establishments, and consumer plants. The first two types, which manufacture boxes for sale, have been classified as independent establishments, thus distinguishing them from the consumer plants that make boxes for their own use.

These two distinct types of establishments are presumably each subject to different economic forces. Wages and hours in independent plants are apt to be determined by the competitive conditions within the industry. Wages and hours in consumer plants are probably also influenced by conditions found in the parent company. The comparison of earnings in these two types of plants, which appears in table 16, is based on the 240 identical northern establishments.8 TABLE 16.-Average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and average weekly earnings by identical independent and consumer plants in the North

Average hourly earnings were in all three pay-roll periods slightly higher in consumer than in independent establishments. The differential was somewhat smaller under the code than it had been before. There was no significant difference in average hours per week in May 1933 or in August 1934. Both types of plants averaged longer hours in 1935 than in 1934, but there was less increase in consumer plants than in independent plants. Consumer plants also had higher average weekly earnings than independent plants in May 1933 and August 1934 but not in August 1935.

The number of employees in the 196 identical independent plants in the North amounted to 5,225 in May 1933, 6,029 in August 1934, and 6,463 in August 1935. In the 44 identical consumer plants, the number of employees was 889 in May 1933, 1,143 in August 1934, and 1,173 in August 1935.

Chapter VI.-Methods of Wage Payment and Scheduled Hours of Work

Basic Methods of Wage Payment

An examination of the methods of wage payment in the 424 plants that reported wages and hours data for August 1935 shows that employees worked exclusively on a straight time basis in 166 establishments. (See table 17.) Although some employees were paid straight time rates in all plants, piece rates were found in 238 establishments, production bonus systems in 23, and supplemental nonproduction bonus systems in 5 plants. The straight time method of wage payment predominated, covering 62.5 percent of all wage earners in August 1935, piece work covered 28.3 percent, production bonus. systems 8.4 percent, and various combinations of the three systems 0.8 percent. (See table 18.) The number paid supplemental nonproduction bonuses was very small.

TABLE 17.—Classification of establishments according to method of wage payment by region and type of plant, August 1935

In plants making other products, this covers only paper-box departments. There was some straight time work in all of these plants. and production bonus systems.

Furthermore, 3 plants used both piece work

The principal time-rate occupations in the production department were those of compositor and printing pressman, press feeder, various cutting- and scoring-machine operators and feeders, quadruplestaying-machine and ending-machine operators, and the hand occupation of turning-in. Practically all workers outside the production department were paid on a straight time basis.

Includes piece workers who were guaranteed minimum time rates. (See p. 54.)

Includes workers partly on straight time and partly on piece work or production bonus systems.

This figure is probably low, because of the elimination of piece workers for whom data were incomplete and because no schedules were obtained where time records for piece workers were lacking.

Piece rates were used in 56 percent of all plants, being found least frequently in small plants.1 Piece work was found in the majority of the establishments of each important center, excepting New York City, where 82 percent of the plants were on a time-rate basis exclusively. Piece work was more common in southern than in northern establishments, even outside of New York City. There was little difference in the relative frequency with which piece rates were used between paper-box proper, consumer, and paper and printing establishments.

Piece rates were used most frequently for the occupations of automatic wrapping-machine operator, machine lacer and flyleafer, machine stripper, single-stay-machine operator, gluing-machine operator, hand box maker, and miscellaneous unskilled bench workers. Approximately one-half of all employees in those occupations were piece workers. Piece rates were also found to a lesser extent in numerous other occupations. Piece-work earnings in this industry were almost exclusively measured on an individual-employee-production basis.

Bonus systems were more extensively used in the North than in the South, and were most numerous in the large plants. These systems were not, as a rule, restricted to any particular occupations in the production department, regardless of the fact that in August 1935 the proportion of bonus workers ranged from more than 15 percent for combination printing pressmen and feeders, ender operators, and miscellaneous machine operators and feeders down to less than 5 percent for compositors and printing pressmen, ender feeders, miscellaneous cutter feeders, and various other groups. This variation is apparently due rather to the differences in the occupational distribution of workers in large as compared with small plants, since the bonus systems in most of the establishments covered all direct workers.

These bonus or premium systems represented a variety of plans. The type of plan in one plant was not reported, but the others may be classified as follows:

1. Seven establishments had simple time-saving premium plans, five of which paid the employee his regular rate for all of the time saved, one for one-half of the time saved, and one for one-fourth of such time. Two of these plants did not guarantee the basic time rate if production fell below standard. One of the seven establishments also paid foremen a bonus based on department efficiency, and one had a special

1 The proportion of all plants in the various size groups that used time rates exclusively for paper-box workers was as follows: Under 10 employees, 81 percent; 10 and under 20, 47 percent; 20 and under 50, 37 percent; 50 and under 100, 29 percent; 100 and under 300, 24 percent; and 300 employees and over, 17 percent. The agreement between the Paper Box Workers' Union and New York City manufacturers stipulated that "all members of the union shall work by the week" and fixed wages in terms of weekly rates. Of the 73 establishments in New York City, 60 used straight time rates exclusively.

The proportion of all southern plants using time rates exclusively was 22 percent; the proportion of all northern establishments was 41 percent, and 32 percent if New York City is excluded.