of industry to peacetime production and the shorter workweek. Wage increases demanded at the end of the war were for the purpose of maintaining the wage earner's purchasing power, after reconversion, at a level commensurate with improved living standards.

Prices showed further small month-to-month rises during the first 10 months after VJ-day. When price controls were removed in midsummer of 1946, the upward trend of prices was accelerated. By the time new wage contracts were to be negotiated, price increases had largely offset the wage increases granted during the previous year. In October 1946, the consumers' price index recorded a 15-percent increase over VJ-day. Wage rates had risen 18 percent in manufacturing, and in the selected nonmanufacturing industries, 14 to 16 percent.12

Position of manufacturing-September 1947. In the next 11 months, consumer's prices rose by an additional 10.2 percent above the October 1946 level. Thus, the total postwar rise in prices was about 27 percent by September 1947, reducing the 31-percent rise in manufacturing wage rates to 3 percent in terms of VJ-day purchasing power. The 11-percent gain resulting from the second round of wage increases had been reduced to less than half of 1 percent in real value.

Compared with VJ-day, weekly earnings were 10 percent higher in October 1946 and 21 percent higher in September 1947; in real value, they had lost 4.6 percent in October 1946 and 4.5 percent in September 1947. In comparison with January 1941 levels, manufacturing wage rates as a whole had gained 7 percent in real value in September 1947, and weekly earnings had gained 17 percent.

Position of nonmanufacturing-April 1947. The situation is little different in the nonmanufacturing industries covered by the urban wage rate index. The over-all postwar increase in wage rates for these industries in April 1947-24 percent above April 1945 and 19 percent above October 1945become respectively an increase of 1.1 percent and a reduction of 1.5 percent when changes in price levels are taken into consideration. The real value

13 Nonmanufacturing indexes were not computed for August 1945. The urban wage rate index increased by 16.9 percent between April 1945 and October 1946, and by 12.3 percent between October 1945 and October 1946.

BASIC HOURLY WAGE RATES of union workers in the building construction industry increased almost 15 percent between July 1, 1946, and July 1, 1947, according to reports received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its annual union wage survey. The increase, amounting to about 25 cents an hour, brought the general average of minimum pay for more than 700,000 union tradesmen to $1.91-48 percent above the 1939 average. Higher wage scales negotiated through collective bargaining between July 1 and October 1, 1947, resulted in a gain of about 1 percent for all trades

1 Prepared by Hilda W. Callaway of the Bureau's Wage Analysis Branch. ? Data were obtained primarily from mail questionnaires instead of through visits of field representatives to local union officials, the collection technique formerly used by the Bureau. Within a 6-week period, over four-fifths of the 1,499 union officials included in the survey returned completed reports and most sent copies of their signed agreements with employers which specified their basic wage scales. Data from the local union officials who did not respond were collected by field representatives. The information presented in this article is based on effective union scales as of July 1, 1947, covering 570,284 journeymen and 131,062 helpers and laborers employed in 75 cities ranging in population from 40,000 to over 1,000,000. Union scales are defined as the minimum wage rates or maximum schedules of hours agreed upon through collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. Rates in excess of the agreed minimum which may be paid to union members because of long service, for special qualifications, or for other reasons, are not included.

combined; the further increases in wage rates primarily affected journeymen. In this 3-month period, the average rate of pay for painters increased more than 3 percent-about 6 cents an hour the largest gain reported for an individual trade. The typical amounts of increase in the various trades and cities were 10, 122, or 25 cents an hour. However, in August, employers and the painters' unions agreed upon hourly wagerate advances of 30 cents in New York City, and 40 cents in Newark.

From June 1, 1939, to July 1, 1945, during the wartime period of substantial general wage and price changes in United States industry, hourly rates of union workers in the building trades rose 16 percent. In the following year, July 1, 1945, to July 1, 1946, rates advanced about 11 percent; practically all of the higher pay scales became effective after the war ended in August 1945. Union efforts to improve basic rates and working conditions, coupled with sharp increases in the cost of living and demand for labor, led to further rate changes following the removal of wage controls on November 9, 1946. The increase of 15 percent between 1946 and 1947 is the largest annual gain since 1920. On July 1, 1947, the index of hourly wage rates (1939-100) was 147.9, for all building trades, 144.6 for journeymen, and 171.1 for helpers and laborers."

