Wet corn milling had the highest pay levels of four grain millindustries, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey ofoccupational pay. At $10.72 per hour, average earnings in wet cornmills in September 1982 were 25 percent higher than in flour mills($8.
59), 34 percent higher than in blended flour plants ($8.01), and 72percent higher than in rice mills ($6.25). Nearly all workers in wetcorn mills were located in metropolitan areas–chiefly within the GreatLakes States–in plants with 100 workers or more, and in establishmentswhere collective bargaining agreements covered a majority of theworkers. These characteristics, historically associated with higher paylevels, were found to a lesser extent in each of the other millingindustries studied. Rice mill workers, for example, were concentratedin the Southwest, one of the lowest paying regions, and just under halfof the workers were unionized. The grain mill products industries covered by the survey employedjust over 23,000 production workers in September 1982. Slightly morethan one-third of the workers were employed in flour mills,approximately one-fourth each in wet corn mills and blended flourplants, and about one-sixth in rice mills.
Regional employment patterns varied considerably by industry. Flourmilling, for example, the largest of the four industries with 8,115production workers, was found in nearly all regions of the country. Incontrast, slightly more than four-fifths of the 3,236 rice millingemployees were in the southwest. Except for rice milling, the GreatLakes region was the major center of production; it accounted for nearlythree-tenths of the production work force in flour milling, and forthree-fifths of the workers in both the blended flour and wet cornmilling industries. Pay. Table 1 presents nationwide average pay rates forrepresentative occupations in the grain milling industries.
As with theindustry averages, occupational pay levels were consistently highest inwet corn mills. This was true even where comparisons could be madewithin the same geographic region. In each industry, maintenancejourneymen usually were the highest paid and custodial or general laborpersonnel, the lowest. Nearly all workers in each industry were paid according to formaltime-rated pay plans. Except in rice mills, where rate-range plansprevailed, most workers were paid single rates for specifiedoccupations.
Although single rate pay systems generally result innarrow earnings distributions, wide differences in pay scales amongestablishments produced a contrary effect in flour mills and blendedflour plants. Blended flour plants had one of the highest wagedispersion indexes (57) among the industries in which the Bureau studiesoccupational pay. Wage dispersion indexes for the other grain millingindustries were 13 for wet corn, 33 for flour, and 37 for rice. Benefits. Virtually all production workers were in grain millsproviding paid holidays and vacations after qualifying periods ofservice. The most common holiday provision in rice mills was 8 days; inwet corn mills, 10 days; and in flour mills and blended and preparedflour establishments, 12 days. Typical vacation provisions in eachindustry granted at least 1 week of paid time off after 1 year ofservice, at least 2 weeks after 3 years, and 3 weeks or more after 10years. Vacation benefits were less generous in rice mills than in theother industries, particularly after longer periods of service.
All or virtually all production workers were in mills that providedat least part of the cost of hospitalization, surgical, basic medical,and major medical insurance coverage. Life insurance plans wereavailable to at least nine-tenths of the workers in each industry.Accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage was available toabout half of the workers in blended flour plants, and to three-fourths or more of the workers in each of the remaining industries. Retirement pension plans–other than Federal socialsecurity–applied to at least nine-tenths of the production workers inthe flour, blended flour, and wet corn mill industries; the proportionwas four-fifths in rice mills. A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT on the survey findings, Industry WageSurvey: Grain Mill Products, September 1982, Bulletin 2207 (Bureau ofLabor Statistics, 1984) is for sale ($3) by the Government PrintingOffice, or by any of the Bureau’s regional offices.