The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1930-10-10
WESTINGHOUSE
CUTS W WAGES; :
MELLON PROFITS
By GRACE HUTCHINS
Federated Press q

Firing and wage cuts are the or
der of the day at the huge West
inghouse Electrical and Manufac-'
turing Co. works near Pittsburgh,
as at other plants in this industrial
center. Only one-third the form
er number of workers are now
employed. Wages are at least 10
per cent less than former rates.
The office force, was recently
cut down by 1919, and two weeks
later the remaining office workers
were given a 1919 wage cut. Wo-
men workers, hired at a--cut rate
of two-thirds of mans wages,
have replaced men in many de-
tpartments. Westinghouse plays the
old game of firing a group of
workers when they finish par
ticular job to rehire some a few
weeks later at lower wages. "Wo-
men come cheaper" and so girls
now work at almost all processes
in the rubber departments of the
Westinghouse Air Brake plants.
Westinghouse is the second
largest electrical manufacturing
company in the United States. I
now shares with General Electric
the control of the Radio Corp. o.
America. In addition to more thar
a score of plants in a dozen indus
trial centers, the company nov
6 owns four large broadcasting sta
tions. 1t planned to spend So
> 100000 in 1880 for Improve
:; ments."
During the very months of 1913
while workers wages were cut
the rate of dividends going to car
!. italist stockholders was increase
: from 81 a quarter per share t
= SIPS quarter per share-a 25e
= increase. Dividends distributed
1929 totalled over $11,000,000. Tn
y Mellon family is we'll represente
= on the Westinghouse board of d
= = rectors, while Andrew Mellon hin
- self as u. S. secretary of treasul
y paid back to the Washington
- company nearly 100000, feder
. tax refund in 1929.
= New machines have displact
~ many workers in Washington
= plants. One such machine in S
ie parts, called the Aut-au-Mat, r
Gently installed in the Westin
house Air Brake Co. at Wilmer
ing Pa, does the work of 80 me
every costly, it's true" explai
the young engineer, "but the il
. tial cost, you understand, is ma
- up many times over in wages"
~ In one great room of electric
On machinery. high-powered autom
;o ic switch boxes, one young b
= alone tends the entire equipme
to "But what's up-to-date today
he obsolete tomorrow" continues
engineer and quotes the exam
nm of Inland Steel and Dupont Co.
LOT Indiana Harbor, Ind. where bl
. furnaces which produced a me-
Ire mum of 900 tons a day in 1
by now produce 1000 and more t
Il, day.
ny At the Westinghouse foundl
lgs the heat of furnaces and hot S
Gov mixed together is enough to
haust the workers in a short ii
be The atmosphere is tight and S
he ing. In the rubber departmt
girl workers, dressed in over
De must stand the smell of he;
nts rubber, enough to knock you
- err" Negro workers are used
OTIS the worst jobs where the heat
SUIT, fieriest and the danger of ;
-. dents is greatest. A typical
oi0 cident occurred the other day v
Just visitor was being shown thrC
rac. the plant.
A vat of bubbling, fiery lii
nus borne aloft by a carrier, was
oalI being lowered into place whe
began to leak and spatter in
MY directions. Sparks struck
sset across the plant. The men !:
tically signalled the carrier
AIM finally heard and saw and rem
the vate. The visitor was hu
= along past the accident and
- of the department.