Montana labor news., 1934-05-03
EMPLOYERS WANTONLY VIOLATE
LABOR SECTION OF RECOVERY ACT
VICE CHAIRMAN OF NEW YORK
REGIONAL LABOR BOARD SAYS
UNIONS SHOULD BE AGENCY
TO ENFORCE CODE RULES AT
FECTING THE WORKERS.


An unusually severe indictment of
subversive employers who contrive to
evade the plain provisions of the labor
section of the National Recovery Act
was made by Mrs. Gilmore Morehouse
Herrick, vice-chairman of the New
York Regional Labor Board, in a state
ment before the national conference
Of Code Authorities at Washington.
Wage chiseling of many kinds, max
ing helpers do work requiring exper-
fence, taking time clock hours, and
speeding up schemes were among the
employers methods of sabotage cited
by Mrs. Herrick. She gave the follow
ing description of these unpatriotic
activities:
Wage Chiselers at Work.
ut does not cost very much to buy
a secondhand printing press and
start up a little business printing
handbills, or pads, letterheads and that
sort Of thing. A number of small
shops-employing less than 100 work
ers-have been brought in before the
Regional Labor Board because Of
strikes by the workers against EN-
ployer evasion of codes-Typograph-
ical Union No. 6 and the Pressmen's
Union have been the compliments.
"These employers have been work
ing overtime without paying time and
one-third; they have discharged work
ers as soon as they have completed the
six-week learners period; they have
paid no one more than the minimum
rate in either the PRA or the proposed
industry code. They have put help
ers' OF presses in place of experienced
and competent pressmen. Through the
organization of these workers the
above unions have effectively elimin-
ated these chiseling practices. Back
pay for the overtime-in one case
amounting to 81, 200-has been paid
to the workers.
Union Workers Discharged.
"In the garment trades we have
found employers who for years have
had union contracts, discharging their
workers, closing shop for a week and
recognizing under the same name
with an INC added. They then offer
to take their workers in as partners
to share the profits-so-called-but in
reality to evade payment of union
wages. The Generalization of the in
dustry well can be imagined. The
union must fight. | believe-and | am
sure the legitimate employers will
agree-that it is in the interest of the
industry and society as a whole that
the unions should fight to drive out of
business any employers who can exist
only by such mean subterfuges.
Learners Wages Evaded.
"As for the complaints on learners
rates-they are legion. Just the other
day we discovered through a strike
that one has to learn to be a porter
to sweep the floor and empty the trash
baskets. 1t required six porters to keep
one small loft clean, in which there
were so employees, of whom q were
already receiving the minimum wage
and the highest rate paid was only
10 per cent in excess of the minimum.
The settlement of the strike was a I'M
ion contract and union rates of pay.
Time Clock Hours Fake.
"Faking time clock hours, by work.
ing an hour before clocking in, re-
curing employees to sign the payroll
for code wages, but actually paying
them So or $40 less is a common prac-
tice and has led to many a strike. The
speed-up system whereby the num-
Der OF pieces required to be produced
is put at such a figure that even a
skilled worker who has been Is years
with the same employer is able to
earn only the minimum guarantee.
These are all too familiar devices
whereby certain employers sabotage
the whole Recovery Act"
Mrs. Herrick declared that in her
judgment the only effective way to
enforce the labor sections of the codas