82 86 86 Table 15. Municipal Service, C. Steam and Electric Railway Service, Table 16. Steam Railroad Employees, Table 17. Street and Electric Railway Employees, Index, by Occupations in Detail, . 97 99 UNION SCALE OF WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR IN MASSACHUSETTS, 1914. INTRODUCTION. The material presented in this report is the result of a special inquiry relative to the time-rates of wages and hours of labor prevailing in the principal organized trades in Massachusetts in 1914. It constitutes the fifth annual presentation of data of similar nature.1 The data shown herein were obtained principally in July, 1914, at which time schedules of inquiry were sent, with few exceptions, to all of the local trade unions. in the Commonwealth whose members were known to be working under a time-rate system. In certain trades there existed piece-rate scales with relation to which, owing to their complicated nature and because of the many factors involved, it was not deemed practical to undertake a study at that time. Industries in which the organizations of employees had not established a scale of wages and hours were not considered; and such industries as the boot and shoe industry, clothing trades, and textile manufacturing, in which only a very small proportion of the workers were on time work, were not included. In many cases, especially among the strongly organized industries like the building trades, a standard scale of wages and hours dominates the trade, although it may never have been formally accepted by the employers. For example, house carpenters in this State seldom work under written agreements with employers, yet they are able, particularly in the larger municipalities, to establish a standard schedule of wages and hours which is virtually in effect in these municipalities. Such scales of wages and hours have been included in this report since they are practically as effective as those in which the 1 Previous reports of this Bureau dealing with the union scale of wages and hours of labor were issued as follows: (1) Prevailing Time-rates of Wages and Hours of Labor, 1910, issued as Part I of the Annual Report on the Statistics of Labor for 1910; (2) Time-rates of Wages and Hours of Labor in Certain Occupations, 1911, issued as Labor Bulletin No. 91; (3) Union Scale of Wages and Hours of Labor, 1912, published in the Fifth Annual Report on Labor Organizations for 1912, also issued as Labor Bulletin No. 96; (4) Union Scale of Wages and Hours of Labor, 1913, issued as Labor Bulletin No. 97. employees are working under agreements which have been duly presented to and signed by employers. The authority for the rates of wages and hours of labor embodied herein is in most cases derived from information furnished by organizations of employees. Exceptions appear, however, in the cases of employees in telephone, railroad, and federal service, in which instances the necessary information was obtained from printed wage scales furnished for the most part by the employers. The information thus derived was verified by reference to representatives of the employees in order to determine whether or not the scales were actually in effect. By "time-rate of wages", as used in this report, is meant the sum agreed upon in return for services for a specified period, e. g., an hour, day, week, etc., and should not be confounded with actual earnings, since the earnings of employees depend both upon the rates of wages paid them and upon the continuity of their employment. Thus, in the building trades the actual earnings of an employee are determined not only by the rate of wages but also by the amount of building being done, the condition of the weather, the amount of material on hand, etc. The rates of wages per hour, or per day, serve chiefly to show, by comparison with rates published in earlier reports, the upward or downward trend of wages. Although the rate of wages may increase during a specified period, a scarcity of work may effect even a reduction in the actual earnings during that period, while, on the other hand, an abundance of work, reducing the idle period, may have a favorable effect upon the actual earnings even though the rate of wages may have remained unchanged. Again, in the case of employees receiving a daily rate, the working hours per day may be reduced, thereby increasing the rate per hour but leaving the actual daily wages unchanged. Likewise, the granting of a weekly half-holiday, without loss of wages, effects an increase in the hourly rate of wages while the actual weekly earnings remain the same. The union scale fixes the limit in one direction only. It establishes a minimum rate of wages, less than which union members are not supposed to accept, and a maximum number of hours, in excess of which they may not work at the regular rate of pay; in most cases members are liable to definite penalties for violations of such union rules. In some localities and in certain trades workmen receive more than the prescribed minimum rate and in some instances employees work less than the prescribed maximum number of hours, such variations being generally the result of individual negotiations which are determined by special qualifications of the |