The New York Times/1916/11/22/40,000 Mill Hands Get Wage Increase
40,000 MILL HANDS GET WAGE INCREASE
American Woolen Company and Arlington Mills Grant a 10 Per Cent. Advance.
BOSTON, Nov. 21.—A 10 per cent. wage increase in all the mills of the American Woolen Company, which employs 35,000 hands in New England and New York State, was announced at the headquarters of the company here tonight. At the same time the Arlington Mills, whose big cotton plant at Lawrence employs 5,000 hands, announced “a higher scale of wages,” the amount of which was not specified. It was believed that the new scale would be similar to that made public last night by the Cotton Manufacturer’s Association of New Bedford, granting their 33,000 employes a 10 per cent. raise.
Franklin W. H. Hobbs, President of the Arlington Mills, in announcing the new scale of his company, said:
“The increase is in accordance with the policy of the corporation to adapt its scale of wage to improved conditions of business, and keep it at least on a parity with the bast wage scale among its competitors in New England.”
ADAMS, Mass., Nov. 21.—Wage increases of 10 per cent., effective Dec. 4, were announced today by several cotton mills in this vicinity. Notices to this effect were posted by William B. Plunkett, who controls four mills in this town: W. C. Plunkett & Sons, Greylock Manufacturing Company, with mills at Greylock, Williamstown, and North Pownal, Vt., and the Hoosac Cotton Company of North Adams.
Several thousand operatives are affected. The promised increase will be the third of the calendar year, making the total advance 25 per cent.