Finding Aid Search

Title

Wage legislation opinion files

Series Number

A3013

Summary

The Wage legislation opinion files are comprised of questionnaires and correspondence advising the Factory Investigating Commission on minimum wage legislation. These records document the Commission's solicitation of views of business, labor, academic professionals, economists, lawyers, and others to gather a broad range of expert opinion on solutions to the problem of low wages, including possible legislation.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Establishment survey assignment cards

Series Number

A3007

Summary

Factory Investigation Commission staff recorded their assignments to conduct factory surveys on these appointment cards. The cards contain information on: the firm visited; owner's name, date of scheduled visit; and the field agent assigned to do the research.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Charts, graphs, and tables prepared for publication in the Commission's reports

Series Number

A3032

Summary

This series of charts, graphs, and tables was prepared for publication in the Factory Investigation Commission's reports. These records provide statistics and trends in wages, hours, and employment practices in industries studied by the Commission such as the mercantile, shirt, paper box, confectionery, and millinery industries.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission organizational and planning files concerning advisory committees on the proposed Labor Law recodification

Series Number

A3026

Summary

This series contains correspondence, memorandums, notes, and other material concerning the New York City and Upstate Advisory Committees on Recodification of the Labor Law. The files include committee membership lists; meeting attendance lists; lists of individuals to receive recodification proposals; draft the Labor Law revisions relating to health and safety issues, work hours, and child labor; and reports on night work of women.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Title

Background report on Buffalo department stores employees strike

Series Number

A3017

Summary

This series consists of a background report on the 1913 department store worker strike in Buffalo, New York. The report deals mainly with wages, although in addition to higher wages, strikers were demanding Saturday night closing of stores, an eight-hour day, and better sanitary conditions. Packard's report recommended that the Factory Investigating Commission hold a public hearing on the issues raised by the strikers.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Press clippings concerning Commission activities

Series Number

A3023

Summary

The clippings in this series are from news and trade publications, and deal with activities of the Factory Investigating Commission. They concern: scheduled hearings; hearings held in Schenectady, Troy, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo; witnesses testifying at the hearings; descriptions of the commission's investigation of factory and store health and safety conditions, wages, and cost of living; and descriptions of actual conditions in factories and stores relating to dangerous working conditions, poor wages, and child labor.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Statistical tables compiled for report on wage investigation

Series Number

A3009

Summary

Statistical tables based on data collected by field agents about factory employees from establishments studied 1912-1914. The tables provide statistics about factory workers such as: wages; age; sex; time worked; years worked; immigration status; occupation; and housing. The series contains background information about how the information was gathered to create the tables.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Lists of businesses, occupations, and code numbers used in the Wage Investigation

Series Number

A3010

Summary

This series contains rough notes and lists providing agents of the Factory Investigating Commission with information on the recording and coding of business establishments and occupations.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission cost of living report, draft and background notes

Series Number

A3016

Summary

The cost of living report, draft and background notes were used to study the laboring class in New York City. This series contains data on cost of living for single women and men; cost of living for families; workers' living conditions; and workers' earnings and expenditures. The series also contains notes from interviews with workers used as background material for the report. The notes provide information on cost of living, living arrangements, and wages of individuals.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission establishment financial analysis reports for the Wage Investigation

Series Number

A3014

Summary

Field agents of the Factory Investigation Commission prepared financial analysis reports for the Wage Investigation 1912-1913. These reports were compiled from interviews and factory records to determine ability to increase wages. The reports contain gross revenue; manufacturing costs; selling expenses; net profit; net sales; miscellaneous earnings (e.g. interest income); labor costs; and office expenses.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission General Wage Investigation data cards

Series Number

A3000

Summary

The General Wage Investigation data cards provide background information for reports and recommendations on wage legislation. The 70,000 cards compiled by field agents detail information about the wages and personal history of employees in four industries: department stores, shirt and collar factories, paper box factories, and confectionery factories.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Correspondence, drafts, and printed material related to commission investigation of fire hazards in stores

Series Number

A3028

Summary

This series documents the Factory Investigating Commission's preparation of proposals and reports on fire hazards in stores. Included are letters, memoranda, lists of persons attending a hearing on the fire hazard, lists of stores inspected and store representatives seen, printed floor plans, reports, general specifications for factory fire alarms, and a an outline of part of the "Maintenance" section for a report on fire hazards, safety devices, and exits in store restaurants, kitchens, factories, and workrooms.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission questionnaires, drafts, and printed material relating to commission proposals to consolidate building inspection agencies in New York City

Series Number

A3027

Summary

These records document the commission's preparation of proposals to consolidate New York City building inspection agencies. The series contains a leaflet of questions regarding proposed legislation; a list of extracts of answers to a questionnaire regarding the establishment of a separate building inspection agency; bill proposals and typescript drafts of various plans to consolidate inspection agencies and minimize the number of inspections necessary; publications with articles on building inspection or construction; and lists of questions, prepared by the New York Society of Architects, to pose to the Bureau of Buildings.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission research files on contract prison labor

Series Number

A3025

Summary

These letters, reports, articles, notes, and government documents provide information about the prison contract labor system for the manufacture of shoes and shirts in other states and countries. The series includes correspondence comparing prison labor to free labor in the shoe industry; questionnaires recording productivity and convicts' earnings; and legislation, hearings, and reports for and against contract prison labor.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission correspondence

Series Number

A3019

Summary

This series contains letters, memorandums, and telegrams of the Factory Investigation Commission regarding administrative activities, plans for and methodology of investigations, and proposed solutions. Correspondents include government agencies; businessmen and organizations; employee and civic groups; and subject experts.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission staff daily work reports

Series Number

A3008

Summary

These work reports document the daily activities of Factory Investigating Commission employees. Field and office staff work cards list factory field visits; the type of work; and relevant staff expenses.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Correspondence concerning the field investigation in Upstate New York

Series Number

A3020

Summary

This series contains correspondence between field agents in Upstate New York and staff in the main office in New York City. The correspondence concerns data cards; instructions to agents; factories and stores under investigation; salaries, and supplies to study Upstate during the Wage Investigation. There is also correspondence between the Commission and establishments and businessmen concerning plans to investigate the establishments, and upcoming public hearings on wages.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission financial records

Series Number

A3018

Summary

This series contains vouchers, typed financial statements, and ledgers, recording expenses of the Factory Investigation Committee for salaries, office supplies, rent, and travel. The records generally provide payment date; to whom paid; purpose of payment; and amount paid. Two of the ledgers also provide lists of employees' names, addresses, and phone numbers.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Title

Notes and tables for a study on "Dependence and Wages"

Series Number

A3030

Summary

These data cards and other records document a study on "Dependence and Wages". The series provides information about the relationship between wages and dependence on charity. Records were compiled about causes of destitution, wages by occupation, family size, weekly income, and housing for a report that was never published.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Title

Factory Investigating Commission proofs of brief supporting the conviction of Jacob Balofsky

Series Number

A3024

Summary

This series consists of a brief submitted the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department by the Factory Investigating Commission in the case of People of the State of New York v. Jacob Balofsky. The commission's brief argued against Balofsky's appeal of his conviction of violating Section 104 of the Labor Law for contracting with a woman to finish coats in a tenement residence.

Creator

• New York (State). Factory Investigating Commission

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.