HD 6093 .W664 no.13 WOMEN IN INDUSTRY THE EIGHT HOURS DAY AND REST AT NIGHT UPHELD BY THE United States Supreme Court n By FLORENCE KELLEY General Secretary, National Consumers’ League (J>/ Women in Industry, Series No. 13 May, 1916 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 ‘I https://archive.org/details/eighthoursdayres01kell S WOMEN IN INDUSTRY THE EIGHT HOURS DAY AND REST AT NIGHT F ive states and the District of Columbia have by law the eight hours day for women in industry, and the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld them in so doing* by sustaining the validity of the Californiat Statute. These States are California, Arizona, Colorado, Wash- ington and W - yomin §T y^^XA/'-CLciOU . Five other States have established by law a period of rest at night. These are Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Nebraska. The New York law has been upheld by the Court of Appeals — the court of last resort of the State. t The United States Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals are known by the American people to be pre-eminently conservative bodies. Yet their decisions in regard to working women are at the present moment far in advance of the legislation of the States, aside from the ten mentioned above. ■Qh Etour those States — almost forty in number — whose legis- lation lags behind the decisions of these two courts, the line of least resistance is obviously to adopt unchanged the Cali- fornia statute establishing the eight hours day and the New York law creating a period of rest at night from lo p. m. to 6 a. m. For the cases decided favorably have arisen out of these particular measures, and States which may henceforth adopt them will know in advance that their new laws will not be annulled as unconstitutional. *It has expressly decided that even pupil nurses in training in hospitals may enjoy the benefits of the legal eight hours day as provided by the California law. tl915 Miller vs. Wilson, 236 U. S. 373; Bosley vs. McLaughlin, 236 U. S. 385. JNew York Acts of 1913, Chapter 83, upheld in 1915 People vs. Schweinler Press, 214 N. Y. 395. ADVANTAGES OF SUCH LAWS During 1917 the legislatures of more than thirty States will be in session. By concerted action it should be pos- sible to obtain in these States fairly uniform protection for women and girls who earn their own living. It is almost impossible to overstate the advantages which are to be expected from the nationwide adoption by law of the eight hours day with rest at night for women and children. I. — Where the working day is short, the workers are less predisposed to diseases arising from fatigue. They are cor- respondingly less in danger of being out of work, for sickness is in turn one of the great causes of unemployment. 2. — Accidents have diminished conspicuously wherever working hours have been reduced. 3. — They have better opportunity for continuing their edu- cation out of working hours. Where they do this intelli- gently they become more valuable and are correspondingly less likely to become victims of unemploym^ent. 4. — A short working day established by law tends auto- matically to regularize work. The interest of the employer is to have all hands continuously active, and no one sitting idly waiting for needles, or thread, or materials, or for machines to be repaired. Every effort is bent towards having work ready for every hour of every working day in the year. In unregulated industry, on the contrary, there are cruel alter- nations of idleness and overwork. 5. — For married women wage-earners it is especially neces- sary to have the working day short and work regular. For when they leave their workplace it is to cook, sew, and clean at home, sometimes even to care for the sick. CAUTION! In States which have Industrial Commissions there is a tendency to give the Commission discretion to lengthen work- ing hours for seasonal occupations, or in case of breaks in machinery. This should be vigorously fought. The opposite provision should be copied from the Oregon law, if any devia- tion from the California statute is permitted. In Oregon the working day may be reasonably shortened in the more exhaust- ing occupations by the Commission, but in no case lengthened beyond ©igirt* hours. 10 TEXT OF STATUTES To facilitate the work of promoting women’s eight hours laws, the text of the two statutes follow'S ; California Eight Hours Law “Section i. — No female shall be employed in any manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile establish- ment, laundry, hotel, public lodging house, apartment house, hospital, place of amusement or restaurant, or telegraph or telephone establishment or office, or by any express or transportation company in this State more than eight hours during any one day or more than forty-eight hours in one week. The hours of work may be so arranged as to permit the employ- ment of females at any time so that they shall not work more than eight hours during the twenty-four hours of one day, or forty-eight hours during any one week: Provided, however, That the provisions of this section in relation to hours of employment shall not apply to nor affect the harvesting, curing, canning or drying of any variety of perishable fruit or vege- table, nor to graduate nurses in hospitals.” (Cali- fornia Acts of 1911 as amended by Chapter 352, Acts of 1913O New York Law Providing for Rest at Night “Sec. 93-b. — In order to protect the health and morals of females em.ployed in factories by providing an adequate period of rest at night no woman shall be employed or permitted to work in any factory in this State before six o’clock in the morning or after ten o’clock in the evening of any day.” (New York Consolidated Laws, Sec. 93-b added by Chapter 83, Acts of 1913.) It is sometimes argued that in States which shorten women’s working hours in industry and assure them a fixed period of rest at night, employers are at a disadvantage com- pared with their competitors in other States. This fear can be removed by concerted, simultaneous effort to get these indispensably necessary measures enacted in the largest pos- sible number of States in 1917. HAS YOUR STATE THESE LAWS, OR EITHER OF THEM? ARE YOU CONTENT? Organizations which undertake to promote such measures usually need information and practical help in drafting bills with reference to existing laws and decisions, in wording provisions for posting working hours, for inspection, prosecutions and penalties — for all those items which make labor laws workable. Such information may be had on application to the National Consumers’ League, 289 Fourth Avenue, New York City. NATIONAL CONSUMERS’ LEAGUE GenErai, Oeeices 289 Fourth Avenue, New York City Telephone, 2907 Gramercy Honorary President „ Cambridse. Mass. Mr. John Graham Brooks President Hon. newton D. Baker, Secretary of War Washington, D. C. Vice-Presidents New York City Mrs. Frederick Nathan Chicago. 111. Miss Jane Addams Portland. Ore. Mrs. M. R. Tru . q. Miss Myrta L. rs;R.P.H:; OateOue KV; Mrs. Samuel S. . enje p ' ' Cal. Miss Maud Yo pr •90 f Mr. G. Herman' Mrs. Percy Ja(_ Mrs. Florence Miss Sidney C Miss Josephin Miss Pauline, Miss Louise C President Art— Professor Fri^ Professor W.— Professor E. Professor J. Professor H. _ Professor S. ' Professor R. _ Professor Jai Rev. John A — President Mi Dr. Jessica B. L. B. Cat. No. 1137 -City City -City City - City City — City ersit>’ "ersity _gland ersity -ersity higan -^ersity tonsin “jiicago nerica "Jollege 331.4 N377C P12921 The Eight Houra Day for Wage Earning Women 331 .- v.2rn \ ."0i '‘3^. V. .' 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