hour. The earnings of the middle 50 percent of these workers ranged between $1.35 and $1.82—a 47-cent spread. Although the earnings levels differed by region, the composition of the individual wage structures exhibited certain noticeable similarities. The earnings of the middle 50 percent of the workers in each region were spread over a broad range and extended on either side in a fairly symmetrical manner. With the exception of the Pacific Coast, the earnings of nearly all workers within each region were distributed from 75 cents to $2.50 an hour. The Pacific Coast had the most compressed wage structure of any region, with rates beginning at $1 an hour. Occupational Earnings-Plant Workers Among the occupations selected for special analysis, load dispatchers had the highest hourly average ($2.10) in September 1950. Journeymen linemen comprised the largest occupational group in the study, and averaged $1.82 an hour. Groundmen, another large group, averaged $1.27. Other numerically important occupations were: meter readers, $1.36; substation operators, $1.73; boiler operators, $1.68; auxiliary-equipment operators, $1.51; and troublemen, $1.87. Janitors, averaging $1.17 an hour, had the lowest rate level of the occupations studied separately. Occupational earnings, in general, followed the same regional pattern of differences as prevailed among over-all averages. Individual occupations on the Pacific Coast usually had the highest levels and the Southern States the lowest. The extent of these interregional variations, however, was greater for the unskilled occupations than for the higher skilled jobs. For example, groundmen averaged $1.12 in the Southeast region and $1.53 in the Pacific region-a difference of 36 percent. On the other hand, a difference of only 16 percent existed between the rates of linemen. The wage spreads between the low skilled and the high skilled jobs were larger in low wage-level regions than in those with high pay levels. Differentials between the rates for groundmen and linemen varied from 31 percent in the Pacific region to about 50 percent in the Southwest. TABLE 2.—Average hourly wage rates (straight-time hourly earnings)1 for men plant workers in selected occupations in electric utilities, by region, September 1950 Office Workers' Earnings The electric utility industry employs a substantial number of clerical workers. In September 1950 approximately 28 percent of the total employment of the industry was engaged in office clerical duties. Women employed as general stenographers constituted the largest single occupational group and earned an average of $1.20 an hour. Accounting clerks and cashiers, also numerically important as women-staffed office occupations, averaged $1.17 and $1.13 an hour, respectively. Other important office occupations, employing women, and their average hourly wage rates included: clerk-typists, $1.04; general clerks, $1.19; and switchboard operators, $1.21. ally highest on the Pacific Coast and lowest in the Southern States. Supplementary Wage Practices In many industries supplementary wage benefits tend to be more liberal for office workers than for plant workers. This situation, however, is not markedly characteristic of the electric utility industry; both plant and office workers, in general, receive the same nonwage benefits. The 40-hour workweek was, by far, the most common work schedule for both plant and office workers in September 1950. A negligible number of plant workers and less than 7 percent of the office employees in the electric utility industry worked on schedules other than 40 hours a week. The Middle West was the only region employing substantial numbers of plant workers on schedules in excess of 40 hours. Operations of three or more shifts were found in all regions. These extra-shift operations, however, were generally limited to certain phases of work, such as the generation of electricity. Consequently, comparatively few workers were employed on these shifts. Only about 9 percent of the total Stenographers who were required to take difficult and technical dictation, although relatively few in number, received the highest average for women ($1.52). The largest group of men office workers studied was accounting clerks who averaged $1.50. Inter-regional differences in rates of pay for office workers were substantial. Rates for office workers, like those for plant workers, were generTABLE 3.-Average hourly wage rates (straight-time hourly earnings) for selected office occupations in electric utilities, by region, September 1950 1 plant employment was found on the second shift and less than 8 percent on the third and other shifts. The proportion of workers employed on extra shifts was similar in all regions studied. A majority of workers employed on late shifts received shift premium pay. Normally the payment was a uniform cents-per-hour addition to the first-shift rates. The amounts of these differentials were typically 5 cents or less for second shift work and over 5 cents but under 10 cents for third and other shifts. Paid vacations were granted to all workersboth plant and office-after a year's service. For over half the workers, the length of the vacation period was 2 weeks; the remainder received 1 week after the prescribed period of service. Paid holidays were given to practically all plant and office workers. The number of holidays paid for, but not worked, ranged from 5 to 12. The majority of the workers received either 6, 7, or 8 paid holidays, but holiday practices varied among regions. Workers in New England received the most liberal benefits in this respect-nearly twothirds receiving 10 or 11 days. On the other hand, nearly 60 percent of the workers in the Southeast region received five paid holidays. Some type of insurance or pension plan was in effect in all establishments in the study. The cost of these was paid, at least in part, by the company. Nearly all workers were eligible for life insurance and retirement pension benefits. Health insurance and hospitalization plans were also widely found in the industry. Establishments employing nearly 64 percent of the plant workers, had formal sick leave plans which did not require a waiting period for full pay during absence from work because of illness. While the number of days of sick leave varied considerably among individual establishments, 5 and 10 days a year were most commonly reported. Less than 60 percent of the office employees received similar benefits. However, establishments frequently maintain informal plans with respect to sick leave for office employees and such arrangements were not covered by the study. Over 12 percent of the plant workers and 8 percent of the office employees received the benefits of limited-type sick leave plans. These plans required a waiting period before becoming effective and/or stipulated benefits below