The Butler County press. [volume], November 07, 1941, Image 1

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V
NO REAL BASIS FOR A
LONGER WORK WEEK
Figures cited by the American Fed
eration of Labor conclusively demon
strate the lack of a genuine basis for
the claim that a work week in excess
of forty hours is necessary to ade
quately mobilize productive forces for
national defense.
Urging the necessity of maintain
ing the forty-hour week, the A. F. of
L. made the following terse statement:
"There has been talk recently of
lengthening the work week as a meas
ure to speed defense production. No
basis can be found for such a move
at the present time. There are still
4,500,000 unemployed. Several mil
lion more are threatened by priority
unemployment, and will be leaving
civilian industries to find work in de
fense production. Also, some three
million more persons who do not usu
ally work for pay can be drawn into
the labor market. With such a labor
reserve, approaching 10,000,000, this
is no time to lengthen work hours.
"Throughout our defense effort thus
far the 40-hour week has been main
tained, and hours worked over 40 have
been paid for at overtime rates. The
enormous increase in defense produc
tion, such as airplanes, ships, machin
ery, has been accomplished by increas
ing employment and not by lengthen
ing the work week. The overtime
penalty has served to get employers'to
train new employes, and thousands of
men have gone to work with opportu
nity to learn new skills because of it."
Criminal Libel Verdict
Against "Red" Editor
And Paper Is Upheld
New York City (ILNS).—The Ap
pellate Division of the New York Su
preme Court has upheld unanimously
the conviction for criminal libel of
Clarence A. Hathaway, former man
aging editor of the Daily Worker,
Communist organ, and the C6mpro
daily Publishing Company, Inc., which
then published the paper, in connection
with articles in 1936 on the murder of
Walter W. Liggett, Minnesota crusad
ing publisher.
The defendants were indicted on
complaint of the widow, Mrs. Edith
Liggett, who charged that the ai'ticles
libeled both her and her dead husband,
and they were convicted on June 14,
1940, by a special jury before General
Sessions Judge John J. Freschi. The
company and Hathaway were fined
$500 each, and Hathaway was sen
tenced to 30 days in the workhouse.
Off-Job Accidents Take
Heavy Toll, Says Report
Chicago (ILNS). More workers
were killed while off their jobs in the
first eight months of 1941 than were
killed in occupational accidents, the
National Safety Council reports. The
comparative figures were 19,000 and
12,400.
In the eight-month period, occupa
tional death and injuries represented
a loss of productive time sufficient to
build 19 battleships or 33,000 fighter
planes, it was estimated.
Off-the-job deaths and accidents in
the same period represented a loss of
30 additional battleships or 50,000
fighter planes, the council said.
-r
(WNIT Service)
David Webb & Sons
FUNERAL HOME
PHONES 48-78 ROSS AT "D"
Seattle, Wash. (ILNS). A pay
standardization plan was suggested,
"wage freezing" emphatically con
demned and proposals for lengthening
the work week to more than 40 hours
sharply criticised, in an address pre
pared for delivery here by Gen. Philip
B. Fleming, administrator of the wage
hour law.
Standardization of wages for the
national defense emergency could be
put into effect through the use of the
industry committee process which has
been found successful by the Wage
and Hour Division of the U. S. Labor
Department in setting minimum wages
by wage order, Fleming said.
The address was read by Baird Sny
der, deputy administrator of the Wage
and Hour Division, before the Pacific
Logging Congress.
"Freezing" Scheme Assailed
"I am opposed to wage control, if
by wage control is meant the 'freez
ing' of the wage structure at a level
existing at some particular prior pe
riod," General Fleming wrote. "To
'freeze' wages is to freeze as well all
the wage injustices and inequalities
now existing. But you can't 'freeze'
the .discontent and resentment of the
man in one factory who is being paid
far less than a man in some other fac-
ALLO RY
HATS
ALWAYS CARRY THE LABEL
IRENES1)
108 South Second St.
UNION-LABELED NECKWEAR, TOO
I
Deep Sea Fishing
Fleming Hits Increase of Work Week
in Attempt at Greater Production—
"Wage Freezing" Draws Comment
Hours Approaching Danger Point, Administrator Says
in Address Read Before Pacific Logging Congress—
Workable Pay Stabilization Program Favored.
tory doing exactly the same kind of
work.
"I am, however, in favor of a
reasonable and workable program
of wage stabilization, which is a
far different thing. A program of
that kind should start by first
ironing out existing inequalities
and injustices, and it should in
volve also the necessity of adjust
ments from time to time to in
creases in the cost of living.
"If a program of this kind is to be
attempted—and I do not believe any
thing short of it will meet the situa
tion—I would modestly suggest that
the Wage and Hour Division of the
Department of Labor has perfected a
mechanism that can well be adapted
to the purpose. I refer to the indus
try committee process which we have
used so successfully in raising mini
mum wagas, industry by industry.
