
.... ..
3 . . .. ..
......
1
1
......
......
. . .. . .
......
. ... . .
......
......
......
. . .. ..
2
.. . ...
......
......
......
. ... ..
2
......
......
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •.
... . .. . .. .. . ... . ..
...... . ..... . . ....
..................
.. .... ...... . .....
...... ...... ......
1
2
34
35
4
1
2 1. 2
1 2. 3
37 39.5
39 40.7
4. 7
1 1. 2
2. 1
1. 0
38. 1
40.2
1. 0
::::i: ::::~:1 .... 4~. "ia"
... ~~:
"i:i" 4.1
35
!9 ~:p. ::
:~~ ~:~~~: i E: ::::::::::: :: ::: :::::::::: :::::: :::::: ::::::: ::::: :: :::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::: ::: :::::: ::: ::: :::::: :::::: .... ~. ~ ·
t~
m. and before 10 p. m....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
1. O
tgp;~1111a;{~{:1r:f::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::: :::::: :::::·: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::~:: ::::~: ::::::
2p. m. and before 3 p. m......................... . ..... ...... .... . . ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......
10 p. m. and before 11 p. m................. . ..... ..... . ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......
11 p. m. and before 12 p. m....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total. . . . • • • • • • • • . . • . . . . . . • • . . . • . . . . . . . . . • .
Percent ........•• ~······························
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2
2.3
2
10
2.1 11.6
11
11.3
16
18.6
14
14.4
7
8.1
3
3.1
8
9.3
3 ......
3.1 .••••.
2
2.1
2
2.3
1 . •. . . .
1.0 .•....
2
1
1
1
2.3
1. 2
1.0
1. O
1
86
97 ........... .
1.0 ............ 100.0 100.0
TABLE
X.-Number of mm scheduled for men conductors in Detroit, classified by beginning and ending hours, for July, 1919, and January, 1920-Con.
B. ENDING TIME, SATURDAY RUNS.
12 p. m. and
before 1 a . m.
1 a. m. and
before 2 a. m.
Beginning time.
2 a. m. and
before 3 a. m.
3 a. m. and
before 4 a. m.
4 a. m . and
before 5 a. m.
5 a. m. and
before 6 a. m.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - -- - - - --1-- --1----1- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - 3 a. m. and before 4 a. m .. . .•••.•••.•...•.•......................... . .. -··· -· ...... . . -· · ····· .... . ................... -······· -······- -· · ···-- -· ·· ···· . . ......... . ........... .
::: :: :~a g:i~~= ~·:: :::.-.-::::::::: ::: ::::: :: :::: :::: :: :::: :: ::::: ::::::: :: ::::::::::::: ::: :: :::::::::::: ::::::::::::: :::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ...•............... . .......... . ............................. . ............... . _................... .. ........... . .............. .. ...... .. ............. .
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m .............................. . .. . ....... . .................. .. ...... .. ........ . .. . ........................... . ............... .. ...... . ..... . ........ .
12 noon and before 1 p. m... ... .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 ........................... . . . .......... . . . ........ . .. . .... . ... . .... . ............ . . . . . . .
i i~di~JlrtLr-:-;;Y\H!!/H\H!HH\ )J: \/i :/:::<2: t'./ )>: I+ HU HU HU'.\\ :::s
Perce';:f~\·.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
6 a. m. and
Beginning time.
before
7a. m.
17•.before
m.
2J
2.~
I
2J
4.1 I d
1.6 ::::::::!:::::::: :::::::: ::::::::
and 8a.m. and 9a.m.and lO a.m.and 11 a.m.and 12noonand 1 p. m.and
Sa.m.
before
9a. m.
before
lOa.m.
before
lla.m.
befcre
12 noon.
before
lp.m.
before
2p. m.
1.}
3.~
I
2p.m.and 3p.m.and
before
before
3p.m.
4p.m.
July. Jai;i. July. Jan. July. Jan. J1;1ly. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
~::;;::~H:!~EH::L:::::::::::::::::::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::::: :::::: :::::: :::J:::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::::: _ J ___! ···:r ---if ···1 ····;l
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ..... . ................. . .
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m ................•........
12 noon and before 1 p. m ...............•........
1 p. m . and before 2 p. m . ............ . ... . ..... . .
. ......... . .......... . ... . . . .... .. ................ . ... . ....................... . .......... . ................. . .. : ....... .
. .... . ....... . ... . ..... . . . . . .. . ... .. ............. . ........................... . . . ......... . ...... . .... . ... . ..............
. ...... . ................ . ..... . . . ..... . ................ . .... . . . . . .. . ...................... . ..... . ........ . .. . ........ . ..
. ...... . .................... . ............ . ...... . ....... .. .. . ................ .. ........ . . .. . .. _... . . . _ .. .·.............. .
n~:Erni~im1:_:_::;:::::::::::::::) :: : <: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :::: : : : : : : : : : :::::i:::: : : :: :::: ::::: :::::
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
~
0
·····················l····r··l····· ····· 1·.... l .... ·1·····1······r···· ·r···· l·...· n
..............................................
7·
······
10 p.m.
m.Md
andbeforn
before1011p.p.mm...
·•·
. . .. . . . . .... .. . . .. . . . .
Total...................... . ............. . .
Percent .. . .••••••••••••.........................
1 ... . ........... . . .. ..... .. . . ... . ...................... . .... . ....... . ........... . .... . ...............•...•.....•.••
2
2. 3
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . . . •. . .
9
2.1 .••...... . ......................•.......................•.•. •.•......... 10.3
5
5.2
4 p . m . and 5p.m. and 6p. m. and 7p. m. and 8p.m. and 9p. m. and
lOte~:nd 11 J?;efo~!nd
before
before
before
before
before
before
12p.m.
5p.m.
6p.m.
7p. m.
8p.m.
lOp.m.
llp.m.
9p.m.
Beginning time.
July. Jan. July. Jan. July
24
27.6
28
28.9
11
12. 6
23
23. 7
Total.
Number.
Per cent.
I
Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
---------------- ---3 a. m. and before 4 a. m.. ...... ... ..... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... . .. . . . ...... ...... .... .. ..••.. .•.••. .•••.. ...... ...... ...... ••••..
t6a.m.andbefore7a.m...............................
:: :: :~~ t::~~: ~ !: : ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~
~
~
.... ~.
~
~
1 ............
1 ..................
1 ......
1 .... . . . .......................
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. . . .
12noonandbeforelp.m ........................ . ...... . ........................... . .... . ...........................................
1
2
1 ......
1 p. m. and before 2 p. m.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iR~.~l~~1t•:•
1
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
::•:::::•:•:•:::•• ••••••6 ••••••4 •:••~~
•••:•:9 ••••••
•
10
10
Total. . . • . .. .. • .. .. • .. . . • .. .. .. • .. . .. .. . . . .
Percent .....•••••••••••••.......................
6. 9
4.1
11.5
9.3
11.5
I[ • • • • • • • • • : : : • • • •
9
9.2
2
····i · · · · ·2-- · · ·i · · · · ·s· ····s· ::::s ::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ~~
1
1.1
2
2.1
2
2.3
3
3.1
1
••• :::••: •••••• ••••••2
4 . • • • .. . . . .. . . • .. . .
4.6 .•••••••••••.••••.
2.3
3
2
2
1
1
2.3
1.0
2
2. 3 •.....
2.3
2.1
1. 1
!i1 !U
!n
3.5
1.0
[[i/ : : ;: . . t::ti: . .il
2
87
97 ....... . ... .
2.1 ............ 100.0 100.0
TABLE
X.-Number of runs scheduled/or men conductors in Detroit, classified by beginning and ending hours for July, 1919, and January, 1920-Con.
C, ENDING TIME, SUNDAY RUNS.
12 p. m . and
before 1 a. m.
1 a. m. and
before 2 a. m
2 a. m. and
before 3 a. m.
3 a. m. and
before 4 a. m.
4 a. m. and
before 5 a. m.
5 a. m. and
before 6 a. m .
July.
July.
July.
July .
July.
July.
Beginning time.
Jan.
Jan.
J an.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -12 p. m. and before 1 a. m __ ..•••.••........•.......... .. _........•.•••••.•... _.•.... _ _.. __ .......... _ . _... _. ___ ....... _. _... _ . ...... ___ ...... _.... __ ........ - . -....... -.....•
4 a. m. and before 5 a. m ....•.••.. ...... ...•.... : ................................•. _. . ... . ............................................... -........................ --- -... - . . .
5 a. m. and before 6 a. m .. ...••.... .............. _.... _................................ _..... . ............ _..... _.. _......... . .............. .. ......... -........ . ... - . - -.... .
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ... ······ -· ............ · -···. ·····-·· ...... . . . ...................................................................................................... .
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m ....•• ....... .... ········-·-·-··· ............ ·····-· .................. . ...... ··-····. ·-·· .... ·-······ ....... .. . ·-··· ... ···-·. ·- ·· ...................•
8 a. m. and before 9 a. m ...•.............. _............ _......... .... ... _.... . ...................•.. _ .. . .... __ ....... . .................. _................. _......•... - ......•
9a. m. and before 10 a. m ................. -...................................................................... ... ............. .. ...................... .. ................. .
10 a. m. and before 11 a. m ........................... _................................. _..... _. _..... _... _............. _...... .. ............................... --............•
11 a. m. and before 12 noon .................. -................ _...... ........ .. ....... . ·-· .............. _................................. ·-· ................................ .
ir~r:tf~~tUff:~·:·:·:·:·:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::: ::::::i: ::::::i: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: :::::::: ::::::::
!fllfll~Y~:rr;::::::::):::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::))ii : : : ~: }::::: ::::? ::::? ::::::: ::::::: ::::::: :: : : :::::::: :::< : : : : : : : :
--1
::::::::j:::::::: ::::::::j::::::::j::::::::j
:::::::: :::::::: ::::::::
Total. ..•••••.•••••••••• •.• ••••••••......•.•••.......... .. .••••••••••..
Per cent. .....•• •.........•..•.....••............................•.••••••••..
Beginning time.
6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and
before
before
7a.m.
8a. m.
1
1. 2
1
1.0
2
2.5
2.~
8a.m. and 9a.m. and lOa.m.and 11 a.m.and 12noonand 1 p.m.and
before
before
before
before
before
before
9a.m.
11 a. m.
12noon.
lp.m.
2p.m.
lOa.m.
2 p.m.and 3p.m.and
before
before
3p.m.
4p.m.
July1 Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
------ --- ---- -- --------12 p. m. and before 1 a. m................... . . . .. .. . .. . . . .. .. .. . . . . . .. .. .
2 ..... _ .. .. ..
2
1 ................................................................. .
4a.m.andbefore5a. m ....................................................... ----·- ...... ...... ..•... ...... .... . .
2
3
1
2 ...... ......
3
5 a. m. and before 6 a. m .••.•.......•....•.••........................................ _..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . .
3
1
1
4
8
5
5
8
3
4
2 . . . .. .
1 . . .. ..
4
5
4
5
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m ...................................................................... _.. . .. . .. .. • . .. . . .. .. . . • . • .
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m ...••••....••..••..•••.... _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
1
8a.m.andbefore9a.m ....................... _.................. - ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......
1 ..... .
9 a. m. and before 10 a. m .... .................. _. _. _............................. -.......... -......................................................... - ................. .
10 a. m. and before 11 a. m ...................................... ...... ........ _ ............. _.............. _. _..................... _. ................................... .
11 a. m. and before 12 noon ......................... . . .......................... _...... -............................................................... - ................. .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
--
~
0
Total...................................... . . . . . . . . .. ..
Percent .........••.•••...•.•.•.•.....•.•.•.•.............•.•
1
1.2
1
1.0
5
6.2
2
2.1
2 1
1
2.1
1.2
3
3.7
2
2.1
5
6.2
7
7.2
. 10
12.3
7
7.2
9
11.1
13
13 .4
14
17.3
10
10. 3
~
i:.zj
===========~=~~=~~~== ~~==~=~~=~~=~~=~=~=~~ = · ~
Beginning time.
4p. m. and 5p.m. and 6p.m. and 7p.m.and 8p.m. and 9p. m. and lOp.m.and
ll~ei~:nd
before
before
before
before
before
before
before
5p.m.
6p.m.
7p.m.
lOp.m.
9p.m.
8p.m.
llp.m.
12p.m.
u:i
Total.
Number.
1-3
Per cent.
/
July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan. July. Jan.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -·1---1--- --- --- --- --- ---1---1----1--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
!5 a.a~i:n~a~idb~ri~:i~~i:n~:::::::::::::::::'.::::::
:::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::::::
m. and before 6 a. m.. .. .. ...... ... . .. . ... ...
1 ................................................................................. ........ .
2
6 a. m. and before 7 a. m .. ...... :................ ......
1 ................................................................................. .. .
7 a. m. and before 8 a. m.. .......................
2
3 ......
1 ....................................................................... .
8 a. m. and before 9 a. m. . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
9
2
4 ................................................ _...................... .
9 a. m. and before 10 a. m. . . . • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
3
2
3
1
1 ...................................... ........... ... ...... . .
10 a. m. and before 11 a. m.... •.. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
2 ........................................................... .
11 a. m. and before 12 noon ........................................... _. . .
2
4 ......
1 ......
2 ..................... . ..... ... ..... .
12 noon and before 1 p. m..... .• •. .. . . .•. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .
1
1
4
1
2 . . . . .. . . . . . .
1 . .. . . .
1
1
1 ..... .
ngrn1mg1::::::::::::::::):::: )::: : : : :::::: :::::: :://: :::::: :::::: <:::::: : : : :):: :::) ::> __1_
:
10 p. m. and before 11 p. m ......•.....................................................•..................... .....................................
11 p. m . and before 12 p. m .................................................................................. .................................... .
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
Percent ......................................... 11.1
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
16
16.5
4
4.9
9
9.3
7
8.6
131
1
13.4
1.2
3
3.1
1
1.2
3
3.1
1 . . .. . .
1.2 ......
1
1.2
1
1.0
6
7.4
3
6
21
11
5
8
4
2
2
5
5
2
1
2
2
2
2
6
22
11
5
13
7
2
7
8
3
3
2
3
3
3. 7
7.4
25 . 9
13. 6
6. 2
9.9
4.9
2.5
2.5
6.2
6. 2
2.5
1. 2
2. 5
2.5
2.5
2. 1
6.2
22 .7
11 .3
5.2
13.4
7.2
2.1
7.2
8.2
3. 1
3.1
2.1
3. 1
~
i:.zj
i:.zj
1-3
Cl
~
Cl
0
~
t::I
q
0
1-3
0
~
>
~
t::I
1-3
H
3. 1
5
81
97 ........... .
5.2 ............ 100.0 100. 0
Cl
~
i:.zj
1-3
>
C;)
i:.zj
~
1-3
vi
64
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Summary of hours beginning and ending for men and women.
Although there is, of course, a considerable range in the hours of
beginning and ending which will constitute desirable runs, a study
of the foregoing tables leaves the conviction tlfat the men have very
much the best of it when it comes to the actual arrangement of their
hours of work. This would be the natural result of the higher standing of the men on the seniority list. Tables XI, XII, XIII, and XIV
show in summary form the hours of beginning and ending in which
the predominating number of runs were scheduled for men and for
women.
XI.-Time of beginning week day and Saturday runs and per cent of men
and women conductors .r;cheduled for ritns in each group in Detroit in July,
1919, and January, 19'20.
TABLE
1 er cent of men and women scheduled for runs
beginning within each specified group of
ours onTime of beginning runs.
Week days
Saturdays.
January.
4a. m. to 6 a. m:
Men •..•••....•.•..................................
Women . . .....•....................................
2p. m. to 4 p. m.:
Men ............................................... .
Women •............... ......... ......... ...... ....
Jul y.
January
46.8
78.3
48.4
80.5
52.7
83.5
53.0
4.7
9.3
25 .0
4.6
21.0
5.2
19.7
80.2
22.4
XII.-Tirn e of ending iceek day and Sat,u rday runs and per cent of men
and women conductors scheduled for runs vn each group in D etroit in July,
1919, and January, 19M.
TABLE
Per cent of men and women scheduled for runs
ending within each specified group of hours
onTime of ending runs.
Week days.
July
January
2 p. m. to 4 p. m.:
Men................................................
25.6
39.2
Women ....... .......................... ... .......................... .. . ..•
4p. m. to 6p. m.:
Men................................ . ... . ....... . ...
13 .9
13 .4
Women •............. ........ .. . .................. :
7 .4
14.1
6p. m. to 9 p. m.:
Men................................... . ...........
36.0
20.6
Women..... .............. .. .... ... ....... ... ......
41.5
36.0
Midnight to 2 a. m.:
Men. ............ .. ................. ....... .........
7 .0
8.3
Women....... .... ..... ...•......................
37.2
34.3
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Saturdays.
July.
January.
40.2
2.1
............
18.4
5.3
13 .4
7 .u
14.9
42 .1
39.4
4.6
30.5
6.2
25.8
52.6
H.4
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
65
XIII.-Time of beginning Sunday runs and per cent of rnen and wome11
conductors scheduled for runs in each group in Detroit in July, 1919, and.
January, 1920.
TABLE
Time of beginning runs.
Per cent of men and women scheduled
for runs beginning within each hour
group
Jnly.
4 a. m. to 12 noon:
Men ............................... .. ..... . ................. .
Women •............................ . ...... .. .. . ........ . ...
12 noon to 8 p. m.:
Men ................... . ......... . ... . ..................... . .
Women .................................................... .
January.
72.9
3.3
75.3
4.5
18. 6
96.8
95. 6
19. 6
XIV.-Time of ending Sunday runs and per cent of rnen and w omen
conductors scheduled for runs in each group in D etroit in July, 1919, and
January, 1920.
TABLE
'Iime of ending runs.
Per cent of men and
women scheduled for
runs ending within
each hour group.
July.
January.
Ip. m. to 5p. m.:
Men...................................................... . ............... . ..
51.8
47.4
Women . ........ .... ............. ................ ...................... . .................•••• •••. ...
11 p. m. to 2 a m.:
.
Men.........................................................................
11. 1
8.3
Women.....................................................................
71. 5
54. 6
These tables show1. Most of the men's runs began early in the day.
2. Of the ·women's run s on week days aud Saturdays some began
early in the day, bnt a consj<.lerable number also began in the afternoon.
3. A very large majority of the men's Sunday runs began before
noon, while practically all of the women's Sunday runs began in the
afternoon.
4. A quarter, a third, and in one case more thm1 one-half of the
men's week-day or Saturday runs ended between 2 and 4 p. m. There
were practically no women whose runs ended within this time.
5. About one-third of the women's week-day and Saturday rum;
ended between midnight and 2 a. m., while only from 4 to 7 per cent
of the men's runs had such ending hours.
6. On Saturdays about half of the men had runs which ended between 1 and 5 in the afternoon, but no women's runs ended within
this period.
15201 °-21--5
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
66
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
7. Large numbers of the ·women's runs ended after 11 o'clock at
night, while about one-tenth of the men's runs ended after that hour.
8. There was a slight increase in January in the percentage of
women who chose what might be considered the more desirable beginning and ending hours. This increase was probably due to the
increased seniority rights which the women obtained by the months
of service which were added to their record between July and
January. As no new women were taken on the women who were
employed naturally gained a more valuable position on the seniority
list as their period of employment increased, and new men employees were placed below them on the list. Their standing on the
seniority list was, however, low, particularly as former men employees who returned to the company after service in the Army were
reinstated in their original standing on the seniority list.
9. There seems to be no evidence to show that the passage of the
law limiting the hours of work for women in transportation has
had any effect on the time at which this group of women conductors
began and ended their work. There is no particular reason why
there should be an expectation that this law would affect these
hours, as there is no provision in it which requires that work should
be done within any specified number of hours, nor is work at night
prohibited for women.
Weekly hours of work.
The figures given in the foregoing tables show only the records
for certain days in the week and do not given an indication of the
extent of the weekly hours for women employed during the July and
J anua.ry periods.
During January it was possible to get the actual hours worked
during the week, as well as the hours for which pay was received, by
means of a detailed examination of each woman's wage for each
day during the week, and a deduction from the hours for which she
received pay of all allowances for bonus, lateness, time between
;, swings," etc. These records were not available for July, so it was
only possible for that period to secure the hours for which pay was
received.
Table XV shows the hours for which pay was received for one
week in July and one week in January.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STRE ET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
67
XV.-Num ber of women con d1w tors r ecei ving pay for each classi fied grouv
of hour s in D etroit during one w eek in July, 1919, and one week in J anuary,
T A BL E
1920.
Number and per cent of women who received
pa y for each classifie d group of hours.
Hours for which pay was received.
July.
Number.
January.
P er cent.
Number .
1
1
3
4
3
3
Under 12.. .... ....... . ... . . ...... . . ... . . . .......... . . . .
2
2. 2
12 and un der 18. . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
1. 1
18 and under 24 . ..•... . .. . . ... ... .. . . .. . . .. . . .... . . . . . ..•...•.. . . ... .. •. ••. ....
24 and u n der 30.... .... .. . . . . . . .. .. . . ... . . .. .. .. .... .. .
2
2. 2
30 and un der 36 ......... .. . . . . . .. .. ...... . .. . . . .. . . .. ... ......... .. ...•.• •.. . ..
36 and under 42.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
9. 9
42 and under 48. .. .. . ...... . .. .. ... . ....... .. ..........
8
8. 8
48 and under 54 ... .. . ... . . . . . .... . . . .... . ..... . ..... . . .
