INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION STATE OF CALIFORNIA The Regulation OF THE Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry of California MAY, 1017 CALIFORNIA STATE PRINTING OFFICE SACRAMENTO 1917 32554 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ! PAGE PREACH Srl ao oo 7 INTRODUCTION wee oo i ante Ra ENO 9 = REPORT ON WORKING CONDITIONS AND EARNINGS FOR 1915____—______ 11 THE PROBLEMS OF SANITATION AND HyaiEN®E._ ___ eee 13 THE KERNEL OF THE WAGE QUESTION : PRODUCTION AND EARNINGS __—_______ 26 Apricots aie a thant ar SLi a SLL Cae a ea 28 Pears: ol ass re SL 29 POMALOBE ae aie mt Se a EL 30 Peaches oc... 0 colo fo. lea clam ae Re as oh 30 Factors in Determining Equitable Rates .—__.__________._ mS ee 33 Hourly Earnings of Packers. eo 36 REPORT OF THE WAGES BOARD IN. THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING INDUSTRY... eo a le ee mca ne , 38 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WAGES BOARD. ._______________-__--. ____ 48 ORDERS OF THE COMMISSION IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CAN- NING INDUSTRY: ORDER No: 1. Waams AND HOURS... Co ee cet 51 ORDER NO. 2. SANITATION AND COMFORT ——__—_____ SEL Nn rE ae Sl 53 REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF THE COMMISSION'S RULINGS, SEASON OF. 1916 Lo oh a ed 59 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. oo 61 THE EFFECT OF THE COMMISSION RULINGS ON THE RATES oF Pay ___________ 69 THE YIELDING POWER OF THE PIECE RATES ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION 81 PRODUCTION IN THE PRODUCTS ON WHICH NO MINIMUM Piece RATES HAD BEEN TIRED ee 95 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS—SUMMARY OF THE FACTORS OF PRODUCTION _____ 105 NUMBER OF WOMEN AND MINORS EMPLOYED IN THE CANNING INDUSTRY, 1916__ 110 - THE EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS. oo CC 114 The Productive Power of Minors. ceo oC oC coe 115 THE LENGTH OF HOURS WORKED. os oC ese 116 THE SEASONAL NATURE AND DEMANDS OF THE CANNING INDUSTRY. ________ 121 THE LENGTH OF SEASON BY DISTRICTS AND CANNERIES.._. .— ____o-Z-—__.__ 124 THE GROWTH OF THE CANNING INDUSTRY, BY PACK STATISTICS. o_o 127 THE EFFECTS OF THE COMMISSION RULINGS ON SANITATION .__._______________ 129 AMENDED ORDERS OF THE COMMISSION IN THE FRUIT AND VEGE- TABLE CANNING INDUSTRY ore hori. oo Cher 143 ORDER. NO. 3. Wages AND HOURS. oc of a of. oo 143 ORDER NO. 4. SANITATION AND COMPORT- o_o ee 145 NOTICES TO THE INDUSTRY FOR THE SEASON OF 1917. Cc _~- ~ 148 PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE POSSIBILITY OF SEATING WOMEN CANNERY, WORKERS oi 151 Cutting Tables «oii Ll ee 158 Canning: Tables... are so 166 Sealy & Co rs ae ee te 169 POMAtoes 173 © 370945 LIST OF TABLES. PAGE Report of Working Conditions and Earnings for 1915 ooo 11 Floor Construction and Condition baa LG meoilet and Washing Baeilities. = el 22 ‘Wage Table—Production per hour. I: Apricot- Callers oe nt 29 JU. Pear Peelers: a dar Stl 29 ET. Tomato Peelers: on a a ed oa 30 IV. Cling Peach Cutters. = co fo oC 31 ¥. Free and Cling Peach Caters. at 33 VI. Apricot, Pear, Peach and Tomato Packers... ______.___ 37 Report on the Effects of the Commission’s Rulings, Season of 1916. Table No. 1.—Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for preparation; per cent of increase or decrease in the rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916 and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed; amount and per cent of increase or decrease; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased or decreased; number of canneries paying less than, equal to or more than the mini- mum in 1915, and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack prepared at the minimum rate and at more than the mini- mum rate. -..._-- sll 71 (a) Cling Peaches ... .. oi 71 (b) Pears 2A ee A a 73 Coy -Aprioole oo ia i vn ee LL 75 (d) Tomatoes or CaS 7 (e) Free Peaches ee Ce 79 Table No. 2.—Average hourly production and average hourly earnings______ 82 (ay Cling: Peaches li oa oo Sie 82 (b) Pears nl rT eae 84 (ec) Apricots: =... a Ne 86 Cd) Tomatoes. or sn ee i LE a 38 (e) Bree Peaches: oo lo fori ob lode 90 (P)- Canning. ee 93 Cg) ASPATaAgUS ort Cen Ry 96 (Rh) ‘Cherries o.oo eee 97 (I) Apples: oa ao eS en a 97 C7Y String Beans: > ____ i i = 99 Ck) Spinach ==. = 99 Cy Berries. ool a a a 100 (MY Grapes lo i EE mee 101 (rn) Plume col re ile cy od nis So Bi el 101 (0) Hand-peeled Cling Peaches — 102 (p) Hand-peeled Free Peaches... | coc 103 (a). Chill Peppers =. oo a 103 Table No. 3.—Average hourly earnings, by canneries, with summary of the factors of production... o.oo a 109 Table No. 4.—Length of season, by canneries, grouped according to city and country; number of women and minors working classi- fied numbers of weeks, and the entire season; number employed during maximum week; total number of women and minors employed, by canneries, average number of weeks worked on Le ee 112 Table No. 5.—Comparison of minor and adult production. meee 115 Table No. 6.—Length of hours worked... eo ee ae 118 Chart.—Number of women employed by weeks and length of season that individual products are packed... -- _._. _.__-______ 120 Table No. 7.—Number of women employed, by weeks, according to districts_ 122 Table No. 8.—Length of season, by districts; maximum eight weeks of the season, by districts, with percentage of the total pack canned within maximum eight weeks. _._ ___ __.__ _.. .._ 123 Table No. 9.—Length of season leading products are packed, by districts and by eanneries oo a ee 125 Table No. 10.—Number of cases fruits and vegetables packed each year from P00 to AB a lL an 127 Table No. 11.—Number of cases of fruits and vegetables, by individual variety, packed in 1914, 1915 and 1916. _ _ . @ o.o 128 Table No. 12.—Comparison of conditions in 41 canneries inspected in 1915 with conditions in the same establishments in 1916 PREFACE. The Industrial Welfare Commission presents the following report of its effort in regulating the fruit and vegetable canning industry of this state. It is a pleasure for Californians to know that the great basic fruit industry, including the packing of fresh, dried and citrus fruits, affords to the women of the state an occupation well paid in most cases and rapidly becoming an industry with as good working conditions as any in the state. : : This commission is aiding by its study, suggestions, cooperation and when needed, by legal enforcement of its orders, in making it one of the most desirable occupations for women. The long hours in the can- ning industry alone are somewhat tolerable in consideration of the short period that they last. The commission in changing its rulings from a limit of ten hours per day with rate and one-quarter overtime and a limit of seventy-two hours per week, to nine hours per day with rate and one-quarter overtime until twelve hours and from then, if neces- sary to work longer, double time, believes it has taken a long step in more drastically penalizing overtime than by the legal limitation of seventy-two hours per week. Double time rate, except as an emergency measure, is practically prohibitive. With juries of men in country districts whose fruit may perish if not canned, conviction for violation of the limitation of hours of labor law is most difficult to achieve, some canners even saying they were willing to pay a $50 or $100 fine if necessary to save their fruit. We expect the women working will aid greatly in the law’s enforcement by demanding their overtime payment or reporting to the commission if unpaid. It goes without saying that the commission’s agents not only make frequent inspections but also the commission puts into doubtful plants their agents as workers to detect violations. This was done with success in 1916. The commission wishes to thank the canners of the state for the excellent spirit with which they have cooperated with this commission, especially in keeping the difficult and voluminous records required during the season of 1916. The commission wishes also to express its appreciation of the time and service rendered by the various committees appointed by the Can- ners League to work with it. Especially do we wish to thank Mr. R. I. Bentley, Mr. T. B. Dawson of the former California Fruit Canners Association, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur I. Kyle of the former Central Cali- fornia Canneries, and Mr. ¥. I.. Monnet of the Pratt-low Preserving Co., Mr. G. E. Grier of the Pasadena Canning Co. and Mr. E. H. Kennedy of the Bonner Fruit Co. 8 4. 'NDUSTRIAZ WELFARE COMMISSION, The report of the season of 1916, by Miss Bary, which follows, the commission believes to be an authoritative and careful analysis of the voluminous material furnished to the commission by the canners of the state. KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON, Executive Officer. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 9 INTRODUCTION. The canning industry of California is one of the largest industries in the state, its output for 1916 being approximately $25,000,000. During the brief season that the canneries are in operation they employ more women than any other industry in California, about 22,000 women having been employed in the canneries in 1916. In February and March, 1914, the first conferences were held with representatives of the canning industry in Los Angeles and San Fran- cisco. After full discussions of the difficulties of obtaining information concerning either wages or hours, it was determined that the industry should keep a careful record of hours and earnings of the women in each cannery during the season of 1914. The form of such record was outlined by the secretary of the commission. This record, when tabu- lated, revealed the exceedingly difficult problem of regulating hours, as the piece rate system generally used permitted of the greatest irregu- larity of attendance, some women working 30 hours or less per week and others as high as 84 hours per week. During the first week in August, 1915, Commissioner Edson called a meeting of the canners of southern California, to be held in the Los Angeles office of the commission. A full and free discussion of the question of minimum rates of pay and hours of labor was had. It was brought out fully that on account of fewer products being canned during the height of the season, southern California canners could get along with less hours of labor per day than in other parts of the state. In the central part of California pears, cling and free peaches and plums come in at the same time, and as all are extensively canned this generally causes a glut for a short season, at which both the mechanical equipment and labor supply are taxed to their utmost. On August 13, 1915, the advisory committee of canners, consisting of R. I. Bentley, E. E. Chase, R. M. Barthold, Andrew G. Griffin, G. E. Grier and E. H. Kennedy, met at San Francisco. The same committee reported on tentative standards in wage rates on October 1, 1915, as follows: No. 1 fruit No. 2 fruit saches, clings $.20 per 100 lbs. | $.25 per 100 lbs. seaches, frees .10 per 100 Ibs. .125 per 100 Ibs. Apricots .20 per 100 lbs. 25 per 100 1bs. Pears .325 per 100 lbs. | .40 per 100 lbs. Cherries .25 per 100 lbs. .25 per 100 lbs. Tomatoes .03 per 12 qts. 10 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. For filling or packing fruit in cans, as follows: No. 2% cans $.01% per doz. No. 10 cans .036 per doz. In the fall of 1915 the commission was most fortunate in securing the services of Miss Marie Li. Obenauer, formerly chief of the woman’s divi- sion of the United States Department of Labor. Miss Obenauer made a study of the material collected by the agents of the commission during the summer. In addition to this study of working conditions an analysis of the production per woman per hour was made directly from the working piecework checks of the women in the several canneries. Miss Obenauer’s report follows in full: WORKING CONDITIONS IN CALI- FORNIA CANNERIES. —e By MARIE L. OBENAUER. Analysis of data collected by the Commission in 1915, preparatory to the calling of a wages board to establish wage and working standards in the canning industry. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 13 THE PROBLEMS OF SANITATION AND HYGIENE. Putting up fruit and vegetables in the modern cannery presents at the outset serious problems of sanitation which did not attend the work in the home only because of the enormous differences in the volume of material handled. The modern canner has the same raw material to deal with as the housewife—perishable fruits and vegetables, sugar, and hot and cold water—but he gathers his ingredients in millions of - quarts or pounds while the housewife assembles her winter’s supply in dozens of quart or two-quart cans. It is plain, therefore, that the canner who attempts to use kitchen methods or equipment to do a modern cannery business will be confronted with a problem in sanita- tion which quickly becomes a concern to the consuming public as well as to the workers, for while the housewife could safely let the refuse remain an hour or two till she finished her small lot, such a method will not work in a cannery. If there is nothing to prevent fruit, fruit juice, skins, seeds and water from falling to the floor, or if they are not removed quickly, the floor, if wooden, will soon get sour and “‘smelly’’ and then rotten, becoming a serious menace to health. As most of the women in the modern California cannery are paid on a piece rate basis they can not afford to take the time to clear away refuse and keep the floor dry. Provision must be made for this if there is to be reasonable sanitation. : Tt is well enough for the housewife to prepare fruit and vegetables near the place where the cooking or scalding of the product is done, for at most there are but two or three comparatively small kettles emitting steam at one time, but the same arrangement in a modern cannery, without devices to draw off the steam and excessive heat create enervating atmosphere which materially affects the health and efficiency of the workers. The housewife does not need to provide especial wash- ing facilities for herself, when she is putting up her fruit. All other considerations aside, her personal interest in the product will impel her to make adequate use of such as she has, no matter how inconven- iently located. The modern canner, however, is not justified in failing to provide adequate washing facilities within convenient reach of the workers, for the women pieceworkers can not afford to lose time going a distance to find, or waiting for a chance to use, a basin. Cleanliness and health require the use of washing facilities during the course of a day’s work with food products. Cut fingers, accidental contact with dirty objects, and, especially, visits to the toilets call for a liberal use of the washbasin. If, however, there is an inadequate number of basins it is obvious that personal cleanliness and comfort will suffer seriously. 7 14 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. Tt is not necessary for the commission to do more than call the Wages Board’s attention to the fact that grave considerations of health demand that the toilet accommodations be adequate, accessible and cleanly. Finally, a woman canning in the home kitchen may work her way through a supply of fruit, doing all her own ‘‘ fetching and carrying’’ and she may get through, too, without excessive fatigue. But the cannery manager who expects his women workers to get supplies of fruit and carry away the finished product will work injustice to them as well as to himself. Being paid by ‘‘the piece’’ the time spent otherwise than in canning occupations proper, i. e., cutting, peeling, packing, ete., is unproductive labor for the women and unproductive time for the employer’s equipment, to say nothing of the increased risk of having fruit spoil before it can be put up. In other words—using a woman’s energy to supply a deficit in equipment or management, may not have serious consequences in the home kitchen, because the woman herself can regulate the supply of fruit, limiting it to her strength and time. But the method works injustice if applied in a modern cannery, espe- cially where women are paid on a piece rate basis. Fortunately, there are not many canneries in California at present where the managers are attempting to use kitchen methods and equip- ment. The Wages Board will see here and there in the following summaries of sanitary conditions evidences that certain establishments have not measured up to the requirements of the modern cannery. The summaries, which are based upon the reports of the commis- sion’s agents, have been so arranged as to permit the Wages Board to get a bird’s-eye view of the sanitary and hygienic conditions in the canneries, as they are revealed in the floors and in the washing and toilet accommodations. Before discussing these summaries in detail attention should be called to the fact that the problems of sanitation are more serious in some respects in the city canneries than in the country establishments. "The season is short, comparatively, in the country canneries, lasting but a few weeks, because the products packed are usually confined to those grown in the immediate vicinity and are rarely more than two or three in number. This means, of course, that the floors are not wet for so long in the year, have more time to dry out and if reasonable care is exercised odors have plenty of time to fade away. None of these desirable things will happen, however, if the floors are not thor- oughly cleaned, the building aired, or if refuse is left about the grounds. The commission's investigation was conducted along two lines. One was con- cerned with the pay roll data alone, and the other with the working conditions in I SE En A Ss Yon upon equipment which affects the health and efficiency of the workers was not extensive enough to warrant deductions at the time this analysis was made. Data as to the adequacy of seats, tables, conveyors, etc., are in course of collection for discussion later. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 15 The city canneries, on the other hand, put up all sorts of products which are shipped from all parts of the state. Consequently the estab- lishments are open for the major part of the year, and there is no shut-down long enough to make up for any deficit in sanitation which faulty equipment or management may have created from day to day. Furthermore, some fruit and vegetable products are more ‘‘messy’’ to handle than others. Tomatoes, for example, will turn a cannery sloppy and sour much sooner than apples, apricots or peaches. But when one cannery has them all, or at least all that ripen in the same season, the resulting medley is difficult to combat. It should be under- stood that the term ‘‘city cannery’’ as used here is applied to estab- lishments having such transportation facilities as to enable them to pack fruit which is shipped in from other parts of the state. But it is worth while to take into consideration the fact that, although 51 of the 62 canneries covered in the commission’s investigation packed peaches, only 30 put up pears and 27 put up tomatoes. In the summaries that follow there have been inserted the principal products packed by the canneries whose sanitary and hygienic condi- tions have been reported. It should not be understood that the products named are necessarily the only ones put up by the cannery. It only means that the products named are the principal output of the estab- lishment in question. The revelation made by the following summaries which should occupy the attention of the Wages Board first, is the fact that 12, or over one-fourth of the 41 canneries visited, are reported by the com- mission’s agents as having floors in poor condition ranging down to “old and filthy’’ and ‘‘worst possible.”” Six additional establishments are reported as having floors fair or less than good. On the other hand, the board should find ample encouragement in its work of determining fair standards in the fact, also shown by these summaries, that 23, or over half of the 41 cannery floors, are reported as being in good condition and repair, ranging to ‘‘excellent.”’ If more than half of the establishments can maintain good to excellent sanita- tion in the matter of floor condition, there should be no good reason why the others can not do the same. Floor Construction and Condition. a e 5 gz Products—principal Floor material Condition and repair Provisions for removing refuse Protection against dampness ! : : 4 63 | Peaches, apricots and pearS..--.----- Wood onesie Old ‘and’ filthy.-.-.o...iaoual Refuse left on floors; saw- dust scattered about for protection ....ca-nooo i... A few trays; no racks. 54 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes¥, Bll a a ain Wood Fair -. Men cleaners: =... ___..__ Racks. 53 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes* OER one mm en a Sm a Wood -oenincannnn In repair, but poor condition | Men cleaners, holes in floor into which refuse is thrown | Platforms (floors wet). 20 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes, BC aise wn mm ‘Wood Poor Men cleaners (not thorough) | Platforms. 21 | Apricots, peaches, pears, etC.......-- Wood Good Men cleaners: il duioaoac-as Platforms. 34 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes*, . OE we ene mn Sa in mm mm mn Concrete Good Men cleaners (well swept)--.| Platforms. 42 | Pears, peaches, apricots, tomatoes-., Wood Good Men cleaners. ..--.--mve-meu==- Racks (canners). 88 || Peaches, tomatoes, pears, apricots..| Wood Good Men cleaners (well swept)-..| No racks. ( 11 '| Peaches, tomatoes, pears, apricots..| Mastic over wood....| GOOA ooo oiel Men cleaners’ .....eocccmeamnn- Racks (canners). (58 | Pears, peaches, apricots. .-coee—caa-e (Joncrete Good Men cleaners .. Raised platforms. “65 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes*.| Wood --ceeeeeeeucan..| Fairly 2004 —coomceiimmoann Men cleaners’ oom anaaa. Raised platforms. 39 | Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes, ete. Conerete: oo. auann Very good: oot il ee a Men. Cleaners... oo omnam massa Platforms. 56 Pears, tomatoes, ele... oo. oaen Wood Good Men cleaners: ..... co... Platforms. 98 (ADTicOotS, PEACHES inion n nim dans Wood Fair Men cleaners: ......eoeu->auun- Racks. 52 | Apricots, peaches, tomatoes*, etc....| W00d woeeemcmmmmecnaan Badly WOT «ome eum ammmsme— Men: Cleaners cee inuacmi- Platforms. 19 { Peaches, DEArS wn. woe omcn dun Wood .u-ieeiliaeacmin Old—poor condition .e-oaaov Men cleaners (not thorough) | Racks. 43 | Peaches, pears ... Wood Fair Men cleaners Racks. 64 | Apricots, peaches WOO semi mmmeamms [Old SOIL, INSANILATY. eee ce Men cleaners Narrow racks, floor wet (inch high). 10 | PORCHES oni amnion itn mans =m mae Wood Poor Meni CleUHErS oie nina in Satisfactory racks. 6 | Peaches, 60. viens uancannaeamann—ntn Cement Good Men cleaners No racks; not very wet. 66 | Apricots, Peaches .....cdubsetinaeen bu COMENt .ocimaeramenmen | EXCEIIENG | inn ee ddion ca eimbia ir Men cleariers w..-c cana-aoaiea Racks; floors very wet. 40 Apsicoss, pears, peaches..........-...| Wood ood BOY leans: ic: nascar Racks. 67 WOO ~ aeons 01d, rough and insanitary_..| Men cleaners Racks. 68 Peaches aii mr wm male Se Cement . Good ‘Men cleaners .------- Sadana Racks; poor drainage. 27 | Apricots, peaches, pears, totantoesn; ‘ i CLC, ea in mmm memes WOOQ Good Men cleaners .....- wsemmmm=na' Floor dry (mo racks). 91 "NOISSININOD HIVATIM. TVISLSOANI $69%8—2¢ 61 59 57 1; 13 Tomatoes Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, | Apricots. Tomatoes* Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, Apricots, peaches, pears, tomatoes*. peaches, pears.....coeee-.- peaches, pears, tomatoes®. peaches, pears, tomatoes*- peaches, pears, tomatoes*. peaches, pears... .--c--uem- peaches, pears, peaches, tomatoes... peaches peaches peaches, tomatoes¥®, ete.--_ peaches peaches ooo Pears, peaches... .ac.. Wood ici. POOL: oii me eee dan casa Cement: -.———-- om ibn | OQA a Se aa Wood Fair Wood -eao-inaacas GOOA iar anne enn maaan Wood Fair Double wooden floor.} Good: -—— o-oo nroeeoe meee Cement Fair { Canning—wood -} | Cutting—cement _ { Cement Cement. -....-il.oo -— Wood (waterproofing over part) Cement Very 2000) «nance ara Good Men Men Men Men Men Men Men cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners No provision Men Men Men Men Men cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners cleaners Floor dry (mo racks). Floor dry (trays used). No racks. No racks; floors dry. No racks; floors wet. No racks; floors wet. No racks; floors wet. Boards to stand on; floors wet. Floors dry; racks. Racks (not satisfactory; floors wet). Platform (floor dry). No racks (floor wet). No racks. Racks. Racks; floor dry. 1Establishments are numbered to agree with establishment numbers in the statistical tables (elsewhere shown in this discussion) which in turn agree with the identification numbers used in the commission’s previous report on hours and earnings of all women and minors engaged in cannery work. *Predominate over others named. ONINNVD HTIIVIEDAA ANV LINdd 18 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. The commission might well submit for the consideration of the Wages Board three exhibits which should be of real assistance in arriving at reasonable standards of floor sanitation in canneries. 1. The sanitary regulations recommended by the committee on sani- tation of the National Canners Association during its seventh annual convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1914. The paragraph on cannery floors reads: : “The floors should preferably be tight and pitched to accom- modate the machinery—that is, to confine overflow and waste to the smallest area. Gutters should be provided to carry all waste to the sewers. Grating should be provided around cookers, washers, and at other places where overflow is unavoidable. In case a slatted floor is used over a cement or other tight subfloor, a space of not less than four inches shall intervene in order to permit proper washing with hose. Slat or open floors shall not be permitted in factories over water, unless the movement of the stream or tidewater is sufficient to carry off all waste and not permit the same to become putrid or unless the slat or upper floor is removable for cleaning.’’ 2. Bulletin No. 1 issued from the Research Laboratory, National Canners Association, under the direction of A. W. Bitting. Concerning floors, Mr. Bitting says: ‘“‘Slippery floors are responsible for a fair share of accidents varying from hard bruises to fractures of the wrist, arm and leg. The slippery floor is one of the conditions which should be abol- ished. At one time it was thought to be unavoidable, owing to the water used in preparation, to overflow from syruping and filling machines, ete. A brining, syruping, or filling machine which has no provision to receive and retain the overflow or the contents of a battered or overturned can, is no longer a necessity and does not fill one of the requirements of proper sanitation. There are decidedly better and cleaner methods of distributing the products to the tables and removing the filled cans, than by the truck and tray system, so there is little need of water, juice, and pieces of fruits and vegetables upon the floor. The best preventive of accidents from slipping is a dry floor, and this is attainable with care and proper equipment. Open gutters should not be permitted; instead flush irons or wood gratings should be provided. Wherever overflow is unavoidable, as in front of boiling kettles, blanchers, etec., slat gratings should be provided. It is not possible to avoid all water, overflow, or bits of fruits and vegetables on the floor, but there can be a great reduction in the amount in most plants. ‘‘Nearly all factory owners realize that the present floors lack a great deal of being ideal. Cement is the best from many stand- points, but is so hard and unyielding that it is extremely tiresome on the feet. A great deal of this foot and leg weariness may be FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 19 overcome by the use of rubber heels for those who walk a great deal and the use of spring boards for those who are obliged to stand in one place.” 3. The sanitary regulations affecting floors in food factories located in California cities where the fruit canneries are operating: — (a) San Francisco: All floors of buildings used as fish markets, bakery shops, sausage factories, candy factories and other places where foodstuffs are prepared for sale, hereafter established, shall be con- structed of concrete or other fireproof material covered with a wearing surface of cement or asphaltum and carried up on all walls at least ‘eight inches; or, if of wooden construction, such floor shall be covered with waterproof material, the same to run up on the walls at least eight inches in height. Over this waterproof material shall be placed a wearing surface of concrete not less than two inches in thickness troweled to a smooth surface, or of mastic not less than one inch in thickness. Said wearing surface shall be carried up on walls to the top of the before-mentioned waterproof material. (b) Oakland: No specific regulations. (¢) Berkeley: The floors, sidewalls, ceilings, furniture, receptacles, utensils, implements and machinery of every establishment or place where food is manufactured, packed, stored, sold or distributed, shall at no time be kept in an unclean, unhealthful or insanitary condition; and for the purposes of this act, unclean, unhealthful and insanitary conditions shall be deemed to exist if food in the process of manufac- ture, preparation, packing, storing, sale or distribution is not securely protected from flies, dust, dirt, insanitary conditions, and as far as may be necessary, by all reasonable means from all other foreign or injurious contamination; and if the refuse, dirt, and the waste prod- ucts subject to decomposition and fermentation incident to the manu- facture, preparation, packing, storing, selling and distributing of food, are not removed daily; and if all trucks, trays, boxes, baskets, buckets, and other receptacles, chutes, platforms, racks, tables, shelves, and all knives, saws, cleavers, and all other utensils, receptacles and machinery, used in moving, handling, cutting, chopping, mixing, canning, and all other processes used in the preparation of food, are not thoroughly cleaned daily; and if the clothing of operatives, employees, clerks, and other persons therein employed, is unclean, or if they dress or undress, or leave or store their clothing therein. There are no specific regulations in other towns wherein canneries are operated. 20 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. TOILET AND WASHING FACILITIES. Arranging the summaries of toilet and washing facilities in the same order as the summaries on floor conditions were arranged, it becomes apparent at once that the toilet facilities are in some instances wholly inadequate in number. The summaries show that in two cases there is but one toilet to about seventy women. Inasmuch as Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, Pasadena, Pomona, Fresno and Stockton have a number of canneries listed in the following summaries it will be helpful to the Wages Board to consult the existing health regulations covering toilet accommodations in factories in these cities. A brief perusal will reveal to what extent such regulations would, if properly enforced, correct the defects. The existing health regulations on the subject are: San Francisco: ‘‘In all places of employment where men and women are employed, separate and sufficient water-closets shall be provided for males and females, as required by these rules and regulations. “The water-closets provided for males shall be plainly marked ‘Men’s Toilet,” and the water-closets provided for women shall be plainly marked ‘Women’s Toilet.’ “In all places of employment * * * not less than one water- closet shall be provided for every twenty-five males or lesser number, and not less than one water-closet shall be provided for every twenty- five females or a lesser number; and these water-closet facilities shall be provided upon at least every second story; and where there are employees in a basement, such basement shall be considered as being one story.’’ ‘Bach and every compartment wherein a bath, water-closet, urinal or slop or scullery sink is situated, shall be ventilated by means of a window opening directly to the external atmosphere, or by means of an air shaft having an area of at least two square feet. This air shaft shall continue of undiminished size to the roof, and at this point its opening shall equal in area not less than that of the shaft.” Berkeley, Oakland: ‘‘It shall be unlawful to prepare, keep for sale, or sell any kind of meat, milk products, fish, game, vegetables, fruit, bread, cakes, candies, or other foods in any room in which a toilet is located or in any room opening directly into a toilet room, unless there is outside ventilation to such toilet room.’’ Los Angeles—No specific regulations. San Jose: ‘In all places of employment, where men and women are employed, separate and sufficient water-closets shall be provided for the males and females, as required by these rules and regulations. “The water-closets provided for males shall be plainly marked FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 21 ‘Men’s Toilet,” and the water-closets provided for women shall all be plainly marked ‘Women’s Toilet.” ”’ Sacramento—No specific regulations. In order further to reduce the risk of establishing standards which might needlessly conflict with existing health regulations, the orders issued by the state health authorities should also be consulted. Finally, the commission could profitably submit for the consideration of the Wages Board, the following recommendations of the Sanitation Com- mittee of the National Canners Association. “Toilet rooms must be maintained and where different sexes are employed they must be separate for each sex, plainly and distinctly marked, and to be used only by the sex designated. “Toilet rooms, including the walls, floors, ceilings and all fixtures must be kept clean and provided with sanitary paper. “Toilet rooms must be open to outside light and air and be of sufficient size and equipment for the number of people employed. “Where toilet rooms are in the factory, they must be supplied with proper flushing appliance and connected with a sewer. ““Outside closets must be sufficiently removed from the factory to avoid being a nuisance and built tight above the ground. The doors constructed to remain closed and the building properly ven- tilated, lighted and screened. The vault to be kept thoroughly disinfected and cleaned when filled to a level with the ground.’’ From the following summary the board will not fail to observe that what is true about floor conditions is true, though not to so great an extent, concerning the toilet conditions, viz: the majority of the estab- lishments have clean toilets; a large proportion also have an adequate number : Toilet and Washing Facilities. Toilet facilities Washing facilities 2! = a zl z£ of og Ventilation Drinking SE |B Construction and Equipment 28 Yocation ar i facilities EZ & g TT an (conspicuous Eg Type Condition Wor cities 3nd ligt a = | @ features) Peo he o, room py od anh ny oT Jl 1 rans avs te a a a rrr : | 222 | 6 | Flush; 5 working; |Partitions; newspaper | 2 | White sinks_.__._. Poor ......- In 2 small rooms_.| Poor; dk. |Paper towels; |5 tin cans; 1 drink- | dirty. for toilet purposes. | passage. soap. ing glass. | 265 10 | od, ond patent | Partitions; no doors | 1 Large sink...... Pair... In med. size rm...| Adequate _| Towels; soap-|1 fountain. | ush; clean. 510 16 | Self-flushing; eln.; | No doors —.--_oceeoaae 6 | Stationary and | Good ----- In large room....| Good --__. Paper \towels; | 2 large drinking | working. 1| long sink. liquid soap. fountains. | 342 | 8. Pat.; ind. flush; | No doors .....i.._...- 12 | Large metal | Good -.--- In small room-...| Good ..... Paper towels._|1 drinking fountain. | | | clean; working. | sinks. : | 388 | 6 | Pat.; ind. flush; |1 door; newspaper fori 2 White enml. and | Good ----- In main room....| Good ...-. Roller towels; | 2 drinking fountains. ! clean; working. toilet purposes. 1 tin sink. liquid soap. 276 | 5 Pat. ind. flush; |1 door (locked)---e--- 4d | Enamel - a. Good...) In hallway ‘-.__.. Good - Roller towels_.| 1 drinking fountain. | clean; working. | 6 | Wooden; flushed | No partition; insuff, | 3 | Sinks _o——_-_- Good ..--- In main room....| Good -.-.. Paper towels; | 2 sanitary drinking autom., clean; | paper; no doors. | liquid soap. fountains. | | working. fae 6 Pat; ind. flush; | Partitions; no doors; | 2 | Galvanized iron | Fair _..._. On porch -oeucem- Good. —---- Paper towels; | 2 drinking fountains. 1 | | fair. crowded. | sinks. liquid soap. F800 EAT Lea cain a mi | mim eri em mh mim a | Long Sinks ..owlei-ceasnaeas In main room.....| Good ....- Paper towels; | 2 drinking fountains. | | liquid soap. | 209 | 9 | Patent; 8 out of [No doors: partitions.| 12 | Stationary wash |.___ocooee In main room..... Good .-..: Soap; roller | [ order. stands. | towels. | 215 | 4 foi tnive oo Partitions; no doors; | 1 | Sink and Pair ues Tiny; dark hlwy..| Poor ....-- Liquid soap; | crude; inadequate. 1 tap. roller towels. : | 404 20 | Ind.; flush; good. Doors; partitions... 12 | Enamel ......... Good -.--- In large room....| Good ----. Linen towels; |2 drinking fountains. | soap. a SEEN 10 | Ind. flush; old, | Doors and partitions; 2¢['Iron sinks....... alr ean In fair sized rm... Fair ..---- Inad. supply |2 drinking fountains. | | | but clean; bad | 7 lighted, 3 dark. | towels; liq. i odor. : soap. | | 6 Flush; clean _.._.. Doors; partitions... 16 | Stationary enml. | Good -...- In 12 x 15 room...| Good _-...| Roller towels; | 5 drinking fountains. liquid soap. { | y Nae 61 | 240 | 6 | Flush; poor _..... No paper; partitions.| 6 | 1 long sink and | Poor -.---- Outside ----- PR ER Soap; towel [1 drinking fountain. 6 faucets. racks. 2001: 7 |" Plush} 2000 wreass) oor nin on we di es cri 8 | SINKS! communes Good .....| Tn 8x12 room....[ Good .-... Paper towels; | Bubble fountain. h | ! liquid soap. GG *NOISSIWINOD AUVITIM TVISLSAANI 36 | 303 | 15 | Flush? 12 | Long enml. sinks | Fair -..._.. In 18 x 25 room...| Good ...-. Paper towels; and 12 faucets. liquid soap. 73 | 300 | 5 | Flush; good order | No doors 4 | Individ. basins..| Fair ...... In large room....| Good ..-_. Paper towels; | Common drinking liquid soap. | cups. 57-1422 [15 "Ind, pat. flashy | -——- co... oll. 10 | Long wooden | Good —--.|In small, narrow | Fair ______ Towel and Bubble fountain. clean. troughs; 10 room. soap racks, | faucets. but usually empty. 48 | 400 | 9 | Pat. flush; clean..| Doors for 4.......... Long sinks __--. POOL ia In small room..._| Fair ______| Paper towels; |2 drinking fountains. fs i liquid soap. 94 20 | 2 Flush; good order |i... cuccnenanne aa 6 | 6 faucets in 6 [Good -.__- In 15x 20 room...| Very good.| Paper towels; | No fountain; women sinks. liquid soap. keep cups. 13.1350") #3. Push: Qirty; WEg.fi-~- ono tli 1 [{Enml. wash ba- {Very dirty.|Outside ...........| = No soap; no | None. i sin; dirty, and towels. 3 wooden trghs. | with 3 faucets. 621 40 11] Plush: 200d .....|--r-ssenrnmsmimmemmmans 2 | Sinks _.-..-—.- Good: Oniside commen Paper towels; | Drinking fountain. liquid soap. 98 [yen "10 Push; good oa) ounce iti LS 24 | Wooden trghs...| Good -.... In 12x 20 room...| Adequate .| No soap; no |3 sanitary drinking towels. fountains. 52 | 300 | 4 | Auto. flush; good | No doors .._.._...._. I]. Smallisink...._.. BOOT mere In small room_.__| Dark and |1 soiled towel; | 3 drinking fountains. hot. no soap. 19 | 150 | 2 | Flush; working... 1 | Enamel bowl....| Poor ..____ In small room....| Poor ..... No towels... 2 drinking fountains. 10 | 300 | 8 7 working; flush; 4 | Individ. basins..| Fair ...... In 8x12 room....[ Good -...-. Paper towels; |1 sanitary fountain. clean. soap. 62130 | 12 { Steady flow water | --. cco CL. 6 | Large sinks and | Fair ___... In 10x20 room...| Good -.... Paper towels; |1 sanitary fountain. | through iron 6 faucets. soap. | trough; clean. yg 43 | 275 | 5 01d trough; slow | No door; scant parti-| 1 | Long sink for |Fair ____..| Outside .......____ Good --.__ Paper towels; |1 drinking fountain. | | flow of water. tions; inad. paper. men and wom. : soap. 65 {1175 |: 6.[ "Trough; | HOWINE |= oeicernomeamnuinsmmn- 1 | Large sink.......| Good ----- In small room..._| Good --.__ No towels; no | Enamel drinking water; clean. soap. fountains. 66 | 200 | 8 | Flush; dirty; bad | -c-eoommmommmommeeeeeees 1 | Ordinary sink... Fair -_.._.|In 10x12 room...| Good -....|No towels; no | Cans to drink from. odor. : soap. 40 | 300 | 9 | Push clean | --cene-cosncssncnmwsnen: 12 | Enamel ........- Excellent __| In 12x18 room...| Excellent .| Liq. soap; 4 |4 drinking fountains. | large roller ‘ towels. 67.180" 5: Flush; old; bad |: .. coecuennsonmauns Tf Sink e-neonmecem= Poor _.___.| In very small rm. | Poor ._..._| No towels; no | No fountains. odor. soap. 1The numbers here shown are as reported by employers for maximum week. 2Construction not reported. 3Condition not reported. *Locked. ONINNVD HATIVIAOTA ANV II103d €e 1 Toilet and Washing Facilities—Continued. Q Toilet facilities Washing facilities = = bv) Z 2 | 3 ag sE El Ventilati Drinking of 28 nstrueti Equipment gE | chil ion sted facilities z Bz (E% “"temdition Ge RE om donttpon | Le IT Lo | SNE ie f= iS ra room 03 ! it y PREG a a ee 68 | 150 | 10 | Flush; clean .____. No doors -e-eeeeeee-- 1 | Large sink; 6 (Clean ..... In large room....| Good .....| Paper towels; | Drinking fountains. faucets. liquid soap. 30 | 140 | 3 | Flush; not clean... |. ous oe eee mnenn 9 | Pnamel olan) Pair -.... In 10x 10 room...| Close; | Dirty roller |1 bubble fountain. steam towels; no from soap. below. . 6|160 | 4 | Flush; clean..... es | NO OOTS — emeemmermme 6 | Individual ...... Good i. In 8x12 room....| Good ----- Clean towels; | Sanitary drinking liquid soap. fountains. ; 8 | 170 | 4 | Flush; all out of [No partitions; no 1 | Large sink and | Good ----- In 15 x 18 room-..| Good ----. Cake soap; 4 |1 drinking fountain; order. paper. 5 hand basins. roll. towels, | crude. dirty. 50 | 300 | 7 | Flush; poor .....- NO: dOOTS --eemmemens 5 | Individ. basins..| Fair _..... In 6 x15 room..__ Fair __.__.| Soap but no | Drinking fountain. towels. 531.180 | 5 (Flush; clean; good |... -reeecacnumcinmmmuna 6 | Large sinks; 6| Good ----- Tn 30 x 40 room.__.| Good --.-.| Few towels; |2 sanitary drinking order. faucets. no soap. fountains. 601180 | 8 | Plush; Clean ame f= ie ech nan 2 | Large sinks; 12 | Excellent__| In 12 x 15 room__.| Good —.---| Paper towels; |2 enamel drinking faucets. liquid soap. fountains. 82 (180 1 5 Flush; 4 WOKING. |. -cccundinairanmmmnem 1 | Long trough; 1| Fair ..-.. In 10 x 18 room-..| Poor; dk..| Roller towels; | Sanitary drinking faucet. no soap. fountains. The numbers here shown are as reported by employers for maximum week. *NOISSININOD HAVATIM TVISLSOANI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 25 The data secured by the commission concerning the washing facilities and summarized in the foregoing tables require the careful attention of the Wages Board. Where the chief business of the worker is to handle food products. there should be no ‘‘skimping’’ on the cleansing accommodations. This requirement, of course, has a broader basis than the health and comfort of the workers and for that reason the Wages Board and the commission can look for an especially active cooperation from the state and city health authorities as well as from the canners and employees themselves. Measured by the recommendations and regulations which are quoted above, the washing facilities in California canneries are on the whole inadequate, at least in number, though there are, of course, conspicuous exceptions. The sanitation committee of the National Canners Association makes the following statement on the subject: ‘““Wash rooms must be provided, conveniently located and of sufficient size and equipment for the accommodation of all em- ployees and separated for the sexes, equipped with running water and provided with individual or sanitary towels and plenty of soap.”’ The foregoing summaries will also reveal to the Wages Board the extent to which drinking facilities are provided for the workers. There is no question but that some provisions in this respect are sharply inade- quate. The standards raised by the sanitation committee of the Na- tional Canners Association in regard to this are: “Sanitary drinking fountains shall be conveniently placed for employees and common drinking cups be prohibited.” Other provisions recommended by this committee for the health and comfort of women employees are :* ‘“‘Stools or chairs shall be provided for employees at all work which will permit of sitting. “Where a change of clothes for work is necessary, dressing rooms must be provided and hangers and lockers provided for street clothes. ““ A rest room furnished with chairs and couch must be provided in all factories where females are employed.’ Information bearing upon the equipment which affects the health and efficiency of the women at work in California canneries was not extensive enough to warrant conclusions as to prevailing conditions at the time the foregoing analysis was made. Data as to the adequacy of seats, tables, conveyors, etc., were, however, in the course of collection for discussion later. Quoted from “The Sanitary Regulations Recommended by the National Canners Asdation During Its Seventh Annual Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, in i 26 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. THE KERNEL OF THE WAGE QUESTION IN THE CALIFORNIA CANNERIES. The 62 canneries covered by the commission’s investigation pack in the neighborhood of 25 varieties of fruits and vegetables. For pre- paring and packing, different piece rates are paid, not only for the different varieties, but often for the same varieties in different canneries. The problem of determining fair wage rates is not so complicated, however, as it looks, for while the 62 canneries pack 25 different varieties, yet from three-fourths to four-fifths of the entire canning output for the three years ending January 1, 1915, consisted of peaches, tomatoes, apricots, and *pears. : Furthermore, although women are engaged in a variety of cannery occupations, well over four-fifths of them are employed in preparing, i. e., cutting, pitting or peeling the product; or in packing, i. e., putting the prepared fruit or vegetables into the cans. Practically all of these women are paid on a piece rate basis. Obviously, then, if equitable rates are in effect or can be put into effect for the preparers and packers of these four products, an encour- aging stretch of the road to reasonable wage conditions will be covered. Not only so, but if satisfactory adjustments for the wage difficulties confronting the preparers and packers of the four principal products can be made, they will doubtless furnish safe guides for the solution of the problems involved in putting up the other twenty odd varieties of fruits and vegetables. In short, the rates paid preparers and packers of apricots, pears, peaches and tomatoes, constitute the kernel of the wage question in the California canneries. THE COMMISSION'S FIGURES ON WAGES. Some time ago the commission issued a summary of wage data fur- nished by the canners. The commission desires to impress upon the Wages Board the fact that the figures contained in that report covered the hours and earnings of all women and minors. The report on adults mcluded forewomen, subforewomen ; and that on minors included boys under eighteen years of age who are usually engaged as machine oper- ators and in general labor and are paid on a time rate basis. The figures here submitted to the Wages Board are compiled by the agents of the commission from the daily time checks or pay roll records and are confined to the two occupations of preparing and packing the four ‘Of the four products peaches are most im ituti i 3 portant, constituting well over a third of the entire pack in 1913 and 1914, and only slightly less than a third in 1912. Toma- toes, constituting about one-fifth, come next i i = fhe dn the brs pau : C xt in importance, apricots and pears follow FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 27 principal products heretofore named. It should be remembered also that they represent the output and earnings of pieceworkers only and of women only. Necessarily, therefore, they will disagree with the figures for all woman and minor labor previously reported upon by the commission, for, all other considerations aside, the inclusion of the hours and earnings of forewomen and male minors would result in a better wage showing than could be made by women alone, especially when no supervisors were included. WHAT THE FIGURES SUBMITTED HEREWITH SHOW. The purpose of submitting the following figures is to furnish the Wages Board with reliable information covering the producing power of the normal worker when engaged in putting up each of the four- named products. The woman who can do two or three times as much as the normal worker is not a serious problem for she ‘‘will make wages’’ on any rate that is high enough to keep the cannery supplied with labor at all. The women who are necessarily the chief concern of the Wages Board are the great majority whose level of production the cannery must depend on to put up its wares. What this ‘‘level of production’’ is can only be determined by taking the records for so large a number of woman hours that the exception can exert no undue influence. By “‘production records of woman hours’’ is meant the total num- ber of hours worked by the women and the total number of pounds or quarts of fruit prepared during those hours. The method has been to secure as large a number of production records as possible for preparers in apricots, peaches, pears and tomatoes from representative canneries throughout the state and to derive from these records the average production per hour. As the employing canners have recommended a piece rate for preparers of each of the four products, the Wages Board will be readily able to determine what the average hourly earning will be under the recommended rate. Before going further in this discussion it should be said that limited resources prevented the commission from taking all the available records of this kind in all of the canneries of the state. To meet the limitations in time and money, selections of representative establishments were made, the choice being approved by the commission. °Thirteen establish- ments were chosen representing both city and country canneries and reflecting the prevailing wage standards in every important district of the state. From these canneries the preparing records (4. e. cutting, pit- ting and peeling) for over 115,000 woman hours were secured. Ree- ords for more than representative days could not be secured in all of Central California Canneries, Visalia, San Jose, San Lorenzo, Sacramento; Bonner Fruit Co., Lankershim; Pasadena Canning Co., Pasadena; Libby, McNeill & Libby, Sunnyvale; Griffin-Skelley, Oakland; Golden State Canning Co., Ontario; California Fruit Canners Association, Oakland, San Francisco; Hunt Bros., Hayward; Pratt-Low Preserving Co., Santa Clara; Golden Gate Packing Co., San Jose: J. H. Flickinger Co., 28 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. these canneries because of the prevailing method of keeping such records. The numbers of boxes of apricots and peaches, for example, were always shown separately, but the numbers of hours worked were usually com- bined. Available records were confined, therefore, to such checks or entries as dealt with a single product. The obvious defect, resulting from this circumstance, is the undue or inadequate influence which a liberal or limited supply of records from a given establishment might exert. The reader should not overlook the fact, however, that an equal number of records from each cannery, even if available, would not have been a proper apportionment unless the output of the canneries was equal in volume. This, of course, is not the case, so that the only statistically accurate method of selection would have been to select records in proportion to the output. As such information was not available it was necessary to draw conclusions from the material at hand. However, it should not be overlooked that the canneries from which records were taken were regarded both by the commission and a committee of the canners as representative of the establishments throughout the state as to equipment, management and product. Furthermore, the tables summarizing the production and earning figures for over 115,000 women hours will show to what extent the individual cannery records vary from the general average and in what direction. Notwithstanding the statistical defects, therefore, the available material affords a valuable guide to the commission and the Wages Board in measuring the probable yielding power of the piece rates which the canners have recommended. : WHAT PREPARERS PRODUCE PER HOUR; WHAT THEY EARN ON THE PRESENT RATES AND WHAT THEY WOULD EARN UNDER PRESENT CONDITIONS IF THE RATES RECOMMENDED BY THE CANNERS WERE PUT INTO EFFECT. ‘Apricots. The records for nearly 45,000 working hours distributed among five selected canneries show an average production of 58.87 pounds per hour among women cutting apricots. The average price paid per hundred pounds was $0.212, netting the cutters an average of 12} cents an hour. (See Table 1.) The rate recommended by the canners is practically 25 cents a hun- dred and under present conditions would net the cutters approximately $0.147 an hour. It should be said that this rate of 25 cents a hundred, the canners recommended only for the grade of fruit known as No. 2 fruit, which is smaller, requiring more apricots to the pound, 7. e. 12 to 16, than the No. 1 grade. The rate recommended for No. 1 fruit was ®Apricots constitute about 12 per cent of the entire pack of all varieties of fruits and vegetables. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 29 20 cents per hundred. No records were available, however, as to the proportion of each grade packed. The commission has applied in this case as in the case of the other products the higher rate in order that the Wages Board might know what the highest level of earnings would be if the proportion of high and lower grades of fruit continued as they are at present. : WAGE TABLE I. Production per hour—Apricot Cutters in Selected Canneries of California. (Figures based on daily records of production for 1914 and 1915.) ol o ®) lwo [ow om ®® | Average Bast Present standards Can- a pe Proms i) Jon Days of season represented he Aon mn : | Weight Price ra No.* enter | 1 ave per earnings hour |P pr | os | pounds oa ! 3 4 — 11 4,026.5 July 3, 4, 6, 8,11 1.46 | 58.4 | 10 40 | 25 | .146 21 3,306 July 15, 17 1.35 | 60.75 | 08 45 | ne { .108 59 2,131 July 2, 3, 8, 9,15 A 10 40 25 128 30 | 7,567.75 | Whole season ¢ 127 | 57.15 | -.10 a5 | esl yy 6 | 16,614.75 | Whole season 1.1 0 407 10 43.42 | 25 11 sims 148 | 64 | 10 | 442 38 | 148 | | Total| 44,790.75 AVErages oie ecorsnancs 1.36 58.87 09% | 43.29 | 212 | 125 J | J *Establishments are numbered in this and the following tables to agree with the numbers used in the commission’s previous report summarizing the hours and earnings as reported by the canners for all women and minors: the minors including both boys and girls. Pears. For records covering nearly 9,000 hours of pear peeling, the women showed an average production per hour of nearly 38.4 pounds. average price paid in the six canneries furnishing these records was $0.371. The earnings resulting therefrom were $0.142. The rate recommended for peeling No. 2 pears is 40 cents per hundred pounds. The If the proportions of No. 1 and No. 2 grades remained unchanged this rate would yield an hourly earning of $0.153 on the same rate of production per hour. (See Table 11.) WAGE TABLE Production per hour—Pear Peelers in Selected Canneries of California. (Figures based on daily records of production in 1914.) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) | 9) Average | gauiy- : Present standards | Can- numh re 7 | Present nery | IONS Days of Season represented ao | Weight | Price hourly No. der pounds er per earnings our box ve, 100 pounds | pounds | 41 2,962 Sept. 1, 8 1.14 4218 | 15 37 405 | J 21 1,332.5 | Aug. 10, 14 .86 32.7 15% | 45 .333 129 59 399 July 23, Aug. 18. 1.01 36.36 151 | 36 413 1515 56 1,832 Aug. 28, 29, 30, 31, Sept. 3 9 38.8 15 40 875 | 1455 7 1,679.5 | Aug. 23,28 68 3264 | .15 48 3195, 108 2 569.25 | Aug. 8 a5 30.0 | 15 40 875 1125 Total 8,715.95 | Averages __..........ccooo..... 95 | 38.38 | a5 | 04 | SN | 142 " *Medium Bartlett pears. iFive grades. 30 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. "Tomatoes. The figures for tomato peeling, which is paid for by the quart rather than by the pound, are based upon nearly sixteen thousand hours, dur- ing which time the women peeled an average of 58.13 quarts per hour. They were paid an average of $0.2657 per hundred quarts in the seven canneries from which these records were received. The tomato peelers earned an average of $0.154. : The single rate recommended by the canmers is 25 cents a hundred quarts; applied to the production records the earnings per hour would be $0.145. > WAGE TABLE III. Production per hour—Tomato Peelers in Selected Canneries of California. (Figures based on daily records of production for 1914 and 1915.) w| @ 3 4) ® | ® m ® | ® Average | pouty Prevent standards Is . en Sows Days of season represented Diiher along | Price | hourly No. ae quarts Bale | Quans | per | earnings our bucket bucket, | ss 2 | 2s | ns %: 3, 10,11 4.48 63.76 01 P12 .333 | 179 { [ t. 5 70 03 14 | 2 15 41 | 1,936 5.01 61 | 03 2 . 25 25 38 | 5,354 | Sept.12,14,16,17; Oct. 11,12, 14, | | 6 5.07 60.84 03 12 25 1521 53 981 Oct. 13 5.85 70.20 0 | 12 25 | 1755 59 850.5 | Oct. 7 5.28 63.36 | .03 12 25 1584 57 | 2,136 | Oct. 29,30 45¢ | 454 | 023 10 25 | 1120 I= | | Totall 15593.1 | Averages .._._......__ 491 | 58.13 | .029 | 11.84 | .2657| .154 | | | ‘Peaches. On a record of 9,000 hours from four high-grade canneries, the pro- duction per hour in cutting cling peaches was shown to be 62.6 pounds per hour. An average price of $0.2416 per hundred pounds was paid for this work, resulting in an average hourly earning of $0.151. (See Table IV.) The canners recommend a rate of 25 cents a hundred for No. 2 grade under which the same production per hour and the same proportion of No. 1 and No. 2 grades of fruit would net the cutters of cling peaches $0.157. To secure an intelligible record of production for peach cutters was a difficult matter owing to the custom of combining the records of work- ing hours when women were cutting both cling and free peaches. Under such a system it is seldom possible to tell just what the average produc- tion per hour for each variety is throughout a season or in a large number of representative days. i : ; ; ; : ee aly) Yours miiestliy Tels iis strona) *Peaches of all varieties constituted about a third of the i i the three years ending January 1, 1915. of The entire coming oulwut for FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 31 As shown on the foregoing table, however, the commission did secure records for 9,000 hours when the women were cutting cling peaches only. These records were from four canneries regarded as among the best in the state, and therefore can be taken as throwing some light on the producing power of cutters of cling peaches under conditions doubtless better than average. One cannery shows an exceptionally high rate of production. Eliminating this establishment the average for the other three—all considered well equipped and well managed—would have fallen below 60 pounds and the earnings below 14 cents per hour. It is plain, therefore, that these records for cling peach cutters need further light and the Wages Board is requested to study them in close comparison with the following table : WAGE TABLE IV. Production per hour—Cling Peach Cutters in Selected Canneries of California. (Figures based on all available records of production for exclusively cling peaches in the selected canneries.) (1) 2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) Present standards Average Can- Hours : number Eulve To {Present nery | worked Days of season represented boxes Rate | Weight | Price hourly No. per pounds er of per earnings hour per [mx 100 | pounds | pounds 41 | 1,478 | Sept. 2, 4 1.43 | sis | 10 | 28 | 43 59 | 4,017 | July 20, 23,25; Aug. 20 1.6) | 60.84 08 | 36 29 fi" 135 6 1,243 | Weeks ending Aug. 22 and 29 215 | 87.5 12 40.7 .29 258 21 2,267 July 23, 30, 31; Aug. 10, 23 1.33 59.85 10 45 22 133 Total, 9,005 Averages. Coa 1.62 | 62.61 10 | 38.65 2416 151 Table V, showing the earnings of women cutting cling and free peaches, is based on over 40,000 hours but is limited to three canneries. There were two reasons for this. In the first place, the custom of combining the hours worked in the two varieties made it necessary to secure records from canneries putting up a considerable proportion of free peaches in order to estimate fairly the effect on the number of boxes per hour which a woman can cut when handling both clings and frees as compared with the number she can cut when work- ing in clings alone. Two of the three canneries furnishing records for free and cling peach cutters packed from a third to a half as many frees as clings. The other establishments put up approximately a fourth as many frees as clings. In the next place it was advisable to eliminate as far as possible all other variable factors which affect the amount of work which a woman can do in an hour, such as difference in equipment, management, ete., in order to further establish the effect of the free peach cutting. It was, therefore, desirable to get as many hours as possible in the same 52 INDUSTRIAL, WELFARE COMMISSION. cannery. Inasmuch, however, as two of the canneries paid rates markedly in excess of that paid in other canneries, and as these rates | materially affect the general average on the table because of the large number of records available, the average rate of $0.279 per hundred pounds paid in these three canneries is not fairly representative. 10The value of this table lies chiefly in the records of production per hour when women are cutting both free and cling peaches. During the 40,459 hours the women cut approximately 7,695 pounds per hour, 44 per cent of which were free peaches, and 55 per cent! clings. One glance at the two tables reveals apparently a marked influence for better earnings when women are cutting both frees and clings than when they are cutting clings alone. This is only an apparent influence, for as before intimated the price paid both for frees and clings in the canneries furnishing the records summarized in Table V was markedly higher than elsewhere in the state. In other words, using only the production records and applying thereto the average rate paid for clings in the other canneries and which is substantially the same as the highest rate recommended by the canners’ committee (25 cents per 100 pounds), the general average earnings per hour would, on the same rate of production, fall to $0.154, which is substantially the same as that earned on cling peaches as shown in Table IV. The rate now paid for cutting a hundred pounds of free peaches is slightly less than half of that paid for cutting cling peaches and that recommended by the canners committee is just half that for cling peaches. This is on the assumption that women can cut twice as many free peaches in an hour as they can cut of clings. But the records (see Tables IV and V) show that they are not cutting at quite the rate’? of half as much again per hour. That it is not representative is further indicated by the fact that the highest rate recommended by the canners is 25 cents and for frees 12% cents. 4This proportion does not prevail throughout the state, the proportion of frees being much less. 2The reason for this will appear in the discussion of cannery equipment. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 33 WAGE TABLE V. Production per hour—Free and Cling Peach Cutters in Selected Canneries > * of California. (Figures based on daily records wherein number of boxes of each variety were kept separate and the hours worked were combined.) wm | ® @lele ole oa Per cent of | Anompg, Present | hourly Can- | pours num- | alent f ason represented nery od Part of season rep N Ti in | ear 0. Xes Oe potnds} Frees | Clings | Frees | Clings ngs hour | | | | 1 | [ | | 10 | 9965 | July 16 2.24 | 89.60 | 24.77 | 75.23 | 12 | 20 162 6 | 18,3160 & Weeks ending Aug. 1 and 15; | 1.85 | 74.03 | 48.5 | 51.6 15 29 168 | July 18 and 25, 1914 --1:11,531.5 Weeks ending July 24, 31; Aug. | 2.23 89.33 | 34.1 | 65.9 29 2219 (7, 1915 | 30 |10,615.5 | Weeks ending July 31; Aug. 7, 14 | 1.60 | 67.20 50.09 | 49.9 143 .286 143 Total 40,459.5 | Averages a. 190 | 76.95 | u3 | 557 | ! | FACTORS WHICH ENTER INTO THIS PRODUCTION PER HOUR AND WHICH MUST BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN DETERMINING EQUITABLE RATES. = = a4 | ad 169 | A situation exists which makes it necessary to compare carefully the average production for all canneries selected for this study with the average production in the individual canneries shown separately on the foregoing tables. The commission refers to the difference in equipment, working con- ditions and grades of fruit and vegetables found in the several canneries included in the group from which these records were taken. A cannery which manages, either through improved equipment, or by providing carriers and cleaners, to get the raw material to, and the finished pro- duct and waste away from, the cutters without effort or loss of time on their part makes possible a larger production per hour, and a propor- tionately higher earning power on the same grade of product and same rate, than the cannery which causes the cutters to lose time and energy ‘‘fetching and carrying’’ or in waiting for supplies. Again, certain districts of the state supply a better grade of product than others. The fruit is larger, requiring fewer units to fill a box of given weight ; or there is less spoilage, requiring less handling of the ma- terial. The grades of product in a district for a season may be so bad as to more than offset the effect of superior equipment and management and cause the production per hour to fall below that of women working in canneries supplied with better product, but with inferior equipment or management. aves : According to the schedules filled in by the canner in only a few cases does the rate per box for cutting vary with the grades of fruit. Where a variation does exist it is usually made by requiring fewer pounds to the box, 4. e., ‘‘the boxes are not filled quite so full.”” Just how many 3—:2554 : 3. & 34 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. pounds are deducted is not stated in any case. In some instances it is made clear that the adjustment is left to the discretion of the foreman. On the whole, however, the rate per box is the same for all sizes of one variety, the women being required frequently to do the sorting into the various grades. The best illustration of the effect which quality of fruit exerts upon producing power of the cutter is shown in Cannery No. 6 (Wage Table No. I). The records of this cannery for apricot cutting were available for two whole seasons. Its management and equipment were found by the commission to be such as to reduce to a minimum waste of time and energy. The personnel of the force during the two seasons was not materially changed, and the rate and the number of pounds to the box remained the same. Yet the production per hour in one year was but a little over 47} pounds per hour as compared with 64 pounds per hour in the other year. In other words, the apricot cut- ters produced over a third more per hour and consequently earned a third more per hour on one ‘‘year’s run of fruit’’ than on another. Inasmuch as cannery managers buy apricots in two grades, viz: No. 1 sound fruit, running not over 12 to the pound; No. 2, running from 12 to 16 to the pound; and inasmuch as they also buy pears and peaches in two grades, it is worth while to consider the fairness and feasibility of fixing the rates for cutting on the same basis, notwithstanding the can- ners’ committee recommendation that only one rate be fixed and that on the basis of No. 1 fruit. This variation in quality of fruit, equipment and management is an important factor in bringing about such discrepancies in production per hour among individual canneries as are shown on the five foregoing tables. The differences in hourly earnings, of course, are affected not alone by variations of grades of fruit, equipment and management, but by the variations in rates for the same variety and grade of product. For example, although the rate for preparing apricots and pears are almost uniformly 10 cents and 15 cents per box respectively, the boxes contain anywhere from 36 to 48 pounds. Reduced to price paid per hundred pounds, the rates actually vary from $0.315 to $0.405 per hun- dred pounds of pears (see Table II) and from $0.177 to $0.25 per hundred pounds of apricots (see Table I). Bearing in mind then that at present the standards of equipment and management vary from cannery to cannery it becomes important, as before stated, to note carefully what extent the production per hour and earnings for preparers in each cannery shown on the five foregoing tables vary from the general averages, at the foot of the tables, which are the only figures discussed thus far. Referring again to the table for apricots (Table I) which shows a general average production of 58.87 pounds per hour, and an average FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 35 earning of $0.125, it becomes apparent that in no case does the produc- tion in any single cannery shown on the table exceed the average by as much as six pounds, nor do the individual cannery earnings exceed the general average by as much as 24 cents. In short, the production of any single cannery does not exceed the production per hour of all canneries by as much as 10 per cent. Nor do the earnings in any indi- vidual cannery exceed the earnings for all the canneries by more than 18} per cent. On the other hand, the same table shows that the average production per hour in the individual canneries fell in one season over 16 pounds, or over 274 per cent below the general average, though the earnings were not depressed in the same proportion owing to the fact that the cannery whose production per hour fell so far below the aver- age paid a rate sufficiently high to yield an hourly earning better than other canneries showing more production per hour. The fact of prime importance on the whole is that the general average shown on Table 1 1s fairly reliable evidence of the level of production and earnings per hour above which the majority of apricot cutters can not be counted on to rise under present conditions. For the table shows that of the nearly 45,000 hours, approximately 30,000 hours show an hourly production below the general average of 58.87 pounds for all canneries. Also the records for almost the same number of hours show the earnings to be substantially the same or less than the general average of $0.125. More striking in pears than in apricots is the variation in the weight of the boxes (see Table II) in the several canneries, the range being from 36 to 48 pounds. The rates are uniformly 15 cents per box, but reduced to a pound basis they actually vary from $0.313 to $0.416 a hundred pounds. The average rate paid in the siX canneries was $0.371; the average production per hour was 38. 38 pounds, netting the orion an average of $0.142 per hour. The lowest hourly earnings shown by any individual cannery is $0.103 and is recorded for the cannery showing the lowest rate per hundred pounds, and second lowest production per hour. The commission has no information as to the predominant grades of pears running in the several canneries, but that a poor run of fruit is not entirely responsible for the comparatively low output per hour is indicated by the report of the commission’s agent that the workers “lost time through inefficient methods.”” It is instructive to know also that the cannery showing the highest output per hour is one recognized as exceptionally well equipped and well managed. Not only did this cannery show the highest output per hour in the pear peeling, but as it also paid next to the highest rate per hundred pounds the earnings per hour were markedly in excess of other establishments. Tt is especially important for the Wages Board to note, however, that in no other cases do the earnings for pear peelers rise more than a cent 36 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. above the general average of $0.142. [In pears, then, as in apricots, the general average should indicate the level of earnings above which the majority of preparers do not rise. The same important fact is observable in connection with the tables for tomatoes (Table III) and those for peaches (Tables IV and V). For the great majority of hours, the production and earnings closely correspond with the general average for all canneries shown on the table. HOURLY EARNINGS OF PACKERS. The women engaged in filling the prepared fruit into the cans are called ‘‘packers’’ in the California canneries and the term is so used in this report. The packers are usually outnumbered by the preparers (1. e., cutters, peelers, ete.) two and often three to one, so that the Wages Board will have accomplished the most important part of its work when it shall have determined equitable rates for the preparers. It is to be regretted, however, that it is not possible to furnish the Wages Board with the production records for packers similar to those furnished for the preparers. This was not possible because the packers’ records of number of cans filled with the several products and with the various grades of the same product could not be distinguished. Fre- quently there was nothing to indicate the product except the rate, and one rate was often paid for a number of products. Furthermore, the numbers of hours worked in all products and grades were combined. The best that could be done with the limited resources was to show, from the original records, the average hourly earnings of women who were engaged in filling cans, chiefly with apricots, peaches, pears and tomatoes, though assurance can not be given the Wages Board that no other products were involved. On the other hand, the number of working hours (approximately 30,000) for which the earnings of packers were shown, are not inade- quate in view of the proportion of packers to preparers. Also the eight canneries furnishing these records are fairly representative of the canneries throughout the state. ‘Wage Table VI shows that the hourly earnings of packers in the eight canneries average $0.159. That the majority of packers are earning not more than this general average is shown by the fact that for two- thirds of the 30,000 working hours the earnings are substantially the same or less. This question may be profitably raised for the consideration of the Wages Board: in view of the absence of records of production for packers, and in view of the fact that it can not be said that a rate is 13The Bonner Fruit Co., The Pasadena Canning Co., Pratt-Low Preserving Co. (Santa Clara), J. H. Flickinger, Griffin-Skelley: Co. (Oakland), Central California Canneries (Sacramento), C. F A. (San Francisco) and Central California Can- neries (San Lorenzo). : FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 37 adequate until the amount which the average women can do in an hour is known, would it not be part of wisdom, either— (1) To refrain from fixing rates for packers until adequate records are available; or (2) To fix a time rate for packers pending the availability of pro- duction records. The packers in Eastern canneries are paid quite generally upon a time rate basis, so that proposition No. 2 ought not to be impracticable. WAGE TABLE VI. Hourly Earnings of Women Packing Apricots, Peaches, Pears and Tomatoes in Selected Canneries of California. n- £ ety Zoos Part of season represented douy’ 6 5,081 Weeks ending June 20, 27; July 4, 11, 18, 25; August 1, 8, 15-... 141 5,075 Weeks ending July 3, 10, 24, 31; August 7, 14- o_o... 1927 30 2,858 ‘Weeks ending July 3, 10, 17, 31; August 14,21. __C . oii oil 158 57 1,560.5. [| Weeks ending September 15, 22... oa rl 155 2 10,649.25 | Weeks ending July 4, 11, 18 13 21 5,740.5: July 15, 17,923,280; Augast 10... co oa a LE 17 56 2,218 August 12, 27, 28, 31 Bel. .2098 53 610.5 | Week ¢nding October 9_____________ 167 n 195.5 | July 4, 10, 11, 12, 13 . J1 29,797.25 Totals... c = .159 38 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. On January 13, 1916, a wage board in the fruit and vegetable can- ning industry met at the office of the commission in San Francisco. Its report follows: REPORT OF WAGES BOARD IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING INDUSTRY. Submitted by KATHERINE Puirips Epson, Chairman of Wage Board. To the Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California: Pursuant to your instructions of January 21st, I submit the following report as chairman of the Wages Board in the Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry of California. Convened Thursday, January 13, 1916, at ten o’clock a.m. at Room 815, Mechanics Building, San Francisco. The Wages Board consisted of E. H. Kennedy, Bonner Fruit Co, Lankershim; R. I. Bentley, California Fruit Canners’ Association, San Francisco; and Andrew G. Griffin, Griffin & Skelley Co., San Francisco, representing the employing canners; and Mrs. Isabel Schmitz, Berkeley; Mrs. Erma Corey, Sacramento; and Miss Jennie Balistreri, San Francisco, representing the employees in the canning industry. All six representatives are actively engaged in the canning industry of the state and expect to continue as employers and workers. The chairman gave a preliminary explanation of the duties and pur- poses of the commission and of the Wages Board, and also explained that while extensive investigations had been made in the other industries employing women, the canning industry was the one chosen first for consideration because the commission appreciated that it was necessary for that industry to have its rulings early so that they might make any desired changes before the season of 1916. The following program was adopted as the procedure for discussion: Cost of Living— Analysis of Schedule. Consideration of Items. Determination of Living Wage. Wage— Consideration of basis of wage—time—piecework. Tentative determination of basis of earning capacity, 7. e., number of hours of work required to earn living wage. Classification of employment for separate consideration : Cutters. Canners. All others. | 1 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 39 Cutters— Consideration and determination of rates for different varieties, and basis of computation. Definition of just what work is to be done for rate paid. Records— Methods of keeping records of work done. Duplicate records for employees. Records for the commission. Canners— Consideration and determination of rates. Advisability of time rate or piece rate with guaranteed minimum— per hour—day—week. Records. As above. All Others— Including time workers, checkers, forewomen, labelers (8 hour basis for labelers—separate consideration). Consideration and records as above. Hours— Consideration and determination of limitation of hours. Limitation by week—day. Exempted period (number of days, specific dates, specific period). Maximum limit during exempted period. Overtime— Manner of payment (increased time rates, increased piece rates). Transcript of record of overtime. Time to be allowed for noonday meal, supper in case of overtime work. Conditions of Employment— Consideration and determination of standards. Tentative standards of State Board of Health. Rest rooms. Proper eating places. Seats for women while employed. Prohibition—requiring or permitting women to carry boxes of fruit. After submitting data on the minimum cost of living of a self-depend- ent woman in California, furnished by the commission, it was decided, after extended discussion, that owing to the fact that the piece rate form of payment was the prevailing one in the canning industry and that the earnings of the women would be increased by the changes incident to the standardization of the weights of the boxes of fruit and vegetables, elimination of lost time, ete., required by the commission, that the question of the Wages Board’s recommendation on the cost of living 40 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. be deferred until more extended investigation of the results of such proposed rates could be had. The employers’ representatives stated further that, inasmuch as the past rates were such as to take women out of some of the regular indus- tries of the state for their short season of seven weeks, they believed it would not be fair for them to set a wage which might be entirely possible for their industry, with its short season, but which would establish a precedent which might be unfair to industries employing women throughout the year. They further stated that they believed they could propose rates which would yield what the commission would consider as their pro rata of the yearly living wage. The canners’ representatives said that the Advisory Committee of the Canners’ League of (California had submitted to the commission a tentative schedule of minimum rates, which they believed should stand as the employers’ recommendations for consideration by the Wage Board. They also suggested that, inasmuch as the employers’ rep- resentatives were willing to submit a schedule of rates, the repre- sentatives of the workers be requested to do likewise. This sug- gestion was unanimously adopted and the meeting was adjourned until January 14th, at two o’clock p.m., to allow the workers’ representa- tives to prepare their recommendations, and for all to familiarize themselves with the data and hourly production records submitted by the commission. At two o’clock p.m., January 14th, the Wage Board met and pro- ceeded to submit recommendations as to minimum rates and standard conditions of employment. The following recommendations were submitted by the representa- tives of the employers: SepTEMBER 30, 1915. To the Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California: The Committee of Canners, appointed at your request to act in an advisory capacity, begs to report that several meetings have been held at which the subject of standardizing working conditions for women in the canneries of the state has been given very earnest consideration. We wish to express our appreciation of the courtesy you have extended by inviting us to make recommendations to you in advance of the adoption by you of any regulations governing women employees in canneries. We are particularly indebted to your secretary, Mr. Scheel, for the very comprehensive data furnished this committee, which has been of the greatest value to us in dealing with this very complex subject. We also desire to take this opportunity of saying that we shall be FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 41 very glad to cooperate with you at all times and in any way that we can be of assistance in standardizing working and sanitary conditions affecting women employees. We are submitting two schedules as prepared in Mr. Scheel’s office: No. 1 fruit No. 2 fruit Peaches, clings Peach free $.20 per 100 lbs. | $.25 per 100 lbs. .10 per 100 lbs. .125 per 100 lbs. Apricots 20 per 100 lbs. .25 per 100 1bs. Pears .325 per 100 lbs. .40 per 100 lbs. Cherries .25 per 100 lbs. 25 per 100 lbs. Tomatoes—per 12 qts. i3 ! $.03 ‘We further recommend that the minimum rate for filling or packing fruit in cans be as follows: No. 2% cans $.01% per doz. No. 10 cans _ .036 per doz. and that the minimum rate for filling tomatoes be $.01 per dozen. It is the unanimous opinion, however, of the committtee that in order to avoid complications only ome schedule for preparing fruit be adopted, at least for the first year. That it is the belief of the committee that work on the No. 2 fruit will adjust itself, compelling a price proportionate to price paid for work- ing No. 1 fruit. In the event that the commission decides two schedules are necessary, the Advisory Committee requests the privilege of an audience with the commission to discuss the subject. We recommend that the minimum rate per hour for women be ten cents for beginners and that fifteen cents per hour be the minimum rate for experienced workers. We are not prepared at this time to submit any recommendations regarding the hours of work per day or week, as we believe that any such restriction would more seriously affect other interests than it would our own. Very truly yours, CANNERS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE, R. I. BENTLEY, R. M. BARTHOLD, A. G. GRIFFIN, G. E. GRIER, E. H. KENNEDY, E. E. CHASE, The Committee. 42 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. “The workers’ representatives then submitted the following recom- mendations. These had been carefully considered after studying such data as had been made accessible to the Canners’ Committee and which had been furnished them by the commission : : JANUARY 14, 1916. To the Wages Board on the Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry: We herewith submit schedule of rates which we consider to be the minimum rates that should be paid in the fruit and vegetable canning industry: Cutting— Cling peaches, not to exceed two grades, 25¢ per 100 lbs. or 10c per box 40 lbs. Free peaches, not to exceed three grades, 173c¢ per 100 lbs. or Te per box, 40 Ibs. Apricots, not to exceed eight grades, 25¢ per 100 lbs. or 10c per box, 40 Ibs. Pears, not to exceed nine grades, 373c per 100 lbs. or 15¢ per box, 40 Ibs. Tomatoes, not to exceed three grades, 4c per bucket of 12 qts. These rates to cover all grades of fruit, with the understanding that the smaller fruit is equally distributed with the larger. Canning— All fruit No. 21 Pie and Water grades, 13c per doz. cans. Standards, sorting to 2”, 2c per doz. cans. Extras, 3c per doz. cans. No. 10 Pie and Water grades, .036 per doz. cans or .015 per tray of 5 cans. Standards, .048 per doz. cans or .02 per tray of 5 cans. Extras, .072 per doz. cans or .03 per tray of 5 cans. Tomatoes No. 23} Standards, lc per doz. cans. No. 21 Solid Pack, not sorted, 1ic per doz. cans. No. 23 Solid Pack, sorted, 2c per doz. cans. No. 10 Standards, .024 per doz. cans or .01 per tray of 5 cans. Solid Pack, not sorted, .036 per doz. cans or .01% per tray of 5 cans. Solid Pack, sorted, .048 per doz. cans or .02 per tray of 5 cans. All these rates are based on fruit and cans being delivered to the canning table. Day Work— All inexperienced day workers to receive not less than 15¢ per hour. All experienced workers to receive not less than 173c per hour. An inexperienced worker shall be deemed one who has worked in a cannery during one whole canning season. We believe that the normal day in the fruit and vegetable canning industry should be ten (10) hours, and the normal week sixty (60) hours. All work performed after ten (10) hours shall be on an overtime basis. Over- time shall be paid at the rate of one and one-half times the adopted rates. In no event, however, shall the hours of labor exceed twelve (12) hours in any one day, or more than seventy-two (72) hours in any one week. Respectfully submitted, ISABEL SCHMITZ, ErMA COREY, JENNIE BALISTRERI, Representing the Employees. The workers’ representatives stated in explanation of their recom- mendations that they believed the piece rate basis of payment was the one for them to consider at present, inasmuch as the greatest percent- age of the workers were now under this system. It was then decided by the board to confine the discussion of rates to a piece rate basis. