Exploring Our Industrial Heritage – The Hoover Dam (Part IV)
...(continue reading from part III)
Imagine doing strenuous work everyday of the week including weekends, with only two days off per year. That's a pretty tough work schedule, right? Well that is what the Hoover Dam employees were required to do. This depression era workforce had limited employment opportunities and their only alternative was poverty and starvation. So they worked long hours in tough conditions, doing strenuous work and were allowed only two days off per year. Talk about a poor work/life balance!
The Hoover Dam Workforce: The Housing Challenge
Beginning in 1931, people began to travel from every state in the nation to a Nevada desert location to build a dam. It was the depression, and jobs were at a premium and Nevada had jobs. At its peak, the Hoover Dam project employed 5000 people.
In the early stages of the dam project, the employed men and the unemployed men who were looking for work at the dam site would simply set-up a camp and live with their families in the desert. This section of tent homes along the Colorado River became known as "Ragtown". Eventually the Hoover Dam construction company (called Six-Company Co.) built a few small dormitories, but not near enough to house all of the workers. Hence, Boulder City was built to house the workers. Boulder City was a Government funded and designed town built specifically to support the dam's construction.
During the build, Boulder City was a gated community whereas alcohol and gambling were prohibited. Even the stores that were allowed to open, were screened by the city planners. The goal was to build a semi-permanent city to support the workers who supported the construction. Imagine that, a city built specifically to support a construction project. It took one year to build such a city. Today, Boulder City is home for about 15,000 people.
The Hoover Dam Workforce: Available Jobs
The Hoover Dam required 5,000 skilled and unskilled workers to staff about 20 different varying roles. These roles included positions such as Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Cooks, Mechanics, Miners and Welders. Additionally there were more interestingly named job positions including Flunky (mess hall waiter), High Scaler (removed rocks from canyon walls), Mucker (removed rocks after blasting), Nipper (supplied drilling crews with sharp drills), Powder Monkey (inserted primers into dynamite sticks) and the Puddler (spread the wet concrete after a pour).
The highest rate of pay was for a Shovel Operator at a rate of $1.25 per hour and the lowest rate of pay was $0.50 per hour for unskilled positions. The average rate of pay was $0.625 per hour. Although the days were long, the work difficult and the conditions poor by any standard, the workers were glad to have these secure jobs considering that 25% of the workforce was unemployed in the US throughout the depression era.
The Hoover Dam Workforce: Job Dangers
Although the workers were glad to have jobs, building the Hoover Dam was tough work and the conditions were poor. Temperatures at the site would reach over 120 degreed F in the summer and plunge well below freezing in the winter. Besides heat stroke, other job dangers included falling, carbon monoxide poisoning and even electrocution.
Early on in the build (1931), the workers did strike despite having no bargaining leverage. Workers demanded fixed payrates, more fresh water, access to ice water and flush toilets. Although the company refused every one of their requests, the workers went back to work. Eventually however, the company did provide many of the things that the workers requested.
The Hoover Dam Summary
The Hoover Dam is an amazing structure. The design is incredible and its societal value is immeasurable. However, the building of the dam is where much of the "awe" lies. The leadership, engineering, logistics and workforce that brought the dam to us modern era humans deserve an enormous amount of credit. Today we use systems and technologies to advance our society. In the early 1900,s, they used grit and determination to get things done. The Hoover Dam is a highly functional structure, but even more so, it is a monument to human willpower.
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