12
13. 2
20
22. 0
54 and under 60.. . . ......... . . . .... . .......... . ... .....
60 and under 66. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
16. 5
66 and under 72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
15. 4
72 and over.. . • • • • • . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . • . . . .
8
8. 8
Total. .. . .. • •••••••• . ..........•. . .... •.. •..•.. • •
91
100. 0
1.6
10
1.6
4.9
6.6
4. 9
4.9
13. 1
16. 4
17
9
27 .9
14. 8
2
3. 3
61
100.0
8
I
P er cen t .
This t able shows a larger percentage of women in January than
in July receiving pay for the heur groups below 60 hours, and
a very much larger percentage of women in July who received pay
for over 60 hours. T:q.ere were no women who received pay in
January for 72 hours or over, while the pay of 8.8 per cent of the
women in July was based on more than 72 hours of work. As there
was no change in the bonu~es and allowances which were paid during
the two periods, the facts in this table may be taken as additional
indications of the shortening of hours in the January period.
The great significance of the figures for the actual hours of work
for the women in the January period lies in two points: First, the
extent to which the 10-hour daily and the 54-hour weekly limit for
women's work was exceeded and, second, whether the infringement
of the law was due to unavoidable causes, such as a breakdown or
abnormal traffic conditions, or whether it was due to arrangement of
schedules. In studying the figures for hours of work for women it
must be remembered that very serious difficulties are met in adjusting
schedules to conform exactly with a legal daily limitation, and violations may in many cases have been almost unavoidable if the women
were not to be discriminated against.
Table XVI shows the actual hours and number of days worked by
the women in one week in J ~nuary.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
68
T A BL E
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
XVI.-A ct-u al hoitrs of work an d num ber of days work ed by w onien condnctors in D etroit during one w eek in J anu ary, 1920.
Number of women who workedActual hours of work.
Total.
1 day. 2 days. 3 days . 4 days. 5 days. 6 days. 7 days.
Num- P er
ber. cent.
-11- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - -- - - - -Under 12. . . . .. . . . ....... ......•.... ..
12 and under 18.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 and under 24...... . .. . . . . ... .... .. .
24 and un der 30.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30 and under 36.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36 and under 42... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42 and un der 48. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48 and under 54.... .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . ..
54 and under 60.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60 and under 66........ . .. . ....... . . ..
66 and under 72. . ........ . ........ ....
Total...... . .... . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . .
Percent . . .•...•. . .. . ... ... . .. .. . . . . ..
1
. .. .. ..
. ... . ..
.......
.. .. ...
.......
. . . . . ..
. . .. ...
. .. . ...
. .. .... . . . . ... . . .. . . . .. . . . ... ... ..... . .. . .
3 . ..... . .. ... . ..... . .. ........ . .. .. .
1
.. . .. ..
.......
.......
.. .. . ..
. .. .. ..
.......
. ... .. .. . .. .. .
5 .. . ... .
... .. ..
2
. .. .. ..
3
... . ... .. . ....
. . . . . . . . . . . . ..
. ... . .. .. .. ...
.• • •• •. .•.• • •.•••• • • •
2
3. 3
1 .. . ...... . ... .
9 ... . .. . . ..••• .
7
4
9
12
13
9
6.6
14.8
19. 7
21. 3
14.8
2
2
2
.. . .. ..
9
11
2
... .. .. .. . . ... . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. ..
1. 6
4
6. 6
5
8. 2
5
8. 2
1. 6
4.9
1. 6
8. 2
1
. .. .. .. . . .. ... . ... . .. ... . ... ... . . ..
1
1
3
. .. ....... .. . . . . . ... .
. . • .••. •••• . •. .•.•.• .
12
19.7
22
36.1
1
2
5
3. 3
12
61 . .... . .
19. 7 . .. ... . 100.0
It seems obvious from a study of the figures in this table that
there was a large group of women whose hours exceeded the legal
weekly limit during this period. There were no women whose hours
were exactly 54 so the group coming under the heading " 54 and
under 60" hours includes only those whose hours were actually
over 54, although in some cases the time over 54 hours was only a
few minutes. The inclement weather and bad traffic conditions probably contributed largely to the amount ot' overtime during this week
in the winter.
The policy of the company has been stated as being that all women
should have one day off each week, but the figures in Table XVI
show that this has not been carried out. Nearly 20 per cent of the
women worked every day during this week. Eleven of the 24 women
who worked over 54 hours, worked a 7-day week, and of the 11 women
who worked over 60 hours, nine worked a 7-day week. Although
such a large number of women worked a 7-day week there was a
considerable number who worked only a few days during the week.
During the week studied 8.2 per cent worked only four days and
6.6 per cent worked only two days. A large amount of this irregularity can be laid to sickness, as influenza depleted the ranks of the
employees to quite an extent during the month of January. Such a
decrease in the number of employees would naturally tend to increase the number who worked six and seven days a week, and in
this fact may be found at least a partial explanation of the size of
the latter group.
For a fuller understanding of the cause for the amount of time
over 54 hours weekly which was worked by the women it is necessary
to turn to Table XVII which gives the scheduled hours and the num-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN S~REET CAlt CO bUCTORS AND TICKET AGERTS.
69
ber of minutes which were actually worked over 10 hours for each
of the 42 runs in which the hours of women exceeded 10 during the
one week period in January.
XVII.-Number of instances, January 1 to i, inclusive, 1920, in which the
actual hmtrs for 61 women conductors in D etroit exceeded 10, by hours scheduled and actual hoitrs worlced.1
T ABLE
Actual hours worked.
Number of scheduled hour~.
- - - - - - -----1--
-
-
-
---- - - - -
-
-- ----
8 h . 15 m. and under 8 h. 20 m... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . 2 1 .. ...... .. ..• .... ..•
8 h. 35 m. and under 8 h. 40 m ..... . .... ,.. 31 .... . . .. .,.. .. . ... .... ... ........ . ..... .... ... .
9 h. 5 m. and under 9 h. 10 m.... 31 .. . ................. . . ................ .... . . ... .. .. .. . .
9 h . 10 m. and under 9 h. 15 m ........... . ....... . ... ; 2 . ... .. . ........ .. ..... .•..... . .. ...
9h. 15m.andunder 9h.20m ..... ... ..... ·..... J 1 .... . q ............. ...... . .... . .... .
9h.20m. and under9h.25m .. . 21 .. ... 1• ••• • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• • • • • • • • • • • •
H:~!~U~i ;!~HUHt: ::_:i: :: :~:I::::: ::::: ::::: :: :::::::~:!:::::I::: :
2
3
2
:~:
:~ : : : : : :
9h.45m.and under9h.50m ... 22 31 !1•• ••• . • •• • •.•• • .• •• • • •••••.• •• . .••• 31 .... ..... .
9h.50m. and under9 h.55m .... ..... . . .. •• •• • 21
21 ... . .... . ... . .. ..... . ............. .
2 2
2 2 ..... . . . ...... .. ....... .. .... ........... .. •..
9 h. 55 m. and under 10 h........ 21
10 h. and under 10 h. 5 m........
7 . . . .. .... .. .... . ........ .. ............... . ............ .
10 h. 5 m. and under 10 h. 10 m. . . . . . .
2 ... . ............. . .... ... ...... .. . .. . ............ .
~~ui:::~~~~:~
mt~::::::: :::::1::::: ... ~ ...
2
. ~. :: :: : ::::: :::: : ··2·i· ::::: ::::: :::::
10 b. 40 m. and under 10 h. 45 m . .......... I. ... . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. .
2 ..................... . . . .
llh. 5m.andunderllh.10m ............ 1•••..••••.•••..•••• . . . ..•. ••••
2 2 1 ..• •. .....
11 h. 50 m. and under 11 h. 55 m ... . ... .... ·... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1
Total.. . ... ............... .
13
6
I
3
3
4
2
2
2
3
2
1 Each employee is required to report 10 minutes before scheduled time of beginning runs.
This time is
paid for but is not included in this ta ble.
2 Car was late.
3 Extra tr ip in addition to scheduled trip.
• Both late and extra trip.
~ One woman was late and one took an extra trip.
Only 18 of these 42 runs had scheduled hours of more than 10.
The hours of the remaining 24 runs were over 10 because of lateness, accident, or extra runs taken in" a-ddition to the regular schedules. Of the 18 runs which were scheduled for more than 10 hours
7 were completed in less than 10 hours and 5 minutes, and 9 were
completed in less than 10 hours and 10 minutes, leaving only 9 runs
in which the scheduled hours can be said to be a marked infringement of the law. Although not entirely responsible for all the time
worked over 10 hours, lateness and extra runs contributed largely.
In one case a woman conductor who had worked her scheduled run
found no one to relieve her when she got back to the barn, and had
to take her car out for an additional run to get workers who were
leaving a factory after a night shift, making her actual hours of
work considerably more than 10. Several times cars were delayed
or rerouted, so that over an hour was added to the scheduled time.
"Tripper" runs, or short runs taking cars to the barn, were some-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
70
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
times taken by the women in addition to their regular schedule. A
bonus was paid for extra runs, making them particularly desirable
for the women who needed to earn more money. In two cases women
who worked over 10 hours were not only late, but also worked on
extra runs.
In only 14 instances where the scheduled hours were over 10 was
there neither lateness nor additional time worked on extra trips.
In connection with the taking of extra runs by women the company
reported to the investigators that an effort was made to give but
one extra run a week to each person but that it was not possible
to keep to this rule because of a, shortage of employees. When it
was found that a woman had chosen runs with long hours and had
also taken an extra run, wherever it was ·possible her schedule was
rearranged so as to bring her hours within the legal limitation.
Many of the women reported that they wanted to take the extra
runs because of the additional pay they received for such work. In
some cases the women were so eager to get this extra work that
after their regular run was completed, although they knew that
they had already worked a full day and a full week, they would
apply to the man in charge for an extra run. This man, frequently
hard pressed for people to take out necessary cars, and al ways hard
pressed for time, could not always stop to check up the daily and
weekly hours which had been worked by the applicant for an extra
run, with the result that she was assigned to the run and worked more
than the legal time.
Wages.
The same wage rate was paid to both men and women conductors
in Detroit. Beginners received 50 cents an. hour which was increased to 55 cents after three months' work, and after one year the
rate was 60 cents an hour. On Sundays and holidays all time actually worked over 8 hours was· paid for at time and a half, and if
an extra run was taken in addition to the regular run it was paid
for at time and a half. Conductors were required to report 10 minutes before the scheduled time for their first daily run, and were
paid for this time.
There was a night or "owl" run which began after 9 p. m. and
extended through the night. This run was paid for at the rate
of 10 hours pay for 8 hours work and time and a half for all time
o~er 8 hours. Only men worked on this run, which was popular
because of the high pay it brought and was chosen by the men high
up on the seniority list, often by the man at the head of the list.
