xt7r7s7htg44 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7r7s7htg44/data/mets.xml Pennsylvania Palmer, Gladys L. (Gladys Louise) Edelman, Kate Leach, M. Eileen Klopfer, Helen Wharton School. Industrial Research Department United States. Works Progress Administration. 1938 xiv, 100 p.: ill.; 26 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call Number Y 3.W 89/2:53/P-4 books  English Philadelphia, Pa.: Works Progress Administration, National Research Project in cooperation with Industrial Research Department, University of Pennsylvania This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Pennsylvania Works Progress Administration Publications Weavers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Unemployed -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Economic conditions Ten Years of Work Experience of Philadelphia Weavers and Loom Fixers text Ten Years of Work Experience of Philadelphia Weavers and Loom Fixers 1938 1938 2019 true xt7r7s7htg44 section xt7r7s7htg44 ’ , I '7 i I I ' ~ ?
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F 4 I TEN YEARS oEwoRK EXPERIENCE OF ‘
I ‘ GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS V. '
_ . DEPT. _
" I i' V GCTLEIQZI *- V
- I . UNIVERSITY OF'K‘I’ENTUCKY ' '
. , UBRARIES -
' * g £96513 7 " I . i ,
l 1 WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION '
‘ ‘ NATIONAL RESEARcI—I PROJECT AND
, -, i ‘ , INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT '
f 7_ UNIVERSITY or PENNSYLVANIA
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THE W.P.A. NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT ;{
0N REEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND RECENT CHANGES . 3
- ‘ IN INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES 1; 3
Under the authority granted by the President in the Execu- 5
tive Order which created the Works Progress Administration, -
Administrator Harry L. Hopkins authorized the establishment .1
of a research program for the purpose of collecting and ana- 1,
lyzing data bearing on problems of employment, unemployment,
and relief. Accordingly, the National Research Program was . ‘
established in October 1935under the supervision of Corrington ‘
Gill. Assistant Administrator or the WPA, who appointed the ' ,5
directors of the individual studies or projects. ;
The Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes E
' in Industrial Techniques was organized in December 1955 to » ,5
inquire. with the cooperation of industry, labor, and govern- . E
L mental and private agencies, into the extent of recent changes
in industrial techniques and to evaluate the effects of these
changes on the volume of employment and unemployment. David -
V Iv’etntmub and Irving Kaplan, members of the research staff "
of the Divisioh'ofResearch, Statistics, and Finance, wereap— ‘
I pointed, respectively, Director and Associate Director of the j
, Project. The task set for them was to assemble and organize ’
the existing data which bear on the problem and to augment i_
. these data by field surveys and analyses. * '
To this end, many governmental agencies which are the eol- ;
lecture and repositories of pertinent information were in- f
vited to cooperate. The cooperating agencies of the United ”3‘.
States Government include the Department of Agriculture. the ,.
Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior, the Bureau ;
. of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, the Railroad " I, ‘
3 Retirement Board, the, Social Security Board. the Bureau of
Internal Revenue of the Department of the Treasury, the De-
partment of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, and the ‘ ,
- Tariff Commission. . ' g
The following private agencies joined with the National f
Research Project in conducting special studies: the Indus- ' '
trial Research Department of the University of Pennsylvania, ‘
the National Bureau of Economic Researcn, Inc., the Employ- L
' ment Stabilization Research Institute of the University of .
Minnesota, and the Agricultural Economics Departments in the I ‘
Agricultural Experiment Stations of California. Illinois, ' ' ‘5 5
Iowa, and New York. ' ' L

 i
E

g4 WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION ;
g? HARRY L. HOPKINS CORRINGTON GILL -
fié Administrator Assistant Administrator

1 .
‘1 NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT

. g on

% Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes

1 in Industrial Techniques

.2 DAVID WEINTRAUB IRVING KAPLAN

{ Director Associate Director
p In cooperation with
f. INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
i WHARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE
; UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
JOSEPH WILLITS ANNE BEZANSON
-\ Director Director
3'.

