HH9CG :72 U5? ■ 1366 m m Cornell University Library HD4966.C72U58 • j u Wages and hours *m«Zl2» ~mwm Wages and Hours in Anthracite Mining June, 1914 — October, 1921, Inclusive Research Report Number 47 March, 1922 National Industrial Conference Board THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK PUBLISHERS National Industrial Conference Board 10 EAST 39TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY BRANCH OFFICE SOUTHERN BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. '"THE National Industrial Conference Board is a co-operative * body composed of representatives of national and state in- dustrial associations and is organized to provide a clearing house of information, a forum for constructive discussion, and ma- chinery for* co-operative action on matters that vitally affect the industrial development of the nation. Frede Loyal Alber Magn rman *man Isurer rector N... g-fctte (^allege of Ag-tfatltttte At atantell Ittiuetsiti} 3tljara, N. f. Lcturers ABRICS ffiihranj America America America America America Electric Institut MaNUFA' Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Nationa Rubber The Ami The Rai^a"t~g3kk; ivianufactl The Silk Association of America" Tobacco Merchants' Association of the United States Associated Industries of Massachusetts Associated Industries of New York State, Inc. Illinois Manufacturers' Association Manufacturers' Association of Connecticut, Inc. iation association WAGES AND HOURS IN ANTHRACITE MINING June, 1914 — October, 1921, Inclusive Research Report Number 47 March, 1922 National Industrial Conference Board THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK PUBLISHERS H D -i ^ a g 012 u SB Copyright, 1922 National Industrial Conference Board CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 1 The Anthracite Mining Industry 1 History of Wage Agreements and Decisions. ... 2 Period Covered by Report 4 I. Method and Scope of Investigation 6 Classification of Wage Earners 9 Treatment of Wage Data 10 Treatment of Data on Hours of Work and Em- ployment 11 Extent of the Investigation 13 II. Summary and General Conclusions 15 Wages 15 Hours : 16 Employment 17 "Real" Earnings 17 Comparisons between Railroad, Manufacturing and Anthracite Mining Wage Earnings. . . 17 Conclusion 18 III. Hourly Earnings 19 Composite 19 Inside Labor 21 Daily Wages of Contract Miners 24 Outside Labor 24 Average Hourly Earnings for Group Covered in Anthracite Mining Compared with Those in Manufacturing and on Railroads . 26 Average Hourly Earnings of Common Labor in Group Covered in Anthracite Mining, Compared with Common Railroad and Manufacturing Labor 26 Conclusion 29 iii Contents — continued PAGE IV. Semi-Monthly Earnings 33 Composite 33 Inside Labor 33 Outside Labor 37 Weekly Earnings 37 Conclusion : 37 General Summary of Wages 40 V. Numbers Employed and Mine Activity 41 Inside and Outside Labor Contrasted 44 Inside Labor 44 Outside Labor 44 Conclusions on Numbers Employed 45 Mine Activity 45 VI. Hours of Work 46 Composite 46 Inside and Outside Average Hours of Work Compared 47 Inside Labor 49 Outside Labor 50 Conclusion on Hours of Work 51 VII. Money Earnings, Cost of Living and "Real" Earnings 52 "Real" Hourly Earnings 57 "Real" Semi-Monthly Earnings 59 Conclusion 59 VIII. Supplementary Data 62 LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS TABLES page Table 1: Number of Companies and Collieries Covered, Total Employment, Average Hours of Work, and Average Number of Breaker Starts 14 Table 2: Average Hourly, Weekly, and Semi-Monthly Earnings of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of the Full Time Offered 21 Table 3: Average Actual Hourly Earnings of All Wage Earners Working within Two Days of the Full Time Offered '. 22 Table 4: Average Hourly Earnings, All Wage Earners (Except Executives, Clerks, Foremen, etc.), Class I Railroads, Composite Male Unskilled and Skilled Labor, Manufacturing Industries, and Group Covered in Anthracite Mining Industry 28 Table 5: Average Hourly Earnings of Common Labor in Class I Railroads, Manufacturing, and Anthracite Mining , 28 Table 6: Average Actual Hourly Earnings, Male Un- skilled Labor, 23 Manufacturing Industries, and Anthracite Mining 31 Table 7: Average Actual Semi-Monthly Earnings of Wage Earners Working withyi Two Days of the Full ■■ Time Offered 35 Table 8: Average Actual Weekly Earnings of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of the Full Time Offered 39 Table 9: Number of Wage Earners Employed 42 Table 10: Average Actual Semi-Monthly Hours of Work of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of Full Time Offered 47 V List of Tables and Charts — continued PAGE Table 11: Average Actual Weekly Hours of Work of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of Full Time Offered 49 Table 12: "Real" Hourly Earnings of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of the Full Time Offered. . 57 Table 13: "Real" Semi-Monthly Earnings of Wage Earners Working within Two Days of the Full Time Offered 60 Table 14: Employment, Wages and Hours in One Com- pany, Covering (a) Employees Who Worked within Two Days of the Full Time Offered and (b) All Em- ployees Whose Names Appeared on the Payroll June, 1914 and October, 1921 65 Appendix 67 CHARTS Chart 1 : Composite Average Actual Hourly Earnings, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 20 Chart 2: Average Actual Hourly Earnings, Inside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 23 Chart 3: Average Actual Hourly Earnings, Outside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 25 Chart 4: Actual Hourly Earnings, All Male Labor, Manufacturing, Class I Railroads, and Group Covered in Anthracite Mining. 27 Chart 5: "Real" Hourly Earnings, All Male Labor, Manufacturing, Class I Railroads, and Group Covered in Anthracite Mining 27 Chart 6: Average Actual Hourly Earnings, Common Labor, Manufacturing, Class I Railroads, and Group Covered in Anthracite Mining 29 Chart 7: Average Actual Hourly Earnings, Common Labor, in Group Covered in Anthracite Mining, and 26 Manufacturing Industries, June, 1921 30 vi List of Tables and Charts— continued PAGE Chart 8: Composite Average Semi-Monthly Earnings, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 34 Chart 9:v Average Semi-Monthly Earnings, Inside La- bor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 36 Chart 10: Average Semi-Monthly Earnings, Outside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 38 Chart 11: Total Number of Wage Earners Employed, in the Groups Covered, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 43 Chart 1 2 : Average Actual Semi-Monthly Hours Worked, among Wage Earners Covered, and Inside and Out- side Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive.... 48 Chart 13: "Money" Earnings and "Real" Earnings, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive 53 Chart 14: "Money" Earnings and "Real" Earnings, Inside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive.. 55 Chart 15: "Money" Earnings and "Real" Earnings, Outside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive.. 56 Chart 16: "Real" Hourly and Semi-Monthly Earnings, Inside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive.. 58 Chart 17: "Real" Hourly and Semi-Monthly Earnings, Outside Labor, June, 1914-October, 1921, Inclusive. 61 Wages and Hours in Anthracite Mining June, 1914 — October, 1921, Inclusive INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to present a survey of wages, hours and employment among wage earners in anthracite mining in the United States. For reasons described in Section I, the report does not cover all wage earners in the industry, but presents data on wages and employment which give a fairly representative picture of wage earning conditions in the in- dustry. The report covers not only hourly, weekly, and semi- monthly wages, but also average hours of work, number of breaker starts and fluctuations in employment. Certain comparisons between hourly earnings of the wage earners covered and those of wage earners in manufacturing industries and on the railroads are also presented. 1 The Anthracite Mining Industry Practically the entire deposits of anthracite of any con- siderable economic value in the United States are located in an area of 496 square miles in nine counties in the state of Pennsyl- vania. Five out of the nine counties, namely, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill, Northumberland and Carbon, together pro- duce 96% of the entire output. 2 The four less important counties are Susquehanna, Dauphin, Columbia and Sullivan. The Pennsylvania anthracite field is broadly divided into three trade regions known as the Schuylkill, Lehigh and Wyoming. Beside the coal produced by the regular method directly from the mines (generally known as "fresh mined" coal) there is also a small amount of the anthracite, either reclaimed from culm piles resulting from former operations, by means of "washeries," or dredged from the bottoms of rivers. The percentage pro- 'See - Research Reports Nos. 45 and 46 of the National Industrial Conference Board. 2 Anthracite Coal Strike Commission. Report to the President on the An- thracite Coal Strike of May-October, 1902. Washington, 1903, p. 17. 1 duced by the latter methods was slightly more than 7% of the total production during the war period, 1 and probably is less than 3% at present. At least 70% of the anthracite shipped is used as a domestic fuel, and only a relatively small percentage is used for strictly commercial purposes. Data for the years 1890-1921, showing the production of the industry in net tons, number employed, average days worked, and average tonnage per man per year, are shown in the Appendix, page 67, where the sources of the various figures are indicated. In discussing the general coal situation, differences between anthracite and bituminous coal mining must be constantly borne in mind. Anthracite is produced in practically only one section of one state 2 ; is owned and controlled mainly by large companies; is distributed and sold within a compara- tively small area, chiefly large towns and cities on the eastern seaboard; and is used mostly as domestic fuel, the constant demand for which practically stabilizes employment and pro- ductive conditions. On the other hand, the production of bituminous coal is scattered in twenty-four different states, centering in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Ken- tucky and Alabama, and the mines are owned and operated by a large number of individual companies. Because of the fact that the chief use of bituminous coal is industrial, the demand rises and falls with industrial conditions, and causes large fluctu- ation in employment and productive conditions. History of Wage Agreements and Decisions Since the award of the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission in 1903, wages and conditions of labor in the anthracite industry have been established by joint agreements of operators and miners. The original award continued in force for a period of three years, from April 1, 1903, to March 31, 1906, and was twice extended for periods of three years each, so that the orig- inal agreements practically continued to March 31, 1912. On May 20, 1912, a new agreement, with modifications for four years, was made, extending to March 31, 1916. This agreement 'Federal Trade Commission. Cost Reports. Number 2. Coal, Pennsylvania Anthracite. Washington, June 30, 1919, p. 34. 