In Table XVIII are shown the wages received by the 61 women
who worked from January 1 to 7 and the actual hours which they
worked.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
71
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
TABLE
XVIII.-Actual hours of work and pay received ·by women conductors in
Detroit, Jan_uary 1 to 1, 1920, inclusive. 1
Number of women who received-
.Actual hours of work.
'°
,n
Under 12..... . .. .. . . . .
1 ....•...........................•.......••.......................
12 and und er 18. . ...... . . . . . . . . . .
3 .............................•............•............
§El !lllff :\::1
::? ••t ••:1: :::;: :::::i•:•;: :::t·:::?:•;: •( ::::: ::::: ::::: :rn•
48 and under 54.. .•. . . .
54 and under 60........
60 and und er 66. . .. . . . .
66 and under 72........
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
. . . ..
.. . ..
. .••.
. •. . .
. . .. .
.....
. .. . .
.....
.....
....•
Total. . . • • • • . . . . .
1 .....
41 1
Percent ....•.•.••..... 1.6 ..... 6.6 1.6
. .. •.
.....
. . . ..
.....
I 4.93
. . . .•
.....
. . . ..
.....
.. . . .
•. . . .
.....
.....
2
3. 3
4
6.6
. .•• .
1
7
4 ..••.....•••...
. . • •. . . • •.
1
12 ....•..........
. . ... .. ... ... . . . .•••
G
3 •••••
..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
2
61
9.8
61
5
8
16
8.2 13.1 26.2
9.8
3
4.9
1 Each employee ~·as required to report 10 minutes before scheduled time ofbrginning runs.
was paid for l:'lut is not included in this table under '' actual h ours of \\Ork."
2
3.3
1
3
1
5
2
4
9
12
13
9
2
61
100
This time
Twenty-one dollars a week or more was received by nearly 82 per
cent of the women who worked during this period, and 44.2 per cent
received over $33. Of the group which received over $33, however,
all but four worked over 54 hours during the week, showing that,
in the case particularly of a woman who is supporting dependentsas are so many women street car conductors-overtime work must
frequently be more of a necessity than a choice, and the temptation
to work extra hours and earn more money must be hard to withstand.
Table XIX gives the earnings of both men and women for the
same period in July and January.
TABLE
XIX.-Earnings of men and women conductors in Detroit, in July, ·1919,
and January, 1920.
~romen.
Men.
Earnings
July.
.ranuary.
July.
January.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1-- --1- - - - - - - - - - - Undor$u. .......................................... . ...........
$6 and under s·i................................................
S9and underSL2...............................................
$12 and under Sl!L . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . • • • • • • . . • . .
$15 and under $18. ... .• .•.•............................•........
$18 and under $21. . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . .
$21 and und1>r $24. . . . . • . . . . . . . . . • . • . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . • . .
$24 and under $27. . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$27 and under $30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$30 and under S3'.3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . .
$33 and under $36. . . . • . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . .
S3Gandunder~~9 ..............................................
$39 and under $42.. .. . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ...... ..
$42 and under $45..............................................
$45 and under $48..............................................
$48 and under $5 l........ ......................................
$51 and under S5L.. ... . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .•. .. .... .....
$54 and under $57. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . • . . • .
Total. . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . • . . . .
Medianearnings............. . ............... . .................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2
........ ..
1
2 .••••••...
....••.... .......... ..........
4
. ••••••. ••
1
1
1
2
4
1
3
. • . . •. . . . .
2
1
2
3
4
9
4
2
1
8
6
5
6
10
I!
6
3
18
8
15
12
10
10
15
19
14
10
5
2
3
1
81
$37 .65
7
6
2
1
P3
$39.40
17
16
9
6
11
3
2
2
...•........•••••••.
...•.••......•••••••
...••..•....•.•.....
................... .
90
$31.92
61
$31. 69
72
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
The median wage for the men in July was $37.65, which increased in January to $39.40. For the women the median wage in
July was $31.92 and decreased in January to $31.69.
The increase in £he median rate of earnings for the men is probably
due to the £act that during the January period, because of the influenza
epidemic, many conductors were absent, which necessitated the taking of extra runs by those who were on duty. This made the actual
hours of work for the men very much longer than in July. This £act
is not brought out in Table VI in the earlier part of this report, as
only scheduled runs are given there and not actual hours of work.
Although the actual hours of work for women were considerably
reduced in January, as indicated in Table V, there was a reducti.on
of only 23 cents in the median rate of earnings received by the
women in January. The smallness of this reduction is probably
due to the fact that whereas in July all women were in the group
of employees who had been employed less than a year and received,
therefore, 55 cents an hour, in January they had been employed
more than one year and their wage had been raised to 60 cents an
hour.
The similarity of the median rate for the wages of men and women
during January, as well as July, seems to be conclusive proof that
the legal limitation of the women's hours has not resulted in discrimination against them, or in any considerable reduction in their
wage. The men's higher wage was earned by extra runs and overtime, from which it was the object of the law to protect the women.
HOURS AND CONDITIONS OF WORK IN KANSAS CITY.
Number of employees.
In July, 1919, only 26 women were employed as conductors by the
Kansas City Railways Co. Women had been employed first in this
capacity in June, 1918, according to a report made to the War Labor
Board, and the largest number employed at any time was 150 on the
1st of December, 1918. The decrease in numbers of women employed
between December, 1918, and July, 1919, was caused not by dissatisfaction with their work, but by the company's adherence to its policy
established in February, 1919, of not employing any new women to
replace those who left from time to time.
Although the number of women employed at the time this material
was gathered was so small as to constitute only 1 per cent of the total
working force, their hours of work and wages are still significant as
an indication of how the problems of their employment were being
handled in that community.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CO'.NlnJCTORS AND TICKET AG:eNTS.
73
Special regulations for women.
The law of Missouri provides for a weekly limitation of 54 hours
and a daily limitation of 9 hours of work for women in transportation. It does not prohibit night work nor limit the hours within
which work must be completed. It is the policy of the company _that
women conductors shall not work more than 8 hours in any one day
nor more than 54 hours in any one week, nor between the hours of
8 p. m. and 5 a. m. Occasionally a woman takes a schedule which
exceeds these limits, but if this is discovered by the officials of the
company she is reprimanded, and if it occurs a second time she is
dismissed.
Seniority rights.
The women have equal seniority rights with the men on the one
line on which women are employed, but they are limited in their
choice of runs to day runs and runs not exceeding nine hours' actual
running time.
Time, method, and scope of investigation.
Representatives of the Women's Bureau visited Kansas City in
J une, 1919. As the Kansas City Railways Co. would give only general information as to the numbers of women employed, and would
not permit examination of their run she~ts or pay rolls, it was necessary to secure information from other sources. The material in this
report was obtained from interviews with officials of the company
and of the union, from the women conductors themselves, and from
material in the files of the War Labor Board.
Schedules were obtained from 10 of the 26 women conductors
themselves, as the records of the company were not available. As
these schedules represent the hours of over one-third of the total
number employed, and as the women from whom they were secured
were selected at random, these hours may be assumed to be representative of the prevailing hours for women on the street railways of
Kansas City.
Hours.
Table XX gives the hours of service for those 10 women on week
days and on Sundays.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
74
woM:mN STRE:mT CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
TABLE
XX.-Actual hours of work and over-all hottrs for 10 women street car
conductors in Kansas City in July, 1919.
Actual hours worked.
Conductor's No.
1---~----r----1
Daily.
Sunday.
Weekly.
Daily
over-all
hours.
- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - ·- - - - - - - - Hrs. m. Hrs. m.
Hrs. m.
l. ............................................................ .
4 50
2 . •.•••..••. •·•••··••·•·•••••••• ·••••••••·•••·•·. ·•••••••••••·•
3 .•.•...••••..•••••••.••••.••••.•.••.••.•••...•...••••.••.••••.
4 ••.•••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••
5 .......•...................•..................................
7 49
6 44
7 38
7 30
8 01
4 51
8 10
9 07
7 18
6 .•.•.•.•••••.•......•.••..•..•••.•.•.•.•........•.......•.....
7 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.
8 .•••••.•••••••••••••••.••..•••••••••••••••.••....•••••••••••..
91 ..•.•••.•.•••.•••••••.••••••••••••••••••••.••..•.••.•••••••..
10 .•.•.•..••....••..•••••••.. ·•••••·••·••••·••··••·•••·••••••···
1
4
4
4
5
3
5
4
3
6
50
00
06
26
30
00
51
22
32
Hrs. m.
33 50
50 54
44 30
51 14
48 30
53 06
33 57
52 22
61 14
43 48
4
U
10
13
12
12
4
12
13
50
45
05 18
00
33
51
48
07
9 J7
Reprimanded for worl. ing overtime.
The figures given in this table show remarkably short hours for
the women when compared with the hours of women conductors in
other localities. Only one of the 10 · women had a schedule of nine
hours, and the greater number of women worked between seven
and eight hours a day. Sunday runs were also short, three, four,
and five hours, with only one as long as six hours. Neither were the
over-all hours very long. Thirteen hours and 18 minutes is the
longest period required to perform the day's work, 10, 11, and 12
hours being the more :usual over-all time. Of course, these hours
are the scheduled hours and do not show the actual hours worked,
but even so, they indicate that long hours are not one of the handicaps of employment for women on the Kansas City Street Railways.
To show how the Tuns are arranged so as to secure short hours
for women the actual schedules for the 10 women on week days and
Sundays are given in Table XXI.
TABLE
XXI.-Schedule.c; of 10 women cond·ttctors employed in July, 1919, by the
Kansas City Street Railways Go.
Duration of periods of work for each conductor onWeekdays.
Conductor's No.
On at-
Off at-
On at-
Sundays.
Off at-
1. ...•••...•.••.....•••...•••.• 7.35 a. m.
On at-
12.25 p. m ...••......••............ 7.35a.m.
6.40 a. m . 12.39 a. m.
3.35 p. m. 6.25 p. m.
6.29 a. m.
8.42 a. m.. 12.03 p. m. 4.34 p. m.
1.14 p.m.
6.17 a. m.
8.34 a. m.
2.14 p. m. 7.3/i p. m.
2.14 p.m.
7.00 a. m.
9.30 a. m.
2.00 p. m. 7.00 p. m.
5.55 a. m.
8.4~ a, m.
1.20 p. m. 6.28 p. m. 12.45 p.m.
. . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.15 p. m. 6.08 p. m.
1.15 p.m.
5.12 a . m.
9.22 a. m.
2.00 p. m. 6.00 p. m.
9.36a.m.
9 .••..••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5.05 a. m.
9.28a.m.
1.28p.m. 6.12 p. m.
l.28p.m.
10 .•....•••••••••••••••••••••••• 9.05 a. m. 11.40 a. m.
1.29 p. m. 6.12 p. m.
2..............................
3 ..............................
4 ...........•..............•••.
5 ............••...............•
6..............................
7..............................
8 ............................••
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
: Not over four ho:.irs.
2
3½ hours.
