The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-03-09
REPULSE ASSAULTS
ON EIGHT-HOUR LAW
FOR WOMEN WORKERS

OLYMPIA, Feb. 28.-That there
are to be no changes in the woman's
eight-hour day law of this state was
made plain at a public hearing before
the committee of Labor and Labor
Statistics in the senate chamber here
Monday night.
At each session of the legislature
since the enactment of this law IN
1911 some element of the employers
has come before the legislature ask
ing that the law be opened up to
certain emergency conditions under
which they would be permitted to
work ten-hour day. Always these
proposals have met with bitter OPP
position from the labor organizations
and the women of the entire state,
and always they have been defeated.
Labor has held, and with good reason,
too, that to open the law up with any
provisions for emergencies would be
fatal to the law.
This time it was the candy manu-
facturers of the state who came ask
ing that the labor commissioner be
empowered to declare an emergency
in certain contingencies by which for
a period of three months prior to the
Christmas holidays these manufac
turers might be allowed to work their
women employees ten hours per day
at rate of pay equal to time and
one-half for the extra two hours.
The delegation from the candy
manufacturers who came here in the
interests of the bill were representa-
tive of all the larger cities of the
state had all the appearance of being
the handsomest, best fed and best
groomed delegation that has visited
the state capitol this session. Their
business must be prosperous, and
in fact they admitted that the de-
mands made upon them at the
Christmas season were much greater
tim they could fulfill-therefor their
desire to work their women en-
ployees longer hours. They also ad-
mitted that they had in some cases
violated the law this past season.
This prompted Senator Fairchild,
chairman of the committee, to ask
them if they were here now asking
the legislature to validate their law
less acts. Fairchild "kidded" the gen.
tlemen throughout the entire hearing,
yet sent them away in spirit of
good nature, Notwithstanding that
they were given plainly to under
stand that there was not the slight
est possibility of the bill receiving
the least favorable support.
There were present in the interest
of the eight hour law, Miss Alice
Lord and Miss Ida Levi of the Seat
tie Mattresses Alliance; Mrs. Trum-
bull, representing the federated
women's clubs; Mrs. jackson Sill
baugh, Mrs. Udahl and Mrs. Headlee
of the state industrial welfare COM
mission; H. L. Hughes, legislative
agent of the Washington State Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, and Messrs. Miller
and McKillop of the Seattle Central
Labor Council
All of these speakers took the
ground that the woman's 8-hour law
had been written in to the statutes
of this state for the fundamental pur-
pose of protecting the health of the
women in industry, and that under
no circumstances should the employ
ers be permitted to work them in ex-
cess of the eight hours. Pay of time
and one-half for overtime made no
appeal to them. They also held that
to open up the law to any emergency
conditions affecting one line, would in
equal justice entitle all other employ
ers to emergency clauses, and that as
a natural result the time would be
short until there would be no eight
hour law for women in reality.
The entire hearing was conducted
in spirit of absolute good feeling,
and there is no doubt but that the
employers themselves left the hear
ing feeling a strong conviction that
they had made mistake in even sug-
costing that the law be opened to this
emergency. All of them at least ad-
mitted that the law had proved a
great benefit to women workers and
that it should be carefully preserved.
1t is more than likely that this will
prove to be the last attempt that the
employers of the state, or any branch
of them, will again ask any amend
ments to the law that would tend to
limit its scope or weaken it in any
way.