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 43 It was also agreed that the rates of pay for preparing apricots, peaches, pears and tomatoes would be sufficient to consider this year, as they constitute 80 per cent of the fruit and vegetable pack of the state. After a very profitable afternoon spent in the discussion of these two schedules, the board adjourned until Monday, January 17th, at ten o’clock a.m., thus giving time for conference and further study of the submitted data. On the morning of January 17th the Wages Board continued further the discussion of rates. Much interesting information was developed By both sides, the employees especially bringing out clearly the loss to the worker because of inadequate instruction as to the best and quickest way of cutting and canning fruit. Also the loss to them caused by waste time, inefficient management, and by requiring them in some canneries to carry fruit and waste and trays on their own time, thus reducing their piecework earnings materially. Many instances were cited of the handicaps to the workers in arriving at their highest productivity. This seemed of great interest to the employers. | | ert The piece rates on tomatoes precipitated a discussion of the disagreeable features of peeling and canning tomatoes. It was even stated by the workers that it was an occupation fraught with health hazards because of the unusual amount of dampness and steam to which the workers were subject. For this reason they believed that they should be paid a rate which would yield a higher earning than on fruit. After a full discussion of all products it was agreed to adjourn until Tuesday, January 18th, at two o’clock p.m., for the final recommenda- tions. On January 18th at two o’clock p.m., the Wages Board proceeded ta its final discussion of minimum rates. The canners’ representatives said that they believed their recommendations, with the improved work- ing conditions that the commission would introduce, would yield a good wage. The workers’ representatives said that they had seriously con- sidered the matter and would accept the canners’ rates on apricots and peaches under certain conditions. They called attention to the con- fusion consequent to working on two rates of pay on the same variety of fruit, and said they believed the workers would prefer one rate for all grades. They further said they believed it should be a higher rate than the canners’ recommended rate of $.20 per hundred pounds for No. 1 fruit. A recess was taken to allow for the discussion of this proposal. After the recess, the workers’ representatives submitted the following schedule, which was a compromise between the workers’ rates (which in some instances were the same as the employers’ rates for No. 2 fruit) and the employers’ rates on No. 1 fruit. al 44 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. ‘We, the representatives of employees on the Canning Wage Board, submit the following schedule of minimum rates for consideration by the board : Cutting. | Per 100 1bs. | Per 40 Ibs. z Sn Apricots i | $.225 $.09 Pears { 375 | 15 Peaches, cling { 225 09 Peaches, free i 125 05 Tomatoes—per 12 quarts $0.35 Canning. Per dozen cans Pruit— No. 23 $.015 No. 10 .036 Tomatoes— No. 23% 01 No. 10 024 ISABEL SCHMITZ, ERMA COREY, JENNIE BALISTRERL A further recess of fifteen minutes was taken to discuss this proposal. Upon the reconvening of the board the canners’ representatives said that they would accept all the fruit rates but could not accept the rate of 3} cents a bucket on tomatoes. In explanation of their refusal to accept this rate, the canners’ representatives explained that while the California canning industry had little to fear from interstate competi- tion in the disposal of their fruit, there existed a keen competition in tomatoes; that generally they were packed as a leader for business and that there was but little profit in their production. It was further stated by the canners’ representatives that they believed great con- cessions had been made in raising all their fruit rates and they were confident that with the improved management, eliminating lost time, and the standardization of the sizes of boxes of fruit and vegetables to be cut, due to setting the cutting rate on a hundred-pound basis, that the women would average a much higher hourly production than in the past. It was definitely understood by both sides that careful records were: to be kept by the canneries on all products, to find out what the pro- posed rates would yield. If they did not yield the hourly earnings that would equal the amount determined by the commission as covering the “necessary cost of living’’ while engaged in the industry, then the piece FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 45 rates would necessarily have to be raised next season. The representa- tives of the workers accepted the change in the tomato rate upon the above understanding. The Wage Board unanimously accepted the following minimum rates of pay for cutting and canning of fruits and vegetables: Cutting. | 1 1 | Per 100 1bs. | Box 40 lbs. ; | Apricots | $.225 $.09 Pears | 375 | 15 Peaches, cling 225 | 09 Peaches, free | J25 | 05 Tomatoes—per dozen quarts Ee $.03 Canning. Per dozen cans Fruit, No. 2%. oe | $.015 Fruit, No. 10 .036 Tomatoes, No. 2% 01 Tomatoes, No. 10 L024 The question of payment for ‘‘day work’’ was referred to the com- mission. The board called attention to the fact that probably less than 5 per cent of the women engaged in the industry work upon a ‘‘day work’’ basis. TI would like to call your attention to the effect of these recommended rates upon the industry, and the gain to the women working in the industry, if the commission accept them. I regret that I can not submit to you in tonnage the exact proportion of the yearly pack affected by these recommendations, but the canners preferred to withhold this information this year. In the season of 1915 43 per cent of the canneries packing apricots paid a lower rate than $.225 per hundred pounds, or $.09 per 40-pound box. It will mean a gain to the women working in these canneries of from 1 to 4 cents per box of 40 pounds. Sixteen per cent of the can- neries packing apricots paid $.225 per hundred pounds and 41 per cent were paying above that rate. Apricots are 19.1 per cent of the entire fruit pack of the state. Of the canneries packing free peaches, 19 per cent paid less than $.125 per hundred pounds, or 5 cents per box of 40 pounds of fruit. It means a gain in these canneries of 1 cent per box of 40 pounds of fruit. Thirty-eight per cent of the canneries were paying $.125 per hundred pounds, and 43 per cent paid above this rate. Free peaches are 14.9 per cent of the entire fruit pack of the state. 46 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Of the canneries packing pears, 36 per cent paid less than $.375 per hundred pounds, or 15 cents per box of 40 pounds for peeling. It means a gain to the women in these canneries of from 1 to 3 cents per box of 40 pounds. Thirty per cent of the canneries paid this rate, and 34 per cent paid above this rate. Pears are 13.5 per cent of the entire fruit pack of the state. Of the canneries packing cling peaches, 58 per cent paid less than $.225 per hundred pounds, or 9 cents a box of 40 pounds. It will mean a gain to the women in these canneries of from 1 to 4 cents per box of 40 pounds. Twenty per cent of the canneries paid this rate, and 22 per cent above this rate. Cling peaches are 43.9 per cent of the total fruit pack of the state. Therefore, the recommended rates of the Wage Board would materially raise the earnings of the women who prepare these four products, which are 91.4 per cent of the total fruit pack of the state. Of the canneries which reported canning tomatoes, 18 per cent paid less than 3 cents per 12-quart bucket. The tomato pack is 21 per cent of the entire fruit and vegetable pack of the state. ‘When you consider that these gains have been made by the unanimous recommendation of the Wage Board, and that the canneries affected by one or more rates employ throughout the season over 20,000 women, I think we may feel that this first Wage Board has been highly successful. THE LIMITATION OF HOURS. In the discussion of the recommendations submitted by both sides as to the limitation of hours, the representatives of the employers stated that they stood by the proposals of the Canners’ Advisory Committee. In questioning the representatives of the workers as to the reason for their demands they said that they realized the seasonal nature of the industry and that the same reasons for the shorter day might not exist; that they knew that in certain localities it was difficult to collect for so short a time a labor supply sufficiently large to handle the emergencies that come with the glut of the fruit season. Therefore they were will- ing to consider an emergency overtime under some kind of protective regulation. However, the workers had found out from experience that the depreciation of their earning power consequent to the fatigue of long hours was a very real loss, therefore they believed that they should be compensated by a higher rate of pay for such work. In answer to my question as to the fairness of the operatives’ demand for time and one-half for overtime the canners’ representatives said it would result in absolutely no overtime, as such a rate they considered prohibitive. In conclusion of this discussion the canners said they FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 47 were willing to leave this matter to the commission, believing the com- mission would not make any drastic regulations that would too greatly handicap the industry. The employees’ representatives said that they, too, were willing to leave it to the commission, as they believed they would receive pro- tection from excessive hours. Both sides were satisfied with the tentative suggestions for sanitary regulations agreed to by the State Board of Health. The Wages Board referred to the commission the method of keeping records that would be complete enough to give accurate information as to the effect of its rulings, with the understanding that the commission would work out the proper kind of records with representatives of the industry. We were indeed fortunate in the personnel of our first Wage Board. We are indebted to them for their sincere and honest effort to deal justly with the claims of either side. In conclusion, I wish to call your attention to the fact that we met with the same cordial spirit of cooperation from the canners’ repre- sentatives that the employers of the state have accorded our commission’s efforts from the beginning of our work. I believe that upon holding and developing this confidence in the sincerity and fairness of the com- mission depends largely the future success of this pioneer work, for we know that the watchword of modern industrial life is ‘‘ Cooperation.’’ Respectfully submitted. KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON, Chairman of Wages Board. 48 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WAGES BOARD. SAN FRANCISCO, JANUARY 18, 1916. To The Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California: We, the undersigned, members of the Wages Board called by your Honorable Commission in the fruit and vegetable canning industry, after carefully considering the wages, hours and conditions of labor in the said industry, have the honor to submit herewith the following schedule of estimated minimum piece rates to be paid to women in the fruit and vegetable canning industry of the State of California : Cutting jee wows. | EPH — t Apricots $.225 | $.09 Pears | .375 | 15 Peaches, cling 225 09 Peaches, free | 125 05 Tomatoes—per 12 quarts i: $.03 1 ; Per dozen Canning Se Fruit, No. 2} $.015 Fruit, No. 10 036 Tomatoes, No. 23 ___ os 1 .01 Tomatoes, No. 10 024 We do not make any recommendations concerning hours and conditions of labor, as we believe that these questions can best be left to your Honorable Com- mission to determine. (Signed) E. H. KENNEDY, R. I. BENTLEY, A. G. GRIFFIN, Representing the Employers. ISABEL SCHMITZ, ERMA COREY, JENNIE BALISTRERI. Representing the Employees. KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON, Representing the commission. Attest : H. A. SCHEEL, Secretary ex officio. TENTATIVE DRAFT OF SANITARY STANDARDS AS AGREED TO BY THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH AND SUBMITTED TO WAGES BOARD. (1) Lighting.—Every workroom (hereafter constructed) must be supplied with adequate natural light during the working daylight hours. Every workroom (now constructed and which is not so equipped as to furnish adequate natural light during the working daylight hours) must be supplied with sufficient artificial light properly placed. Every FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 49 workroom must be supplied during the working hours when daylight is not available with sufficient artificial light properly placed. (2) Ventilation—The ventilation of each workroom shall be adequate and there shall be sufficient provision for preventing excessive humidity by the removal of escaping steam. (3) Floors—Each workroom shall have an impermeable floor, words of cement or tile laid in cement, brick, wood or other suitable non- absorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. Floors must be tight and hard and in good repair, and be pitched to provide for drainage so that there will be no unreasonable depth of water. All excess of water or overflow must be immediately removed. Where women work, racks must be provided, height of rack to be not less than three inches. (4) Toilet Rooms.—Toilet rooms shall be completely partitioned off from workrooms and the doors must be so located, or protected by sereen, that the water-closet compartment shall not be visible from the outside. (5) Lighting of Toilet Rooms—Toilet rooms shall have adequate natural or artificial light so that every part of the room and of the interior of each compartment shall be easily visible. (6) Ventilation of Toilet Rooms.—Toilet rooms shall be sufficiently ventilated and the ventilation shall be only to the outside of the building. (7) Floors of Toilet Rooms. —The floors of such toilet rooms shall be of cement, tile laid in cement, wood, brick, or other nonabsorbent material, and shall be washed and scoured daily and shall be kept in good repair. (8) Walls of Toilet Rooms—All walls of toilet rooms and water- closet compartments, unless constructed of glazed tile, brick, ete., shall be kept covered with a nonabsorbent light-colored paint, varnish or other impervious compound. (9) Water-closet Compartments—Every water-closet shall be in a separate compartment, which must be not less than twenty-eight inches wide, and provided with a door. (10) Partitions of Water-closet Compartments.—Partitions of water-closet compartments shall be not less than six feet high and shall extend not nearer the ceiling and floor than one foot. (11) Number of Water-closets.—The number of water-closets shall be not less than one to every twenty women employed, or majority frac- tion thereof, based on the maximum number of women employed at one time. 4—32554 50 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. (12) Types of Water-closets—Every water-closet shall have a bowl of vitreous china, or of first quality cast-iron, porcelain enameled inside and out, or of other approved material. Every such bowl shall be pro- vided with adequate facilities for flushing and shall be set entirely free from enclosing woodwork and so installed that the space around it can be easily cleaned. (13) Water-closet Seats—The bowls of water-closets shall be pro- vided with seats of wood or other non-heat absorbing material and shall be coated with varnish or some other waterproof substance. (14) Toilet Paper—An adequate supply of toilet paper shall be provided in every water-closet compartment. (15) Cleaning of Toilets.—All toilets shall be kept clean and the bowls and seats of water-closets shall be scrubbed at least once a day. All toilets, wash rooms, lavatories and water-closet compartments shall be kept clean. (16) Water Supply.—Each place of employment shall he supplied with sufficient pure drinking water, and the faucets shall be placed so 3 i { that they are convenient to the employees. Common drinking cups are prohibited. Individual cups must be used or sanitary drinking foun- tains must be installed. (17) Wash Rooms.—Wash rooms and lavatories shall be adjacent to toilet rooms and shall be supplied with soap, running water and towels and shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. (18) Number of Wash Bowls—The number of wash bowls, sinks or other appliances shall be not less than one to every twenty women. Twenty inches of sink with one faucet shall be considered as an equiva- lent of one wash bowl. The use of spring faucets is prohibited. Subsequent to the deliberations of the Wages Board a public hearing in the fruit and vegetable canning industry was held at San Francisco on February 11, 1916, at which numerous representatives of the canning industry and employees met and discussed fully the problems of hours, wages and working conditions in the canneries. NoTeE.—Sections in italics are provisions of present state law, Statutes 1909, chapter 104. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 51 The result of these deliberations was the issuance by the commission on February 14, 1916, of the following orders, which became effective sixty days thereafter: ORDER NO. 1. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING INDUSTRY. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. State of California. 948 Market Street, San Francisco. To Whom it May Concern: TAkE Notice: That pursuant to and by virtue of the authority vested in it by the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 324, and amendments thereto, and after public hearing duly had in the City and County of San Francisco, on Friday, February 11, 1916, TaE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA does hereby order that: 1. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in the fruit and vegetable canning industry in any of the following occupations at piecework rates less than the following: Ooeuns- Variety Minimum piece rate Cutting {Apricots of ci oo loi aio lao lien $0.225 per 100 lbs. (or $0.09 per 40 lbs.) " Cutting | Pears 3 0.375 per 100 lbs. (or 0.15 per 40 lbs.) Cutting i] Cling peaches ..-—... a 0. i. 0.225 per 100 lbs. (or 0.09 per 40 lbs.) Gatting || Pree peaches: ...... .o op ool lial iiap 0.125 per 100 lbs. (or 0.05 per 40 lbs.) Cutting {Momatoes Xz. lr. oo... ceil ili il 0.03 per 12 quarts Dosupas Variety Size of can Minimum piece rate Canning: AN varieties of fruit. ... oi. inc i- No. 2% | $0.015 per dozen cans Canning | All varieties of fruit. ... .......L .. i. No. 10 0.036 per dozen cans Canning |'Momatoes coil. i an all Cai] No. 23 0.01 per dozen cans Canning "Momataes aia al No. 10 0.024 per dozen cans ) 2. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in the fruit and vegetable canning industry in any occupation at time rates less than the following: Class Minimum time Experience Rane Lococo. ns re a el ATT) $0.16 per hour Inexperienced hands ocr io ii aaa Tl es 0.13 per hour Any woman or minor shall be deemed an experienced hand who has worked in the said industry for more than three weeks, and every employer in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall, when 52 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. demand is made by any woman or minor employed, furnish such employee with a statement setting forth the period of employment of such employee in his establishment. 3. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit an adult woman, eighteen years of age or over, to work in the fruit and vegetable canning industry for more than ten hours in any one day, or more than sixty hours in any one week, except in case of emergency; provided, however, that in no case shall the hours of employment of any woman exceed seventy-two hours in any one week; provided, fur- ther, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to those occupations coming under the provisions of the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 352, ‘‘ An act limiting the hours of labor of females,’’ ete. 4. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit an adult woman, eighteen years of age, or over, to work in case of emergency at a wage less than one and one-fourth times the foregoing minimum time or piece rates. Emergency work shall be all work performed by any woman in excess of ten hours in any one day, or all work performed by any woman or minor in excess of six calendar days in any one week. 5. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any uk i 4 minor child, under the age of eighteen years, to work in the fruit and vegetable canning industry for more than eight hours in any one day, or more than forty-eight hours in any one week. 6. Every person, firm or corporation employing women and minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall keep a record of the work done and time worked by such women and minors. Such records shall be kept in a manner and form approved by the Industrial Welfare Commission. 7. Every person, firm or corporation employing women and minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall post a copy of this order in a conspicuous place in each room in which women and minors are employed. This order shall become effective sixty (60) days from the date hereof. Dated at San Francisco, California, this 14th day of February, 1916. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Frank J. Murasky, Chairman. KarHERINE PHILIPS EDSON. WaLTErR G. MATHEWSON. A. B. C. DoHRMANN. Attest: H. A. ScHEEL, Secretary. “Every employer or other person who, either individually or as an officer, agent or employee of a corporation, or other persons, violates or refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act, or any orders or rulings of this commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars. or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” “For the purposes of this act, a minor is defined to be a person of either sex under the age of eighteen years.” FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 53 ORDER NO. 2. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING INDUSTRY. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. State of California. 948 Market Street, San Francisco. To Whom it May Concern: Take Notice: That pursuant to and by virtue of the authority vested in it by the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 324, and amendments thereto, and after public hearing duly had in the City and County of San Francisco, on Friday, February 11, 1916, THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA does. hereby order that: I. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in any fruit or vegetable canning estab- lishment in which the conditions of employment are below the following standards: (1) Lighting—Every workroom (hereafter constructed) must be supplied with adequate natural light during the working daylight ~ hours. ; Every workroom (now constructed and which is not so equipped as ~ to furnish adequate natural light during the working daylight hours) must be supplied with sufficient artificial light properly placed. “Every workroom must be supplied during the working hours when ~ daylight is not available with sufficient artificial light properly placed. (2) Ventilation—The ventilation of each workroom shall be ade- quate and there shall be sufficient provision for preventing excessive humidity by the removal of escaping steam. (8) Floors—Each workroom shall have an impermeable floor, made of cement or tile laid in cement, brick, wood or other suitable non- absorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. Floors must be tight and hard and in good repair, and be pitched to provide for drainage so that there will be no unreasonable depth of water. All excess of water or overflow must be immediately removed. Wooden racks shall be provided wherever women are obliged to work on wet floors, or cement or tile floors, and such racks shall be not less than three inches in height. (4) Toilet Rooms.—Toilet rooms shall be completely partitioned off from workrooms and the doors must be so located, or protected by screen, that the water-closet compartment shall not be visible from the outside. 54 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. (5) Lighting of Toilet Rooms.—Toilet rooms shall have adequate natural or artificial licht so that every part of the room and of the interior of each compartment shall be easily visible. (6) Ventilation of Toilet Rooms.—Toilet rooms shall be sufficiently ventilated and the ventilation shall be only to the outside of the building. (7) Floors of Toilet Rooms—The floors of such toilet rooms shall be of cement, tile laid in cement, wood, brick, or other nonabsorbent material and shall be washed and scoured daily and shall be kept in good repair. (8) Walls of Toilet Rooms.—All walls of toilet rooms and water- closet compartments unless constructed of glazed tile, brick, ete., shall be kept covered with a nonabsorbent light-colored paint, varnish or other impervious compound. 1 | 1 (9) Water-closet Compartments—Every water-closet shall be in a separate compartment which must be not less than twenty-eight inches wide and provided with a door. (10) Partitions of Water-closet Compartments—Partitions of water- closet compartments shall be not less than six feet high and shall extend not nearer the ceiling and floor than one foot. (11) Number of Water-closets.—The number of water-closets shall be not less than one to every twenty women employed, or majority fraction thereof, based on the maximum number of women employed at one time. (12) Types of Water-closets.—Every water-closet shall have a bowl of vitreous china, or of first quality cast-iron, porcelain enameled inside and out, or of other approved material. Every such bowl shall be pro- vided with adequate facilities for flushing and shall be set entirely free from enclosing woodwork and so installed that the space around it can be easily cleaned. (13) Water-closet Seats—The bowls of water-closets shall be pro- vided with seats of wood or other nonheat-absorbing material and shall be coated with varnish or some other waterproof substance. (14) Toilet Paper—An adequate supply of toilet paper shall be provided in every water-closet compartment. : (15) Cleaning of Toilets.—All toilets shall be kept clean and the bowls and seats of water-closets shall be scrubbed at least once a day. All toilets, wash-rooms, lavatories and water-closet compartments shall be kept clean. (16) Water Supply—Each place of employment shall be supplied with sufficient pure drinking water and the faucets shall be placed so that they are convenient to the employees. Common drinking cups FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 55 are prohibited. Individual cups must be used or sanitary drinking fountains must be installed. (17) Wash Rooms.—There shall be wash rooms and lavatories adja- cent to toilet rooms; and all wash rooms and lavatories shall be supplied with soap, running water and towels, and shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Common towels shall not be used or permitted and individual or paper towels must be supplied. (18) Number of Washbowls—The number of washbowls, sinks, or other appliances shall be not less than one to every twenty women. Twenty inches of sink with one faucet shall be considered as an equiv- alent of one washbowl. Spring faucets shall not be used except where washbowls are provided. (19) Locker Rooms.—A suitable room shall be provided where women may change their clothing. A sufficient number of lockers shall be provided. (20) Time for Meals—Every woman and minor shall be entitled to at least one hour for noonday meal; provided, however, that no woman or minor shall be permitted to return to work in less than one- half hour. (21) Seats—Seats shall be provided for each and every woman employed and such women shall be permitted to use the seats at all times. Seats shall be of such types as approved by the Industrial Welfare Commission. (22) Carrying—No woman shall be required or permitted to carry any box, box of fruit, vegetable or refuse, or trays of cans, or any heavy burden to or from her place of work in the establishment. II. Every person, firm or corporation employing women and minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall post a copy of this order in a conspicuous place in each room in which women and minors are employed. This order shall become effective sixty (60) days from the date hereof. Dated at San Francisco, California, this 14th day of February, 1916. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Frank J. MURASKY, Chairman. KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON. WALTER G. MATHEWSON. Attest: H. A. ScHEEL, Secretary. A. B. C. DOHRMANN. ‘Every employer or other person who, either individually or as an officer, agent or employee of a corporation, or other persons, violates or refuses or neglects to comply with-the provisions of this act, or any orders or rulings of this commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” : “For the purposes of this act, a minor is defined to be a person of either sex under the age of eighteen years.” 56 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Section 6 of Order No. 1 specified that records of the work done and the hours worked should be kept by the canneries in the manner pre- seribed by the commission. The object of having the work and the time recorded was to insure the enforcement of the rulings and also to provide for adequate information as to the yielding power of the piece rates established. The following notice was issued to the canneries on April 12, 1916, specifying the manner of keeping the daily checks. From these checks permanent records were made up for the commission’s use. Tn the matter of keeping records for the coming canning season, the Industrial Welfare Commission finds that the essential facts to be developed are the following: The commission made certain orders in regard to minimum time and piece rates. These piece rates are supposed to yield to an average woman an hourly rate that will provide her, during her stay in the canning industry, a living wage; to find if the rates fixed and those paid for other products and processes, not now under the orders of the commission, are adequate it is necessary for the piecework checks to show this information: (a) The number of boxes of fruit or vegetables cut or peeled and the time it took to do this on each and every variety. Some canners are doing this by having a piecework check for each variety, with the time column in one-half or one-quarter hour periods, the time for beginning and finishing each product being punched out. (b) All overtime must be kept either by providing another card for overtime work or by using an overtime punch, used exclusively for this work. Both the time beginning on overtime, that is, at the end of the ten-hour period, and the boxes cut are to be punched with this different punch, as the commission is very desirous of finding out the productivity of women during the overtime period. It will be of even more vital interest to the canner. Some canners are using just a straight “number of boxes’’ check and the variety is stamped on. The best check yet submitted to us is the one developed by the Central California Canneries. They have been kind enough to furnish to the commission a number of these, one of which we enclose. This we have filled out to show how it works. The com- mission does not desire to be arbitrary as to method, but must insist that the form adopted will yield the above desired informa- tion. Where possible, the commission desires the day book to show this information. Within a few weeks the forms for the keeping of the permanent records will be sent to all. Work checks are to be kept so if the commission desires to make a more detailed study they will be available. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. } 1 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 57 OUTLINE FOR KIND OF RECORDS TO BE KEPT BY CANNERS FOR WOMEN AND MINORS. Records for Pieceworkers. . Name or number of employee. . Kind of work performed and product (for example: cutting cling peaches). Piece rate. . Amount of work done (number of boxes of fruit cut or trays packed). . Hours worked on each product. (Most of the piecework cards now have these items, possibly with exception of No. 2—Kind of worked and product.) 6. The different kinds of canning done within the time worked will not be required except for a test period. (Time to be determined later.) SU oo oH Records for Time Workers. . Name or number of employee. . Kind of work performed (in order to distinguish those employees coming under the eight-hour law.) . Time rate. . Hours employed. No IN Overtime Records. All overtime work should be kept on separate record cards, or, if the regular card is used, at the end of the ten hours worked, all work, both time and piece, must be punched with a different kind of punch used exclusively for overtime. (The records for both cutting and canning, should be of the punched-card type now almost exclu- sively used, so that the employee can always see that proper credit has been given for work done.) NoTB.—Where minors are employed MINOR should be stamped on card. Permanent Record. Some provision should be made for transferring information on cards to permanent records in such form as to show amount of work done by pieceworkers in the number of hours worked. The record should be kept on each variety in such form as to be of value to the canner and to the commission, and the overtime on each kept separately. Clocks must be placed in the factory where workers can see them. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF COMMIS- SION’S RULINGS, SEASON OF 1916 By HELEN V. BARY. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 61 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. The canning industry is one of the basic industries of California. Upon its growth and proper regulation depends much of the prosperity of the fruit and agricultural interests of the state. With the develop- ment of California as a food producing section the importance of the canning industry will become still greater. The 1916 pack of fruits and vegetables was the largest in the history of the state, its value being estimated at fully $25,000,000. This repre- sented over 7,000,000 cases of fruits and 4,000,000 cases of vegetables. In 1900 the fruit pack was less than 3,000,000 cases and the vegetable pack less than 900,000 cases. The sixteen years of development show that the fruit pack has more than doubled and the vegetable pack has increased more than fivefold. The greatest increase in the future will probably be in vegetables. Asparagus and tomatoes have shown enormous increases. Spinach promises to become one of the leading varieties of canned goods, and all such vegetables as peas, beans, chilis, pimientos, sprouts and artichokes, are opening up important markets. According to the records of the commission 101 fruit and vegetable canneries were operating in 1916. Upwards of 22,000 women and chil- dren were employed in these establishments and nearly half as many men. The largest number of women employed at any one time was 12,000. For the season of 1917 many additional canneries will be opened up in various sections of the state and the pack will be a capacity one in all the plants. : Generally speaking, there are two types of canneries in California, the city cannery and the country cannery. The country canneries put up the fruits and vegetables in the sections where they are grown. They employ mainly local help, principally Americans, who frequently are from the families of the growers. It is customary to hear the women say that they work ‘‘in the fruit’’ rather than ‘‘in the cannery,’’ which shows their attitude to the industry. Under these conditions the industry is in spirit a matter of cooperating to conserve the crops of the state. The relation between the managements and the workers is friendly and individual, sometimes too individual to insure standards and efficiency in operation. < : On the other hand, the typical city cannery is a factory which uses fruit in its processes. The background of a cooperative effort has never entered the situation. The labor has been to a great extent of the immigrant type, and with this labor force foremen and even superin- tendents of the same type are found. Once started with this situation, and exempted from such laws as the eight-hour law for women, the — 2 © & = = la > ot “4 = = = bf § b- = = SSIIWINOD Ventilation increased by large ns driven off the main shafting at the of little power. California Packing Corporation, Visalia, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 63 standards of hours, wages and particularly of working conilitiont naturally are lower than American standards. The abuses which have existed in the canning industry, not merely in California but in other states as well, might be summed up by saying that the standards of work have been un-American. The task of the Industrial Welfare Commission has been the establishment of the American standard. The method of establishing it has not been merely the enforcement of arbitrary rulings, but the necessary education of the industry to a realization that the American standard means not only the welfare of the workers but in no less degree the efficiency and profit of the estab lishment. The question of the turnover in labor force is a very serious one in the canning industry. In the city canneries 20 per cent of the women stayed less than one week, and 40 per cent stayed less than four weeks. In one city cannery 693 women came to work and remained less than one week. In another city cannery 551 women remained less than one week. These facts indicate that the working conditions were far from right. This turnover spells low earnings for the women, and confusion, inefficiency and lessened profits for the management. —’ The country canneries operated from 8 to 28 weeks during the season’ The city canneries ran from 18 to 31 weeks. The women in the country canneries, however, averaged just a shade longer employment than in the city plants—7.7 weeks compared to 7.6 weeks. Twenty per cent of the women in the country canneries worked through the entire season. In the cities less than 5 per cent worked through the entire season, partly due to the difference in products. One of the most interesting studies in the Americanization of the industry is the situation in the asparagus canneries. A few years ago this work was entirely in the hands of the Chinese. Located upon the islands in the delta of the Sacramento River, at a distance from centers of population, the asparagus canneries found the easiest solution of their labor problem in employing Chinese. Provided with a bunk house, the Chinaman takes care of himself. He is not particular about sanitation. He is willing to work eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. One cannery employing white labor was established in this group. The venture meant the building of a desirable camp, with proper sanitation, bathhouses, restaurant, recreation facilities and a playground for the children. It meant bringing in help from other sections and maintaining conditions which would keep them there. All of these things were done. The labor was brought from a fruit cannery belong- ing to the same company whose work started up after the close of the asparagus season. This stabilized the labor force in both plants. The workers were able to secure employment from the first of April until ey 3rothers Company, Hayward, Children with kindergarten teacher. No child labor here. ¥9 *NOISSINIWOD HIAVATIM TVISLSAANI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. ¥ 65 December, which is as steady employment as is found in the majority of manufacturing plants. The experiment was so successful that other asparagus canneries became interested. Chinese are becoming scarce, but the chief difficulty in the asparagus canneries is that the Chinaman is not showing up favorably from the viewpoint of output. One plant put in partly white women and partly Chinese on the sorting tables. Both worked on the piece rate system. The Chinese sorted about one box an hour. The American women sorted three to four boxes an hour and sometimes more. The imaginary advantage of labor which was willing to work eighteen hours a day was dispelled. If a concern has a market for its product it can not afford to limit its output. The Chinaman does good work, but if his production is less the cannery has to meet the cost of larger plants and the higher oper- ating costs which go with lessened production. If white women are employed in this work proper camps will have to be provided. In the choice necessitated by the widening market the Chinaman is being superseded by the American woman on the straight basis of efficiency and economy. The rulings of the commission went into effect April 14, 1916. Prac- tically the entire season pack of 1916 was thus controlled by the regulations. The effects of the orders are given in detail in the following report. : Minimum time rates were fixed for women and the same rate was fixed for minors. The rate for inexperienced workers was 13 cents per hour and the period allowed for gaining experience three weeks, after which the worker received not less than 16 cents per hour. The general rate paid previously for ordinary ‘‘day work’’ had been 10, 12} or 15 cents per hour. Most of the smaller children had been employed at 10 cents an hour or even less. With this low pay went a large waste of time. The employment of many children makes efficient factory organization impossible. The result of these rulings on time rates was that the wages of the women and children were raised and the number of small children very much reduced. The general tendency in the canning industry for several years has been towards reduction in the number of children employed. During the summer school vacation the child labor law permits children 12 years of age or over to work in canneries, but hardly any children less than 14 are employed. The Federal Child Labor Law specifies 14 years as the minimum age at which children can be employed upon the manu- facture of goods for interstate shipment. Many establishments employ no children under 16 years of age, and the large city canneries of San Francisco and Los Angeles employ practically none under 18. 5—32554 ee Hd 3s = 4 Oo |) wn = = — > 2 = t= Y a 5 = = Q Qo = 2 [an wn wn = Q 2 Cherry stemming—desirable arrangement of boxes to permit seating of women. alifornia Packing Santa Rosa. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 67 In 1914 the commission made a careful survey of the question of children in the industry. In the 41 plants covered in that investigation 2,344 children were working. In the same 41 canneries in 1916 only 1,092 children were working, showing a reduction of 53 per cent in two years. The problem of child labor in the industry is solving itself. The employers have found that it does not pay. In the short season that the canneries run every inch of floor space is valuable. A child occu- pies in a working position as much space as a woman and accomplishes much less per hour, besides being restricted as to the length of day. In two canneries employing a large number of children a careful com- parison was made of the production of the adults and the minors, which showed that the minors were accomplishing only two-thirds as much as the grown women. The first thing that practically every superintendent says who employs children under 16 is that it does not pay. Then he gives the reasons why he hires them, which is almost | always because the women have no place to leave their children when they come to work, so they bring them along to the cannery. The problem is mainly that of providing a day nursery. Quite a few plants have found out that it is better to maintain a day nursery outside the plant rather than inside. Over 90 per cent of the women employed in the-industry work upon the piece-rate system, consequently, besides fixing minimum time rates, the commission also fixed minimum piece rates for canning and for the preparation of the leading products. The products upon which rates were fixed were cling and free peaches, apricots, pears and tomatoes, which constitute over 80 per cent of the entire pack. The fixing of piece rates on the less important products was left until the commission had opportunity of studying these products more carefully. The effect which the rulings had in raising the piece rates is shown in detail in the following report. It is commonly charged by the opponents of minimum wage legislation that the ‘‘minimum will become the maximum.’’ It would be much more likely that the mini- mum piece rate would become the standard rate than that a minimum time rate should become the standard, since under the operation of minimum piece rates the average earnings in efficient plants will be higher than the piece rates were estimated to yield. That the minimum did not become the maximum is shown by the fact that in 1916, 43 per cent of the apricot pack was put up at piece rates higher than the minimum ; 17 per cent of the cling peach pack; 27 per cent of the free peach pack; aud 11 per cent of the pear pack. It is also commonly stated that if a minimum rate were established concerns which had previously paid higher rates would reduce to meet this minimum rate. In 50 instances on the five products rates higher 68 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. than the minimum rate were paid in 1915. When the minimum rates went into effect these higher rates were continued in every case except- ing one. In that instance the establishment reduced its piece rate on free peaches when it was required to raise its rate on pears and apricots. The net increase in earnings in that one plant, however, was $700. The total increase in the earnings of women on the preparation of peaches, pears, apricots and tomatoes was nearly $30,000. The increases on time work and on piece rate canning were very consider- able, but could not be computed, owing to lack of comparative data from 1915. : : The object of keeping and tabulating the elaborate records secured for the season of 1916 was mainly to make sure that the minimum piece rates fixed were yielding as much as they were figured to yield. From the tabulations we find that average hourly earnings in all the canneries amounted to 20.9 cents on cling peaches; 18.4 cents on pears; 16.3 cents on tomatoes; 18.4 cents on free peaches; and 13.7 cents on apricots. On canning the average hourly earnings were 19.1 cents. While some individual plants fell below the average of 16 cents per hour the general rates proved to be satisfactory except in the case of apricots, upon which the rate will be raised for the season of 1917. The can- neries which did not come up to the average will be studied intensively with a view to increasing production and earnings. In the following report the effect of the commission rulings on the rates of pay, the yielding power of the piece rates fixed, earnings on the products on which no rates had been established, the question of the various factors of production, the employment of minors and the pro- ductive power of minors, the length of hours worked, the seasonal nature of the industry, length of season in individual canneries and the possibilities of lengthening this season, the growth and tendencies of the industry, and the effect of the commission’s orders on sanitation are taken up in detail under those headings. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 69 THE EFFECT OF THE COMMISSION RULINGS ON THE RATES OF PAY. As the canning industry is operated largely upon a piece-rate system the commission established, in addition to time rates, piece rates upon the preparation of the five leading products—cling peaches, free peaches, apricots, pears and tomatoes—and upon the canning of all varieties of fruits and tomatoes. The statement is frequently made by opponents of minimum wage legislation that the established minimum will become the maximum. It would be much more likely that a minimum piece rate would become the standard rate than that the minimum time rate would become the standard, since all improvements in system and handling would bring the earnings of the women at the minimum piece rate well above the amount which the piece rates were figured to yield. In the following tables comparing the rates of pay in 1915 and 1916 in the products in which minimum rates were established, the number of canneries paying the minimum and the number paying above the minimum, with the per cent of the pack represented by -each division, is given. In apricots over 43 per cent of the pack was packed at rates higher than the mini- mum ; free peaches, over 27 per cent; cling peaches, over 17 per cent; pears, over 11 per cent; and tomatoes over 3 per cent. The piece rate is figured on the basis of ordinary work and the time required to per- form this quality of work. Where more particular preparation is expected, higher rates are paid. The rates on fruits show this varia- tion in quality. While tomatoes, which are nearly standardized, tend closely to a standard rate. Another statement frequently made by objectors is that those paying rates higher than the established minimum would reduce to the fixed rate. In the following tables, in 50 instances on the five products, a higher rate was paid in 1915 than the established rate. In one instance only was a reduction made to meet the minimum rate. In this can- nery the increase affected in apricots and pears was nearly twice as great as the reduction made in free peaches. CLING PEACHES. The commission rate upon the cutting and pitting of cling peaches was $0.225 per hundred pounds. Of the 49 canneries reported in 1915, 22 paid rates less than this rate. From the figures of 1916, the proportion of the total 1916 pack represented by these 22 canneries was over 45 per cent. Incomplete records were received from four of these 22 canneries and their totals are not included. If the complete figures were included the per cent of the pack upon which the rates 70 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. were raised by the rulings would be fully 50 per cent. In 17 of the 22 canneries the raise was from 8 to 9 cents for preparing a 40-pound box of fruit; in one cannery the raise was 9 per cent, and in the other four establishments the raise was from 23 to 50 per cent. Nineteen of the canneries reported in 1915 were paying the minimum rate. Of these 19, one raised its rate in 1916, the others remained unchanged. Seven canneries were paying rates in excess of the mini- mum in 1915, and their rates remained unchanged. Three new can- neries were opened up in southern California in 1916, all of which paid in excess of the commission rate. The proportion of the 1916 pack upon which rates higher than the established rate were paid was over 17 per cent. The total amount paid in wages for the preparation of cling peaches was $211,086.60. If the 1915 rates had prevailed this amount would have been only $197,716.66, an indicated increase of $13,369.94 in wages to the women employed. The largest increase was in cannery No. 48, which increased its rate 50 per cent and paid $2,243.45 more for the cutting of cling peaches than would have been paid at its 1915 rate. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. TABLE No. 1(a). Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for the preparation of cling peaches ; per cent of increase or decrease in rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916, and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed; amount and per cent of increase; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased ; number of canneries paying less than, equal to, or more than the minimum in 1915 and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack prepared at the minimum rate and at more than the minimum rate. Cling peaches. 71 - g Rate higher =o o g g Rate per 100 than, equal to | 2520 Amount o pounds or less than oped Amount which would . dg minimum 88 paid for have been District 2 ! £3 S | preparation paid in oS {oe in 1916 1916 at ; vou5 [ow | ys ome FT 1915 Tates Marysville... 47 | $0.225 | $0.225 | Equal | Equal ___. 185,507 56 $5,600 42 191° 20 225 | Less Equal | 412.5 7,708 51 6,847 56 Santa Rosa... ...-iw.. 44 225 .225 | Equal | Equal 11,234 13 1,231 51 Sacramento Valley ._._- 55 |- .225 | .225 | Equal | Equal 11,650 65 1,626 49 30 | 286 | .986 | More | More 114,143 10 | 14,139 32 56 | 20 225 | Less Equal 16,229 60 5,487 56 72! 22 .225 | Equal | Equal | —--- 2,465 99 2,465 99 ris Sos ol Equal |... 13,266 47 3,263 50 San Francisco Bay____.___ 45 | 20 225 | Less Equal | +12.5 18,522 86 7,517 83 29 | 225 .995 [Equal [Equal .... 112,208 49 | 12,242 53 6 20 225 | Less Equal h 1,993 20 B41 995 225 | Equal | Equal 5,583 86 21 | .225| .225 Equal | Equal 6,836 19 42 225 | 225 | Equal | Equal 4,193 86 11| 20 | .29% |Less |Equal 4,120 11 38| 225! .2% | Equal | Equal 58 225 25 | Equal | More 7,684 83 San Joaquin Valley_____. 19 | 225 .225 | Equal | Equal | 3 5,355 36 28 | 20 | 225 Tess | Equal | +125 16,244 21 5,491 64 40 295 295 Equal Equal | 16,982 87 | 16,982 87 66 18 | 9225 | Less |Equal | +25 | 17,784 49 6,158 78 - 52| .22% | .225 | Equal |Fqual|........ | 1898111 | 860 59 43| 20 | .225 |Less |Equal | +125 | 16,557 81 5,784 75 WBE eel Banal |... | 14,498 94 4,488 76 68. 20 | .225 | Less Equal | +125 | 698 46 85 665 | 20 | 225 | Less Equal | +125 wm mean eveeiiadiiLy 10| 20 | .2%5 Less |Equal | +125 17,530 41 6,687 88 Santa Clara Valley______ li 20 225 | Less | Equal | +125 | 14,636 42 4,104 90 57| .205| .29 Less |Equal | + 98 16,987 00 6,305 30 48 15 225 | Less Equal | +50 6,730 34 4,486 89 59 20 225 | Less Equal | +12.5 14,613 45 4,001 28 86 | .225 225 | Equal | Equal |--eue-- | 11,668 02 1,667 04 26 225 225 | Equal {Equal |----.-i-. 12,081 156 2,069 73 Kid 225 225 Equal | Equal |-----:-- 11,666 28 1,634 08 27 20 .225 | Less | Equal | +12.56 1847 64 750 16 28 fi solo 225 Iisa Equal |...o---- 710 45 710 45 °61 | .16 225 | Less | Equal | 140.6 41 4.917 277 | More | More Aa" 13,450 45 3,426 66 24 | +22 225 | Equal | Equal |... 893 74 893 74 13 20 225 | Less Equal | +12.5 1886 06 765 80 014 25 25. |More |More |... 157 83 157 83 78 4.92% 225 | Equal | Equal |... 1,205 01 1,205 01 Southern California ____ 6 .273 278 | More |More |........ 1,254 50 1,254 50 30 | 5.973 .273 | More |More |... 7,721 81 7,727 81 60 20 225 | Less Equal | +12.56 1,636 22 1,454 42 12 2% .225 | Less Equal +12.5 2,665 24 2,360 21 67 225 225 | Equal | Equal 81 “2% 25 | More | More ml = 278 More 2 | 2 273 | nea-. MoTe . eon | i 95 25 | More | More 9g)? Sg More | 815 20 225 | Less | Equal | +12.5 o3 | .182| .225 |Less |Equal | +236 Totals | bo | $211,086 60 | $197,716 66 1Tnereage in amount for 1916, due to higher rate on overtime. 2Less work done in 1916. ey 72 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Increase $13,369 94 Per cent of increase 6.8 Amount (1916) on which rates have been increased $95,621 72 Per cent of total 45.3 Number paying less than minimum in 1915 23 Number paying the minimum in 1915. 19 Number paying more than minimum in 1915. 7 otal Tepotted =i: ee body Lan ng “49 Number paying less than minimum In 1006... eee core mmo Number paying the minimum in 1916. 43 Number paying more than minimum in 1916 11 Total reported 54 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at minimum rate___ 82.2 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at higher rate a 17.8 PEARS. The minimum rate on the preparing of pears was $0.375 per hun- dred pounds, the general rate paid in 1915. Four canneries in 1915 paid slightly less than the minimum, 20 paid the minimum, and five paid in excess of it. The four paying less in 1915 raised their rates to the minimum. One paying the minimum in 1915 raised its rate in 1916. The five paying more in 1915 continued to pay more in 1916, and one “additional cannery, not reported in 1915, paid above the established rate. The per cent of the pack represented by the seven canneries paying above the minimum in 1916 was 11.7. The total amount paid in wages for preparing pears was $163,316.94, which is $4,030.09 more than would have been paid if the 1915 rates had been in effect. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. TABLE No. 1(b). 73 Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for the preparation of pears; per cent of increase or decrease in rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916, and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed; amount and per cent of increase; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased; number of canneries paying less than, equal to, or more than the minimum in 1915 and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack prepared at the minimum rate and at more than the minimum rate. g Rate higher =o g | g Rate per 100 than, equal to |23&q | Amount ® pounds or less than ops | Amount which would District 3 pha J EER | pani [pane s fe v2 lel mile 1916 af 1915 | 1916 | ws | ve | FF 1915 eden ! | { 1 | Santa Rosa -—.._ 44 EE 30.375 oie Equal |..--..- | $7,633 88 $7,633 88 Sacramento Valley __.___ 55 | $0.35 375 | Less | Equal +71 | 16,262 66 5,758 85 39 | 429 .429 | More | More |........ | 17,440 55 7,438 22 56 | . .375 |. .375 | Equal | Equal |....... | 7,431 57 7,355 47 74 .375 375 | Equal | Equal |..--... | 30 54 30 54 9 I BUD dan had Se 7562 49 . 752 49 | | San Francisco Bay...._. 45 | 875 375 | Equal | Equal |... | 115877 84 | 15,669 22 290 375 375 | Equal {Equal |... | 121,208.72 20,689 11 63 | .875 375 | Equal | Equal |...____ | 18,787 00 8,714 11 54| 35| .375 | Equal [Equal |..____..| 14,7988 4,713 62 21 | .334 .375 | Less Equal | 412.3 5,376 34 4,787 48 42 | 375 375 | Equal | Equal |._..... 14,199 73 4,176 01 1 ls TE 375 375 | Equal | Equal |....... 110,315 95 10,315 83 38 | 375 375 | Equal | Equal |.....__. 4,079 65 4,079 65 58 31 .375 | Equal | Equal |-_____. 15,628 90 5,525 39 San Joaquin Valley______ | 19 | 40 40 More |More |....... 453 20 453 20 Santa Clara Valley____.. 7 S134 275 | Less Equal | +19.8 2,887 01 2,409 86 57. 338 | 375 | Less Equal | +10.9 8,952 68 8,072 75 48 .375 | S71 Equal { Equal |......_ 113,346 13 13,303 23 | 52| .95| .975|Equal|Equal |... 16,988 60 6,901 62 36:1 375 | 375 Fqual | Equal |... .... 14,130 67 4,076 23 | 26 | 375 | .40 | Equal |More | -6.6 14,100 10 3,827 03 crt ant ars !vowsl | Fowal | 467 53 467 53 | “ow| av| a7 |More |More |... | 58180 581 80 | 2 | .375 375 | Equal | Equal |... | 446 12 446 12 | e| .315| .375| Equal |Equal | | 2.1: 375 .375 | Equal | Equal |-.——__ | 789 06 789 06 | #| ar| .7| More |More |e. | 64085 | 642% | 2 2p .375 | Equal | Equal |---| £2 g [~ 1s | 3% 375 | Bqual | Equal |... | 13,864 05 3,790 84 | 50 :50 | More {More |... 104 45 104 45 | 78 | it MO More |i i. 2 2 Totals | $163,316 94 | $159,286 85 | | Increase in amount for 1916 due to higher rate on overtime. 2Included under cling peaches. Inereage 0 us. mriroae Saoe en ee a SU i pg $4,030 09 Per cent of increase. Em 2.5 Amount (1916) on which rates have Deen INCTEASEA. ..cu.x sew misma oo os mire om mei $27,578 79 Per cent of total... .... msdn SEE 16.9 Number paying less than minimum in 1915_____ 4 Number paying the minimum in 1915. mms 20 Number paying more than minimum in 1915___________ 5 Total yeported i... oii lool ir oi a 29 74 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. bk din glut i Number paying less than minimum In 3096: __.___ 0 | ni fae ; Number paying the minimum in 1916. 24 Number paying more than minimum in 1916 7 Total reported 31 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at minimum rate os ai 88.3 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at higher rate. .__ ~~...‘ 117 - APRICOTS. The minimum rate on the cutting of apricots was $0.225 per hun- dred pounds. Of the 44 canneries reported in 1915, 12 paid less than the minimum, 16 paid the minimum and 16 paid above the minimum. The 12 paying less than the minimum in 1915 paid the minimum in 1916. Of the 16 that paid the minimum in 1915, 11 continued to pay it in 1916, and 5 paid a higher rate. In addition to these five can- neries paying a higher rate and the 16 that paid the higher rate in 1915 six other canneries, not operating in apricots in 1915, paid a higher rate, making a total of 27 canneries in 1916 paying rates higher than the established minimum. The proportion of the 1916 pack prepared at rates higher than the minimum was over 43 per cent. The total paid in wages for preparing apricots in 1916 was $90,103. If the 1915 rates had prevailed this amount would have been less by $8,199.83. =1 it FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. TABLE No. 1(¢). Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for the preparation of apricots; per cent of increase or decrease in rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916, and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed; amount and per cent of increase; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased ; number of canneries paying less than, equal to, or more than the minimum wn 1915 and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack prepared at the minimum rate and at more than the minimum rate. g Rate higher oo g 5 Rate per 100 than, equal to |2Z8ado Amount @ pounds or less than ape 0 Amount which would District 4 minimum 8 &2 | paid for have been 2 | 592 | preparation paid in © Pa in 1916 1916 at | 1015 | 1016 | 1015 | 1916 |i P° 1975 9188 1 1 Santa Rosa... ....._.. 44 | $0.25 | $0.25 |More |More |..__.__. $1,176 18 $1,176 18 Sacramento Valley _____. 55 225 2% [Equal | Equal {-_--__._ 91 60 91 69 39 .263 .263 | More |More ‘|... -...- 2,616 40 2,616 40 56 25 .313 | More | More +25.2 13,124 62 2,448 91 74 20 225 | Less | Equal | +12.5 349 57 310 73 gl a OB ose More: |-.-=i 817 49 817 49 San Francisco Bay-..__. 45 20 225 | Less Equal | 412.5 15,944 54 5,210 44 BY fans 095 Te aia) Equal. coin 30 78 30 78 29 .20 225 | Less | Equal | +125 16,706 72 5,869 37 63 16 225 | Less | Equal | 140.6 12,527 80 1,796 10 54 725 225 | Equal | Equal 12,945 87 2,924 29 21 178 .225 | Less Equal | +26.4 2,550 24 2,017 59 42 225 225 | Equal | Equal |-_—.____ 13,768 68 38,763 30 in 25 25 | More | More 14,419 74 4,418 80 38 25 .25 | More | More 4,078 66 | * 4,078 66 58 .20 225 | Less Equal | +12.5 13,975 73 3,499 07 San Joaquin Valley______ T9 iis 285 More 11,023 37 1,010 50 40 .263 263 : 965 40 965 40 66 225 .295 (Equal {Equal |--..-_-- 12,320 91 2,311 57 52 25 25 |More |More |..---... 493 23 493 23 65 25 More 67 a5 225 | Less Equal | 428.1 |... a Santa Clara +... 7 20 .225 | Less | Equal | +125 1,590 01 1,418 34 57 20 .225 | Less | Equal | +125 13,977 17 8,525 719 48 15 225 | Less Equal | +60 7,301 30 4,867 53 59 225 225 | Equal | Equal 14115 68 4,091 34 36 .25 25 | More | More 11,143 34 1,136 13 26 25 25 |More |More |——--—-- 1,742 00 1,742 00 ww 25 .2% | More |More 261 86 261 86 2 225 .225 | Equal | Equal 277 14 277 14 2% 225 225 | Equal | Equal 1846 22 843 24 61 20 225 Less Equal 2 375 375 ‘More |More {..._-.__ 1,517 12 1,517.72 41 263 .263 More | More 13,249 05 8,247 98 1 225 225 Equal | Equal 11,277 00 1,275 33 24 225 225 Equal | Equal 102 34 102 34 13 18 225 Less |Equal | +25 1,537 78 1,230 22 14 30 B20 More |More |. -..... 8 20 8 20 Southern California ___. 6 225 .25 | Equal | More +11.1 1,913 99 1,722 76 25 | Equal | More +11.1 12,525 89 2,271 16 225 | Equal | Equal 1,333 35 1,338 85. .263 | More | More |-—--—.--- 1,348 95 1,348 95 2% | Equal | More | +11.1 575 38 517 89 .225 | Equal | Equal |_.__.__. 1,191 80 1,191 80 .275 | More | More +10 2,338 70 2,126 09 30 More LA More 25 | 'Baual {More {+11 {ol tote oo foe es coin l 30d Lol More ; 25. | More | More 3 225 .25 | Equal | More ae dae i ils Totals Aa sede Sh Ly $90,103 00 | $81,903 17 Increase in amount for 1916 due to higher rate on overtime. 76 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. Increase _. es — = $8,199 83 Per Gent Of INCTeABC. a cme Se mE a 9.2 Amonnt (1916) on which rates have been increased. creme oe $44,600 74 Per cent of total ami ar 49.5 Number paying less than minimum in 1915___________ nis 12 Number paying the minimum in 1915 al a 16 Number paying more than minimum MEYOUG. ol ar an = 16 i Metal reported oi ct ean edie de i en meine 44 Number paying less than minimum in 1916... i eee Number paying the muinimomein 1018: CCC er i a ane nats 24 Number paying more than minimum in 1916___ 27 Rota YePOr ted a nn em i 51 Per cent of 1916 back bald of minim rale. Sor so ee 56.4 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at higher rate_____ = ¥ So SERRE a 43.6 TOMATOES. The minimum rate fixed on tomatoes was 3 cents for 12 quarts. In 1915, 4 canneries paid less than this rate, 16 paid the rate, and four paid in excess of it. The four paying less than the minimum in 1915 paid the minimum in 1916. One cannery paying the minimum in 1915 paid above the rate in 1916. The four paying above the minimum in 1915 continued to pay the higher rates, and one new cannery paid a higher rate. Six canneries not reported or not operating in 1915 paid the minimum in 1916. ~ The total paid in wages in 1916 for tomato cutting was $88,761.02, an increase of $2,749.71 over what would have been paid if the 1915 rates had been in effect. The minimum rate established for tomato cutting was more nearly a standard rate than that of any other product. Slightly less than 4 per cent of the pack was prepared at rates higher than the fixed rates. Interstate competition is a more serious element in regard to tomatoes than in the matter of fruits. 3 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 17 TABLE No. 1(d). Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for the preparation of tomatoes; per cent of increase or decrease in the rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916, and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed; amount and per cent of increase; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased ; number of canneries paying less than, equal to, or more than the minimum in 1915 and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack prepared at the minimum rate and at more than the minimum rate. g Rate higher i g E Rate per 12 than, equal to |2Zz 4 Amount e quarts or less than aps ® Amount which would District 4g minimum : £8 = paid for have been 2 Cian BS se | roo | preparation paid in o ye ae in 1916 1916 at, : 1915 | wie | 1015 | 1018 |} FF 1975 rates 1 1 Santa Rosa, 0.0. wal. $003 Lolli. | Boual [-._ 142,857 01 $2,856 64 4 | $0.03 .03 | Equal Yogual |... 262 08 262 08 Sacramento Valley ._.___. 56 03 08 1 Bqual | Bqual |... ... 14,272 25 4,257 04 Ql air O80 oT Ego Fqual |... = 834 20 834 20 San Francisco Bay-_____ 45 03 03 [Equal ‘Equal |... . 13,569 40 3,547 51 0 eis ly OF ly ages Equal |i. 11,619 24 1,618 17 | GB enti 03 | Equal 872 05 872 05 54 | 025 .03 | Less |Equal | +16.7 14,073 86 3,408 84 | 42 03 03 i Bqual I Bgual |... 17.915 70 7,845 70 11 03 03. | Equal | Equal |....... 5,297 57 5,227 57 38 03 03 [Equal {Equal |........ 2,261 57 2,261 57 BS DBs aciiges Fqual |... 14,406 54 4,360 52 San Joaquin Valley______ 75 03 .03 } Equal |'Equal |... _-- 11,529 53 1,524 45 Santa Clara Valley.______ | BY 2.03 03 [| Equal | 'Bqual|._...... 16,432 57 6,392 34 48 03 03 | Equal | Equal |----..__ 19,244 27 8,989 06 | 59 03 03 | Equal | Equal |.._.... 6,880 19 6,880 19 62 [025 03 | Less Equal | +16.7 11,974 57 1,665 59 27 03 0% | Equal Faual {|.-...... 14,550 41 4,456 56 25 03 03 | Bqual (Equal |-._._... 12,496 00 2,487 88 | 2 04 04 [‘More .i More |......-- 943 50 943 50 41 03 .03" | Equal | Equal |.-....-- 15,208 54 5,206 19 24 .03 03 | Equal | Equal |.......- 369 57 369 57 13 025 03 | Less Baual | 2200 iain] cea aa ea | 78 .03 03 | Equal {Equal |..--.... 771 76 77 76 Los Angeles City... 50 025 03 | Less |Equal | +20 17,139 21 5,922 90 Southern California ____| 30 04 04 |More |More |........ 1,494 65 | 1,494 65 60 L035 085 | More. |More |... -.._. 1,035 51 1,085 51 7 04 01 {More More |... co. .l 0-20 8 oie 080 LC Equal |o--c 519 27 519 27 | 23 03 .035 | Equal | More RIG Le 8g pe ams a More | | Pobals. oo nin oo. | ede ung be ol CR boo lee ool $88,761 02 | $86,011 31 J Increase in amount for 1916 due to higher rate on overtime. 2Bonus of % cent per bucket paid to all who remained until close of season. 78 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. bbls co a dal le Sa Therese oo isa $2,749 71 Per cent of total : 3.2 Amount (1916) on which rates have been increased. $13,187 64 Per cent of total. nena. 14.9 Number paying less than minimum in 1915 4 Number paying the minimum in 1915. 16 Number paying more than minimum in 1915. 4 Total reported ___.___ 24 Number paying less than minimum In A016. oo oof ieee eer ie eos Number paying the minimum in i916_____ = 25 Number paying more than minimum in 1916. 6 Total reported -_- Read 31 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at minimum rate.______ 96.1 Per cent of 1916 pack paid at higher rate 3.9 FREE PEACHES. The minimum rate on the cutting of free peaches was $0.125 per hundred pounds. Of the 43 canneries reported in 1915, two were pay- ing less than this rate, 23 were paying the rate and 18 were paying above the rate. The two canneries paying less than the minimum in 1915 paid the minimum in 1916; two paying the minimum in 1915 paid above the minimum in 1916, the others continuing to pay the minimum ; 17 paying more than the minimum in 1915 paid the same rate in 1916, one reducing to meet the established rate. The proportion of the 1916 pack prepared at rates higher than the minimum was over 27 per cent. The total amount paid in wages for the cutting of free peaches was $38,471.44. If the 1915 rates had prevailed this amount would have been increased by $163.10, the decrease being caused by cannery No. 21, which showed a decrease of $414.26. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. District ‘ON Ateuue)) Marysville =... ......_.. | 47. | 12 Santa Rosa... ........ 44 | Sacramento Valley ______ Lm F of 72 | San Francisco Bay.____. 45 29 63 | 54 21 42 11 58 San Joaquin Valley...._._ [ 19 Santa Clara Valley... 7 Southern California _____ 6 Tobaly =. a... | TABLE No. 1(e). Comparison of the rates paid in 1915 and 1916 for the preparation of free peaches; per cent of increase or decrease in the rate; amount paid for preparation in 1916. and amount which would have been paid if the 1915 rates had prevailed ; amount and per cent of increase; amount and per cent of the pack upon which rates have been increased or decreased; number of canneries paying less than, equal to, or more than the minimum in 1915 and 1916; and per cent of the 1916 pack pre- pared at the minimum rate and at more than the minimum rate. 79 | Rate higher pa g Rate per 100 | than, equal to [2% Amount pounds or less than SEEg Amount which would minimum £82 paid for have been | =o 2 | Dreparation paid in — | Fis | ThE 1916 at 015 | 1916 | 1915 | m6] ds 1015 rates | fe i $0.15 $0.15 | More |More |. ....___ 1$765 84 $763 16 15 | 15 |More More I... 743 00 743 00 12 12 Equal | Equal bai] 1958 31 258 25 125 | 145 | Equal | More | +16.0 240 86 207 64 143 | 48. More. More: |... : 697 78 697 78 15 15 ‘More. More j-...:._- 1288 86 287 4 145 .145 | More |More |.__.___.. 238 82 238 82 aba A255 a Banal eo 572 53 572 53 125 | 195 1 Equal | Equal i _____-% 11,254 83 1,241 14 125.1 125 [Equal | Equal |._-___. 5 5 125 | 155 | Equal |More | +24.0 159 30 128 47 1254 125 | Equal | Equal |----__.. 1531 76 528 38 178 125 | More | Equal | —29.8 975 88 1,390 14 Jd5 1 15 More {More | __.___ 1321 76 320 29 A255 | 125 | Equal | Equal |... _. 567 14 567 14 15 | J5 [More {More |... .... A250 .125 1 Equal | Equal lo... 1284 80 284 80 M3 | 143 More |More |._...__.| 125150 | 1,251 50 125 | 125 | Equal | Equal |... 1668 32 665 84 143 | 143.) More More |... .... 2,304 59 2,304 59 1250 195 | Faual | Equal 25 14,555 90 4,486 55 125 | 195 Equal | Equal |. .. 1,101 55 1,101 55 125 | .125 | Equal | Equal \...____. 12,438 87 2,432 35 125 | 125 | Equal | Equal [ale ds 1,583 51 1,583 51 10 12 | Less | Equal | +25 184 85 147 88 A252 | Equal iii. 2,532 36 2,532 36 126 0 193 Equal | Equal |________ 300 63 3C0 63 J25 | 195 [Equal [Boual |__. ._ 11,600 75 1,598 37 243 (143 More |More i... 678 58 678 58 15 15. | More (More |... 1277 19 275 93 125 125 | Equal | Equal |. __. 8 7 A425 1 3% Faual | Equal |... oo aia Aer 167 i More (More {-.-_____ 1741 31 733 22 125 .125 | Equal | Equal |..-.--- 11,184 80 1,184 35 15 15. ‘More |More: i ....... 787 11 787 11 15 15 | More ‘More |... .... 3 3 125 J25 | Equal | Equal |-oa--.-. 2,111 13 2,111 13 43! 143 ‘More [More |... _... 1,119 32 1,119 32 JAY 125] Less Equal | +.126 225 125 | Boual | Equal I........ 13,007 46 2,970 44 J25.| .195 Equal | Equal |... 2,140 25 2,140 25 2 0. 19% Equal 15 | 15 | More | More fin : 15 More 15 .15 | More | More A125 | 1256 | Equal | Equal | ee Sama lh a cmmemm--| $38,471 44 | $38,634 54 ‘Increase in amount for 1916 due to higher rate on overtime. 2Not operating in 1915. 3Incomplete record. “Higher rate .1880 paid on Crawfords and Solways. “Included under cling peaches. 80 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. DeCrease o.oo wenieee a mendes Sm 4 Te Ta Percent of decrease... co oe aan ctiaem Cas Amount (1916) on which rates have been increased Per centof total... nd Amount (1916) on which rates have been decreased Percent of total --- "eC Number paying less than minimum in 1915_ A srt Number paying the minimum in 1915. ______ Number paying more than minimum in 1915_____ Metal veported oo a ee ahr Number paying less than the minimum in 1916_______ Number paying the minimum In 1916. ee emer Number paying more than the minimum in 1916_____ Total reported ..___ Se bide EER Per cent of 1916 pack paid at minimum rate ____ 5) Per cent of 1916 pack paid at higher rate. A Le) FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 81 YIELDING POWER OF PIECE RATES ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION. The commission rulings on time rates and piece rates on apricots, cling and free peaches, pears, tomatoes and canning became operative April 14, 1916, and the season pack of 1916 was controlled by these orders. The minimum rates were based upon a careful but limited production study* of the yielding power of the rates. For the season of 1916 records of hours worked and earnings on the various products were kept by the canneries, to be used for the purpose of verifying the yielding power of the rates already fixed, and to provide a basis upon which to determine rates in the products upon which no piece rates had been fixed. In the case of two new canneries, operating for the first time in 1916, records were not secured, as their basis of production was not considered of sufficient value to justify the labor and expense of compiling the record. In eight other instances, those of canneries working upon many small products, records were not required. With these exceptions the record of production is practically complete for the entire pack of the state. CLING PEACHES. Cling peaches are the most important product of the state. The following production record is based upon the work of 43 canneries in all sections of the state, and represents a total of 982,975 hours of work on this one product. At the minimum rate of $0.225 per hundred pounds, hourly production should equal 71.1 pounds in order to yield an average of 16 cents per hour. In 25 canneries, representing over 57 per cent of the total work done, the average hourly production was over 88.9 pounds, which at the minimum rate would yield 20 cents per hour. In 13 canneries, representing over 30 per cent of the total work done, the average hourly production fell between 71.1 and 88.9 pounds, which at the minimum rate would yield from 16 to 20 cents per hour. In five of these 13 canneries a rate in excess of the com- mission rate was paid, which brought the average hourly earnings above 20 cents per hour. The total percentage of the work averaging above 16 cents per hour was 88.4. In five canneries the hourly production fell below 71.1 pounds per hour, and the average hourly earnings below 16 cents. In two of these canneries cling peaches constituted a minor product and production was consequently decidedly lower than in those ~ canneries in which cling peaches formed an important product. In the remaining three establishments the low production was mainly due to *See Miss Obenauer’s study, pages 26 to 38. 6—32554 82 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. a limited labor supply and the employment of a large number of minors, the productive power of minors (see page 115) being noticeably lower than that of adults. Of the 18 establishments showing production over 95 pounds per hour seven were located in the San Joaquin Valley, three in southern California, four in the Santa Clara Valley, one in the Marysville dis- trict and three in the Sacramento Valley. The peaches in the San Joaquin Valley are the largest and the canneries are specialty peach canneries; production is consequently very high. In southern Cali- fornia the use of the belt system, which eliminates grading on the part of the cutters, brings up hourly production. Outside of the belt system canneries of southern California the method of handling is uniform. Differences in system and organization in individual can- neries account for the variations. For all canneries in the state the weighted average of hourly production was 90.3 pounds per hour, and the weighted average of earnings 20.9 cents per hour. The figures of hourly production and earnings, by canneries, follow : TABLE No. 2(a). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Cling Peaches. Average production over 88.9 pounds per hour (20 cents or over at minimum rate). I . | Voie | Number of ASIN annery number duction women earnings | (pounds) hours (cents) 6) oo ine 121.8 | 5,982 27.4 BO mi le 118.6 | 28,251 26.7 OF ee NL IS 117.3 12,322 | 26.4 56 i Sh 111.1 | 23,800 | 25.0 682 A Be Ga 108.0 2,872 | 24.3 27 : = 108.0 | 3,410 | 24.3 40 106.2 | 71,115 | 23.9 OB i 105.7 | 8,516 23.8 18 : 104.4 | 11,205 23.5 12. SE | 104.0 32,858 | 23.4 72 ; 100.9 | 10,874 229 46 100.0 | 19,732 22.5 52 100.0 | 38,444 22.5 7 oo 2 96.9 | 20,839 21.8 76 96.9 34,606 21.8 59 kd 96.9 | 20,899 21.8 31 95.2 | 9,834 23.8 43 95.1 | 29,532 21.4 54 94.7 | 24,227 21.3 48 Sat 94.2 31,705 | 21.2 hd 62.4 7,238 | 20.8 291 91.1 | 58,656 20.5 A Cn 91.1 | 3,724 20.5 1 pec 90.6 22,722 | 20.4 21 a 89.3 34,026 20.1 Total ee el) 567,489 | Percentage of total cling peach production, 57.7. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 83 Average production between 71.1 and 88.9 pounds per hour (16 to 20 cents at the minimum). Average Average hourly pro- Number hourly Cannery number duction women earnings (pounds) hours (cents) GI nr eg Ce 87.5 5,242 | 23.9 445 eS 86.2 42,158 19.4 5... a - 86.0 | 57,423 24.6 42 85.7 | 21,667 19.3 a A rR ARON BE: wn i aE 81.9 | 28,718 | 19.1 58 oe 5 84.0 37,238 | 21.0 24 Cy 81.3 1,264 | 18.3 19 5 80.0 28,456 18.0 BR ee 79.5 12,509 17.9 Dr i 78.7 8,638 11.7 308 5 75.5 37,493 20.6 25 — . 72.9 4,328 16.4 41 72.5 16,553 20.1 Total _ x 301,687 Per cent of total cling peach production, 30.7. Average production less than 71.1 pounds per hour (less than 16 cents per hour at the minimum rate). Average Average 3 Number Cannery number holy pro women Bo (pounds) hours (cents) 28 69.7 37,787 15.7 57 66.2 46,129 14.9 44 59.5 9,084 13.4 78 el 54.7 6,290 12.3 36 51.1 14,509 11.5 Total ly Se mal ZA 113,799 1Frees and clings mixed, mainly clings. 2Incomplete record. 3Canning included. Per cent of total cling peach production, 11.6. Total average hourly production in cling peaches 90.3 pounds Total average hourly earnings in cling peaches ee es I TL En 20.9 cents PEARS. With a total number of hours amounting to 815,304 worked in 30 canneries pears are the second product in importance. Pears are packed in 30 canneries, practically all in the Santa Clara, Sacramento, Santa Rosa and San Francisco bay districts. A very small amount of pears is packed in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. At the minimum rate of $0.375 per hundred pounds hourly production should equal 42.7 pounds in order to yield 16 cents per hour. In seven canneries, representing over 40 per cent of the total pack, the average hourly production was above 53.3 pounds, which at the mini- mum rate would yield 20 cents per hour. In 15 canneries, representing practically 50 per cent of the total pack, average hourly production was between 42.7 and 53.3 pounds, which at the minimum rate would yield between 16 and 20 cents per hour. In two additional canneries the average hourly earnings were above 16 cents, because of a higher rate Ova wy i apt a Ya thaw: RO 0 GL a EAE i i i i gL er oa YN Aer oy 84 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. pounds. This makes a total of over 95 per cent of the pack averaging over 16 cents per hour. Six canneries, representing less than 5 per cent of the total pack, showed average hourly production less than 42.7 pounds and hourly earnings less than 16 cents. Of these six canneries, pears constituted a very small product in five plants. In the only establishment of conse- quence which fell below an average of 16 cents per hour a large number of minors were employed, which always reduces production, and the general system of the cannery was not conducive to high production. Of the ten canneries showing the highest production six were located in the San Francisco Bay district, and four in the Santa Clara Valley. The highest earnings are generally found in the canneries putting up the largest packs. For the total pack average hourly production equalled 48.8 pounds and average earnings 18.4 cents per hour. TABLE No. 2(b). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Harnings in Pears. Average production over 53.3 pounds (20 cents at minimum rate). | i | _ Average Hus Average Cannery number hour xo: Yahe Deady: | (pounds) | hours | (cents) @&y ee Li 60.0 66,046 22.5 48 wh : 58.4 59,925 21.9 Oot { 57.8 21,463 21.7 OS --- an AR Se 57.8 47,622 21.7 EE 57.6 16,175 21.6 (29) ia 56.8 | 87,576 21.3 HY ee ed | 55.2.1 31,612 | 20.7 Sa aa 330,419 Per cent of total pear production, 40.5. Average production between 42.7 and 53.3 pounds per hour (16 to 20 cents at minimum rate). Average Average Cannery number hotly Pro z er | Bi (pounds) hours | (cents) a iii ie GEER be ERE mt phn mt 53.1 26,982 19.9 27 Se 50.1 2,788 20.9 (63 { 49.9 44,990 18.7 A oe 49.6 165 18.6 (42 48.6 22,453 18.2 BS == =ieomrmtonrestoneceentasb erie ton tees tune a macs nena 48.3 22,507 18.1 ( 58 ES i et a 47.4 28,709 17.8 9 47.2 4,249 17.9 57 La IT 47.2 | 50,658 17.7 26 ES ners a laa 47.0 21,318 18.8 Te A EE Cm etl Se 46.7 32,984 17.5 0 a a i 46.7 40,190 17.5 36 | 46.7 | 22,594 17.5 Br a eee 44.3 | 46,063 16.6 of ew 43.4 | 34,841 18.1 Total | 401,551 Per cent of total pear production, 49.3. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 85 Average production less than 42.7 pounds per hour, earnings over 16 cents. Average Average hourly pro- Number hourly Cannery number duction women earnings (pounds) hours (cents) 80 a Tn | 40.6 | 42,806 17.4 Hone ne | 35.2 | 504 17.6 | Healy otal’ lr Ll ER ew 0 43,400 Per cent of total pear production, 5.3. Average production less than 42.7 pounds per hour (less than 16 cents per hour at the minimum rate), and earnings less than 16 cents per hour. & Average Average ro Numbher Cannery number boy br women Son (pounds) hours (cents) i = ( | Be en erated ee Ts gr | 42.4 4,170 | 15.9 1 a he I SR SC RI I ME ST BR RE Ne 38.8 2,920 | 15.5 aa a a a a se i he ee | 38.4 20,039 | 14.4 SENT an La i al aha a re 37.6 3,165 | 14.1 a LT 36.0 3,467 13.5 Ol LE re Rn ey 34.1 6,173 | 12.8 | eee] otal. cea adn ae nL er 39,934 | Per cent of total pear production, 4.9. Total average hourly production in pears______________ Sn ae a DR 48.8 pounds Total average hourly earnings in-pears.. = o_o Ci vo dng spon nei Ke a 18.4 cents APRICOTS. The records of production on apricots are based upon the work of 643,351 hours in 42 canneries. In this product the minimum piece rate of $0.225 per hundred pounds did not show an adequate yielding power. For various reasons production in apricots is lower than the actual work involved would indicate. In many canneries apricots are the first product, and the organization of the cannery is not in full swing. The season in apricots is shorter than that of many other fruits and the women do not get up to full speed until the season is nearly over. In addition to these considerations perhaps the most important factor in the low earnings is that practically no other product is being canned at this time and the labor supply is more than sufficient. It has not been customary to pay rates which would prove attractive, and in many establishments no effort is made to have the regular workers come in for this season. Those who come for work are held in order to provide sufficient labor for the heavy peach and pear season. Much waiting for fruit is caused by this practice of maintaining too large a labor force. A large number of minors are employed, as the work of pitting apri- cots is light and does not require the muscular effort necessitated by pitting cling peaches. A distinct difference exists in the amount of work required in preparation. Where the eyes are removed a con- siderable additional effort is required. Hand grading requires much more work than where machine grading is used. In some sections of 86 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. the state the pits have a great tendency to cling and this factor also retards production. Only one cannery showed production over 89.9 pounds per hour, the amount necessary at the minimum rate to yield 20 cents per hour. This establishment represented a very small percentage of the total pack. and the fruit was neither sorted, graded nor were the eyes removed. In four canneries, two in the San Francisco Bay district and two in ‘the Santa Clara Valley, production amounted to between 71.1 and 88.9 pounds, which at the minimum rate would yield from 16 to 20 cents per hour. One cannery in southern California showed production less than 71.1 but paid a sufficiently high rate to bring the hourly earnings above 16 cents. These six canneries showing earnings above 16 cents per hour totalled 88,576 hours of work, or 13.8 per cent of the total work involved in the apricot pack. Thirty-six canneries, totalling 86.2 per cent of the pack of the state, showed average earnings below 16 cents per hour, the lowest being only 9.1 cents. A large proportion of child labor, the greater demands of hand grading, and a large amount of trimming account for the low production in these canneries. It is obvious, however, that the estab- lished rate was inadequate. The average hourly production in apricots was 57.4 pounds per hour. In order to yield an average of 16 cents per hour the minimum rate would have to be raised to 27.8 cents per 100 pounds or 11.1 cents per 40-pound box. The rate fixed for 1917 was 25 cents per hundred pounds, with the understanding that improved methods of handling were to be used. Average earnings in apricots were 13.7 cents per hour. TABLE No. 2(¢). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Apricots. Average production over 89.9 pounds per hour (20 cents or over at the minimum rate). Average Average _. | Number Cannery number hously Pro women ys (pounds) hours (cents) Ne en alii sali 107.5 5,236 24.2 Total - ne se a | 5,236 | Per cent of total apricot production, .8. Average production between Jul and 88.9 pounds per hour (16 to 20 cents t the minimum). Average | | Average Numbe: | Cannery number hourly Pros women Bn (pounds) hours (cents) 43 inne a —— 85.8 37,808 | 19.3 3 Sha mL Sd SS Se rh 78.2 16,131 17.6 2 77.8 1,591 | 17.5 lm em i de i an ES EE a a 74.2 15,246 16.7 | Total aoa. ie i 70,776 | | Per cent of total apricot production. 11.0. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 87 Average production less than 71.1 pounds per hour, but earnings over 16 cents per hour. = Average Average i Number j hourly pro- hourly Cannery number duction women earnings (DOUr.ds) ours (cents) | E31 - | 67.6 12,564 18.6 Total - Fa 12,564 Per cent of total apricot production, 2.0. ~ Average production less than 71.1 pounds per hour, less than 16 cents per hour at : the minimum rate, and earnings less than 16 cents per hour. Average Average Gatonts miming Mp Te (pounds) hours (cents) 80 69.3 7,664 15.6 : 68.4 8,675 15.4 68.0 10,043 15.3 66.2 41,397 14.9 65.3 210 14.7 62.7 39,205 14.1 61.6 | 12,423 15.4 61.2 | 5,358 15.3 60.4 | 16,745 13.6 60.4 29,468 13.6 59.3 | 6,182 15.6 58.3 | 28,670 13.1 57.3 | 2,709 12.9 57.2 | 17,624 14.3 56.0 3,519 14.0 55.9 9,194 | 14.7 55.5 | 30,241 12.5 55.2 | 32,047 13.8 54.7 20,451 12.3 53.8 32,335 12.1 52.8 | 860 11.9 48.4 | 4,752 12.1 47.6 | 2,205 11.9 47.6 | 14,626 11.9 475 | 25,906 12.5 47.1 | 7,818 10.6 47.1 | 15,016 10.6 416.0 | 35,638 11.5 44.0 | 923 | 9.9 43.0 23,133 | 11.3 42.0 11,154 | 10.5 42.0 | 65 | 12.6 40.4 | 11,078 | 10.1 38.0 | 23,776 11.9 31.9 | 10,564 | 9.1 30.8 | 13,211 | 11.5 | 554,785 | Per cent of total apricot production, 86.2. "Potal average hourly production in apricots... oo... cco ool Tol __ 57.4 pounds "Total average hourly earnings in aprieots. oo o_o io lil 13.7 cents 10vertime included. 2Canning included. 88 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. TOMATOES. A total of 522,017 hours worked in 27 canneries is represented by the production study of tomatoes. The range of earnings was from 12.3 cents to 20.3 cents per hour, the least range shown in any important product. The work on tomatoes is nearly standard. Three canneries showed hourly production over 80 quarts and average hourly earnings of 20 cents and over. They represented 13 per cent of the total pack. Fourteen establishments showed average hourly earnings between 16 and 20 cents, and their output represented 53 per cent of the total pack. Two canneries (representing over 2 per cent of the total pack) paid a higher rate and the earnings showed above 16 cents per hour. Eight canneries fell below 64 quarts per hour production and 16 cents per hour earnings. The cannery showing the largest number of hours worked was included in this class. Its general system is very inefficient. A poor grade of tomatoes in two of the other canneries caused the lower production, other products in these two canneries showing very good averages. The general weighted average of production is 64.6 quarts, which at the minimum rate would yield 16.2 cents per hour. The higher rates paid in a few canneries bring the average earnings up to 16.3 cents per hour. The variation in production by districts is not conclusive. In general, southern California showed lower production than the other districts, but in several canneries a higher rate compensated. The Santa Rosa district showed comparatively better production in tomatoes than in other products. The table of production by canneries follows. TABLE No. 2(d). