The Washington times., 1937-05-14
BY ]. EARLE MOSER

facing dismissal, organized en-
ployes at the old Pension Once
Building announced today.
Immediately after official ad,
mission that the emergency staff
of the agency must be curtailed be-
tween now and June 80, confer
ence with the GAO personnel Of
fee was sought by Lodge No. 8,
American Federation of Govern
ment Employees, and willingly
granted. 1t was to take place to-
day. and the lodge had decided to
press for three points:
l. Where layoffs are neceSSitated
those affected shall be given at
least two weeks notice, plus their
accrued annual leave.
q. That layoffs shall be made on
the basis of efficiency ratings, plus
seniority.
8. That furloughs be given
rather than outright dismlsSals,
with the understanding that in
the event of any rehiring those
laid off will be recalled in order OF
seniority before new personnel IS
engaged.
In a circular to personnel, the
lodge declared:
at is the hope of Lodge No.
& that these and several other
related matters may be cleared
up by proper discussion. The pol
lev Of the office is well known as
being fair and equitable, and
the consideration shown in ar
ranging this conference indl'
Gates that this will be done"
In regard to the first request,
it is probable that those axed will
be- given two weeks notice and
their leave, as that is the general
policy in most Federal offices.
Whether seniority will be allowed
as a determining factor seems
problematical, as G. A. O. officials
feel that need of a job" IS the
most important factor in firing at
this crucial time, possibly even
more important than efficiency
Section 2l3 also is to rear its head
Final decision on the furlough
request, however, will be interest
ing. as it is known G. A. o. is most
anxious to clear itself of a consid'
cradle amount of "deadwood," de
scribed by some officials as clerks
who simply do not care to put in
seven hours of steady work. By al
lowing furloughs G. A. o. can clear
itself Of charges from some quar-
tiers that it plans to replace those
discharged via friendship patron
age" but it is dubious whether the
agency will want to ever take back
those of whom it rids itself.
Yesterdays announcement was
not exactly a surprise at G. A. O..
as emergency folk have known il
was coming for months. A month
and a half of LOB fear" now i'm
pends for all E. o. workers, the
only bright side being that the
hundreds who survive after July
will be reasonably sure OF pay
checks for at least one more year
Endorsement Of the cooking
classes to be introduced for all
Government employees by The
Times, beginning Thursday, May
20, ct the Potomac Park offices OF
the Social Security Board, has
been received from Carson c.
Hathaway, chief of personnel at
the Civil Service Commission.
Invited to send representatives
from the commission to the open
ing class under Miss Jean Green
Times cooking expert, Hathaway
indicated that his principal trouble
probably would be to find fem
mime clerks who did not desire to
attend. Punning slightly, the Off
cial said:
"A cooking school seems to me
to be a fine idea. And I'm pretty
sure we can COOK UP plenty Of
interest among the staff of the
commission here. In fact, it has
been my impression that cook
ing schools usually prove SO in
teresting that they are rather
violently attended by more PEG
pie than you expect"
Hathaway's statement was fully
seconded by Mrs. Doris Balm, o!
the Civil Service personnel office
who said she was sure such
school will be well received by al
Government employees.
Civil Service Commission work
erS are to be urged to attend anC
partake of Miss Green's culinar!
wisdom by an article in the Civil
Service News, periodical published
at the Commission for the in
terest of the staff.
Two things have caused tn
folks at st. Elizabeths Hospital II
have another Of their pleasan
evenings of dancing-the desire t
celebrate the recent passage o
legislation to increase pay of Gu!
todial employees of the loves
grades Cmany Of whom are en-
ployed at the hospitaD and tn
urgent need to clothe q baseba
team.
Consequently, Lodge % Of tn
A. F. G. E. will sponsor the dane
Saturday evening at Hitchcoc
Hall, 8 until midnight, with a II
piece orchestra rendering cha
monious presentations Of the beS