Throughout the 8-year period from 1939 to 1947, the index of weekly hours prior to payment of overtime rates for all building trades has shown only slight annual variations, usually of less than 1 percent. (See table 1.) The typical maximum schedule on July 1, 1947, was a 5-day, 40-hour week, despite the return to shorter workweeks of 30 and 35 hours for some trades in several cities. Roughly 8,500 workers benefited by a lower schedule. Agreements to work longer hours without premium pay because of the current heavy construction program were rarely reported and covered only a negligible number of the union. members in the industry. However, even in the peak months of construction activity during the past year, the standard work schedules have been disrupted by widespread shortages of lumber,

In the index series designed for trend determination purposes, year-toyear changes in union scales are based on comparable quotations for the various occupations in both years. All rates reported for the current year are used in computing the averages, and thus, they are not an exact measure for time-to-time comparisons.

The over-all average hourly rate on July 1, 1947, for journeymen was $2.04; for helpers and laborers, $1.31. Union rates of carpenters and building laborers, the two most important crafts numerically, averaged $2.00 and $1.23, respectively. Bricklayers were at the top of the wage ladder with an average of $2.37; composition roofers had the lowest minimum among journeymen, $1.89. In the helper and laborer classifications, average minimum rates varied from $1.63 for terrazzo workers' helpers to $1.10 for composition roofers' helpers.

Composition roofers, journeymen, and helpers have typically had the lowest average rate among the trades studied by the Bureau, and bricklayers and plasterers usually the highest journeymen rates. Because of the expanded construction program, scarcity of labor, and competitive bidding for skilled workmen, rate differentials between journeyman and helper and laborer trades were considerably greater in 1947 than in 1946. It should be noted, however, that the contrasts which follow reflect, to some extent, the increased number of union members beneSource: Monthly Labor Review-Current Labor Statistics, table C-3.

fiting by higher scales in 1947 than in 1946 as well as changes in the contract scales. For example: in all cities combined on July 1, 1947, there was a 48-cent difference between the average rates for bricklayers and composition roofers. In 1946, the rate differential between the 2 journeymen trades was 44 cents; bricklayers averaged $2.06 and composition roofers, $1.62.

TABLE 2.-Union wage rates and wage movements in the building trades, by trade, July 1, 1946, to July 1, 1947

Similarly, the difference between the average rates of terrazzo workers' helpers and composition roofers' helpers was greater in 1947 than in 1946; 53 as compared with 37 cents. If comparisons are drawn between journeymen and helper classifications the maximum difference in cents per hour is more pronounced. To illustrate, the

In computing average rates and net changes, the individual rates for 1946 and 1947 were weighted by the membership working or available for work at each rate. Larger percentage increases will be reflected among those trades and cities with relatively low wage scales which result in smaller cents-per-hour increases in the rates.

differential in rates of bricklayers and bricklayers' tenders in 1947 was 92 cents; in 1946, it was 82 cents.

The extent of increase in hourly wage rates between July 1, 1946, and July 1, 1947, for the individual trades studied was at least 10 percent and for 16 occupations, more than 15 percent (See table 2.) While only 3 percent (about 20,000) of all the workers studied did not receive a wage increase, the only trade in which the entire membership in all cities received wage boosts consisted of plumbers and gas fitters. The con tract scale for some of the trades in many citie was increased several times within a 12-month period, reflecting rapid increases in costs of con sumers' goods and a fairly tight labor market In Newark, N. J., for example, the union rate for building laborers was $1.40 on July 1, 194615 cents above the July 1945 rate. On July 25 1946, the Wage Adjustment Board approved an increase of 10 cents an hour. By January 1 1947, the rate had advanced to $1.55 and by July 1, to $1.75. Electricians (inside wiremen) in Indianapolis provide another illustration with the rates in 1946 rising from $1.70 on July 1 to $1.8 in August, and $1.95 in November; by May 1947 the rate had increased further to $2.10. By con trast, from July 1, 1941, until July 1, 1946, the union rate of the Indianapolis electricians was in creased only 20 cents an hour; for the Newark building laborers, the net change was 271⁄2 cents.

City and Regional Levels

Because collective bargaining is at the loca level in the industry, there is no consistent pattern in the relationship of rates from one city to anothe except where the jurisdictions of unions are fairly extensive and cover a State or several adjacen cities. Unions with a large proportion of th local craftsmen affiliated, of course, have a mor favorable bargaining position and consequently negotiate higher wage rates. This explains i part the fact that rates are typically higher in th larger cities and in the North and Pacific regions

The level of rates for the various trades is di rectly associated with the size and location of th city. However, the relative positions of the citie

These rates are obtained through the Bureau's periodic surveys of seve selected building trades.

within designated population groups is not the same except in the cases of New York City, Chicago, Newark, and Butte, Mont. Historically, union members in New York City and Newark have had a higher minimum rate than those in other cities and in many trades a shorter workweek. In 1947, the over-all averages for building trades workers in New York City and Newark, were $2.43 and $2.38, respectively. Chicago has been second to New York City, among the cities with over 1 million population.

