The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-24

are dye workerS-of which about go
per cent are women, young and child
workers, under sixteen years Of age.
The largest shops are the Weidman's
which is a branch of the United Piece
Dye Works, the strongest dye cor
poration in America and probably in
the world. Next comes the National
Piece Dye Works with four branches
in Paterson. These two companies
monopolize the dyeing industry in
Paterson and the United States.
Dye shops are hells in the real
sense of the word-thirteen to eight
cen hours is the average working
time and cases have been recorded
whre workers have shaved SO hours at
stretch, going home to sleep for IL
hours and coming back to do it over
again. Wages are from IS cents and
lower per hour paid to the young and
women workers. The highest work
er receives is so cents per hour and
very few get that.
The room where the silk is dyed
can be very well hkened to the in
ferno" pictured by the priest and
which they promise to every dye
worker if he fights for better con-
ditions. Steam filled with the chlor-
inc and aniline poisons is so thick
that if you place your hand a foot
away from your face it will be i'm
/ possible to see it. In this fog dan
/ gerous machines are operated which
results in great many accidents.
The floors made of stone are
ankledeep with dyes, causing the
workers to wear thick shoes and
boots. Even these are no protection
since the acids eat through, causing
sores on the feet. Acids splatter al
over the clothes, eating through, into
the skin Lunch hours are unknown
in the dye shops. Food has to be
taken along and eaten while tending
the machine, taking in poisonous dyes
with the food Decent sanitary
facilities are unknown to the dye
workers. Very few and no places al
all to wash. Toilets are of the worst
kinds and absolutely no dressins
rooms.
Dynamite rooms, where the silk i.
tin-weighted, i. g., the tin is addec
to the silk, worse than any othei
department. A few months work il
the dynamite room makes a physica
wreck out of any person.
Finishing rooms where the silk il
washed, the gloss put in and stretched
to the correct proportion, contains
the most dangerous machines. Youn,
and women workers are employed
here because they are quicker ant
more supple. just few weeks ag,
a case was reported of woman Will,
working at frame in the Nationa
Piece Dye Works at Hawthorne hat
her hand terribly burned The fran,
winch stretches the silk has drum
filled with steam. This woman
hand was caught between the drum
and the roller. and was being burned
away. The foreman of the room re
fused to let the workers break tn,
machine in order to get the hant
loose, but instead he kept the WON
ans hand in the drum for 10 min
utes because he tried to take, tn
machine apart Out of desperatio,
worker picked up bar and brok
the machine. Cases as this are hap
pening daily.
Speed-up and naturalization /
down to perfection. Machines ar
speeded up continually. New ma
chlnes are constantly being intro
duced such as the new machine re
Gently brought into the Textile Dive
ing Corporation which combines tn
action OF 4 machines. 1t took 10 me,
TO run these machines but toda,
TINS one machine is run by two men
Elght men are thrown out on tn
street to starve. Unemployment i
rife among the dye workers. Abou
30 per cent are out of jobs and prac
tically starving. On the other hant
the companies are making more an,
more profits. Millions upon million
Tor the greedy owners every wear
Ihey probably don't even know wha
the inside of dye house looks like.
Today these dye bosses are attend
Today these dye bosses are at
tempting to kill textile workers an,
70 smash the National Textile Work
ers Union. because these workers an,
the union had threatened some of tn
bloody profits of these greedy para
sites. These dye house owners vii
not stop at murder in order to pro
teot their profits. They are prepare.