Montana labor news., 1938-05-12
Labor Standards Guarded in
Government Contracts

and women by certain types OF Federal Iapoi
LEGISLATION are revealed in the report OF the
Division of Public Contracts, U. S. Depart
ment of Labor, that "since the Walsh-Healey
Public Contracts Act went into effect Sep
TENDER %, 1886, 1879 contracts valued at
S409, 1886, 245 have been awarded to firms
throughout the United States, and its terri
tories, which have agreed to comply with its
stipulations.
During the week ended April q, 1888"
the report added, 90 government agencies
reported II contracts valued at $2,133,973 (ot
this amount S64,817 were for contracts OF IN
definite amounts based on last years pur-
chases and which purchases are to be made
f. when. and where needed) as compared
with last week when 10 government agencies
reported 76 contracts valued at S3,043,49U.
D1rinp this period the Executive Depart
raents renorted As contracts valued at 81 ,626,-
002, the Emergency Organizations reported
q contracts valued at $304,536, and the In
dependent Establishments reported 4 con-
tracts valued at $685. 34.'
The Walsh-Healey Act was passed by the
Congress of the United States in June, 1886.
It's enactment had the complete support OF
the American Federation of Labor. The law
provided that after September %, 1886, all
government specifications and contracts IN
volving the purchase Of $4,000 or more of
SUPPLIES. or loans or grants, must contain
provisions for paying the prevailing rate OF
wages to be determined by the Secretary OF
Labor. that employees of these contractors
must not work more than eight hours in any
dav or 40 hours in any week, that boys under
16 years of age and girls under IL years OF
age must not be employed and that all work
must be done in sanitary buildings and de-
cent surroundings. The law also prohibited
the EMPLOYMENT of convict labor. The mea-
sure does not apply to construction work.
Employers who believe it is their inherent
right under the Constitution Of the United
States to impose long hours, low wages, ana
sweatshop conditions on labor generally, en-
plov prison labor because it is cheaper than
free labor, and coin into profits the labor or
Young people without restriction, put up a
terrific fight against the passage OF the Walsh
Healey Bill. But a Congress dominated by
humanitarian ideas, backed up by the solid
and unAinching influence of the American
Federation of Labor and other progressive
groups, made the bill the law Of the land.
Animated by vindictive opposition to the
decent labor standards of the Walsh-Healey
Act. a number of large contractors, carried
away bv the unWarranted belief that they
could whip the government into subserviency
to their reactionary principles, undertook
to prevent the administration OF the act by
refusing to bid for government work coming
under its provisions. But finally the manage
ment of the steel industry, sensitive to the
. condemnation Nf pDhlip ODlNIOn
changed its policy of ~virulent opposition tC
the measure and finally applied the 4O-houl
basic work week. Other industries interested
in government contracts bowed to the WIS
dom of the steel industry, and opposition tt
the measure gradually sank to the zero point
And now the Department of Labor reports
that since the act went into effect on Septem
Der %. 1896, its labor provisions have beer
applied to firms awarded 1879 contracts TO
products valued at $409, 1854
An examination of the list of commoditie
purchased under these contracts shows tina
they include many varied ndustrles--foo
and kindred products, textiles and textl
products, forest products, chemicals an
allied products; asphalt, coal and petroleum
products; stone, clay and glass products; iror
steel and their products; non-ferrous metal
and their alloys; machinery; electrical ma
chinery, apparatus and supplies, and trans
portation equipment.
A ~favorite and loudly voiced argument {
the subversives who opposed the Walsh
Healey measure when it was before the Cor
gress of the United States was the statemer
that the application Of its terms to govern
ment contracts would disrupt industry. B'
the law has been administered for eightee
months and every commodity purchased
contracts totaling nearly five hundred mi
lion dollars has been produced IN plants a
plying the forty-hour week and elght-ho'
day, paying the prevailing rate OF wage
,,ritho11t the use Of convict labor or chi