UC-NRLF Hc .^mm yS// i B 3 115 a37 o GIFT OF "AM •'JS.13VUAS 'Snufl niiniivn AUG in *»> ■] GIFT SPECIAL REPORT OF THK UREAU OP LABOR STATISTIG STATE OF CALIFORNIA For the six months ending December 31, 1911. JOHN P. McLaughlin Commissioner 948 Market Street SAN FRANCISCO SACRAMENTO ^; FRIEND WM. RICHAJJDSON - - - SUPERINTENDENT STATE PRINTING 1912 SPECIAL REPORT OF THE I BUREAU Of LABOR STATISTICS STATE OF CALIFORNIA For the six months ending December 31, 1911. JOHN P. McLaughlin Commissioner 948 Market Street SAN FRANCISCO SACRAMENTO FRIEND WM. RICHARDSON - - - SUPERINTENDENT STATE PRINTING 1912 A t''** LEnER Of TRANSMISSION. Ilia Excellency, IIikam W. Johnson, Governor of California. State Bureau op Labor Statistics, San Francisco, April 19, 1912. Sir : I liave the honor to submit herewith a special report on the work of this Bureau for the six months ending December 31, 1911. Respectfully, JOHN P. ^Mclaughlin, Commissioner. 251754 REPORT OF THE BUREAU Of LABOR STATISTICS fOR TNE SIX MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1911. Upon my taking- office, I found that the previous work of the Bureau had been confined j)rincipally to the o-atherina: and tal)uhition of sta- tistics. Tliero were only four laws on the statute books which expressly stated that the enforcement thereof devolved upon this Bureau, namely, the child labor law. the ten hour law for drus" clerks, factory insi)ection law. and the employment^ageney law. T inunediately inaujiurated a new i>olicy. l)astHl upon th(> theory that the purpose of the Bureau was to enforce the provisions of all laws pertaining to labor — wliether or not any specific mention was made as to who should enforce them. FV)r example, the eight hour law for women, pay check law, payment of wage law. the weekly day of rest law, laws for the protection of labor on buildings, laws pertaining to labor on public works, and many others, all of which contain no provision for their enforcement, nor carry any appropriation for defraying the cost entailed, and as a result would have passed into the limbo of forgotten statutes. In assuming this self- imposed work of enforcing all labor laws. I fully realized the enormous task that lay before the Bureau, but justified it in the great amount of good that would flow therefrom, and the results obtained far surpass anything that I had hoped to accomplish. While we have assumed this additional work, it must be borne in mind that none of the other work of the Bureau has been neglected ; in fact, it has been our aim to advance it beyond the work accomplished in previous years. In presenting this report, I will dwell principally upon Ihc more important labor laws and describe in a brief manner what has lieen accomplished under them. In the Fifteenth Biennial Report of this Bureau the results of our work will be described more fully. The Child Labor Law.— As a measure affecting the public welfare this law i-anks foremost, and I am pleased to state at this time that California stands in the front rank of the states in respect to the char- acter of its child lal)or law aiul probably first in the enforcement thereof. The legislature of 1911 made many important changes in the child labor law. ;imong which were the raising of the age under wliich a child could work — with an age and schooling ceilificate — frcmi fourteen years to fifteen years; raising the age for night work from sixteen to eigliteeu years, and providing for the return to school of all children under six- teen within two weeks after ceasing to work. After making an investigation of the conditions surrounding child labor, I found that one of the greatest obstacles in the way of enforce- ment was the indiscriminate Jssuance of certificates by teachers and ]U'incipaIs of |uiblic and private schools. The first step was to limit the numl)cr of ]}ersous authorized hy law to i.ssue these certificates. This — 6 — was done by placing a strict interpretation upon section 3 of the child labor law, thus making one person responsible in each locality. The next step was to place the issuance of certificates upon a proper basis. The Bureau prepared and had printed all the various certificates and permits required under the provisions of the child labor law and dis- tributed them to the persons authorized by law to issue same. The age and schooling certificates and the juvenile court permits were all num- bered, and in duplicate, and at the end of each six months must be accounted for in a report filed with this Bureau. In order to give the law the greatest amount of publicity and at the same time inform the public of the new order of things, this Bureau prepared a circular of instructions and a digest of the child labor law, which was sent to the school department and the probation officers in every county, and to the principal newspapers throughout the State. OwingJi) a conflict in the compulsory education law and the child labor law — the latter providing that no child under fifteen years of age shall be employed without a juvenile court permit, which can not be obtained unless the parents of the child are incapacitated through illness — and the former law provid- ing that a child under fifteen who had graduated from the prescribed grammar school grades, can not be compelled to attend school — we were obliged to issue a new form of certificate, which we termed a "Tem- porary Work Permit. ' ' This certificate is issued only through our office, to children under fifteen