Off at12.35 p.m.
(l)
5.20 p.m.
7.40 p.m.
(2)
5.45 p.m.
6.06p.m.
12.58 p.m.
8.00 p.m.
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND '.rIC:KET AGENTS.
75
There were 37 runs on the line on which women were employed
and only three of these runs took less than nine hours. To insure
. that the women should work not more than eight hours a day they
were given the choice of the first or second half of a day's run. The
other half of the day they took a short part of another run or a
short extra run. Table XXI shows that some of the women had the
greater part of their work in the morning and only one or two hours
in the afternoon, while others worked one or two hours in the
morning and four or five in the afternoon. There is no way of determining which of . these arrangements is the more satisfactory,
as the desirability of schedules in such cases would depend almost
entirely upon individual preference.
Wages.
Wages for both men and women began at 36 cents an hour and
increased 1 cent an hour with each six months of service until a
maximum of 40 cents was reached. Seventy-five dollars a month
was guaranteed to both men and women if they took whatever runs
were offered and reported on time. A conductor must work 7 hours
and 14 minutes a day for 30 days a month, or 50 hours and 38
minutes a week to earn the guaranty, although it is paid whether
or not as many hours as this are worked. The company claimed
that while men, even the extras, usually worked the number of hours
covered by the guaranty so that it was not an extra expense to the
company, the women cost them 57 cents an hour because of careful
adjustment of their hours which was necessary and the extra amount
which was paid them in the form of the guaranty when they had
not worked a sufficient number of hours to earn it. This statement
is hardly borne out by the study of the 10 representative schedules. 0£ the women working on these 10 schedules three were not
eligible for the guaranty, as two of them had but half-day runs and
one refused to take early morning mns. The schedules of the
remaining seven girls show that five worked more than 50 hours
and 38 minutes, the number of hours and minutes necessary to earn
the guaranty. This left only two girls -who received the guaranteed
wages ot $75 without working the full time necessary to earn it.
One of these girls worked 44 hours and 30 minutes and one worked
48 hours and 30 minutes, making the cost to the company of the
guaranty for this whole group 8 hours and 15 minutes a week above
the actual time worked. The cost of arranging the women's hours is,
of course, impossible to ascertain, but it does not seem likely that
it can be so great as to raise the cost of the employment of the
women as much as was stated by the company.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
76
WOMEN STREE'r OAR C6NDtlC'rOM AND TICKET AGF1NTS.
It was not possible to secure the record of the actual amounts
earned by the women, but the $75 monthly guaranty can be taken as
an indication of the average monthly earnings for the women. ·
Four of the women had been with the company for a year, and
six had worked as conductors more than six months _but less than a
year. Four had never worked before, three had previously done
housework, one had done sewing, one factory work, and one had been
a post-office clerk. Only two of these women were single and only
three were not supporting dependents. Seven women were supporting 16 dependents.
TICKET AGENTS AND COLLECTORS.
HOURS AND CONDITIONS OF WORK IN BOSTON.
Number of employees.
The women employees of the Boston Elevated Railway Co. work
as collectors ( ticket agents) and as station receivers. As col,lectors
their position with the company is well established, as they have
been working in this capacity since 1905 and constitute practically
the entire force of collectors. Women station r(lceivers have been
employed only since 1917. There are nine of them, and they work
in the car barns, receiving the money and transfers turned in by
the conductors. They also issue transfers to the conductors. There
are no men station receivers on the day shifts from 7 a. m. to 3 p. m.
and from 3 to 11 p. m., but the night shift, from 11 p. m. to 6 a. m.,
is taken by me.n. As the work of the women station receivers does
not present the problems incident to the work of ticket agents and
conductors, and as it is done under very different conditions, this
group is not included in the report.
Table XXII shows the numbers and proportions of men and
women em ployed as regular and extra collectors.
TABLE
XXII.-Nilmber arid per cent of men and women employed as regular and
extra collectors, Boston Elevated Railway Co., .July, 1919.
Number of men and
women who were employed asRegular
collectors.
Men ...•••..........••.... ........ ...........•••..••••..
Women .........••...•.•.. .. ...............••......•...
Total •..••...•.•............. .. .............•....
Percent ...••.•.............•....••....................
Extra
collectors.
5 .•••••••••••
199
49
204
80.6
19.491
4
Total.
Number.
5
248
Per cent.
2
98
253
100
100 ··•·········
On July 16, 1919, there were 248 women and 5 men employed.
Women constituted 98 per cent of the total force. Nearly one-fifth
of the colJectors worked as extras.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
77
Special regulations for women.
Up to July 17, 1919, the hours of women on the elevated railways
were limited to 10 in any one day and 54 in any one week. On that
date a new law went into effect prohibiting the employment of
women in transportation for more than nine hours in any day or
48 hours in any week, and the company was obliged to change its
former schedule of hours to conform with this law. There is no
prohibition of night work for women in transportation companies in
Massachusetts, but the stations in Boston are closed from four to five
hours every night, so women are not employed during those hours.
Time, method, and scope of investigation.
The material for this report was secured for two different periods
during the summer and fall of 1919. The first information was
collected during the· early part of July, 1919, when the company
allowed the agents of the Women's Bureau to take from the run
and pay sheets figures showing the numbers employed and the
hours and wages in force before the new law went into effect. The
new schedules which were to be used after the law went into effect
were also secured at this time, and interviews were held with
officials of the railway company, of the union, and of the State department of labor, and with many of the women collectors. Later
on, after the law had been in effect for some time, additional information was secured from the records of the company to show alterations in the number of women employed and the hours and wages
0f extra collectors in October, 1919.
Effect of the law on number of women employed.
It had been stated by the company early in July that they did
not expect to employ any more girls under the 8-hour schedule
than formerly. They estimated that the hours for each station
varied from 19 to 20 out of the 24 hours, as the stations were closed
from 4 to 5 hours at night. Two girls, working on a 9-hour
shift in a 19-hour period, left 1 hour for the relief girl. Two
girls working 9-hour shifts in a 20-hour period left 2 hours for
the relief. In the new 8-hour schedule the working period for 2
girls would be 16 hours, leaving 3 hours and 4 hours for the relief.
As the relief girl can never take care of more than 2 stations this
new schedule merely puts her on a 7-hour schedule instead of her
former 4-hour one.
In Septem her it was found that an increase in fare from 8 to 10
cents had come into effect almost simultaneously with the new schedule. The reduction in traffic, which resulted from this increased
£are, affected the number of collectors which were necessary. It
was also found that the 10-cent fare almost eliminated the handling
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
78
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
of pennies and made it possible to make change so much more rapidly
that fewer collectors were needed. It was estimated in September
by a representative of the company that under normal conditions it
would have been necessary to increase the number of collectors from
5 to 10 per cent to maintain satisfactory conditions under the eighthour schedule. Because of• the increased fare, however, there had
been a slight decrease in the number of collectors employed, in spite
of the shorter hours they worked.
Seniority rights.
There is one main seniority list with three sublists for the different
divisions of the railways. If a vacancy occurs in any sublist the
position can be chosen by any collector according to her standing
on the man seniority list. When a new time table is issued changing the hours in the different divisions, each ·collector chooses her
shift according to her standing in her own subdivision. There is
a special seniority list for extras. The extra who is highest on this
seniority list takes the first vacancy on the list of regulars. The few
men who are employed as collectors are used only at two stations
and are not on the seniority list.
Choice of runs.
None of the women who were interviewed knew her seniority
number, but merely the ·shifts from which runs could be chosen. One
woman chose an "early" shift because she liked her evenings at
home. Another selected a late shift so that she could rest and do
her housework in the morning. One girl chose to be a relief agent,
substituting for regular agents on their days off, because this work
gave her three early days and three :i.ate days, which meant some
mornings and some evenings to herself. The company said about
half the girls chose the regular and half the relief shifts. The girls
themselves seemed to consider from 8.40 a. m. to 4.40 p. m. the
choicest shift, so this is the shift which is usually chosen first.
Relief periods.
No relief periods or regular time for luncheon were arranged for
under either the old or the new schedules, although the collectors
- could usually get the station agent or station sweeper to relieve them
for a short time. Under the old schedule relief periods were not
so essential, as the day's work was usually broken into two parts,
but the lack of relief periods during the eight-hour shifts was a
considerable hardship. One girl who was interviewed in October
said she preferred the old nine-hour day in two shifts to the present
straight eight hours. " Eight hours on a stretch is awfully long to
be shut up in a little box," she remarked. For lunch she said she
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
79
sometimes went out and bought something while the station agent
relieved her, and sometimes she brought food with her, ate it, and
attended to business at the same time.
Hours.
The schedules given in ·this account as for July 17, 1919, are the
schedules which were planned by the company to go into effect on
that date. It is most interesting to see the great improvement in
the working hours which was brought about at this time. Table
XXIII gives in detail some representative schedules which were m
effect before the nine-hour law was passed.
TABLE
XXIII.-R epresentative schedules of hours of work of women collectors
on Boston elevated trains prior to July 17, 1919.
RAPID TRANSIT DIVISION-SCHEDULE
1,1
Duration of periods of work on eacb specified
day.
Time
worked.
Day.
on at_:_
Off at-
Onat-
OfJat-
11.00a.m.
11.00a.m.
6.00 p . m.
4.00p.m.
2.00p.m.
6.00p.m.
H.
3 week days ..................... . 5.30a.m.
1 week day ....................... 5.30a.m.
Saturday ......................... 11.00a.m.
Sunday •..•••....•..... ... ... .... 11.30 a.m.
Time with•
in which
work was
completed.
m.
9 30
5 30
9 00
10 00
·ii::ioii:m:
·o:iaii:m:
7.00p.m. 12.30a.m.
H. m.
12 30
5 30
12 30
13 00
SCHEDULE 2.1
4 weekdays ......•••...•.........
Saturday........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sunday.................. .. . . .. ..
l
7.00a.m.
6.15 a. m.
5.55 a. m.
I 10.00a.m.
I 3.00p.m.18.00p.m. I
11.15 a. m. 2.15 p. m . 6.15 p. m.
11.00 a. m.
2.00 p. m.
6.00 p. m.
g9 gg05 I
13 00
12 00
12 05
SCHEDVLE 3.1
l
I
3weekdays ................•.•... ll.OOa. m. 12.00p. m. 1 6.00p.m. 12.40a. m.
Saturday and Sunday............ I 1.00 a. m.
2.00 p. m. 6.00 p. m. 12.40 a. m.
Wednesday ....... .........• ... .. 12.30 p. m . 6.10 p. m .................... . .. .
I
13 40
13 40
5 40
SCHEDULE 4. 1
3weekdays ...............•...... 11.00a.m.
Monday....... . .................. 5.30 a. m.
Saturday ......•.•................ 12.00 m.
·sunday. .• • • • • • • • . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . 6.00 a. m.
2.00p.m. 6.00p.m. 12.00 m.