2 Anthracite is found also in Colorado and New Mexico, but the amount mined annually is less than one-tenth of one per cent of the total production. 2 granted a general increase of 10% in wages, but abolished the sliding scale established by the Anthracite Coal Strike Commis- sion, so that the net gain was about S}4%; it also made certain changes in working conditions. The next agreement, signed May 5, 1916, continued the same terms, with some modifica- tions, to March 31, 1920. This agreement changed the general working day from nine to eight hours and increased wage rates 3% to those day men whose hours were thus re- duced, and gave a 7% increase in wage rates to contract miners and contract miners' laborers, to firemen and to day men who continued working nine hours or more per day. As a result of war conditions, operators and miners, in con- junction with the United States Fuel Administration, modified this agreement and made three supplementary contracts, each in- creasing the wages of miners; but no other substantial modi- fications were made during the four years of the existence of this contract. These supplementary agreements were made on April 25, 1917, November 17, 1917, and November 15, 1918, and provided for a total increase of 40% on their gross earn- ings for contract miners, 25% plus $1.00 per day for "considera- tion miners" 1 and an increase of $1.80 to $2.20 per day for day men and for employees paid on a monthly basis. At the expiration of this last agreement in March, 1920, new demands were made by the anthracite miners through the United Mine Workers of America. Several conferences with the operators were held, but no agreement resulted. Finally, on May 21, 1920, President Wilson appointed an Anthracite Coal Commission to decide the dispute. The Commission was composed of a chairman, representing the public, one delegate representing the operators, and one representing the miners. The majority report of this Commission was signed by the chair- man and the operators' representative, while a minority report was signed by the representative of the miners. Finally an agreement was signed on September 2, 1920, effective from April 1, 1920, through March 31, 1922. 2 The main features of this were: (1) Contract wage rates were increased 65% on gross earn- ings over and above contract rates at each colliery in April, 1916. 'Those employed at special work and paid at special rates. 2 Report of the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission 1902 . . . with Sub- sequent Agreements and the Majority and Minority Reports of the United States Anthracite Coal Commission, 1920. Anthracite Bureau of Information, Phila- delphia, 1920, p. 326. (2) Hourly wage rates of inside and outside company men were increased 17% over the rates then in effect (Agreements of 1916 and 1918), with the understanding that no rate should be lower than $S4.20 per shift. (3). A wage rate increase of $.04 per hour was accorded to boys receiving less than $1,545 per day. (4). Wage rates of consideration miners and monthly men were increased 17% over the rates then in effect (Agreements of 1916 and 1918). Period Covered by Report The data contained in the present report of the National In- dustrial Conference Board cover the period from the last half of June, 1914, through the last half of October, 1921, and present an authentic record of wage changes among certain classes of workers in this period gathered from identical sources. June, 1914, was selected as a base for this study for two reasons: First, it is a representative period within the term of the contract which extended from April 1, 1912 to March 31, 1916; and secondly, it is a period unaffected by subsequent wage increases during the World War, and therefore reflects the anthracite industry under fairly normal pre-war condi- tions. In addition, it permits direct comparison with July, 1914, which was taken as the base period in the National Industrial Conference Board's Research Reports No. 45, cover- ing twenty-three manufacturing industries of the United States, and No. 46, covering railroad wages and working rules. The period from 1914 to the middle of 1920 was characterized by a rapid growth of business activity in the United States, cul- minating in the intensive production stimulated by the war. During this period, three successive wage agreements, modify- ing the scale of 1916, were formulated. The last agreement, effective in April, 1920, provided for the largest wage increases ever granted in the anthracite industry. The 1920-1922 agreement was not actually signed by both the operators and the representatives of the United Mine Workers of America until September 2, 1920, though its provisions made the award retroactive from April 1, 1920. During the period from April to September, 1920, the miners employed in those mines which continued operations were paid at the wage rate prevailing under the agreement which terminated in March, 4 1920. When the 1920-1922 agreement became effective, the increase it granted, being retroactive, was added to the wages already received by the miners working between April and Sep- tember, 1920. Consequently, during this period, both "tem- porary" and retroactive wage rates were paid. These conditions make the compilation of wage data for any period from March, 1920 up to October, 1920 a difficult prob- lem. When the wage schedules for the present investigation were first issued, data were requested for the last half of June, 1920, but on analyzing these data, it was found that some com- panies had understood the request as covering simply the original and not the retroactive wage. As a result, the wage trend in June, 1920, -was distinctly below the minimum awarded under the new agreement. Therefore, the investigation, after taking the base period in June, 1914, proceeded to October, 1920, as the next representative period in the agreement of 1920-1922, omitting June, 1920. Moreover, no special attempt has been made to study the character of the intervening periods between June, 1914, and October, 1920, since the results of such investi- gation would be largely of academic interest. The latter half of October, 1920, and of March, June, and October, 1921, have been chosen as representative of the trend of wages during 1920- 1921. If it had been possible to gather data for every semi- monthly period from April 1, 1920, to the present time, this method would have been selected, but the task of getting pay- roll returns for such a great number of periods was not prac- ticable. All data contained in this report are from identical companies. They reflect, therefore, comparable wage conditions in every period covered. They also represent, in a general way, condi- tions in identical collieries, but as working conditions have varied during the seven years covered by the report, it is not possible to trace conditions in the same collieries throughout every period. For example, a company operating 12 collieries in 1914, may have operated only 10 collieries" during 1920; and vice versa, a company operating 7 collieries in October, 1920, may have operated 10 collieries in March, 1921. Old mines may become exhausted and new ones be developed. The ex- pansion or contraction of the number of collieries operated, however, does not materially affect the trend of wage con- ditions in the same operating companies. 5 METHOD AND SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION The data presented in this report were compiled from ques- tionnaires submitted to anthracite mining companies by the National Industrial Conference Board. These schedules did not cover women wage earners, executives, office and sales forces, foremen and assistants, clerical workers, monthly men, nor any class of mining company employees paid on a salary basis. Boys receiving less than the minimum of $4.20 per day, were also eliminated, nor were contract miners' laborers included. This was done because there are very few women employed in the industry; because the inclusion of any salaried group would not give results representative of con- ditions in the wage-earning group; because boys receiving less than the minimum pay rate are generally regarded as a sepa- rate wage-earning class; and because contract miners' laborers are paid by the contract miners themselves. 