Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-04-17
10000 PACKING
HOUSE MEN GET
INCREASE IN Pay

CHICAGO, April 14.-"Industrial
democracies" in the big Five"
packing plants of the. country have
restored directly to $4,000 workers
and indirectly to 10000 more-the
per cent of their wages which the
same plants legislators took away
in November, 1921. Announcemt t
last night that the plant assemblies
had voted the pay increase marks
the second big step by these organ
izations instituted by the packers as
an alternative for official unionism.
The action of the packing house
councils followed negotiations so
quietly conducted that the first pub
lie intimation of an upward read
iustment of wages was the an
nouncement that it had been voted.
The five companies directly af-
fected-Armour, with the Morris &
Co. plants it recently purchased;
Swift, Wilson and Cudahy-employ
$4,000 workers. Independent COM
panies and subsidiaries, which are
expected to follow suit, as the big
five set the wage standard, will
bring in another 10000 men and
women.
| In addition to the average in
crease of 10 per cent in wages the
plant assemblies also agreed on va
cations with full pay, or extra pay
at the usual rate if the worker
| chooses to remain at work during
his vacation period. The wage
scale is based on Il 54-hour week.
with overtime after ten hours IN
any one day to be paid for at the
rate of time and a half The forty
hours week guarantee is to con-
tinue, and double pay is promised
for Sundays and holidays.
The increases will add more than
$4,000 yearly to the payrolls of
! Armour & Co, with its $4,000 work
ers. Swift & Co, announced 5000
| employees here, and 1000 in other
parts of the country will benefit.
In Chicago, the increase will give
employees now getting S71a cents an
hour a five-cent raise; semi-skilled
workers will get four cents more );
skilled workers three cents and
girls five cents.
| increases Ill Olu6IS VII OCpNllt
somewhat on local condition. The
piece work rates will be adjusted
so as not to be more than the rate
paid November IS, 1921, or ten per
cent more than the present rate.
I'm our negotiations with the
committees from the plant assem-
blies we had number of factors to
bear very strongly in mind" G. f,
Swift, vice president of Swift Co.,
said in commenting on the in
creases. Our responsibility for pro-
tecting the investment of $4,000
shareholders is very great. In adj
dition to that, there are producers
of livestock on one hand, anxious
to obtain the highest cash price for
their animals, and on the other
hand the consumers of meat. eager
to buy at the lowest possible price.
+ I'VE believe that the increases
given are such as will be favorable
Ito everyone and we are grattfled
that we were able to negotiate di-
4 rectly with the committees from our
plant assemblies on a matter of
such great Importance. We believe
it proves the value of this method
of handling all matters pertaining
to our employees"
The increases for employees Of the
five companies will become effective
next Monday.
The Armour & Co. negotiations
were said to be typical of all the
ii companies. A general conference
board. composed equally of repre-
sentatives of the management and
the employees, reviewed statistics
bearing on production costs and the
cost of living and made their deci
sion accOrdinclv.