A Study of 1017 Women Restaurant Employees By The Consumers’ League of New York City 1916...

“I keep hearing about laws for women. Where are they?” This was the question asked by a woman working twelve hours a day in a restaurant. What must we tell her? What excuse have we to offer for excluding her from the protection the law gives to women working in factories and mercantile establishments? That we have safeguarded women in these fields of employment from overwork proves that we know the dangers of overwork, that long hours interpreted in terms of human life mean exhaustion, disease,

Believing that one of the most satisfactory sources of information in regard to labor conditions is the word of the workers themselves, the Consumers’ League decided to base its study mainly upon interviews with restaurant employees. One thousand and seventeen (1,017) women were interviewed in New York City and in six of the larger cities of the State. They were seen in their homes, at their places of employment and through employment agencies. In New York City all the interviews were held at th

An outstanding feature of restaurant work is the presence in this occupation of a very large proportion of girls and young women. One-fourth of all the workers are under 21, and two-thirds under 30 years of age. ( See Diagram 1 ). There are several reasons to account for this fact. A certain amount of excitement attaches to the work of a restaurant waitress which appeals to young girls. She sees and talks to a great many people; she likes the noise and bustle and cheerful atmosphere of the dinin

The majority of restaurant workers are foreigners. Less than one-third are American-born, and of these a great many have foreign-born parents and live among members of their own race, so that they can hardly be classed as Americans. The largest single group is made up of Austro-Hungarians. ( See Diagram 2 ). The demand for cheap, unskilled labor in this occupation calls for the kind of service which these girls and others of the European peasant class can give. The outdoor life in the fields of

While the greater number of restaurant workers are unmarried, it is rather surprising to find so large a proportion of married women in the work. ( See Diagram 4. ) This is easily explained, however, by the fact that many of them are “one-meal” girls, that is, they are employed only for the rush hour at noon. In this way they can earn a little extra money while their husbands are at work, either as “pin-money” for themselves, or to help toward the support of the children. The majority of restaur

The salient characteristic of restaurant work is the length of the working day. Fifty-eight per cent. of the women employees work each week beyond the fifty-four-hour limit set by law for women in stores and factories. A twelve-hour day and a seven-day week is the lot of one-fifth of these workers. ( See Diagram 5. ) A fifteen-hour day is not uncommon. Not quite one-half of the waitresses work over 54 hours a week or 9 hours a day. The reason for this is that a large number of them, 31 per cent.

The day of a restaurant worker does not begin with her arrival at the restaurant nor end when she leaves. Half of these women live at a distance, taking thirty minutes or more to reach their place of employment. When this extra hour spent in going to and from work is added to a twelve hour day, it is a factor to be reckoned with. It means cutting off an already insufficient night’s rest, and, when a girl cannot afford carfare, a weary walk home after being on her feet all day. Nor is this all. O

Although the number of women employed in restaurants at night is not great, night work in this occupation is a factor to be seriously considered. The restaurants which employ women at night are the small establishments in the tenement districts of the city where hours are longest and surroundings most trying; the cheaper restaurants in the theatre districts where the employment of women is an added attraction to after-the-theatre supper parties; and restaurants in railway stations which are nece

Who are the workers that bear the brunt of the long hours in restaurants? They are for the most part the younger women and girls—those who are most likely to be injured by overstrain. They are the very ones whom it is to society’s interest to protect most carefully since by their strength is measured the strength of the next generation. Less than thirty per cent. of all workers exceeding fifty-four hours a week are over thirty years of age. ( See Diagram 7. ) Foreign-born women also make up the

The wage of restaurant workers is of immediate interest to everyone who enters a restaurant. You not only pay for your food, but your tip helps to pay the waitress’s salary. It is upon this source of income that she depends for the greater part of her earnings. Any study of wages in this branch of industry must take into consideration not only that tips form a large part of the income of waitresses but that the majority of women get all their meals at the restaurant, or the equivalent of $3.00 a

Tipping is a direct drag upon wages. When the public is perfectly willing to contribute part of a waitress’s wage, why should not the employer take advantage of this fact and pay her less? That is surely to be expected and is almost universally the case. Many girls, accustomed to making a good deal in tips or “scale,” as they call it, would not be willing to work for $9.00 a week and no tips, for they can often make more than this amount. But the better class of girl would prefer a living wage a

Closely connected with the question of wages is the possibility of being out of a job. If a girl is earning $10.00 a week she may be able, with the most careful saving, to lay aside enough to tide her over two or three weeks of unemployment. But the savings from a $10.00 weekly wage do not last long. Twenty-eight per cent. of these women were out of work one month or longer in the past year because of the slack season, illness, change of their place of employment or for some other reason. The gi

Restaurant work is a “blind alley” trade. There is little opportunity for development or advancement. What training is necessary can be acquired in a few weeks, and the only position to which a girl can look forward is that of head waitress. There are no recognized degrees of skill in any part of the work connected with a restaurant. On the contrary, the tendency is in the direction of wearing girls out by overstrain rather than of giving them a chance. The girls who have been in the work the sh

The law has declared illegal the employment of women in mercantile establishments longer than fifty-four hours or six days in any one week, on the ground that a working day of more than nine hours, or a working week of more than six days, is prejudicial to the health of the worker and therefore to the welfare of society. It has also declared illegal the employment of these women at night and it safeguards their interests further by insisting upon a definite period for the mid-day meal. Fifty-eig

In view of the evidence brought to bear upon the subject, The Consumers’ League wishes to urge the inclusion of women restaurant workers under the Mercantile Law, the general provisions of which are: (1) That the working day shall not exceed nine (9) and the working week fifty-four (54) hours. (2) That women shall not be employed between the hours of 10 p. m. and 7 a. m. (3) That there shall be one day of rest in seven, and (4) That there shall be a regular time off each day for meals....

At present restaurant employees do not come within the provisions of the law relative to hours of labor of females, or the day of rest law. To the casual observer it is very evident that there is no other employment in which males and females are employed, where the hours of labor are so long, and where the employees are compelled to be constantly on their feet. It is admitted that there is no class of work in which so large a percentage of females is employed. The Legislature has recognized tha

From such opportunities for observation as our clinic study afforded us, it is safe to say that this occupation is one which may affect the health of women and in connection with long hours and small wages may combine to cause an increased existence of sickness among them. The effect of work that requires standing and running about while carrying loads for many hours during the day will be particularly marked upon the generative organs of the woman. The influence of the work in this particular,

“A nine hour law would be a very good thing. I think long hours are very bad for women in restaurants. Most of them have varicose veins and flat feet, and a large number suffer from stomach trouble. Look at me, I am strong and healthy, but when I’m through at night, I am just all in. It’s a dreadful nervous strain. “Girls have to live on tips. If you tell the boss you can’t make any, he says you are no good and discharges you. You have to put up with it or starve. The majority of girls—the bette

Verified by U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics...

[1] See Appendix I. [2] Women and Child Wage-earners in the United States, Vol. V., Chap. X. [3] Dishwashers, silver cleaners, tray girls, cashiers, laundry workers and pantry hands are included in this term. [4] 13th U. S. Census, 1910. Vol. VIII, Manufactures, p. 314. [5] Women and Child Wage-earners in the United States, Vol. V, p. 199. [6] The Girl Employed in Hotels and Restaurants. Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago, 1912. [7] Report of the State Factory Investigating Commission fo