l

; Philadelphia Labor Market Studies

é Gladys L. Palmer, Economist in Charge

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,' PHILADELPHIA LABOR MARKET STUDIES J
GLADYS L. PALMER, Research Associate, Indus-
; trial Research Department, University of
' Pennsylvania; Consultant, National Re—
- search Project, directing studies of this
section .
JANET d. LEWIS, Statistician
HELEN L. KLOPEER, Associate Economist
MURRAY P. PFEFFERHAN, Associate Statistician ,
MARGARET W. BELL, Assistant Statistician
; VIRGINIA F. SHRYOCK, Chief Statistical Clerk J
HELEN HERRMANN, Research Economist in charge :
of field work for Schedule #20 f
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E TEN YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE OF

g PHILADELPHIA WEAVERS AND 100M FIXERS

by

i Gladys L. Palmer

¢ with the assistance of

‘ Kate Edelman, M. Eileen Leach, and

‘ Helen Klopfer
E
, WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT
§ In cooperation with
_ INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
V Report No. P-4 ‘

Philadelfihia, Pennsylvania
july 1938

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'1 WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION 3
1 1 WALKER-JOHNSON BUILDING
1; I734 NEW YORK AVENUE NW.
3 WASHINGTON, D. c.
HARRY L. HOPKINS
1 ADMINISTRATOR
1
i
' . July 11, 1938
Hon. Harry L. Hopkins
Works Progress Administrator
. Sir: . '
1 When reference is made to "stranded workers'fl. one
5 usually thinks of single-industry communities in which
1 the industry has either declined, or moved awayJ or
1 gone out of existence altogether. YetJ as the report
submit-ted herewith poihts outJ certain types of workers
can be as effectively stranded in a highly diversified 1
industrial community as those residing around the tipples
2 of shut—down coal mines or in cut—over areas.
: Weaving and loom fixing in the woolen andworstedJ
1 carpet and rugJ andupholstery—goods industries require
1 a high degree of skill which cannot be used outside of
the textile industries. These industries have been de—
f clining in Philadelphia ever since 1920. The loss of
a job under such conditionsJ especially when the loss
is due toa permanent shut-down, usually means extended
unemployment. Reemployment, if not at weaving or loom
fixingJ is almost always at a less—skilled occupation.
} Almost 7 percent of the workers studied reported
‘ 1 more than 60 months of unemployment during the 10 years
» 1926—35. In May 1936, 29 percent of all the Philadelphia
' weavers and loom fixers were unemployed. One—fifth of
these unemployed in May 1936 had lost the last regular
job earlier in that year. Twenty—eight percent had lost
their last jobs in 1935, 13 percent in 1934, 12 percent
in 1933, 7 percent in 1932, and 20 percent prior to
_ 1932; that is, one—fifth had been unemployed continuously
for more than 5 years: The weavers and loom fixers in
this last group are a part of the "hard core within the
hard core” of unemployment. As arecent British report

 fakEE ,.
“ii-133:1? u‘
35;: EE has put it, they are in the "remotest of all back—waters, ;
E5; five years or more without work."
a” ‘
g“; E The outlook for an increase in textile production in
3%»ng EE Philadelphia sufficient to absorb the unemployed weavers 3
5.5%?” EE and loom fixers is extremely slim. In View of the high E
155E average age of those unemployed in 1936 (51 years) and E
“ml the obstacle which that presents to adjustment to a new Q
QRE occupation they are bound to remain subject to a great
1%“ deal of unemployment. This is especially true of those

nE, who had worked in mills which have either moved away or

{1.3:- E are no longer in operation. They are not even in a E
,5 ‘E position to accumulate credits toward a pension when E
3"] they reach the age of 65. On the other hand, since '
«E E advanced years do not seem to be an obstacle to retain—

QgJE ing a job at these skilled occupations, many of those

gig: who are still attached to operating plants are likely :‘
3‘ to remain in the industry. Their periodic lay—offs
‘ will be at least partly compensated by unemployment in-
hi“ surance, and on reaching 65 they will become eligible “
“if“ for old—age pensions.