1 The investigation covered only those employees who worked within two days of the full time offered by the employers in the semi-monthly periods for which information was obtained. This procedure was adopted for several reasons. The anthracite mining companies state that, because of the peculiar conditions in their industry, it is impossible to ascertain solely from the payrolls of individual companies the average total earnings of all workers employed in the industry. They argue that the presentation of data covering all wage earners, irrespective of the time worked by each of them in a particular mine during the stated pay period, would give a distorted pic- ture of wage earnings in the industry; for, quite frequently, some miners work two or three days in one mine and then work a few days in the same pay period in another mine where they believe that more favorable working conditions are offered. In some instances also, it is said, miners shift voluntarily or are changed by management from one job to another in the same mine, receiving separate payment for each job performed. Payroll records of some mine companies show cases where one i See p. 10. man was employed in several different occupations in the same mine during a single pay period, and appeared on the payroll as several different employees. The records of one company, for instance, indicate that a certain employee worked during a pay period successively as a plane engineer, a transfer engineer and a laborer. Cases were also cited where a contract miner changed his occupation to that of a day man in the same colliery, and a few days later returned as a contract miner — all within the same pay period. As a result of the conditions enumerated, the wage earnings of a worker, derived from two or more different jobs in one com- pany or in several companies, while they show accurately on the payroll records of each company and in each tend to lower the average of the earnings of all employees, are not any- where brought together so as to give the total earnings of the individual during the pay period. Other characteristics of labor turnover and payroll records make it difficult to present an adequate picture of the wage- earning conditions in the industry, such as the freedom "of the contract miner in respect to working hours; the practice of certain laborers and helpers being paid by contract miners themselves; the change of names prevalent among shifting employees as they go from one mine to another in the same locality or district; and the custom of mine employees, during periods of low mine activity, to seek other occupations in which their earnings contribute to the total weekly or yearly income, although the supplementary earnings are not recorded in a study of wages in the mining industry. Because of the obvious practical impossibility of following each shifting mine worker through various occupations in the same mine or in different mines or elsewhere, the operators maintain that the only practical way to determine representative wage earnings in the industry is to cover the earnings of those who avail themselves of nearly the full opportunities of work offered by the mine companies. It is for this reason that the anthracite mine operators have furnished the National Industrial Conference Board with payroll data only for employees who, in the semi-monthly pay periods covered, worked within two days of the full time of mine operation. This group comprises a large majority of all miners, but how large a group is omitted by this method, or how far the 7 final results might have been affected by the inclusion of in- formation for all miners, the Conference Board was unable definitely to ascertain. Obviously, the comprehensive way of dealing with the wages and hours of work situation in the anthra- cite mining industry would be to secure and analyze pertinent data for all mine workers, properly classified according to the number of days and hours worked in each pay period, and to give each group its proper weight in the final determination of the average conditions in the industry in respect to wage earn- ings and working time. This would also permit of definite evaluation in comprehensive and scientific manner of such peculiarities of labor turnover and payroll records as are claimed to exist in the industry. It was impossible for the Conference Board to do this without comprehensive payroll data from the operators. In presenting the results of its investigation on the basis described above, the Board therefore reserves judgment as to their adequacy in representing general wage earning conditions in the industry until more evidence is available regarding the effects of excluding the shifting or part-time workers. In connection with this question the Board calls attention to (a) the results of a recent investigation in the anthracite industry conducted by the United States Department of Labor 1 and (b) the data presented in Section VIII of the present report showing wages and hours in a single company as computed by taking all wage earners on the payroll regardless of the time worked. The latter data were furnished to the Board by one company in response to a request for information which would enable the Board to compare the results obtained on the basis of the present investigation with those that might have been obtained if data covering all wage earners could have been secured. The investigation by the Department of Labor covered the half-month periods ending January 31, 1919, and March 31, 1920, and showed that in the former period 82.2% and in the latter period 85% of the wage earners covered were found to be working within two days of the full time of mine operation. In considering these figures it must be borne in mind that the former period reflected fairly normal conditions, while the latter ■See Bulletin 279, p. 8, table 2; p. 18, table 9; pp. 30, 31, table C; p. 95, table L; p. 110, table N. period was one of unusual mining activity and large production because of anticipated labor disturbances in April, 1920. If the results of the Government's investigation of the pro- portion of workers who worked nearly the full time in the anthracite industry in 1919 and 1920, are representative of the conditions in the industry at the present time, a comprehensive presentation of data on wages and employment for the selected group of wage earners, as above outlined, affords a fair picture of wage-earning conditions in the industry. The data from the single company given in Section VIII indicate, however, that, if the conditions in this company are typical of those in the industry generally, the inclusion of all wage earners, regardless of the shifting and short-time workers, would have reduced the average hours of work as ascertained in the present investigation between 8.6% and 9.4% and the average semi-monthly earnings between 6% and 7^£%. The Board is fully aware that it is the continuity of employ- ment and the average total annual earnings of the wage earner which is the criterion of the adequacy of wage levels in the industry from the social point of view. It is regrettable that information has not been available to the Board which would enable it accurately to measure the average total employment and the average annual earnings offered by the industry to all wage earners. The data here presented cover only a group whose working hours approached closely to the full time of- fered, and must be considered in connection with such other evidence as exists regarding the proportion of shifting or part- time workers in this industry. Classification of Wage Earners All the wage earners covered in this investigation are first divided into two general classes: inside, or underground men, and outside, top or surface men. The inside class is further divided into four groups: common labor, semi-skilled labor, skilled labor, and contract miners. Common labor includes all occupations to which the common labor rate ($.525 per hour) applied under the 1920-1922 agreement. This excludes boys receiving less than the $4.20 minimum. In the group perform- ing common labor are included: cagers, car runners, drivers, laborers, etc. In the skilled labor group are included black- smiths, bratticemen or carpenters, electricians, machinists, 9 masons, company miners, shaft men, timbermen, and track layers, but not helpers in any of these occupations. Finally, all occupations not covered in the common labor and skilled labor groups are listed as semi-skilled labor. The above mentioned groups — inside common, semi-skilled and skilled labor — are commonly known collectively as "day labor." In addition to these groups, a separate occupational classification has been made of contract miners, or miners who are employed upon a tonnage basis. A contract miner works by contract or agreement with the mining company, and in turn makes a separate agreement with his laborers or helpers. The bulk of the wages of contract miners' laborers are paid by the contract miners themselves. Under the 1920-1922 agreement, the rates paid to contract miners' laborers were placed on the same basis as those paid to company laborers, as regards the application of the 65% increase over the agreement of May, 1916. In case, however, there was a margin between this rate of increase and the total increase of contract miners' helpers, the difference was to be paid by the operator. 1 The wages paid to contract miners, as shown in this investigation, do not in- clude wages paid to contract miners' laborers. Treatment of Wage Data This report deals first with money wages which must be distinguished from real wages, or the purchasing power of money wages. Wherever "earnings" is used, unless otherwise designated, it means the total money wages derived from labor services. In all cases, wage data cover the net earnings of the various groups designated. The charges for powder, tools, oil and other occupational supplies, have been deducted from the gross earnings. The subject is further discussed in a later chapter in this report. 2 Wage data covering each of the occupational groups, the composite wages of inside men and outside men and the com- posite wages of all the wage earners covered have been divided into the following classifications: Average hourly earnings, weekly earnings, and semi-monthly earnings. Average hourly earnings are obtained by dividing the semi-monthly payroll in money for each group of wage earners by the total actual hours •Agreement, September 2, 1920, Section JE. 2 See p. 3. 