The sun., 1889-02-17
WHAT CAR DRIVERS EARN
TWO SYSTEMS or PAY AND WHiT rs
SAID ABOUT THEM
How the Companies Regard the Pay ana
How the Men Regard It-No Pay for
Merely Being on Hand-SS n Day.

ODllllOI silll dIl lDlclllGNlb N'h-
ductor on Broadway car within tho last few
| days. has been against us In tho recent strike.
And Justly too. for the scenes OF violence on the
east and west sides and on upper Broadway
| wore uncalled for unpatriotic, aud wrong. They
| were not melted by tho labor unions, and it Is
| also fact that more than half Of the rioters
| were no more stroot-car men than you are.
| They wore roughs, who like turbulence, and
| took advantage OF tho opportunity offered by
| the strike. But. thon, every man Of us know
| that scenes like those we're bound to appear in
any big tic UP, and l. for one. was much op-
posed to striking, and only did 50 because be-
lieve in the principle of labor unions. We have
gone back to work. those Of US who got tho
| chance, on tho old basis. except that We have
| lost all of that moral power that louE good
| service gave Us over tho companies You
probably understand what l mean. l have
noticed that men who are faithful and do the
| square thing for their companies for years Get
| queer sort of hold on even biz corporations,
| which, without any word being said on either
| sdo. seoms to kind of keep the bosses from
being as unfair as they might be-. Now cycn
| in the short time I've been back since the
| strike. Two noticed that that's all gonr. The
| here and there, and tho devil TO the man that
kicks. There are men in those, stables that
| to hang around twelve hours to make that. 4
don't believe the. public knows or ever did
know, how much tho street car mon make and
To inform tho public. a reporter visitod the
| lines In tho offices Of all companies ollicials
said conlidentaly:
| I'VE pay drivers and conductors - n day.
This Is partially true. us in tho great mnIori-
| ty Of cases the men make that much day. lt
is an unfair and untrue way of putting 1t, how
men employed during tho strike. a reporter
entered the drivers room of one Of the big do
pots during the strike and talked to tho mon.
He was forcib!y nut out by tho police on order
Of the enS m@1 r GHiGrG s
strike accepted the, Job on the glitteriag gen
"l'ye only made one trip all day said one.
but Of &c course III get my s? since yo been g non. on
haa onY n Most S H Af 5Hd S Sy
| when pay day came those mon probably found
| they We're credited with the actual number OF
more. Other men on other lines who were thus
| employed during the strike have said that that
waited two days in tho stables without being
sent once on trip, during wi which t time he did
"sluggedn by the strikers. and never got
| cent lor 1t. These statements We're contra
| dicted at somc of the Offices.
| BY the "trip system" against which tho labor
| unions successfully fought, was technically
SO many cents a trip. which the conductor kept
out of his returns from each trip upon giving
SP the era redieps at ts M S e t9Ts prpfb bo
company avoided the expense OF q bookkeep-
ing department and pay agents. The abuse in
this system wi was that s each man was paIE up
greater liberty to .iay him Off Tor trip or
trips, or dispose of his services for days or
weeks If convenience or the saving OF quarters
or dollars made it desirable to do so. several
years ago this trip system was abandoned, but
years ago. has gone back to it.
tho 81 q day" system. That il is however.
nothinS m9re or M les h than
fem fha following facts will show. In iuCL.
The m Broadway, University place. and Sew
each day o9n i5rPadW9Sy II, 'Ihs men set 10 cents @
even through fault Of the company, or on ac-
count Of fortuitous circumstances Ike block
goes four trips he gets 81 60 for his days work.
| This does not often harpen for the snperin-
his fHll number Of trips day but whom there
is failure it Is the eSApi9yee's 81 loss SO say tho
Il pay So day. make no promises to any
man man run run MY my road az please rH ana these
tions and meet its exigoncies can TO-"
Six trips a day, at 335, cents TRIP, are
avenue divisions. 1t is u rare thing for each
regular to fail 10 make all six trips, but when
they do they don't make thcir o. On, tho
eStaG eStras HHae They got got 9n :iso W dag Thas
means that the extra, cars run during busy
account of regulars" not turning, up to work
for sickness or other cause. or who arc late:
four trips day. Tho hard working Superin-
tendent and his stafl do their oyel bost to give
each day but tho men s@y that f;hey don't
make the fomr, trips they don't Eet fi.o.. 49,
oa he Be ne inGTT 'S @S wG me @
east side to Whitehall street. and back the
same way. The western division goes straight
back. On the castorn division 5G,,4 cents trip
II paid. Three trips take nine and a half hours.
acted more they would run afoul OF the Twclye-
hour law as four trips would take Ike thirteen d
trips day This makes sI.6YT n!l,h q Iay n,on.
SAYS the management;
=, But four trips are figured as the days work
hat ai S mSes an and ySa find We al
but sSG; e e Ssi ;Sid as 81 j. i was IspIioE 10
Forty cents a trip is paid for lvo west divi-
sion trips. which arc made within twelve hours.
tho legal limit OF time, so the company only
pays them 33!, cents Q trip On Eighth ave-
and and seven-trip cars rs al 2S Al cents a trip. On
Second ayonue tyc lull limo trps are paid for
from Ninety-siXth street 70 Harlem and ,pack
ut 20 cents II "trip. on Sixth aEenuo tho Vesey
Canal IS streap "hH cars trips at q II asats
On Forty second street thirteen cross-toWn
Fp are Cents snqy & On poGh IN aay e s
trips are almost Invariably mado at 40 cents.
The extras" run three and one-half trip.Gar
making 81 ~, and four-trip cars, mak ing Leo.
we keep each man in bis class" hoiI tho
eur from tho 8 : to the 4-trp class, aud then TO
the regular 81 class
on any road rarely makes less than So day.
This is largely owing - the hard md careful
efforts Of tho Supgrintendent's department.
The companies say that whom the largo profits
OF the midday cars are averaged gEairst the
losses OF tho early yand late crrs, and stable and
other expenses deducted the propGrtion OF
days profit to its expense Is SO small mat any
regular out and out s. day system would wipe
earnings out OF existence. The, mere item
Of lack OF puncu&itN on the part Of
to accomplish this If no system OF docking
for lost trips were in practice, Tho losses OF
the full trippers" each day nre carefully bal
anccd against the item OF cNtra men who are
required to guarantee that rarh car makoS its
scheduled number of trips tho object being TO
make the cost OF labor not exceed - II dag for
each ful-dny ear. This requires nicc culcula-
tion, and when added to The labor involved in
doing each employee Justice under cOmpli-