United labor bulletin. (Denver, Colo.) 19??-1915, 1910-04-15
REMEMBER THE sAlRr-wAIsr GIRL


how and by whom the thousands
of shirt waists you see on sale all over
the city are made? Do you know that
$4,000 women and girls in New York
alone are employed in making these
waists? Do you realize that the condi-
lions under which these girls work. the
wages they receive, the hours they spend
at their machines depend directly upon
you?
Most OF us probably would never have
thought at all about such things except
for the great strike last winter of about
10000 waist makers in New York and
Philadelphia, when the true. conditions
under which the mass of workers in the
trade were forced to make a living were
revealed. 1t was found that the wages.
already too low for health and decency.
were declining or remaining stationary
though food and rent were rapidly rising
Overtime three and four nights a week
during the busy season in addition to the
usual working hours, and Sunday and
holiday work was not unusual Fines and
petty tyrannies practiced by foremen and
superintendent made. hard conditions
doubly hard. The girls thin and poorly
nourished bodies and insufficient clothing
testified at what cost to themselves and
future generations they were working.
Even the good employers who would
like to treat their workers well were be.
ing forced by competition to adopt bit
by bit the methods of the more unscrup-
ulous. For this reason many of the best
paid girls went on strike feeling that
t,nI
them to continue to depend on the good
will of any individual employer, so they
Joined together with the poorer paid
workers in their demand for a union
shop.
The strike is now over and few hun
dred factories have settled with the
union In such settled shops, the girls
are now working SO hours week. Their
wages are fairer, and they receive half
again as much pay for overtime. Sunday
is now real day of rest; fines are abol-
ished. and the individual girl does not
have to deal with her powerful employer,
the representative of the union takes up
all the grievances with the firm. In the
past, the infrequent visits of a factory
inspector, for whose coming the manage
ment was well prepared. were the girls
only protection, now THE UNION is ON
THE JOB EVERY HOUR OF EVERY
WORKING DAY TO SEE THAT THE
HEALTH AND WELFARE OF IT'S
MEMBERS ARE PROPERLY LOOKED
AFTER. These results have been gained
by dint of very bitter struggle and
through this the girls are obtaining not
only material advantages, but marked de-
velopment in individual character; this
discipline is only part of the training
that comes with trade unionism.
Now comes your part and responsible
ity. AS the consumer for whom all things
are made you can encourage through
your buying either the unfair employers
who make their profit through over
working and underpaying their workers
and refusing them the right to join the
union. or you can support these employ
ers who deal fairly with their working
people, whose employees have the hope,
strength and discipline that comes
through organization. Which girls do
you prefer to support, the girls who re-
manned at work during the strike, refus-
ing to join the union. and afraid to sac
rifice their own interests for those less
fortunate; or the girls who have faced
brutality, starvation and homelessness
rather than stand aloof from their
sisters?
There is no doubt which girls and
which employers you will want to sup
port. But how can you make sure you
are doing so? There is just one way.
You may not be able to remember the
trade marks or names of all those fair
manufacturers, but you can easily recog.
nize the union label which is uniform
for the trade. Several of these union
factories are now placing the union label
on their product.
You will find this label attached to the
back collar of the garment 1t is the only
means whereby you can be perfectly GER
tain that the waists were made under
fair conditions by one of these self-re-
speeding union girls in whom the whole
country has been Interested.
Remember that the label is the work.
er's only guarantee and your safeguard.
Ask at the stores you deal with for
waists with the union label. If the sales
woman is Indifferent, ask to see the
buyer. Do not weakly succumb b. buy
ing waist without the label If you
cannot find the label waist, write to the
General Office of the International La
dies Garment Workers Union, IL Wav-
erley Place, New York City.