The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-07-21
By ROSE BARS

BY ROSE BARS
About 1900 workers are employed
at the Hotel New Yorker, at saith
ST. and Eighth Ave-, New York City.
These are employed variously as
mattresses, chambermaids and in the
laundries. There are men and
women workers of all ages, nationall-
ties and races.
Even in the so-called good times"
workers in the hotel were getting
starvation wages and living from
hand to mouth.
Conditions have now become even
more unbearable, with repeated
wage-cuts and, in addition. the
bosses force workers to contribute
out of their mere pittance--to vari-
Gus fake institutions.
Already this year wages have been
cut is per cent. This June a cut OF
per cent took place. Talks and ap-
peals are made to workers to have
them accept these cuts "good-na-
turedly"
Times are bad" counsel the bosses,
"and, besides, there are enough job
less around to fill your places"
Petty Robbery.
Not only wage-cuts do the Hotel
New Yorker bosses put across, but
they make each worker give 10 cents
weekly to the ''block- aiders." In this
way the workers are being MIXED
every week, under one pretense or
another, out of their starvation
wages. Should any worker dare to
contribute, or protest, he or she is
Immediately fired and the rest are
warned that mo kickers are wanted
here
May 18th the bosses informed the
workers that each would have to take
one day off a week without pay, be
cause times are so bad"
Mattresses receive $3.50 for two
weeks work. They get two uniforms
weekly-for the use Of which they are
charged 20 cents daily. Formerly they
paid is cents a day for this service"
Where they were previously charged
Is cents a day for towels, this has
now "magnanimously" been reduced
S cents. In word: with the bosses
taking something off the pay for
each of these items, it almost appears
that workers are Shaving for nothing.
Stale Food
One group of workers gets two
meals a day; another, only one meal.
The hotel has an eating place for its
workers. But seldom do the workers
taste fresh food. Mostly it is left
overs already served to the wealthy
parasites who are guests" Some
times the meat is a week old.
The laundries are four floors I'M
foreground. The ceiling is extremely
low with pipes overhead. The walls
are bleak looking, the floors of stone.
Not one open window through which
to breath fresh air. Always the steam
from the machines and pipes and the
stencil from the wash hovers over
head. The air is damp. The work.
ers in the laundry battle in sweat,
nearing suffocation amidst these
hellish surroundings.
The wages of these laundry work.
ers are from So to s12 They are
forced to work the whole day Sun
day, the last bit of energy driven
from them. Although they once re-
ceived one meal day in the hotel,
this, too, has now been taken from
them.
No Sun or Air
The packing department, offices,
ETC., are off in corners where no sun
ever reaches. Here workers are forced
to work all day under burning cleo
Itric lights, without air. Bad as it
usually is, on hot days one can suf-
tfocate in these departments. In fact
this entire section looks like prison
There is in the hotel cooling sys-
tom and other conveniences-for the
Wnovc With T .ouir0 Tn