The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1905-05-12
STORY OF A CAPMAKER

paying for them on the installment
month after that.
l learned the business in about two
months, and then made as much as
the others, and was consequently do
ing quite well, when the factory burn
ed down, destroying all our machines
-15O of them. This was very hard on
the girls who had paid for their ma
chimes. 1t was not so bad for me. as
1 had only paid a little of what
| owed.
The bosses got s5OO,00O insurance,
SO I heard, but they never gave the
girls a cent to help them bear their
losses. think they might have given
them $40, anyway.
Soon work went on again in four
| sistant sample maker. This is a pos
| ition which, though coveted by many,
| pays better in glory than in cash. 1t
was still piece work, and though the
| pay per dozen was better, the work
demanded was of a higher quality, and
one could not rush through samples
as through the other caps. So still
could average only about IS per, week.
After 1 had bsen working as. cap
maker for three years it began to
dawn on me that we girls needed an
organization. The men had organized
already, and had gained some advant
ages, but the bosses had lost nothing,
as they took it out of us.
We were helpless; no one girl dare
stand up for anything alone. Matters
kept getting worse. The bosses kept
making reductions in our pay, half a
cent dozen at a time. 1t did not
sound important, but at the end of the
! week we found difference.
We didn't complain to the bosses;
we didn't say anything except to each
>other. There was no use. The bosses
would not pay any attention unless
we were like the men and could make
them attend.
| One girl would say that she didn't
think she could make caps for the
new price, but another would say that
she thought she could make up for
the reduction by working little
harder. and then the first would tell
herself:
"If she can do it, why can't I?''
/ They didn't think how they were
wasting their strength.
A new girl from another shop got
in among us. She was Miss Bessie
Brout, and she talked organization as
G. remedy for our ills. She was radi
cal and progressive, and she stimu
lated thoughts which were already il
our minds before she came.
! Finally Miss Brout and l and All
other girl went to the national board
Of United Cloth Hat and Cap Maker:
when it was in session, and asked
them to organize the girls.
They asked us:
"How many of you are there will
ing to be organized"
'In the first place about twelve,
said. We argued that the union labe
would force the bosses to organize
their girls, and if there was a girls
, union in existence the bosses coulo
not use the union label unless theil
girls belonged to the union.
: We were told to come to the nex1
meeting of the national board, which
we did, and then received favorable
deply, and were asked to bring al
the girls who were willing to be or
ganized to the next meeting, and a.
| the next meeting, accordingly, we were
, there twelve strong and were or
: ganized.
: When Fox found out what had hap
{ pened he discharged Miss Brout, ant
probably would have discharged me
{ but that I was a sample maker ant
l not so easy to replace. In few week.
! we had all the girls in the organiza
: tion, because the men told the girl'
t that they must enter the union or the,
1 would not be allowed to work in th'
: shop.
: Then came a big strike. Price list
f for the coming season were given il
0 to the bosses, to which they did no
r agree After some wrangling a strik
. was declared in five of the bigges