The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-05-09
BRIDGET'S ABOUT TOSTRIKE
A LOCAL MOVEMENT FOR A SERVANT
GIRLS PRO1ECTTYE UNION,


The First of the Kind In the Countrywide
"Hardships'' of which They Complain,
and How They Propose TO Modify Them
-Aprobabie Scale of Wages 10 be Fixed.
Within the past three or four days
movement has been going on among the
house maids in Jersey City, looking to the
formation of Union that shall fix the
various grades of wages as imperatively as
the Labor Unions fix the compensation for
labor in other industrial pursuits. There
is now IN no pelt of the country such a
thing as as ervant Girls Union, and the
movement for one has grown out of the
amDiuSson of some Jersey City housewoIkers
roE the distinction Of originating the first.
Several householders in the city have told
the TATTLER of recent visits paid to their
laundries and kitchens by strange women,
who are presumed 10 be pioneers in the
movement. Enquiry of their household
help gave them only slim satisfaction as to
the purpose of these visits. Enough was
learned. however, by some of the house
keepers to satisfy themselves that quiet
movement is on foot looking eventually to
a strike for fixed standards of wages. Two
or three of the house-keepers to whose
knowledge the movement has been brought
have allowed TATTLER reporters the priv
Aege OF making enquiry among their servant
girls, and from them enough has been
learned to show that the movement for
local House Servants League is in a fair
state of progress.
The idea IF such a Union was first
thrown out at an accidental conference of
girls who wheeled baby carriages into Ham
ilton Park Two weeks or more ago. The
prospect of such Union succeed
ing was canvassed. Their friends il
other parts of the city were taken
into their confidence, and, finally,
six of the girls were commissioned by the
others to make tour of the houses with a
view of polling the sentiment of the house
maids in all parts of the city on the SUBJ
ject. Miss Della Carroll, one Of the six,
when a TATTLER reporter found her at her
abiding place on Third street, was sur
prised, not only at lis having traced her
connection with the movement, but at his
having heard anything at all concerning
the matter. Denying in one breath that
anything OF the kind had been going on,
she declared in the next that it had all been
done so secretly and so quietly that neither
she nor any of her helpers had any idea
that there was any possibility of its becom.
ing public.
SAT any rate, she said, "if there is any
thing in the story, it is not ready for the
newspapers yet.
1t seemed to the reporter, from her ox-
treme dissemination to talk about the
matter, that she was one Of a cabal of
housemaids who desire to have tie control
of the business in their own hands, and
who fear that the communication of the
idea to the public will lead more active
workers than themselves to take the lead
in the reform. From other sources. how
ever, it was learned that the object of the
proposed association is two fold. 1t is not
only to establish standard of wages, but
also to protect the housemaid community
from dishonest or unworthy employers
They propose to have central headquar-
tiers to which the girls are to be expected to
report employers who, because they do net
pay or tor any other reason. may be unde- |
sirable. The scheme contemplates, also, |
the establishment of fund to carry out |
the objects of the association, and to aid
those who may suffer loss by adherence to
IL. But the main object they have in con-
temptation is the protection of their right
to recreation and to company, and to estab-
lish standards of wages. Among those
who are foremost in the scheme, it is urged
that employers shall be required to give
their glrls every Thursday out BY the
present rule they have only every other
Thursday out; and the cook and general
house-worker are required to wash the
dinner dishes after they reach home. This
latter duty, they say, takes away from them
practically part of the time they are en-
titled to under the prevailing rules; and
some of them will urge that the league,
when it is formed, make it a rule that no
girl shall do any work in the evening, after
her cutting. Some of the servants inter-
viewed by The IATTLER say that the girls |
will not be forced to take their every Thurs
day off, but that they must make their con-
tracts with their mistresses on the under
standing that they are to have every
Thursday off; then they can go out or stay
at home as they may see fit.
Those who are in the van in the move
ment say that they will insist also upon
reform that is very essential to the happi-
ness of the housemaids. In very many
families employing help it is an established
rule that their girls shall not entertain their
COMPANY" in the house. This cruel re-
striction, they insist, depriyes many tired
and overworked girls of an evenings social
relaxation with their brothers and cousins
and beaux, and is a restraint that makes
their daily round of duty unnecessarily
burdensome Ole of ths rules it is pro-
posed to establish is that no girl shall, I'M
der penalty of expulsion from the associa-
ton, consent to a contract with a mistress
who insists upon keeping her maids ''soci-
ETY." entirely out of the house. They will
Insist that, besides the every other Sunday
out, which mistresses now accord, and the
every Thursday out, which tie girls intend
to demand, they shall have the privilege If
"receiving" in the Kitchen at least one
evening IN the week.
There has been good deal OF tax too,
about the working and recreation hours
upon which the association will insist.
Some contrliety of sentiment maLifests it
self on this question, and it is possible that
this may be lett for special arrangement
between the mistress and her employee.
But very many of the girls who are likely
to form the charter members Of the pro-
posed union say that no house servant
should be required TO work after 10 o'clock,
except on special social occasions, and that,
on the evenings of their s'day's off, they
should not be required to return home be
fore ii o'clock The rule 10 most house
holds now is 10 o'clock for house closing.
OF course the proposed standard IF wages
is matter that cannot be fixed till TIE
servants shall have acted upon them. Senti-
ment is far from crs stallized on this branch
of the subject A careful comparison of
the views OF large number of girls who
have been interviewed, shows however,
some of the probable rates that will be de-
termined upon. Cooks as rule receive
now SIS and SIG per month; the rate
that seems most in favor is $40 a
month for that service. Servants who
do what is termed general homework re-
ceive now S12 to S14 per month; a stand
ard Of SIG per month is generally favored.
Mattresses earn now an average of $12 per
month the Union will probably demand
$14 FOR them. OF nurse girls there are two
classes those who will consent to wear
the French nurse caps and those who won't.
The girl who is not required to wear the
cap gets now about $40 per month the
giil who wears cap gets 50 more month
for adorninp hersalf The pirl with cap