Part 11

It is recommended that legislation be passed to make it possible to include in the Industrial Code the regulation of hours of work as well as the actual working conditions and conditions under which women hotel workers live in a hotel.

Hours

Women workers should have 24 hours of consecutive rest in every calendar week.

No woman worker should work more than 8 hours in one day or more than 48 hours in one week.

No woman worker should be allowed to work between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 A.M.

Because it is a continuous industry, workers may be permitted to work broken shifts. Not more than two shifts should be worked in one day. For chambermaids and pantry maids there should be at least four hours between shifts in order that the time may be utilized by the worker. For waitresses there should be two shifts with at least four hours between shifts, or three shifts within a spread of thirteen hours.

Each worker should have a scheduled time for meals. At least one-half hour should be allowed for each meal.

Living-in Conditions

The system of living-in should be abolished.

While the living-in system continues, each worker should have a single room or, if two employees are in one room, there should be single beds, not double deckers. Ventilation should be by window. In the case of airshaft, court or area-way there should be a specified number of feet between the window and the opposite wall. The rooms of workers should be located so that they do not get their air from the laundry or kitchen. Each room should be equipped with a sanitary metal bed, clean and sufficient bedding, a locker, closet or dresser where clothes may be kept sanitary and safe, and at least one comfortable chair.

Sanitary conveniences (toilets, showers and tubs) should be separately enclosed. Those for men and women should be remote from each other and plainly marked. Sanitary conveniences should be clean and light, and there should be a sufficient number to each floor for the number of employees using them.

There should be hospital accommodations provided in accordance with the size of the establishment. The room should have beds so that workers who are ill can be segregated from the other employees.

A sitting room should be provided, quiet, with comfortable chairs, where visitors are permitted.

The food served to workers should constitute a well-balanced diet, wholesome, varied, appetizing and sufficient in quantity. It should be served in a well-lighted and aired, quiet and clean dining room.

A Minimum Wage Law

The Consumers’ League recommends that a minimum wage law be passed in New York State which shall include the hotels in its application.

Tipping

Tipping should be abolished.

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SUGGESTIONS TO HOTEL MANAGERS

It is suggested that it be the duty of special employees to care for the workers’ rooms and also to serve the meals, remove the dishes and keep the tables clean in the employees’ dining room or cafeteria.

It is suggested that employees be interviewed and hired by a person understanding the technique of the selection of workers and the requirements of the various jobs in the hotel, with the purpose of securing an efficient force of workers and reducing the turnover of labor. An experienced person, preferably a woman, should be responsible for the introduction of the new employee to her job, her training, her transfer or promotion.

The conditions of living-in, while the system is continued, should be under the supervision of a competent woman.

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● Transcriber’s Notes: ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book. ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (italics).