to know whether further wage increase should mean an increase in telephone rates; but the Bureau is of the opinion that the cost to the Company of its high labor turnover, of its advertising, of its training of operators and the actual loss to the Company of the short-time operator could for the most part be eliminated with higher wage rates for longer service. The company, during the year 1919, apparently was blind to its real labor difficulty, and the increase in wage rates as effective in February may prove conclusively to the Company that something more than a living wage must be paid to operators if the efficiency of its service is to be maintained. Labor Turnover and Length of Service For every three girls who enter the telephone service, one drops out in training, the second before the first year is over and the third stays longer than a year. Since the estimated cost of training an operator varies from $68.00 to $100.00 per operator, the shorter the length of service of the operator the greater expense to the Company. Also, since an operator must be in the service of the Company two years before she can efficiently carry the theoretical load of 230 units per hour, the kind of service which the public receives depends very considerably on the length of service of the operators. Briefly speaking, this is an element which the Company cannot altogether control, though, so far as the question of wages, age at beginning work, opportunities for promotion, fatigue and sympathetic treatment of employees enters into the problem, the answer lies with the Company. Other elements, like that of marriage, are beyond its control. In the city of Manhattan, 24.33% of the operators had been with the Company 6 months or less. This is exclusive of students in the Training School. What this means, interpreted in terms of service which the public receives from the operators, is that these operators are able to handle efficiently about 75% of the theoretical load of 230 units per hour. While about 24.33% of the operators had been with the Company less than 6 months, the next largest per cent is among the operators who had been with the Company over 6 months and through 1 year, 13.68%; and the next largest group had been with the Company over 1 year and through 2 years, 12.37%. In other words, slightly over one-half of the operating force in Manhattan had been with the Company less than 2 years. The situation of the Telephone Company, therefore, resolves itself into the fact that the important element in determining the efficiency of the service, from the point of view of the operator, rests absolutely on the length of service in the occupation. Under Schedule II, which includes Brooklyn and Queens, we find a still larger per cent of the operators had been with the Company 6 months or less, 28.22%; with 15.61% with the Company over 6 months and through 1 year, and 10.60% with the Company over 1 year and through 2 years, making a total of 54.43% who had been with the Company less than 2 years. Under Schedule III, which includes part of Westchester and Long Island, 23.89% of the operators had been with the Company for 6 months or under, 12.23% had been with the Company over 6 months and through 1 year, and 18.47% had been with the Company over 1 year and through 2 years, making a total of 54.60% of the operators who had been with the Company less than 2 years. Under Schedule IV, which includes such places as Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, Little Falls and Utica, there was 17.20% of the operators who had been with the Company 6 months or under, 9.67% for over 6 months and through 1 year, and 19.49% for over 1 year and through 2 years, making a total of 46.35% of the operators in the larger cities of the State who had been with the Company 2 years or less. Under Schedule V, which includes Auburn, Binghamton, Dunkirk, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie and Watertown, 11.95% of the operators had been with the Company 6 months or under, 11.20% over 6 months and through 1 year, and 18.74% over 1 year and through 2 years, making a total of 41.88% of the operators who had been with the Company less than 2 years. Under Schedule VI, including such places as Bayshore, Canandaigua, Geneva, Glens Falls, Huntington, Hornell and Southampton, 9.92% of the operators had been with the Company 6 months or under, 7.14% had been with the Company over 6 |