years of age who have completed the prescribed grammar school course. For the six months ending December 31, 1911, eighty-one of these certificates were issued in the State of California. Shortly after the new system was in operation, the special agents of the Bureau visited and inspected the principal establishments employing child labor in the larger cities and saw that the law was being obeyed. Since then our agents have been checking up on the employment of chil- dren, in their regular work of inspection ; 3,000 establishments having been inspected up to December 31, 1911. I take great pride in again stating that California now stands out as an example of what can be done in the way of keeping children out of the factory and store and keeping them in the school. The Eight Hour Law for Women. — This law was passed by the legislature of 1911, and became effective April 21, 1911. Immediately upon its becoming effective, this Bureau undertook its enforcement, and had 5.000 copies of the law printed and distributed. In proceeding with our work of enforcement, the Bureau pursued its usual policy of first serving a warning on persons violating the provisions of the act. The majority of persons so warned are inclined to heed such a warning and to comply strictly with the law. In the case of those who refuse or neglect to heed our warning, we are obliged to resort to criminal prosecutions. In prosecuting cases against violators of the eight hour law, we were seriously handicapped, owing to ■ the reluctance with which women will testify against their employers. This reluctance is due to the belief that such testimony would cause them to lose their positions. This has been overcome, however, by resort- ing to a system of watching, in Avhich we have detailed men to actually keep a record on the length of time the women are employed. The evi- dence thus obtained has never failed to secure a conviction. We were — 7 — compelled to resort to this method of keeping watch, especially against the French laundries, after several unsuccessful attempts to prosecute them from evidence that we endeavored to secure from the women employed therein. A great deal of comment was made — both by prominent persons and the press — as to the effect of the eight hour law upon the economic con- (.litions of the women themselves and upon ])usiness in general. In order to ascertain whether there was any merit in these contentions, our special agents were instructed to ask the following questions from each estab- lishment employing women, in making their round of inspection : (1) Have any women been discharged on account of the eight hour law? (2) Have the wages of women been reduced? (3) Statement of views of the employer on the eight hour law. (4) Statement of views of the women on the eight hour law. While our work along this line is not yet complete, the answers obtaned in over 2.000 estal)lishments employing women, up to the present time, show that less than a dozen women have been actually discharged on account of the eight hour law. Further, that there has been practi- cally no reduction in wages, even in the case of those women working on piece work. We were informed that these women accomplished as much in eight hours as they did formerly in eight and a half and nine hours. In some factories the rate has been slightly increased to permit them to earn as much as formerly. The majority of employers in these factories informed us that the eight hour law has improved the efficiency of the women. In other words, that they accomplish more in a shorter period of time. Over 75 per cent of employers of women stated that they had no objection to offer against the law, while about 20 per cent stated that they had no objection to a forty-eight hour a week law, but were opposed to a strict eight hour a day law. This objection was based principally upon the inconvenience caused in the office departments around the first of the month. Less than 5 per cent of the employers voiced any opposi- tion to the eight hour law. Numerous statements appeared that women were .being displaced by men. In our investigation we have run across only two or three instances of this kind. We have compared schedules obtained a year ago from the principal employers of women, and find, almost without exception, that the num])er of women employed has increased rather than diminished. While, as stated before, our work is not yet complete, I believe that our investigation will show that the eight hour law has not driven women out of the industrial ranks, but, to the contrary, that it has furnished employnuMit for a greater number of women. Anotherquestion arose respecting the eight hour law. namely, its effect upon tTie ti'ade during t lie Christmas holidays. The representatives of some of the large institutions em])loying women called upon me and requested that I agree to a suspension of tlie o|)eration of the law during the holiday season, on the ground that if they complied with the law they would be compelled to close evenings and tliis, ihey stated, would inconvenience the purchasing public — especially the workingmen — who could not shop during the day. These representatives were informed that under no condition would the Bureau be a party to any agreement as to the cessation of the operation of the ei<>'ht hour law, and that the large department stores, like all other institutions, would have to adjust themselves to the requirements of their holiday business