On the other hand, Butte, Mont., has a unique position. The wage level in Butte-probably the most highly unionized city surveyed with less than 100,000 population-is outstanding, since its average rate exceeds the level of some cities in every size class. Rates for journeymen, for example, averaging $1.98, were topped only in 17 of the 75 cities surveyed. Although the Butte average for helpers and laborers of $1.34 was 21 cents higher than the level in Philadelphia, it was below the level in 21 cities in the North and Pacific regions.

Portland, Maine, had the lowest city average for journeymen ($1.53) but there were 16 other cities, primarily in the Southeast, with average rates below $1.75. In 15 southern cities, also, the average rate for helpers and laborers was less than $1.00; Jackson, Miss., with a rate of 74 cents, was lowest among the 75 cities studied.

Dallas and Los Angeles showed the greatest relative gain over the year for all trades combined, more than 22 percent. For every trade in the two cities increases were at least 10 cents, and the numerically important carpenters negotiated wage increases of 40 cents an hour. Lowest percentage gains were recorded for Portland, Maine (3 percent), and Pittsburgh, Pa. (8 percent). In both cities, the rise in journeymen rates was comparatively small and among the helper and laborer occupations, less than 1 percent. In all but 19 widely scattered cities, the percentage increases

Regional comparisons can be made only for cities in 3 smaller size groups-III, IV, and V. In each size class, union rates in the North and Pacific region are substantially above the average for all trades in the South and Southwest area. Moreover, with the exception of journeymen in group III cities, and helpers and laborers in group V, rate differences between the 2 regions were greater in 1947 than in 1946. Because of shifts in union membership which may occur and would, of course, influence the level of rates, these comparisons only afford a rough approximation of regional differences. The differential in favor of helpers and laborers in group IV cities (100,000 to 250,000) of the North and Pacific region was 40 cents in 1947 as compared with 24 cents in 1946. Although there was also an over-all difference of 10 cents in smaller cities (group V) in 8 individual trades, the southern union workers had an advantage of 1 to 12 cents. This is due in part to the relatively lower wage level in Portland, Maine, York, Pa., and Manchester, N. H., than in the southern cities included in the group.

Automobile Repair Shops: Wages in July 19471

STRAIGHT-TIME AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS of class A mechanics in automobile repair shops ranged from $1.24 to $2.05 in July 1947 among 32 large cities representing all sections of the country. The lowest average earnings in this job classification were found in Providence, where less than a fourth of the workers were paid on an incentive basis, and the highest average earnings were paid in Detroit where 9 out of 10 mechanics participated in incentive plans. This information was obtained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in a survey of average hourly earnings (excluding premium pay for overtime and night work) for selected jobs in general automobile repair shops and repair departments of retail motor vehicle dealers.2

A majority of the establishments studied used one or more incentive plans in their shops, workers in repair-work jobs commonly receiving a percentage of the labor charges on assigned work. With few exceptions, incentive workers in each city and occupation studied earned more than did time workers. An examination of average hourly earnings of class A automotive mechanics in 8 Great Lakes cities, for example, revealed that rates for incentive workers were from 15 to 43 percent higher than those for time workers.

The wage spread for most of the other occupations studied exceeded that indicated for class A mechanics. Body repairmen and electricians

usually had higher average earnings than the mechanics. Earnings in the Great Lakes and Pacific Coast cities were substantially above those paid in other regions. Southern cities as a group showed the lowest rates for car washers but were

1 Prepared in the Bureau's Wage Analysis Branch. Greater detail on wages and wage practices for each city presented here is available on request. * In July 1947, approximately 70,000 workers were employed in automobile repair shops in the 32 cities, exclusive of employment in establishments with less than 5 employees, which were not studied. Information was collected by field representatives of the Bureau who obtained information directly from establishment pay rolls and other records and classified workers on the basis of uniform job descriptions.

neither lowest nor highest for the other five classifications.

4

3

Comparisons of earnings in four jobs with those reported for July 1946, the date of a previous wage study of the industry, indicates that hourly earnings have increased by at least 10 percent in half of the cities. Owing to a decline in earnings of incentive workers, the increases in earnings of automotive mechanics and body repairmen (commonly employed on an incentive basis) were generally smaller than those for greasers and washers. In 12 of the 32 cities in the study, earnings declined in one or more of the 4 jobs during the 1-year period. Decreased occupational earnings were more common in the South than in all other regions combined.

Straight-time average hourly earnings for men in selected occupations in automobile repair shops in 32 large cities, July 1947