10 worked in each group. Average semi-monthly earnings are obtained by dividing the semi-monthly payroll in money by the total number of persons in each group of wage earners. Average weekly earnings are obtained by dividing the semi- monthly earnings by 2.166, the number of weeks contained in the semi-monthly period. The wage data in tables and charts are here given both in index numbers and in dollars and cents. The index numbers show rates of increase and decrease from various points, and further reflect the relative importance of wage changes in the different groups. Real earnings, or the relation of money wages to the cost of living, are discussed in Section VII. Treatment of Data on Hours of Work and Employment Since this investigation covered only the wage earners in the industry who worked within two days of the full time offered, the data given on hours show only the hours actually worked by such wage earners and do not give conclusive evi- dence regarding the average hours of employment among all wage earners. The average hours actually worked by this selected group, however, offer some indication of the trend of working hours during the period covered by the investigation. As a check upon this data reference should be made to the supplementary material mentioned on page 8, and to Section VIII. In addition, the figures given in the Appendix table, page 67, showing the average number of days worked per year by all wage earners in the industry, as set forth in official investigations, should be taken into consideration. In this report the average actual semi-monthly hours worked per wage earner were obtained by dividing the total man-hours of each group in the semi-monthly period by the total number of wage earners employed in that group. The average actual work week per wage earner was found by dividing the average actual semi-monthly hours by 2.166, the number of weeks in a semi-monthly period. In comparing the actual hours of work in 1914 with those of later periods, it must be remembered that in 1914 there was a standard nine-hour day, while in 1920-1921, the standard was an eight-hour day. 11 As contract miners work on a tonnage or contract basis, no record of hours is kept for this group. However, as a large pro- portion of the wage schedules received included, among other data, the number of contract miners' starts, or the number of times the contract miners entered the mine and started to work, in a semi-monthly period, it was felt that not to include this information in some form, would be a distinct loss to the report. Therefore, a method of determining the average hours worked by contract miners was attempted. A recent study of the average hours of contract miners made by the United States Department of Labor, covering the last half of the month ending March 31, 1920, showed that the contract miners worked, on the average, 7.4 hours per day. 1 Multiplying the number of contract miners' starts, during 1920 and 1921, by 7.4, a total of contract miners' hours is determined. The aver- age hours are then found by dividing the total hours by the total number of contract miners. As the study of hours conducted by the United States De- partment of Labor did not include the 1914 period, eight hours per start has been taken as an average for 1914, as the industry was then on a nine-hour day basis. Since 7.4 hours, the average found during 1920-1921, is 92.2% of the hours in the eight-hour day, and eight hours is 88.8% of the hours in a nine-hour day, the approximation for the 1914 period is assumed to be as nearly accurate an estimate of the hours worked as can be found. Where the contract miners' starts were not given on the wage schedules, the number of contract miners have been multiplied by the number of times the breakers started during the period. Ninety-five per cent of this number is taken as an approximate number of contract miners' starts. In the section of this report which deals with the semi-monthly hours of contract miners, a table has been presented which shows that the contract miners who worked within two days of the full time in each semi- monthly period worked between 94.2% and 98.4% of the number of breaker starts. 2 The 95% approximation of the sum total of contract miners' starts would seem, therefore, to be a valid estimate. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that records of operating companies indicate that contract miners, •Hours and Earnings in Anthracite and Bituminous Coal Mining, Bulletin No. 279, pp. 18 and 19. 2 See p. 49. 12 working in every pay period in 1914, worked approximately 91%, and in 1919, 94% of the total number of breaker starts offered. As the history of wage negotiations in the anthracite industry has shown that any estimate of contract miners' hours is, at best, an approximation, and as the above conclusions on contract miners' hours are also considered an estimate, all data relating to hours and hourly earnings of contract miners must be taken, at best, as an approximation. In this report, therefore, in all composite figures dealing with hours and hourly earnings, which involved contract miners, two composite figures have been given in each case; one, the total of all wage earners covered, including contract miners, and the other, the composite of all wage earners covered, excluding contract miners. By this method, the approximate figure, covering contract miners' hours, may be either included for what it is worth, or may be entirely disregarded. Extent of the Investigation The report covers approximately 47% of the operating com- panies, and 57% of the collieries in operation in October, 1921. Taking the total number of wage earners in the industry as 157,000, the report covers about 60% of the employees in the anthracite industry. During the year 1920, the companies included in this report produced 64,548,525 tons out of 71,188,673 tons, or approxi- mately 91% of the total commercial production of all companies in the anthracite industry. Comparative figures taken at. different periods for the total commercial production of all companies covered in this report, the total commercial production of the whole industry, and the percentage of commercial production, are as follows: Period Commercial Production of Companies Included in This Report Total Commercial Production Entire Industry Percentage of Commercial Production Covered in This Report June, 1914 6,098,920 tons 5,867,862 tons 5,757,620 tons 5,965,278 tons 5,771,596 tons 6,477,138 tons 6,263,913 tons 6,008,974 tons 6,287,091 tons 6,099,071 tons 94.2% Oct., 1920 93.7% March, 1921 95.8% June, 1921 94.8% Oct., 1921 94.6% 13 The extent of the investigation is summarized in Table 1. TABLE 1: NUMBER OF COMPANIES AND COLLIERIES COVERED, TOTAL EMPLOYMENT, AVERAGE HOURS OF WORK, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF BREAKER STARTS (National Industrial Conference Board) Total Average Average Period Number Number of Number Hours Hours Last Half of Mining Collieries Wage of Work of Work Breaker Of Companies Covered Earners Employed* Monthly Period* Excluding Contract Miners* Starts per Colliery June, 1914... 55 187 94,692 107.4 115.1 11.6 Oct., 1920. . . 55 186 86,281 104.1 113.8 11.8 March, 1921 . 55 179 88,941 98.1 107.3 11.4 June, 1921... 55 185 94,830 ,103.7 112.0 12.5 Oct., 1921... 55 179 94,514 103.3 111.9 11.8 ♦Includes only wage earners working within two days of the full time offered in the semi-monthly period. 14 II SUMMARY AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS At the outset, emphasis must be laid on the fact, as has already been stated in Section I of this report; that while the investigation aimed to ascertain a representative picture of wage levels in the anthracite industry, a certain class of em- ployees, including workers who shifted from occupation to occupation and from mine to mine, could not be embraced in the study. These include probably less than 20% of all the wage earners in the industry, according to such collateral evi- dence as the Board has been able to obtain. Due to these exclusions, comparisons could be made between wage earners in, anthracite mining and those in other industries only in respect to hourly earnings, whether expressed in money or in real earnings, that is, purchasing power of money earnings; for the exclusion of a comparatively small group of workers could at most make only a slight difference in average hourly earnings of all workers. The general results of this investigation may be summa- rized as follows: Wages 1. Average hourly earnings of all the wage earners covered in June, 1914, were $.278; excluding contract miners, they were $.225. In October, 1921, hourly earnings had risen 162% to $.728; excluding contract miners, they had risen 166% to $.599. 2. Average semi-monthly earnings in June, 1914, were $29.81; excluding contract miners, $25.92. In October, 1921, they had risen 152% to $75.18; excluding contract miners, 158%, to $66.97. 3. Average weekly earnings in June, 1914, were $13.76; excluding contract miners they were $11.97. In October, 1921, they had risen 152% to $34.71; excluding contract miners, 158% to $30.92. IS 4. Since wage rates were fixed by the agreement made in September, 1920, which extended to April 1, 1922, average hourly earnings have not declined during the depression period, 1920-1921. 5. The increases from June, 1914, to October, 1921, in average hourly and semi-monthly earnings for surface labor have been far above those for underground workers. Hourly earnings of outside labor had risen 171%, and of inside labor 163%; semi-monthly earnings of outside labor had risen 176%, and of inside labor 145%. 6. The increases from June, 1914, to October, 1921, in average hourly and semi-monthly earnings for common and semi-skilled labor have been far above those for skilled labor. The increases in hourly earnings were: for inside common labor 171%, outside common labor 189%; for inside semi-skilled labor 167%, outside semi-skilled labor 163%; for inside and outside skilled labor, 146%. The increases in semi-monthly earnings were: for inside common labor 156%, outside common labor 189%; for inside semi-skilled labor 144%, outside semi- skilled labor 169%; for inside skilled labor 129%, outside skilled labor 152%. 7. The average wages of contract miners show only moderate increases in comparison with the increases for other groups, amounting to 158% in hourly earnings and 143% in semi- monthly earnings. Hours 1. The average semi-monthly hours of work for wage earners covered in June, 1914, were 107.4; excluding contract miners, 115.1. In October, 1921, they had fallen to 103.3; excluding contract miners, to 111.9. 2. The hours worked by inside labor were considerably less than those worked by outside labor. 3. Outside skilled labor worked the longest hours. The approximate hours of contract miners, who worked on a piece or tonnage basis, average much less than those of other groups of labor. 4. The average hours of work per wage earner covered have declined little in the representative periods of 1920 and 1921 (except in March, 1921, which was marked by Easter holidays), 16 but there was a marked decline between 1914 and 1920 due to the introduction of the eight-hour day. Employment 1. Employment in the group covered by this investigation was at practically the same level in 1921 as in 1914, although fluctuations occurred in the intermediate periods. 2. Total employment of inside labor declined slightly, while there was a small increase in that of total outside labor. 