Published under authority of Public Resolution No. 57, approved May 11, 1922 (42 Stat. 541), as amended by section 307, Public Act 212, 72d Congress, approved June 30, 1932. This publication approved by the Director, Bureau of the Budget. II AUG 7 Page 1 14 24 45 47 50 Legal-aid work in the United States, Part 1, by Reginald Heber Smith Nutritive value of diets of families of wage earners and clerical workers in North Atlantic cities, 1934-35, by Hazel K. Stiebeling----- Union-management relations in the women's clothing industry, New Special pensions for voluntary retirement of French miners. Operation of social-insurance system in Spain in 1934... Old-age pension system for public and private employees in Uruguay.... International Labor Organization: Bituminous Coal Conservation Act held unconstitutional____ Legislation relating to payment of wages in scrip, protection of em- Analysis of strikes in March 1936___ Conciliation work of Department of Labor in May 1936.. Earnings and hours in bar, puddling, sheet-bar, rod, wire, and sheet Employment and earnings in commercial milk distribution, 1929–34, by C. Lawrence Christenson.......... Wages and hours in the women's neckwear and scarf industry-_- - - - Wages of civil employees in field service of Navy Department and Denmark-Hourly wages of industrial workers, fourth quarter of 1934 France-Wages in October 1935....... Germany-Average hourly and weekly earnings of industrial workers, Java-Wages in the sugar industry, 1925 and 1930 to 1934.. Spain-Reestablishment of 44-hour week in metallurgical industries_ Operations of United States Employment Service, May 1936___. Summary of employment reports for May 1936. Executive service of the Federal Government.. Emergency conservation work.... Construction projects financed by Reconstruction Finance Summary of building-construction reports for May 1936. Detailed reports for April 1936: Average retail prices of tobacco products.. Retail prices of food in the United States and in certain foreign coun- This Issue in Brief Court costs and fees are formidable obstacles in the wage earner's quest for justice. The law's delay in the case of clients with substantial incomes is annoying, but for the man of small means or without financial resources this delay is a calamity. The unfavorable position of the wage earner before the law is discussed in the first article in this number of the Review by two authorities on legal-aid work. An analysis of the diets of the families of a selected group of wage earners from the standpoint of their adequacy for health shows that a very considerable proportion failed to meet the minimum requirements set by students of nutrition. Within the limits of the income levels studied, the higher-income groups in general enjoy more adequate diets. A better balance of the different nutritive factors could be obtained, however, even by the lower-income groups, by applying present-day knowledge of foods and nutrition in the selection of foods, and the level of nutrition and health of these groups could undoubtedly be raised without necessarily increasing their food expense. Page 14. Regulation of the jobber-contractor relationship and provision of machinery for enforcement of agreements are important features of the collective agreements concluded in the women's clothing industry of the New York industrial area in 1936. This market is estimated to produce 90 percent of all dresses made in this country. It is highly organized and both employers and employees negotiate through elected representatives of their respective associations. Although agreements are negotiated separately in the several branches of the industry, the labor conditions established are kept uniform by using identical provisions in the several contracts. Page 24. Average weekly earnings in bar, puddling, sheet-bar, rod, wire, and sheet mills in 1935 ranged from $19.62 in puddling mills to $26.72 in sheet mills, according to a recent survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the iron and steel industry. In 1933 the averages in those two departments were $14.46 and $11.22, respectively. Rod, wire, and sheet-bar mills were not covered in 1933. Average working time per week among the 6 departments in 1935 ranged from 31.5 hours in bar mills to 38.1 hours in sheet mills. The article beginning on page 113 gives further details concerning the survey in these departments. Direct labor costs represented slightly over one-fourth of the total costs of production in the manufacture of women's neckwear and scarfs under conditions established by the N. R. A. code. A study covering about one-third of the manufacturing units in the industry also showed that average hours ranged from 34.3 to 40.4 per week and that wages of women ranged from $13.79 to $21.12 per week as compared with $25.89 to $33.74 for men, according to region. Page 149. Fifteen percent of the creditors accounted for 67 percent of the 2,500 wage executions against the employees of 174 industrial establishments during the 3 months ended April 30, 1934. Over a fourth of the executions were brought by eight of the creditors. These are a few of the facts brought to light by the third of a series of articles summarizing the results of a survey of levies by creditors against the wages of employees in typical industrial establishments (see p. 51). The present article also gives the costs of wage executions and the policies of the employers with regard to these collection devices. A general decrease in wage rates occurred in France during the 5 years ending in October 1935, according to an annual wage study covering occupations represented in practically all localities. The decreases ranged from a minimum of 3.3 percent for bookbinders, as compared with October 1930 or 1931, to a maximum of 13 percent for brickmakers, the reductions ranging from 6 to 10 percent in the majority of the occupations. The industries most seriously affected by the wage reductions were the textile and building industries. Page 155. More than the usual seasonal decrease in unemployment is reflected in the latest available statistics for most of the foreign countries for which reports are available. In Germany and Great Britain the number of registered unemployed has fallen to the level of 1930 and in Austria conditions as reflected by the number of unemployed in receipt of benefit are more favorable than at any time in the past 4 years. Unemployed in receipt of benefit in France were less numerous in cach month from January to May of this year than in the same period of 1935. Page 199. |