11.00 a. m. 2.00 p. m.
6.00 p. m.
6.30 p. m ......... .... . ........ . .
11.00 a. m. 2.00 p. m.
6.00 p. m.
9 00
9 30
6 30
9 00
13 00
12 30
6 30
12 00
1
Schedule 1 provides f r one whole day and one-half day off each week.
• Schedules 2, 3, and 4 provide for one week day off each week.
These schedules seem to illustrate almost all of the undesirable
conditions incident to this kind of work. A woman who worked on
schedule 1 started work at 5.30 a. m. three days a week, and did not
finish until 6 p. m. Although she worked only 9½ hours during this
time it really took 12½ hours for her to complete her day's work.
On Saturday she did not h~ve to go to work until_ll in the morning,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
80
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
but she did not get off duty until 11.30 that night. Sunday she
worked :from 11.30 a. m. until 12.30 Monday morning, and then
started in again at 5.30 Monday morning on the next week's routine.
One day of 10 hours' work in 13 hours' time, four days of 9-½ hours'
work in 12½ hours' time, beginning work sometimes at 5.30 a. m.,
sometimes at 11 a. m., and ending it at 6 or 11.30 p. m. or 12.30 a. m.,
and at least one night a week having the late hour of stopping work
and the early hour of beginning the next day so close together that
a very insufficient time was possible for rest, were the conditions
which this schedule imposed upon those whose hours were regulated
by it. Similar conditions existed in the other schedules which were
given to the investigators by the women themselves.
In marked contrast are the new schedules as arranged by the company after the passage of the 9-hour law. The arrangement of these
schedules and the number of men and women who were to be employed on the different shifts are shown in Table XXIV. ,.
TABLE
XXIV.-N1tmber and per cent of rnen and women r egular collectors working on each shift, Boston Elevated trains, July 17, 1919.
Number and per cent of men and women regular collectors working on-
;
Spfit shifts.1
I
5.Wa.m. to 8.30 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. to
1.30 p. m. 4.30 p. m. 12.30 a. m.
5.30 •· m. to 8.30 1 •·30 a. m. to 8.30
shift.
shift.
shift.
a. m ; 1.30 p. m.
a. m. ; 1.30 p. m .
to 4.40 p. m.
to 6.30 p. m.
2
················· 25·1I················· io·
Men ..........•....
Women ......•....
2
35
36
73
Total.. ......
37
37
75 1
1
25 1
10
Total.
5
179
184
!There are two divisions on the Boston F:levated trains-" Rapid Transit" and Division No. 8. The
shifts on these two divisions were not identical, but as the difference was only in beginning and ending
two shifts 10 minutes earlier and later the hours for the two divisions are grouped together. Ten agents
on Division No. 8, however, who worked on the split shift stopped work at 4.40 instead of 6.30 as in the
Rapid Transit division, snortening the work day by 1 hour and 50 minutes.
All women working on either the regular or split shifts had an
eight-hour day and a six-day week under this new arrangement of
hours. The six-day week was made possible by the provision of
relief collect(")rs who substituted for the regulars on their days off.
The eight-hour day was worked without any regular relief period or
time :for meals.
• To replace regulars and reliefs who were absent there were a certain number of extra collectors employed. In July before the new
schedule went into effect, there were 49 women extra collectors. In
September there were 53 women employed as extra collectors, but 10
of these women did not work at all during the 14-day period for
which the hours were taken.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
81
Table XXV shows the total hours and number of days worked by
the women extra collectors during 14 days in June and 14· days m
October.
TABLE
XXV.-Hours and number of days worked by women extra collectors on
Boston Elevated Railways, June 14-27, and O~t. 4-17., 1919.
Number of women who workedTotal hours worked. .
Under 7
days.
7 days.
10 days.
9 days.
8 days.
June. Oct. June. Oct. June. I Oct. June. Oct. June. Oct.
- - - -- - - - - - - - - 1- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Under 48................................
4
14 . . . . . .
1 . .. .. . . .. .. . . . .. . .
2 ...•...... . .
48and under56 ..... ........ ... : ......... ......
1 ...... ...... ......
2
1
1 .. ........ :.
56and under fi4.. ...... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .
1 ................. .
64and under 72 . .......... . . ...... ..... ........... ... I •••• ••• .•...•• • •.• 1••• •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
1
r·-' - --
l-5::::~ ::~:: ~::::::::::::::::::::::::::.:::::: ::::::!: :::::::::::::::::I:::: ::I. ---'-:::::
-i
88andunder96 ....................... .... ........... ,.................. 1• • • • • • 1• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
:~~:.;~~/.:;:•:::•: ::: :•1S/j ;i:::: :: l
1 •:::
:1::':
~ I:~1:1:: I: ::::~: :::'.'.;
7
Number of women who worked --
Total hours worked.
11 days.
I 12 days.
ToLal.
13 days.
Number.
Per cent.
June. Oct. June. Oct. June. Oct. June. Oct. June. Oct.
- - - - - - - -- - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Under 48 . ....•...... .. .. ........ . .. ..... ..... ...... ..
48and under56............. . ...... ... ... . . . . . .
1
56andunder64.. ........................
1 . . ... .
64and under72... .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
1
72andunder80........... ............ ...
1
1
SO and under88............ . .... .. . . . . . .. . .. . . .
1
88andunder96 ........................•.
1
2
96andunder104..... ............ ........
5 ..... .
104 and over .... ....... ............................. .
Total... . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Per cent................................ 16. 3
6
13. 9
1 ................. .
5
1 . .......... .
3
1 ..... .
2
1 ........... .
4
6
3 .•••.. •• ••. •
4
8 ...•.• ·•···•
1
3 . ... . . . .. . . .
4
32
65. 3
5
6
5
3
7
6
5
8
4
13
30. 2
1
2. O
17
5
1
2
2
5
10
1
10. 2
12. 2
10.2
6.1
14.3
12. 2
10.2
16. 3
.2
39.5
11.6
2.3
4. 7
4. 7
11.6
23.3
2.3
1
49
43 . . . . . . . .....
2. 3 ............ 100. o 100. 0
The figures given in this table show that over one-third of the
women in October worked less than half of the time during the
14-day period, as less than 48 hours was worked by 39.5 per cent
of the women during this period and 34.9 per cent worked less than
7 of the 14 days.
The arrangement of the June schedules seemed to have been more
satisfactory from the point of view of regularity of employment,
for during the 14 days in June 65.3 per cent of the women extra
collectors worked on 12 days and only 10.2 per cent worked less
than 48 hours. On the other hand, a ve.r y much larger group of
women in June worked more than 96 hours, the equivalent of two
48-hour weeks, during this same period of 14 days, 16.3 per cent
15201°-21-6
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
82
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
having worked over 96 and less than 104 hours, and 8.2 per cent
having worked more than 104 hours, making a total of 24.5 per cent
who worked over 96 hours in 14 days in June. Only 2.3 per cent
of the women extra collectors worked over 96 hours in October.
Less overtime and more undertime seems to have been the result
of the rearrangement of the schedules for the extra collectors. The
question of the amount of overtime is illustrated more fully in
Table XXVI, which shows the amount of overtime worked by the
extra collectors during the two periods. Although 9 hours is the
legal working day in Massachusetts, 8 hours is the standard day on
the street railways through contract with the union.
This table shows a very remarkable improvement in October,
from the standpoint of the elimination of overtime work.
XXVI.-Total overtime 1 w orTced by extra agents during pay perio{{s,
June 14- f1 and Octob er 4- 17, 1919, on the Boston Elevated Raiiw ays.
TABLE
Number of agents who worked overt ime.
Number of
agents who
Over
2
3
4
5
6
wvorekrteidmneo. Under one One lhour hours hours hours hours hours
0
and and and and and and
h
h
our·
our· under under under under under under
Total hours worked.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1 - - . , - - - ~- - . - - - - 1 - - - 1 - - - - - -
-
6.
-
7.
----
i:~- June. i~~~- June. June. June. June. June. June. June.
=========iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii============== ~
Under48.. ... ................... .
15
2 .••..•
1
1
1 ..••...•••••
June.
48 and under 56. . • • • • • • • . . • . . . . • . .
56and under 64....... . ...........
1
Total.................. . .. . .
3
4
1
1
2
1 .. ••.. . . . ... ...... ..... .
1
2
1 . . . . . . . . • • . . . •.•••
2 ......•.... . .....•
t;.~f~!IIIII/IITII _J II tt rn\JjI;/ :J
I
31 ·
12
4
:;
u
I
2
6
3
7
1
1
Number of agents who worked overtime.
7
Total hours worked.
8
9
ll
W
6
U
~
14
W
hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours
and and and and and and and and and
under under under under under under under under under
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. . 13.
14.
15.
16.
hours
and
under
17.
Total.
June. June. June. June. June. June. June. June. June. June. June. ~~~~-
- - - - - - - - - - 1-- - - - - - -
- -1 - - - - t - -- 1 - - - 1 - --
1--
-
1-- -
Under 48........•.......... ............................................................
ii Ei ~i~ ft ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
!
!![
j ~ !~ ~ !~ ::::~: ~ ~ ~ !!! ~ ) !! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ! !!!!!! !~ ~ ~ ~ ! ~ ~ !~ ~ ~
80 and under 88.. ...... •.. .
1 •••••• .•. .. . ..• . . . .••.•.
1 ••••....... . ...........•
88 and under 96... .••..••.. ..•••• •.••••
1
2 •..••.•.••.••••..••.................
96 and under 104. . . • • • • • . . . . • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • •
1
1
2
1
1
1
104 and over.. • • • • • • • • • • • . . • . • • • • • • . . • • . • • • • . . • • • . • • . • • • • • • . . • •
1
1
1
1
Total. .••••••••••••.•
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
1 ..... .
4
2
2
Time worked over 8 hours in any one day is considered overtime.
2
-- - 5
6
5
3
7
6
5
8
4
49
17
5
1
2
2
4
11
1
43
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
83
Thirty-one extra collectors in October did not work more than
8 hours on any day during the 14-day period, and the remaining 12
worked less than a total of one hour over 8 hours a day during this
same period. In June, 16 collectors worked :from 9 to 17 hours of
overtime during the 14 days, and 29 worked from 1 to 8 hours overtime.
Wages.
In June the wage rate paid to both collectors and station receivers
was 40 cents an hour. In October this rate was increased to 48 cents
an hour. Allowing for an 8-hour day 6 days a week, this would
make the weekly wage for regular collectors $23.04, or $46.08 for the
14-day period. Collectors are also allowed their car fare.
Extras were guaranteed pay for 6½ hours a day 6 days a week, and
unless disqualified by reporting late or refusing to take the position
assigned they were paid for the hours whether or not they had
worked them.
Table XXVII shows the wages received and the number of hours
worked by the women extra collectors.
XXVII.-Wages received by women extra collectors on the Boston
Elevated Railways during 14 days in June and October, 1919, by number of
hours worked.
