Evening star., 1938-03-16
MEMBERS Of WAGE
GROUP BEGIN TOUR
OF D. c. LAUNDR|ES
Personal Inspection Will
Serve as Guide in Fixing
Basic Scale.
EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYE
,SPOKESMEN AT ODDS
Budget of $ll.35 Proposed by
Former as Latter Demands
$20.0S Minimum.

Members of the Minimum Wage
Board Conference today began a per-
sonal inspection of working conditions
in laundries and dry-cleaning estap-
lishments as guide to the fixing of
basic wage for the 4.500 women and
minor employees of such plants.
The nine members of the conference
group, headed by Clarence Phelps
Dodge, and the three members of the
Minimum Wage Board. left the Will
lard this morning on tour of a num-
Der of power and hand laundries.
Employer and employe spokesmen at
the outset were far apart on their CAL
culations of the minimum budget re-
quirements. A budget of $ll.35 was
proposed at the initial conference ses-
sion yesterday afternoon by Claude H.
Woodward, employer representative on
the board. A demand for a minimum
of $20,08 was submitted by Arthur l..
Schoenthal, labor representative.
The original Minimum Wage Board
of the District on March 10, 1921, fixed
SIS week as the basic pay for such
workers, but shortly thereafter the law
became imperative. The $8.73 differ
ence in the two budgets now proposed
Is greater than that between the orig
inal demands of employers and en-
ployes in the retail and restaurant
businesses, for whom minimum wages
were fixed in recent months.
Agree on Two Items.
Mr.. Schoenthal asked an allowance
of S5 week for room, So for meals,
$2.49 for clothing and S459 for SUM-
dries. Mr.. Woodward suggested $3.50
for room and board combined. 81
cents a week for clothing and s3.O3
for sundries. The two sides were
agreed at the outset on only two items:
For vacations yearly allowance of
SIS and for transportation SOS a year.
For personal care and cosmetics the
employees asked $35 a year, and the
employers would allow but $1O.50. For
health purposes the workers seek s35
a year, and the employers would allow
SIS. For recreation the workers ask
q yearly allowance of $50, and the
employers say the figure should be
$1050. 80
Mrs. William Kittle, board chair
man, announced the conference was
called because surveys showed a sub
stantial percentage of the $500 work.
ers were being paid less than sum
deemed essential for protection of
their health and morals. She said
Labor Department studies indicated
the average paid to loo women laun-
dry workers included in a survey was
$1,000 a week. and the average for
280 women in dry-cleaning plants
was $780,
Competition Cited.
Fear that the adoption of too high
a minimum wage would drive much
business away from Washington laun-
dries and dry-cleaning plants was
voiced by Mr.. Woodward, who said
55 per cent of the revenue of the
power laundries went to pay labor
costs. He said Washington laundries
and dry-cleaning plants already were
in competition with plants in nearby
Maryland and Virginia and even in
New Jersey and in Southern cities.
He argued further that many fami-
lies might decide to have such work
performed at home by hired help, re-
ducing employment by laundry plants.
Mr.. Schoenthal insisted such argu-
ments had no bearing on the mini
mum cost of living, which must be
met by the employees of laundries
and dry-cleaning plants.
Members of the conference group.
in addition to Mr.. Dodge, are Mrs.
Albert Atwood and Mrs. Hurst Hill,
for the general public; Sam Ruben
stein, E. E. Farran and Michael Grad,
for the employers, and Mrs. Lena
Hawkins. Mrs. Sara Lyons and Mrs.
Lilly Brooks for the employees.