CHAPTER IV. WORKING CONDITIONS. Regularity of employment-The immigrant and organized labor-[Text Tables 38 and 39 and General Table 19]. REGULARITY OF EMPLOYMENT. As regards the regularity of employment offered, the table which immediately follows shows, by general nativity and race of individual, the months worked during the past year by males in the households studied who were 16 years of age or over and who were employed away from home. TABLE 38.-Months worked during the past year by males 16 years of age or over employed away from home, by general nativity and race of individual. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 20 or more males reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] A fair majority of the 295 males studied in the above table report twelve months' work, 83.7 per cent nine months or over, and less than 1 per cent report less than three months. None of the whites nativeborn of native father report less than six months' work, the proportions in the succeeding month groups being somewhat larger than those of either the foreign-born or the grand total. But one race, the English, reports less than three months' work and but one other, the Croatian, reports less than six months' work. The great majority of each race have worked nine months or over, but the majority of two races, the South Italians and Croatians, have not had twelve months' employment, the former presenting the smallest proportion, 40 per cent. Summarizing, practically all of each race except the Croatians and South Italians have had nine months' work, but a large proportion of each have lost three months work or less during the year. THE IMMIGRANT AND ORGANIZED LABOR. Reference is made in the discussion of the working conditions of the different iron-ore mining sections to the strikes and labor controversies which have occurred in various parts of the country. The extent to which, in the industry as a whole, the immigrant employees are members of trade unions is set forth in the table next presented, which shows, by general nativity and race of individual, affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years of age or over, in the households studied, who were working for wages. TABLE 39.-Affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years of age or over working for wages, by general nativity and race of individual. That very little interest is manifested in trade unions by the 282 males for whom information was obtained is apparent from the above table-less than 2 per cent of the entire number being affiliated with same. As between the foreign-born and native-born of native father, whites, the proportion of the latter affiliated with trade unions. is considerably in excess of that of the former. In fact, it will be noted that of the three races reporting a proportion affiliated with trade unions that of the native whites of native father is in excess of the combined proportions of the other two. CHAPTER V. HOUSING AND LIVING CONDITIONS. Rent in its relation to standard of living-Boarders and lodgers-Size of apartments occupied-Size of households studied-Congestion-[Text Tables 40 to 52 and General Tables 20 to 31]. RENT IN ITS RELATION TO STANDARD OF LIVING. The rent payments of the households the heads of which were employed in the iron ore mines are chiefly significant in their bearing upon standards of living because of congestion within the households. This congestion arose from the practice, especially among households the heads of which were of recent immigration, of crowding their apartments in order to reduce the per capita outlay for rent. The first table submitted in this connection shows the average monthly rent payment per apartment, per room, and per person, according to general nativity and race of head of household. TABLE 40.-Average rent per month, by general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) From information obtained for 101 households in this industry it will be noted that the average rent per apartment is $6.69, while the average rent per room and per person is $1.63 and $1.13, respectively, the foreign-born showing a slightly higher average rent per apartment and per room and slightly lower rent per person, while the native-born of native father show a lower average rent per apartment and per room and a higher average rent per person than is shown by the total for all households studied. Among the foreignborn the Croatians show the highest average rent per apartment, or $7.60, and the lowest rent per person, or $0.67. The lowest rent per apartment, on the other hand, is shown by the English, while the highest rent per person is shown by the Swedes. Little difference exists as between the Finns and Swedes in the average rent per apartment and per person, each showing an average in excess of that shown by the English. As regards the average rent per room, the Finns report the highest, or $2.22. This, it will be noted, is considerably in excess of the average rent paid by the Croatians or Swedes, and largely in excess of that paid by the English. The range of monthly rents for apartments is set forth in the following table, which shows by general nativity and race of head of household the percentage of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment: TABLE 41.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment, by general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] Upon information obtained for 101 households in this industry, 72.3 per cent pay under $7.50 per month per apartment, 83.2 per cent under $10, 96 per cent under $12.50, and 3 per cent $15 or over, the proportion paying under $5 amounting to 12.9 per cent. The foreign-born, it will be noted, report a proportion slightly in excess of that shown in the total figure representing all households paying under $5 rent per month per apartment. With this exception, the proportion of foreign-born paying under each specified amount is slightly below that shown by the total. Of the Croatians, 28 per cent of whom pay under $5 rent per month per apartment, it will be noted that the proportion paying under each specified amount falls slightly below the proportion shown for the total foreign-born. The table next presented exhibits, by general nativity and race of head of household, the proportion of households paying each specified rent per month per room. TABLE 42.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per room, by general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] The largest proportion, or 66.3 per cent, of the households studied in this industry pay under $2 rent per month per room, 84.2 per cent pay under $3, 5 per cent $4 or over, and only 4 per cent under $1. The foreign-born as a whole, it will be noted, report a proportion paying under each specified rate per month per room similar to that shown in the total for all households. It is equally true of households the heads of which are Croatians, this being the only foreignborn race reporting twenty or more households. In the following table the real situation relative to congestion is set forth, the crowding within the households being indicated by the large proportion of households having a low rent payment per capita. The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the percentage of households paying each specified rent per month per person: TABLE 43.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per person, general nativity and race of head of household. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) by [This table includes only races with 20 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] |