The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-06-10
COMP ANY jim
CROWS WORKERS
EVEN IN toilet
IS Percent of Slaves
Are Negroes
by a Worker Correspondent

NORFOLK, Va. by MaiD.-Let
us open the door and see what exists
for the workers below the Mason
and Dixon line, the paradise of the
master class, the land of jim Grow
and of lynching.
l will now describe the conditions
under which the workers slave in
the Planters Mfg. Co., of Port Nor
folk Va. There are three other
Planters plants, one in Norfolk, an
ether in Churchland, and one Pughs'
factory. This company manufac-
lures fruit and vegetable boxes,
barrels, crates, etc. In the Port
Norfolk plant they manufacture
fruit and vegetable boxes.
So Per Cent Negro Slaves.
There are from $50 to 400 workers
employed here, IS per cent of them
being Negro workers. Here Negro
woman workers recei-e a grand sum
Of $1,10 q day time work, for 10 hours
a day. Young workers from 10 to
Is years of age receive 171a cents an
hour. Adult workers, both white
and black get the following wages
in their respective departments.
Warehouse, 20 cents an hour; roll
ing the logs, % cents; rish-saw
operators, 2219 and 25 cents an
hour; their helpers, 2212 an hour;
helpers on threshing machines, 221l
cents; truck drivers, 221a cents an
hour.
Negro Women Slaves.
The Negro woman workers sort
ing and mailing the basket slaves re-
ceive 312 cents a dozen, averaging
Ia to II cents an hour, piece work.
Staple-machine operators get from
$3.50 to So day, working 10 and
II hours day on piece work. Their
girl helpers make an average of
41.20 to $3.50 day piece work. The
piece workers, in order to make q
-ew cents more, come an hour be-
fore starting time 1--WE start 7 a. m
and knock off $3.50 p. n.y. and often
work during the half hour lunch
lime and after. $50 p. m.
Jim Crow Toilet.
Now as to the sanitary conditions.
There is no wash room, no towel or
soap to wash our dirty hands and
face. There are no lockers and our
rags are therefore thrown all over
the dusty boards or window sills.
The back house (toilet) is out in
the yard and is seldom cleaned, Civ
ing off a terrible odor thruout the
plant. Of course they are Jim Crow
back houses. Now if a worker should
stay in the back house for more
than three or four minutes, he OF
he is locked a half hours wages;
this likewise goes if a worker is lac
a minute or two.
There is also company insurance
scheme which permits every worker
to join after year of continuous
slavery.
Workers are leaving this hell-hole
daily, only to find themselves walk
ing the streets for another master
who does not come for their service
and naturally the workers come
back to their old jobs again.
'Kind" to Old Slaves.
In order to give the old employees
a chance to make few extra pen
MES the company gives them plenty
of overtime. There is no time and
a half here for overtime. Most every
evening these old workers slave
from 7 a. m. to $3.50 p. m. or as late
as 11:30 p. m. This is considered a
favor by the company.
There are more than eight COM
pany stool pigeons in this plant
working on both the day and night
shifts.
| am working in this hell hole for
% cents an hour, but l am doing all
| can to wake up these underpaid
slaves to organize into a militant,
revolutionary labor union. I've dis
tributed about 100 copies of Labor
Unity within the plant and they were
all eagerly read by the Negro and
white workers.