The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-24

md bonus. Altho the wage scales set
agreement Of 1881, the present agree
Sment If carried into practice, would
mean a considerable raise in wages
for the workers.
The attractive agreements signed
after the strikes Of 1880 and 1888 we're
evaded and violated by individual
negotiations which the bosses forced
on the workers The ILGW. in
collision with the bosses, took no
steps to enforce the agreements.
Hardly any semblance Of conditions
or wages in the agreements were put
into effect. The agreements remained
on paper.
Loopholes in Wage Scale
Not only will it be necessary to be
vigilant for the enforcement Of the
provisions of the present agreement
but many loopholes exist, which must
be guarded against. For example.
Wage scales, according to the agree
ment, will differ depending on the
quality of the garment handled by
the workers. The differential in wages
for operators and finishers on
cheaper and better garments is con-
siderable. According to the agree
ment, piece workers on garments over
1915 will get 80 cents, pressers S1.00
and f1nishers 65 cents per hour. Oper-
ators on cheaper garments will get
rs cents and pressers IS cents. There
is nothing to prevent the bosses from
making the lower scale the general
scale for all workers since the work.
ers would find it difficulty to distin-
guish between the higher and lower
priced garments.
Rel Classifying Cutters
An attempt to lower the wage levels
of the more highly paid workers such
as the cutters is indicated in the at
tempt to place cutters under three
separate classifications. Cutters are
classified also as machine cutters and
stretchers and wages for these cate
gories of workers differ widely. For
example the difference in scale be-
tween the cutter and stretcher is the
difference between s45 and $27. CUT
tiers are bitter over the attempt to
make them accept wage cuts under
this scheme.
The glowing promises of employing
thousands of unemployed dressmakers
with the introduction Of the 35-hour
week are already being blasted with
the news just received that the In
ternational has tacitly agreed to per-
nit overtime. This is an admission
by the officials that the workers will
be able to earn little in the 35-hour
week without working overtime. The
35-hour week obviously means no.
thing unless enforced by the work.
ers themselves. NeitherILGW officials
nor the impartial machinery set up
by the agreement will insure shorter
hours and jobs fer the unemployed.
A plan for the continuation Of the
impartial machinery Of previous years
to settle grievances is also included
IN the eTreement. Many times griev-
elcc5 ;bor5 Ue5c1 and conditions
SEM t. the impartial chairman were
held SO long before adjustment that
the season passed and the workers
demands for their wages under the
agreement were completely lost. The
workers cannot depend on the i'm
partial machinery established by the
agreement to protect their interests.
Under the provision allowing reorgan-
ization the bosses may fire workers,
speed-up those on the jobs and in
other ways economic at the expense
Of the workers.
Sweatshops Continue
But a mooted point about which
the workers have struggled in the past
and which would be a step in the di-
rection of the abolition Of sweatshors,
the question Of limitation of contract
ors to a jobber to prevent the in
tense beating down Of standards Of
the workers, this issue has been left
to the NRA administration to settle
at the code hearing. This Is why the
workers on returning to work after
the strike found that the same old
swsatshop conditions existed. The
agreement has been signed with the
jobbars; the contractors were not
involved; sweatshop conditions have
net been wiped cut as Mr.. Whalen
boosted.
Only the greatest vigilance on the
part OF the workers to enforce the
terms Of the agreement and to fight
any schemes to defeat their gains by
the bosses and the ILGW officials by
continuing the struggle in the shops
will assure gains to the dressmakers
after the glorious example Of solid
arity displayed in the dress struggle.