on such a basis as to come strictly within the act, and further, that any violation of the law comint>' to our attention would be promptly prosecuted. Intimations were made that the law would be violated and that before the cases could be prosecuted the holiday season would be over. These violations, how- ever, did not materialize, probably owing- to the fact that we informed the persons making- the intimation that we would call upon the entire legal machinery of the State, if necessary, in order to maintain our posi- tion, if such violations were attempted. In order to ascertain whether the arguments advanced relative to the dire results that would tiow from a strict enforcement of the eight hour law during the holiday season had any merit, shortly after the first of the year we made personal visits to the large department stores and other institutions catering to the holiday trade, and questioned them as to the operation of this law. We also provided them with a list of ques- tions, which we requested them to answer. This investigation proved of great interest and importance, as it brought out very clearly the fact that the opposition to most laws is based on a preconceived idea as to their effects, which is generally disproven upon their being tried out. Outside of the fact that these firms were put to considerable trouble in arranging their forces and adjusting their time schedules, the investiga- tion failed to substantiate any of the arguments advanced as to the evil results that would follow a strict enforcement of the eight hour law ; but it must be borne in mind that this was the first year the law was in operation, and of necessity these establishments were not prepared or experienced in adjusting forces. With this year's experience to hand, however, there is no reason why they should be inconvenienced in the slightest degree at the next holiday season. The schedule of questions which we asked of these institutions was as follows : (1) Approximate number of females employed this season and the season of a year ago. (2) Comparison of the amount of business done this season and the season of a year ago. (3) Comparison of the cost of doing business of these two seasons, especially as to increase due to the eight hour law. (4) The hours during which the establishment was open during the holiday season. (5) The arrangement of the hours of labor of the female employees. (6) The extent of inconvenience, if any, to both customer and em- ployer, due to the operation of the eight hour law. A few of the establishments have refused to answer these questions, and we must, therefore, assume that they have no objections to offer to the law as it stands. The replies to question 1 show that the number of females employed was all the way from 10 to 30 per cent greater in the season of 1911 than it was in 1910. Replies to ({uestion 2 indicate that the amount of business done during the season of 1911 was from 5 to 25 per cent greater than that of the season of 1910, the general increase being from 15 to 20 per cent. The replies to question 3 show that the — n — cost of doing business, due to the eight hour law was from 2i to 10 per cent greater than formerly, but when we consider that the volume of business h;ul increased on an average of from 15 to 20 per cent, this slight increase in cost did not materially reduce the earnings of these establishments. In reply to question 4, we found that the majority of the establishments in Los Angeles remained open evenings only three days before Christnuis, while in San Francisco many remained open evenings from one week and others closed at their usual hour. In answer to question 5, the general methods pursued were to divide the women employees in three shifts. The first shift usually started at 9 o'clock, the second at 12. and the third at 2 p. m. Some institutions closed their establishments between the hours of 5 and 7 p. m. Replies to question 6 are of considerable extent and variety, but summing up in a general way they show that while the public may have been inconvenienced to some degree, they will be in a position to know that their holiday pur- chases next season must Ije made at an earlier date, as we have been assured by several of the larger institutions that they do not intend to keep their establishments open evenings again during the holiday season. It rests with the purchasing public whether or not they desire to make the operation of the eight hour law objectionable. There is no reason why, if women are in sympathy with this statute, they can not make their holiday purchases in the regular hours of the day during which these establishments are usually open. As respects the inconvenience to the employer, the general objection was in reference to their work rooms or alteration departments, in which they claim it was necessary to turn out work in a very short space of time, and the further objection to their period of stock taking, immediately following the holiday season, W'hen thej' require their entire force to work longer hours for a few days in order to accomplish the work in the shortest space of time. In summing up, I desire to say that our work had disclosed the fact that the enforcement of the eight hour law has failed to bring forth any of the bad results predicted by its opponents. The large majority of employers are endeavoring to comply with the spirit of the law. This last statement is based upon the ever decreasing number of complaints as to the violations of the law received by this Bureau. Payment of Wage Law.