TABLE
Number of women who worked-
Wage received,
Under 48
hours.
48and
under 56
hours.
56and
under 64
hours.
64 and
under 72
hours.
72and
under 80
how-s.
June Octo- June Octo- June Octo- June Octo- J
Octo. ber.
· ber.
· ber.
· ber. une. ber.
UnderS18-·--··---·--·-··-·--- - -·-----··
3
8 ··---· -·---· ...... --···- .. ..................... .
$18 and under $21............... . . . . . . . . .
1 .................................................... ..
$21 and under $24.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. .
1
1 .. ...................... ........... .
$24 and under $27.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. .. . .. . . . .
1 ............ ................ . .
$27 and under $30.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
1 ........ .__......... ................ ..
$30and under$33............... .... .... ... .. .
2
2
1
2 ...... ...... ......
2 ... .. .
$33 and under $36.. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
2
3 . . .. ..
2 . .. . ..
3 . . . . •.
1 _.. . ..
$36 and under $39. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 . . . . . . . .. . .. . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . .
4 ..... .
$39 and under $42. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
2 ......
2 . .. .. .
1 . . .. . .
2 . . . . •.
1
$42 and under $45. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . .. • • ..
1
$45 and under $48 ............................................................................. _.... .
$48 and over ........................................................................................ .
Total........ . .....................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
5
17
6
2
2
84
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
XXVII.-Wages received by w ornen extra collectors on the· Boston
Elevated Railw ays during 14 day,<J in J u ne and Octob er, 1919, by nu mb er of
hours worlced-Oontinued.
TABLE
Num ber of women who worked80and
under 88
hours.
Wage received.
-
- - - --
- - --
- --1- -
88 and
under 96
hours.
96 and
under 104
hours.
- --- -- -- - -
UnderS18 •........ . .....••... •...... ... ...•............• • .... . . .. , ....
$18 and under $21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$21 and under $24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$24 and under $27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$27 and under $30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . .
$30 and ·under $33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$.'l3 and under $36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 ...... ...... ...... ......
$36 and under 139 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
1
2 ......
2
$39 and under $42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 . . •••.
3 ......
3
$42 and under $45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . .
3 ......
4
3
$45 and under $48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .
7 ......
$48 and over .. . . . . . . • • • . . • • • . • . • • • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total......................... . ....
6
5
11
8
104 hours
and over.
-
......
......
......
. . . . •.
. . . . •.
. . . . •.
......
......
......
......
. . . . •.
'l'otal.
- ----- -
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
. .. .. .
1
3
. . •. . .
. . . ...
3
8
......
1 ..... .
......
1
1
......
1 . .••.•
...... ......
1
. . •. . .
6
3
. .. .. .
11
2
......
12
4
••. . . .
8
8
......
6
8
. . •. . . . . . . . .
7
1 ...... ..... . ......
1
4 •. . . •.
49
43
Although there was a larger number of women in October than in
June who received less than $18 there was also a larger group in
October who received more than $39. The median -wage for the
women extra collectors in June was $36.50 and in October $40.38, the
increase being due mainly to the increase in the wage r ate.
In considering the ·larger number of women who worked less than
7 days and less than 48 hours during the 14 days in October and
the larger number in June who worked over 96 hours during a
similar period, it is very significant to see that the median wage
increased in October to such a considerable extent in spite of the
evident shortening of the hours. Twenty-three women in June received between $33 and $39, and 23 women in October received
between $39 and $48.
HOURS AND CONDITIONS OF WORK IN CHICAGO..
Number of employees.
Women were employed by the Chicago Elevated trains as ticket
agents but not as conductors. The company has used women as
ticket agents since the establishment of the transportation system,
and their employment has been satisfactory apparently, as the number
of women considerably exceeds the number of men. According to
the figures given by the company the average number of women employed :from January 1 to April 30, 1919, was 476. During the same
period there were 343 men, making a total of 819 ticket agents, which
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
85
was said to be the usual number employed. At the time of the investigation the traffic sheet showed a total of 857 agents. Table
XXVIII gives the number and proportion of men and women,
regular and extra agents.
'.rA BLE
XXVIII.-Number and per cent of men and women employed as regular
and extra agents on the Chicago Elevated trains, June, 1919. 1
N~f1~!na~Je~~~tn
E>mployed asRegular
agents.
Men ................ .. . ... . . . . .. .. . ... . ........... . .... .
,vcmrn . .... . .. . ... . ... . ... . . . ... ... . ................. .
32!)
427
.Extra
agents.
33
68
Total . . . ... . . ... -· . ...... . .......... . .. . ........ .
75n
101
Percent . ..... . ... . .... . ..... ... ..... .... ........ . . . .. .
88.2
11. 8
1
Total.
Number.
3(\2
Per cent.
495
12
5S
857
. .. ... .. ... . ...
......... . . ... .
100
In Septem,,er there were 117 extra agents, 35 of them men and 82 women.
Special regulations for women.
The Illinois law regulating hou:r;s of work for women permits a
10-hour day and a 70-hour week, and does not prohibit night work.
The hours of women working on the Chicago Elevated trains are
regulated, however, so that their regular shifts are of eight hours'
duration, and no women are on the night shifts.
Time, method, and scope of investigation.
The material for this report was gathered in June, 1919. Supplementary information on the hours and wages of extra agents was
secured in September, 1919. Officials of the Chicago Elevated trains
cooperated with the agents o:f the Women's Bureau by making available the traffic sheets and other records of the company from which
the information given in this report was secured. Additional information was also secured from members of the union and from the
State department of labor.
Seniority rights.
The choice of station and shift is based on the seniority rights of
the employees. The company maintains four seniority lists, one
each for the regular men, regular women, extra men, and extra
women agents. To get on the regular list an extra must ·first work
up through the extra list. A system of rotation by which agents
are employed first at one station and then at another is also based
on seniority rights. Each of the four lines in Chicago is divided into
subdivisions of five or six stations and agents serve only one month
at each station. · Every :four months the agents can choose, according to their seniority, the first station in which they prefer to begin
the period of rotation. They must, however, work in the other
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
86
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
stations belonging to the same subdivision for the remaining three
months of the period. One reason given by company officials for
this plan of rotation was that traffic was heavy in some stations and
light in others and this method helped to equalize the work.
Men are hired and have seniority rights for night work only, although they are assigned to ,d ay shifts in certain localities by agreement between the company and the women employees.
Relief periods.
Where travel is light and stations equipped with toilet facilities,
no relief periods are provided for the agents, but at busy stations
and stations that are not provided with toilet facilities they are given
relief by relief agents. At certain busy stations where two or more
agents are on duty at one time they are allowed to relieve each
other. Agents are employed seven days a week.
Hours.
The most significant fact which was cl.isclosed by this study in
Chicago was that the hours of the men and women ticket agents
were so arranged that the women did not work on the night shift.
This arrangement was made in ·spite of the fact that the Illinois
law did not prohibit the employment of women at night. HOURS OF REGULAR AGENTS.
Hours were arranged so that there were three regular shifts of
eight hours each, the first shirt from 7 a. m. to 3 p. m., the second
from 3 to 11 p. m., and the third from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. Only
men worked on the 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. ~hift. vVomen regular agents
worked mainly on the first and second shifts, but a small number
of them worked on what are called "split tricks," or shifts the
hours o:£ which either are not consecutive or are consecutive but do
not coincide with the hours of any regular shift.
Table XXIX gives the number and per cent of men and women
regular agents on each shift and on split tricks.
XXIX.-Number and per cent of men and women regular agents working
on each shift and on split tricks on the Oliicago Elevated trains, June, 1919.
TABL E
Number and per cent of men and women regular
agents workmg onTotal.
7 a. m. to 3 3 p . m. to 11 p . m. to7
p . m . stun. 1l p.m.shift . a. m. shift.
Split
tricks.
Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Nilm- Per Num- Per
ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent.
Men ... . ...................... .. .........
vVomen .. .......... ... . . . . ..............
21
193
Total. ............................
214
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
90
61
163
27
73
100
224
100
10
- - - - -- 221
100
....... ······
221
100
2
- ·
9
21
91
305
377
45
55
23
100
682
100
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
87
As the regular agents who did not work on split tricks had a
regular eight-hour day without overtime, the arrangement of their
hours was simple, particularly as a seven-day week was the practice
for both men and women, and no relief periods were arranged.
The actual hours and the over-all hours of the 23 regular agents
who worked on split tricks and of the extra agents are more significant. Table XXX shows the actual hours of work, the number of
hours within which the work was completed, and the number of splits
in each working day for regular agents working on split tricks.
T ABLE
XX X .- Hour s of wor k of split-tric k cigents on Chi cago E l evated trains
and t he number of hour s within w hich w ork w as complet ed.
1
Number of agents.
Actual
O verall
Number of
dail y hours. daily hours.
splits.
Hr ·. Min. Hr.,. M i n.
2 ... · ···· · ··· · · ·· · · ··· ··· · ········· ··· ·· ·· ·· ·· · · · · · ·· · ·· ···· · ·· · · · ··
1 ... ··· · · ··· · · · ·· · ·· ··· ·· ···· · ·· · · · ·· ··· ·· ···· · ·· · ······· ·· · ········
3 .. . ....... . . . . . . . . . . . ..•. ...... ··············· ·· ·· .. .. ... .. .... . ...
4. ·· · ······· · ········ · ···· ······· ····· ·· · ·· · ··· ·· · · . .... ............
1.... ......... . . .. . .. . .... . . .. . . . . . .. . ... . . ... . . . . . . . . . ... .. . . . .. . ..
1. . ... . ........... . . .. ... . . . .. .. .. . ...... .. . . .. .... . ... ... .... . .....
7. .. . .. . . . .. . ... . .. . . .. . . .... . .... .. . .. .. .. .. . . . . .. . . .. . ... . . . ... ...
1. · · ···· ··· ·· ·· · ··· · ·· · :· .. .. . ... .... ... . ...... .. ...... . ...... . . . . . .
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .
2 ..• ··· · ····• ·• •· ···•· ·· ······ · •·· ····· ·· · ·· · ·· · • · ·· · ·· ··· · ····· · · · ·
6 15
7 00
7 00
7 30
7 45
7 45
8 00
8 00
8 15
S 30
12 00
1
11 45
1
7 00 .. .••••••••.
11 30
2
7 45 ..... .••....
10 00
1
8 00 .... . .....• .
12 00
,1
12 00
1
10 00
1
A "split trick" does not necessarily mean that a run is divided
into two parts. Runs the hours of which do not coincide with those
of one of the regular shifts are also called split tricks. It is significant that 11, or nearly 50 per cent, of these split-trick agents worked
consecutive hours of eight or less, and that the hours of three
other agents, although not consecutive, were within a total period
of 10 hours.