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Tomatoes. Average production over 80 quarts per hour (20 cents at minimum rate). Average | Average Number Cannery number hourly bro- | women | Sous (quarts) hours | (cents) 8. el a 81.2 4,105 | 20.3 45 nS ee aE 81.2 17,027 | 20.3 59 ne ST 80.0 34,418 20.0 RO hai ane a ES 55,550 | Per cent of total tomato production, 10.9. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 89 Average production between 64 to 80 quarts per hour (16 to 20 cents at the minimum). Average Average a hourly pro- Number hour annery number duction women earnings (quarts) hours cents 4 ma z | 74.8 | 1,404 18.7 | 74.4 | 21,925 18.6 | 74.0 | 12,213 18.5 | 70.0 | 2,114 17.5 aE eT 69.6 | 9,268 17.4 414 = | 69.2 16,529 17.3 69.2 | 20,728 17.3 68.8 24,434 17.2 68.8 14,251 17.2 68.0 | 8,824 17.0 | 66.2 | 5,353 19.3 EB i mn ee SA i i i | 65.2 48,827 16.3 A i Ea | 65.2 | 31,799 16.3 A er a Sn Ga a ne Sasa 64.4 | 46,859 16.1 Motal oe a | La 252,325 Per cent of total tomato production, 49.5. Average production less than 64 quarts per hour, but earnings over 16 cents. Average Average = Number Cannery number hous pi women uy (quarts) hours (cents) en eengte onthe 538.1 5,343 | 17.7 E30 a 53.1 8,433 17.7 Total i 13,776 Per cent of total tomato production, 2.7. Average production less than 64 quarts per hour (less than 16 cents per hour at the minimum), and earnings less than 16 cents per hour. Average Average ; i Number Cannery number | Nols be omen Louly | (quarts) ours (cents) 60.8 40,725 15.2 60.1 12,170 15.0 59.6 35,019 14.9 58.8 28,381 14.7 58.0 3,589 14.5 54.8 6,344 13.7 50.0 55,635 12.5 | 49.2 6,290 12.3 Wonl oii ii, oo nd dena Pl 188,153 Per cent of total tomato production, 36.9. Total average hourly production in tomatoes__ 64.6 quarts Total average hourly earnings in tomatoes 16.3 cents FREE PEACHES. The total number of hours worked in free peaches was 204,685. The records cover the production in 35 canneries, but in the majority of these canneries free peaches were a minor product. The principal pack of the state is in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. 90 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Frees come in at the same time as pears, and in the sections where pears are packed very few frees are canned. The matter of lost time is a more serious factor in free peach pro- duction than in that of other fruits. The free peach requires no pit- ting, consequently in the general cannery the cutters can prepare more fruit than the canners can handle. In canneries specializing on free peaches a larger proportion of canners are employed and the lost time eliminated. At the minimum rate, $0.125 per 100 pounds, production of 160 pounds per hour will yield earnings of 20 cents. Seven canneries representing 25 per cent of the total pack showed production over 160 pounds per hour. Two of these canneries specialized on free peaches so that the element of lost time common to the general cannery did not become a factor. The others were located in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California, where frees constitute an important item and their handling is more carefully considered. Fourteen canneries, rep- resenting 39 per cent of the pack, averaged between 128 and 160 pounds per hour; at the minimum this production would yield hourly earnings between 16 and 20 cents. Five of the 14 canneries paid rates above the minimum and showed earnings above 20 cents per hour. Five other canneries whose production fell below 128 pounds paid rates in excess of the minimum which brought up their earnings to from 17 to 21 cents. Nine canneries fell below 128 pounds hourly production and 16 cents hourly earnings. In all of these canneries free peaches were a minor product and lost time accounted for the low earnings. Twenty-two per cent of the total production was packed at less than an average of 16 cents. For the entire product, average hourly production equalled 141.3 pounds and earnings averaged 18.4 cents per hour. TABLE No. 2(e). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Free Peaches. Average production over 160 pounds per hour (20 cents at minimum rate). [ Average Number Average Cannery number hourly Io 2 women Doudly (pounds) | ours -]- cents) 681 = El a Ba at ee de 235.2 628 29.4 100 El 208.0 | 9,755 | 26.0 46 184.8 | 6,846 | 23.1 1 ne 181.6 | 5,210 | 22.7 0 ee ns 175.2 | 9,640 | 21.9 Brrr en 1744 | ~ 5045 21.8 BN i es Ln Ea re { 164.0 | 13,774 20.5 ER ER en a oa 50,898 | Per cent of total free peaches production, 24.9. a A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 91 Average production between 128 and 160 pounds per hour (16 cents at minimum rate). Average Average & Number Cannery number howty peo women Suny; (pounds) hours (cents) 9 gil Easel 152.3 1,081 22.1 GE ee id et 152.0 22,180 19.0 EE 9 : 148.8 3,071 18.6 E54 £ | 148.0 2,783 18.5 56 tl 146.7 1,287 22.0 E59 | 146.1 3,253 20.9 QB neal 145.6 6.522 18.2 Bl arena ea a SE SA 144.0 11,895 18.0 39 140.6 3,476 20.1 12 138.0 3,596 20.7 11 136.8 3,316 17.1 43 136.8 14.079 17.1 58 foie | 136.0 1,671 17.0 55 5s 1 133.8 1,241 19.4 Total 79,451 Per cent of total free peaches production, 38.8. Average production less than 128 pounds per hour, but earnings over 16 cents. Average Average - Number Cannery number holy Mia women Donny (pounds) hours (cents) 41 — 126.3 3,386 20.7 Be at 120.3 6,506 17.2 6 119.3 4,396 17.9 40 7. 118.9 13,591 17.0 42 as - 118.0: 1,773 17.7 Y eee Rota). ad CE a re a ea 29,642 Per cent of total free peaches production, 14.5. Average production less than 128 pounds per hour (less than 16 cents per hour at the minimum rate), and earnings less than 16 cents per hour. Average Average z Number Cannery number hourly bro women Downy (pounds) hours (cents) A es 124.8 10,176 15.6 DN ese ee a Sl a 118.4 6,578 14.8 44 112.8 1,829 14.1 28 _ 104.8 4,993 13.1 47 103.3 _ 4,681 15.5 97.9 8,918 14.0 76.7 2,343 11.5 76.1 1,347 11.8 7 il 63.2 3,819 7.9 Total _ Sma oy a 44,694 Per cent of total free peaches production, 21.8. Total average hourly production in free peaches... co... ol 0 lo. 141.3 pounds Total average hourly earnings in free peaches_ 18.4 cents Incomplete record. 92 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. CANNING. Forty-six canneries can fruit and vegetables on a piece-rate system. Of this number 21 canneries, representing nearly 30 per cent of the total hours of work, showed average hourly earnings above 20 cents. Twenty-one other canneries, representing 55 per cent of the total hours of work, showed earnings between 16 and 20 cents per hour. Four canneries, representing 7 per cent of the total hours of work, showed hourly earnings below 16 cents. The following table shows the number of hours worked and the average hourly earnings, by canneries, and also the minimum rate paid upon the grades below standards and the minimum rate paid upon standards. Average hourly earnings, however, do not vary directly according to the variation in these rates. The highest earnings are in the canneries where the work has been mest thoroughly systematized. Where the canners are required to do trimming production falls. Where the canners make a large number of grades and sizes production also falls. Where the arrangement of the shelves involves much reach- ing production again falls. Where the fruit is changed several times during the day, or where the quality of the fruit fluctuates, time is lost, and production falls. : In one cannery where cling peaches were being received from several sources the fruit from one orchard was placed in a single row several boxes high. The fruit from another orchard was placed in a parallel row, and so on. In giving out the fruit to the cutters the boxes were taken from the end, keeping the fruit constantly a cross section of the day’s pack. Where there was considerable variation in the size and quality of the fruit from the different sources this system regularized the handling of grades by the canners, preventing rushes and slack periods in any of the grades. This is a simple method of keeping the canners more nearly on the same grades all day, and might profitably be adopted in many canneries. The most efficient canneries employ trimmers who work on a time- rate basis, and this system works out most advantageously. It is easier to train a small number of trimmers to uniformity than to train all of the canners. The amount of work done by the trimmers requires much less actual time than it would require if done by the canners, where each piece to be trimmed obliges the canner to stop her usual motions, pick up a knife and trim, and then go back to her customary motions. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 93 Production, as would be expected, is found to be highest in the specialty canneries. Of the first twelve canneries in point of average hourly earnings five are located in the San Joaquin Valley and are specialty peach canneries. Four are in southern California, and are specialty canneries; one is a peach cannery in the Marysville district; one an asparagus cannery, and one a general cannery in the San Fran- cisco Bay district. The cannery in the San Francisco Bay district is not in the city and is comparatively a short-hour cannery. Further analysis of earnings in relation to the length of hours will be found under Factors of Production. TABLE No. 2(f). Average Hourly Earnings in Canning. Average Hourly Earnings Over 20 Cents. Number Rate paid | Rate paid Average below on hourly Cannery number hours standards | standards | earnings Worited (cents) (cents) (cents) SD cis Lue errr ea EE em a a ZH | nd em] er He ee 33.9 My ea 33,M8 2 2 28.8 le =r eo mf me in tet et wt atm i ere 23,372 21 2 26.3 Bh a hs le nl 22,107 1 1 25.0 46 Lol ee 18,392 2 2 24.3 A oe TL 15,580 21 2 24.2 Bi eR gt 9,879 13 3% 23.8 i ea 32,260 3 3 23.3 IB ea an 7,603 "9 2 22.4 Oe tL 17,206 2% 2% 22.4 OO Te 39,928 28 28 22.1 BS ea RS ae 2795,580 wn a 22.1 58 tC Ca a Bl 34,538 2 2 21.5 We ee 36,481 | 2 2 21.5 i ene 5,493 2 2 21.5 wl 26,198 12 2 21.0 Se eae 9,751 2 2 21.0 i 181,567 13 2 20.8 el 5,727 2 2% 20.7 me eT SR 13,494 13 2 20.7 oo 49,216 13 13 20.6 Total veeeoni oa ia 558,916 Per cent of total canning, 37.8. 10vertime included. 2Vegetables only. Incomplete record. 94 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Average Hourly Earnings 16 to 20 Cents. | ttre: | Bysgua | meeps | aves | 0 Cannery number | hours standards | standards | earnings Waris cents) | (cents) (cents) 7 : | | 50 | o2s,142 | 13 13 19.9 © ou | 34,794 | 2 2 19.7 10 128,714 | 2 2 19.4 EE RE RE | 12,95¢ | 13 2 19.1 12 | 122.307 | 2 2 19.0 83,026 | 13 13 18.4 12,930 | 13 | 13 18.3 52 a il ET 26,413 | 2. 2 17.8 55 66,058 | 2 2 77 77 SPL S182 (Bonus fac 17.6 57 : 67,301 | 2 2% 17.5 45 | 125,136 | 13 13 17.4 26 sac} 26,018 | Bonus ©}. o_o. 17.4 30. | 43,281 | 13 2 17.3 54 36,287 | 13 13 17.2 21 --| 14015 | 1 2 17.2 28 | 25,837 | 2 2% 17.0 59 | 151,469 | 2 2 16.7 ea 87,741 | 2 2 16.5 86 rth ein Len | 12,142 | 13 2 16.4 43 27,421 13 2 16.0 Total : 812,304 | Per cent of total canning, 54.9. 10vertime included. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. 2 Rate paid | Rate paid | Average Number | below | on hourly Cannery number Sony | standards | standards | earnings or | (cents) (cents) (cents) [ 33 23,172 | 13 13 14.5 7 - 48,692 2 2 14.3 2 ail 118,594 2 2 12.7 63 SL 38,057 13 | 13 12.6 Total on en a a 108515 Per cent of total canning, 7.3. Total average hoarly earnings. o.oo 00 La ET a 19.1 cents 10vertime included. 2Vegetables only. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 95 PRODUCTION IN THE PRODUCTS ON WHICH NO MINI]- MUM PIECE RATES HAD BEEN FIXED. The products on which no minimum piece rates had been fixed by the commission showed average hourly earnings which were lower than on the products produced under the established rates. This is true for various reasons. Asparagus, string beans and apples are packed for periods from five to sixteen weeks, but most of the other products are packed in small quantities, with considerable irregularity, in canneries specializing in other products. To a considerable extent the best workers are kept upon the main products of the cannery, and the less experienced and less efficient workers are put to work upon these odd lots. In the case of several canneries the production record of these minor products is made up of items of one hour only, and in some instances of half-hour items. Aside from the fact that the women do not work up to any efficiency on such small lots it is also extremely probable that the time so recorded is not accurate. Very few cannery checks show periods of time less than half hours. Consequently, in irregular work a woman might be checked as working one hour when she had worked only forty-five or fifty minutes, or possibly she might be checked for an hour when she had worked ten or fifteen minutes over the hour. ASPARAGUS. The asparagus production record covers the work done in six can- neries employing women on the piece-rate basis. Women are employed in three other canneries, in one of which the records were not in form to be tabulated, and in the other two the women were paid on a time basis at 17} cents per hour. Asparagus is an increasingly important product. Women have shown themselves much more efficient than Chinamen in the handling of asparagus. The employment of women in the asparagus canneries is on the increase and they bid fair to replace the Chinese in the course of a few years. In one plant employing both white women and Chinese men the women accomplished regularly from three to four times as much as the Chinese. Asparagus is packed in the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay districts only, and practically the same method is employed in all of the canneries listed below. In two canneries, representing over 52 per cent of the total, hourly earnings averaged over 16 cents per hour. The two canneries show- ing the lowest production represented small amounts of time. On the total of 165,417 hours of work the average hourly production was 120.7 pounds. To yield average hourly earnings of 16 cents the rate should be 13.3 cents per hundred pounds. The three canneries with 96 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. the highest production were in the Sacramento district. They employed a large proportion of experienced workers. TABLE No. 2(g). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Asparagus. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents Per Hour. | + Average | Average Rate per | Number 5 | Cannery number 100 pounds | women hs | Soup (cents) | hours (pounds) (cents) Wien - 13 e511 | 1254 | 16.3 Bono toe angie. Sin = 1 19,260 | 145.0 | 16.1 Total number of hours_______ oSisTmaiial | aegia Tene 86,771 Per cent of total asparagus production, 52.5. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents Per Hour. | denen Ps Bpeper | Numer | Sn | So anne number VO! | | ines (cents) hours iy | rnin | na x 100 | 27,105 | 136.0 | 13.6 6H... 125 | 41766 | 100.0 | 12.5 63 ow 14.0 | 6,519 | 92.9 13.0 A a a fea 12.5 3,256 | 76.8 | 9.6 IPotal number of hours... oo so ond ern foo odie 78,646 | Per cent of total asparagus production, 47.5 Total average hourly production in asparagus____________________________ aati 2 120.7 pounds Total average hourly earnings In asparagus. = 0 re a iS 14.6 cents CHERRIES. The cherries pack of 1916 was less than that of 1915, owing to bad crop conditions. The fruit was not up to standard and ‘required more than usual care in sorting. All cherries production is combined in the record, without separation of variety. Little difference was noted in production on the different varieties, for while the Royal Anns are much larger they have to be sorted for color and imperfections with much greater care. Three canneries, representing 9 per cent of the total amount of work, showed earnings above 16 cents per hour. Eight canneries fell below average earnings of 16 cents per hour, the largest pack of the state showing hourly earnings of less than 10 cents. On the total of 48,105 hours of work the average hourly production was 43.7 pounds, which indicates a rate of 36.6 cents per hundred pounds in order to yield an average of 16 cents per hour. Cherries come in the first part of the season and the low earnings are partly due to the causes which have made for low production in apricots. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 97 TABLE No. 2(h). Average Hourly Production and Average Howrly Farnings in Cherries. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Average Rate per Number Cannery number 100 pounds women Soy A Son (cents) hours (pounds) (cents) ( 7 39.5 3,262 46.3 18.2 de ia ee AE LES | 26.8 518 67.1 18.0 145 2 | 30.0 398 67.7 17.3 Total number of hours 4,178 ) Per cent of total cherries production, 8.7. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. | Average Average Rate per Number Cannery number 100 pounds women Shay a only (cents) hours (pounds) (cents) a] J 21 30.0 7,530 47.3 14.2 58 21.5 6,843 48.3 13.3 2 25.0 | 853 51.2 12.8 56 | 25.0 | 7,902 43.6 10.9 57 19.2 2,774 54.2 10.4 39 i 26.8 | 2,570 38.8 10.4 44 | 25.0 | 13,108 38.8 9.7 ( 63 28 2169 2.7 7a Te en Total number of hours_____ | | 43,927 J Per cent of total cherries production, 91.3. Total average hourly production in cherries hs ! 43.7 pounds Total average hourly earnings in cherries. ______ ae--= 11.8 cents APPLES. The production record in apples represents the work of six canneries, two doing a large amount of work and the other four showing apples as a very unimportant product. In the two canneries where apples were an important product the average hourly earnings were in excess of 17 cents. This represented 84 per cent of the total work done. These two canneries are in the Santa Clara district. The work on apples is a varied process of peeling, sorting, quarter- ing and trimming, partly done by machine and partly by hand, the process varying on different varieties and grades in the same cannery. TABLE No. 2(%). Average Hourly Earnings in Apples. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. (Peeling, quartering, sorting, trimming—varied process.) Average Number Cannery number ‘Women only hours (cents) 20 26,767 17.6 5 14,352 17.3 Total number of hours 41,119 Per cent of total apples production, 83.9. 7—32554 98 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. 3 Average Number Cannery number women Sony hours (cents) 45 2,848 154 56 914 13.4 Be i ama 2,804 12.9 38 1,279 10.5 Total number of hours____ = Sa 7,845 Per cent of total apples production, 16.1. Total average hourly earnings in apples 16.8 cents STRING BEANS. The production record on string beans includes the work done in six canneries, in all of which average hourly earnings were less than 16 cents per hour. The record of another cannery showed better earnings, but it was not in form for comparative tabulation. A rate of $1.25 per hundred pounds was paid in this cannery. Considerable variation exists in the amount of work required in preparing beans. The ‘‘Creaseback’’ variety has to be carefully strung, while the ‘‘Kentucky Wonder’’ is a stringless bean, ordinarily, and does not require this work of stringing. An accurate production study needs to take into consideration the variety of bean, size and process. Data for this was not available. In several canneries an undue proportion of minors and old women are engaged on beans, which is a factor in reducing production. In one establishment beans were left until the end of the day, which also reduces production. Upon the records of these six canneries, representing a total of 58,728 hours of work, the average hourly production was 19 pounds. To yield 16 cents per hour the rate would have to be raised to 84 cents per hundred pounds. In cannery No. 56 the rate was raised during the season from 60 to 75 cents per hundred pounds. Average hourly production at the 60-cent rate was 17.3 pounds, and at the 75-cent rate 19.8, and average hourly earnings at the lower rate 10.4 cents, while they reached 14.9 cents at the higher rate. This is indicative of a condition where the more capable women had been unwilling to work on beans at the first rate, but at the increased rate they were willing to work, and their greater efficiency brought up the average production. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 99 TABLE No. 2(j). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in String Beans. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Average _ | Rate per Number hourly hourly Cannery number 100 pounds | women production | earnings (cents) hours (pounds) (cents) 27 $0 67 16,060 22.9 15.4 59 60 9,787 2.7 14.2 56 $ @ 11 8,254 18.3 12.8 Testun l oly ” : ’ 75 i: 1 00 5,754 12.4 12.4 41 75 16,887 14.8 133 62 50 1,986 21.6 10.8 Total number of hours a 58,728 Per cent of total string beans production less than 16 cents per hour, 100.0. Total average hourly production in string beans___ 19 pounds Potal average hourly earnings in string bebans..... Lo... oc Coie 13.1 cents SPINACH. Spinach is a product of growing importance. According to the record of 1916 spinach was packed in three canneries, one in Sacra- mento, one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles. It is a product which can be packed very generally. All of the three canneries showed average hourly earnings below 16 cents. The rates paid vary from 15 to 40 cents a hundred pounds, but the basis of figuring rates is not comparable. The work of preparation on spinach consists of cutting off the root end and sorting out dead or discolored leaves, production varying widely with the quality of the spinach. : TABLE No. 2(k). Average Hourly Production and Average Hourly Earnings in Spinach. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Average Rate per Number Cannery number 100 pounds | “women | production | eamings | (pounds) (cents) 45 : 15 3,276 88.0 13.2 Be Ee es as 40 2,495 29.5 11.8 BCs cise ar at a ee a hs 20 18,633 41.5 8.3 Total number of hours i 24,404 Per cent of total spinach production, 100.0. Total average hourly earnings in spinach_________________ LaLa 9.3 cents 100 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. BERRIES. The record on berries is not conclusive. Under the head of berries are classed strawberries, logans, lawtons, raspberries, and blackberries, with various factors to be considered regarding each variety. In several of the canneries different rates were paid on the same variety at different times, depending upon the quality and size of the berries. Out of a total of 49,727 hours of work only one cannery with 808 hours, or 1.6 per cent of the total pack, showed hourly earnings above 16 cents. Cannery No. 53, with 12,815 hours of work, showed earnings of 15.8, or practically 16 cents per hour. This work was upon straw- berries exclusively. The largest pack was in cannery No. 44, which showed earnings of only 13 cents per hour; no strawberries were included in this record. TABLE No. 2(1). Average Hourly Earnings in Berries. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. {3 Average | Number Cannery number | women pours | hours (cents) Mo a I ee eS 808 | 16.9 | Per cent of total berries production, 1.6. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Numb Cannery number ey i a hours | (cents) BE aS 12,815 | 15.8 OY ea 5,134 | 13.9 Ma a 22,522 | 12.9 5 Sa 495 | 12.6 56 7,953 | 115 Total number of hours_____ 48,919 1 Per cent of total berries production, 98.4. Fotal average hourly earnings inberries........ i oa iii 13.9 cents GRAPES. Grapes are a product showing a steady increase in importance. Muscats are the chief variety packed, but Thompsons are included in the records of several canneries, for which reason comparative rates and production are not given. The record covers 38,215 hours of work, on nearly 90 per cent of which hourly earnings were above 16 cents, three canneries, represent- ing nearly 40 per cent, showing earnings over 20 cents per hour. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING... .::.,'., . 101 TABLE No. 2(m). Average Hourly Earnings in Grapes. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number yomen Doty ours (cents) 21 i a ea io 2,429 22.9 a a 186 21.5 Ey ST A eR He Re SS LR RAS SH 11,086 20.3 a a Se 4,075 19.0 40 _ enn dn SR pe ay a 5,064 18.7 54 = 4,653 18.5 56 og 3,915 17.6 43 Lik 934 17.2 OS han a 1,828 16.3 Total numberof hours... - ... oo... il daa bisndela iain Sdn 34,170 Per cent of total grapes production, 89.4. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women Sony. hours (cents) 9 ry mr A 453 14.8 BS ea a a 2,985 13.9 BO ER Ce he ne 657 11.8 Total number of hours... ..._..__ 2 4,045 Per cent of total grapes production, 10.6. Total average hourly earnings in grapes. Lt a 18.6 cents In addition to the stemming of grapes, in two canneries grapes are seeded. Ome cannery, representing 5,515 hours of work, showed earn- ings of 21.4 cents per hour. The other cannery showed only 343 hours of work, on which the women earned 12.8 cents per hour. The same rate, 10 cents for 6 pounds, was paid, but the methods of operation were different. PLUMS. Thirteen canneries packed plums. The largest pack represented 2,292 hours and the smallest 45 hours. The records were made up largely of very small items of time, and are liable to inaccuracies. All varieties of plums are included under this heading. TABLE No. 2(n). Average Hourly Earwings in Plums. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women Sonny. hours (cents) A So A J he BE RA er, | 45 23.4 ne da an a 350 18.7 A a a 173 18.5 Be ne - — 214 17.4 Total number of hours 782 * fi Al £4 (i ve 102 . .°.' :. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Cannery number Toe Sol Ours (cents) 56 : 970 15.0 55 371 12.4 21 833 12.2 42 = 70 Fl 54 = 70 10.4 2 : 512 10.4 Be ee aS i] 473 9.1 45 — 92 89 44 2,292 if Total number of hours... ___.... .. coi. 5,733 Per cent of total plums production, 88.0. Total average hourly earnings in plums, 11.3 cents. CLING PEACHES—HAND PEELED. The usual process of peeling cling peaches is by dipping in hot lye solution, but in two canneries representing a large production and two representing a small pack, peaches are peeled by hand. In three of the canneries production averaged over 20 cents per hour, and in the fourth it averaged practically 16 cents. TABLE No. 2(o). Average Hourly Earnings in Hand-peeled Cling Peaches. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women oii hours (cents) 3%. iii ene 73,089 23.8 36 | 2,564 | 23.4 Iss ot a se —~ 767 | 20.6 Total { 76,420 Total average hoursly earnings in cling peaches (hand peeled) ____________ 22.4 cents Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number | women ourly hours (cents) Sr] ! : al aa 14,968 | 15.9 Per cent of total cling peaches (hand peeled) production, 16.4. Total average hourly earnings in cling peaches (hand peeled) ________________________ 22.4 cents FREE PEACHES—HAND PEELED. Six canneries peel peaches by hand. This is sometimes done with a view to utilizing the labor of the women, as on the pitting of free peaches the preparers can work much more rapidly than the canning capacity of the plant would warrant. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 103 The production record for free peaches hand-peeled shows four can- neries representing 82.5 per cent of the pack, with average hourly earnings above 16 cents, one at practically 16 cents, and only one below. An unusually large number of minors were employed in the cannery which made the low figure. TABLE No. 2(p). Average Hourly Barnings in Hand-peeled Free Peaches. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women oY hours (cents) Onan ano 7,145 20.0 83... 25,636 18.6 EE me ee at ee fut imran 1,317 18.2 Ba a ee en 6,993 17.7 Rata] ee RE A ee ad 41,091 Per cent of total free peaches (hand peeled) production, 82.5. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women Soy hours (cents) 36 a 4,409 15.9 2 4,311 11.2 Potala Sane 8,720 Per cent of total free peaches (hand peeled) production, 17.5. Total average hourly earnings in free peaches (hand peeled) oo 17.8 cents CHILIS. ~ The record on chili peppers covers the work of two canneries only. Two other canneries pack chilis, but their time was not accurately kept and their records were not capable of being reduced accurately to a basis of hourly production. The largest pack recorded is from southern California. It shows hourly earnings of 14 cents. A small record from San Francisco shows earnings of over 22 cents. TABLE No. 2(q). Average Hourly Earnings in Chili Peppers. Average Hourly Earnings Over 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number women oo hours (cents) 03 -... Yh 632 22.4 Per cent of total chili peppers production, 4.2. 104 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Average Hourly Earnings Less Than 16 Cents. Average Number Cannery number | women Dou | hours (cents) 50 i oh 14,339 | 14.1 Per cent of total chili peppers production, 95.8. Total average hourly earnings in éhill peppers... ca deans 15.4 cents MARASCHINO CHERRIES. Maraschino cherries are packed in one cannery only. The work extends over a period of 20 weeks. The cherries are first preserved. The women’s work consists only of packing them into the final con- tainers. On 20,920 hours of work the average hourly earnings were 18.2 cents. PIMIENTOS. ~ The record on pimientos is from one cannery only. The two other plants packing pimentos did not check time accurately enough to reduce their records to one of hourly production. On 27,751 hours of work the average hourly earnings were 14.3 cents. BEETS. Beets were packed in one cannery only. The record shows only 4.196 hours during one week, at average hourly earnings of 6.8 cents. QUINCES. Quinces were canned in one cannery only. On the record of 1,004 hours of work the average hourly earnings were 11.8 cents. ONIONS. Onions were packed upon an hourly basis and for short periods of time only. PEAS. Peas are packed in two canneries by women, men being used in the third. In the two canneries the women are paid entirely on the time- work basis, at 16 cents per hour. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 105 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS. SUMMARY OF THE FACTORS OF PRODUCTION. In addition to the figures of production by products the average hourly earnings on all the work of women and minors in each cannery is given in the following table, together with the factors which tend to increase or decrease production and earnings. The factors of production are taken to be the following: (1) The principal product of the cannery. (2) The district, in relation to the principal product. (3) The proportion of minors employed. (4) The length of season. (5) The turnover in labor force. (6) The length of hours worked. Other factors might be considered such as the general factory organi-. zation, the nationality of the workers, and further details of the ele- ments of canning production, but it was not considered that the data obtained were sufficient to add these items accurately. The most important factor in hourly earnings is the nature of the principal product. From the tables of production it will be seen that earnings vary considerably in the different products, hence earnings will vary directly with the nature of the leading product, the propor- tion which it constitutes of the total pack, modified by the nature of the other products. Of the 25 canneries showing the highest average earnings the principal product of 15, including the first 5, was cling peaches. Pears were the leading product in 3 canneries; frees in 2; apricots in 2; asparagus in 1; tomatoes in 1, and berries in 1. The asparagus and tomato canneries were specialty canneries, which is also a factor for increasing production. Nine of the canneries in which clings were the leading product were specialty peach canneries, and canneries No. 1 and No. 80 are also specialty canneries. The product of second importance in each cannery is given, but its importance as a factor varies. In the specialty peach canneries frees are the only other product besides clings, and it naturally follows that frees are found to be the leading second product. In connection with the principal product of the cannery the question of district is a factor. Cling peaches yielding the highest production, the specialty peach canneries will show the highest earnings, and the San Joaquin Valley and Marysville districts will do better than any other districts of the state. It is probably a fact that the San Joaquin 106 INDUSTRIAL. WELFARE COMMISSION. Valley peaches are larger than those grown elsewhere, which is also a consideration. From the table of productive power of minors it will be seen that their average hourly earnings are decidedly lower than those of the adult women. It is consequently to be expected that a smaller pro- portion of minors will be found in the canneries having the highest average earnings. The average per cent which minors represent of the total number employed is 8.6. The first 20 canneries averaged 7.2 per cent. Of the 17 canneries showing the lowest earnings six had a percentage of minors exceeding 20. However, it is to be remembered that more children are employed in the country districts, which are largely the peach districts, and this modifies the direct comparison of child labor and production. The length of season has an important bearing upon factory organiza- tion. If employment can be given for twenty or thirty weeks of the year it is possible to train people as it is not possible to train them for a season of only a few weeks. In the long season canneries the season opens up comparatively slowly on vegetables and early fruits before the great rush of the fruit season begins and finishes with a run on toma- toes and fall vegetables after the fruit season. With a season approxi- mating thirty weeks the cannery is on an equal footing with a large proportion of the general manufacturing business of the country. However, the products packed early and late in the year do not yield earnings equal to earnings on peaches and pears. Consequently the natural increase in earnings from lengthening the season is more than nullified. Dividing the canneries into two groups according to earn- ings, of the canneries showing the highest earnings five had seasons over 20 weeks, against 9 among the 31 canneries in the lower half; 11 of the higher half had seasons from 12 to 20 weeks, against 12 of the lower half of the canneries; 10 of the higher had seasons from 8 to 12 weeks against 7 of the lower canneries; and 5 of the higher canneries had seasons less than 8 weeks, against only 3 of the lower. r— The turnover in labor force is an important indication of factory ‘system. The per cent which the total number employed during the maximum week represented of the total employed during the entire ‘season needs to be considered in connection with the length of the cannery season, and will be modified further by the regularity of work in the cannery. However, we may note that in all of the 20 canneries showing the highest earnings the numbers employed during the maxi- mum week averaged over 60 per cent of the total numbers employed during the entire season. In one cannery this per cent was over 90, in 5 cases between 80 and 90, and in 8 cases hetween 70 and 80. (oh a 2 ann dah ad FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 107 ‘While some high per cents are found in canneries having low earn- ings in general it will be found that a greater turnover in labor goes with lower earnings. The most noticeable examples of this are | canneries No. 50 and No. 63, which show the greatest amount of turn- | over and nearly the lowest earnings. — The number and per cent who work the entire season, which is taken to be the total number of weeks during which the cannery operated, or one week less than the total, is another indication of turnover. This per cent is not always fair, in its implications, to a cannery. A can- nery which operates on some minor product, requiring a small force at either end of the season will show a smaller per cent than if it operated only on the main pack. With allowance for modification, however, the per cent of those who worked through the entire season is a matter of interest. The average for the state was 14.9 per cent working through the season. In general, it will be found that the higher per cents occur in the canneries showing the highest earnings. The highest percentages are found in canneries No. 10, a specialty peach cannery ; No. 46, specialty peach cannery; No. 72, specialty peach can- nery; No. 83, specialty asparagus cannery; No. 4, specialty tomato cannery ; No. 43, specialty peach cannery; No. 84, specialty asparagus cannery ; No. 5, specialty pea cannery; No. 75, a plant operating in beans and tomatoes only, and No. 73, a specialty pea cannery. For the most part the earnings are highest in the specialty can- neries. In addition to this, which is an inducement to the women for remaining, there are many women who come into the general canneries for the work upon certain products only, thereby reducing the number of those who remain throughout the season. In some canneries the force changes almost entirely between the fruit season and the tomato season. The lowest per cents are found in the city canneries which operate upon minor products at both ends of the season, and they should not be considered in the same light as the fruit canneries, which do not taper off to the same degree. The length of hours worked is another factor in hourly earnings. In 12 of the first 20 canneries the cutters did not work in excess of 60 hours per week during any week of the season, and only 2 can- neries showed that the working of long hours was intended as a regular practice. However, the length of hours worked is modified by several factors. The city canneries operate much longer than the country canneries, very largely because the labor in the cities is mainly foreign, and the foreigner will work longer hours than the American. The Americans in the country districts will work long hours to save fruit in a peak period, but they will not regularly do so. It was very noticeable 108 INDUSTRIAL. WELFARE COMMISSION. in the tabulation of the figures that a large number of women always dropped out after a particularly heavy week. Of the first 20 canneries the two city canneries worked consistent long hour weeks. The other 18 canneries showed that beyond 60 per week was a matter of taking care of the peak of the load only. The foregoing are the principal factors governing earnings. The chief factor is seen to be the product worked upon. The product showing the highest earnings is cling peaches, and the season for cling peaches represents the peak of the demand for labor. Before piece rates were established by the Commission the usual factor in determin- ing piece rates was the supply of labor. When labor was plentiful, as at the beginning of the season, the piece rates paid were not high’ enough to prove an inducement to attract labor. As the demand for labor became greater in the industry the piece rates were made more attractive. As the demand for labor became less at the end of the season less attractive rates were paid. So far as these tendencies were not controlled by the Commission’s rulings they will be seen to have persisted. TABLE No. 3. Summaries of the factors of production, by canneries, district; length of season; number of adults and minors, with per cent of total represented by minors; number employed during the maximum week, with per cent of total employed during the season; the principal product and second important product, with average earnings in preparations number of weeks any considerable number of cutters worked over 60, 48 to 60, and less than 48 hours per week; average earnings of canners; number of weeks any considerable number of canners worked over 60, 48 to 60, or less than 48 hours. 2 ess 2% eod | 2g? 8d gas 2 2% seal gad oF 223 gZe= = 2 Number of weeks ey ! : SEE | BE SIF f2F | SE cap EER iEEci| ER) Ip | EEE Er ae |] cutters BEE | amen g 558 = (%22 | 252 | 3% EEE |B |REE=| f%% £2 "EE Principal ELSES Seon £258 = FEES 5 = 1 2 fii Polet |B Ep fg TREE RR | TU | asf | weed BER) RE rvileR | 2D land |FEr| of | 27 | ad | Eli AL cr LEE (Rd RT } 2 | HEE [fe |E* |i Z| EL | ds |P° v > i Ei Lata ; y | geld. 7 | ga bd 7 ( | | | re [ aT 68 |'San Joaquin --Lli.l ola 24.5 gins al nh ane [~emmmmctiee [erectile ol 5,761 | Clings 24.3 | Frees | 29.4 fi rE [oneal 40] San Joaquin iii cli li | 23.9 14 363 19 382 5.0 301 78.8 | 84 22.0 | 129,899 | Clings 23.9 | Frees [170i d 6 | gle iogg dl 6 8 Tol San Joaauin foil oi iii [7.09.4 10 211 48 259 18.5 207 79.9 122 47.1 | | 74,060 | Clings 26.6 | Frees 20.00 6! 41 194 4 4 9 46: San Joaquin... ail lol J 6 323 46 369 12.5 285 77.2 | 174 47.2 50,921 | Clings 29.5 | Frees | 23.1 ° Td 5 243 1 | 3 | 9 7 Sacramento... a... si : 8 125 14 | 139 10.1 | 116 83.5 71 51.1 18,523 | Clings 22.7 | Frees | 22.14 2! 61 207 1 2 5 1 | Santa Clara _. 9 105 2.4 107 1.9 4 69.2 29 27.1 13,542 | Apricots 24.2 | Frees 22.4 1 8 16.8 Tt 1 3 12 | Marysville 10 259 43 302 14.2 209 69.2 104 34.4 58,760 | Clings 23.4 | Frees 20.7 2 | 8 19.0 3 | 3 | 4 60 | Southern California 18 el Toes (vento 142 70.3 32 15.8 46,855 | Frees 21.9 | Apricots [ 1s.al ool ol 18 | 224 1 1 | 16 gl Sacramento i oid ii ill 23 12 1824. 112| 84.8 9 6.8 46,236 | Clings 26.4 | Apricots | 15.3 1 5 | 17 20.7 3 | 3 | 17 66 ['San Joaquin: Lolo loti 0 12 347 75 422 17.8 273 64.7 114 27.0 | 122,425 | Clings 21.8 | Frees | 19.0 3 5 | 4) 921 6 | 3 | 3 80 | Southern California 9 VB on Ba 133 76.0 56 32.0 32,461 | Frees 20.5 | Apricots | 15.4 2 1 6 238 9 | 2 | 5 47 | Marysville ____ 8 272 47 319 14.7 210 65.8 117 35.9 55,674 | Clings 19.1 | Frees [15.5 1 21 Fifa iorad ano 4 1 29 | Hon, Wrancisco 19 536 56 454 | 84.7 | .56| 10.4 | 281,795 | Pears 21.3 | Clings | 204 8 6 5! 20.6 Lg 5 31 | Southern California 15 151 45 196 23.0 157 80.1 34 17.3 44,044 | Apricots 18.6 | Frees [18.082 tio. 1 1c or0] oo. 2. 13 23. Sacramento. oi iin potas z 12 207 16 223 7.2 169 75.8 106 47.5 | 198,156 | Asparagus TB ess CO 6 6 22.1 4 4 | oy 38} San Pronelseo ... aooai.... ; 19 591 4| 59% 7 534 | 89.7 124 20.8 | 231,184 | Clings 23.8 | Apricots I 11.3 1 2 16 | 2.0 3 10 13 8anta Clara... o.. , 9 170 17.1: 187 91 | 139 74.3 61 32.6 31,485 | Pears 21.6 | Apricots 15.3 2 1 6 | 85 | Southern California ; 2% 28 hen. oo | 14 60.9 2 8.7 10,230 | Berries 19.2 | Seoaun 14 12 4 [Santa Rosa’ lo. oie , 8 IB 12 92.3 9 68.2 1,988 | Tomatoes 18.7 0a Hee 1 v 18 | Southern California 12 ONO ha 137 64.6 53 25.0 34,608 | Clings 23.5 | Apricots 140s 1 11 Bm LSanta Clara 1.0. ll. , 19 655 8.6 489 74.7 141 21.5 | 335,510 | Pears 21.9 | Tomatoes = 10.3 7 6 6 54 | San Francisco 23 411. 5.6 197 47.9 12 2.9 139,236 | Clings 21.3 | Pears fi 21.3 9 7 vik) 50:1 Sacramento. Jase 3 20 699 15.6 471 68.8 24 3.4 | 176,011 | Clings 24.6 | Pears 17.4 3 7 10 | 52:1 Sam Joaquin: —o Lo oon ag en i 9 482 9.3 275 57.1 133 21.6 85,210 | Clings 22.5 | Frees asl 5 | 4 | 23 San Joaquin Co : 7 386 15.0 284 | 73.5 183 47.4 81,252 | Clings 21.4 | Frees 17.1 1 3 3 11 | San Francisco 17 505 5.5 354 70.1 75 14.8 181,821 | Pears 21.7 | Tomatoes 14.9080 0en 12 | 5 6 | Southern California 11 263 i Ve 181 68.1 50 19.0 32,002 | Apricots 15.4 | Clings 23.0 1 10 | 30 | Southern California 18 212 79 291 07.1 193 66.3 24 8.2 69,857 | Clings 20.6 | Apricots 14.3 3 15 58 | San Francisco 28 595 26 621 42 (. 391 62.9 25 4.0 227,898 | Clings 21.0 | Apricots 12.5 2 3 | 23 | or [Santa Olay 0... ... 2 19 98 17 115 14.8 87 75.6 22 19.1 47,766 | Tomatoes 18.6 | Beans 15.4 ty 1 11 | 56 | Sacramento... sa... a 30. mW 46 817 5.6 - 489 59.8 17 2.1 | 257,017 | Pears 17.5 | Tomatoes 17.2 6 13: 11 | , 50 (Santa Clars - too. cio...oi. , 19 | 301 2 373 19.3 305 | 81.7 7 20.6 | 186,618 | Tomatoes 20.0 | Pears 3 20.7 5 10 4 | 21 . San Francisco 18 a on 62d ni 394 63.1 58 9.3 | 138,957 | Clings 20.1 y Pears 19.980 0 9 9 | 26 | Sante Clara... 0 11 223 26 249 | 10.4 226 | 90.8 101 40.6 | 83,691 | Pears 18.8 | Apricots 11.9 2 2 | 74 Santa lara, 2c oi iii 13 89 20 109 18.3 66 60.6 20 18.3 21,640 | Clings 20.8 | Pears 13.5 2 4 | n 45 | "San Franeiseo i. l__. 29 iat 31 802 3.9 427 53.2 52 6.5 | 448,450 | Pears 22.5 | Clings 19.4 15 10 | 4 | SL Sacramento’ iooiiiiaait 3 15 29nd A 18 81.8 11 50.0 10,219 | Asparagus 2B ene ae iam] 4 3 3 | 42 | San Franeiseo -.--_.__—._.. . 18 385 38 423 9.0 306 72.3 104 24.6 177,813 | Tomatoes 16.1 | Apricots 13.1 3 8 7 | 53 | San Pranciseo -.. -..-.... 21 in maine tad cal 35,915 | Marach. cherries] 18.2 | Strawberries 15.80 a ol Santa Clara >>... 12 137 2.2 89 | 64.9 33 24.1 37,401 | Apples Sel ee ME 7 5 162 9 | 6 | 4 3 | Sacramento - 18 | 562 3.2 265 47.2 60 10.7 | 152,530 | Pears 17.5 | Asparagus 13.6 2 8 A 5 | 8 5 5. Sacramento... i... 6 ol 20 95.2 11 52.4 3,614 | Peas 17s 1 2 3 17.1 1 203 2 74 | Sacramento... 2. 10 BBall 48 87.3 14 25.4 6,070 | Apricots 12.9 | Pears 21.0 1 Olen 1 9 14 | Santa Clara... o_o. ; 12 a3 33 76.7 5 11.6 8,881 | Strawberries 16.9 | Clings 20.6 4 1 | 16.6 2 | 4 4 78 | Santa Clara... .. 