Two Types of Employers
There are two types of employers in the clothing industries, namely, the manufacturer and the contractor or submanufacturer. Many factories, especially those where the high-grade garments are made, have their own “inside shops” where all work is done under supervision of the manufacturer or his foremen.
But there is a tendency to increase the contracting system, particularly in the making of cheaper garments. When the contracting method is employed the manufacturer or jobber purchases the material and turns it over to the submanufacturer, who has the garments made in his small shop. The manufacturer who gives his work out to contractors avoids the necessity for maintaining a large factory, and for keeping a great number of men on his pay roll. He is also relieved of the responsibility of dealing with labor, the contractor being in direct contact with the workers. On the other hand, the contractor obtains materials from the jobber, which otherwise he would not be financially able to purchase. In the contract system there is complete separation of the commercial processes from the technical. The manufacturer is responsible for the purchase of materials and for securing and filling orders for the trade, but all technical processes in the making of garments are left to the contractor, who is entirely responsible for the work. The contractor not only supervises the workers, but often works with them. He is no shirker.