— This law was passed by the legislature of 1911, and became effective July 1. 1911. The law is of far greater im]iortance than I was at first led to ])elieve. It is not only a labor law, but a law tending to prevent men and women from being dragged out of the ranks of industrial citizens into the ranks of "hoboes" and crim- inals. Our work in the enforcement of this law more than convinced us that many men, after having been refused payment or having had payment delayed for work done, are compelled to walk the streets hunyry aiul arc finally driven to crime through desperation. The argu- ment has often ])een advanced that these men couhl apply to the civil courts, but as a matter of common knowledge, very few attornevs will undertake to prosecute cases involving only a few dollars, and further, that a lawsuit is poor nonrishnuMit for an empty stomach. In handling the cases for the collection of wages, we have fought away from ci'imiiud prosecutions, as far as i)ossible. always endeavoring to obtain {payment through an ai)peal to the .sense of justice of the employer. — 10 — During the six months ending December 31, 1911, there were filed in the Bureau 903 eomphiins for non-payment of wages, out of which we were able to effect 663 settlements, amounting to $13,181.17. These claims for wages ranged from as low as 60 cents to up over $200, the average claim being $19.88, an amount which is too small to justify any attornev to collect same through the regular channels of a civil court, and still great enough to keep a man or woman from becoming a public charge. The claims in which no settlements were secured were such that, after^a thorough investigation, proved to have no merit, or were beyond our power to enforce. In only ten instances were we obliged to resort to the criminal courts. Five of these cases were dismissed by consent, u])on the em])]oyer paying the full amount of wages in court. Pay Check Law^. — This act became operative on May 1, 1911, and, as was said of the payment of wage law, it is not only a lal)or law, but in a n>easure aims to prevent starvation and vagrancy and the results that flow therefrom. It was common practice before the law went into effect for large corporations and contractors to pay men off in checks, payable in from sixty days to six months after date, or in non-negotiable paper payable at some place without the State. This Bureau had copies of the law printed and distributed, and further, informed large em- ployers of labor that its provisions would have to be complied with. We have been very successful in the enforcement of this law and only in two instances did' we have to resort to the courts, and these cases are still pending. Whenever we notified employers they were violating the law, they immediately changed the form of their pay check to comply with the interpretation placed upon the act by this Bureau. Employment Agency Laws. — There are two laws pertaining to em- ployment agencies — one defining their duties and liabilities, passed in 1903 — the other imposing a state license issued by this Bureau, passed in 1909. These two laws are of great importance to the workingmen and to the community at large. Under the provisions of the first law, we have compelled the employment agents to return the fees paid and expenses incurred whenever they have made misrepresentations to men seeking employment. In the short space of time covered by this report, we have secured the return of fees and expenses in 226 cases, involving the sum of $1,055.75, while in sixteen other cases new positions were furnished. This number, however, does not in any way show the settle- ments made bv the various employment agencies. A great many claims are now settled at the offices of tlie agencies, as they have come to learn the position that this Bureau takes in respect to any misrepresentations on their part. These misrepresentations are not always intentional, but nevertheless we have held that the working man or woman should not suffer for the mistakes of the agencies. In years gone by, men and women have paid their last dollar for fees and railroad fares and, upon arriving at their destination, found that no such emplovment as they had paid for existed, thus leaving them stranded hundreds of miles from home, and was the cause in many instances of turning an industrious person into a vagrant. Shortly after assuming office, I learned that the actors and actresses were lieing treated in very much the same manner by theatnca]_booking — 11 — agencies. ]\Iany eases were brought to our attention where the former Avould be booked over a route covering several weeks, only to receive instructions from the booking agent, while at a distant point, that there were no further bookings for them, thus leaving them high and dry in some strange part. If they remon.strated, they were politely informed to apply to the civil courts for redress, the booking agent knowing that these performers had no time to spend waiting around to prosecute a civil action for breach of contract. I, therefore, notified these booking agents that I considered them within the definition of an employment agency and ordered them to take out a state license. They are now under the jurisdiction of this Bureau, and Ave have been enabled to put a stop to the vicious practices employed by some of them. It would require an extended report to cover our work