The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-05
RY. EXPRESS CO.
WANTS EN- Fresh
TO DRIVE Them
Gives Extras Short
Shifts

1--WE continue to publish the inter-
esting letter from a worker cores
pondent who slaves at the American
Express Company depots in Chi
cago. The next instalment, to ap-
pear in an early issue, will be the
concluding one)
The Illinois free employment Of
fees in Chicago are largely supply
depots for part time labor. About
60 per cent of the jobs filled by
them are temporary and rs per cent
are for less than one day. There
are dozens of firms in Chicago who
call these offices every week for
men whom they keep only for a
few days and several call several
times a week. I believe the express
agency is alone in hiring several
crews a day and each crew for a
short period. Neither do they rely
upon the free employment offices
for men except in emergencies. They
hire men at their own depots where
there are usually men waiting in
abundance.
By hiring at their own sheds the
agency can make sure that no ex-
ira gets in more than one shift in
"a hours no matter how short the
shift. They demand fresh men
every shift. Only at three sheds
do they make practice of work.
ing these men the full four hours,
the Northwestern, C. B. and Q. and
the Polk st. depots. The last two
work all shifts four hours, the first
named shed works the late after
noon and early evening shifts four
hours each; all other shifts from
one to three hours. The shifts at
the other sheds vary from less than
one hour to few minutes less than
four hours.
Want Men Fresh-TO Slave Harder
About 60 per cent of the extras
will average around two and half
hours per day and even at that get
crooked out of a few minutes each
shift. 1t is worked like this. All
extras punch time clock yet at
the Pennsylvania and at BIT Wells
st. A notation is made on the card
docking the worker for the time
taken to walk from the clock to
where he works and back to the
clock again when he is laid off. The
deduction at the Pennsylvania is
about fifteen minutes; at Wells St.,
from five to eight minutes. The
distance to walk in either case does
not exceed 300 feet.
AS mentioned before, no extras are
allowed to work more than one shift.
The men being fresh permits speed
that could not be maintained by men
working long shifts. The slave
driving tactics of the old Mississippi
River levee drivers is used by the
foremen at all times. The men are
plainly told that they must "Hit the
ball' if they expect to get on again.
If he does speed up enough to sat
isfy he may get on the same hour
next day if sufficient work has piled
up. A train coming in late or some
other excuse may postpone the time
of hiring or a decrease in freight
might cause the number of men
hired to be cut down in numbers.
Plenty of Slaves.
That men can be found who will
work under such circumstances is
sad commentary on the conditions
of the workers in America. Yet this
company has no trouble in securing
plenty of men at all times, as a few
instances will prove. The Illinois
Central hires about sixty men to
unload train that arrives about
l a. m. when on time. Many times
it is late from one to three hours.
No men are hired until the cars are
set at the platform. Yet the COM
pany seldom experiences any diff
Guilty in getting men even at those
hours and it is no uncommon thing
for 100 men to be turned away.