The foregoing tables show that hours have been arranged in Chicago so that among the 377 women in a group of 682 regular ticket
agents not one worked at night, only 12 worked over eight hours a
day or hours that were not consecutive, and only nine did not complete their day's work in 10 hours or less. These conditions prevailed in spite of the :fact that the Illinois law permits a daily total
of 10 hours of work, and also allows the employment of women at
night.
HOU RS OF EXTRA AGENTS.
In addition to the regular agents who work on the eight-hour
shifts and those who work on the split tricks there is another group
of agents employed by the Chicago Elevated trains to substitute for
absentees and to fill in on special tricks. The problem of the employment of these extra agents lies in the arrangement of their work
so that they may be assured of comparative regularity of employ-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
88
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
ment and that the hours worked may be sufficient to guarantee an
adequate wage. The actual arrangement of the hours of extras
ooincided with the hours worked by the regular agents either on the
eight-hour shifts or on the split tricks. There was a guaranty of
pay for at least three hours' work for any extra who was called
and the work was carefully regulated by the company so that the
majority worked a full eight-hour day when they were called.
Table XXXI shows the number of days worked by each extra
who was employed from beptember 1 to 15, and the total number of
hours worked by each ext_ra during the same period.
TABLE
XXXI.-Total hours and total nurnber of days worked by extra agents
the Chicago Elevwted trains Sept. 1 to 15, 1919, inc_lusive.
on
Number of agents workingTotal number of hours
worked
I
I
Total.
Under
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
7
days. days. days. days. days. days. days. days. days. N
P
days.
b~~- ce~t
- - - - - - - - i 1 - --
---- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- --
Under 48........... . .......
48 and under 54............
€6 and under 72. . . . . . . . . . . .
72 and under 80. . . . . . . . . . . .
80 and under 88 . . . . . . . . . . . .
88 and under 96.. . ........ .
96 and under 104 . . . . . . . . . . .
104 and under 120. . . . . . . . . .
120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
More than 120..............
3
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
. . ••. .
1
. .. . ..
......
......
. ... . .
......
......
......
......
Total.. • . • . . . . . . . . . . .
Per cent....... . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
2. 6
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
. .. . ..
......
......
.. . .. .
......
1
......
......
......
......
......
......
......
. .. . ..
......
......
1
3
. ... . .
.. . .. .
. .. . ..
......
......
. . . •. .
......
.. . .. .
......
1
3
......
......
......
.. . .. .
1 ......
0. 9
1
0. 9
4
3. 4
I 3. 44
I· .....
. . •. . .
. .. . . .
......
1
2
.5
3
... . . .
.. . .. .
......
......
. .. . . .
......
......
......
2
7
6
I
......
. . ••. .
. .. .. .
......
......
. .. . . .
. . . ...
5
19
......
1
11
9. 4
16
13. 7
25
21. 4
......
......
1
......
......
......
2
22 ·
18
9
3
1
2
2
6
10
17
47
19
10
2. 6
0.9
1.7
1.7
5.1
8.5
,14. 5
40.2
16.2
8.5
100
II 44.524 1171100.
0
The figures here are for a different period from that for which the
other figures in this report are given, so that the total number of
extra agents does not agree with the number employed in June, when
the earlier material was collected.
This table shows that the hours of- the greater number of extra
agents in Chicago were arranged so that they had sufficient work
during the pay period to guarantee them an adequate wage. Only
12 per cent of the extra agents during the period from September
1 to 15 worked less than 88 hours. Twenty-three per cent of them
worked over 88 but less than 104 hours, the equivalent of 13 working
days of 8 hours each, and 40 per cent worked over 104 hours but
less than 120 hours, the equivalent of 15 working days of 8 hours
each.
Regularity of work was also arranged in their schedules, for Table
XXXI shows that only 9, or 7.8 per cent of the total number of
women, worked less than 11 days during the pay period of 15 days,
and 77, or over 65 per cent, worked 14 or 15 days.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
89
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
Because of the arrangements of shifts, however, for many employees on street railways the actual hours of work during a given
period can not alone serve to indicate the regularity of employment.
An agent might work every day out of the 15, but her hours might
be so irregular as to cause . her considerable inconvenience. It is,
therefore, interesting to note in Table XXXII the amount of overtime that was worked by this same group of extra agents during the
period from September 1 to 15. The time worked over 8 hours
in any one day is counted as overtime.
TABLE
XXXII.-Total overtime 1 worked by extra agents from September 1 to
15, 1919, on the Chicago Elevated trains.
Number
of agents
who
Total number or hours worked
worked.
a,~
no
'O 0
over~,.q
time.
Number of agents who worked overtime in the period.
... §..;
Under48-. .. .... . ......
3
48 and under 54 . . • . . . . .
1
66 and under 72.. ... . .. . .. .. .. .. .
72 and under 80. . . . . . . .
2
80 and under 88. . . . . . . .
6
88andunder96........
8
96and under 104.... ...
9
104 and under 120. . . . . .
14
120............. ..... . ..
18
More than 120........ . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total . . • . . • • • . . . .
Per cent...............
1
61
52. 1
.....
.....
1
.....
.....
.... .
1
. ....
... ..
.. . . .
'O
a,
8"0
§~ §.,; §~ §co §ci §g 'O§._;... 'O§..;...
"O ...
Ao;,
~'O
IN
c,:,
.....
.....
1
.....
.....
1
3
11
.....
2
.....
.....
. . .. .
.....
.....
.....
1
2
.....
1
2 18
1. 7 15. 4
'O ...
A
a;,
o3'0
..,.
a,
'O
~"O
'O ...
i:::i a;,
~'O
'O ...
A
a;,
o3'0
00
]a;
d'"O
-
-
.....
.....
.. .. .
.. .. .
. . .. .
.....
.....
4
1
.. .. .
.....
.....
. . ...
.....
.....
.....
1
2
.....
. . .. .
.....
. ... .
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
1
.....
. ... .
.....
. ....
. . .. .
.... .
.. .. .
... ..
... ..
2
.....
1
.....
.. .. .
. . ...
. ... .
. ... .
.....
.....
. ... .
.. .. .
2
5
4. 3
3
2. 6
1
O. 9
3
2. 6
1. 7
4 15
3. 4 12. 8
~'O
.....
.....
.. .. .
. ... .
. ... .
.....
.....
. ... .
.....
1
.....
.....
.. .. .
.....
. ... .
.....
. . ...
.. . . .
.....
1
1
0. 9
1
0. 9
~'O
. . ...
.. .. .
. . ...
.....
.....
1
2
11
.....
1
-
~'O
A'd a;,
-
0,
-
2
§c;
'Cl'°"
a;,
;:; 'O
A,..
-'°
L
"O ....
d a;,
A,_.
~
d
....
d Cl.-
~0
r'
.....
3
.....
1
. . ...
2
.. .. .
2
.. .. .
6
.....
10
.... .
17
. . .. .
47
.....
19
1
10
I
1
0. 9
117
100
Time worked over 8 hours in any one day is considered overtime.
No overtime at all was worked by 61, or 52 per cent, of the extra
agents during the pay period; 33 per cent worked less than 5 hours
overtime during the 15 days, and 13 per cent worked between 6 and
13 hours overtime.
Wages.
The wage rate for the agents on the Chicago Elevated trains was
the same for men and women. Regular agents were paid $4.41 a
day. As all of the regular agents were scheduled to . work seven
days a week the wage at this rate for the 15-day period would amount
to $66.15, or $30.87 a week.
The wage rate for the extra agents was based on the same hourly
rate as that of the regular agents, 55 cents an hour. Table XXXIII
shows the wages received by the men and, women extra agents from
September 1 to 15.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
90
TABLE
WOMEN STREET CAR CONDUCTORS AND TICKET AGENTS.
XXX III.-Earnings of men and women extra agents, Chicago, Sept. 1
to 15, 1919.
Earnings.
Men.
Women.
Less than $39 . ..... ..... ...... .. ... .. ..... ..... . ........ ..... ·. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$39 and less than S42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$42 and less than 45. . . . • . • • • • • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • . • • • . . .
$45 and less than $48. • . . . • . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . .
$48 and less than $51. • . . • . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . .
$51 and less than $54 ...... ..... . .... .......... . . :. . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . .
$54 and less than $57. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$57 and less than $60. • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$60 and less than $63. • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . .
$63 and less than $66. . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$66 and less than $69. • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$69 and less than $72. • . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$72 and less than 75.... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$75 and less than S78. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$78 and less than $81. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .
$81 and over ................................................. . .................. .-. . .
..........
..........
1
1
2
4
1
6
4
4
10
6
1
5
1
4
5
5
10
13
11
15
1
3
1
...••••...
1
Total........................ . ..... . .......................... ..... ...........
Median wage........................ ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
..........
1
..........
35
$61. 88
82
$61.04
The median wage for the men during this period was $61.88, and
for the women $61.04. All but a very few of both the men and
women extra agents received between $50 and $70 during this 15-day
period, which fact shows that tlie work o:f extras is almost always as
well and, occasionally_, better paid than the work o:f the regular
agents.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
0
I
PUBLICATIONS OF WOMEN'S BUREAU.
BULLETINS.
No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industrie of
Niagara Falls, N. Y. J6 pp. 1918.
No. 2. Labor Laws for Women in Industry in Indiana. 29 pp. 1918.
No. 3. Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. 7 pp. 1919.
No. 4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 46 pp. 1919.
No. 5. The Eight-Hour Day in Federal and State Legislation. 19 pp. 1919.
No. 6. The Employment of Women in Hazardous Industries in the United
States. 8 pp. 1919.
No. 7. Night-Work Laws in the United States. 4 pp. 1919.
No. 8. Women in the Government Service. 37 pp. 1919.
No. 9. Home Work in Bridgeport, Conn. 35 pp. 1919.
No.10. Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry In Virginia.
32 pp. 1:'20.
No.11. Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 86 pp. 1920.
No. 12. New Position of Women in American Industry. 158 pp. 1920.
No. 13. Industrial Opportunities and T_raining for Women and Girls. 48 pp.
1920.
First Annual Report of the Director. 1919. (Out of print.)
Second Annual Report of the Director. 12 pp. 192,0.
CHARTS.
I. Eight-hour and eight-and-a-half-hour laws for women workers. 1 section, 1919.
II. Nine-hour laws for women workers. 1 Section, 1919.
III. Ten-hour laws for women workers. 1 section, 1919.
IV. Ten-and-a-quarter-hour, ten-and-a-half-hour, eleven-hour, and twelvehour laws for women workers. 1 section, 1919.
V. Weekly hour laws for women workers. 1 sectlon, 1919.
VI. One day rest in seven and time for meals. 1 section, 1919. (In preparation.)
VII. Night-work laws for women workers. 1 section, 1919.
VIII. Home work. 2 settlons. 1919.
IX. Minimum wage legislation in the Unit~d States-April, 1920. 3 sections, 1920.
:X. Mothers' pension laws in the United States. ~ sections, 1920. {Revised.)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
@FedFRASER