11 LT 1 59.7 8 6.7 17,689 | Tomatoes 12.3 | Clings 21.0 5 1 1c ane 4 4 3 75 San Joaquin... oi iil. ll | 14 69 21 90 23.3 58 64.4 5 55.5 18,056 | Tomatoes 17.0 | Beans 12.4 5 5 4] 20 1 5 | 3 82 | Southern California 15 0% foi Cdl 62 ces 30 48.4 8 12.9 6,446 | Tomatoes T4.Bie oat i 1 14 83.9. 15 14 28 | San Joaquin J 12 212 99 | 37 266 221 | 59.6 57 | 154 | 83,029 | Clings 15.7 | Frees 17.1 3 4 51 17.0 7 2 3 19 | San Joaquin 2... 3 14 312 63 375 16.8 202 53.9 46 12.3 80,126 | Clings 18.0 | Apricots 9.1 4 4 Bi«18.8 . 8 | 4 73 | San Francisco vl 29 fens wl 16 | 812 12 632 3,586 | Peas Besif ir Lp 2 1 | a TE MIE [iis bi 24 | ‘Santa Clara ........ 14 50 18 68 26.5 43 63.2 4 5.9 12,573 | Clings 18.3 | Pears 1.0. Sa 1 16.7 2 | 3 9 57 'Sants Clara. oo 1 27 690 187 877 21.3 542 61.8 16 1.8 | 274,209 | Pears 17.7 | Clings 14.9 4 6 17 [v7.5 | 7 4 | 7 41 | Santa Clara... loi ; 26 347 59 406 14.5 260 64.07. aloe 179,804 | Pears 18.1 | Tomatoes 16.3 3 16 7 16.5 | 6 | 14 | 6 295 | Santa Clara... 20 10200. Lf year) oul 100 | 98.0 20 | 19.6 | 43,895 | Tomatoes 17.2 | Apricots 10.6 1 6 Bl 19.0 5 | ol 13 36 USanta Clara... ...° 11 269 69 338 20.4 257 76.0 93 27.5 86,328 | Pears 17.7 | Clings 13.80 5 6. 18.7 3 | 5 | 3 44 [Santa Rosa... .. .. 2% 658 onsalt 859 | 54.6 34 5.2 | 184,502 | Pears 16.6 | Berries 14.7 1 11 18 21.0 6 | 10 | 9 62 Santa Clara... 2 17 yl 5 anna 56 48.7 6 5.2 24,197 | Tomatoes 15.0 | Beans 10.8 5 1 11 16.7 | 5 | 4 | 8 For Santa Clary io ak 21 471 59 530 11.1 276 52.1 28 5.3 | 123,231 | Clings 21.8 | Pears TA efaai 3 18 14.3 2.1 8 | 11 63 [San Franeciseo ...... ._.... : 21 | 1,100 6 | 1,106 5 334 30.2 2 2 | 135,795 | Pears 18.7 | Apricots 12.3 3 2 26{::.12.6 3 | 3 | 17 33 | Southern California Blea a ements cl le 10,289 | Apricots 12 feb ll foes lio. Le. feaacaiin i 50 | Southern California 21 088 |r. ios ong Lo 323 34.4 16 1.7 | 155,664 | Tomatoes 12.5 | Pimientos 14.3 1 8 12 19.9 1 | 9 | 11 2|{Banta Clara co... .... 2 170 59 229 | 25.8 5 [oe es 64,308 | Clings 15.9 | Apricots 11.5 3 9 10 | 12.7 3 | | 10 | 18.9 | 18,150 1,711 | 19,861 8.6 2,964 14.9 | 5,937,706 {Ll se 3} 127 279 525 | aly 224 | 250 399 | { 32554—Page 109. di ga, ER i 110 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. NUMBER OF WOMEN AND MINORS EMPLOYED IN THE CANNING INDUSTRY, 1916. The cannery payroll tabulations of 1916, which cover more than 90 per cent of the total industry, are based upon the employment of 18,150 adult women and 1,711 minors, the minors including both boys and girls. In the following table the numbers of women and minors are given by canneries. The canneries are grouped into the country canneries and city canneries, the latter group including the canneries in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Certain distinct differences between city and country canneries make this division logical. The city canneries operate over longer periods, their seasons running from 18 to 31 weeks. The actual number of weeks in which some women were employed in these city canneries was greater than is here given, but the figures for length of season cover the main pack. The country canneries operate from 6 to 28 weeks. The long period canneries are in Santa Clara Valley, where the extent of shipped-in products makes their conditions somewhat analogous to the city can- neries, although in labor supply and other conditions they are on a par with the country canneries governed by local conditions. The average length of season of the city canneries is 23.5 weeks, and that of the country canneries, 14.3 weeks. In the employment of minors the city canneries show a much lower percentage. Four of the 10 canneries employed none during the season. The total number of minors in the city canneries was 233, or 3.6 per cent of the total number of women and minors employed. In the country canneries 1,478 minors appear on the pay rolls, or 11.1 per cent of the total employed. The average for the state is 8.6 per cent. In the average number of weeks worked by the women and minors the country canneries show that in spite of much shorter seasons the women averaged one-tenth of a week longer employment. In the country they averaged 7.7 weeks of employment, while in the city the period of employment was 7.6 weeks. The longest average employ- ment was in a small cannery in the Santa Clara Valley, where the women averaged 14.4 weeks out of a season of 20 weeks. The number of women working classified numbers of weeks is given in this table. In the city canneries over 20 per cent worked one week only, but this very high average is due largely to two canneries, one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles, whose turnover in labor was TE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 111 exceedingly high. In the country canneries 11.4 per cent of the women worked one week only. The total working less than four weeks in the country was 28.4 per cent, and in the city 39.2 per cent. The city canneries employ a large percentage of immigrant labor, much of it consisting of women who do no other work during the year. These women are not well adapted to other kinds of manufacture and there is no great competition for their services. If the conditions of work and pay are satisfactory a large number should be available for cannery work. The city canneries are the long-hour canneries. It is com- monly stated that the women wish to work long hours, but it might better be stated that they wish to earn more money. In talking in their homes to a considerable number of the Italian women they said that they did not like to work such long hours, and they frequently mentioned the fact that different ones had dropped out on account of the excessive hours. The two city canneries No. 63 and No. 50, had respectively 693 and 551 women who remained less than four weeks, the general low earnings in these canneries undoubtedly accounting for the turnover. The number who were employed during the entire season is also given in this table. Under ‘‘entire season’’ is included those who worked the entire number of weeks and also those who worked one week less than the entire season, during the first week the cannery being often not fairly under way. In the country canneries 2,665 women were employed the entire season, and constituted 20.6 per cent of the total number employed. In the city canneries only 299 women worked through, this number being 4.6 per cent. The fact that the seasons are longer in the city canneries makes a certain amount of difference to be expected, but not so great a difference as this. In such a summary as this the branch plants of the companies operating several plants have the advantage, since the branch plants do not open up until the season is in full swing and they close down when the fruit starts to slacken, instead of going through a slower process of starting up and taper- ing off. The per cent which the number of persons employed during the maximum week represents of the total employed during the season is a further indication of the shifting and turnover in labor force. The number employed during the maximum week represents the maximum requirement of the cannery. This number might constitute 100 per cent of the total employed during the entire season. The extent of turnover, which naturally needs to be considered in connection with the length of season and the regularity of the volume of work, is indicated by the degree to which this per cent falls short of 100 per cent. TABLE No. 4. Length of season by canneries; number of women and minors, by canneries, grouped according to city and country; number of women and minors working classified number of weeks; number employed throughout the entire season by canneries; number employed during the maximum week by canneries; per cent which the number working maximum week represents of total number employed during season; total number of adults and minors employed and average number of weeks worked. @ De T , ae TART ae Sean epgs ES e bro an g Fes Number of women working—classified by BEEE sgzdén EZEE SEgch EcEg EEE EES g SES 2 28 number of weeks EESE Razgag E53 El EERE Q SEER SEER SEEEE SBS 2. [28% a | 3RE® | gERp | 2REE | gTRaE | EFF 25 | EZ3®% “28 Zr ss [sum | oe [£2 | E7200 | 02% (BEER 12° | PC [FE | FR s a) a ve w a S i lonly | 2only | 3only | “ony it 13 2 z 2 gz Fe g i 2% z 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 [ 12 10 52 | 40 | 17 63 104 34.4 209 69.2 302 5.7 47 8 60 40 | 32 110 117 35.9 210 65.8 819 4.6 : 44 25 79 ne wl 1m 34 5.2 359 54.6 658 8.6 4 8 Tf ie 1 8 9 68.2 12 92.3 13 6.2 83 12 19 | 24 11 32 106 41.5 169 75.8 223 8.1 72 | 8 9 | 8 | 9 100 1 51.1 116 83.5 139 5.7 5 6 1 2 3 15 Ww aoa 20 95.2 21 4.5 84 | 15 Tle 1 6 1 50 18 81.8 22 10.5 74 | 10 8 2 | 10 10 14 25.4 48 87.3 55 5.7 9 | 28 ee 4 5 23 9 6.8 112 84.8 132 11.5 73. | 74 2 | 2 1 Sl near 12 63.2 16 84.2 | 19 5.2 38 19 9 | 10 | 11 93 348 124 124 | 20.8 534 89.7 | { 595 10 58 | 28 76. | 54 33 104 112 242 9% | 4 391 62.9 | 595 26 621 11.2 11 17 43 | 40 | 300 Tei cam my 75 | 14.8 354 70.1 477 28 505 8.4 42 | 18 40 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 82 | 167 104 | 24.6 306 725 385 38 428 9.6 19 | 14 55 43 | 4 | 100 87 | 46 46 | 12.3 202 53.9 | 312 63 375 6 40 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 33 | 58 176 | 84 84 | 22 301 78.8 | 363 19 382 8 52 | 9 109 | 7 | 33 | 180 183. 133 | 21.6 275 57.1 487 45 482 4.6 46 | 6 62 | 52 58 tor Ll 174 47.2 285 71.2 323 46 369 3.9 43 | 7 53 | 44 | 30 280 fala 183 47.4 284 738.5 828 58 386 4.7 10 | W332 22 14 55 196-1 122 47.1 207 79.9 211 48 259 6.7 75 | 14 5 | 12 11 30 27 5 5 55.5 58 64.4 69 21 920 6.2 28 | 12 56 | 48 | 30 108 eg 57 15.4 221 59.6 272 99 371 5.8 Country 66 | 12 45 39 | 46 92 200 J ae 114 21 278 64.7 347 75 422 6.8 canneries. __ 4 7 | 21 100 58 40 118 117 97 28 5.3 276 52.1 471 569 530 7.1 57 27 138 97 59 209 196 178 16 1.8 542 61.8 690 187 811 7.9 48 19 71 30 | 26 96 156 276 141 21.5 489 74.7 599 56 655 10.7 59 19 33 a 23! 4 115 138 i 20.6 305 81.7 301 72 373 10.4 27 19 3 4 10 36 my 45 22 19.1 87 75.6 98 17 115 8.8 36 11 16 46 | 25 104 Wr 93 20.5 257 6. | 269 69 338 6.5 GIT ‘NOISSININOD HIAVATAM TVISLSOANI $9928 Totals ....- Averages -. City canneries ee re ed ee | Totals... Averages .. Grand total Averages -- 5 43 2 . 249 8.2 23 A 115 5.7 9 : 187 5.4 24 14 3 12 15 15 43 ; 68 5.7 1 9 18 14 9 37 74 69.2 107 5 41 26 26 34 21 93 260 64 406 8.9 2 22 44 19 14 47 154 67.2 229 8 20 © 18 13 7 44 89 64.9 137 6.8 TM 13 24 16 7 12 66 60.6 109 6.3 8 11 14 16 21 40 71 59.7 119 4.6 25 20 2 5 100 100 102 14.4 30 18 12 21 20 80 193 66.3 291 8 6 11 40 43 15 73 181 68.1 263 5.5 80 9 17 22 24 56 133 76 175 5.2 18 12 21 18 15 58 137 64.6 212 7 60 18 10 16 7 41 142 70.3 oR se 202 9.8 82 15 12 11 11 6 30 48.4 Olio 2: 62 3.9 31 15 21 12 16 32 157 80.1 151 45 196 8.5 ala Ne 1,510 | 1,272 | 1,004 | 8,350 9,220 69.1 11,865 1,478 13,343 7:7 EE 14.3% | 11.4% | 95% | 7.5% | 25.1% OA ol 88.9% 11.1% 100% 56 30 63 72 80 196 160 246 17 23, 489 59.8 7 46 817 9.6 55 18 107 8 39 150 65 113 60 10.7 265 47.2 544 18 562 6.5 39 20 65 76 56 211 170 121 24 3.4 471 68.8 590 109 699 7.4 21 18 121 53 15 134 146 125 58 2.6 394 63.1 O21 0: bu 624 7.2 54 23 62 46 34 102 54 113 12 2.9 197 47.9 388 23 411 8 45 29 120 53 48 110 137 334 52 6.5 427 53.2 771 31 802 11.4 | 63 31 445 158 20 166 126 121 2 2 334 30.2 1,100 6 1,106 4.9 29 19 36 18 20 69 151 242 56 10.4 454 84.7 536 8.3 50 21 317 133 101 172 104 111 16 1.7 323 34.4 938 49 85 26 4 ol 6 3 8 2 8.7 14 60.9 23 11 1,340 699 513 | 1,816 | 1,116 | 1,534 299 4.6 |. 3,368 51.7 6,518 7.6 235% | 20.6% | 10.7% | 7.9% | 20.2% | 17.1% | 28.6% |--=-==--|--monommmm- SLI fot 100% 2,850 | 1,971 | 1,517 | 4,666 | 5119 | 3,738 | 2,964 14.9 12,588 63.4 18,150 1,711 19,861 47.6 Ah 18.9% | 14.3% | 9.9% | 7.6% | 28.5% | 25.9% | 18.8% - 634% | -—-nm-- 91.4% 8.6% 100% ‘ONINNVD TIdVIEDHA ANV LINYd IY 114 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. THE EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS.* The number of minors employed in the canning industry is rapidly being reduced. The State Child Labor Law permits the employment of children during the school vacation if they have reached the age of 12 years. The federal child labor law governing the interstate ship- ment of manufactures, including canned goods; specifies 14 years of age. Practically no children under 14 are now employed and few under 16. In the majority of the cases the children are taken on only because the parents desire it, and if the cannery needs the mother the child is also employed. If a cannery is operating beyond eight hours it is a difficult problem to permit any considerable part of the working force to leave before the general closing. All of the time work of the men and women goes on the same and has to be charged against output lessened by so much as the minors’ work represents. In outlying dis- tricts where the labor supply is limited children are employed to a much greater extent than in the cities. The country cannery in general, however, does not aim at the long work day. For the most part the country canneries are open-air establishments and the employment of children during vacations is in no way comparable to city factory con- ditions. The inefficiency of child labor is so generally known in the industry that the problem is solving itself. In the investigation of the canning industry made by the commission in 1914 all of the establishments covered in the 1916 investigations were not included. From 41 canneries, however, comparable “data were obtained. The figures reported for 1914 are larger than they should be because of the fact that several canneries gave the same person more than one number if she worked at more than one occupation, and did not check these duplications. In the 41 establishments 2,344 minors were reported in 1914 and only 1,092 in 1916. Allowing for consider- able duplication in 1914 the figures show a very strong tendency towards the elimination of children from the canneries. The five large city canneries of the San Francisco Bay district employed in 1916 only 60 minors out of a total of 3,479 women and minors employed dur- ing the season. Three city canneries in Los Angeles employed no minors at all. With the greater labor supply in the large cities there is not the need of utilizing the labor of children. Also the utilization of the cannery as a day nursery is not so necessary in the city, where the workers live in their established homes. In some of the country districts, and where the workers live in cannery camps, a playground *For the number and per cent of minors employed in 1916, see Table No. 4. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 115 either inside jor outside of the cannery is inevitable. Several of the canneries have discovered that it is more economical to maintain this playground outside the factory. Also, the emphasis laid upon safety since the operation of the Workmen’s Compensation Act has tended to eliminate young boys from the mechanical processes. PRODUCTIVE POWER OF MINORS. In 1914 the earnings of the minors and the adult women were tabu- lated separately, but this was not done in 1916 as a whole. In 1914 the general hourly earnings of adult women was 16.7 cents, and that of minors, 13.9 cents. For 1916 the records of two canneries employing a large number of minors were tabulated, separating the minors and adults, to disclose the differences in production. The table below shows that in cannery No. 57 the minors earned 8.3 cents per hour cutting apricots where the adult women earned on the same product 13 cents. On pitting cling peaches the minors earned 10 cents per hour where the adults earned 16.6 cents. On pears the minors earned 11.3 cents per hour against adult earnings of 18.1 cents. In canning clings the minors earned 10.3 cents per hour as against 17.2 cents earned by the adults, and in a small number of hours of canning pears the difference was greater. In cannery No. 28 the difference was not so great. On the pitting of free peaches the minors earned 12 cents against adult earnings of 13.9. On the peeling of frees the minors earned 17.6 per hour while the adults earned 20.4 cents. On the pitting of clings the minors earned 12.9 while the adults earned 16.5. On general canning the minors earned 15.9 cents per hour while the adults earned 17.1. In this cannery the minor girls were mainly over 16 years of age. TABLE No. 5, Comparison of minor and adult production; number of hours worked and average hourly earnings of minors and adults, in two canneries, by products. Minors Adults Cannery Product Number Average Number Average hows earnings hours earnings NO.57 ......-...- Apricots ooo oo. loa 6,102 $0.083 26,235 $0.130 Cling peaches -.—_.__--. ....... 12,304 10 33,826 166 Pears or aii 3,286 113 47,373 .181 Canning clings. -:.... -.. 5,633 .103 20,735 172 +H Canning- pears... . i... 488 113 13,036 214 No.28 no. Hrees, pitted ..-<..-oo- i... 2,028 J12 2,966 139 Frees, petled ios 979 176 6,167 204 Clings ..o 0 = lac onl 8,662 129 29,125 165 Qamning oa 2,130.5 159 16,749 171 116 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. THE LENGTH OF HOURS WORKED. The hours worked in the canneries have been gradually reduced year by year. Twenty years ago it was considered that an establish- ment was not operating in a way to bring the utmost returns on the investment unless the plant were running about twenty hours a day. One of the notable things at the present stage of industrial development is the fact that the canneries have learned what other lines of industry have learned, that excessive hours of work are not efficient from the viewpoint of output, to say nothing of the consideration of the welfare of the workers. In past years Sunday work was very common. How- ever, it was found that the women accomplished less in seven days than in six. For the most part they took time off during the week, so that their hours of work were increased by very little. The total output was not increased, but all the regular operating expenses were increased by one day’s work. In the asparagus canneries employing Chinese labor the seven-day week still prevails; but those employing American women operate upon a six-day week. With this exception of the Chinese canneries Sunday work has been eliminated. The length of day now depends largely upon the class of women employed and the type of management. In the country districts the American women will not work regularly on a schedule of long hours. They will work in emergencies to take care of the heaviest part of the load, but they will not continue on that basis for long. Generally speaking the country canneries have aimed at a day between eight and ten hours for the cutters and a day of an hour or so longer for the canners. This endeavor to come down to a shorter day has resulted in many improvements in system and management, so that lost time is eliminated. With the women working on piecework the cost of lost time has seldom been appreciated, but against the women’s piecework has to be figured a large amount of time work, and the saving in time work by the proper despatching of the piecework is a large item. In the city canneries a large proportion of immigrant labor is used, and the foremen and superintendents have been to a great extent Italian. The available labor supply has been greater, which always acts upon the employees as a deterrent to demanding better conditions. Also, the more stolid immigrant type undoubtedly feels the effects of excessive hours much less keenly than the more nervous American. The Italian influence in management is slower to adopt the principles of efficient and scientific management than the American. The canneries in the cities have been the final point of utilization of all fruit not taken care of in the rural districts. The city plants are FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 117 mainly run in conjunction with other plants, and whatever the branches can not care for is shipped to the city. A branch manager may figure on a ten-hour capacity and maintain his schedule very closely, but the final point of diversion is liable to greater irregularities. The develop- ment of the canning industry to a point of efficiency means that each stage from the grower to the distributor must be given its proper atten- tion. The cannery is not a detached unit but part of a much more comprehensive organization. -— In the following table are given the number of weeks which each cannery operated, grouped by districts, and the number of weeks in which cutters worked over 60 hours per week, from 48 to 60 hours per week, and less than 48 hours; also the same information concerning canners. The hours worked in most canneries are very irregular. In an ordinary factory everybody works a straight eight hours. In the can- nery the women work irregularly, particularly in the long-hour can- neries. The women may be told to come at six, but if they do not come | at six they are welcomed at seven, or eight, or at noon, and only when there is a plentiful labor supply can strict rules be applied. In many cases the cutting room will be operating an hour or two longer than most of the cutters work. This irregularity is a source of much extra time on the part of the forewomen, which in some plants regularly exceeds the longest hours of any individual worker by ten hours or more a week. In figuring the hours of the workers the largest number of hours worked by any individual woman was not taken, but the largest number of hours which any considerable number of women worked. One woman might for some reason work an unusual number of hours, but if eight or ten workers put in a certain number of hours it was con- sidered that the cutting or canning room was in operation that length of time. 118 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. TABLE No. 6. Number of cannery weeks, by districts and by canneries, in which any considerable number of cutters and canners worked maximum hours over 60, 48 to 60, and less than }8, with per cents by districts and for the state. 2. Sr r Number of cannery week. 232 z B® | 22F SEEE £3 sie Cutters | Canners FEZ District g= ie = ; get ; 0 a8t0 | Les | gy aso | Less |1ETE : 60 60 en 60 60° elf Marysville aoc 12 0. | 2 8 | 3 3 4 209 47 8 1 2 Ble 4 4 210 PotRIS ccf eln enue ne i 4 13 Bho 1 8 Por ent... |... le 56| 222| 722 - 167| se | m4 Santa Rosa’... - co 44 25 1 11 13 6 10 9 359 4 Zila 1 Gls X 6 12 Potals ae alameda 1 12 19 6 11 315 Perieent coo ii i eaten 3.1 37.5 59.4 18.8 34.4 46.8 Saeramento. i. iio... 84 15 4 | 8 3 4 8 3 18 56 30 6 13 11 4 17 9 276 55 18 2 8 8 5 8 5 201 39 20 3 | 7 10 10 4 6 471 72 Shi 2 6 1 2 5 116 5 6 1 2 3 1 3 2 20 83 1%. 6 6 4 4 4 169 9 23 2: 5 17 3 3 7 112 74 0d 1 Olen i 9 43 Totals 17 52 73 32 50 60 Fervent =o. oo ny oT eb elE o 12.0 36.6 514 | 225 35.2 42.3 San Francisco iw 45 29 15 10 4 | 18 8 3 427 2 63 31 , 3 | 2 26 3 3 17 343 5¢4| 23] 9 7 71 1m 3 7 193 21 Bla. 9 9 | 8 | 2 8 394 | B 8 6 Bl oMlec 5 454 73 | 7 2 1 4 16 Totals & 37 35 55 | 56 16 40 Per cent 29.1 27.6 43.3 | 50.0 14.3 35.7 Alameda County -_..___. 58 298 2 3 23 | 4 5 18 391 38 13 1 2 10 | 3 6 4 534 42 18 3 8 7 8 2 8 306 1 9 12 5 5 | 8 4 354 Wolals: ol. Soodaloalo oo 6 25 Gi gel A 34 Per cent 7.9 32.9 59.2 26.7| 28.0 45.3 San Joaquin ~~... ...on-- 19 214 4 4 | 5 7 3 4 202 75 4 5 5 4 1 5 3 58 52 9 5 | 4) a 5 4 275 43 7 1 2] 3 el... 1 284 46 6 1] 5 | 1] 3 2 285 28 12 3 4! 5 | 7 | 2 3 233 40 willis 6 sho | 6 8 301 10 10] | 6 | 4 4 4 2 207 66 12 3 5 4 6 3 3 273 Totals ._. "wl » | 2| =» 31 30 Percent ooo. bt LL I 165] 02" 4331 4) 3331 3833 1Twenty-three weeks canning. 2Twenty-seven weeks canning. 3Thirteen weeks cutting. 4Nine weeks canning. TT hh FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. TABLE No. 6—Continued. 119 5 £ 28 g Number of cannery weeks 25g Z E & 32 2 Cutters Canners AEB Sept 84 ns LL | ESR District = 278 i EL Z i! 1 Jor Less Less 1 S Col ete ee BRE | - Santa. Clara... .-... 7 A 3 18 2 8 1 276 48 19 | 7 6 6 13 Gl. 489 59 19 5 10 4 11 5 3 305 41 26 3 16 7 6 14 6 260 77 13 2 4 7 3 1 9 66 26 11 2 2 7 2 3 6 226 78 511 5 1 1 4 4 3 71 25 20 x 6 13 5 2 13 100 36 Wes 5 6 3 5 3 257 27 19 7 1 11 87 57 627 4 6 17 7 4 7 542 2 22 3 9 10 3 9 10 154 1 uf ERE 1 7 1 1 3 74 13 9 2 I Gal 139 14 SY 11 2 4 4 31 62 17 5 1 11 5 4 8 56 24 Joa 3 11 2 3 9 43 20 AZ eens 7 5 2 6 4 89 Metals ooo ef at 46 82 158 1 79 99 Per eent or ee 16.1 28.7 55.2 28.5 31.7 39.8 Southern California _____ 6 11a 1 100. 1 10 186 30 IE ary 3 AF oe 4 14 193 80 9 2 x 6 2 2 5 133 50 21 1 8 12 1 9 11 323 18 Ie nn to 1 Toc 1 11 137 60 18 fool es 18 1 1 16 142 85 26 Saari 14 19 le an. 14 12 13 82 13 aie Tlie Ag 1 12 30 31 45 Joes 1] Alec 0 2 13 157 Motals oo ea se nai 3 30 110 4 35 104 Percent oc. oof one 2.1 20.9 76.9 2.7 24.5 72.8 Totaly for the state. i Cl2 ol 127 279 515 224 250 390 Per eentiia. to coi Sh 13.8 30.3 55.9 25.9 28.9 45.2 5Seven weeks cutting. SEighteen weeks canning. "Five weeks canning. 8Ten weeks canning. From the table it will be noted that the San Francisco city canneries operated regularly on a long-hour schedule. In general, the country districts aimed to work the cutters not over 60 hours a week. Southern California, the Marysville district, Santa Rosa, Alameda County and the Santa Clara Valley districts showed over 50 per cent of their weeks less than 48 hours per week. The turnover in labor depends upon several factors, but in general, as will be seen from a comparison with Table No. 3, that long hours are accompanied by a greater degree of turnover in labor. Diagram Showing Number of Women Employed by Weeks and Length of the Season That Individual Products are Packed. °S Q = : x XY x 2 = < £ 3 IT z > a TC. wD 0 2 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 121 THE SEASONAL NATURE AND DEMANDS OF THE CANNING INDUSTRY. The seasonal nature of the canning industry will be readily seen from the chart showing the number of women and minors employed each week during the season from April 1 to December 1. A summary of the products packed during the same period is given below for the purpose of showing why the demands of the industry reach such a peak. The maximum of 11.045 women and minors were employed during the week ending July 29, at which time apricots, berries, plums, clings, frees, pears and string beans were in season. Cling peaches are the most important product of the state, and their season covers the great peak of the industry. Pears and frees fall entirely within the cling season, while apricots lap the first five weeks of the season and tomatoes the last eleven weeks. The seasons as given are slightly longer, in some instances, than the work in any one district, the fruit coming in at different times in dif- ferent sections of the state. By sections the curve of employment is somewhat different from the curve of the whole state, as will be seen from a study of Table No. 7. In the Marysville district, a peach section, the district season ran only 10 weeks, with over 90 per cent of the work within 8 weeks. The Santa Rosa district, with varied products, ran 26 weeks, main- taining a more steady curve. The Sacramento district showed the least variation. Beginning with asparagus and spinach, it runs through all varieties of fruits and vegetables. The San Francisco Bay district runs on the same products, but with comparatively less of asparagus and much more heavily in the fruits, and reaches a peak of employment, in the week ending July 22, of 3,305. The Santa Clara district omits the early vegetables and from 236 ‘employed in cherries in the week ending June 24, rises the following week to 2,013 with the first of the apricots. The high peak is reached the week ending August 5, in pears and clings. A large tomato pack maintains the curve of employment at the end of the season more steadily than that of any other district. > In the San Joaquin Valley apricots bring the number employed to 576 in the week ending June 24. Tn this district, as in southern Cali- fornia, there is a distinct period between the large pack of apricots and any considerable pack of peaches, which does not occur in the more northern districts. For this reason the curves of employment in the San Joaquin Valley and in southern California take decided drops between these two products. With the coming of peaches, however, 122 INDUSTRIAL. WELFARE COMMISSION. the San Joaquin Valley curve jumps from 209 in the week ending July 8 to its peak, 2,090, within two weeks. In southern California apricots are relatively more important than anywhere else in the state. A peak of 867 was reached in the week end- ing June 24, which was only slightly lower than the peak of 888 reached in the week ending July 29. The records on some of the tomato can- ning in southern California were not complete and were not used, but if used they would indicate a regularity in the demand for labor, although in different establishments, more than is here indicated. In Los Angeles city the curve of employment is mainly due to the operations of one cannery, which worked this year in vegetables only. Ordinarily, the work in fruit would do much to straighten this curve. TABLE No. 7. Number of women employed, by weeks, and according to districts. Number of establishments in— Grand Marys- | Santa | Sacra- SB Santa San L. A. So. total ville Rosa mento Bay Clara |Joaouin City Calif. (2) (2) (9) (11) (18) (10) (2) (8) Week ending— | April. 8 oat ma sae bo Glia 23 AG. a ea er ae 335 AT. es Bofoorar il 587 2. . - 559 1% re [IER Si. an 928 00. eee LCE os 582 467 1B ca 1,062 May 6 574 ASL hans Wh ra 1,072 13 2 563 623 - 258 1,444 20. 651 766 NZ cae. TU ae 1,540 ee a leant 197 688 877 AY: ak 10 ECs 1,923 June Been eo 242 715 827 178 M2 Aomnios 2,234 10. 254 738 994 177 310 75 2,820 17. 237 873 1,142 116 554 798 3,731 D4 nial 176 953 1,539 236 576 867 4,356 227 934 | 1,310 | 2,013 183 292 890 | 2,858 | 2,778 209 351 1,017 | 5,189 | 2,866 | 1,88 218 | 1,153 | 3,305 | 2,839 | 2,090 342 | 1,239 | 38,297 2,868 | 2,014 July 359 | 1,320| 38200 2,919 1,957 334 | 1,329 | 3105 | 2,792 | 1,899 272 11 9 8 9 9 9 8 Aug. 9 9 334 1,165 2,941 2,682 1,833 277 739 10,322 161 208 268 267 299 312 1,027 2,794 2,365 | 1,620 238 902 | 2682 | 2,119 | 1,322 172 762 | 2,525 | 1,84 | 1,033 161 765 | 2,302 | 1,568 700 Sept. 176 587 | 1,889 1,332 340 128} 4,751 174 889 | 1,387 | 1,287 121 314 176 3,848 Oct. 176 170 041 | 1,193 287 137 2,904 162 141 gla i a0 323 167 2,811 157 120 855 850 aD 320 94 2,396 156 109 767 S21. 302 88 2,243 Nov. 4... ... .. Sey 147 87 311 708 149 79 1,481 Asia 113 17 156 Ela. 152 2 842 8. 3 15 122 956: | 136 25 557 25 0s. ns 121 26 215 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 123 Supplemental to the above table the following table gives the length of season and the maximum eight weeks, by districts (in terms of the number of women hours) the total number of women hours worked in each district and the per cent of this total which falls in the maximum eight weeks. In every district, excepting Lios Angeles city, it will be seen that the maximum eight weeks represents the height of the fruit work. In the Sacramento district the maximum eight weeks begins with June 17 when the cherries and apricots come in with the asparagus and spinach. In southern California it begins the same week, with the heavy apricot crop. In the Marysville, Santa Rosa, Santa Clara and San Joaquin Valley districts the maximum eight weeks begin when clings are fairly started. In Los Angeles city, tomatoes, chilis and pimientos are responsible for the peak. In the Marysville district 90.6 per cent of the total season’s work is done within the eight weeks, because the canneries are exclusive peach canneries. The clear defining of the season is due to the fact that the fruit is shipped elsewhere until it is in full swing, and at the end of the season it is again shipped away. The San Joaquin Valley is second in the extreme seasonal nature of its work, 81.4 per cent of its total work being performed within the maximum eight weeks, again due to the fact that it is almost exclusively a peach district. The Sacramento district, which shows the steadiest curve of employ- ment, has 38.5 per cent of its work done within the eight weeks. The other districts range from Santa Rosa, 48.1 per cent; San Francisco Bay, 55.8 per cent; Santa Clara, 57.9 per cent; Los Angeles city, 59.4 per cent, to southern California, 62.4 per cent. The total hours of work reported was 5,927,639. TABLE No. 8. Number of women hours worked, by districts; length of season, by districts; maximum eight weeks of the season, by districts, with percentage of the total pack canned within the maximum eight weeks. T Maximum eight Per Length weeks cent Total of TE ST sot total number District season pack of hours (weeks) From Through within worked 8 weeks ; Marveville: o.oo nent 10 | July 15 | Sept. 2 90.6 114,434 Santa ROSA canine aoty arian nin 2% | July 8 | Aug. 26 48.1 186,490 Sacramento ieee ele 33 | June 17 | Aug. 5 38.5 868,376 San. Francisco Bay... ci canis 33 | July 15 | Sept. 2 55.8 | 2,002,450 Santa OIarn esd a om aa 28 | July 8 | Aug. 26 57.9 | 1,591,214 Sarr Joaquin oo or naa 17 | July 15 | Sept. 2 81.4 730,738 Yeast Angeles: on 34 | Sept. 9 | Oct. 28 59.4 158,692 Southern California (country). coerce. 25 | June 17 | Aug. 5 62.4 275,245 Pokal tor The States. i, 34 | July 15 | Sept. 2 55.5 | 5,927,639 124 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. THE LENGTH OF SEASON BY DISTRICTS AND CANNERIES. The summary of the weeks during which the different products were packed (see chart, page 120) gives the total length of season during which the products were packed in the state. In most instances the seasons thus given are slightly longer than the season in any one dis- trict. For instance, cling peaches were packed from the week ending July 1 to the week ending October 14, a period of 15 weeks. The longest season for a single district was that in the Santa Clara district, which was 14 weeks long. In southern California the season was 13 weeks ; in San Francisco and Sacramento, 12 weeks; in the San Joaquin Valley, 11 weeks; in the Marysville district, 10 weeks; and in the Santa Rosa district, 9 weeks. A similar condition exists in regard to the seasons of the other products. Other factors being equal the length of season makes for officionoy and economical management. In tabulating the production of products by weeks there is a notable increase in production week by week for quite a period, due partly to the condition of the fruit, but also partly due to increased facility in handling. From the viewpoint of the cannery it is, of course, desirable to put up as large a pack as possible, since at best the investment has to be charged against the output of a limited season. In the following table the length of season during which the five most important products were packed in each district is given, together with ‘the length of season during which the product was packed in each |cannery within the district. This furnishes an indication of the possi- bilities of lengthening the seasons in most of the canneries. __ The steady growth of the industry indicates a market for canned goods which will absorb a larger output. Various new canneries are being established within the state, but the number of canneries is apparently not in pace with the increased output, and whatever gains can be made on the same investment will tend to the greater profit of the industry. In connection with this table it must be considered that there are several varieties of each kind of fruit, some of which are more in demand than others. Tt is not always practicable to consider operating in all the varieties possible to obtain. ~ The longest seasons are for the most part in the San Francisco Bay district, where the earliest and latest fruit is shipped.; The Santa Clara district has excellent shipping facilities, and much of the pack is not local. The Marysville district shows in both cling and free peaches “a shorter season than the period during which fruit is available in that district. for the reason that the first and last part of the fruit is shipped 16 San Francisco. The short seasons in several canneries are due to the fact that the plants are opened up to take care of only the peak of the load, and as soon as the main plant can carry the load the FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 125 TABLE No. 9. Length of season leading products are packed by districts and by canneries. Q Clings. Frees. Apricots. Pears. Tomatoes. B Length of Length of Length of Length of Length of z season season season season season oq E go = og = | go = Lo J | go = District gE SlE LEE rE Ele ELBE g = & a Bale = a i S = i i E i Belo E | Eg : E j 2 1 El Bold El 8 I 1 = i = 1 = 1 5 | Bs | i rr | Tl 1 Tr | I i Pr ! 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 § Marveville . ....--... ....... 12 10 10 9 74 dans a7 foes 8 ea ee el Sania Rosa ...: coi 44 9 9 8 8 4 4 7 7 9 9 dsl ea eo meats ee ete fot mi 7 . Saeramento i... 55 | 12 61 8 3 7 1 8 el wl j 56 10 4 7 Gi 10 39 12]. 6 Gla 7 9D dn 5 Bolo Shas ana sore 0 eal ME eee se ae a deans 4 | 9 12 5 4 Oi nde 14 - San Prancisco Bay... __.. 45 12 10 11 9 9 8 10 9 13 5 08 foie o 10 5 q 9 11 00 |r oe 12 11 Ball ae 0. 7 Bg nee 2 eal a Fel TL {I 5. co ols os 6 21 9 1 Lp Gla a BR a 9 Bais Slo 7 10 42 7 6 dla 8 9 11 I dl dle a 6 10 38 1i} 7 dross oo Gila 6 Santa Clara Valley... >: 48 14 11 9 8 7 4 9 8 12 7 Fy dn Me 1 1 I vale it Baa Bl sais 10 A a 12 Gl loot 6 11 Go ok 9 6 4 8 lara i aaaas 14 diana 5 Tosi fram is 1d gli ae i Sl 7 10 26 Qe a patel 4 7 7 10 Blas 3 leant et 62 a a te ee 10 0 Vases Glee FJ imes bas it 1 SRA diam lr tal ann Of a= 8 jah 12 alc 0 eas Si Gil 8 11 iii Goo Ba ana a 24 Ba cule ols Sli 5 3 ml 4 i in dil Bi Hl... Be mii esa mn xa mm Sma — 08 for Beeston lo copa. Sa fl aoe § cain 3 San Joaquin Valley---oeee- 40 11 11 11 8 6 3 8 laurie ol 19.0... 10..... dil. glo a 3 Sl ee ein aetna 9 0] 10. Beda aan ao rena aan 06. |... Geli Gi co Bi 52 8c 6:0 ais 2 Lada ee 4 iio Tal Offa a ra SS ES 40 fis Gill 8 foie a a a So ns Ba oe Bi Ja mm ein a SU SB Southern California —.._ ____ 6 13 8 11 4 7 8 i Bias G0 el Wo Blanes dae 8 a8 Loss Quleaoly Bilis Bil nates oa of tee BN ae ae ay 5 diol Pa te eR 81 Gila Bilis 4 Sls aol 8 dec i lea nae 6 82 lel fn fetes 12 Tos Angeles _. oo...) By fee Siohaie ea fain she Dallas edna bani 12 12 126 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. ~ Notable increases are being made in the pack of various of the minor products, particularly of vegetables. The pack of all leading varieties of vegetables has increased decidedly year by year. Spinach promises to become a very important product. It can be grown to advantage in most sections of the state and as it comes in the spring before the fruit pack it will materially lengthen the season. Sweet potatoes are another product which will help to provide work outside the fruit season. Ripe olives are a very important product also. They have been packed largely in canneries which put up no other pack, but of late the general canneries have been adding olives to their pack. The work on olives begins in November and lasts until March, so that the season in no way conflicts with the other work of the cannery. In addition to the fact that the general fruit canneries are adding olives to their packs, the olive canneries are showing a marked tendency to add tomatoes and other products to their list. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 127 GROWTH OF THE CANNING INDUSTRY, BY PACK STATISTICS. The growth of the canning industry in California is evidenced by the number of cases of fruits and vegetables packed year by year from 1900 to 1916. The increase in the pack of vegetables has been compara- tively greater than the increase in the fruit pack. The 1916 pack of both fruits and vegetables was the greatest in the history of the industry. The increase over 1915 was nearly 1,300,000 cases of fruits and over 1,600,000 cases of vegetables. The growth, year by year, is shown in the following table: TABLE No. 10. Number of cases of fruits and vegetables packed each year from 1900 to 1916. Cases Year Fruits Vegetables 2,873,026 850,665 2,837,982 1,119,703 2,410,407 1,227,510 2,928,515 1,466,475 3,010,210 1,020,449 3,450,037 1,277,141 3,612,660 1,961,840 3,480,469 2,186,650 5,242,078 1,609,325 3,561,173 1,370,605 4,774,156 2,495,825 4,835,404 2,786,905 5,463,730 3,072,835 4,852,090 2,404,870 6,918,120 3,292,490 5,731,166 2,607,214 7,021,975 4,225,070 The comparative importance of the different varieties of fruits and vegetables may be seen from the next table. The comparative impor- tance of the products in the number of cases packed varies considerably from the relative importance of the products as regarded elsewhere in this report. In this report the products are considered in reference to the amount of women’s work required, an amount which varies dis- tinctly. In the following table cling peaches show a total of 2,596,390 cases, while pears have a total of 1,032,810 cases. As the preparation of pears takes much more time the work involved is nearly as great as that of clings. The pack of frees is nearly as large as that of pears, but the labor involved is only one-third as much on the basis of weight. Differences of the same nature affect the relative importance of other products. The following table gives the pack figures for each product during the years of 1914, 1915 and 1916: 128 Number of cases of fruit TABLE No. 11. in 1914, 1915, and 1916. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. s and vegetables, by individual variety, packed 1914 1915 1916 cases cases (all sizes) (all sizes) (all sizes) | Fruits— Apples sl Fs aol vom | 81,620 213,525 Apricots -__ 1,335,235 | 981,190 1,327,770 Blackberries 2 a 7 143,660 | 169,935 162,430 Cherries Se i wes fo 150 168,785 Grapes i 56,160 | 77,610 101,130 Loganberries a Lig Ta 20,900 | 38,559 57,430 Pears = 862,055 | 827,630 | 1,032,810 Peaches, free _ ih z 1,092,200 | 831,875 1,202,940 Peaches, cling. lisiel too isan 2,918,035 | 2,407,650 2,597,390 Plums oo 131,480 | 95,215 84,750 Raspberries... oo. .... 5,050 | 5,060 18,440 Strawberries =k 20,130 | 10,637 14,040 Other fruits ..... £3 40,425 21,435 40,535 Grand total fruits Lit 6,918,120 | 5,731,166 7,021,975 | Vegetables— Asparagus a 775,585 | 809,860 990,740 Beans; string... 86,270 | 98,220 123,385 Peas - 174,870 | 209,399 227,120 Tomatoes ..--__- 2,106,350 | 1,344,085 2,647,300 Other vegetables = 5 = Lo vio Sani g on ait rd 149,415 | 145,650 236,525 | | Grand total vegetables 3,292,490 2,607,214 4,225,070 Grand total _____ 10,210,610 | 8,338,380 11,247,045 Nore.—Copyright, 1917, by Howard C. Rowley, publisher California Fruit News. Published by permission from issue of California Fruit News of April 7. The apple pack of 1916 was more than half as large again as that of 1914, that of 1915 being light. The apricot pack of 1916 was praec- tically the same as that of 1914, in spite of an unfavorable fruit season. The blackberries pack of 1916 was greater than that of 1914, but less than that of 1915, and cherries showed the same fluctuation. Grapes show a steady increase, practically doubling in the two years. Logan- berries more than doubled the packs of 1914 and 1915. Pears, which dropped somewhat in 1915, increased in 1916, by 150,000 cases over 1914. Frees, which also dropped in 1915, made a net gain of over 100,000 cases over 1914. Clings dropped 500,000 cases in 1915, but regained 200,000 cases in 1916. Plums show a steady decrease. Raspberries increased over fourfold. Strawberries gained over 1915, but still remained less than in 1914. The pack of miscellaneous fruits remained the same as in 1914, although it doubled the 1915 pack. In vegetables, asparagus increased slightly in 1915 over 1914, but in 1916 the pack increased by 200,000 cases. String beans showed a fifty per cent increase. Peas increased somewhat. Tomatoes dropped in 1915 nearly 700,000 cases, but doubled in 1916, so that their net increase was 500,000 cases over 1914. Miscellaneous vegetables showed an increase of 50 per cent over the packs of 1914 and 1915, the packs of those two years being practically the same. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 129 THE EFFECTS OF THE COMMISSION RULINGS ON SANITATION. In Miss Obenauer’s report on sanitary conditions in 1915 are given detailed tables of working and sanitary conditions and complete expla- nations. The commission’s rulings (Order No. 2) went into effect April 14, 1916, and the notable improvement in sanitary conditions and general arrangements for the welfare and comfort of the women constituted a most important part of the commission’s work. In the table below are listed summaries of the conditions in 41 can- neries which Miss Obenauer reported in detail for 1915, and opposite the conditions in the same plants for 1916. Much of the inspecting was done by the same agents, so that the standards of inspection were identical. In some instances repeated inspections were made during the season, but in other cases one inspection only was made. In some of the cases where conditions were not up to standard and are so listed in the summaries, correction has been reported since inspection, but on the inspection records of the commission they are necessarily still listed as corrections ordered. Two of the 41 canneries reported upon in 1915 were not operating in 1916. 