Decorators, and Paperhangers' Local No. 302, from $1.12% per hour to a minimum of 75 cents per hour. Later, a protest against the proposed reduction in wages was filed by the local union. At a hearing held November 23, 1931, the employers contended that it was necessary to make this reduction in wages owing to the present business conditions. The union contended that its members are receiving $9 a day and that a reduction at this time is not justified. The decision of the industrial commission, rendered November 28, 1931, approved a reduction to $8 a day, or a scale of $1 an hour. Carpenters' District Council-Denver, Colo. THE Denver General Contractors' Association and the Denver Building Trades Council held several meetings at which the two organizations agreed upon a 121⁄2 per cent reduction in the wages of all the crafts connected with the Denver Building Trades Council. At that time an arbitration agreement was signed between the parties for a period of three years. At a hearing held between the Denver General Contractors' Association and the carpenters and joiners' union on November 25, 1931, the carpenters agreed to accept the same reduction as the other trades connected with the Denver Building Trades Council, but contended that it would be impossible for them to sign the same agreement as the Denver Building Trades Council for the reason that they had a rule in their international organization which prevented their doing so. The decision and award of the industrial commission, under date of November 28, 1931, was to the effect that the carpenters should accept a 12%1⁄2 per cent reduction in their wage scale the same as the other building crafts in Denver. LABOR TURNOVER Labor Turnover in American Factories, November, 1931 THE HE Bureau of Labor Statistics presents herewith November labor turnover indexes for manufacturing as a whole and for 10 separate manufacturing industries. The form used for compiling turnover rates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the weighted arithmetic mean. The indexes for manufacturing as a whole were compiled from reports made to the bureau from representative establishments in over 75 industries, employing approximately 1,250,000 people. In the 10 industries for which separate indexes are presented, reports were received from representative plants employing approximately 25 per cent of the employees as shown for such industries by the Census of Manufactures of 1927. In the automobile industry schedules were received from firms employing nearly 250,000 people; plants reporting for boots and shoes employed nearly 100,000 people; for brick, nearly 18,000 people; for cotton, over 150,000 people; for furniture, nearly 30,000 people; for iron and steel, over 200,000 people; for men's clothing, about 40,000 people; for sawmills, about 40,000 people; and for slaughtering and meat packing, approximately 75,000 people. In addition to the quit, discharge, lay-off, total separation, and accession rates, the bureau presents the net turnover rate. Net turnover means the rate of replacement. It is the number of jobs that are vacated and filled per 100 employees. In a plant that is increasing its force the net turnover rate is the same as the separation rate, because while more people are hired than are separated from their jobs the number hired above those leaving is due to expansion and can not be justly charged to turnover. On the other hand, in a plant that is reducing its number of employees the net turnover rate is the same as the accession rate, for while more people are separated from the pay roll than hired the excess of separations over accessions is due to a reduction of force, and therefore can not be logically charged as a turnover expense. Previous to September, 1931, the bureau had been presenting turnover rates on both a monthly and an equivalent annual basis. Beginning with September, 1931, however, monthly rates only will be shown. To determine the equivalent annual rate multiply the monthly rate by the number of times that the days of the current month are contained in the 365 days of the year. That is, in a 31-day month to obtain the equivalent annual rate multiply the monthly rate by 11.77; in a 30-day month multiply the monthly rate by 12.17; and in a 28-day month multiply the monthly rate by 13.04. To obtain the equivalent annual rate for November multiply the monthly rates as shown in Tables 1 and 2 by 12.17. Table 1 shows for all industries the total separation rate, subdivided into the quit, discharge, and lay-off rates, together with the accession rate and the net turnover rate. TABLE 1.-AVERAGE LABOR TURNOVER RATES IN SELECTED FACTORIES IN 75 INDUSTRIES Comparing rates for November, 1931, with those of October, 1931, there was a decrease in the quit, discharge, and lay-off rates. The accession rate, however, showed an increase. The accession rate for November, 1931, was higher than for any month since March, 1931. Comparing November, 1931, rates with the rates for November, 1930, there was a decrease in the quit and discharge rates, but the lay-off rate was slightly higher than for November, 1930. There was an increase in the accession rate, the accession rate for November, 1931, being more than 50 per cent higher than for November, 1930. The charts following show in graphic form the data presented in Table 1. Table 2 shows the quit, discharge, lay-off, accession, and net turnover rates for automobiles, boots and shoes, cotton, iron and steel, foundries and machine shops, furniture, sawmills, and slaughtering and meat packing for the months of November, 1930, October, 1931, and November, 1931; and for brick and men's clothing for the months of October, 1931, and November, 1931. |