The Connecticut labor news., 1924-07-19
UNION SCALE OF
 WAGES AND HOURS OFLABOR COMPARED
Collective Average Wage Rate Is Highest in History of
 Country.

Bulletin No. 354 U. s. Department of Labor. relating to the union scale of wages and hours of labor of nearly 100000 union members in the United States as of May E, 1923, and sh lowing comparison with proceeding years, has just been issued by the United States department of labor through the bu- reau of labor statistics. Advance fig ures of this report were published Tn the Monthly Labor Review of Septem- Der and December, 1923 and January, 1924 The complete bulletin embraces returns from 6o leading industrial ci- ties, and 12 groups of industries GOV ering 89 trades or occupations.
 In the average for all trades taken collectively the hourly wage rate on May Is, 1923, was higher in the United States than in any proceeding year, be- ing 9 per cent. higher than on May l5, 1922; 84 per cent higher than in 1917; III per cent higher than in 1915; 123 per cent higher than in 1910, and 135 per cent. higher than in 1907.
 In 1923 the regular hours of labor were at the same level as in 1922; 4 per cent. lower than in 1917 ;6 per cent. lower than in 1913; per cent. lower than in 1910, and per cent. lower than in 1907
 Sixty-eight per cent. of all the union members covered had a regular work ing week of A hours or less and Is per cent. had a 49-hour week; o4 per cent of the bakers had a 48-hour week or less o7 per cent. of the building trades members had a week of A. hours or less as had also practically all of the granite and stone workers. Among the laundry workers o5 per cent had 48-hour week. Of the me tai trade members 56 per cent had a 48-hour week and 5 per cent had a week of A hours or less. In the book and job printing trades So per cent. had a working week of A hours or less, and 10 per cent had 48-hour week In the newspaper trade B per cent. were on 48-hour week. Twenty nine per cent. had working week of over A and AS hours, and IS per cenr. udu d WOIklIlS WSSk OI ff HOuIS O1 less.
 The average rates of wages per hour as of May Is, 1923, for the country as a whole for few typical occupations were: Bakers, o2.1 cents; bricklayers, $l.321; building laborers, 72.8 cents carpenters, $1.084; plasterers, $1.306; plumbers, $1151; 1ongshoremen, 722 cents; blacksmiths, oo7 cents; machin- | ists, 82.3 cents, newspaper compositors
 on day work, $f0l3, and typesetting 1 machine operators on day work, $1.031. The average rate per hours for all | building trades covered was $1.068; for the metal trades, S3.o cents, and for the newspaper printing trades, $1.047. For all trades covered in the several indus l tries the average rate per hours was | 95-2 cents. As compared with May Is, 1913, the rate of wages per hour on May 15, 1923, showed an increase of | 176 per cent. for bakers, 91 per cent for bricklayers; 118 per cent for build | ing laborers; 104 per cent for carpen- ters; o3 per cent for plasterers; 86 per cent. for plumbers; 10o per cent for 1 longshhoremen; 103 per cent. for black | smiths; 101 per cent for machinists; 78 per cent. for newspaper compositors | on day work, and 83 per cent for type l setting machine operators on day work