(3) STATISTICS OF STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS Comparatively few strikes and lockouts occurred in New York State during the year ended September 30, 1914. The number recorded by the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration was the lowest in the last ten years; fewer workmen were involved and less time lost than in any other year since 1909. The reason for the small number of strikes was undoubtedly the business depression, which caused employers to curtail their manufacturing, building and other operations. The number of disputes was 124, in which 61,428 employees took active part and 7,610 other workers were deprived of employment during the existence of strike conditions. The loss of working time for the direct participants was 396,789 days and for the others, 489,329 days, making an aggregate loss of 1,426,118 working days. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN NEW YORK STATE, 1902-1914 WORKING DAYS LOST This table gives some general statistics of strikes and lockouts in the State for each year since the organization of the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration as a part of the Department of Labor. [217] Number of Disputes Exactly the same number of disputes was recorded by the Bureau in 1914 as in 1904. From 1905 to 1907 the number increased gradually to 282, which is the largest number reported in any year. The following year there was a remarkable decrease in number and extent of disputes, due to the business depression of that time. Then as industrial conditions improved strikes became more numerous. In 1910, 250 were reported, then smaller numbers for the next two years, and again in 1913 the high mark of 268 was reached, with the enormous loss of over 7,000,000 days in working time. The year 1914 witnessed another decrease in both number and magnitude. The total number of disputes (124) was less than half the record of 1913, while the loss of time was less than one-fifth. The above table shows the number of disputes in each industry in the years 1908 to 1914 inclusive. Fewer strikes occurred in 1914, in nearly every industry group, than in 1913. Employees Affected Less than one-fourth as many working men and women were concerned in labor disputes in 1914 as in the preceding year. The total number of strikers and those thrown out of work was 69,038, compared with 304,301 in 1913. The table shows the numbers affected in the various industries: The largest number of employees affected in any industry was 20,048, in the manufacture of metals, machines, conveyances, etc. The building industry had the second largest number affected, which was 14,045. There were decreases in all but four of the industry groups. The most striking decrease was in the clothing industry. In 1913, there were 212,513 workers involved in clothing trades disputes, about twenty times as many as in 1914 when the number was only 10,845. Relative Number Involved Not many large disputes occurred in 1914. There were only 11 which involved more than 1,000 employees, whereas in 1913 there were 29. Twenty-one strikes involved between 200 and 500 workers. Sixty-one per cent. of the disputes involved less than 100 persons per dispute. The relative size of disputes in the last three years is shown in the following table: 241⁄2 One dispute lasted 147 days or 24 weeks. This was the strike of carpet workers in Amsterdam. The glove cutters' strike in Gloversville lasted 126 days or 21 weeks. These were the longest disputes of the year. One other dispute lasted over 15 weeks and 6 lasted over 10 weeks. But the greater number of disputes were of short duration, 42 of them lasting less than one week. One-third of all the workmen concerned were involved in these strikes of shortest duration, some of them losing only half a day. |