9—32554 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE ard, Cal. © Hayw wn = 2 Qo /M + = Lan) ni A model Camp FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 131 TABLE No. 12. Comparison of conditions in }1 canneries inspected in 1915 (summaries of Miss Obenauer’s report on sanitary conditions) with conditions in the same canneries in 1916. Washing Facilities. | 1915 1916 | Condition— | Good 19 37 Pair oo | 13 jaaoianis Poor ...-- 9 2 41 139 Towels— Individual Roller None 41 29 Soap— Provided 29 34 Not provided = 12 25 41 139 Drinking facilities. Fountains 32 37 Common cups, or cans Bla Individual cups _.._ ooo. 1 2 41 139 Toilets— Toilet facilities. 1-20 7 25 EA Se rate Cf 8 29 1-40 A 12 2 Tess than 1-40. ooo 0 oc 14 24 Condition— Good i 25 139 Fair... Boi Poor ..-. Bea 41 39 Construction— Individual flush... ooo CC - 38 37 Trough ig sas 3 32 Doors— Boorse Ta 25 139 No doors AB elses Doors on part... ..... 8 | al. 41 139 Partitions— Partitions 39 139 No partitions 2 foreseen 41 139 1Two canneries not operating. 2Conditions ordered corrected. 3Two canneries have installed individual flush toilets, but trough toilets are still used in part. & Libby, Selma, A model camp. Libby, McNeill GEL HIVATIM TVIYLSOANI "NOISSIWINOD FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 133 4 Flooring. o 1915 1916 £5 | ES | £2 2 = Material Condition Protection Material Condition Protection 63 1" Wood: -._.__. Old; filthy: _.| Few trays ... Racks 54 | Wood ...-..- Pair... oo Racks ic l:-c0 Racks 53 Racks 29 Racks 21 Racks 34 Racks 42 Racks 38 Racks 11 Racks 58 Racks 55 Racks 39 Racks 56 Racks 28 Racks 52 Racks 19 Racks 43 Racks 64 10 Racks 65 | Cement .._..| Good '....-... No racks _... Racks 66 | Cement —-...] "Good ....-... Racks -...... Racks 40. Wood... ... Good... Racks... .. Racks 67 |: Wood ..:.- 01d; insani-} Racks ... i... Racks tary. 68 | Cement ___.. Goad oe 15 YH Racks 21 Wood... Good... {No racks... No racks 6 0Weod ._..... Poor: -:...... |. No raeks __.. No racks 59 | Cement __... Good ....-._.| rays Coo. Racks 36. "Wood ....... Bair ao No racks __.. No racks 7 Weod:.... Good ..... ... No racks. Racks 57. "Wood. .... Pair. so... No racks .... Racks 48 | Wood ......- Good... nl No racks. ..| Racks 14 | Cement ..... Pair oro No racks | No racks 13 | Cement ..... Worst pos- | Boards ...__. | Racks sible | 62 | Cement __--. Good... :.. Racks... | Racks 30 Cement ..... Poor: ..--.... Racks. ..-.- ry Racks 6! Wood .._-... Good ....... | Platforms ___|| Racks Ze Cement io. Good i... | No racks ___.|| Racks 50° Cement ..... Good 2... us No racks -._.{ Cement... - | Pair .......-. Racks 3 Woid ..-...: Poor... No racks ___ ll Wood... :_ Good... Racks 60 | Cement -____. Very good ..| Racks _____ »{"Cement: ..... Very good __| Racks 22| Wood 2... Good... | Racks... | Not operating| in 1916. 41 | Cement, 14 | Good, 93 | Protec- | Cement, 11 | Good, 31 | Protection, 35 Wood, 26 | Fair, 6 tion, 29 | Wood, 27 | Fair, 6 | No protec- | Mastie, 1 | Poor, 12 | No protec- || Mastic, 1 | Poor, 2 tion, 4 _— — | tion, 8 | —_ — (wood { 41 41 | (wood | 39 39 floor) | floor) Il (2 not oper- — | No protec- | ating.) 39 | tion, 4 | (cement | floor) | The most desirable type of washing facilities—giving the maximum availability and requiring the minimum attention. California Packing Corporation, Santa Rosa. VEL *NOISSINIOD HIVITIM TVIYLSAANI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING x (Goa C oie oo Case Pla Po 3 2 Eid od = 5 4 Califorma ere State [otto Lehane elle 9¢T NOISSIWINOD HIVI THM TVISLSOAANI ia *ONINNVD ATIVIADIA ANV LINYL LET A comfortable rest room. Libby, McNeill & Libby, Selma, Cal. 8€T *NOISSININOD HIVATIM TIVISLSAANI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 139 In addition to the comparison of conditions in the 41 identical estab- lishments in 1915 with those of 1916 a summary of the conditions in the 71 canneries inspected is given in the following tables. In 18 can- neries complete new installations of toilet and washing facilities have been made. Additional facilities have been installed in various other establishments. That some canneries fell below the standard ratio of one to twenty women is mainly due to the fact that the commission had no adequate knowledge of the numbers employed at the maximum time, a number which in various cases was larger in 1916 than ever before. From the records of 1916 exact computations have been made of the numbers employed each week. The maximum number of women is considered to be the average of the four highest successive weeks, lessened by 10 per cent to allow for the daily or actual maximum rather than the weekly maximum. The records of two canneries were gone over carefully day by day, and the difference of 10 per cent between the daily and the weekly maximum was found to be a very fair allowance. The reports made to the commission by both employers and workers as to the better feeling and greater efficiency gained by more comfort- able sanitary and working conditions have been most satisfactory. In addition to the improvements in sanitation inside the canneries a notable improvement has been effected in the sanitation and comfort of conditions in the cannery camps. The inspection of camps comes under the jurisdiction of the Commission of Immigration and Housing, whose inspections and orders for camp sanitation have resulted in several instances in the complete remodeling of camps. In other camps vari- ous improvements, such as the planting of shade trees, improved and increased toilet facilities, provision of bathhouses, and space for playgrounds, have been added this year. Several new camps are heing constructed under the direction of the Immigration and Housing Commission. 140 INDUSTRIAL. WELFARE COMMISSION. TABLE No. 13. Summary of Sanitary Conditions, 1916. Number of canneries inspeeted-____________ a ia 1 Lighting. Adequate natural lighting 66 Fair natural lighting. 4 Poor natural lighting 11 Zi Artificial light used during @aylight hours... so. oi ba aa lls 3 Adequate artificial lighting_______________ ove aes 69 Inadequate artificial lighting... __._. 25 19 71 Adequate natural ventilation___ 66 Fair 3 POOL sais 12 71 Artificial systemof ventilation oo co. i eta te Sn 5 Material— Flooring. Wea eat EE asa 251 Cement ear EEC ee 221 MASE CR or i TS dD 1 7 Condition— 56 13 19 : 71 Protection against dampness and cement flooring—racks needed and not provided— Cutters oo loi esabes Sida 37 Canners 6 Lighting— Toilet rooms. Adeguaterlighting ovo un cE a a er igi a pet a a 66 Yddequade lightly oo ah nse a EE a 15 n Ventilation— Adequate olan ol 68 Inadequate 13 71 General condition— Boodle ae a EY 67 Nob satis tactOry os aa 14 4 71 Beers brovided: oo a ES Sn a ain es 63 Doors provided partly________ ig Doors not provided..................... a a ii me ea 6 71 atone a i ES re Te a PE op is 70 Noparvfitions 2h. or te a ee 11 71 1Conditions ordered corrected. 2Two part wood, part cement. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 141 TABLE No. 13—Continued. Toilet rooms—Continued. Construction of toilets— Individual flush toflets. Lo ae ne en ae 66 Partly flush toilets___ 2 Trough... idaadiaaaiioios 3 71 Raper provided te 70 Not provided: oi ror Soieiienieocy 11 1 Ratio of toilets to number of women employed— AY Le a I eel 48 JB el Le 3 118 Less than 1-30___ a 15 ‘Wash rooms. Soap provided ______ i eT A I ee a 62 No soap __ a a le EE a a a I a B 19 71 Individual towels... ..... ..... ......._ Se 69 Not satisfactory: -.......o.... _-—= Ly 19 71 General cleanliness— Gleam oe Se eS Ts i 68 Notoclenn: i oo co. os ii = 13 > \ 71 Ratio of wash bowls or 20-inch sink space and faucet to number of women employed— do a 48 AaB re rl SE 114 ed ea 19 E Lockers. WIthikeys oa il eT 13 Open 24 Hooks only oli 22 No provision. ca 12 71 Matron or check system... : _._._.__ ts 32 1Conditions ordered corrected. Desirable construction for a cannery restaurant. The wide eaves Libby, McNeill & Libby, and the Selma, Cal. screened and ventilation. Grl HIVATIM TVIYLSNAANI *NOISSININOD FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 143 AMENDED ORDERS OF THE COMMISSION. After completing the tabulations of the pay roll data of 1916 the Commission held conferences on March 27 with the committee repre- senting the canners, and on March 28 held a public hearing for the purpose of amending the Orders. Following are the amended orders, the changes appearing in heavy- faced type. I. W. C. Order No. 3 Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION State of California 525 Market Street, San Francisco To Whom It May Concern: TAKE NOTICE: That pursuant to and by virtue of the authority vested in it by the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 324, and amendments thereto, and after public hearing duly had in the city and county of San Francisco, on ‘Wednesday, March 28, 1917, The Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California does hereby order that: 1. No person, firm or corporation shall employ, or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in the fruit and vegetable canning industry in any of the fol- lowing occupations at piecework rates less than the following: Occupation. Variety Minimum Piece Rate. Cutting Apricots... ___.. $0.25 per 100 Ibs. (or $0.10 per 40 lbs.) Cutting: Pears: .......o..... 0.375 per 100 lbs. (or 0.15 per 40 lbs.) Cutting ‘Cling Peaches... ... 0.225 per 100 lbs. (or 0.09 per 40 1bs.) Cutting Tree Peaches .. _ _.-__ 0.125 per 100 lbs. (or 0.05 per 40 lbs.) Sorting Asparagus .__.._._.._.._ 0.13 per 100 Ibs. (or 0.06 per 46 Ibs.) 3 Cutting Tomatoes =. Ll .=: co 0.03 per 12 quarts Occupation. Variety. Size of Can. Minimum Piece Rate. Canning All varieties of fruit_______ £24 $0.015 per doz. cans Canning All varieties of fruit________ £10 0.036 per doz. cans Canning. Momatees -:... rl. _c....LL #23 0.01 per doz. cans Canning. Tomatoes o........ .. ...2 110 0.024 per doz. cans 2. Upon the preparation and canning of all varieties of fruits and vegetables upon which no piecework rates have been fixed by the commission, piecework rates may be fixed by the individual establishments; provided, however, that these rates are sufficient to yield to at least eighty (80) per cent of the women and minors employed hourly earnings of 16 cents or more. Licenses may be issued by the commission to women physically disabled, by age or otherwise, which will exempt them from being considered in making up the required eighty (80) per cent. Application for licenses may be made to the commission. 3. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in- the fruit and vegetable canning industry in any occupation at time rates less than the following: Class. Minimum Time Rate. Experienced hands oom meee $0.16 per hour TravHharionneet "SIRANAS = a i ns A SS SI 012 ner hor 144 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Any woman or minor shall be deemed an experienced hand who has worked in the said industry more than three weeks, and every employer in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall, when demand is made by any woman or minor employed, furnish such employee with a statement setting forth the period of employment of such employee in his establishment. 4. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit an adult woman, eighteen years of age or over, to work in the fruit and vegetable can- ning industry for more than nine hours in any one day, or six days in any one week, except in case of emergency; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to those occupations coming under the provisions of the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 352, “An act limiting the hours of labor of females,” etc. 5. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in case of emergency at a wage less than one and one-fourth times the foregoing time or piece rates. Emergency work shall be all work performed by any woman or minor in excess of nine hours in any one day, or all work performed by any woman or minor in excess of six calendar days in any one week; provided, however, that all work in excess of twelve hours in any twenty-four hours shall be paid for at not less than double the foregoing time and piece rates; and be it provided, further, that upon the preparation and canning of all varieties of fruits and vegetables upon which no minimum piece rates have been fixed by the com- mission, not less than one and one-fourth times the prevailing rate shall be paid on all emergency work up until twelve hours, and all such work in excess of twelve hours in any twenty-four hours shall be paid for at not less than double the prevailing rate. 6. Every person, firm or corporation employing women or minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall keep a record of the work done and the time worked by such women and minors. Such records shall be kept in a manner and form approved by the Industrial Welfare Commission. 7. Every person, firm or corporation employing women or minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall post a copy of this order in a conspicuous place in each room in which women and minors are employed. This Order shall become effective sizty (60) days from the date hereof. Dated at San Francisco, California, this sixteenth day of April, 1917. Order No. 1 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, dated February 14, 1916, is hereby rescinded as and of the date when this Order becomes effective. INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF CALIFORNIA. FRANK J. MURASKY, Chairman. KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON. WALTER G. MATHEWSON. A. B. C. DOHRMANN. Attest : KATHERINE Prairies EpsoN, Executive Officer. STATUTES OF CALIFORNIA, 1913, CHAPTER 324. /’/ “Fyvery employer or other person who, either individually or as an officer, agent or employee of a corporation, or other persons, violates or refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act, or any orders or rulings of this commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” “For the purpose of this act, a minor is defined to be a person of either sex under the age of eighteen years.” FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 145 I. W. C. Order No. 4 Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION State of California 525 Market Street, San Francisco To Whom It May Concern: TAKE NOTICE: That pursuant to and by virtue of the authority vested in it by the Statutes of California, 1913, Chapter 324, and amendments thereto, and after public hearing duly had in the city and county of San Francisco, on Wednes- day, March 28, 1917, The Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California does hereby order that: 1. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor to work in any fruit or vegetable canning establishment in which the conditions of employment are below the following standards: (1) TaeaTING. Every workroom (hereafter constructed) must be supplied with adequate natural light during the working daylight hours. Every workroom (now constructed and which is not so equipped as to furnish adequate natural light during the working daylight hours) must be supplied with sufficient artificial light properly placed. Every workroom must be supplied during the working hours when daylight is not available with sufficient artificial light properly placed. (2) VENTILATION. The ventilation of each workroom shall be adequate and there shall be sufficient provision for preventing excessive humidity by the removal of escaping steam. (3) Froors. Each workroom shall have an impermeable floor, made of cement or tile laid in cement, brick, wood or other suitable nonabsorbent material which can be flushed and washed clean with water. Floors must be tight and hard and in good repair, and be pitched to provide for drainage so that there will be no unreasonable depth of water. All excess water or overflow must be immediately removed. Where floors are wet and women are required by their work to walk over or stand upon them, wooden racks or gratings of an adequate height shall be provided at such points. Wherever the floor at the working point is of cement, tile, brick or similar material, suitable wooden racks or gratings shall be pro- vided for the women to stand upon. (4) Tomer Rooms. Toilet rooms shall be completely partitioned off from workrooms and the doors must be so located, or protected by screen, that the water-closet compartment shall not be visible from the outside. (5) LicuTinGg oF Toruer Rooms. Toilet rooms shall have adequate natural or artificial light, so that every part of the room and of the interior of each compartment shall be easily visible. (6) VENTILATION oF ToiLET Rooms. Toilet rooms shall be sufficiently venti- lated, and the ventilation shall be only to the outside of the building. (7) Froors oF ToiLeT Rooms. The floors of every toilet room hereafter installed, and the side walls to a height of not less than six (6) inches shall be constructed with sanitary base and of material, other than wood, which is impervious to moisture and which has a smooth surface. This material shall be marble, asphalt, Portland cement, with admixture of approved waterproofing material, tile, glazed brick or other approved waterproof material. The angle formed by the floor and the base shall be coved. Wooden floors will be per mitted in existing installations, if kept well painted with a nonabsorbent paint. 10—32554 146 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. (8) Warns oF TorLET RooMs. All walls of toilet rooms and water-closet compartments, unless constructed of marble, cement-plaster, tile, glazed brick, or other glazed material, or concrete with admixture of waterproofing material, shall be kept covered with a nonabsorbent light colored paint, or other impervi- ous compound. (9) WATER-CLOSET COMPARTMENTS. Every water-closet shall be in a sep- arate compartment which must be not less than twenty-seven inches wide and provided with a door. The door shall, if possible, be arranged to open outward only, and in any position of the door there shall be at least eighteen (18) inches clearance between the front edge and any part of the door. (10) PARTITIONS OF WATER-CLOSET COMPARTMENTS. Partitions of water- closet compartments shall be not less than six (6) feet high and shall extend not nearer the ceiling and floor than one foot. (11) NUMBER OF WATER-CLOSETS. The number of water-closets shall be not less than one to every twenty (20) women employed, or majority fraction thereof, based on the maximum number of women employed at one time. (12) TyrES oF WATER-CLOSETS. Every water-closet shall have a bowl of vitreous china, or of other approved material. Every such bowl shall be pro- vided with adequate facilities for flushing and shall be set entirely free from enclosing woodwork and so installed that the space around it can be easily cleaned. (13) WATER-CLOSET SEATS. The bowls of water-closets shall be provided with seats of wood or other nonheat absorbing material and shall be coated with varnish or some other waterproof substance, and shall not be provided with a cover. (14) ToiLer PAPER. An adequate supply of toilet paper shall be provided in every water-closet compartment. (15) SANITARY NAPKINS. Sanitary napkins shall be readily obtainable at a reasonable price, and a metal receptacle with a hinged cover in which napkins may be deposited shall be provided in each toilet room. (16) CLEANING OF TOILETS AND WASH Rooms. All toilet rooms and lava- tories shall be kept clean and the floors shall be washed and scrubbed daily. The bowls and seats of water-closets and all wash basins, bowls and sinks shall be scrubbed at least once a day. (17) WATER SUPPLY. Each place of employment shall be supplied with suf- ficient pure drinking water and the faucets shall be placed so that they are convenient to the employees. Common drinking cups are prohibited. Indi- vidual cups must be used or sanitary drinking fountains of an approved design must be installed. Drinking fountains shall be kept in a sanitary condition and shall be of such design that it is impossible to place the lips in contact with the orifice from which the jet or water issues, or for the supply orifice to become submerged by the waste water. The water supply of drinking fountains shall be so regulated and maintained that a jet of at least two (2) inches in height shall be constantly available. (18) LocAaTioN oF WASH RooMs. There shall be adequate washing facilities provided as hereinafter specified. A sufficient number of wash bowls or sink space shall be located either within the toilet room or adjacent to the toilet room and in the direct route between the toilet rooms and the work place. Any wash sinks or bowls not so located shall be installed in an approved location. (19) WASHING FACILITIES. At least twenty (20) lineal inches of sink space with one water supplied faucet shall be supplied for each twenty women employed, or majority fraction thereof, based on the maximum number of women employed at one time, except that one wash bowl shall be considered the equivalent of twenty inches of sink space. Every wash bowl or sink shall be Be 32554—Pages 146-147. | Model Camp—Pratt-Low Preserving Company, Santa Clara, Cal. Ma FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 147 of vitreous china, enamelled iron, or other approved material impervious to water, and if used on one side only shall be not less than twelve (12) inches wide inside measurement, or if used on both sides, not less than twenty-two (22) inches inside measurement. Self-closing faucets shall not be used except where wash basins or bowls are provided. Sufficient soap and individual or paper towels shall be supplied. Common towels will not be permitted. (20) LockER AND REST RooMS. A suitable room shall be provided where women may change their clothing in privacy and comfort. A sufficient number of approved lockers shall be provided, and if general access to the lockers is permitted they must be fitted with individual locks and keys, or such other provision as will insure the safety of the women’s belongings. There shall also be provided at least one couch, bed or cot; where more than forty and less than one hundred women are employed, two shall be provided; and thereafter, at least one for every additional two hundred and fifty women employed. There shall also be one stretcher for use in case_of accident or illness, except that where one of the above required ee re cot of a type suitable for use as a stretcher, a separate stretcher need not be provided. Where these couches, beds or cots are not placed in a separate room they shall be placed in the locker or dressing room and protected from direct observation by a suitable screen, and the first aid kit shall be kept adjacent to them. (21) TiME FOR MEALS. Every woman and minor shall be entitled to at least one hour for noonday meal; provided, however, that no woman or minor shall be permitted to return to work in less than one-half hour. If work is to be continued through the evening, every woman and minor shall be entitled to at least one hour for the evening meal. (22) Sears AND Work TABLES. (Applying to new installations only, until March, 1918, when it becomes generally effective.) Seats shall be provided at the work table for each and every women or minor employed, and such seats shall be capable of such adjustment and shall be kept so adjusted to the work table that the position of the worker relative to the work table shall be substantially the same whether seated or standing. Work tables (cutting and canning tables, sorting belts, etc.) shall be of such dimensions and design that there are no physical impediments to efficient work in either sitting or a standing position, and one or more foot rests of proper height shall be provided. New installations to be approved by the commission. (23) CARRYING. No woman shall be required or permitted to carry any box, box of fruit, vegetables or refuse, or trays of cans, or any heavy burden to or from her place of work in the establishment. 2. Every person, firm or corporation employing women and minors in the fruit and vegetable canning industry shall post a copy of this order in a con- spicuous place in each room in which women and minors are employed. This Order shall become effective sizty (60) days from the date hereof. Dated at San Francisco, California, this 16th day of April, 1917. Order No. 2 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, dated February 14, 1916, 1s hereby rescinded as and of the date when this Order becomes effective. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF CALIFORNIA. FRANK J. MURASKY, Chairman. ‘WALTER G. MATHEWSON. A. B. C. DOHRMANN. KATHERINE Prints EDSON. Attest: KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON, Hwecutive Officer. 148 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. STATUTES OF CALIFORNIA, 1913, CHAPTER 324, SEc. 11, AND SEC. 3 (c). “Every employer or other person who, either individually or as an officer, agent or employee of a corporation, or other persons, violates or refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act, or any orders or rulings of this commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” It is recommended that except during inclement weather or after dark, where no adequate lunch room space is provided, and without exception where such space is provided, all women shall be required to leave and remain out of the workroom during the meal period. LABOR LAWS OF CALIFORNIA, 1915, CHAPTER 56, Sec. 1. “Any manager, superintendent, foreman or other person having authority from his employer to hire, employ or direct the services of other persons in such employment, who shall demand or receive any fee, gift, or other remuneration in consideration of hiring or employing any person to perform work or services for such employer, or permitting said person to continue in said employment, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars for each offense.” NOTICES TO THE INDUSTRY. At the beginning of the 1917 season the Commission issued the following notice concerning daily checks, pay rolls and reports: INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION State of California 525 Market Street, San Francisco Notice to the Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry: For the season of 1917 the Industrial Welfare Commission makes the follow- ing requirements as to daily checks, pay roll books, weekly reports on the minor products, and production records of the work of all women and minors: Daily Checks. Daily checks shall bear the name or number of the worker and the date. The checks of all minors shall be of a different color or shall be plainly marked MINOR. The daily checks must show the time of starting, the lunch hour, the supper hour (if any), and the quitting time. These shall be accurately checked. If work is continued beyond 9 hours the end of the 9-hours period shall be plainly marked. All overtime shall be indicated either by providing separate overtime cards, by overtime spaces on the regular cards, or by checking with an overtime punch. All work performed beyond the twelfth hour shall be punched or marked in a different and distinct manner. On apricots and on all products upon which no minimum piece rates have been fixed by the commission, the time worked, the number of boxes or trays prepared, the amount earned and the product worked must be clearly shown. Pay Rolls. Pay roll books shall contain the name or number of each woman and minor employed and shall show the number of hours worked and the amount earned each day ‘and for the week. The names or numbers of all minors shall be indicated MINOR in the pay roll book. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 149 Weekly Reports on the Minor Products. On cherries and string beans we had sufficient production records kept to give us some idea of necessary rates. The average production on cherries is 43.7 pounds per hour throughout the state. Not less than 37% cents per 100 pounds should be paid on cherries, or 15 cents per 40-pound box. The average production of string beans is 19 pounds per hour. The rate should not be less than 843 per 100 pounds and in some canneries the methods of handling work make this entirely too low to make a yield of 16 cents per hour. We will allow tentatively one of these three methods of work: (1) Weekly report on the minor products upon which no piecework rates have been fixed. These reports must show the hours worked and the amount earned in each product for each woman and minor working. (2) After two weeks work upon any given product a full report shall be sent to the commission of hours worked and amount produced for each indi- vidual woman and minor, and if the rates show that 80 per cent and over are making no less than 16 cents per hour on the work, the weekly report may be discontinued, but the daily piecework checks must be kept until the end of the season so that full production records may be made up. (3) If 84 cents per 100 pounds is paid on string beans and 373 cents per 100 pounds for stemming cherries the reports on these two products may be discontinued until the end of the season. Production records similar to those furnished in 1916 will be required at the end of the season on the preparation of apricots and on all products on which no minimum piece rates have been fixed. On cling and free peaches, pears, asparagus and tomatoes no production records will be required. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, By KATHERINE PHILIPS EDSON, Hxecutive Officer. On account of numerous complaints of violations from overweighting of boxes the Commission issued the following Notice to the Industry. There is a great deal of misunderstanding in the minds of the workers as to the capacity of boxes of fruit, and in a time of unrest this mis- understanding becomes a source of constant complaint. The agents of the Commission have always weighed boxes of fruit, but this does not meet the complaint that the boxes are filled up higher when the agent has gone. For this reason the Commission issued the order that payment was to be made on the basis of a full box, and assurance can then be given that no violation exists. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION State of California 525 Market Street, San Francisco Notice to the Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry: August 4, 1917. The following order in regard to the weight of boxes of fruit and the minimum piece rates is immediately effective: The weight of boxes of fruit will be considered the full amount of fruit which can be put into the box, permitting another box to be placed 150 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. upon it. For example, if a box can hold 40 pounds of cling peaches not less than 9 cents may be paid for cling peaches delivered in that box; if it can hold 44% pounds not less than 10 cents may be paid, ete. INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF CALIFORNIA. Clings Frees - Pears i et Yaa Weight Not Jes I Weight | Bak Joss Weight | Bok lass | | FE fey Sor pounds... iii 8 cents | 49 pounds....--o col0n “Seents ll 372 vounds lio. 14 cents 40 pounds... i. geents’] 48S pounds oan | 6 cents li 40 pounds ........ 15 cents 443 pounds ...... ___. 10 cents £6. pounds .. ...._.__. | 7 cents | 42% pounds eo 16 cents 49 pounds... :...- 11 cents ll 64 pounds... | 8cents pounds... | 17 cents Zypounds .... .-.-. ._ 12 cents || 48 pounds o.oo | 18 cents (502 pounds... .: 19 cents | | PRELIMINARY REPORT ON POSSIBILITY OF SEAT- ING WOMEN CANNERY WORKERS. By HAROLD MESTRE. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE . CANNING. 153 Industrial Welfare Commission, San Francisco, Cal. " GENTLEMEN : At your request 1 have made a preliminary study of the possibility of adequately seating the women working in canneries. Owing to the limited time available this study was confined to twenty-one can- neries located in Santa Clara County and in or near the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, and it must be understood that the detail observations and suggestions do not necessarily apply to canneries located in other portions of the state where the operating conditions are different. I hope that in the report submitted herewith I have at least, in spite of its necessary incompleteness, succeeded in outlining the real situa- tion and in pointing out the roads along which we must go in order to obtain practical results. I would also like to express my personal appreciation of the assistance which I have received from Mrs. Katherine P. Edson and Mr. Walter G. Mathewson of the Commission, from the gentlemen acting on the advisory committee of canners, and from the other canners whose plants I have visited during the course of the study ; the many evidences of a cordial desire to cooperate in any effort to better working conditions were only one more proof of the essential progressiveness and humanity of California employers. Respectfully submitted. HAroLD MESTRE. 154 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. THE SEATING OF WOMEN CANNERY WORKERS. A PRELIMINARY STUDY. The entire problem of industrial seating is one to which little enough real thought has been given ; indeed, in this age of greater efficiency in ail things, it is amazing to find that seating is much as it was when the factory was first evolving from the small workshop and the kitchen. ‘We have made most careful studies, and much has been written, con- cerning the effect of lighting and ventilation and other physical condi- tions on efficiency; in regard to seating, however, it usually has been assumed that it either was a simple affair, easily solved, or that the innate perverseness of human beings made them insist on standing almost continuously even when seats were freely provided. The fallacy of these opinions was clearly demonstrated by most of the canneries studied; in some, where the use of seats was apparently disdained, inspection disclosed that there were either definite physical obstruc- tions to comfortable sitting, or that some necessary motion, such as the reach to the grading trays or to the can racks, became difficult when seated; in others, where as high as 90 per cent average sitting was secured, observation showed that some factor, such as the placing of the lug box of fruit to be cut so low that it could not comfortably be reached while standing, was directly responsible for the condition, and that sitting was practically compulsory. There is little or no detailed information on industrial seating gen- erally available. *Factory investigating commissions have commented on the necessity for seating the workers and industrial commissions have ordered that seats be provided, but apparently no standards for indus- trial seating have ever been worked out. The American Posture League, an organization of orthopedists and educators, has been considering the proper seating of school children, and a committee from this league, working in connection with the engineers of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, have designed a very practical and hygienic seat for the cars now being operated by that company in the new municipal subways of the city of New York. Most of the orthopedic authorities content them- selves with mentioning that improper industrial posture is the cause of many serious deformities; Taylort perhaps best expresses the realiza- tion of orthopedists that preventive work is imperative when he says: “In our present social, educational and industrial life the sitting posture is very important. The tendency is to confine the body too long in this posture. * * * A wide variety of movements should be encouraged, *Since the writing of this report, a cony of “Fatigue Study,” by Frank B. Gilbreth and Lillian M. Gilbreth, Sturgis & Walton Co., New York, 1916, has come to the writer's attention. In this most interesting work, a considerable amount of space has been devoted to the subject of industrial seating, and a few of the more important passages have been added as foot notes. +Tavlor, Dr. Henry Ling, Orthopedic Surgery, p. 114, et seq. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 155 and occupations at the desk or bench should be varied. With all pre- cautions, sitting should be alternated with standing, or, better, with walking, at frequent intervals. * * * The problem of the school desk, of the seated factory operative, and of the sedentary life can not be solved by attention to the sitting posture or to the seat and desk alone, but must be approached from the point of view of general de- velopment and rational hygiene. Recesses, change of occupation and correction exercises, sports and dancing, are some of the means which should be employed to counteract what it really a serious evil.”” While all of these means suggested are not readily to be employed in canneries there are some of them, such as rest periods and occasional changes in occupation, whose practical utility has been made evident in many other industries and whose applicability could profitably be studied. Rest periods should, indeed, prove particularly useful in this case, as they afford the worker a chance to vary her position by a little walking, and as the dictates of efficiency seem to require that we eliminate from the work of the cutter or canner all routine operations involving walking. There is also at least one cannery where the management has provided a dance floor for their employees. The mere fact that many women have, for years, been working in a standing position, or seated on unhygienic seats, is no argument what- ever for the continuation of such practices. The human body is gen- erally capable of a most amazing amount of adjustment to conditions thrust upon it, but, sooner or later, these unnatural strains will result in more or less serious disabilities. There is abundant medical testi- mony as to the serious effects on women of work in a standing or in an incorrect sitting position, and this would be more generally understood were it not for the fact that most of these ailments are of such a nature that the employer never hears of them, and many are such that their connection with the occupation is not suspected except by the physician. The employer has also a perfectly natural tendency to remember clearly only those employees who, gifted with a strong constitution, successfully resist these occupational strains; these women are known to him. as workers over a period of years, and it is quite natural that they should so focus his attention that he comes to regard them as representative of all. Those who are more or less seriously impaired in health and drop out do not attract so much attention; but it is for them that we must set our standards of hygiene, just as it is for the slower workers that we must set our minimum wage. Goldmark* expresses this idea completely when she says: “It is, in the last resort, those who succumb who must determine the dangerousness of any trade. Thus, for in- stance, many men can and do work in caissons, without contracting the dreaded ‘bends’; yet the legislation which prescribes special rules #*Goldmark, Josephine; Fatigue and Efficiency, p. 120. 156 INDUSTRIAL, WELFARE COMMISSION. of hygiene for caisson work is based on the victims, not on the sur- vivors. Hence, it is essential to learn from a scientific observation of the victims of industry * * * those unhealthful and dangerous processes of industry which lead to physical disaster.”” This sort of scientific observation of the effect on women of continued standing should undoubtedly be carried out as soon as possible, but in the mean time, while there are women who appear to thrive on standing twelve or more hours per day, we already know that we must not take them as criterions unless we wish to work serious harm to many of their weaker sisters. ; It is probable that with women a compulsory sitting position is much less harmful than enforced standing, especially for the twelve-hour day, but it should be possible so to design a table and seat as to permit the worker freely to change her position as soon as fatigue is felt. In order to obtain this free choice of position, it is first of all necessary that the combination of table and seat makes it possible to work with substan- tially equal rapidity while seated and while standing. Practically all of the women employed on the cutting tables and packing fruit in cans are working on a piece-rate basis, and it does not take them very long to find it out if there is any considerable difference in the speed attain- able in either position. If such a difference does exist, it is inevitable that the worker will select that position in which she can do quickest work, and in case the discrepancy is great enough the more rapid position is maintained until fatigue has become unbearable. The more the question of cannery seating is considered, the more apparent it becomes that the primary obstacles to be overcome lie not in the seats but in the tables themselves. Whether the sitting shall be more or less hygienic rests to a considerable degree with the design of the seat, but whether there shall be compulsory sitting, or compulsory standing, or a more or less choice of position, rests primarily with the design of the table; any seat of the right height, not positively uncom- fortable, will do for that when used with a proper table. This is most evident when we observe how little real variety there is in the seats most commonly provided and how considerable a difference in their use. Tn two only of the twenty-one canneries inspected were there any tables approximately equally usable sitting and standing, and, strangely enough, these were not cutting tables but canning tables, with all of their more complicated problems. Tt should, however, be noted that while there were these two good canning tables, sitting was practically impossible at all the rest, while at most of the cutting tables the workers were able to alternate positions for at least a part of the time. The problem of obtaining a table at which it is possible to work either seated or standing at will, or, as it may be called, a “‘gitting-standing’’ FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 157 table, contains many diverse and often conflicting elements. In the first place, we must, as has been mentioned, make the speed efficiency sub- stantially equal in either position of the operative; this, if successfully accomplished, should also lessen fatigue and hence increase output to the benefit of both employee and employer. The second item to be con- sidered is space efficiency, a matter often of great importance in the case of cutting tables owing to the large amount of space required by this part of the installation. Then, too, the table must usually be adaptable to the handling of a variety of products, and there should not be anything in the design to interfere with the serving of the tables and the inspection of the work. As the final consideration we may say that, as far as possible, the design or designs should be such that existing Fig. 1. installations may be made to conform without undue expense; in fact, it is to be hoped that in most cases the resulting increased efficiency will more than pay for the alterations. To proceed to a practical consideration of the possibilities of the situation, we will take up first cutting tables, then canning tables, then seats, and lastly the handling of tomatoes. In studying the fruit tables we have eliminated from consideration three of the twenty-one can- neries visited; in one of these nothing but tomatoes are canned, in another nothing but pie fruit, and in the third all work is paid by the day and, as there is, therefore, not the same inducement to speed up, there is little to be gained by comparison. 