The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-04-20
Labor Insists On
CONTINUED From Page One)

AS the first speaker for labor, Sec
retary-Treasurer Donnelly reviewed
the history of the unemployment COM
pensation law in Ohio, and told the
Advisory Council that labor was in
accord with the principles of the pres
ent rule and was concerned at the
prospect of any change.
He firmly expressed the belief that
the law and present basic rule for
computing benefits could be made to
work if Bureau officials had the spirit
to make it workable. He also pointed
out that any further reduction in bene-
fits would result in greater relief
problem.
Attorney Duffy warned the Admin
were without authority to change the
average weekly wage determination,
as defined by the legislature, which
specified that full time weeks should
be the basis for such determination
and declared that any other method
of determining the average weekly
wage would not meet the problem as
society wants it to be met.
State Senator Horace Keifer,
Springfield, who introduced the first
unemployment compensation law in
the General Assembly in 1881, and
who subsequently,, as an attorney fol
the Ohio State Federation of Labor
during 1885, 36, 81 and 3S, aided
greatly in drafting the law now in eff
feet, appeared before the Council April
Ia as a public representative.
He termed unemployment compensa-
tion and other forms of social Sc
curity "bulwarks of the American
system and guard against various
forms of isms", and declared that il
the present law is not made to work
the people of Ohio would insist on q
new law which would accomplish the
purpose and intent Of the present law
Senator Keifer depored employers
constant efforts to beat down benefits
which he predicted would react unfav
orably to their interests, and declared
that all of the employer proposals fol
determining the average wage woulC
result i'm lower benefits.
He chided the Council and the Ad
ministrator for not conducting it's owl
research, using data and facilities
available in the records of the Bureau
He cited rule first adopted BY
unanimous vote of the old Commission
and supplanted short time later by
another rule to which labor objected
| nnI ,f ,,yh;,h ;ntp k,, l.,
court, as rule which he felt covered
the question thoroughly and equitably
and urged Bureau officials to adopt 3
similar rule.
"Application of rule for computing
benefits based on full time work weeks
would be easy for employers if they
want to cooperate; difficult if they
want to obstruct," Senator keifcr tolC
the Council.
He declared the real answer to the
problem is for employers to get in the
same frame Of mind towards uncm-
ployment compensation as they arc
on workmens compensation.
The Advisory Council is composed
Of three representatives of the public
two representatives Of employers anC
two representatives of employees. Fina
decision on rules or regulations on
which the Administrators and the
three-member Board Of Review cannot
agree rests with the Council.
Labor representatives on the Coun
ell are John f. Briedenbach, Dayton
and Albert Dalton, Cleveland, botl
vice presidents Of the Ohio State Fed
Grafton of Labor.
l--POTTERS BEST PiCNIC-