TABLE 6.—Changes in employment in manufacturing industries from 1929 to 1937, by States-Continued 1 Indicates that the actual employment figure or actual change is less than the indicated number. 2 Withheld to avoid disclosure. 3 Indicates that the actual employment figure or actual change is greater than the indicated number Indicates an approximate employment change, when employment for 1929 and 1937 is given approxi mately. AMENDMENT OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1945 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a. m., in room 357, Senate Office Building, Senator James M. Tunnell, presiding. Present: Senators Tunnell, Ellender, Guffey, Johnston, La Follette, Aiken, and Smith. Also present: Charles Kramer, consultant to the committee. Mrs. PETERSON. I want to introduce Mr. Charles Ervin who is taking care of the witnesses for the CIO. Mr. ERVIN. Mr. Chairman, I am here for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. I thought that you would like to hear from some of the workers in the shops after having heard from the experts—whose future and whose present is very much tied up in this bill. Without making any comments I will introduce as the first witness Mr. Burke of Lebanon. Senator TUNNELL. All right, Mr. Burke. Mr. ERVIN. Mr. Burke is right here. Mr. Burke has been 512 years in the Army. He volunteered when the President issued his defense program. He has come back to work in the shop, and he will tell you just what his experience has been and why he desires you to pass this measure. TESTIMONY OF CHARLES C. BURKE, AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS, LEBANON, PA. Senator TUNNELL. Give your name and your residence, Mr. Burke, and where you work. Mr. BURKE. My name is Charles C. Burke. I am from Lebanon, Pa., and I work in the Lustberg, Nast & Co. clothing company, as a spreader on mackinaws. Senator TUNNELL. Where did you work before that when you were working, or did not you work before you went in the Army? Mr. BURKE. I went to work 2 weeks after I came out of the Army. I worked in a garment factory, the Frackville Manufacturing Co., for 6 months also as a spreader. Senator TUNNELL. How old are you? Mr. BURKE. 27, sir. Senator TUNNELL. You are a little older than I thought. I wanted to get you back to your youth. Now, tell us about your experience. What does a spreader do? Mr. BURKE. Well, he fixes the edges and sees that all the wrinkles in the cloth are straightened out, and if there are any defects in the cloth we cut them out also. Senator TUNNELL. You take out the wrinkles, is that it? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir. Frackville is a non-union company and they paid me 50 cents an hour for 6 months, and they promised me the sec ond month that I would have a 5-cent raise. I am a married man, and I think I should be making more, because as a married man I can't liv on $20 a week. Senator TUNNELL. Are you saving any money? Mr. BURKE. No, sir. It costs me $12.80 a week for room and board Senator TUNNELL. How do you figure that? Why do you say $12.80 instead of $12.90 or $12.75? Mr. BURKE. Well, my rent is $7 a week. That is for one room. W have one meal at the place where we stay for which they charge us 4 cents a meal. That is for my wife and me. Senator TUNNELL. You board; is that it? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; that is, just one meal. Senator TUNNELL. 40 cents for each one of you? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; that is right. Senator TUNNELL. That is $2.80 each a week for one meal. Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir. Then, on Sundays they charge us 50 cent apiece. Senator TUNNELL. That is $2.90 each then. You pay $7 rent? Senator TUNNELL. That is a week, is it? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; that is right. Senator TUNNELL. So that is $12.80 a week. Do you have any children? Mr. BURKE. No, sir. Senator TUNNELL. All right. Now, how do you get your other tw meals a day Mr. BURKE. Well, Saturday morning, when we are not working in the factory we work around the house, and we have two meals ther sometimes during the week. Senator TUNNELL. You have two meals? Mr. BURKE. During the week. That is mostly on a Saturday, lik we have Saturday dinner and Saturday supper. Senator TUNNELL. You said it cost you $12.80. I was wondering whether you got the 14 meals for $3. Mr. BURKE. No, sir. Senator TUNNELL. That is what I thought. Do you mean your wif cooks the other 14 meals or prepares them? Mr. BURKE. No, sir; because we just have the bedroom. I am no making enough money to go into housekeeping. Senator TUNNELL. I see. Tell us about how you do get these other 14 meals. Do you buy them? Mr. BURKE. Yes; with what money we have and can scrape together we buy them. Senator TUNNELL. Don't you have the other 14 meals? Don't you eat? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir. Not like we should, though. Senator TUNNELL. I can believe that. When you get 14 meals for $3 I don't suppose you do get so much, but I am trying to find out what arrangements you make about that. Do you go to a restaurant? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; sometimes we go to restaurants. When I work five days a week we have our lunch. Senator TUNNELL. How do you get the lunch? Mr. BURKE. We buy it. Senator TUNNELL. How do you pay? Mr. BURKE. Well, sometimes we get lunch meat. Mr. BURKE. Sometimes we get lunch meat for the week. Mr. BURKE. Well, that costs something, sir. Senator TUNNELL. What does it cost? Mr. BURKE. Well, I don't know the exact amount. Senator TUNNELL. Can't you give us some idea about these 14 meals? You said it cost you $12.80 a week to get a room and 7 meals. Now, then, I am trying to find out from you how, with the other $3 you get 14 meals. Mr. BURKE. Well, we don't eat 14 meals at the place where we rent. Senator TUNNELL. I don't care where you get it. You must get it somewhere or else you don't eat, one or the other. That is 28 meals for the two of you, is it not? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir. Senator TUNNELL. For $3. Mr. BURKE. Yes. Senator TUNNELL. Is there any place where you can get a 12-cent meal? Mr. BURKE. Not now, sir; you can't. Senator TUNNELL. "Now" is when you are hungry, isn't it? Mr. BURKE. Yes; but sometimes I don't feel like eating. I am thinking of the wages I am getting. A man don't feel like eating when he worries about that very often. Senator TUNNELL. How much does your wage amount to a week? Mr. BURKE. Well, at 50 cents an hour, that is $20 a week. Senator AIKEN. May I ask him if his wife works, too? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; she works. Senator AIKEN. You get $20 a week; what does she get? Mr. BURKE. Oh, she gets around 40 cents an hour where she is working now. Senator AIKEN. For how many hours? Mr. BURKE. For 40 hours. Senator AIKEN. That is $16 a week that she gets. Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir. Senator AIKEN. Out of that comes your social security? Mr. BURKE. Yes, sir; and taxes. Senator AIKEN. That amounts to 22 cents now, I suppose. Are there any other deductions from your pay check? Mr. BURKE. We can't take out bonds because we are not making enough. Senator AIKEN. Do you get any meals at the plant or the mill where you work? Mr. BURKE. No, sir; we don't. |