November 10. 1(120 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Labor Supply Now in Excess of Jobs 



How Labor's war-time ''strangle hold" on American industry 

 has been loosened in the past few months is revealed in the replies 

 from all sections of the country to a questionnaire on the present 

 labor situation sent by Hardwood Record to some five hundred of 

 the leading woodworking establishments of the country. There is 

 no longer in any center of woodworking production a shortage of 

 either skilled or common labor. In virtually every city represented 

 in the replies there is a surplus of unskilled labor, and in many in- 

 stances a surplus of skilled labor. Labor is now seeking jobs and 

 jobs are no longer figuratively holding out supplicating arms to 

 them. 



Workers are showing everywhere a keener appreciation of their 

 jobs. They evidence this, according to the replies, by a 10 to 25 per 

 cent increase in individual efficiency, and in general a reduction in 

 per centage of labor turnover of approximately 50 per cent. It is 

 remarkable how many of the replies stated that the turnover per- 

 centage had been cut virtually in half in the past three months. 



Many woodworking concerns, because of the slack demand for 

 their product during this period of reaction have turned off from 

 10 to 33% per cent of their workers, or else closed down entirely. 

 This has had a most salutary effect on those workers who were kept 

 on, and they seem to be trying to produce to a degree that will make 

 their services more worthwhile to the employer. 



Certain factories have turned oflf a percentage of their men in 

 order that they might run full time. They, of course, kept the 

 men who through the period when l.ilinr wns dominant, showed the 

 highest eflSciency. 



The labor situation is one of the hopeful features, from the stand- 

 point of the employers, of the present widespread slump in business. 

 It has seemed to have arrested the growth of labor's spirit of ag- 

 gression, which was expanding with alarming rapidity three months 

 ago. It has again revealed those who are intelligent enough to un- 

 derstand, that something can not be had for nothing very long at 

 the time. They have learned that the wheel of fortune revolves and 

 that it is best for those who happen to be on top to take their 

 honors modestly and not try to kick the fellow who happens to- be 

 on the downward part of the wheel. Some of those who took the 

 opportunity to gouge their employers while the time was favorable 

 for that kind of sharp practice, are regretting it now. They are 

 visiting the employment agencies while their more loyal fellows 

 are still making a living. 



The spirit of toleration which the operators of woodworking 

 plants display in their replies concerning wages, is admirable. They 

 demonstrated clearly that they want to give the men who work 

 for them a square deal at all times and that they have no idea to 

 use the circumstance of a surplus of labor as an occasion to try to 

 beat wages down below what is equitable. Operator after operator 

 declared that while he believed wages should go down in accordance 

 with the recession in the values of commodities, the reduction 

 should be gradual, and should follow and not precede the decline of 

 prices. Typical of this spirit of fairness is the reply of a western 

 furniture manufacturer. "Wages must necessarily shrink some- 

 what, as the cost of living," said this manufacturer, "but they 

 must follow a practical reduction in cost of living and not antici- 

 pated. The workers' wages lagged many months behind tne rising 

 cost of living from 1914 on, and it cannot be expected that they 

 can absorb -.,the shortage at both ends. 2. The opinion was fre- 

 quently given that wages would show no substantial reducTion for 

 the next few months, at least in the matter of skilled labor. Com- 

 mon laborers, as is always the case, will probably have the scale of 

 lowered valuations passed on to them right away. The flood of 

 immigrants now pouring into the country will keep the surplus of 

 common labor growing, thus every day more and more "bearing" 

 the wages of common labor. 



The rank and file of the replies indicates the belief that wages as 



a matter of course will go down in time, but no operator said that 

 he was contemplating an immediate cut. They do not think that 

 wages are going down until such time as it has been demonstrated 

 that the cost of living has reached a substantially lower level than 

 at present. A Buffalo manufacturer of furniture even declared that 

 he believed wages in the furniture industry should remain where 

 they are, because ' ' the furniture workers in past years have been 

 underpaid. ' ' 



However, this does not mean that the woodworkers mean to con- 

 tinue to carry as heavy payrolls as they have been carrying. They 

 expect to economize by reducing the number of their employees, and 

 demanding an increased productivity from the remaining. In this 

 way they hope to be able to absorb the lowering valuation of their 

 products they manufacture, until such time as wages naturally ad- 

 just themselves to the new standard of values. The rule was clearly 

 set down that the individual worker must now increase his effi- 

 ciency. Illustrating this attitude is the statement of a large St. 

 Louis manufacturer of store furniture. "We do not think of cutting 

 wages as it is too soon," said this manufacturer, "that will have to 

 gradually work out itself as conditions change. I should not advise 

 any radical reduction in wages for the next three months. We 

 prefer to induce the individual worker to increase efficiency for the 

 next six months. 



An eastern furniture manufacturer suggested that the individual 

 worker may be induced to develop the necessary increase in efifi- 

 eiency by proper supervision and factory methods. 



These replies also showed that the operators of wood working 

 plants throughout the country are in the majority operating on the 

 open shop plan and thoroughly determined to maintain that situa- 

 tion. They were asked, "What is your attitude toward the open 

 shop? Are you now operating under the open shop or the closed 

 shop plan?" Characteristic of the replies was this one: "We have 

 always operated under an open shop and would discontinue doing 

 business rather than operate a closed shop plant." A large manu- 

 facturer of refrigerators said: "In regard to the open shop: We 

 think that this will have to come, if produetion is to be brought up 

 to normal. It is absolutely necessary in order to secure the proper 

 production tliat the management of industries will have to be left 

 entirely in the hands of the owners." A New York state manufac- 

 turer declared that "we are certainly in favor of the open shop 

 and believe that that condition will be strongly asserted by manu- 

 facturers in all lines throughout the country." An Ohio manufac- 

 turer of builders supplies and interior trim declared that the "open 

 shop is best for the employee, the employer and the consumer. The 

 closed shop permits the employee to hold up the employer and the 

 employer passes it on to the consumer. While this might appear to 

 be best for the employee, we no not think it is, because he gets in 

 less work, is less efSeient and tends to degenerate morally into a 

 bolshevik. When we have to run with a closed shop we will quit 

 the business." A New York piano manufacturer said, "We are 

 now operating under the open shop plan and do not intend under 

 any circumstances to go back to the closed shop, as we believe that 

 it is the only effective way to conduct our business. "One New 

 Jersey millwork company writes that it favors the open shop, but is 

 operating a closed shop. "We have always run our plant on the 

 open shop basis," answered a Buffalo lumber and box manufacturer. 

 "We believe any other plan would be unAmerican. Some six or 

 seven years ago we had a four months ' strike because we refused to 

 surrender the rights guaranteed us under the Constitution of the 

 United States. But we finally won out after a great financial 

 sacrifice." 



Summing up the mass of replies it may be repeated that Labor's 

 "strangle hold" has been broken by American industry and that 

 from now on when labor and capital meet circumstances will give 

 no odds to labor. Odds are now rather heavily with the employer. 



