Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-11
FINES POOR WAY
To ENFORCE
DISCIPLINE
Employers Have No Right to Dock
Girls, Then Work Them Over
time, Says Forbes.
BY 3. c. FORBES.
Do you call this honest?

In certain places of employment,
notably stores, workers are Sc
verely fined for being late in the
morning, yet whenever neeessary
these same workers are forced to
stay overtime without receiving one
cent of extra pay-not even the re-
turn of the morning fine.
am told that in one store en-
ployees getting only few dollars
week are fined twenty-five cents for
being one minute late and if they
are late twice in one week the rate of
the penalty is doubled-that is to
say, fifty cents is locked each morn
ing. Yet this same store often orders
its help at certain counters to stay
after regular hours, but pays them
nothing for such additional service.
Mr.. Employer, is that fair? Be-
cause you are on top, have you any
right to act so arbitrarily? You can
do it with poor, unorganized shop
girls, but you know you would not
dare attempt it with members of
strong union.
All a worker has to sell is his or
her labor. If you take that, are you
not stealing from him or her? If
one of these workers were to adopt
your principe-rather lack of prin-
cipIe-and steal goods in payment of
the extra service rendered, you
would brand him or her a thief,
wouldn't you? Well, what are you
when you fine a six dollar week
worker twenty cents or fifty
cents for being a little late in the
morning and then compel the same
worker to stay twice or six times as
long overtime in the evening with
out payment?
We hear lot about unreasonable
action by labor unions, but are they
guilty of anything more unreason-
able, more unfair, more unjust than
this?
Employers cannot expect to be al
lowed to continue to browbeat work
ers. The pendulum of justice may
swing slowly, but it does swing. All
over the world there is an uprising
against unjust autoeraey. There - a
revolt against every form Of tyranny.
X The privileged class" is to lose it's
privileges. Justice between man and
man, between class and mass, is to
be enforced. The movement has made
almost unimaginable progressive
have seen it in Russia, in China, IN
the Balkans, in Great Britain, in the
United States. Right cannot be
trampled under foot forever. The
eternal scheme of things DEGREES that
Justice must triumph in the end.
Taking advantage Of poorly paid,
unprotected help is not a small mat
ter. II has far-reaching, incendiary
consequences. II breeds discomfort
and Justly so. II arouses antagonisn'
to employers and to capital-as II
ought. In the fulness If time this
discomfort, this antagonism will vent
itself in the form of legislation which
may deal none too gently with en-
ployers and capital. Those who pay
wages are rapidly losing hold of the
machinery of egisIation-elance at
Britain, at Germany at Belgium, at
Britain, at Germany, at Australia, at
New Zealand, at South Africa.
Employers who have dealt ineon-
siderately with their workers simply
because there was nobody to say
"Nay" cannot hope T. receive scrupu-
Ious consideration when these work.
ers climb into the saddle. One foot IS
already in the stirrup.
This may seem an unnecessarily
deep dissertation upon so apparently
small a matter as filming workers for
being late in the morning and fore
ing them to work late in the even
ing without compensation, But the
principle involved is not small,
il is not unimportant, il is not tran
sient II is of the eternal Verities.
To conduct a business on such lines
is disgrsceful.
Oh, yes; ! know discipline must
be strictly enforced. ! know It would
never do to let thouuhtless girls and
boys or irresponsible grown -ups
come sauntering in to work at any
old hour they saw fit. Stores must
pull Up their shades and factories
must open their doors promptly At
specified hours and it is imperative
that every man, woman and youth be
on hand at the prescribed minute.
But to deduct an hours wages For
being five minutes late and then steal
an extra hours work from everybody
or anybody is not proper way to
insure discipline. II undermines dis
epline. It begets righteous indigna-
ton and disIoyalty. What's sauce for
the goose is sauce for the gander.
The employer must play fair. He