The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1915-06-04
WAGES AND HOURS OF
LABOR IN THE IRON
AND STEEL INDUSTRY

The United States bureau of labor
statistics has just issued a report
bulletin 1851 on wages and hours of
labor in the principal productive occu-
pations in nine departments of the
iron and steel industry of the United
States for the year 1913. This Is in
continuation of a previous report on
the same subject bulletin 1871, data
from which are incorporated in the
present report for the sake of COM
parison, thus presenting a complete
statement as to rates of wages per
hour, hours of labor per week, and
full-time weekly earnings from 1907
to 1913 for three departments, and
from 1910 to 1913 for six departments.
The report is based on data for May
in each year, obtained from the pay
rolls of representative establishments
in the various centers of the industry.
A marked increase in the rates OF
pay in the iron and steel industry was
made in the early part of 1913. AS a
result, in three departments for which
reports for seven years have been OBJ
tained-blast furnaces, Bessemer con-
yerters, and bar mills-full-time week
ly earnings in 1913, as shown by
combination of earnings in the prin-
cipal productive occupations, were
from sc to 26.4 per cent higher than
in any one of the six years preceding.
In the remaining six departments COW
cred by the report-open hearth furn-
aces, blooming mills, plate mills, stan
dard rail mills, sheet mills and tin
plate mills-for which reports have
been obtained back to 1910 only, full
time weekly earnings in 1913 were
from 3.8 to 1873 per cent higher than
in any one Of the three years preced-
ing.
Wages Fall Between 1910 and 1918
Under Republican Rule.
Wages per hour in 1913 show even
greater per cent of increase over
1907 or 1910 than do weekly earnings,
as the latter were materially affected
by the reduction in hours of labor. In
the selected occupations combined, for
the blast furnace, Bessemer, and bar
mill departments there was reduc-
| ton in hours of labor per week of
from 16 to 2.9 per cent between 1907
and 1913, and, except open hearth
furnaces and plate mills, all depart
ments show a reduction in hours be-
tween 1910 and 1913
There was a marked decrease in
seven-day work between 1907 and 1918,
many establishments having put into
effect a plan whereby relief gangs
were provided to take the place OF
regular employees in seven-day occu-
pations one day of rest in each week.
Blast furnaces, which must be in con-
tinuous operation day and night seven
days per week, naturally show great
er decrease in seven-day work than
any other department. The proper
ton of seven-day workers in the prin-
cipal productive occupations of blast
| furnaces fell from 97.2 per cent in
| 1907 to 1913 per cent in 1914 re-
duction of ia per cent In the Bess-
emer converting department, the re-
duction of seven-day workers was 1873
per cent between 1907 CAD and 1913
| (10.S) At open hearth furnaces, the
proportion Of seven-day work varies
according to the volume of business
done and in this one department there
was a slight increase I'll per cent? in
1913 as compared with 1910. In bloom
ing mills there was reduction of 5.5
per cent between 1910 and 1918, and
in other departments the proportion of
seven-day work is very small.
Similar Number of Hours Work.
DissimIar Pay Check
| A similarity in earnings by no means
indicates similarity in full-time
weekly hours; for example, it will be
noticed that blast furnace keepers and
sheet mill doublers have almost iden-
teal full-time weekly earnings, but
the working time for these earnings
differs greatly in the two occupations,
the average full-time hours per week
of keepers being S19, while that of
doublers is only APT.
The rate of wages paid common la
borers is to a large extent basic rate
from which are determined the rates
for other occupations requiring little
skill, hence the rate for common labor
sof importance beyond the limits of
the occupation proper. The rate per
hour is practically the same in all de-