3. The largest increase in employment occurred in outside skilled labor; the largest decrease occurred in inside common labor. Real Earnings The average real hourly and semi-monthly earnings, or the purchasing power of money earnings, of the wage earners covered, in October, 1921, show increases over June, 1914, of 160% and 154% respectively. Real earnings increased materi- ally during 1921, due to the fact that actual money earnings remained at practically stationary levels while the cost of living declined. Real earnings of common labor, both inside and outside, have increased more since 1914 than those of any other group. Comparisons Between Railroad, Manufacturing and Anthracite Mining Wage Earnings 1. On July 1,1914, the average 1 wage earner in anthracite mining earned $.278 per hour (excluding contract miners, $.225), while the average wage earner upon the railroads earned $.254, and in manufacturing, $.260. In June, 1921, the average hourly earnings in manufacturing were $.554, while in October, 1921, they were $.588 upon the railroads and $.728 in anthracite, mining (excluding contract miners, $.599). 2. Average hourly earnings of wage earners in anthracite mining, except contract miners, were lower than those of workers in manufacturing industries and on railroads in 1914, but were higher in 1921 than the other two groups. Hourly earnings of mine workers, exclusive of contract miners, rose 166% during this period, against 131% for railroad workers and 113% for manufacturing workers. 'In all these comparisons it must be remembered that, for anthracite mining, only those wage earners who worked within two days of the full time offered are included. See first paragraph of Section II. 17 3. In manufacturing industries, real hourly earnings in June, 1921, showed a 32% increase above 1914. Real hourly earnings of railroad workers in October, 1921, were 41% higher than in 1914, while those of anthracite workers were 60% above 1914 for all wage earners reported, and 62% exclusive of contract miners. In all three instances the cost of living representative of the whole country, as ascertained by the National Industrial Con- ference Board, was taken as the basis of calculation. 4. The variations between earnings in manufacturing indus- tries, railroads and anthracite mining are particularly marked when changes in the earnings of common labor are considered. In this comparison, only outside common labor among the groups covered in anthracite mining has been used. In June, 1914, the average hourly earnings of common labor were $.161 on the railroads, $.183 in anthracite mining, and $.206 in manufacturing. In June, 1921, hourly earnings in manu- facturing had risen to $.448, while in October, 1921, the hourly earnings were $.383 upon the railroads, and $.528 in anthracite mining. The increase in hourly earnings of common labor in manufacturing industries from July, 1914, to July, 1921, was 117%;' from June, 1914, through October, 1921, those of com- mon railroad laborers rose 138% and those of anthracite mine laborers 189%. 5. The average real hourly earnings of common labor in manufacturing increased during these periods 34%, on the rail- roads 45%, and in anthracite mining 77%. Conclusion These comparisons show the more favorable position of the wage earners covered in this industry at the end of the period of this investigation. While there have been extensive wage reductions in manufacturing, and a reduction averaging 12>£% in wage rates of railroad labor, wages have remained at high levels in anthracite mining. The wage decline that has come in most basic industries, as a result of the economic depression and the necessary readjustment following the war and subse- quent abnormally active business periods, has hardly touched the workers in anthracite industry; for here wages and working conditions have 'been maintained in accordance with con- tractual agreements effective to April 1, 1922. 18 Ill HOURLY EARNINGS This section gives the results of the investigation as regards hourly earnings of the groups covered. The shifting of workers and other characteristics of the industry, already alluded to, appear not to be reflected in hourly earnings, or at most only to a slight degree in the averages for all workers in the industry. The hourly earnings of the restricted group given may there- fore be considered representative of hourly wage levels in the industry; whereas averages of semi-monthly or weekly earn- ings of the restricted group would be materially reduced if the earnings of the shifting and only partly employed were included as they were found on the anthracite companies' payrolls. For the same reasons, such hourly earnings may be more fairly compared with those in other industries than could semi- monthly or weekly earnings. Comparison has, therefore, been made in this report only between average hourly earnings in anthracite mining, as shown for the group of wage earners covered in this investigation, and hourly earnings of all wage earners in manufacturing industries and on the railroads. This comparison serves only to indicate the relative rewards for an hour's work in the industries covered, and it is fully recognized by the Board that it is the weekly earnings rather than hourly earnings that is important in measuring the rela- tive economic status of the worker. For reasons discussed above, however, the Board was unfortunately unable to pre- sent a comparative picture of weekly earnings for all wage earners in the anthracite industry. Composite The composite average hourly earnings of all wage earners covered in this investigation, including all inside and outside men, increased from $.278 in June, 1914, to $.728 in October 1921, or 162%. The composite average hourly earnings, exclud- ing the contract miners, increased from $.225 in June, 1914, to $.599 in October, 1921, or 166%. As the data covering the com- pilation of hourly earnings for contract miners are an approxima- 19 CHART 1: COMPOSITE AVERAGE ACTUAL HOURLY EARNINGS, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) I 2D 110 100 J.N.S'EF LABOB INSIDE LABOB CXCL. CONTRACT MINERS. _ ALL LABOR EXCL CONTRACT MINERS "rSursTol' Tabob* 63.5* 00.D * MAB. JUNE nrr 1321 1921 I92J 20 tion 1 , composite figures, both including and excluding the average hourly earnings of contract miners, are presented. See Table 2 and Chart 1. In comparing hourly earnings of inside and outside mine workers, differences in the hazards of inside and outside tasks should be taken into consideration. TABLE 2: AVERAGE HOURLY, WEEKLY, AND SEMI-MONTHLY EARNINGS OF WAGE EARNERS WORKING WITHIN TWO DAYS OF THE FULL TIME OFFERED (National Industrial Conference Board) Period Last Half of Average Hourly Earnings Average Hourly- Earnings Excluding Contract Miners Average Weekly Earnings Average Weekly Earnings Excluding Contract Miners Average Semi- Monthly Earnings Average Se mi- Monthly Earnings Excluding Contract Miners June, 1914. . . Oct., 1920. . . March, 1921 . June, 1921 . . . Oct., 1921... $.278 .730 .735 .732 .728 $.225 .595 .597 .600 .599 $13.76 35.08 33.31 35.07 34.71 $11.97 31.26 29.58 31.02 30.92 $29.81 75.99 72.16 75.95 75.18 $25.92 67.71 64.08 67.18 66.97 Index Numbers June, 1914... 100 100 100 100 100 100 Oct., 1920... 263 264 255 261 255 261 March, 1921 . 264 265 242 247 242 247 June, 1921... 263 267 255 259 255 259 Oct., 1921... 262 266 252 258 252 258 Inside Labor Composite hourly earnings, including contract miners, in- creased from $.309 in June, 1914, to $.812 in October, 1921, or 163%. The composite average actual hourly earnings of inside labor, excluding contract miners, increased from $.237 to $.625 in October, 1921, or 164%. The wage level for composite earn- ings of inside labor remained practically stationary between October, 1920, and October, 1921. The average actual hourly earnings of common inside labor increased from $.220 in June, 1914, to $.596 in October, 1921, 'See p. 12. 21 w a H O < a o a 1-4 ei O w S3 W Q w W p$ O W s 1* o J w J ■< S fa H o J J w D o h is is <: w US o K S H O < w o w m •a S3 2 J He is 2 OOooQoo e.5 3» rtMN^CM .•o u V o •^■s O"^'*^-^ •"3 1I1H i-icncn^cn 1 T3 u ©r-»r- o\r-* a S D fc s gx x a 5 OO^H ^^H i3 H a z rHMMCMcM ■SB- o'-ogS S\3£.S oo^-o^o CN -^ 00 \J~t 9.3 ■£ .2 in novo *©\o 01 OmhVONN OMM-hm a CO 00 OO CO CO tfi I o * a ea ■*© CN ^ c i-l c " S c *j £S S£3 SvO^O vo vO Tf ^ ^ ^ ^h cncncn cn O vO vO vO vo t-iCN CNcNcN © Ov r*- on on O OO OO CO GO i-tCNCNCNCN OHHHiH *-hcncncncn CN VO VO vo VO O VO © VO ON CNI^ QONN co oo tn co co OOCN CN CN CN ©©On on© 1H(NVO\ON ON ON „OON 22 *« r; « s « CHART 2: AVERAGE ACTUAL HOURLY EARNINGS, INSIDE LABOR, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) ISO IID 100 3D eo 70 EO 5D 40 ID — Eaan^cT. miness "--...«. *"•• — iDS.e* ALL INSIDE LABOB fll.E# — SJOLLEp_ - L_ABDE_... ALL INSIDE LABOR EXCL. C 1MTDACT MINEB3 ■""""•^■•^"•^■.M B7.7* 62 3* BS.Ot ■"semT^skm-led labor COMMON LABOR . OCT 1920 MAC. 1921 JUNE 1921 OCT 1921 23 or an increase of 171%; semi-skilled labor increased from $.232 to $.620, or 167%; skilled labor from $.275 to $.677, or an increase of 146%; while contract miners increased from $.410 to $1,058, or 158%. The trends show that inside skilled labor increased relatively less than any' of the other inside groups, the largest increases being received by common labor, closely followed by semi-skilled labor. Table 3 and Chart 2 cover these data. DaIly Wages of Contract Miners As the hourly earnings of contract miners are an approxima- tion, the average earnings per contract miner, start have been ascertained. 'The actual payroll for contract miners for each semi-monthly period was divided by the total number of con- tract miners' starts, the result being the average earnings per start or daily wage. For each period, these earnings were as follows: Period June, 1914. . Oct., 1920. . March, 1921 June, 1921 . . Oct., 1921.. Earnings per Start Index Number $3.46 100 8.17 236 7.97 230 7.83 226 7.91 229 This shows that the average daily wage of contract miners working within two days of the full time offered, increased 129% from June, 1914, through October, 1921. Outside Labor The composite average actual hourly earnings of outside labor increased from $.210 in June, 1914, to $.570 in October, 1921, or 171%. The composite average varied less than $.001 in the period October, 1920, to October, 1921, inclusive. Com- mon outside labor increased from $.183 in June, 1914 to $.528 in October, 1921, or 189%; semi-skilled labor increased from $.220 to $.579 during the same period, or 163%; while skilled labor increased from $.265 to $.653, or 146%. As in the inside labor group, the largest increases in outside labor have been received by common laborers. The wage in- creases of skilled labor have been less than those received by both common and semi-skilled labor. See Table 3 and Chart 3. 