St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1945-09-07
Appropriate Dress

Appropriate Dress
In the matter of dress for the
male factory worker, the work shirt
and denims replace the business
suit; for the female worker it is the
slack suit or clothing prescribed
by the employing firm. There is
little choice in style of clothing for
men and women who work in large
factories. Nevertheless, freshness,
cleanliness and careful grooming
are in order at all times for both
sexes. Women, however, need not
forego little touches of charm. They
can add much to their general ap-
pearance by selecting well made
garments of color harmony, correct
size and fit. The slack suit and
bandana, which confines the hair,
can be chosen with as much dis
eliminating care as the daintiest
evening gown, and can be worn
with equal dignity and grace.
Some women factory workers ap-
pear to think that wearing Stacks
gives them license to be boorish,
vulgar and crude. The staggering,
overaggressive woman in Stacks has
done a great disservice to her sex.
Disrespect is created; repercussions
of which may be felt long after
many wartime workers yield their
claim to weekly pay check and
return to the shelter of the home.
Factory Education New to Many
The wartime employee who en-
gagged in factory work for the first
time found a new sphere of educa-
ton confronting him with little or
no contributing background to pre-
pare him for his work. New and
different demands were made on
him physically, mentally, and emo
tionally. Discipline familiar to the
veteran factory employee such as
timing (the practice of regulating
ones speed of motion to machine
or to persons working in a unit)
was quickly and effectively learned
by many new employees. Latent
skills unknown to the worker him
self were quickly developed to a
high level of effective operation.
The worker learned for the first
time how to lift heavy objects by
using muscles designed to bear
safely the strain and thereby avert
physical injury. He learned, too,
that self control had to be exercised
when the immediate supervisor was
pressing for production by using
harsh methods to obtain increased
output.
In the maze of his plant rela-
tionships, the wartime worker soon
realized that, figuratively speak
ing, he ceased to be a personality
and that<his primary role was con-
cerned with production. The transi-
ton to this new type of adjustment
was sometimes difficult, especially
if the worker had been previously
employed in domestic or personal
service. The friendly, face to face
good morning" from the employer
was replaced by an impersonal time
clock which registered with preci-
sion accuracy the workday starting
and quitting time. Relief periods
and lunch time were geared to pro-
duction. All of the new experiences
added up to the inescapable knowl-
edge that prompt and regular OBJ
servance of plant rules must be
practiced by each employee who
desired advancement. Thus, regi-
mented environment practically I'M
known but few short months be-
fore became mode of conduct to
the wartime factory worker.
To some employees the "chain of
authority" in factory organization
which is built on the principle of
ascending steps of jealousy guard
ed power, was the most difficult
lesson in the primer of plant and
factory education. The worker usu-
ally found himself widely removed
from the top administrative per-
sonnet with many stepping stones
of authority in between. Especially
during the acute wartime man.
power shortage, the responsibility
for supervision was often given to
persons who had an intimate knowl-
edge of departmental machine oper-
alton and production but a woeful
lack of experience in handling the
people who operated the machines
and did the other necessary work.
The wartime worker who weathered
his first factory experience unques-
tionably learned to make a prompt
and positive adjustment to each of
his supervisory personnel whether
it was a fellow worker acting in
supervisory capacity or a power
drunk "straw boss"
In many plants there was the
union contract containing clauses
and exhibits which governed the
workers activities, privileges, and
opportunities for advancement.
Joining the union, understanding
the contract, and the rule of the job
steward who worked on the 'line,"
A New Service Station
TOM ROERRNNN