New-York tribune., 1920-05-16
100000 Cloth
Mill Workers
Get Wage Raise
Increases Amounting to
Million Dollars Il Week
Are Announced by New
England Textile Centers
Scale in Effect May 81
Cotton and Wool Industries
Affected: Advance Since
Is Reported Over 1907

BOSTON. May 15.-A wave of wage
eAv-rcc announcements TO become eff
.e,...,e Say 81 rolled in to-day from
New England textile centers, indicat-
ing that the increase would extend to
virtually all the 100000 textile opera
tives in the district. Wherever the
amount of the advance was definitely
stated it was Is per cent
This will bring the level Of textile
wages, already at the highest stage in
history, more than 100 per cent higher
than it was four years ago. Approx
mately 81 100000 will be added to the
weekly pay rolls of New England mills
by the latest raise. If the sequence of
events in connection with previous
wage increases holds good in this case
the advance will extend to thousands
of employees in other sections also.
This sharing with the operatives Of
profits of textile enterprises comes
after many of the companies have de-
clared considerable extra dividends os
stock or casu to their stockholders.
Prices for the products are still the
highest ever received, although in re-
cent weeks it is said decreased de
mand has set in, and cancellations of
orders have been received in sone
cases.
Fall River Advances
The first announcement in connec-
tion with the present movement among
cotton manufacturers, who employ
100000 of the total of 100000 textile
workers in this section, was made re-
Gently by the grant Of Is per cent at
Fall River, where there are $4,000
operatives. In this New Bedford joined
yesterday. bringing $4,000 additional
workers into the higher Wage levels.
The American Woolen Company, with
fifty mills employing $4,000 persons in
New England. New York and Pennsyl-
vana, was the first to act among the
woolen manufacturing interests. When
other woolen manufacturers learned
to-day of the posting notices of a 10
per cent advance in the American mills,
they said similar action would be
taken by them.
Among the individual announcements
made to-day were those of the Airing
ton Mills, at Lawrence. employing 1000
persons. N. 7. Stevens & Co, which
has 1000 operatives AZ plants in An
dover, Haverhill and Franklin. n. H.;
Nashua Manufacturing Company Of
Nashua. n. j.. 4,o00; Pepperell Manu-
featuring Company, of Biddeford, Me,
and York Mills, at Saco, Me-, employing
Lawrence, with $500 operatives, and
mills at Lowell employing 1900.
Within short time the United Tex
tile Workers of America have pre-
sented demands for an advance of II 12
per cent, and the Amalgamated Textile
Workers have asked for a 80 per cent
raise. The Fall River unions have
voted to accept the increase granted.
s25 Average Weekly Wage
This latest advance will give to the
100000 cotton mill operatives in this
section, skilled and unskilled, an aver
age weekly wage of SIS, which is an ad
vance of SO to $3.50 over the present
average, according to figures compiled
by manufacturing interests. To mule
spinners, loom fixers and skilled weav-
ers, the higher paid workers. however.
the raise will amount to $3.50 or Sc a
week, and will bring the average to
workers in these classes to from $35 to
$45 weekly.
The Is per cent advance given at this
time, according to manufacturers tlg-
ures, is equivalent to about 35 per cent
of the pre-war rates. In the cotton in
dustry it was said that tht latest ad-
vance made total average increase OF
about 175 per cent since 1915.
Wages in the woolen industry up to
this time. but not including the pro-
posed advance, have increased by ap-
proximately $50 per cent over those of
1915, according to calculations by man
ufacturng interests.
Common labor inenost cases is no"
getting more than 45 cents an hour
according to these figures, and will be
getting more than so cents under the
advanced scale.