The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-04-30
SILK
WORKERS DRIVEN
BY MILL BOSSES
l Man Tends 8 Machines
for Pitiable Pay
(By a Worker Correspondent

~AI%AIAJAN l. ~ w ~ a. Wy hAciil -
The Arcadia Knitting Mills, Inc.
moved its plant from Brooklyn t
this city about seven months ago
The Arcadia Mills are owned by the
four Reinhard brothers and some
smaller stockholders.
Cheap, Labor.
Now as to why they moved to this
city. They said that labor was cheap
here. Allentown is a good flourishing
place for the textile, shoe, steel and
auto truck industrial magnates.
The Arcadia company is notorious
for classifying their piece-work sys-
tenn on weekly scale system. This
system is established in the winders'
department where about 200 yo17~
girls and women workers are en-
ployed. Recently the company Gu
these young workers wages one half
cent per pound BY this means the
company pockets about nine dollars
month on these workers.
Formerly they got eight cents 9
pound. The women protested this
wage cut but the boss shot back a.
them, well, if you don't like it, you
can go home We can get plenty of
women workers from New York City
and vicinity on "a hours notice"
Oil Silk.
In this department also are a group
of young workers, boys, from IL to
16 years of age, and a few adults
whose job it rs to oil the silk to make
it soft for the winders.
This oil produces blood poisoning
in many of the boys when it soaks
thru their clothes. These boys also
YORK Y5fr 8 nine zig 6. and one half hours day
get $40 as starters. But they are
usually beginners" for several
months before they get more by per-
sonal appeal The older workers If
this department get from S12 to 81
week. Some adult workers receive
the same amounts. wss
This company has two types Of
knitting machines, the Wildman, cleo
trio, and the Tompkins, steam. Here
the workers labor for IL hours day
for six full days week. The opera
tors on the first type of machine get
only $25 per week for this, or less
than 43 cents an hour. The Tompk:ns
machine operators get few cents
more.
8 Machines, l Man.
Another established system is thai
If firing +ho v-o~'-o"s fo~ e'',H~Nin"
the silk. Each worker is allowed two
holes as a limit A knitter recently
made more than the limit. He was
charged with 80 yards of smashed
silk. SO he was fined the sum OF $13
The knitters here are running as
many as eight machines.
When the worker gets job here
he is promised $1S week but he ha'
to consent to work overtime. Other
: wise he doesn't get the job. ;
The boss who does the hiring use
various tricks. Several months agp
this happened to workers who wer
lucky enough to get jobs. The hiring
boss hired about ten workers witt
the promise of $18 week. So the
worked for one full pay term Of L
days, or over 126 hours. When pa.
day came. the workers were SIR
prised to find their pay short. Prac
: .tically half of tn dye house fore
) was affected by this.
Threaten Strike.
Then what happened? 81 th
workers whose pay was short wen
directly to the boss and demanded q
, explanation of the pay system. Thi
S his explanation. He, the boss, h"
, never promised to pay the above hu
only the usual SIS for beginners. BIZ
+ he couldn't fool the workers. The
. got on his heels and demanded tn
8 promised $18 or else threatened in
!, mediate strike. He finally gave
: and granted their demands.
t Just week ago the workers dar7
a to 20 to the boss for waga increae
: of S25 week. But evidently he ha
: already been informed by one {
their stool pigeons. Those who spok
r for an increase were immediatel
s fired. They were about 1 in all.
. Finishers' CDsaI:tions.
= Now as to the finishing worker
= conditions. In this department thel
are about so young workers emplo!
n ed on a 10 hour, sometimes an
: hour, shift. The ages of these worl
f ers range from 10 to 20 years. The
e get from $12 to SIG to start wit
/ Sometimes this start" lasts from 81
d to eight weeks, however, before the
oet dollar raise a week.