158 INDUSTRIAL: WELFARE COMMISSION. CUTTING TABLES. When we come to examine in detail the various cutting tables, we find that, out of the eighteen that are under consideration, there are - six that were apparently built without any thought of sitting, while the remaining twelve have at least some elements of design strongly favoring it. Of these first six tables, sitting is absolutely prevented by the existence of some simple physical obstruction such as a six-inch brace along the edge of the table, or something else just as obvious, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. If, under these circumstances, the seat is made low enough so that the legs can have room enough under the brace, the sitter will then be too low for the table; if the seat is made of the proper height for the Fic. 2. table, then the worker is held away from the table by her own knees; the result is the same in either case—the cutter, by her effort to reach the grading pans, is pulled right up out of the seat, and only uses it when very fatigued. Sitting at most of these tables is also further discouraged by a more or less excessive reach to the grading pans or boxes. The remaining twelve tables may be divided into two groups of five each and one group of two. In the first group of five are those where almost constant sitting has been brought about by placing and keeping the box of fruit to be cut down low, so that the cutter can most easily sit and work from it, and by also using a low table, so that there is no physical inducement to stand ; some of this type really give a very good . FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 159 sitting position. One of the best tables of this type is shown in Figure 3 and the effect in Figure 4. The second group of five all have the same sitting element of having the fruit box placed low, but, either through the table being somewhat too high for the seat, or the reach to the grading pans being too long, there is also present a more or less strong inducement to stand, the result being that the cutters can not stay really comfortably in either position and, as the table can not be lowered, there is a constant effort to find some way of bringing the fruit nearer to it. Where this can be done by propping up the lug box there is a tendency to do most of the work standing. When working on fruits, such as pears or cling peaches, which require two distinct operations, the problem is often solved by Fic. 3. performing the first one sitting, working from the fruit box into a pan held in the lap until the pan is filled, when it is placed on the table and the cutting completed with the worker standing and in a good position to reach the grading pans without effort. There is one of these tables which is low, and has a slide for the fruit box, but it is also flat-topped, without any rack, and the reach to the back row of grading pans is somewhat long. It is, however, not a bad sitting table, the girls remain- ing seated most of the time on the empty cases, 23 inches high, which have been provided. When tired of working seated, they are accus- tomed to take the case on which they have been sitting and place it on top of the slide, and then the lug box of fruit on top of that, and work standing. This system works out fairly well, but the dimensions of the “ie Rt (ERE HY Fig. 4. Hunt Brothers, Hayward, Cal. Women all comfortably seated. T heir average hourly output cutting and pitting peaches one of the largest in the state. 091 NANI Qi ( "TVIYLS HIVA TIM "NOISSININOD FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 161 table are not entirely correct either for sitting or standing and there is not the same instant freedom of choice of position that there should be in a real sitting-standing table. Sitting at the last two tables is mainly discouraged by the excessive reach to the grading pans or boxes which are placed on racks three shelves high. The height of both of these tables is approximately correct for standing, and on certain products where it is not necessary to make very many grades, there is a very fair degree of interchange- ability of position as only the lower shelves are used, and the reach Fia. 5. is therefore not excessive. On some products the entire rack is removed and the table is then really quite satisfactory. The table shown in Figure 5 is an experimental one built for the commission and is an adaptation from several of those existing tables which have been designed especially for sitting, with corrections in dimension suggested both by observation of their defects and by a short experiment carried on through the kindness of the California Fruit Canners’ Association. It is essentially a table adjusted for sitting, which has been raised, both table and seat, so that the elbow 11—32554 162 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. of the worker will be at approximately the same height while standing as while sitting.* This should give nearly the same speed of operation in either posture, as the position relative to the work is not materially changed by slipping on or off the seat. The seat attached to this model Fig. 6. table is one which was designed for use with cutting tables under certain circumstances, and will be described later. *Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth in “Fatigue Study,” pages 91 and 92, express this same idea in a slightly different form when they say: ‘Closely related with the work place is the work chair. It is distinct from the rest chair in that it is specially devised to be used during work periods. The ideal work chair is of such a height that the worker’s elbows will bear the same relation to the work place when he is sitting as they would if the work place were properly adjusted for him to do standing work.” FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. : 163 The essential dimensions of this experimental table are as follows: Height of table top aboveifloor-.. © © __ 0 Go lio 33 inches Width of tables: clo doit Side gs a es a) 19 inches Length of fable per worker. ... =o clo oo 0 oo. nn 36 inches Height of lug box slide above floor. on ro 0 (Sep 21 inches Clentonendof lug hox slides... on ool ro on 4 inch Width of Tug box slide: - = r Cusa e Ca 15% inches Clearance between lug box slide and under slide of table__________ 11 inches Eront table edge to rack forigrading pans... . 7 inches Height of vack above table fon. oo oo do i Loi 0 9 inches Floor ‘to under side of slide shelf... = "= i ou ei oa LY 31 inches Heightoof seal. 00 oo ou a oil oy an 26 inches Seat adjustable up or down from center adjustment______________ 1% inch Foot rest adjustable front edge above floor_____._._____________ 5 to 10 inches Pang used with table... 0 oo. nn oo lea 9x 14 x 2% inches Tag box oir. i le a eS 23 x 15 x 8% inches The operation of this table is simple and is similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4. The attendant, who works entirely from the side of the table opposite from the cutter, places a lug box full of fruit on the slide under the table and shoves it through to the cutter. The cutter then pulls the box the rest of the way on the slide, so that the cleat at the end will give the box a tilt away from her and cause the fruit to roll to the point where the hand most naturally falls. (It should here be noted that, in order to prevent the table from being tipped over by the weight of the fruit boxes, it is necessary either to fasten the back legs of the tables to the floor or else to provide legs under the front ends of two, or more, of the slides.) The small sliding shelf under the edge : of the table is then pulled out and the pan, over which the cutter does her work, placed upon it; this sliding shelf will come close over the cutter’s lap, from which it is intended to keep the pan. If the table is only to be used for apricots, peaches, pears and similar products this sliding shelf will be continually needed, and, therefore, under these circumstances the front edge of the table may be built out about ten inches at this point. This will have the advantage of increasing the clearance under the table by at least one inch and improving the sitting position to that extent. The small wooden boxes or rectangular metal pans into which the cut fruit is to be graded are placed side by side on the narrow table and on the single rack. The table is made only a little wider than the length of the pan, to economize space, and the rack is low and well forward, so that the reach required is very slight; everything, the fruit, the cut- ting pan, the grading pans, are brought very close together and waste motions are reduced to a low point. Eight of the grading pans per girl can be accommodated in this way, and that is ordinarily sufficient; as 164 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. fast as they are filled they are emptied by the attendant and replaced. The rack is made so that it can be quickly detached from the table when- ever it is desired to handle the prepared fruits in lug boxes instead of in small boxes or pans; if only two or three grades are made it may be left out entirely. In space efficiency this type of table shows up very well. An actual installation of a table similar in plan dimensions, but, on account of its lowness, adapted for sitting use only, required an area per cutter of 14 square feet, including table and estimated share of all necessary aisle space. This estimate was made with the girls working as partners; but allowing 36 lineal inches per girl, and the same aisle space, we would have a required space of 17 square feet per girl, and this could be somewhat bettered, if necessary, by allowing a less number of lineal inches per girl. The minimum area per girl actually found during this study was in a cannery which was badly congested and the table used was of a bad type, and so inefficient, in such ways as the service to and from the table and the inspection of the work, that the slightly smaller number of girls who could be placed in the same area with a better type of table would probably cut just as much fruit and would certainly do a better grade of work. While this type of table can be effectually oper- ated with a total space allowance of 17 square feet per girl, or even less, it is not recommended that this be done except where absolutely neces- sary. The maximum space required for this type is not over 35 square feet, allowing 36 lineal inches per girl and abundant aisle space, and even this is much less than that ordinarily used with other types where the grading is done into boxes or pans; the highest space efficiency would, of course, be obtainable with the system of removing the cut fruit with a belt conveyor. The system of having a slide under the table, through which the lug box of fruit to be cut can be pushed from the aisle behind the table, has two strong points in its favor: first, it permits service of the table with a minimum amount of disturbance to the cutters; second, it economizes in space, as the table has then only to be sufficiently large to accom- modate the grading pans or boxes. Left-handed cutters will naturally require the slide to be their right and where, on account of crowded conditions, it is not possible to waste an occasional space and let them use the slide belonging to the place on their right, a special left-handed table can be used, or else some of the slides can be made movable from left to right. Tt is intended that the tables shall alternately be placed back to back, with an aisie between the backs from which the tables are served, and an aisle between the fronts in which the women are seated. This arrencement appeared to be the most efficient in any of the canneries visited. as there are no impediments to the men handling the fruit to and FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 165 from the tables, and at the same time they do not interrupt the cutters. The inspecting of the work is also done from the back aisle, aud, with the flat table or single rack, could not well be easier. While the narrow table, with or without a rack and with a slide underneath for the lug box, is probably the most generally efficient type now in use, where grading into pans is practiced, it does not follow that it is the best type for special purposes or that a better type can not be designed. All that we must have in order to obtain the desired result is a proper height of table, the location of the fruit to be cut so that it can be reached from either position without effort, a limitation of the reach to the grading pans, belts, or elsewhere so that no stretching is required in order to accomplish it, a reasonably comfortable seat of proper height relative to the table and adequate and adjustable foot rests. With varying operating .conditions these requirements can doubtless be successfully met in many different ways; for instance, if so little grading is done at the cutting table that all of the pans necessary can be placed within easy reach of the cutter on a flat-top table, the rack may perfectly well be omitted, and the inspection and service rendered somewhat easier. It is also quite possible that under some conditions the practice of placing the lug box of fruit on the table, and propping it up in front of the cutter, is entirely permissible, but we must, in all cases like these, be quite sure that we are not compelling a reach that will cause preferential standing. By eliminating all physical obstructions, and by providing suitable foot rests and adjustable seats, it is probable that most of the existing standing tables can be made into effective ‘‘sitting-standing’’ tables. In some cases further adjustment, such as remodeling the racks or perhaps the addition of a lug box slide, would produce the desired conditions, and only in a very few cases would entirely new construction be neces- sary. The sitting tables mainly require a lengthening of the legs to bring the lug box up to where it can be reached while standing, and, for the same purpose, the slide may sometimes also have to be brought closer to the table top. There are usually no obstructions to be removed in this class of table, but foot rests are often lacking and must be provided if the table is raised. As subsequently explained, an adjustable seat, several inches higher, can ordinarily easily be made from the old ones, so there need be no waste in this item. Tt seems as if the proper height to which tables should be raised is about thirty-two or thirty-three inches above the floor, but this may easily vary in different canneries with the racial characteristics of the workers. For this reason a certain amount of experiment is probably advisable before the alteration of the height of any very large number of this type of tables is undertaken. The main thing is to get the table sufficiently high for the taller workers. The seat and foot rests can both be adjusted to the table and the very short 166 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. workers can be furnished with a rack to stand upon. To a certain extent it might also be advisable to have tables of different heights, and to locate the various sizes of women at tables of approximately the proper height. . This system can not always be followed exactly, owing to the practice of grouping the workers according to their ability, and also to the desire of friends to group themselves together. CANNING TABLES. Among the canning tables there are, as has been stated, two which permit of working in both a standing and a sitting position; one in a large and one in a medium-sized cannery. All of the other tables seem to have been designed entirely on the assumption that it was impossible Fie. 7. to sit while canning, and accordingly, in thirteen of them, we find sitting entirely prevented by unnecessary physical obstructions, and also, more or less, by the reach required, while in the remaining three the latter condition is alone responsible. Outside of the elimination of such obstructions as unnecessarily large edge and sink braces, or unduly wide drip pans, and the providing of proper seats and foot rests, the problem of the ‘‘sitting-standing’’ ean- ning table lies in the reach required of the canner. This reach may be of two kinds, either down into the sink or else up or across to the can racks, either for empty cans or to get rid of the filled can. The first difficulty can easily be, and in most cases has been, eliminated by the use of shallow sinks, or of drain baskets which can be tilted up, or by FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 167 naving a rising perforated false bottom to the sink, operated by foot or hydraulic power. The second difficulty can be successfully solved for most tables by the ald of two devices: one a conveyor for removing the cans as filled; the other a series of conveyors for bringing the empty cans to the back of each shelf. Both of these devices were worked out simply to increase the efficiency of the table and it is in only two out of the several installations of this kind that they have been turned to proper advantage, and sitting made possible. The filled can conveyor, which may run either at table level, behind the sink, or on the lowest shelf, depending on the method used for handling the fruit, is necessary in order to prevent the stacking up of trays of filled cans pending removal. In one case observed, where the cans were handled to and from the tables in trays, the woman packing had six trays of cans stacked on top of a shelf which was itself 11% inches above the table, making a total height to the top cans of 41% inches, and was taking the empty cans as needed from the top tray and returning them as filled; a practice obviously absolutely preventing sitting. These conveyors to bring the empty cans to their proper shelves are, in themselves, purely an efficiency device, and their importance to the seating problem lies chiefly in their bringing about the practice of handling the cans lying on their side instead of standing up. The cans are checked in to the canner, a dozen at a time, and are simply rolled off the conveyors on to the shelves, which are sloped to the front and provided with a low rail to retain the cans. As the front cans are used those to the rear roll down into place, so that we can absolutely control the horizontal reach, putting the front line of each shelf just where we want it. The necessary vertical allowance per shelf is also only six or seven inches, instead of the nine or more ordinarily used; this would bring the top shelf several inches lower and help very mate- rially in reducing the fatigue occasioned by the upward reaching motion. One of the two existing ‘‘sitting-standing’’ canning tables is shown in Figure 7. The reach to the upper can rack of this table is too great for comfortable work in a sitting position for a woman of average height, but as this top shelf is ordinarily little used, a comparatively free choice of position exists most of the time. The horizontal reach has been much shortened by placing the stack of shelves almost directly over the sink, the distance from the front line of the shelves to the front line of the table being only eleven inches. The effect of this arrange- ment is that, in order to make it possible for the canner to handle the fruit comfortably in the sink, it is necessary to raise the lower shelf pretty high up, in this case about fourteen inches above the edge of the sink, and this brings the upper shelves higher than they should be. 168 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. A better effect can be obtained by placing the lowest shelf, on which the filled can conveyor belt runs, somewhat lower down and farther back, and bringing the front line of each shelf above successively farther out, thus making the reach to each one more nearly the same; this has been done on two other tables and seems to work very satis- ~factorily. The conveyors for bringing in the empty cans can be noted at the back of each of the three upper shelves, while the pulley on which the filled can conveyor belt runs is seen on the right-hand end of the table. : It is admitted that this system of can handling is probably not suec- cessfully to be applied in its entirety to every cannery; those where there is a very great variety of work are among the difficult ones, but it is, nevertheless, in most cases a certain and efficient solution, which should pay for itself in time and labor saved. In some cases it will be necessary, and in others it may be preferable, to devise some other method of can handling which will keep the reach within the required limits, and by careful study from this angle a solution, at least reason- ably satisfactory, can probably be obtained for all of them.* While, under some circumstances, there may be a perfectly legitimate delay in the solution of those problems relating to reach, there is, however, no reason to hesitate over the removal of simple physical obstructions, or over the supplying of proper seats and foot rests. In many cases these measures alone would make sitting possible to a limited extent, #An interesting new design in canning tables is that illustrated in Figure 8. This table has been constructed by Hunt Bros. Company at its Hayward plant. At the time this picture was taken, the table was not yet complete. A foot rest and seat have yet to be added, and about two inches of the edge brace is to be cut away to allow more clearance for the workers’ knees when sitting. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 169 sufficient for partial resting, and they are all things which would ulti- mately have to be done if a sitting-standing table is to be secured. SEATS. A seat for cannery use should be comfortable for all users, produce a hygienic position, and not interfere in any way with the motions necessary on the part of the worker. It should further be adjustable, at least vertically ; it should be durable, easily cleaned and not cumber- some, admitting, if possible, of construction at the cannery, or, at any rate, of moderate expense. Another advisable feature is attach- ment either to the floor or to the table in order to eliminate the tripping hazard caused by seats pushed back or upset into the aisle; this, owing to its seriousness in case of panic, is always a hazard to be considered whenever we have a large number of women working in the same room. It is probable that with further study and experiment we can construct a seat, or seats, that will meet all of these conditions, but, for the present, the most that can be done is to point out the more common defects met with, and to suggest types of seats for cutting and for canning tables, which, at least, will not actively interfere with sitting. One of the most important, and commonly neglected, elements con- tributing to the comfort of a seat is the dimensioning of the seat-top itself ; this is frequently made far too narrow for the stocky types so often found in the canneries, and it seems likely that seats should not be much, if any, narrower than 14 inches, with a minimum depth of ten inches. Another condition found is that the pressure of the edge of the seat causes discomfort ; this may be due to the shape of the seat or to the lack of a foot rest of the proper height. Foot rests should preferably be adjustable over a range of at least 4 or 5 inches. They should be at least 12 inches wide so that they will support the feet comfortably; the ordinary foot rail becomes very uncomfortable on continued use. The front edge of the foot rest should not be over 3 inches back from the front edge of the table, and it would be better to have it extend out even with this edge. The foot rest should also slope towards the front, about 2 inches in 12, although this would depend on whether the seat used with it was level or tilted forward. In order to produce a proper hygienic position we must not only have foot rests and a comfortable top for the seat, but probably some form of support for the back should be used. There is, however, little informa- tion available as to what constitutes a proper support for the back, so little, that school seats, the stenographer’s chair, and the already men- tioned subway seat, are the only examples which come to mind. This question of backs for seats needs careful study; orthopedic authorities are unanimous in insisting that the back should be supported, but there 170 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. is some difference of opinion as to how this should be done, and most of their attention has been given to the consideration of school seats, where the problem is quite different. The ordinary chair back design is obviously out of the question, as it is not only not hygienic, but also usually interferes with a free motion of the arms; the back rest used on the ordinary stenographer’s chair is probably of the most practicable type, but for cannery use is open to objection on several counts, such as expense and lack of durability. Three of the canneries examined had provided backs for their seats: two were simply short straight wooden backs, nailed to the seat and inclined backward at a slight angle, the only support being to the sacrum ; the other seat was far more elaborate, being made of iron and pressed steel throughout, and was provided with a fixed oval-shaped back support, placed at about the height of the shoulder blades. This last seat is a step in the right direction, but it is probable that the back rest should be differently shaped and should be lowered so as to give its support to the small of the back; the seat is also defective in that it ean not be adjusted as to height. The adjustability of a seat is another important feature, and at the same time we may as well consider the question of attaching the seat to the table or to the floor, as they are necessarily closely related and some- what conflicting problems. The maximum of adjustability is easily secured with a detached seat which is arranged so that it can be raised or lowered, but this is also the seat which offers the maximum tripping hazard. By fixing the seat to the floor, we eliminate it as a potential tripping hazard, but we also lose our horizontal adjustability. This can, however, to a large degree be compensated for by either an adjustable foot rest or else by having more than one rest, so that there is some choice. The alternative method, of fixing the seat to the table, offers the advantages that it can then be made adjustable both vertically and horizontally, and presents no tripping hazard. Benches are to be strongly condemned as seats; they are only adjustable vertically by the awkward process of putting something on top of them, and are only adjustable horizontally by common consent of all who are seated on each bench; if they are placed close enough for sitting they interfere with standing and vice versa. They are also ordinarily used as a stand for the lug box of fruit, and this means that free standing is impossible on account of the reach to the fruit from that position.* *As a method for obtaining a work chair the proper height, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth appear to favor the use of seats of various heights rather than the use of an adjust- able seat, saying in discription of Figure 10 in “Fatigue Study” that: “Very few people realize that the working girl should be measured for her working chair, in which she spends one-half of the time that she is awake during her entire working life. For this purpose we have had testing chairs of varying heights made for the girls to sit in, and then have made a chair for each girl, particularly adapted to her and her work. The correct height of chair is determined much quicker and fits much more accurately than does an adjustable chair.” While this method undoubtedly has much to recommend it, it is perhaps more suitable to those industries where employ- ment is fairly constant, than to the canning industry with its seasonal character and large labor turn-over. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 171 Cannery seats must obviously be strong and simple enough in con- struction to be durable, as they are given hard service; they must be able to withstand cleaning with the steam hose, and there should be no adjustments or other features which could be put out of business by a little rust; they must not be cumbersome, as the available space is limited, nor can they be so heavy as to make them awkward to handle. The material which has been most favored is wood, both on account of its cheapness and because of the ease with which seats can be built from it at the cannery ; the introduction of seats fixed to the floor and to the tables has, however, brought with it the use of iron, mostly in the form of pipe, and this use is probably about to be extended. The use of pressed steel for the seat and back support of the seat previously men- tioned is most interesting as a method of securing lightness, durability, and hygienic qualities, and it is probable that many of our problems will be solved by the use of pressed steel and cast iron. For use with cutting tables the type of seat which is attached to the floor is not at all suitable, as the tables not only are, in many cases, taken up during the winter to make the space available for storage, but are also usually moved about and rearranged from time to time during the season. No practical seat of the attached-to-the-table ‘‘type’’ was avail- able at the time this study was made. An experimental seat of this character was therefore constructed for the commission and is shown in Figure 5 attached to the experimental cutting table. The construction is shown more in detail in Figure 6. When there is no weight on the seat it is supported from the table by a double-hinged arm, and can be swung in under the table out of the way, or pulled out into position for use. The only weight carried by the supporting arm when the seat is not in use is that of the seat itself. When the worker sits on the seat the spiral spring is compressed, allowing the supporting column of the seat to descend through the reamed-out ‘‘T’’ at the end of the supporting arm, until the base of the column rests on the floor. In this manner the weight of the sitter is practically all supported directly from the floor and the supporting arm never has to stand any strain greater than the compression of the spiral spring, which is made only just a little stronger than necessary to raise the seat from the ground as soon as it is relieved of the sitter’s weight. By this method of construction the difficulties which have heretofore been encountered in attempting to attach a seat to the table have been largely avoided; the supporting arm need only to be strong enough to hold np the seat alone, and there is very little of the tendency to pull the table over. The method of construction shown is, of course, not intended to be followed in actual construction. The three parts of the supporting arm would be made of cast iron, as would also the base of the column; the balance of the assembly could probably be most cheaply made as shown. 172 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. The alternative is the detached seat with its perfect adjustability and its possibilities as a panic tripping hazard. In my opinion, however, this hazard can be so much reduced by the simple method of avoiding long sitting aisles, allowing a maximum of, say, sixteen women between free passage aisles, that under those conditions it ought to be safe enough to use detached seats. It is suggested that for use with the cutting tables, an excellent seat can easily be made, using almost any existing stool as a basis, by the following method: A new wooden top is con- structed, rectangular, not less than 14 by 10 inches, with the corners rounded and the upper edges beveled, and to the under side of this about six or eight inches of 1-inch pipe is attached with a flange. At the end near the seat this 1-inch pipe is drilled through transversely, at three or four points about one inch apart, to receive a steel pin. The top of the old stool is then bored to receive a 11-inch pipe. About four inches of 11-inch pipe is threaded at one end for about 2 inches. A floor flange is run on this end so that there will be somewhat over one-half an inch of pipe extending above the flange. This projecting end should be drilled through transversely with the same size drill as used for the holes in the l-inch pipe. The longer end of pipe is then inserted in the hole bored in the old seat top and fastened in place by the flange. The inch pipe, to which the new top is attached, is then inserted in the 1}-inch pipe and adjusted to the proper height by passing the steel pin trans- versely through the holes in both pipes. With the pin in the middle hole this should be about four and one-half to five inches less than the under side of the table edge or of the cutting shelf, if one is used. This sug- gested method of alteration has the advantage that, should it subse- quently be decided to attach the seats to the tables, these new tops could probably be utilized without change; a back support could also be added without difficulty. With canning tables, which are seldom, if ever, moved, there is no objection to permanently attaching the seat to the floor, and this type, owing to the simplicity of design attainable, is possibly the most satis- factory for such use. A very good seat, which has proved its practica- bility, is that shown in Figure 7. Tt can be made by taking a piece of 11-inch pipe, about 18 inches is ordinarily right, although this will depend on the height of the table, and fastening it to the floor with a flange ; if the floor is of concrete a longer piece of pipe should be used and set in cement. This forms the support and socket for the top part, which consists of a wooden seat, similar to that described under cutting tables, with about 12 inches of 1-inch pipe attached to the center of the bottom with a flange. Before being attached to the seat, the 1-inch pipe is heated to a red heat for three or four inches of its length at a point near the end which is to be attached; this section is then flattened and bent at each end so as to produce an offset in the pipe of at least 3 inches. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 173 The longer end of this pipe is then drilled through for a pin in several piaces, starting just below the offset, and this end is then inserted in the 11-inch pipe and its position adjusted by means of the transverse pin. The 1-inch pipe may be so bent as to produce a level seat or else one tilted slightly forward, not more than one inch difference between the front and back, but the height and placing of the support, and the bending of the smaller pipe, should be such that, with the pin at the center hole, the front edge of the seat will be about 5 inches below and 4 inches out from the under side of the front edge of the table; this will be found to give the proper clearance for sitting, and by turning the seat to the rear the offset will set it back at least 6 inches, giving plenty of room for standing. ; It should also be noted here that if the slightly tilted seat is to be used it will be necessary to provide a brace for the knees about 6 or 7 inches in from the edge of the table, as with this slight slant we still have a real sitting position and the forward sliding tendency can not be held in check by pressure on the feet alone. If we were to tilt the top of the seat still further, so that the forward and downward thrust of the body can be met with a straight leg, we would have what might be called a ‘‘semi-sitting’’ posture. This whole problem of the forward-tilted seat seems to have been ignored by the orthopedists, but in those opera- tions where bending forward or a downward pressure with the hands is required, it would appear to have a marked utility, and, unless definite hygienic disadvantages are demonstrated, it is reasonable to suppose that we will have a much wider industrial use of both the slightly inclined and the ‘‘semi-sitting’’ types. The slightly inclined seat would seem to have some advantages for use with canning tables, and the °‘semi- sitting’’ posture might prove useful in tomato peeling, but much more should be known as to the effect of these types of seat on the user before their installation on a large scale is encouraged ; it should also be remem- bered that the ‘‘semi-sitting’’ posture does not provide a complete rest from standing. TOMATOES. This part of the study is confined to 14 of the 21 canneries, as the remainder either do not can, or were not canning, tomatoes. There are three operations in the canning of tomatoes in which women are employed: first, at the sorting belt; second, at the peeling table; and, third, at the canning table. The sorting belt, where the rotten tomatoes are picked out before scalding, is not used by all canners, some preferring to have the girls do this work at the peeling tables, but there are a considerable number of women so employed, and a large proportion of these are compelled to stand at their work. This is a condition for which there is little excuse, as ordinarily it is due primarily to the presence of obstructions under 174 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. the belt ; either bracing, which could be altered, or else the return of the belt, which can either be raised or depressed by means of idlers so that it can be guarded and proper clearance obtained either underneath it or above it. A foot rest and seat along the lines suggested for either cutting or for canning tables is recommended. Practically all of the peeling of tomatoes is done in the standing position, and again, as with fruit canning tables, we find the assumption general that the work can not be done seated, and that, therefore, there is no use bothering to try. The fact is that the peelers simply can not sit at most of the existing tables, as the seats available are so low that ~ when peeling a tomato the hands are necessarily held higher than the elbows, and the resulting stream of tomato juice down into the lap of the worker is a most effectual discourager ; that is the special problem of the sitting-standing tomato peeling table, and its solution is essential to success. Examining the various peeling tables in detail we find that five of the fourteen are the tables used earlier in the year for cutting fruit, while the other nine are of special design and not used for fruit. Of the five fruit tables, three are used without change and two are slightly altered, one by the addition of an edge board to prevent dripping, and one by the removal of the rack. Four of the nine special tables are designed with a pan or bucket conveyor, to bring the tomatoes from the scalder and to remove the peeled tomatoes and peelings, running on the table itself, so that each peeler can wait on herself ; the others are practically plain tables and with them, as with the converted fruit tables, the bucket and pan conveyor is separate, an attendant acting as intermediary between it and the tables. In all of these tables we find one or both of the familiar defects: physical obstructions and excessive reach. The first of these is, in most cases, simply a brace below the edge of the table and can easily be removed ; the second difficulty may originate in the design of the table, as in the case of at least one of the special tables, where the reach required to take pans from the conveyor is almost impossible while sitting, or else it may come from the use of large pans on a wide, flat table, with the girls erowded too close together. This brings us to a consideration of our special problem, that of keep- ing the workers’ hands lower than, or as low as their elbows, in order to avoid the running back of tomato juice into the lap. The present prac- tice seems to be to handle the tomatoes from the scalder to the peeling tables either in 12-quart pails or in large tin dishpans, holding about twice as much ; eight canneries are using the pans and six the pails. The oirl then peels the tomatoes over this pail or pan and grades them either into two other pails or into two smaller pans, holding about the same quantity as the pails. These pails vary in height from 8% to 10 inches FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNING. 175 and the large pans from 5% to 7 inches, and when we consider that, with any real sitting position the maximum obtainable clearance between the upper surface of the worker’s leg, near the knee, and the lower level of her wrist, with the forearm held level, is probably not over 8 inches, it becomes obvious why there is so little sitting done. From this space of 8 inches we must subtract the thickness of the table, or, rather, the vertical distance from the under side of the edge to the upper surface of the table top, and as this can not very well be less than one inch, if wood is used, we have only 7 inches remaining available for the height of the utensil. On this basis it would appear that the use of pails in the ordinary manner will absolutely preclude the possibility of sitting, and this assumption seems to be thoroughly borne out by the practice. While a genuine sitting position is probably impossible with pails, satisfactory results might be obtainable with the use of a ‘‘semi-sitting’’ posture, with an inclined seat, if this attitude is approved as hygienic; it may, however, be said that as far as sitting is concerned the pan is certainly far superior to the pail, and its use should be encouraged. In estimating a maximum height of 7 inches for the utensil, we have only allowed 1 inch for the table, simply the thickness of the top, and as all of the pans are either at or close to the 7-inch limit, and as 6 of the 8 tables, where pans are used, have braces under the front edge of from 4 to 6 inches, and the other two have no obstructions but are provided with seats 10 inches lower than the top of the table, it is easy to see why the pans do not show up any better than the pails in actual present sitting results. With the removal of all interfering bracing, the provision of proper foot rests and seats of the type sug- gested for cutting tables, and the use of pans exclusively, with a prefer- able maximum height of 6 inches, and with sufficient lateral space available on the table for their proper disposition, we should be able to produce satisfactory ‘‘sitting-standing’’ conditions. This has not been tried out, as yet, and is offered simply as a probable solution. Canning is chiefly done at the regular tables used for fruit, but there is an interesting tendency to develop new designs and methods better suited to this particular work. In two cases automatic machines have been installed, doing away with hand work entirely, and in 5 others special tables are used; 2 of these 5 tables are merely ordinary can- ning tables simplified by leaving out the sink, while the 3 others are more or less mechanical in their nature, and it is sufficient to say here that they can be readily arranged to permit of sitting. The 7 ordinary canning tables do not appear to present any new problems when used for tomatoes, so they will need no further discussion, and the two modified canning tables, classed as special, can be treated in the same manner as ordinary tables with the exception that a detached seat will be required, as the tables are not permanently installed. 176 INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION. Conclusion. As a result of the foregoing preliminary study, it appears to the writer that there is no good reason why compulsory standing or compulsory sitting on the part of women cannery workers should not soon be a thing of the past. There is no question but that a free choice of posi- tion on the part of the worker and the shortening of the motions required on her part will reduce fatigue, and hence increase output. The whole problem is just as much one of efficiency as of hygiene and any improvement would obviously be to the benefit of both employer and employee. Once knowing the basic principle it is simply a question of applying it to the individual requirements of each cannery. These will, of course, vary quite widely with the variety and quality of the product. Certain designs of table will undoubtedly be more efficient on certain varieties and qualities of product, on account of the different methods of handling the materials made necessary thereby; this choice of table must naturally be determined by each canner individually. Efficiency dic- tates that any reach involving leaning forward to any extent on the part of the worker should be eliminated; the table top should be of a comfortable height for working in a standing position, and the seat and foot rest should then be provided of such a height, or made so adjustable, that the elbow of the worker will be as nearly as possible the same height above the floor as when working standing; all obstructions which would interfere with placing the legs under the table should of course also be eliminated. Very nearly all of the existing installations examined could be made to conform to these simple basic requirements without very serious expense, indeed in some cases at almost none, with the exception of supplying proper seats and foot rests. ‘While with our present knowledge, we ought to be able to very greatly improve the present situation, there are nevertheless many phases of the problem where further studies could also profitably be made. The question of supplying backs for the seats and of tilting the seat itself forward should be studied with medical assistance. The relative amount of time which should be spent in each position, and the effect of introducing rest periods should also be given careful considera- tion. There are also many interesting problems relative to the pre- paring and packing of the fruit, and the handling of the various materials, but these are matters chiefly affecting the canner. R423. 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