The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-23
Declining Wages

dressing rooms or wash rooms.
These are the sanitary and health
conditions which prevail in one of
the most important American in
dustries which the capitalist class
of the United States speaks with
pride and points out to the auto
mobile industry as an example to
prove the soundness of the Ameri-
can plan of production and the open
shop.
Wages.
1t is very hard to ascertain the
exact wage that the workers receive
in the various branches of the in
dustry, first, because in all the re-
ports made by the various companies
on payments on wages, they usually
include executives and the staff
supervisors which swells up the
average wage of the workers in the
industry. Second, the wage COM
piled by the manufacturers associa-
ton or by the labor department
statistics, include all the bonuses
and extra premiums that the
workers get.
According to the National Auto
mobile Chamber of Commerce, 1922
males received from 40 cents ar
hour for labor to SO cents an hour
for letterers, varnishers, stripers
which used to be very high skilled
trade. Now machines are used to dc
that work.
In 1925 males received from 81
cents for laborers to $1.05 for ding
men. Women received in 1922 6e
cents and lathe operators from &c
to 50 cents.
The average full time earnings
for males was in 1922, 33 cents anc
in 1925, So cents.
Low Average.
According to the figures of the
N tiona Industrial Conference
Board, the average wage for 1915
was S34.19, the average weekly earn.
ings for all the workers for the
first quarter of 1926 was $32.87.
Unskilled Male. .$27.63
Women ........... 1871
Skilled male ...... 34.81
In 1922 there were paid out ir
wages $685., 823,733 to 324,665 work.
ers which made an average wage OF
S1804.39 against $1,000, which was
the average wage paid out in 1920
the boom year in the automobile in.
dustry.
According to the survey made by
the executive council of the Ameri.
can Federation of Labor in the auto
mobile factories of Detroit for the
month of July 1926, the boom veal
in the automobile industry, common
labor inside was paid so cents ar
hour on the average. Pig-iron leaders
reecievd so cents, cupo-molders from
60. cents to 81, assemblers in auto.
mobile plants from 70 to 90 cents
asemblers outside from SO to sc
cents, electricians from 70 to 7s
cents, machinists from 70 to 7(
cents, shop carpenters from so tt
80 cents, hand truckers from as te
90 cents and electric truckers from
55 to IS cents. They only maximum
wage rates that were above 81 ar
hour were $1.15 maximum for crane
men and $1.25 for wood pattern.
makers. Maximum wages of 81 ar
hour were possible to coremakers
machine molders, hand floor molders
on heavy work, machine operators
on production and acetylene welders
Some of the classes of workers il
Detroit factories who start at 81
cents an hour are time clerks, oilers
stock chasers, millwright helpers
steamfitter helpers, electrician he q
ers, blacksmith helpers, firemen
truck drivers, crane operators, anC
several classes of machine operators
In certain factories a rate of 40 Il
as cents is paid to beginners il
some of these classes and to work
ers in various other grades.
Profits.
According to the report of tn,
Wall Street Journal of June 1928
five companies in the automobil,
industry: General Motors, Chrysler
Hudson, Studebaker, Packard, hav,
increased their net income $50 pc
cent in 3 years.
The profits in these concerns wer,
in 1926, 1929, 4S1 900, in 1927, 1914,
$4,000 of which the General Motor
alone made a net income availabl
for dividends S235,104,826.
However, the wages Of the work
ers are gradually going down. Ac
cording to the figures Of the Ma
tional Automobile Chamber of Com
merce, the averages yearly earning
of all those employed in the industr,
is now about $1,000 a year which i
5000 less than the average for 1926
The wages of the masses of work
ers excluding executives and super
visors staff, included in the genera
average range from about 500 t,
$50 during the week of so hours.
Since the Federal Labor Depart
ment investigated wages in the in
dustry in 1925, finding that thu
average full time weekly wage TO
women was s23 and for men $50, tn,