24 CHART 3: AVERAGE ACTUAL HOURLY EARNINGS, OUTSIDE LABOR, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) ICU 1 10 IDD 9D 6D 70 ^ / _SKILLED^ABOR^_ > B5 3ff 60 / I > ^^SEMI-SKILLED LABOR 57.9 « 57 at 52 6* ALL OUTSIDE LABOR SO 40 30 za.s* E2 .0* so id. a ■ 10 n COMMON LABOR ///. /// ; il : / JUNE 1914 OCT I BSD MAR. 1921 JUNE 1921 OCT IBEI 25 Average Hourly Earnings for Group Covered in An- thracite Mining Compared with Those in Manufacturing and on Railroads The average hourly earnings in July, 1914, on the railroads were $.254; in manufacturing, $.26; in the groups covered in anthracite mining, $.225, without contract miners; and $.278 with contract miners. In June, 1921, in manufacturing, the actual hourly earnings were $.554. In October, 1921, the hourly railroad earnings were $.588 and in anthracite mining, $.599, excluding contract miners, and $.728 including contract miners. The percentage increases in hourly earnings over 1914 for the three groups for these periods were: Manufacturing, 113%; rail- roads, 131%, and anthracite mining, 162%. Real wages in manufacturing rose 32% above 1914; upon railroads, 41%; and in anthracite mining, 60%. 7/ will be seen that the increase in the real hourly wage in the group covered in anthracite mining was almost double that in manufacturing. For discussion of real earnings see Section VII. Table 4 and Charts 4 and 5 make comparisons between hourly earnings of the entire male labor group, on railroads, in manufacturing and for those classes covered in this investi- gation in anthracite mining. Average Hourly Earnings of Common Labor in Group Covered in Anthracite Mining Compared with Common Railroad and Manufacturing Labor As the comparison of hazardous with less hazardous occupa- tions and industries may be open to question, a comparison is made between the common outside labor group in the group covered in anthracite mining and common labor upon the rail- roads and in manufacturing. By this method the element of occupational hazard is practically eliminated. Table 5 and Chart 6 show these comparisons and Table 6 and Chart 7 compare the average hourly earnings of the com- mon outside labor in anthracite mining and twenty-three prin- cipal manufacturing industries. In June, 1914, the average hourly earnings of common labor on the railroads were $.161; in manufacturing, $.206; in the 26 CHART 4: ACTUAL HOURLY EARNINGS, ALL MALE LABOR, MANUFACTURING, CLASS I RAILROADS, AND GROUP COVERED IN ANTHRACITE MINING cmTs (National Industrial Conference Board) AVERAGE HDURLY EARNINGS 1914 1915 191 B 1917 iaia ISIS 1320 1921 1 922 CHART 5: "REAL" HOURLY EARNINGS, ALL MALE LABOR, MANU- FACTURING, CLASS I RAILROADS, AND GROUP COVERED IN ANTHRACITE MINING (National Industrial Conference Board) index „ »™»™> REAL HOURLY EARNINGS ISO 170 I BO ISO 140 130 120 I 10 IOOi SO A,^ trr 1 DC r I ALL L ABOS. jCfa —.JUNE ANTHB/ MIN CITE ^^ . MALE LABC NUFACTURIN C 3 — _, Jr*~- — ~" ^■a* __— —-"*~ J ALL~U F CLASS I R BOO 1 LB DADS 1914 1915 1919 1917 I9IB 27 1919 1920 1921 1922 55 W W o b! t> H O < fa & IS o on co co e^ r^ so so ^ ■ex _ OSOS «2cts 3 uJ3 3 o 1-. c3 to O >. as g 2 & h o w & § o " pH TO Q S 55 -2 <5 ca ■a < J B h O s I l-H s j O "^ CO »0 Tt^ *-h CNCN CNCN r*-* co r*- co ^h co ON CO ON ON (A t-h w oo eN i-H co r-» so r- r-» CNVO so so SO tfi. CN so iO vo so 3 SO to cN so io CN so so so so co t--r>» t>-r-* -M w ^ _' • u r H u" r G ft « G " AdS Ad 35 O »0 ON CO CN —tCNCN CNCN Oh CO tn ON T-4CSCNCNCN O CO ^OOS O0St^0\00 r-HCN tNCNCN OhhOvO O oo so hh J-* CN CN CN CN CO ^ 0\0 co CO CO h GO oo ON w-i ON i-h u-i r-* i-H r-. -tf on CN h so so h O ^ ON CO Vt ■^r^soor^ «-h CN CO CN >-» CN SO »0 \0 so , _: <» _' ■ 9>on o^on u" r a «T r B « ! B ji ^6^ Ad CHART 9: AVERAGE SEMI-MONTHLY EARNINGS, INSIDE LABOR, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) SO BO 70 BO SO 20 10 ^SSSc, Aftftgsr COMMON LABD? * . OCT. 1920 MAR. 1321 JUNE 1321 OCT. 1921 36 Outside Labor Composite average actual semi-monthly earnings of out- side labor increased from $25.10 in June, 1914, to $69.16 in the last half of October, 1921, or 176%. The decline of March, 1921, was not fully recovered in June, 1921. The average semi-monthly earnings of outside common labor increased from $21.40 in June, 1914, to $61.75 in October, 1921, or 189%; semi-monthly earnings of outside semi-skilled labor increased from $26.79 to $71.95 in the same period, or 169%, while skilled labor increased from $33.22 to $83.74, or 152%. Here again, as shown in Table 7 and Chart 10, the percentage of increase in earnings sustained by skilled labor was lower than that of semi-skilled and common labor. Weekly Earnings Average actual weekly earnings have been found by dividing the average actual semi-monthly earnings by 2.166, the number of weeks in the half-month period. As this division is by a constant figure, the average weekly earnings reflect the same increases over 1914 as do semi-monthly earnings. See Table 8. Conclusion 1. The increase in average actual semi-monthly earnings of the wage earners covered in this investigation (152%) was lower than that of average actual hourly earnings (162%) in the period from June, 1914, through October, 1921. 2. The semi-monthly earnings of outside labor increased more (176%) than the semi-monthly earnings for inside labor (145%). 3. The semi-monthly earnings of outside labor were lower ($69.16) than for inside labor ($77.73) in October, 1921. 4. The semi-monthly earnings of common and semi-skilled labor in both the inside and outside groups, increased more rapidly from the last half of June, 1914, through October, 1921, than for skilled groups. 37 CHART 10: AVERAGE SEMI-MONTHLY EARNINGS, OUTSIDE LABOR, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) 90 BO 70 60 50 40 ^"^ ^..^i IB3.T4 10 OCT. I3B0 MAR. 1921 JUNE 1921 OCT. 1921 38 W K O D O O SB I* O W S5 e< w Q w w o w S P t> ^» is O^tM^M C.S *-i C-1 (N tN 4-l -^ TJ-* ►J w s ■O h ^00O\NO 3-° in on ^o so co 3-f ThNinnn t— 1 OT a |T) h -^o-^O^h 2 E 3-2 ^wiN^-* a no^o\o ^h con y W- u- *o»2 •«' -J «N * • "5** o o^os .onqs *3 June, 1 March June, ] Oct., 1 O u-i os cor-i or- co in os •-< CJ C-J C^ OJ O C0"*0 OS o os r-- os co cosot^-r-- * O m w S to H o ooOOO^i co o *-* r-- to OS OS „O^OS ^ri rj H H «" .- H v r 39 General Summary of Wages 1. The increase of hourly earnings since 1914 is above the increase in semi-monthly earnings, due principally to the effect of the eight-hour day. 2. The percentage of increase in both hourly and semi- monthly earnings has been greater for outside workers than for inside workers. 3. In both inside and outside groups, the percentage of increase for common and semi-skilled labor was above that for skilled labor. 40 V NUMBERS EMPLOYED AND MINE ACTIVITY In 1914, the United States Geological Survey reported 179,679 wage earners employed in the anthracite industry. For the year 1920, the United States Geological Survey estimated an average of 145,074 employees in the industry. It is generally accepted that there has been an increase of several thousand since 1920 and the Anthracite Bureau of Information estimates the total number of wage earners in this industry in 1921 at 156,845. It must be borne in mind that in its discussion of employment the present investigation has not included several large groups of wage earners; for it does not cover clerical forces, foremen or sub-foremen, boys, or wage earners who worked less than within two days of the full time offered within the semi-monthly period. It is estimated that this provision would reduce the total of 157,000 wage earners to between 125,000 and 130,000. Of these, the report covered slightly more than 94,000 in October, 1921. All data contained in this report, as shown in Table 1, are from identical mining companies, so that the employment figures reflect total changes in the payrolls from June, 1914, through October, 1921. In June, 1914, 55 mining companies, which were then operating 187 collieries, reported 94,692 wage earners in the groups covered in this investigation. By Octo- ber, 1920, the number of collieries in operation had dropped to 186, and the number of wage earners employed in these groups had fallen to 86,281, indicating the effect of the economic depres- sion. In March, 1921, the number of collieries operating had dropped still further to 179, but the number of wage earners employed, of the classes covered, had increased to 88,941. In June, 1921, the number of collieries operating had increased again to- 185, and the number of wage earners to 94,830. In the last half of October, 1921, operation declined to 179 collieries, but employment remained practically at the June, 1921 level, with 94,514 wage earners in the group included in this report. 41 o w >> o a. S w w 55 Bi « W o to O Ki W 03 s » 55 W CQ IS a> o 23-2 3.9.3 r--r-- ^ i-t Tt* ostor-- o oo i-^C^OO^CN, Outside Semi- skilled Labor iooOcO") Oihoo co^op^ s a s l°.3 \o so o to os 1— 1 t— 1 i— 1 1-H i-H U v> CO (N ^O o& ,-rooo"r*ri-r CO CN co CO CO OJT) Ih to oo to O O \o oo CN as CN OS OO tO^«-H CN oo N oo*'oo'oCoC Inside Semi- skilled Labor in cor-- i-H ^t* c^c^o^o^oo^ s v Q u £ oj OO OST^ I-- OS CN i-H tO^CN to t^ , co' , ^to*vr ~ -n u Hq,J to OS CO \£) ^O t^- OS to t-h oo oo os r*- i-» o vrTr^^otroo 1 CN CN CN CN CN rt-d o r-. CN OO Th OO H«»H£S OO^i-H^ 1 ^ r^ , oo* 1 cT , o , so' 00 — ,11 L. S "S = :>§ OS OO Tt* CO rH ^CN^OS^OO^tO^ OS OO 00 OS OS Mi o "^ o os r; i-H S OS OS „<* OS J HrH JJ rt * iT r y aT r * c li 3 c « 4 OO COOS ^h O CJ r- r- r 1 O Q *>£> "* r*- OO OSO OS OCOOM o O OS o o i-H ' 1 1—1 l-H • oovo^Ih O OS OSO o O OS to CO CO O OSOSOO O oo oo O ^ or-- oo o os O ^O to OO o o r- oo oo os O ^ O to to oooo O o oo OS OS OS O ^h-^OO O OSOSOO June, 1914 Oct., 1920 March, 1921 June, 1921 Oct., 1921 42 CHART 11: TOTAL NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS EMPLOYED, IN THE GROUPS COVERED, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) WAGE EARNERS IDOr— 9D BO 70 67. Dr. BO SO 40 3D E8.S75 SO 10 01 JUNE 1914 -wjiS& BO?.