$35 This report on Ten Years of Work Experience of ‘
Eng: Philadelphia yeavers and Loon Pincers covers one of the

hiéfxE studies of the Philadelphia labor market carried on by

5~ the National Research Project on Reemployment Opportuni— ,
jEE ties and Recent Changes in Industrial Techniques in co- ,
.. “ operation with the Industrial Research Department of the

fin University of Pennsylvania. The study was conducted

if under the supervision of Dr. Gladys L. Palmer, who,

M: with the assistance of Kate B. Edelman, M. Eileen Leach,
Egg, and Helen L. Klopfer, also wrote the report.

3E5 Respectfully yours, ‘

:EEE Corrington Gill

F‘ Assistant Administrator

35‘:- ‘

*e‘ E

t

lei-“LEE ~

r ___~W K ‘—

 V CONTENTS
é Section Page.
i PREFACE......................xiii
i
I.INTRODUCTION................... 1
; Recent industrial changes in the selected
: industries in Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . 3
’ Basis of selection of the sample . . . . . . . . 6
Reliability of the data. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
. Plan of the report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
; II. THE OCCUPATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WEAVERS AND
: LOOM FIXERS IN 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Industry of usual employment . . . . . . . . . . 11
Age 12
; Nativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
§ Residence in Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5 Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
f Entrance to the labor market and to the
textile industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Years of experience atweaving and loom fixing. . 17
The incidence of unemployment in May 1936. . . . l9
‘ The unemployment experience of those unemployed
inMay1936.........‘....... 24
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
‘ III. EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE IN THE
’ 10-YEAR PERIOD, 1926—35 . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Trends in employment opportunity . . . . . . . . 28
Total employment and unemployment, 1926-35 . . . 32
Jobs at the usual and at other occupations . . . 36
; Incidence of unemployment. . . . . . . . . . . . 37
‘ Number and length of unemployment periods. . . . 38
: IV. IABOR MOBILITY IN THE 10 YEARS, 1926—35. . . . . . 43
I Employment atoccupations other than the usual. . 43
Job separations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
, Employer, occupational, and industrial shifts. . 49
‘ V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9 Attachment to the occupation . . . . . . . . . . 52
Patterns of mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Employment and unemployment. . . . . . . . . . . 55
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
APPENDIX A: TABLES. . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. 59
APPENDIX B: SCHEDULE AND DEFINITIONS
OF TERMS USED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
, Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Definitions of terms used. . . . . . . . . . . . 95
: vii
s

 , II .
U 3
J; viii CONTENTS I
I J CHARTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS g
, k Figure Page
HI 2
JV 1. Rug weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 -
I t
JJ 2. Jacquard loom weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 l
{J 3. Age of weavers and loom fixers by employment status J
J; inMay1936.................... 21 ,
JJ 4. Employment history of individual weavers in three
J textile industries, January 1926-December 1935 . . 29
g 5. Employment status of weavers and loom fixers by
U months, January 1926—December 1935 . . . . . . . . 31
w 6. Employment status of weavers in three textile
J industries, January 1926—December 1935 . . . . . . 33
‘ NJ 7. Percentage distribution of specified types of
L f; employment experience, 1926—35, by employment
3: status in May 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5 LI 8. Socioeconomic character of jobs at occupations other
VJ than the usual, 1926—35, for all men weavers by,
J‘J ageinMay1936.................. 46
J 9. Percentage distribution of weavers and loom fixers
by type and frequency of separations, 1926—35. . . 48
3 10. Weaver filling a shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
APPENDIX TABLES
I 3 Table
i 1. Average number of wage earners in the woolen and
worsted industry in Philadelphia and the United
States, 1899—1935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2. Average number of wage earners in the carpet and rug
industry in Philadelphia and the United States,
J J J 1899-1935. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 J
J J J 3. Usual occupation, by the usual industry and employ— ‘
‘ J J ment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
JJJ 4. Year of entering the labor market by the usual
JJJ ' occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 ,
“I
JJJ 5. Age, usual occupation, and usual industry in
JIJ May1936..................... 63
hi
JJJ 6. Nativity, by the usual occupation, the usual
H J industry, and age in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . 64
JEJ
m J 7. Year of beginning residence in Philadelphia by the
J J usual occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
J J 8. School grade completed, by the usual occupation, the
J usual industry, and age in May 1936. . . . . . . . 65
J
'>\JJ - '
Jr} J
in; i ‘ r:

 : CONTENTS ix ’
é APPENDIX TABLES—Continued
Table Page
i 9. Age of beginning work, by the usual occupation and
E age in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
E 10. Number of years employed at the usual occupation by
i the usual occupation and the usual industry. . . . 67
‘ 11. Length of service on and date of beginning longest
_ job by sex and by the usual industry . . . . . . . 68
12. Age and employment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . 69
13. Year of loss of last job at the usual occupation for
_ those employed at other occupations and for those
unemployed in May 1936, by the usual industry. . . 69
14. Occupation of last job, by socioeconomic group,
usual occupation, and age, for those employed at
occupations other than the usual in May 1936 . . . 7O
15. Occupation of last job, by socioeconomic group,
usual occupation, and age, for those unemployed in
May 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
_ 16. Duration of unemployment since last job for those
unemployed in May 1936, by the usual occupation,
the usual industry, and age. . . . . . . . . . . . 72
17. Duration of unemployment since last job for those
unemployed in May 1986, by number of months of
unemployment, average length of unemployment
periods, and length of longest period of unemploy—
ment,1926—-35................... '73
18. Employment status of 357 weavers and loom fixers in
the three selected industries, by months, 1926-35 74
19. Employment status of 76 weavers and loom fixers in
the woolen— and worsted—goods industry, by months,
1926-35. . . . . ‘.' . . . . . . . . . - . . . . . 74
' 20. Employment status of 115 weavers and loom fixers in
the carpet and rug industry, by months, 1926—35. . 75
21. Employment status of 166 weavers and loom fixers in
, the upholstery—goods industry, by months, 1926—35 75
22. Average number of months of specified types of
employment experience, 1926-35, by the usual
occupation and the usual industry. . . . . . . . . 76
23. Average number of months of specified types of
employment experience, 1926—35, by age and employ— _
ment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
24. Number of years employed at the usual occupation by
employment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . 78
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EEE _x CONTENTS g
(\5) , E
1:?“ (E, E
is, EM: APPENDIX TABLES-Continued , E
{‘1 ‘EE‘ 5
:31 WE Table Page E
a EEfi
‘5“ 21E 25. Number of months not seeking work before and after E
5‘15: E EE entering the labor market, 1926—35, by sex and age
“11E inMay1936.................... ’78 é
a: E E E
'5: E E 26. Average number of months of specified types of 1
pg? E employment experience, 1926-35, by the usual '
".1 ‘3 occupation and employment status in May 1936 . . . '79
a” E E E
E '3 27. Average length of service on each job at the usual 3
E occupation, 1926—35, by employment status in ’
;E,E May1936..................... 79 .
5 IE ‘
’ E‘ 28. Number of months of unemployment, 1926-35, by the
Egg: E ‘ usual occupation and age in May 1936 . . . . . . . 80 _
sf 1 1
gig 29. Number of months of unemployment, 1926-35, by ~
JEEE employment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . 81
n1: IE E’ E
337} 30. Number of months of unemployment, 1926—30 and i
5 E‘ZE 1931-35, by employment status in May 1936. . . . . 81
52,1: ‘3 31. Number of periods of unemployment, 1926—35, by the
114E fi‘ usual occupation, the usual industry, and age in
51KB May1936..................... 82
.553;
:9: ' 3‘3. Number of periods of unemployment, 1926-35, by
5:13; , employment status in May 1936, and total number of
Q“ ‘ months unemployed, 1925-35 . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3 33. Average length of unemployment periods, 1926-35, by
513:1 ‘ the usual occupation and age in May 1936 . . . . . 84 '
533: ‘E 34. Average length of unemployment periods, 1926—35, by f
‘3‘ X employment status in May 1936. . . . . . . . . . . 85
51>; E 35. Average length of unemployment periods, 1926—30 and
%§ 1931—35, by employment status in May 1936. . . . . 85
:E‘ E 36. Length of and year of beginning the longest period -
1132: E of unemployment, 1926—35, by employment status in
“TE May1936..................... 86 ‘
{E :E E1
Hg; 1E E 3’7. Socioeconomic character of man—months of employment
'1’ E} E at occupations other than the usual, 1926-35, by
$5 1 the usual occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8’7 '
;EE 38. Socioeconomic character of man—months of employment
E} E at occupations other than the usual, before and
EE 3 after employment at the usual occupation, 1926—35 8'7
51-“ E
“r: i
’2»; EE 1E 39. Occupational group of majority of jobs at occupa-
EEEE Ii tions other than the usual, by age in May 1936 . . 88
flaw
E‘E : 40. Types of shift experience, 1926—35, by employment
LiEE statusinMay1936................ 88
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 I
1
g CONTENTS xi ’
I
g APPENDIX TABLES-Continued
E Table Page
i 41. Number of job separations, 1926—35, by the usual
E occupation, age, and employment status in May 1936 89
i 42. Type of employment experience after each job separa—
L tion, 1926—35, by age and employment status in
May 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
48. Type of employment experience after each job separa-
; tion, 1926—30 and 1931—35, by the usual occupation 91
44. Number of employer shifts, 1926-35, by the usual
j occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
45. Number of occupational shifts, 1926—35, by the usual
' occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
‘ 46. Number of industrial shifts, 1926—35, by the usual
1 occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