Committee Gets Fact
"The industry committee is com
posed of representatives of the public
and of the employers and the em
ployes in the industry for which it is
appointed. It meets around the table
and studies the bed-rock facts. It in
quires into the existing wage struc
ture, the price of raw materials, of
transportation, and the cost of living.
And as a result of its knowledge of
the facts it recommends the highest
minimum wage which it finds to be
feasible and which will not result in
substantially curtailing employment.
"If wage minima can be fairly set
in this way, as we have shown they
can be, then I see no reason why wage
levels above the minimum cannot also
be established for the duration of the
emergency. The method is demo
cratic it has had the support of both
management and labor. The recom
mendations, I believe, would be ac
cepted as fair and reasonable by both
parties, as well as by the public. Once
accepted, one of the principal causes
of strikes would be removed."
Figures Shown Misleading
Gen. Fleming scored certain critics
of the wage and hour law who have
argued for increasing the straight
time work week to more than 40 hours.
"They build their case around a
figure purporting to show that the
average work week in manufacturing
industries in July was 40.3 hours," his
address said. "Their thesis is that if
labor were worked longer hours at
less money the effect would be to in
crease defense production and help
prevent inflation. Well, it is very cu
rious that some people seem to feel
that money paid out in wages must
inevitably lead to inflation, whereas if
the stockholders get the money every
body will be ha,pjpy."
•vr
THE BUTLER COUNTY PRESS.
''••i?-V- :.'•
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VOL. XLI. No. 32. HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1941. ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
The Fourth of July holiday reduced
the average work week in that month
as did some vacations customarily
taken in July, Gen. Fleming wrote
adding the average for June was 41.3
hours.
Defense Work Much Higher
"In the average for June," he con
tinued, "are included the weekly work
hours in all manufacturing industries
—a great many of which are not pro
ducing for defense. Indeed, some of
these industries are slowing up or
closing down because they can't get
raw materials. Many of them can't
keep their men busy even 30 hours a
week.
"When the principal defense indus
tries are considered alone the story is
decidedly different. The average in
the vital machine tool industry in June
was not 41.3 hours but 52 hours, in
machine tool accessories 50% hours
in firearms 51% hours, in screw ma
chine products 49, in iron and steel
forgings 47.
Overtime Data Cited
"And that's only part of the story.
When we examine the records of those
particular employes who worked the
overtime in the defense industries we
find some startling facts.
"In aluminum the 46 per cent of all
employes who worked overtime aver
aged 8% hours of overtime apiece—an
extra day a week. In engine manu
facturing, including the building of
airplane engines, 71 per cent of the
employes averaged 10% hours of over
time a week. In shipbuilding 83 per
cent of the employes averaged 11 hours
of overtime a week. In machine tools
95 per cent of the employes averaged
more than 12% hours of overtime a
week.
"Can it be said that such hours as
these are not long enough? Is it de
sirable social policy to encourage em
ployers to work men still longer hours
by reducing the price of labor?
"On the contrary, from the
standpoint of health, of safety,
and of efficient production, these
hours of work are approaching
the danger point and will inevit
ably lead to serious consequences
if they are long maintained.
"But, dangerous or othei-wise, the
long overtime hours are being paid for
at the fair and legal rate of time and
a half, and I have seen no evidence
that employers cannot well afford to
pay for the overtime."
JEWELRY WAGE MINIMUM SET
Washington, D. C. (ILNS). The
Wage and Hour Division of the U. S.
Department of Labor has issued an
order establishing a minimum wage of
40 cents an hour in the jewelry manu
facturing industry, effective Novem
ber 3. It is estimated the order would
increase the hourly pay rate of 11,500
workers.
New York City (ILNS). A pro
gram of social and economic recon
struction after the war, to improve
living standards throughout the world,
was outlined by Secretary of Labor
Frances Perkins at the opening ses
sion of the International Labor Con
ference here. The conference, held an
nually before the war, was the first to
take place since the beginning of the
conflict.
Mobilization and extension of world
resources "to produce a more abundant
life for people who have suffered the
privations of war, from Chungking to
London" and specific measures for the
attainment of this goal were included
in the program presented by Secretary
Perkins.
Miss Perkins to Preside
Such measures which she enumer
ated included control and curtailment
of unemployment, continuous study
and planning of methods to achieve
higher standards for all nations, re
construction of the labor standards
built up over the last 100 years, ex
tension of public responsibility in the
fields of housing, health and nutri
tion, free access of all nations to the
Secretary Perkins Outlines
Program of Reconstruction
After War at 1L0 Session
Plan Would Improve Living Standards Throughout the
World—First Conference Held Since Beginning of
Conflict—Final Session to be in White House.
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White House on November 6, when the
President will address the delegates
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In addition to Secretary Perkins,
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Labor Men in Delegation
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Assistant Secretary of State, and Car
ter Goodrich.
(Continued on page two)
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