Los Angeles herald., 1890-08-14
SOME WOMEN WHO WORK
THE PART THEY TAKE IN ORGANlZA-
TIONS AND STRIKES.


their co-workers of the sterner sex in the
great army of organized labor In this
city the girls and women have shown
spirit of union and organization for the
betterment of their condition that Is not
surpassed even by the men unionists.
They do not make as much fuss about it,
nor do they hold great mass meetings and
shout out from the housetops as to what
they propose to do, but they go along
quietly, organize whenever a good op-
portunity presents itself, hold their little
meetings in their own quiet, soft sort Of
way, present their grievances and have
their little understandings and misunder
standings with their employers, and many
times nobody knows anything about it but
themselves.
In the strike of the knee breeches max
ers, which was recently settled in a victory
for the strikers, the general public was not
aware that fully one-half of the strikers
were women and girls.
They work just as hard as the men, and
harder in many instances, at the very same
class Of work, but they must be contented
with smaller wages just because they are
women. The working women and girls
have hard time of it all around, and in
many instances deserve to be lauded and
helped along; but man steps in with his
grievances, and with q voice that browns
out everything in the vicinity shouts them
out, the papers take him up and the public
soon know all about it.
In this city alone there are fully $4,000
organized working girls, members of
trades unions and the Knights of Labor,
but they are rarely heard of.
THE sHIRTMAKERs.
One of the latest moves on foot by the
girls is the gathering together of scattered
remnants of the shirtmakers' union. Four
years ago the girls in this trade had one Of
the strongest local assemblies connected
with District Assembly No. 40, Knights Of
Labor. Through the efforts of the organi-
zation the girls were making good wages.
They received as high as 81 25 for making a
dozen shirts. The manufacturers made an
attempt to reduce wages. The organiza-
tion was strong and resented the attempt.
Two thousand girls struck work, and were
sanguine Of holding their own. But new
element stepped in in the shape of Polish
Jews and Russians, and jumped at the op
portunity of taking the places of the girls.
The struggle lasted good while but the
girls at last had to succumb, and their noble
efforts to save the trade were lost. AS a
result of this strike the prices of manufact-
uring shirts have been reduced from 50
and 1928 dozen to Is cents dozen. This
misfortune practically broke up the union,
and although several efforts were made to
recruit the scattered army they proved
fruitless. The strangest part of the story
Is that recently the same Poles and Rus
slams who were instrumental in breaking
up the union struck for an increase of
wages and called on the girls to aid them.
It was needless to say they received little
sympathy.
Among the other girl organizations are
eral of the big carpet factories in the city a
year or two ago, and gave in to the bosses
as beaten. But this was clever little ruse
on their part. They got back to work, the
non-union girls who were hired in their
places were discharged, and so sympa-
thetically and with such shrewdness did
they work on the quiet to gain their de-
mands originally asked for that they sue
ceeded without letting the bosses know
what they were after, and now they are
working on the conditions for which they
struck, and the bosses feel that they won a
victory over the girls. This organization
has come to the conclusion that it can gain
its demands without striking. Then there
are the cigarette girls, always chatty, full
of fun and ready at any time during the
day to make dude feel bad on the street.
They have an organization that is full of
fight, and the bosses admit that they would
rather have an army of wildcats let loose
on them than have their girls strike. They
usually get what they ask for without
striking if their demands are within rea-
son.
LONG HOURS AND LOW WAGES.
Then there are the feather workers. the
prettiest, loveliest girls imaginable. They
had big strike about year ago, but
they were only partially successful They
are strong in numbers now, and as their
condition could be worse they are satisfied.
The paper box makers are another class of
organized girls that ''don't take no sass
from no one," and it only requires the
manufacturers to step on their feelings,
when they get more than they bargained
for. The silk workers are also organized,
and present formidable front in this city.
It seldom happens that these organizations
spout out their grievances, but they take
them to their employers and make their
settlements.
OF course there is a vast number of un-
classified industries that are unorganized.
One in particular, which is even now re-
ceiving the attention of persons interested
in the organization of girls, is that of the
sewing girls. 1t embraces many different
kinds of sewing and is called shop work.
The work is given out. The women GO
after it and carry it home, and owing to
competition wages are constantly falling,
though it would seem that the minimum
had been reached long ago. Overalls, fol
instance, with three or four pockets, six
buttonholes, strap and buckle, are worth
from fifty to eighty cents dozen, and out
ing cloth shirts, with two plaits in front
seams felled, cuffs and collar double
stitched, are worth exactly eighty cents q
dozen. The wrappers which ladies buy in
stores with yoke and ruffie round the
bottom are made for twenty-five cents
apiece, and the seamstress furnishes hel
own pattern, cuts and makes completely
These sewing girls make from 50 to a q
week, and their car fare for going for and
returning the work amounts to about
thirty cents each week. They usually work
eighteen or twenty hours a day in little
close rooms.-New York Evening Sun.
Japanese POstman.
In Japan the postman wears suit o1
blue cloth, wide butter bowl hat, and