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i ,
E PREFACE
!
§ The woolen and worsted, carpet and rug, and upholstery indus—
i tries of Philadelphia had been declining even before 1929. The
% decline in this old center of. the industry reflects mainly the
E general decline of the industry in the country as a whole and
i the migration ofmills tootherareas. In addition,stylechanges
i in housefurnishings have resulted in a heavy drop in the demand
i for many of the other textile products in which Philadelphia
% mills specialized: carpets and rugs, upholstery goods, tapes—
: tries, plushes, and novelty housefurnishing fabrics.
; Greater declines in the production<3fthese fabrics took place
; in Philadelphia than inthe rest of the country. Thus, while in
:4 the woolen and worsted industry, for example, the number of
. workers employed in the countryasa,whole declined only 24 per—
. cent from 1919 to 1933, in Philadelphia the drop amounted to 63
percent. Similar declines occurred in the other industries se—
lected for study. .
This report is concerned primarily with the work experience
of a sample of Philadelphia weaversandloom fixerswhorepresent
‘ a cross section of the local labor supply in these occupations
in 1936. Their average agewasns years. This sample comprises
i a relatively aged groupofworkers becausefewpersonshadentered
- these trades inPhiladelphia since 1920. The persistent decline
3 in employment opportunities at weaving or loom fixing has none—
theless resulted in extensive unemployment for those already in
the labor market. One—fifth of these unemployed in May 1936,
' had been unemployed continuously for more than 5 years.

The analysis of the 10-year work history of 357 Philadelphia
weavers and loom fixers shows that only 12 percent of their non-
weaving employment duringthat periodwas spent at work asskilled
as weaving andloom fixing. Considering the fact thata weaver's
skillin the specialty textile tradesis the result of long years
of apprenticeship and experience and that it is oflittle use in
any otherindustry,itisnotsurprisingtofindweaverswho,though
separated from a loom for many years, continue maregard weaving

' as their trade and are unable to make a satisfactory adjustment
by shifting to another skilled occupation.

