Journeymen were divided into two classes, day workers and piece workers. The day worker was engaged under an annual contract which covered his salary, his board, and usually his lodging. In the printing trade these contracts were written after 1618. In the other industries they were not written, although verbal contracts were common to all industries. In some cases these bargains were collective; that is to say, they were made between the Community and the journeymen’s organization soon to be described. Wherever possible, however, the masters prevented the organization of the journeymen and compelled the men to resort to individual bargaining. The piece workers were men who were engaged for some particular contract or job which the master had in hand. Whenever an important piece of work was undertaken a number of extra men, depending upon the equipment and the time in which it was desired to do the job, were employed. Day workers and men employed for another job were supposed not to be put on and no additional men were to be employed for it, unless some of the original group dropped out. The men were supposed to know how long the job would last and were supposed not to be discharged without eight days’ notice. These men were paid by the day and were fed and sometimes lodged like the day workmen. The workmen constantly complained that in practice they were greatly abused under this system. They claimed that they were discharged without notice, that day men were put to work on their jobs, and that additional men were hired, shortening the period of their occupation. This manipulation of the job was a frequent device of the masters in order to finish a piece of work before a holiday, especially when a Sunday and a holiday and even two holidays came together, as was not infrequently the case with the great number of holidays then observed. By hurrying up the job and finishing it before the holiday the master could avoid feeding the men over the holiday. Under ordinary circumstances he was supposed to feed his men, whether day workers or piece workers, throughout the period of their employment, whether or not he paid them on holidays. The result of this system was that a very large proportion, probably a large majority, of the printers had no regular employment, working only at such job work as they could from time to time pick up. The journeymen were graded as first- and second-class workmen and foremen. The first-class workman was a sort of assistant foreman. He was employed upon the more difficult work or aided the foreman in the discharge of his duties. The second-class was the ordinary workman, comparable today to a man who would be earning the union scale with very little prospect of ever getting any more. The two departments of composition and presswork were recognized then as now. Just as at present, there was keen rivalry between compositors and pressmen, each claiming that his was the superior art and required the greater skill.