National Republican., 1883-04-02
UNHAPPY MAlDENs.
They Protest Against the "Pieco" Plan
OF Pay at tho Government Printing
OfIlrn.

They Protest Against the "Pleco" Plan
OF Pay at tho Government Printing
Once.
II having been announced that the lady
employees in the bindery Of the government
printing office would to-day be put on piece
work and paid so much per given quantity, n
deputation of the ladies called on Mr.. Rounds
on Saturday and protested against such pro-
posed action. II is said their protest was
vigorously expressed. The delegation COM
priscd Miss Carrie Chase, chairman, Mrs.
HUFF, Mrs. Ball, Miss Joyce, Mrs Plummer,
and Mrs. Honor. They claimed there
would be manifest injustice in the
piece work plan, and cited numerous
instances where the work performed would
at the rates proposed not yield enough to pay
for the scantiest living. Mr. Rounds told the
ladies that the proposed plan was but an ex-
pertinent, He himself believed that the gov
ernmont would profit from the experiment
The change in the rate of pay goes into effect
this morning. Piece work rates do not, how
ever, apply TO the male employees, nor tho fore
man and assistant foreman of the bindery,
As an instance of the injustice which it
is claimed will be done by this plan,
the case of one young lady was cited-a good
and faithful workcr-whom IL took over thrco
hours to finish one "benCh of books. The
proposed rates will give her thirty-two cents
for this work, or ten cents an hour. Many
Of the employees charge that gross iavoritism
was also to be shown in the new arrangement.
Some of the ladies were to bo kept ut days
work." thus enabling them to make the old
rate of pay. The reason assigned for making
this distinction was that these favored ones
were exceptionally skilled and valuable
hands Employees of the bindery asserted
that in the majority Of the cases this reason
was not the true one Most of the excepted
ones were not rs valuable or skillful as most
Of those put on "piocc work"
Among tho individual cases of favoritism
complained of by certain of the employees are
the following: They assert that one Of the
females employees who will be kept atEday
work, at which she makesS2bO per day, is the
wife of policeman whose salary is
500 per month Another of the favored
ones Is the wife of car con-
ductor who has steady employment, Still
another lady has two sons employed in
the office, each at 1920 per day, which, with
the $3.50 paid her, makes $3.50 paid into one
family. The employees assert that as one
family through its representative young lady,
doing one bench" " in three hours, gets ten
cents an hour, this latter family, through its
then representatives getting $l,1l an hour,
or eleven times as much, is little unjust and
partial.
Several elderly ladies' are employed in the
governmentsprinting office, some of them sol
diers' widows, who are because of age
slow in their movements, though they render
faithful services. One in particular has been
getting tho young ladies at the same bench
with her to thread her needle. Said young
lady to Mr.. Roberts, in speaking of the case:
"lf we are put on piece work we shall neces-
sarily be compelled to devote every second of
time to the making of our pay. She, poor
thing won't make enough to keep from sta
rying, How about her Caseyn
"'rhats her own lookout" was the answer,
"Shc was born to soon"