There are indications that such technological changes as have
been introduced in the three Philadelphia textile industries

xiii

 IIrr—r—rr-r—M-———~M~» ~ ~ 7' I
IE» 7
E ' I
I Q E
E E EE xiv PREFACE
' E E
‘ EEEE _ studied had little direct effect on the employment of weavers and E
, III loom fixers in the area. However, the technology available to E
EEE the industries has improved considerably during the past 25 years.
EE Usually these improvements are adopted when new plants are es— E
I EEE E tablished or when old plants migrate to new areas. With the best E
E technology available 25 years agoa mill with an output of 22,000 i
I EEj yards of 32—0unce woolen overcoating per week of two 40—hour EI
I shifts, for example, required 48 semiautomatic looms and 96 E
*, I weavers. Today a mill of similar capacity needs only 37 auto— I
EE 3 matic looms attended by 26 weavers. In 1910 it was usual for one
E weaver on worsted serge to operate two looms. In 1936 manymills E
I, E assigned 6 automatic looms toa weaver on worsted serge; 12 looms E
. IE‘ were not unusual and "with the help of battery hands even 20 to
.. EE 24 looms."1 Where such improvements as these were adopted in the I
-I textile plants which migrated out of Philadelphia, the number of -
I I weavers who could possibly have migrated with the plants was I
I I therefore much smaller than the number displaced.
E E We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the men and women I
I I E who made this study possible by patiently answering questions con—
E cerning their employment and unemployment experience during the E
E past 10 years. ‘
I DAVID WEINTRAUB E
‘ , IRVING KAPLAN f
E PHILADELPHIA
July 2, 1938 E
E E
‘ I E
El ‘ I
‘ E I
H i E
E E
E ii
HE
IE E -
Ev ,—- §
i E .2233 Bio“?siéefflsri:”33332:.Ciszifiisérhfé‘fi.”3:33.21” tesssshfeagna
:I I I cooperation with Bureau of Labor Statistics. Department of Labor, Report No.
2: IIII B~5I. Jan. 1958; reprinted from Monthly Labor Reuteonl. 46. No.1, Jan. 1938).
.‘x; EE‘II
1”E . a

 f _ ,
E SECTION I
i
; INTRODUCTION
l
, .
l
i In considering the chances for the reemployment or for the
i continued employmentof skilled workers during a period of rapid
1 industrial change, it has seemed important to attempt a reap—
i praisal of the current valueof specialized experience and other
i factors which have traditionally givento the workers possessing
% theman economic advantage in the competition for jobs. A study
i of this kind is especially significant in skilled occupations
i in which technological changes and other economic factors have
i reduced the degree of skill as well as the number of workers
j formerly required in these occupations.
l A considerationof the employment problems precipitatedby such
; a situation gives rise to a number of questions. At what point
‘ does age become a handicap? Are mature years in themselves a
3 disadvantage? Is occupationaland industrialstability a help or
: a hindranceto a skilled worker inthe contemporary labor market?
; Does specialized skillor experience tend to become a liability?
i For example, does the weaver who sticksto his loom, soto speak,
: find himself at a disadvantage compared with workers who have
i shifted from job to job, from one occupation to another, or who
E i have had a variety of industrial experiences? What adjustments
‘ are made by workers displaced from a declining occupation?
I This study of weavers and loom fixers has been made with the
V I hope that some answer may be found to these questions by a con-
: siderationof the occupational characteristicsand recent employ—
: ment experiences of a group of skilled workers with specialized
Z experiencein selected textile industriesin which employment has
declined sharply in this city during recent years. The occupa—
tionsof weaving and loom fixing were selected because they con—
stitute the largest single occupational groupin the manufacture
of fabrics. Weavers, together with loom fixers, form the most
highly skilled group of wage earners engaged in the production
of textile fabrics.
1