the normal pay of the individual. Payment of nonproduction bonuses (i. e., bonuses dependent upon factors other than the output of the worker) were not frequent in the industry. Only about 10 percent of the workers received such payments, and in practically all cases these were in the form of a Christmas or year-end bonus. -L. EARL LEWIS Division of Wage Statistics 1 This article presents a brief analysis of data obtained from a survey of wages and related practices in the electric utility industry. The survey included privately operated electric utility firms employing over 100 workers. Workers employed both in firms providing only electric service and those in the electric departments of utility concerns providing both electric and gas service were included in the study. In addition to generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity, privately operated electric utility firms, in many instances, engage in such activities as street railway and bus transportation, telephone service, the production and distribution of steam heat and gas, and the sale of electrical appliances. In September 1950, nearly a fifth of the workers employed by electric utility concerns were estimated to be engaged in these allied services. The data in this report. however, relate only to those workers employed to provide electric service. Straight-time wage rates or earnings (excluding premium overtime and shift differential pay) were obtained for workers in selected plant and office occupations and for all plant occupations regardless of occupation. The regions used in this study include: New England-Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic-New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; Border StatesDelaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia; Southeast-Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi. North Carolina. South Carolina, and Tennessee: Great Lakes-Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Middle West-Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; SouthwestArkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; Mountain-Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific-California Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. One large firm in the Middle Atlantic region was not included in the study and no adjustment was made for its omission. Plant Workers' Earnings Plant workers of privately operated gas utilities in cities of 75,000 or more population had average straight-time hourly earnings of $1.47 in September 1950. Individual rates among these workers ranged from 75 cents to over $2.50 an hour; over half the workers received between $1.32 and $1.65. The lowest average rates during the period were in cities of the Southwest region 2 where plant workers as a group averaged $1.16 an hour. Workers in the Pacific region received $1.62 an hour-the highest level of earnings in the Nation. None of the workers in this region received less than $1 an hour and fewer than one-half of 1 percent of the workers received below $1.25. Over a third of the workers in the Southeastern and Southwestern regions, on the other hand, received average hourly earnings of less than $1 an hour. Besides the Pacific Coast, the Great Lakes and Middle West regions exceeded the national aver age. Rates in the Southeast, New England, and Border regions were below the average for the country as a whole. Earnings of plant workers in the Middle Atlantic region equalled the national average. Because of the high-skill requirements and the outdoor nature of many jobs in the industry, the plant labor force was composed almost entirely of men. The occupational structure of plants varied from one region to another primarily because of differences in types of gas being distributed. In the New England, Middle Atlantic, Border, and Southeastern regions, manufactured gas was distributed by a majority of the gas utility concerns. Nearly all firms in the remainder of the country distributed natural gas. Despite some variations in occupational structure, many jobs were characteristic of all regions and of most establishments. Such occupations, including those related to the. installation and maintenance of equipment, accounted for a substantial part of the total employment. TABLE 1.-Percentage distribution of all plant workers in gas utilities by straight-time average hourly earnings, United States and selected regions, September 1950 Occupational Earnings of Plant Workers Appliance servicemen, numerically the most important of the skilled groups studied, averaged $1.63 an hour. Although some of the other skilled occupations had higher averages, the highest rate level reported (maintenance electricians) was only 10 cents above this figure. Laborers engaged in the installation and service of gas mains were the largest single occupational group studied and averaged $1.18 an hour-5 cents less than the average for janitors and 12 cents less than the average for watchmen. Other numerically important groups studied were: Gas-main fitters, $1.56; gas-main fitters' helpers, $1.34; and meter readers, $1.44. Among individual occupations, wage levels on the Pacific Coast usually were the highest, and in the Southeast and Southwest they were the lowest. Interregional variations, however, were greater for the unskilled occupations than for the higher skilled jobs. For example, main installation and service laborers averaged 90 cents an hour in the Southeast and $1.39 on the Pacific Coast a difference of about 57 percent. On the other hand, a difference of less than 30 percent existed between the rates of appliance servicemen in the two areas. The differentials between laborers and appliance servicemen ranged from 23 percent in New England to about 67 percent in the Southeast. Earnings of Office Workers A sizable segment of the total employment of the industry was composed of office workers. A great majority of the office occupations, in contrast to the operating and servicing departments, were staffed by women. Women employed as accounting clerks and stenographers averaged $1.18 and $1.22 an hour, respectively, and were numerically the most important of the occupational groups studied. Other numerically important office jobs staffed by women were clerktypists, $1.12; cashiers, $1.20; and billing machine operators, $1.17. The largest group of men office workers studied was accounting clerks ($1.56). The same general regional pattern of differences, as noted for plant occupations, tended to prevail among the office jobs studied. Office workers on the Pacific Coast generally received the highest earnings while workers in the Southern States received the lowest. 1 TABLE 2.-Average hourly wage rates (straight-time hourly earnings) 1 for men plant workers in selected occupations in gas utilities, United States and selected regions, September 1950 |