TABLE 3.-ANALYSIS OF DIETARIES OF 31 FAMILIES, SHOWING NUTRIENTS DERIVED FROM FOOD CONSUMED.

Approximate amounts per man per day considered necessary: Proteins, 100 grams (about 34 oz.); fats, 62 grams (about 2 oz.); carbohydrates, 510 grams (about 18 oz.); fuel value, 3,000 calories.

2.8 1,006. 84 46. 1 8.935 .385

3.30 3.90

14.27

TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE WOMEN'S CLOTHING INDUSTRIES IN NEW YORK CITY.1

BY BORIS EMMET, PH. D.

Collective bargaining in the women's ready-to-wear garment trades of New York City, has, prior to 1915, been the subject of detailed study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the workings of certain phases of the trade agreements in existence in the principal ones of these trades having been described in great detail in Bulletins Nos. 98, 144, 145, 146, and 147. The following article is an attempt to outline briefly the present status of trade agreements in these trades with special reference to changes in the methods of bargaining and adjustment of grievances which have taken place since 1914, and which have been caused to a considerable extent by the cessation of immigration on account of the war.

Collective bargaining on a large scale in women's ready-to-wear garment trades of this locality begins with the appearance of the so-called protocol of peace in the cloak and suit industry, signed on September 2, 1910, after a protracted and disastrous strike. This agreement introduced radical changes in the relations of employer and employee.

Aside from recognizing the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and its subordinate locals as the legitimate representatives of the workers, it prohibited altogether the further occurrence of strikes and lockouts and provided for the establishment of comprehensive institutions for the peaceful adjustment of any grievances that might arise.

The first three months of 1913 witnessed the establishment of no less than four trade agreements in the women's needle trades of New York City. The new agreements, or protocols as they have since come to be termed, were in the chronological order of their adoption: (1) January 18, 1913, in the dress and waist industry; (2) February 11, 1913, in the house-dress and kimono industry; (3) February 17, 1913, in the white-goods or cotton-garments industry; (4) March 8, 1913, in the children's and misses' dress industry. Similar agreements, although varying in detail, were signed in the millinery and ladies' hat industry, December 20, 1915, and in the lace and embroidery trade on March 15, 1916.

1 This article is a preliminary summary of one of the phases of a study on trade agreements to be published by the bureau.

The agreements in all of the above-mentioned industries, each somewhat modified, are in existence at the present time.

One of the principal characteristics of the garment trades, which was responsible to a very great extent for their centralization in and about New York City, was the great abundance of relatively cheap immigrant labor arriving in the port of New York. The superabundance of labor, due to unrestricted immigration, was responsible for many of the industrial evils which prevailed in these trades prior to the days of collective bargaining. The constant influx of new workers, with standards of living lower than the standards of those already in the trade, had the effect of creating a state of cutthroat competition for positions among the workers. This intense competition for jobs resulted in a consequent increase in the strategic importance of the employers' position. The great supply of labor was also responsible for the rapid development of the sweating system so commonly associated with these trades; that is, for the appearance of a parasitic class of inefficient employers who endeavored to make their livelihood through the payment of low wages instead of by superior managerial or manufacturing skill.

The disgust of the public with the sweating system, which was accompanied by home work and most of the other evils peculiar to these trades, was partly responsible for the development of collective bargaining in these trades in spite of the instability in the membership of the labor organizations. About 1910 the underpaid and oppressed garment worker became the object of solicitude on the part of the public, as well as the subject of study and investigation by official and unofficial agencies. The success of the general strike in the cloak trade in 1910, which brought about the first comprehensive trade agreement, was due, in a great measure, to the financial and moral support accorded by the public to the cause of the garment workers.

The sudden cessation of immigration, due to the European war, appears to have had a profound effect upon the relative strategic strength of the position of the employer and employee. The entire situation in this respect has been reversed. The superabundance of labor, so conducive to the strengthening of the employer's position, is here no longer. For the first time in the history of these trades the workers, and not the employers, on account of the labor shortage felt during the busy seasons, occupy the more advantageous position for driving wage bargains.

In considering the facts presented below, regarding the present workings of trade agreements in these trades, one must constantly keep in mind the fact that many of the advantages accruing to the workers are due less to the nature of the agreements than to this