The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-07-23
INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS
WILL Be RE-ARRANGED
RADICAL CHANGES IN EMPLOYING AND DIRECTING
LABOR WILL GO IN EFFECT AUGUST |

Editor Star: We beg to direct your
attention to the plans of the u. S.
employment service. and to the great
effect which this program will have
upon the Industrial life of the nation.
On August 1, the supplying of war
industries with common labor will be
centralized in the u. S. employment
service of the department of labor,
and all independent recruiting of
common labor by manufacturers hav-
ing payroll of more than 100 men
will be diverted to the U. S. employ
ment service. This is in accordance
with the decision of the war labor
policies board and approved by the
president on July II. (The war labor
policies board is composed of repre-
sentatives of the war, navy and agri-
cultural departments, the shipping
board and the Emergency Fleet Cor
poration, the war industries board,
and the food, fuel and railroad admin
istrations. It's chairman is Felix
Frankfurter, assistant to the secre-
tary of labor.
The above action was found neces-
sary to overcome a perilous shortage
of unskilled labor in war industries.
This shortage was aggravated by an
almost universal practice of labor
stealing and poaching.
While the restrictions against the
private employment of labor apply
only to common labor at the present
time, these restrictions will, as soon
as possible. be extended to include
skilled labor. In the meantime, re-
cruiting of skilled labor for war pro-
duction will be subject to federal
regulation now being prepared.
This drastic change in the nations
labor program has been found neces-
sary in order to protect the employer
and the employed. to conserve the
labor supply of the communities and
sive labor turnover (which, in some
cases, is as high as 10O% a week),
and to increase the production of es-
sentials.
While non-essential industries will
be drawn upon to supply the neces-
sary labor for war work, the with
drawal will be conducted on an equi-
table basis in order to protect the in
dividual employer as much as possi-
BILE.
Under the operating methods
adopted, the country has been divided
into thirteen federal districts, each
district in charge of a superintendent
of the U. S. employment service The
states within each district are in turn
in charge of state director, who has
full control of the service within his
state.
In each community there is being
formed a local community labor
board, consisting of a representative
of the U. S. employment service, a
representative of employers and a
representative of the employed. This
board will have jurisdiction over re-
cruiting and distributing labor in its
locality.
A survey of the labor requirements
is being made, and in order that each
community may be fully protected,
rulings have been issued that no la
Dor should be transported out of any
community by the U. S. employment
service without the approval of the
state director; nor shall any labor be
removed by the service from one state
to another without the approval of
the U. S. employment service at
Washington. Every effort will be
made to discourage any movements
from community to community or
state to state by any other service
This labor program has the ap-
proval of all producing departments
of the government, through the war
labor policies board.