in enforcing other labor laws, and I will, therefore, only make brief mention of some of them at the present, and will leave the details for our biennial report. I found that the ten hour law for drug clerks Avas generally disre- garded, and sent a formjd notice to each"and every drug store in the State, informing their proprietors that they would have to comply with the provisions of the act. This was folloAved up by a personal inspection by our agents in all the larger cities and towns. A pamphlet was prepared containing laws relative to labor on public works, and mailed to all the officials of the various counties having juris- diction or supervision over public work, together with a letter notifying them that we would demand strict compliance with these laws. Considerable time has been devoted to the enforcement of laws rela- tive to sanitation and ventilation of factories and workshops, particu- larly to the installation of blowers. We have ordered fans and blowers installed wherever a process was carried on which produced dust or filaments injurious to the health of employees. Under the provisions of an act approved May 1, 1911, which pro- hibits minors under the age of eighteen years from vending or engaging in business between the hours of ten in the evening and five in the morn- ing, we have been able to keep the newsboys off the streets during these hours. On one occasion Ave rounded up the newspaper offices in San Francisco at 2 o'clock in the morning and took into custody twenty- three boys under the age of eighteen years. The cases were tried before the judge of the juvenile court. We did not desire to have any convic- tions standing against the boys, and the court, therefore, dismissed them Avith a reprimand. This had the desired effect, and very fcAV violations have since been drawn to our attention. In enforcing the law pertaining to temporary floors in buildings under construction, Ave haA^e had notices printed and posted on buildings Avarning all per.sons interested to comply Avith the provisions of the statute. In all instances Avhere wo have posted these notices, the tem- porary floors have been immediately installed. This law is of extreme AJ^alue in protecting the lives of mechanics, especially upon tall steel structures. The weekly day of rest laAV Avas resurrected from the realm of for-,/ gotten legislation. This law has been on the statute l)ooks since 1893," but had remained a dead-letter. In enforcing this act we have taken — 12 — into consideration the fact that it would retiuire a campaign of education in order to accustom the emphjving public with a law that had been inoperative for such a long period of time. We have, therefore, pur- sued the policy of sending copies of the law and a notice to comply, in every instance where a complaint has been made, and are gradually taking up the industries in which the violations have been most flagrant and the hours of labor excessive. Aside from the work of enforcing the various labor laws of this State, we have endeavored to lend assistance in the way of advice and help to all persons applying at the offices of the Bureau. We have assisted in the tiling of mechanics' liens, the filing of claims for labor in bank- ruptcy i)roceedings, claims for labor done on public works, and many other matters concerning the welfare of labor. In closing, I desire to submit a few statistical tables M^ilch will serve to show at a glance the work entailed and the results obtained in the enforcement of these laws. Record of Complaints Filed in Bureau and Investiga Ending December 31, 1911 ted Durin g the Six Months Nature of complaint. Total for State. San Francisco Office. Los Angeles Office. fa') Xon-payment of wages „ .. 903 370 267 51 47 42 4 6 645 292 210 41 28 42 4 6 258 Eight hour law for women . - _ 78 (b) Emiiloyment agencies .. _. 57 Child labor 10 Blower.* . . ._. .._ . . 19 Sanitation _.. _._ . . Scaffolding .-. . . . Weekly day of rest .. ..- _ . Total 1,690 1,268 422 (a) Non-payment of wages. Claims filed. Claims collected. Amount of wages collected. San FrancLsco Office- 645 258 488 175 $9,682 03 3 499 14 Los Angeles ()tfiee-_ „. . _ _ Total for State .. 903 663 $13,181 17 (b) Employment agencies. ('omplaints tiled. Fees and expenses ordered returned. New positions furnislied. Dismissed. Numlier. Amount. San Francisco Office _. 210 57 177 49 $912 80 142 95 8 8 25 Los Angeles Office Total for State 267 226 $1,055 75 - 16 25 • J •*^ • • • •* »•'• Record of Prosecutions Conducted by the Bureau During the Six Months Ending December 31, 1911. Nature of offense. Total for State. San Francisco Office. Los Angeles Office. Disposition of case. Convicted. Dismissed. Pending. Child labor law 15 41 10 2 2 1 2 1 2 12 28 3 3 13 7 2 7 22 1 8 8 8 Eight hour law for women 11 Payment of wages . .. 1 Pay check . . 2 Employment agents— Advance fees 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 Emiiloyment agents— License . Misrepresentation as to strikes Blower law 2 1 2 2 Ten hours law for drug clerks Weekly day of rest - - -. 2 Total 79 23 49 23 30 36 29 23 14 *Vending at night-- Total 102 72 30 36 52 14 *These cases were against newsboys, and this Bureau did not desire to obtain convictions against the boys. The arrests were more in the nature of a warning. ?••♦ RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF • Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW i ill I I 14 002 .EY 12,000(11/95) i;;, BERKELEY LIBRARIES CD^as7^ba3