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f My ‘ :1“
11.1“ 5‘
1.“
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11.1 ‘
Ni , .
I' )Hi 2 WEAVERS AND LOOM FIXERS
{1;}
J11» . .
1‘ i1 Those employed in the woolen and worsted, carpet and rug, and I
I i“ i upholstery-goodsz industries form a particularly interesting and
W . . . .
I important part of the labor supply in the textile industries of
; 1;} Philadelphia. Local firms have always specialized in the manu—
_ 1 hi facture of fine fabrics, and specialized experience, as well as
' I 1
{ H 3 a high degree of skill, has traditionally been required for main—
1 ‘1‘ i . . . . . . .
t 3‘ 1 taining and operating the loomson which these high—grade fabrics
f 1 3 are produced. 1
1 ~~ 1
i .._ .i
1 W ‘ 1“ . its?
_ ‘ 1 , _ 1 g i .2 i1. .3; s . .uggngg Q 3;: 33.». ;;. 1i . I
1‘ 1 1 . ' 3 , . ,t w {.331 t, . ‘ V . ' 1
‘5‘ ‘ 1 1' 4.3 t K _. 1‘17, 5 1’ :9, 1i, . - i
‘51 ‘ 3' fi‘:*% 5 f A .’ (31‘ gas a}? . i :; L‘vf‘" " -, i
I 1' 1.». 1 $1», 1 i z s «1‘1“ . LY“ . ‘lfig: ,0. :z-Z‘ ., '
H 1 l fig ‘ i: ; ~ 3911.;- f; . “i" , . i
1' 1’ ? WVW twist; .- 3 ~ 1535 ;
11 1 ' " " ‘ ‘: | L. ' . 13 ,x 1
‘1 1 1 1 , MW” " ~, L . . . »- 3 {‘1 .
:w 1 » = Mummi- tint. a
1 1 “a ; . t ' * 1 1
1 ‘ . j Cw; . . e~ ' ’1’ ., 1
1 gt "it e - ' "Z": 2*: ,1 , . 1
1 1 i-’ ’z .3 3 ~ ’ W'r-va‘gn 23:4; “f;r1’:‘,.;.,\". .V
3 V x v ..‘ ..-‘ ~ “flip? ,, frcktx ,
‘, 1 1 , ' , "an”? ”:1 .\:'~:\f~‘~*tii:“" .
1‘ 1 3 1 I ‘ . .. u; t ‘ . I ' mt '4 x2. we: 3
‘ .11 1 "' 1
[1 f‘ 1 VIPA- National Research Project (Fine)
111 ‘ FIGURE 1.— RUG WEAVER
' fl 1 Note at upperleft the cardboard pattern, punched with ho1es,which controls i
i .. .
E I? the movement of the warp threadsand thereby the pattern in the goods woven. ;
' 531 ~ ' ;
.1. 1 . I
' 1: Manyof the older workers are foreign—born and were trained in 1
p the famous textile centers of Westernand CentralEurope, England, I ;
J 1‘ and Scotland. Their specialized skill and craftmanship were an I
ll 1 1 important contribution to the development and maintenance of the ‘
‘i’. s;_‘ ‘ high standardsof quality and workmanship for which Philadelphia -
i 1 ' '
- Li 1 ‘ 1The carpet. and rug industry consideredin this study excludes the rag-carpet
”1;, My 1 and rug industry.
[113 1 zlncludingmohair. frieze, plush, haircloth, and all Jacquard-woven upholstery ‘
. _ 11 r’j 1 fabrics and draperies. _
f1" 2 ?
15 i
!§ 111 1 ..
1k gay I ‘ 4.

