The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-28
LAUNDRY SLAVES
ARE EXPLOITEDON
WAGONS IN SHOP
Girls Faint in Heat Of
100 Degrees
CBy a Worker Correspondent

by a Worker Correspondent
Having read the Worker Core
spondence of Comrade Suskin in the
Daily Worker of Aug. 9 about the
laundry industry and the working
conditions, ] would like to add some
important data which he forgot to
mention.
During the last ten years the
laundry industry has grown to be
one of the biggest and richest in
dustries of this city. The follow
ing fact illustrates how quick the
bosses get rich.
$4,000 a Week.
Eight years ago, when I started
to work for one of the present very
big laundries, it was a poor place,
washing about 900 bundles. At the
present time its size has increased
to a two-story building covering
four blocks. 1t washes as many as
1000 bundles of clothes, amounting
to some $4,000 worth of business
per week. And it is estimated to
be worth $1,500,000 in value.
The laundry employs 900 inside
help and So outside drivers. This
is only one example of the many
big laundries of greater New York.
What is the reason that the.
bosses become so rich and enlarge
their plants to such an extent in so
short a time? Because of the in
human exploitation of the laundry
workers and the drivers.
Comrade Suskin has already in
dictated that the average wage of
the girls in the mangle room ranges
from nine to ten dollars per week
for a ten hour day. The average
wage of the kitchen help is between
$40 and $23 per week, the hours be-
ing unlimited with no extra pay for
overtime. But if worker is out
half day on account of sickness, this
is taken out of his pay envelope.
Temperature 100.
Comrade Suskin is also right
about the miserable sanitary condi-
tions in the laundries. In the after
noon of a very hot day, l drove up
in front of the laundry where l
work. To my great establishment
five of the girls were lying on the
trucks outside in a fainting condi-
ton. inquired of an elderly Irish
working woman what had happened.
And she told me that they had
tainted because of the heat. "What
is the wonder with the humidity in
side the mangle room at 80 or above
and the heat above 1902" There is
no ice water for the girls to drink.
The board of health ordered the
bosses to make windows, but for
known reasons the inspectors seem
to be lenient with the bosses and no
windows have been made yet. The
same is true for most of the in
dustry.
$50 Organized.
How about labor organizations in
this industry? Practically none.
Out of the 1000 laundry drivers of
this city, only between $50 and 300
are organized. In laundry drivers
local union of the American Fede-
ration of Labor. Just think of it,
OUT of 1000 drivers only 300 are or
ganized And their conditions are
just as bad as those of the other
workers. The driver is the back
bone of every laundry, he uses his
skill and ability to get the trade
and to hold it. He works about 70
hours week and makes from $50
to $35. The driver is often forced
to pay for lost articles out of his
wages because the bosses, regard
less Of their big profits, refuse to
make good in such cases.
Organize.
Workers of the laundries, the
time has come for us to think about
our conditions. Our bosses become
millionaires out of our sweat, but
we still slave under the worst sani-
tary conditions for starvation wages
and with no labor organization to
protect our interests. Think about
union in our industry.
R. @.
EDITORS NOTE:-For obvious
reasons the name of this Worker
Correspondent and his laundry are
not published. Many workers are