-" * VA80?. OUTSIDE I OCT. 1920 MAR. 1921 JUNE 1921 OCT 1921 43 The anthracite industry has thus been characterized by a sustained level of employment during the period of industrial depression. Inside and Outside Labor Contrasted It will be seen by studying Table 9, and Chart 11, that there are approximately two men employed inside the mines to one man employed outside. In the last half of June, 1914, the 55 mining companies covered in this report reported 67,817 inside wage earners. In October, 1921, this number had dropped to 66,428 wage earners. On the other hand, during the same period, total outside labor in the group covered in this investiga- tion increa'sed from 26,875 to 28,086 wage earners. In other words, total inside labor decreased, while total outside labor increased, the increase in outside labor being relatively larger than the decrease in inside labor. The index number for the period October, 1921, based on June, 1914, is 98 for total inside labor employed, and 105 for total outside labor employed. Inside Labor Among the inside labor groups, common labor decreased 10%, and semi-skilled labor only 4% from June, 1914, through October, 1921. During the same period, skilled labor increased 3% and contract miners, 1%. These fluctuations in employ- ment are interesting in view of the fact that hourly earnings of the common a,nd semi-skilled groups increased more during 1914-21 than those of skilled labor and contract miners. Many common laborers have probably become semi-skilled or skilled wage earners, and have not been replaced by an equal group of common laborers. The number of contract miners, on the other hand, remained practically the same. On the whole, the slight drop in employment in the inside group may be due to the fact that the hazards of the occupation, working conditions, and high wage increases in surface work may have turned pro- spective wage earners away from the inside labor jobs. Outside Labor Contrasting employment in the three groups of outside labor, semi-skilled labor declined 3%, while common labor increased 2%, and skilled labor 21%. The increase in common labor is practically negligible, but the increase in outside skilled labor 44 is very marked. This may be partially accounted for by the infusion of semi-skilled workers into the skilled group, and by the increased demand for skilled workers to operate an increasing amount of surface machinery. Conclusions on Numbers Employed 1. Employment in 1921, in the.group covered in this investi- gation, was at approximately the same level as in 1914. 2. Inside labor decreased slightly (2%), outside labor in- creased slightly (5%). 3. Common inside labor shows the greatest decline of any occupational group, while the greatest increase occurred in outside skilled labor. 4. The number of contract miners has remained practically constant. Mine Activity In order to indicate the degree of plant or mine activity, the term "number of breaker starts" has been used. This refers to the number of times the breaker has been started within a semi- monthly period, not the amount of time that the breaker has operated. If, in a semi-monthly period, the number of breaker starts has been 12 or 13, it indicates that the mine has been at full activity, while if the number drops to 6 or 7, it is evident that there has been a curtailment of mine activity due to various causes, such as strikes, temporary disagreements, mine dis- ability, loss of time due to market conditions, car shortage, etc. The analysis of these causes does not lie within the scope of this report. Table 1 shows that the average number of breaker starts per colliery in the last half of June, 1914, was 11.6. In October, 1920, they had increased to 11.8, but declined to 1 1 .4 in March, 1921 . Increased production brought the average up to 12.5 in June, 1921, followed by a decline to 11.8 in October, 1921. 45 VI HOURS OF WORK In considering the data in this section it must be understood that they give the hours actually worked only by those wage earners who worked all but two days, or longer, in the semi- monthly period. The average actual hours worked by all wage earners will be less than those of the group here studied, but how much the hours of work shown may have been altered by the exclusion of the shifting group of wage earners could not be ascertained without more data than were available to the Board. 1 From the social point of view it is the actual time worked by each wage earner in an industry that is important. The results of the present investigation indicate that the se- lected groups of wage earners covered worked nearly the full number of days offered, and in most cases worked overtime. The full hours offered in the industry, however, cannot be accurately estimated because the standard working day, which was nine hours in 1914 and eight hours in 1920 and 1921, does not apply to all wage earners alike, since some classes, like pumpmen, worked twelve hours a day. Again, the hours of contract miners can only be approximated, as described on page 12. Composite The average hours of work for wage earners covered in this report, including contract miners, for the semi-monthly period in 1914 were 107.4. In October, 1920, the average hours de- clined to 104.1, with a still further decrease in March, 1921, to 98.1. The latter decline is directly attributable to Easter holi- days occurring in this period. In June, 1921, the hours had increased to 103.7, followed by a slight decline in October, 1921, to 103.3 hours. Excluding the hours of contract miners, the average hours in the last half of June, 1914, were 115.1, and had fallen in October, 1921, to 111.9. The general trend of the hours is approximately the same whether contract miners are included or excluded. It will be seen by analyzing these trends that the average hours of work of those wage earners "See Section VIII. 46 who worked within two days of the full time offered in each semi-monthly period, have been close to full time. In making any comparison in the full-time hours, it must be remembered that in 1914 there was a standard nine-hour day and during 1920-1921 a standard eight-hour day. Tables 1 and 10, and Chart 12, show the average actual semi- monthly hours, and Tables 1 and 11 show the average actual weekly hours. • Inside and Outside Average Hours of Work Compared An analysis of Table 10 shows longer hours for outside labor than for inside labor. This is due to the fact that the outside labor group includes engineers, pumpmen, and other skilled wage earners whose duties call for the constant operation of machinery. table 10: average actual semi-monthly hours of work of wage earners working within two days of full time offered (National Industrial Conference Board) Inside Labor Period Last Half of Composite Composite Excluding Contract Miners Common Labor Semi- skilled Labor Skilled Labor Contract Miners June, 1914. . . Oct., 1920. . . March, 1921 . June, 1921 . . . Oct., 1921... 102.5 94.6 90.8 97.1 95.7 111.7 104.5 100.8 106.1 104.3 107.6 101.2 99.4 108.6 102.0 116.4 106.7 102.1 102.2 106.1 114.3 107.4 101.7 106.4 106.2 91.9 84.1 80.2 87.4 86.4 Outside Labor June, 1914.. Oct., 1920. . March, 1921 June, 1921 . . Oct., 1921.. 119.8 116.6 122.0 125.5 123.8 118.8 128.8 129.9 115.2 111.7 117.0 121.7 119.3 117.7 118.7 123.7 121.3 117.0 124.2 128.2 47 CHART 12: AVERAGE ACTUAL SEMI-MONTHLY HOURS WORKED, AMONG WAGE EARNERS COVERED, AND INSIDE AND OUTSIDE LABOR, JUNE, 1914-OCTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) HOUQS 130 ISO I 10 I0D 90 SO 70 BO 50 40 30 SO I JUNE 1914 ^ — ^-' OCT I9S0 ..••• MAR. JUNE 1921 1981 OCT I9EI 48 TABLE 11: AVERAGE ACTUAL WEEKLY HOURS OF WORK OF WAGE EARNERS WORKING WITHIN TWO DAYS OF FULL TIME OFFERED (National Industrial Conference Board) Inside Labor Period Last Half of Composite Composite Excluding Contract Miners Common Labor Semi- skilled Labor Skilled Labor Contract Miners June, 1914. . . Oct., 1920. . . March, 1921 . June, 1921... Oct., 1921... 47.3 43.7 41.9 44.8 44.2 51.6 48.2 46.5 49.1 48.2 49.7 46.7 45.9 50.1 47.1 53.7 49.2 47.1 47.2 49.0 52.7 49.6 46.9 49.1 49.0 42.4 38.8 37.0 40.4 39.9 Outside Labor June, 1914. . . 55.3 53.8 56.3 57.9 Oct., 1920. . . 57.2 54.8 59.5 60.0 March, 1921 . 53.2 51.6 54.0 56.2 June, 1921 . . . 55.1 54.3 54.8 57.1 Oct., 1921... 56.0 54.0 57.3 59.2 Inside Labor In June, 1914, the average for a semi-monthly period in the inside group was 102.5 hours. In October, 1921, these hours had dropped to 95.7. Excluding contract miners, the average hours in June, 1914, were 111.7. In October, 1920, they had fallen to 104.5, followed by a further decline in March, 1921, to 100.8. In June, 1921, the hours had increased to 106.1, followed by a decline in October to 104.3. The influ- ence of the shorter hours of contract miners can be readily seen in the composite hours. Turning to the various occupational groups, it will be seen that common, semi-skilled and skilled inside labor worked from 100 to 107 hours during the period, October, 1920-October, 1921, inclusive. During the period from June, 1914, through October, 1921, common inside labor declined 5.6 hours, semi-skilled labor, 10.3 hours, skilled labor, 8.1 hours. The decline in hours has been more marked in the semi-skilled and skilled groups, there- fore, than among common labor. Contract miners' hours derived as described in Section I show an average of 91.9 hours in June, 1914. In October, 49 1920, the hours had dropped to 84.1, followed by a further decline in March, 1921, to 80.2. In June, 1921, these had increased to 87.4, and in October, 1921, declined to 86.4. While the contract miners' work is on a tonnage basis, the influence of the shorter workday is also seen in this group. To give a further indication of the amount of employment among contract miners who worked within two days of the full time offered within each semi-monthly period, the average number of starts per contract miner has been ascertained by dividing the total number of contract miners' starts by the number of contract miners. The following table shows the average number of starts per contract miner, the average breaker starts per colliery and the percentage of the breaker starts worked by the contract miner: Period Average Starts per Contract Miner* Average Breaker Starts per Colliery Percentage of Breaker Starts Worked by Contract Miner* June, 1914 10.9 11.5 11.2 11.9 11.6 11.6 11.8 11.4 12.5 11.8 94.2% 97.2% 98.3% 95.2% 98.4% Oct., 1920 March, 1921 June, 1921 Oct., 1921 *Contract miners working within two days of the full time offered. Outside Labor Common outside labor worked an average of 116.6 hours in June, 1914. During the period from October 1920, through October 1921, these hours increased, except during March, 1921, as the average hours in October, 1921, were 117. Semi- skilled labor increased from 122 hours in June, 1914, to 128.8 in October, 1920. Declines occurred during March and June, 1921, followed by an increase in October, 1921, to 124.2 hours. Skilled laborers' hours increased from 125.5 in June, 1914, to 129.9 hours in October, 1920. Declines occurred during March and June, 1921, followed by an increase in October, 1921, to 128.2 hours. During the period from June, 1914, through October, 1921, the increases in hours for the three groups were as follows: com- mon labor, .1; semi-skilled labor, 2.2; and skilled labor, 2.7. 