Bulk of claimants laid off from skilled or semiskilled jobs A large majority of the claimants were last employed in a skilled or semiskilled job. More than a third of the Atlanta claimants last held skilled jobs, while an additional 44 percent had been laid off from semiskilled jobs. While there were relatively fewer skilled workers among the Trenton and Columbus claimants, the skilled and semiskilled among these claimants represented more than 70 percent of the total. Workers last employed in an unskilled occupation represented only 10 percent of the Columbus workers, 9 percent of the Trento workers, and 3 percent of the Atlanta workers. Prewar occupations differ from last occupation As expected, the wartime occupation of many claimants was at a higher skill than their prewar job, and large proportions had been engaged in housework Former housewives constituted from 21 to 35 percent of the claimants. In Columbus, the greatest amount of occupational shifting had occurred among workers who had been employed on skilled war jobs. They made up 27 percent of the claimants, although only 5 percent had held a skilled job before the war. In Atlanta and Trenton, the proportion of skilled workers increased, but not so spectacularly, and the proportion of semiskilled workers increased somewhat The proportion of unskilled workers among claimants did not change appreci ably in Trenton or Columbus, but decreased significantly in Atlanta. Service occupations held their own in Trenton, but suffered significant losses in Atlanta and Columbus. Job openings do not match claimants' skills There were great disparities between the kinds of jobs available for claimants and the kinds of jobs last performed by them. For women, clerical, sales, and service jobs constituted from 40 to 61 percent of all the jobs open to them; yet only 15 to 18 percent of the women claimants had last worked in these fields. Jobs requiring high skills were all but closed to women claimants in Atlanta, notwithstanding that almost a fourth of them had last worked on a skilled job Three-fifths of the Trenton women claimants had performed semiskilled work; only a fourth of the openings called for this skilled level. Seventy percent of the Columbus women had handled a skilled or semiskilled job; only 28 percent of the openings were in these occupational classifications. The situation was just as striking for the men claimants. Two percent of the Atlanta men had last been employed on an unskilled job; 59 percent of the job openings for men were classified as unskilled. In this same city although more than half the men claimants had worked on a skilled job, only 15 percent of the openings for men called for skilled workers. In Columbus, skilled workers, who made up almost half of all the men claimants, were required for only 7 percent of the job openings. In Trenton, although skilled workers were in relatively large demand (21 percent of openings, 28 percent of claimants), semiskilled workers were twice as numerous proportionately as the jobs calling for their skill level. As in Atlanta, more than 40 percent of the job openings were for unskilled workers. There was a somewhat closer relationship between the prewar or usual e cupations of the claimants and the occupations demanded for the available jobs As far as women claimants were concerned, the dominant vote was that more than 40 percent in each of the three cities had been a housewife or had no work experience before the war. As a result, there appeared to be proportionately more skilled or semiskilled jobs available than there were women with prewar experience at such skill levels. This picture is changed somewhat when the number of skilled or semiskilled women workers (based on prewar experience) is compared with the number of jobs open to them at these skills. There were more women claimants employed in a skilled or semiskilled job before the war than there were openings for them after the war in the present market. The jobs open to men in the three areas represented less attractive employ ment opportunities than the men's prewar skills warrantêd except for skilled or semiskilled occupations in Trenton, which represented 45 percent of local male job openings. Thus, 49 percent of the Atlanta men had worked in a skilled or semiskilled capacity before the war, but only 30 percent of the present jobs called for those skills. By contrast, 59 percent of the jobs open to men were in unskilled occupations; only 11 percent had worked in these occupations before Pearl Harbor, and an additional 3 percent had not worked at all. These disparities were also apparent in Columbus, although not quite to such a marked degree. In all three cities, the number of clerical and selling jobs for men was very small in comparison with claimants' prewar pursuits. Jobs offered pay much less than last job If all the claimants were reemployed on the jobs listed with the employment service, they would be receiving a cut in take-home pay averaging from 34 to 49 percent for men and from 49 to 53 percent for women. These percentages are based on the following average (median) gross weekly earnings of claimants on their last jobs and for the job openings: Although the fabulous earnings sometimes ascribed to war workers are not in evidence among the clffiaimants, their mosterecent take-home pay does appear mythical, in many cases, in comparison with wages paid for the open jobs. More than half of the Atlanta men earned more than $50 a week on their last jobs. Such wages can be earned on only 12 percent of the jobs open to men in Atlanta. More than half the jobs listed in Atlanta at present, however, pay $20 to $29 per week; and an additional 5 percent, less than $20. More than 60 percent of the Trenton men earned $60 a week or more on their last jobs. Nineteen out of twenty of the available jobs pay less than this amount, and two out of three pay less than $40. In Columbus the situation is about the same--the majority of claimants had recent earnings of $55 or more, but now only 7 percent of the jobs pay this much. In Atlanta no jobs open to women pay as much as $45 per week; 70 percent of the women claimants had last earned this much. More than 40 percent of the jobs open to women offer less than $20; only 1 percent of the women claimants had had such low earnings. In Columbus no jobs open to "women only" offer as much as $40 per week; more than three-fourths of the Columbus women had last earned $40 a week or more. Trenton women claimants, the majority of whom had earned $55 per week or more, would receive this