Montana labor news., 1937-11-11
JOHN MALTA UPHELD PARKER EXPLAINS
I'm RULING BY THE POSITION OF WpA
MONT. STATE BOARD ON WOMEkS WAGE5

A long letter was received from
Mr.. Joe Parker, state WPA admin
istrator, in relation to a request of
the Workers Alliance and the Silver
Bow Trades and Labor Council that
the number of hours required by
the WPA in the sewing room prof.
ects be lessened. Mr.. Parker re-
Gently returned from Washington, D.
c., where he conferred with Mr..
Harry L. Hopkins, the national di-
rector, in respect to hours and wages
in Montana. The letter from Mr.,
Parker is as follows:
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINS
TRATION OF MONTANA
Butte, Montana,
November 9, 1887.
Silver Bow Trades and Labor
Council, Box 1877, Butte, Montana.
Gentlemen:
Due to the fact that I have been
suffering from a slight injury and
confined at home for several days
since my return from Washington, I
have not had chance to discuss
with you or any of your representa-
tives the question Of the hours on the
sewing projects in Montana as I had
expected to do. I want to take this
occasion, however, to thank you for
your telegram which reached me in
Washington recently with regard to
this question, and to express to you
my appreciation for the confidence
and assurance which it expresses.
The telegram was helpful to me in
getting the matter before the Off
cials in Washington in the proper
attitude.
Frankly, I found the Washington
office very willing to listen to the
case in regard to the women's hours
and apparently sympathetic, but not
very helpful AS you know, the
hours on Montana sewing projects
were heightened at tht request OF
Washington who felt that our hourly
wage was out of line with the pre-
vailing wage. Their reply to my re-
quest for a shortening Of the hours
is. Mr. Parker, you are the admin
istrator in Montana If you want to
change the women's hours all you
need to do is justify the change.
Which means that Washington ex-
poets us to show that whatever hour
ly arrangement we put into effect
is in accordance with the prevailing
wage.
The prevailing wage has been
taken to mean not necessarily the
union scale, but wages paid a ma
jority of the workers in a locality
for work Of a similar nature. My in
structions in the matter, as con
tanned in Chapter II, Section 8, of
the Handbook of Procedures, are as
follows:
THE several State Works Progress
Administrators should secure data,
as complete as possible, pertaining to
hourly wage rates prevailing in the
various localities within their states.
Data on hourly wage rates may be
secured from Federal agencies, state
agencies, county agencies, labor
groups, trade unions, employers and
their organizations, municipal au-
thorities, information published by
official and unofficial agencies,
records Of the Works Progress Ad-
ministration, and other available
sources. Hourly wage rates estab-
lished for work relief projects of the
Federal Emergency Relief Admins
tration conformed in many instances
to prevailing wage rates"
"The State Administrators shall
permit interested parties to present
in written form statistical evidence
pertaining to prevailing wage rates,
and, if feasible, may hold hearings
for the purpose of considering such
evidence. If hearings are held, a
complete stenographic record must
be made"
You named a committee on this
matter some time ago and would
greatly appreciate the help of the
Council and the help of the com
mittee in devising a plan of pro
cedure.
Please be assured of my apprecia-
ton for the cooperative attitude of
the Council and my desire to get
this matter adjusted in some salts
factory manner. l expect to be at
the office within a few days and
shall be glad indeed to confer with
your representatives at the earliest
opportunity.
Very sincerely yours,
Works Progress Administration,
Joseph E. Parker, Admins
TRAITOR