Saginaw and Manistee: WAGES (updated 2/22/22)

 SAGINAW AND MANISTEE: WAGES

COPYRIGHT; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (5/10/22)

    The company records of the Saginaw and Manistee are very thorough regarding the compensation received by their employees. The comprehensive yearly records cover each classification, wages per each department, and handwritten entries for each employee. From the perspective of a number of sociological and economic disciplines, a wealth of information is waiting to be studied, diagnosed and deliberated.  This chapter is by necessity a limited overview of wage scales, and how the company defined and compensated each employee in the organization. 

    It was not uncommon for owners of the company to have financial investments in other business ventures. The company's Board of Directors were usually selected from a number of different backgrounds, such as banking, railroads and other business pursuits. Often a board member had a seat at the table on other company boards. These were usually successful businessmen, and having access to other "Captains of Industry," exercised varying degrees of influence and status. It was not uncommon, as can be seen in the Saginaw and Manistee's archives, that these titans of industry were well traveled; important correspondence and telegraph messages would find them in San Francisco, Michigan, or Washington D.C. Whatever their title or professional status, all of them had these goals in common; maximize the profits and the return on investments. 

    The logging companies faced a growing number of issues that hindered profitability. Some of these issues were beyond their control, such as newly imposed harvest restrictions by the Forest Service, or the fluctuations in regional lumber markets. Other issues were within their means of control, such as training employees in modern safety methods, thus reducing the workmen's compensation insurance rates. This in itself was a difficult task, as the logging industry has been one of the most dangerous professions in the country. 

    Wages was one of those items which they could control, and this they pursued with all diligence. A common factor that affected all of the companies was the limited number of men willing to do the hard labor required of timber harvesting. It was not uncommon for a worker to begin one day, then move-on the next, as the physical demands of logging were not everyone's dream job. The availability of workers was affected by other opportunities for work in the region. In the earlier years, prior to the start of the Great Depression, work was available in the mines of Jerome or the Prescott area. Agriculture was becoming a major industry in the southern region of the state. There was also the draw of finding a new life in the Golden State of California. It was important to pay good wages, to be competitive and yet not overcompensate. If a skilled employee could find another position with a competitor who was just a train ride away, then you as an owner just lost your investment in that person. For this reason, the logging companies began the practice of cooperating in setting wage scales. 

    For this time period, this may not have been an uncommon practice. The owners invested in the company, creating jobs. As such, management had the responsibility to control costs, one of which was wages. This practice continued for some time, until the workers wanted a seat at the table and a say in operations and compensation. Thus continued the age-old strife between labor and management. This is a topic beyond the limited scope of this chapter. Suffice it to say, the Saginaw and Manistee resolved many of these issues by the implementation of the Safety Committee, where the two sides of the same organization could meet. Yet, whatever the outcome of their cooperation, management maintained a firm grip on wages.    

    It should be mentioned that the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company was not an unfeeling and overbearing corporate entity. On the contrary, they had a keen interest in the health and well-being of their employees, as well as the local community of Williams. On December 13, 1918, the employees received a ten percent pay increase, making it the third raise in one year. These were given not by employee actions, but by the company to help off-set the high-cost of living (Williams News.) 

   One of the conclusions that can be determined from the company files is that the regional logging railroads cooperated, if not colluded, in setting wages. Although competitive in nature, for the most part the logging companies had established their own independent domains by purchasing timber holdings and rights to vast acreage in specific areas.  

    The following two documents outline the Wage Scales in effect as of January 1, 1921, through February 28, 1921 (NAU Archives, Cline Library, Special Collections. (Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company Collection, NAU MS.84, Box/folders 12.428-450; 14.502-507.)

    However, due to economic changes, new wage cuts were instituted on February 28, 1921. In setting the new wage scales, the S&M management used wage comparisons from documents obtained from all of the regional logging railroads. This included the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company; Flagstaff Lumber and Mill Company; Arizona Lumber and Timber; and Apache Railway. The new wage scales inferred that all of the listed companies were coordinating their efforts. Additionally, the new wage scales defined the number of hours that specific operations would work: 

Mills and Factories:  10- hour days

Railroads:                  10- hour days

Woods (operations):    9- hour days

Postcard; author's collection

    On September 1, 1921, the Northern Wisconsin Logger's Association met at the upscale Knight Hotel, in Ashland Wisconsin. All of the major Wisconsin Logging Companies were represented. The participants met to discuss and set new wage scales for all of their members. This document found its way into the hands of the Saginaw and Manistee, which infers that they were a confidante of the discussions (MS NO 84, Box 12 of 15; S&M Collection, Employee Records.) The presence of this document gives credibility to the theory that coordination and definition of wage scales was not just regional, such as in the northern Arizona operations, but also to some degree multi-state, as in the meeting of the Wisconsin Logger's Association. 

   As time progressed, new wage scales came into effect. On September 15, 1927, a new scale was implemented; the hand-written notation implies the same scale continued in effect January 10, 1928 (MS NO 84, Box 12 of 15; S&M Collection, Employee Records.) What is also significant, besides the new wages, was the identification of, and the number of employees in, each job classification.

According to the preceding document, there was only one woods engine crew at work. Given the date, this was probably on the Garland Prairie Line.  

    As time progressed, so did the wage scales. New mechanized methods of harvesting created new classifications, and also resulted in others being eliminated. The following information was in effect in the Flagstaff companies; similar pay scales would have been in effect for the S&M during the Tusayan operation. 

Per day earnings calculated on hourly pay at eleven hours per day, six days per week (Richmond, pages 114,117):

Choker Setter:  .32 cents per hour;  $3.52 per day.

Tong Hooker:   .38 cents per hour;   $4.18 per day

Cat Skinners:    .60 cents per hour    $6.60 per day. (Tractor driver)

Train Crews on average would earn higher wages, and engineers would be provided family housing. Crews usually began work at 6:00 AM, then worked until 5:00 PM. Skid loaders and engine crews would work another hour (fires banked, engines cleaned and serviced, all made ready for the next day.) 

This went on six days per week, with Sundays off. An hourly logger made approximately $21.12-$39.60 per six-day week. Deducted from wages were $1.05 per day ($7.35 per week) for room and board, including company provided meals. Some classifications received room and board (meals) without charge, as part of their compensation.  If you were a hearty eater, as most loggers were, this would be a bargain considering it was all you can eat. Not including deductions for taxes (if any) and purchases at the company commissary, at the end of week the logger was handed approximately $14.00- $32.00 in pay.  This was after enduring dust, dirt, and long hours felling and hauling the Ponderosa pines.

The employees provided their own clothing, from hat to boots, and the mundane expenses of daily routine. Other items, such as tobacco and comfort items, could be purchased through the S&M Company commissary (at a modest profit, no doubt.) The pay may seem lacking in substance; yet appreciation should be forthcoming for having a job, a steady income, and a place to eat and sleep. During the initial years of the Great Depression, up to one-third of the adult male population were transient.