In a typical glass factory in earlier times, most workers would work as unskilled laborers. An unskilled laborer was usually called "boy," a term which did not refer to the age of the individual. Although girls were known to perform other work, they often worked as inspectors and packers of finished glass. They were thought to have the "keener eyesight" required to sort out poorly made glass, and it was also thought that they would be more careful packing the finished ware in shipping barrels.
- A crack-off boy would remove a finished piece of hot glassware from the end of the gaffer's blow iron by cracking it off.
- A lehr boy would carry the hot glassware to the annealing lehr.
- A mold boy would sit at the feet of the gaffer opening and closing the hinged blow-mold as required, (sometimes, a boy would actually be allowed to blow the piece).
YOUNGER WORKERS
Below is a list of the numbers of workers by age in an 1880s glass factory:
- 10 years old: 2
- 11 years old: 4
- 12 years old: 10
- 13 years old: 16
- 14 years old: 53
- 15 years old: 83
- 16 years old: 256
- 17 years old: 199
- 18 years old: 52
- 19 years old: 127
- 20 years old: 116
GETTING THE JOB
Hiring practices were not formal. With no labor unions to establish seniority, workers were sought-out for jobs because of their reputations as skilled, reliable people. A gaffer could hire and fire whomever he wanted. Often, local saloons were used as hiring places. Usually, a gaffer would be paid for a job by the company, then he would hire and pay the people with whom he wanted to work.
THE WORK WEEK
When factories were in full operation, a 50- to 55-hour work week was normal. Mondays through Fridays were 9- to 10-hour working days with a half-day on Saturdays. The 40-hour work week with overtime pay ("time-and-a-half") was not introduced until the 1940s.
WAGES
In one glass factory, the average 1912 hourly wage for a male worker was 18 cents, and that of a female worker was 11 cents. They did not perform the same work. The lowest rate for a male was 15 cents and the highest rate for a female was still 11 cents. A 1917 statistic for the same factory shows that the average yearly wage for the lowest pay-rated male was $526, well above the U.S. poverty level at the time.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Working conditions were hot, dirty, and sometimes dangerous. For that time in history, glass factory working hours were reasonable and pay was relatively good. As length of service increased, opportunities to learn a skilled trade were usually available to those who qualified. Of course, working conditions differed from factory to factory.
RESOURCES
Books/Book Chapters
- Downie, Carolina G. A Journey through Hell : Factors That Promoted and Discouraged Child Labor in the American Glass Industry from 1830-1938. N.p., 2012. Print.
- Fones-Wolf, Ken. "Child Labor in the American Glass Industry." In The World of Child Labor, pp. 468-471. Routledge, 2014.
- Freedman, Russell, and Lewis Wickes Hine. Kids at Work : Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor. New York: Clarion Books, 1994. Print.
- Neill, Charles Patrick et al. Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States. Glass Industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1911. Print. (Or read now at Google Books)
- Rochester, Anna. Children at Work on Men’s Clothing. Child Labor in the Glass Industry. New York City: National Child Labor Committee, Incorporated, 1914. Print.
- Spillman, Jane Shadel. Glassmaking and the Industrial Revolution. N.p., 1995. Print.
Articles
- Gratton, Brian, and Jon Moen. “Immigration, Culture, and Child Labor in the United States, 1880-1920.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 34, no. 3 (2004): 355–91. (Read "Immigration, Culture, and Child Labor" now at JSTOR)
- Hoffman, Nicholas J. “Miniature Demons: The Young Helpers of Milwaukee’s Glass Industry, 1880-1922.” The Wisconsin Magazine of History 91, no. 1 (2007): 2–13. (Read "Miniature Demons" now at JSTOR)
- Larner, John William. "The Glass House Boys: Child Labor Conditions in Pittsburgh's Glass Factories, 1890-1917." Western Pennsylvania History: 1918-2018 48, no. 4 (October 1965): 355-364. (Read "The Glass House Boys" now at Penn State University Libraries Open Publishing journals catalog)
- Messer-Kruse, Timothy. "Technology and the decline of child labor: the impact of the Owens bottle machine reconsidered." Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas 5, no. 1 (2008): 23-45.
Videos
- Johnston, Jolynn., Quentin R. Skrabec, and Barbara. Floyd. Our Ohio. Michael Owens: a Revolution in Glass. Dayton, Ohio: Think TV, Greater Dayton Public Television, 2009. Film.
- Zechinato, Marissa., and Miranda. Ramey. The Automatic Glass Bottle Blower an End to an Atrocity. S.l., Md: M. Ramey and M. Zechinato, 2010. Film.
The Rakow Research Library will lend designated books from its collection and will send copies of articles on request from other libraries. Your local school, public, academic or special library can request items through the OCLC WorldShare Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system or by direct request through email at ill@cmog.org. For more information, please see our ILL website (https://info.cmog.org/library/using-rakow-research-library/interlibrary-loan).