50 The tendency, therefore, in outside labor has been for an increase in hours during the last seven and a half years. Conclusion on Hours of Work. 1 . The average hours of work for the wage earners covered in this investigation remained fairly steady during the last seven and a half years. 2. Considerable decline occurred between June, 1914, and October, 1920, due to the introduction of the standard eight- hour day. 3. The hours of inside labor decreased, while those of outside labor increased. 4. The hours of inside labor are considerably below those of outside labor. 5. The estimated hours of contract miners are far below those of any other group, while the hours of semi-skilled and skilled outside labor are considerably above those of any other group. 51 VII MONEY EARNINGS, COST OF LIVING AND "REAL" EARNINGS So far, this report has dealt only with hourly, weekly and semi-monthly money earnings. Such data, however, do not reflect the economic status of the wage earners in the various periods covered. This can be shown only by a study of money earnings in relation to the cost of living in order to ascertain the purchasing power of wages received, or in other words, to determine the real earnings. Thus, whereas a weekly wage of $10 would buy one living at the time when a wage earner's cost of living was $10 a week, an increased weekly wage of $15 at a later time would buy one and a half livings, if the cost of living remained stationary, or would buy one living with an increase in the cost of living to $15 a week, or would buy only three-quarters of a living if the cost of living should have risen to $20 a week. In Charts 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, hourly and semi-monthly earnings for all the wage earners covered in this investigation and also for the various inside and outside groups, together with the changes in the cost of living for the country as a whole, as ascertained by the National Industrial Conference Board, 1 have been compared, and by means of this comparison changes in real wages during the periods studied are brought out. Com- parisons of wage changes in a specific industry like anthracite mining, with changes in the cost of living for the country as a whole serve, in a general way, to reflect the real wages. To secure greater accuracy, however, it would be desirable to study the cost of living within the anthracite region itself, and to compare the fluctuations in this region with the fluctua- tions of the cost of living for the country as a whole. This has already been done by the National Industrial Conference Board through an extensive study of the cost of living in the anthracite district. 2 An examination of the figures in this survey shows that the decline in the cost of living in the anthra- cite region, during 1920-21, was approximately the same as that for the country as a whole. Therefore, in this report, it 'See Research Reports Nos. 9, 14, 17, 19, 25, 28, 30, 33, 36, 39, 44. "See Special Report No. 21. 52 CHART 13: "MONEY" EARNINGS AND "REAL" EARNINGS,* JUNE, 1914^0CTOBER, 1921, INCLUSIVE (National Industrial Conference Board) 2B0 260 2 40 220 200 ISO ISO 140 ISO 100 / i A "MONEY" 1 .ABNINGS \ 1 HDUBLY zez \ »»^ \ ',4$' ■■■—■■» 25E \. ^ 166 IEI ^j/p .-•"*" ..—• 9^ S&* JUNE 1914 OCT I92D MAS. 1321 JUNE. 1921 OCT. 1321 I BO 170 I BO ISO I4D 130 ISO I 10 100 90 "REAL" SEMI-MONTHLY EARNINGS / 177 r> r"*' -- .*»- 164 ^--: ^ 154 --- **&* _,.*$&> . JUNE 1914 OCT. issa MAR. 1321 JUNE 1921 OCT I9SI 61 VIII SUPPLEMENTARY DATA As noted in Section II, information covering all wage earners was not furnished by the anthracite mining companies. The effect of excluding certain groups of wage earners from the Conference Board's investigation and the necessity of having fuller information on the proportion of shifting or part-time workers in the industry to determine how representative of the industry these hours of work and earnings of a selected group are, have been pointed out in various places in this report. As an indication of the difference that might result from taking only those wage earners who worked within two days of the full time offered, as contrasted with results from taking all wage earners whose names appeared on the payroll, this section pre- sents certain supplementary material supplied by a single anthracite mining company. This material contrasts the results derived by taking all wage earners on the payroll of one company at two periods of the investigation with those obtained by taking only those wage earners who worked within two days of the full time offered. This supplementary information is offered only as a general guide in estimating the comprehensiveness and representative character of the data from all companies covered in this report as shown in the preceding sections. It is naturally inevitable that the difference between the results obtained by these methods will vary according to companies. To indicate the difference that might have resulted in the picture of wage earning conditions in the anthracite industry if full information covering all wage earners could have been contrasted with that covering only those wage earners who worked within two days of the full time offered, it would be necessary to obtain similar data for all the companies covered in this investigation. Group A of Table 14 shows employment, earnings and hours of employees who worked within two days of the full time offered in the collieries of one company and Group B of this table shows the number employed, earnings and hours worked for 62 all wage earners whose names appeared on the company's payroll in the semi-monthly base period in 1914, and in the final semi- monthly period in October, 1921. In June, 1914, these groups compared as follows: Number Employed Average Hourly Earnings Average Semi- Monthly Earnings Average Hours Worked Group A All employees whose names ap- 6679 $.2789 #28.10 100.8 Group B Employees who worked only with- in two days of the full time 5714 $.2735 $30.17 110.3 In October, 1921, these two sets of data were as follows: Number Employed Average Hourly Earnings Average Semi- Monthly Earnings Average Hours Worked Group A All employees whose names ap- 6307 $.7068 $67.70 95.8 Group B Employees who worked only with- in two days of the full time 5281 $.6918 $71.92 104.0 The portion of wage earners in the employ of this company eliminated by the method of taking only those who worked within two days of the full time offered, ranged from 14.4% in June, 1914 to 16.3% in October, 1921. In June, 1914, 85.6% of the total number of wage earners worked within two days of the full time offered, and in October, 1921, the per- centage was 83.7%. This agrees substantially with the estimate from Government figures of the proportion of wage earners in the entire industry who worked within two days of the full time offered. 63 In regard to average hourly earnings, the inclusion of all wage earners employed by this company results in slightly higher averages. In June, 1914; average hourly earnings were $.2789 for the whole group, as contrasted with $.2735 for the selected group, an actual difference of $.0054, or 1.9%. In October, 1921, the average hourly earnings of all employees were $.7068, of the selected group, $.6918, or a difference of $.015 or 2.13%. These slight divergences would seem to con- firm the statement made in Section III that it makes little difference in the calculation of average hourly earnings whether all wage earners or only the selected group are covered. In June, 1914, the average semi-monthly earnings of all wage earners were $28.10. The earnings of the selected group were $30.17. The earnings of the selected group were, there- fore, $2.07, or 7.4% higher in June, 1914 than those of all wage earners. In October, 1921, the average semi-monthly earnings of the selected group were $71.92, while the average earnings of all wage earners were $67.70. The earnings of the selected group were therefore $4.22, or 6.23% higher than those of all employees. The difference between the selected and the all inclusive group, in reference to semi-monthly earnings, would seem to lie between 6% and 7}4%- In June, 1914, the average weekly earnings of all wage earners were $12.97, and of the selected group $13.93. Those of the selected group were therefore $.96, or 7.4% higher in June, 1914, than those of all wage earners. In October, 1921, the average weekly earnings of the two groups were respectively $31.25 and $33.20, those of the selected group being $1.95, or 6.23% higher than those of all employees. The greatest difference between the two groups is shown in the average hours worked. In June, 1914, the average semi- monthly hours of those who worked within two days of the full time offered were 110.3, while those of all employees were 100.8. The average hours of the selected group were, therefore, 9.5 hours higher than those of the entire group, or 9.4%. In October, 1921, the average hours of the selected group were 104 while those of the entire group were 95.8. The difference between the selected and the inclusive group is 8.2 hours, or 8.6%. _ The information furnished by one company would thus seem to indicate that between 14% and 16% of the employ- 64 55 2 6* o Q > W < « a. O 2; « O (S- D w 111 e( w <; >H w o 0, a. a, < s « M w S < <; ■z w o CO 2 o t-t K w & O w >< o 55 <: a, S o o w 2 O D O hrl Q Z < W W < s a < Q W w O M * o -1 ^ S S ° w "J !* 2^ O OS Pi w « o h o o a z < W 55 o si .2 -a a." .ag > en O 1) OS IB o s H o_ « ty — i 9J =) ■is a- ws S o 4) O >£ la Sgag 331 O tj o Ort< iHNHW COCO b- 00 l>b-00 H©S Pleooo io"co*tC cocqi-i t»cccq b-USOS "*OSTf CNCO*^ CO 00 CD IOIOCO co^ih o»o iHtOlO cot- 00 000 O3 1O00 lOOJ^-l $104,333 13,391 32,735 144,025 IO CO CO CO i-l CD os_coo eo«otD 00 CN 00 oT b- 00 OOS OS