 INTRODUCTION 3 ‘
i fabrics have been noted. Pridein their craft andin the quality
; of the fabrics they produce characterize both native—born and
i foreign—born weavers and loom fiXers in these industries. They
i ' are scornful of inferior materials and poor workmanship and are
E reluctant to admit that the need for expert craftmanship can be
E eliminated by automatic devices.
E The attitudeof skilled textile workers to recent developments
i in the industries in Philadelphia has,in general, supported the
i View of the worker who said, "The textile industry is shot in
3 Philadelphia. I wouldn't want a sonof mine to go into it. But
3 it's a trade thatgets into you." In other words, they are dis— '
: couraged about future employment opportunities in the textile
i industries in the areabut persist in their own attachmentto the
i labor marketof these industries because they have always worked
\ with fabrics and prefer this type of employment.
5 It is not possiblein this report to describein detail the in—
' dustrial changes which haveso severely curtailed employment op—
portunitiesfor these workersin Philadelphia duringrecent years.
E Some understanding of the nature and extent of these changes is
3 necessary, however, foran understandingof the data presented in
i this report. They are therefore briefly summarized here.
i RECENT INDUSTRIAL CHANGES IN THE SELECTED INDUSTRIES
IN PHILADELPHIA
For many years the woolen and worsted, carpet and rug. and
' upholstery—goods industriesin Philadelphia gave employment to a
, large numberof the city's industrial workers. Between 1899 and
1909 approximately3o,ooo Philadelphia wage earnerswere employed
in the manufacture of woolens and worsteds and carpets and rugs
: (tables 1 and 2).:5 By 1919 this number was reduced to 23,040.
V Census data are lackingas to the numberof wage earners employed
in the upholstery—goods industries during these years, but in
1930, 2,500 workers were so.employed, and in earlier years, al— .
' most as large a group had been employed in the occupation of '
weaving alone.4
Over a long periodof years, however, therehas been a downward
trend in employment in all of these industries. The average .
SAll tables referred to in the text are to be found in appendix A.
4C. Canby Balderston, Robert P. Brecht, and Others, The Philadelphia Uphol—
stery Weaving Industry (Phila.. Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 19:52),
pp.12,1e.
l

 ‘I

n -
a JJJJJ . 4 WEAVERS AND LOOM FIXERS

:94 In I

2” JJ numberof wage earners employed in the woolen and worsted industry J
‘7: JJ I in Philadelphia decreased more than 60 percent between the years J
«z, J 1919 and 1933 (table 1). Strictly comparable data, are lacking J
J J| , for 1935, but it is evident there was little if any increase in J
J? JJ the number of persons employed in this industry in Philadelphia J
JJJJ during 1934 and 1935. Only three~tenths as many wage earners J
Esi J were employed in the carpet and rug industry in the Philadelphia J
{E ‘ Industrial Area5in 1933 as had been employedin this industry in J
Eff JJJ the city of Philadelphia alone in 1909'3 (table 2). Employment
gash increased in the Industrial Area following 1933 andwas slightly J
sJ higher in 1935 than it had been in 1929, but the number of wage J
i“: JJ earners employedin the carpet and rug industry in 1935 was well J
it"JJ J 1 below the number employed in the city's carpet and rug industry J
3*ng in 1919 and earlier years.
:3 J J Satisfactory statistical dataare not available to show recent
.J‘J J‘ . trends regarding the multiplicity of products made by upholstery—
J JJJ goods mills. Combinations of cotton, rayon, silk, wool, and
VJ J1 worsted yarns are used. Some of the products include tapestries,
damasks, brocades, mohairs, plushes, haircloth, draperies, and
novelty housefurnishing fabrics woven, for the most part, on J
J jacquard looms. The scanty evidence available substantiates the
W’Ji ‘: opinion current in the tradethat production inPhiladelphia mills
J . has decreased more rapidly than in the country as a whole and I
- that the numberof persons recently employed in this locality is J
if J considerably smaller than in earlier years.
JIJJ From the data availablefor the United States (tables 1 and 2) ,
g J JJJ it is evident that local employment trends in these industries

§ J : reflect to some e