a dormitory except in a few instances. The bedrooms varied in size, but
were everywhere overcrowded. There were from two to ten girls in a room
in most hotels. Cots were placed side by side and the only ventilation
came from windows at the far end of the room. The rooms were often
overheated and ill-ventilated. Several rooms opened on air shafts. In
one hotel there were three occupants in a room with one window opening
on a narrow airshaft. The air was “vicious” and it was so dark that an
electric light was needed to see at noon.
In one hotel a worker, when shown to her room, was told, “This is an
awful nice room, not many people in it.” It was a room 10 × 20 feet,
with six beds, two dressers, no chairs and a row of lockers. There were
two small windows at one end of the room. “There are twice as many girls
in the room next door,” said the guide. A room in a large metropolitan
hotel, 18 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet high, housed eight girls.
They slept in double-decker beds. There were two large windows and when
the weather was hot enough so everyone was willing to have the windows
open, the air was reasonably good. But when it was cold and some one of
the eight girls wanted the windows closed, the air in the morning was
frightful. Three dressers stood in a curtained space on one side of the
room under which the clothes of the eight girls hung together. There was
one straight chair apiece. The room was steam-heated, with an electric
light hanging from the ceiling. When the girls who slept in the lower
berths wanted to read they had to stick their heads out, as the upper
berths took away the light. As the girls living in the room worked
different shifts, there was always some one asleep, which meant that the
rest must keep quiet. A girl coming in at midnight after a night watch
had to undress in the dark. One of the maids said, “This room is one of
the pleasantest in the house.”
In the smaller hotels dormitory rooms were less frequent. In one hotel
two girls slept in double decker beds in an 8 × 10 room. In one hotel
only were single rooms found, but this hotel had just begun to room its
maids and had not yet filled the rooms with two beds apiece.
Beds had adequate linen which was usually clean, though often ragged.
Towels and soap were furnished by the hotel in every case. In the larger
hotels a maid cared for the rooms and made the beds. In the smaller
hotels this was done by the workers, and bedrooms were very carelessly
kept. There was an adequate number of baths and toilets in the largest,
modern hotels of New York City, although they were often ill-kept and
dirty. In the small hotels in New York City and in the hotels of the
other cities of the State an inadequate number of baths and toilets were
found and the plumbing was poor. Baths were ill-kept and often the hot
and cold water faucets were out of order. In some hotels maids were
expected to use guests’ toilets and showers at odd hours.
Laundry facilities were inadequate except in the largest New York
hotels. Maids washed their clothes at night and hung them in their rooms
to dry. The damp and unhealthful atmosphere in a bedroom in which wet
clothes are hanging can be imagined. In some cases an iron could be
secured from the linen room. In others, maids bought their own irons
which they attached to electric lights in their rooms. In several hotels
maids were required to wash their own uniforms under these conditions
and often they washed clothes for the guests.
In no hotel in which the investigators worked was there a room in which
women workers could receive guests. For social life they were forced
outside the hotel to the streets. In only one hotel was there a
telephone in the employees’ quarters. Three hotels had rest rooms for
women workers with comfortable chairs and tables. Two had victrolas and
one had a piano in its rest room. No books or magazines were ever found.
In the majority of hotels there was not a comfortable chair which women
workers living-in could use while off duty. They spent their recreation
hours talking on trunks in the halls or lying on the beds in their
rooms.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
On the basis of the facts set forth in this report, the Consumers’
League of New York believes that there is need for _a special code for
the hotel industry_. The nature of the work in hotels is such that
regulations regarding the length of hours and the distribution of hours
in shifts cannot be made to apply to all occupations alike. Separate
arrangements, therefore, must be made for chambermaids, pantry workers,
waitresses, etc. The Consumers’ League recommends that a more intensive
and extensive investigation be made by the State Industrial Commission
to secure additional information necessary for drafting such a special
code.
A Special Code for the Hotel Industry
The recommendations of the Consumers’ League as to points which should
be considered in drafting a code for the hotel industry follow.
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_).