pay on less than 1 percent of the jobs open to them. Some of these disparities are due to a reduction in the workweek from 48 to 40 hours and a consequent loss of premium overtime pay. By itself, however, such a reduction in hours results in only a 23-percent cut in weekly earnings. Hourly wage rates on open jobs, in fact, were 37 to 48 percent below wage rates last earned by the men and 43 to 52 percent below wage rates last earned by the women, on the average. As with the gross weekly earnings, the prospects for reemployment at previous wage rates were considerably narrowed for many claimants. Wages of $1 or more, paid to 60 to 82 percent of the men claimants on their last jobs, were offered on only 10 to 13 percent of the jobs open to men. Although only 3 percent of the Atlanta men had last been paid at a rate of less than 60 cents an hour, these wages were offered on 63 percent of the openings. Less than 1 percent of the women in Atlanta have been offered jobs paying 90 cents an hour or more; 68 percent had last earned this much. Two-thirds of the jobs open to women in this city paid less than 50 cents an hour. The situation was about the same in the other two cities. One percent of the jobs open to women in Columbus paid as much as 80 cents an hour; this wage, at least, had been paid 77 percent of the women claimants. Thirteen percent of the jobs open to the Trenton women offered an 80-cent wage or better; 78 percent had been employed at such rates. EXHIBIT 69 RESOLUTION ON MINIMUM WAGE BILL Whereas the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 has become obsolete and falls far short of the minimum hourly wage necessary to provide a decent and desirable standard of living in America today; and Whereas it denies minimum-wage protection to a large segment of Americas workers; Therefore be it Resolved, That the District of Columbia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People endorses the Pepper minimum wage bil!, S. 1349, and its companion, H. R. 3914, with the exception of that sentence beginning at line 8 of page 8 of S. 1349 and line 10 of page 8 of H. R. 3914, which we recommend be amended to read: "No classification shall be made under this section on the basis of age, sex, race, or national origin." Adopted: District of Columbia branch, National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People. ALFRED E. SMITH, Secretary. EXHIBIT 70 OCTOBER 22, 1945. The National Council of Negro Women urges immediate revision of the 40cent minimum wage provided in the Wage and Hour Act. We support President Truman in branding the 40-cent minimum as inadequate and join him in calling upon Congress to amend the act to achieve fair labor standards in order to guarantee an economy of full production. We give support to the provisions of S. 1349 and H. R. 3914, which call for a 65-cent minimum now, to 70 cents after 1 year and to 75 cents after 2 years. We also support the view that the coverage of the act should be extended to include workers not now protected, including children employed by telegraph companies. We are in accord with the idea of a uniform 5-year period of limitation. within which workers may recover wages due from employers who violate the law. The National Council of Negro Women believes that if these provisions are passed by Congress we will be well on our way to protecting our national purchasing power and to guaranteeing an abundance for all. MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE, Founder-President, National Council of Negro Women EXHIBIT 71 Hon. JAMES M. TUNNELL, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, Chairman, Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR TUNNELL: The National League of Women Voters, which is made up of 550 affiliated leagues, would like to urge the passage of that section of S. 1349 which propose to amend section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act. One of the special responsibilities which the League of Women Voters has long urged as a responsibility of government, in the general interest, is control of child labor. The present Fair Labor Standards Act forbids the shipment in interstate commerce of goods produced by child labor, but it does not specifically forbid an employer from engaging children. The proposed amendment would directly forbid any employer engaged in interstate commerce from employing any oppressive child labor as now defined by the act in or about or in connection with any enterprise in which he is engaged. Under the existing act there are loopholes, as was clearly demonstrated by the Supreme Court decision in the Western Union case. If the employer is engaged in interstate commerce but is not actually producing and shipping goods in commerce, the children in his employ are deprived of the protection of the act. The consequence is that children under 16 may be given jobs which endanger their health and their ultimate development. The proposed amendment would simply carry out what must have been the intent of Congress when it enacted the original Fair Labor Standards Act: To protect the young people of the country. It will expand that protection to include as many businesses as are now covered by the wage-and-hour provisions of the act. We strongly urge the passage of this amendment. Sincerely yours, EXHIBIT 72 ANNA LORD STROUSS, President. BIENNIAL REPORT (YEARS 1943-44) OF THE SUPERVITOR OF TELEPHONES TO THE RAILROAD AND WAREHOUSE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, FOR THE BIENNIUM ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 1944 (Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Minnesota: N. J. Holmberg, (chairman), St. Paul; Frank W. Matson, St. Paul; Ray P. Chase, Anoka; Oliver A. Ossanna (secretary), Minneapolis. Telephone department: A. N. Fancher, supervisor; Lucille Koepp, clerk-stenographer; B. F. Baesler, accountant) TELEPHONE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF SUPERVISOR OF TELEPHONES, To the Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Minnesota, St. Paul, GENTLEMEN: I herewith submit to your honorable body the report of the telephone department for the biennium ended November 30, 1944. For convenience of reference and analysis there is included a brief summary of the applications, petitions, complaints, and inquiries relating to telephone subjects filed with the commission during the period. During the period covered by this report, the department has received 745 applications, petitions, and inquiries relating to telephone matters. These are classified as follows: |