Evening star., 1939-10-29

ROCHESTER, N. Y-At last start
has been made toward doing something
for the employed and unemployed work.
ers over 40 years old. Results so far are
meager, but in view of the vastness and
complexity Of the problem the mere fact
that recommendations pased on COM
prehensive studies, have been made is a
bright spot in grim picture.
Here in this forward looking industrial
city of 35000O persons, 36 of the larger
industrial establishments employing
more than $4,000 workers have agreed to
curb determinations against middle
aged workers, with the goal of maintain
Ing proportionate age balance between
employees in industry and employable in
the community.
The industries participating include
such well-known establishments as the
Eastman Kodak Co.. Bosch & Lomb
Optical Co.. General Railway Signal Co.,
Stromberg Carlson and the Yawman-
Erbe Manufacturing Co. The recon-
mendations were drawn from fact
finding Investigations by an Industrial
Management Council, associated with
the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. a
joint State Legislative Committee head
ed by Assemblyman James j. Wads-
worth, son of Representative Wadsworth,
and the New York State Employment
Service.
These studies revealed many prejudices
and misconceptions by employers, labor
groups and the middle-aged workers
themselves, and while they are hearten-
Ing to those with jobs. they hold only
small hope for the man or woman over
40 years old, or more specifically over As
years old. now out of job. The mag
nitude Of the problem is demonstrated
by the recommendation of the Wads-
worth Committee that the State under
take study to last more than 40 years
to meet the continuing changes in the
age groupings of the population.
The Industrial Management Council
was well pleased with itself when its in
vestigation disclosed that in 1888, de-
preston year. the participating COM
panies reported that 53.1 per cent of
their employees were over 40 years old,
although by 1887 the proportion had
dropped to 43.4 per cent The 1880 Fed
eral census for Rochester showed that of
the gainfully employed that year 46.7 per
cent were over 40 years old, and the
State Employment Service reported for
1888 that of the active applicants for
work, 42.4 per cent were over 40. This
proved, said the council, that employers
we're keeping an approximate ratio with
the citys population and when forced to
reduce employment did not let veterans
go in order to keep young employees.
Hiring Different Story.
These figures and the conclusion, how
ever, related only to the retention of
older employees. Hiring of older persons
was and is different story. Thus, in
the year when the reporting companies
hired 5035 workers, only 778 were over 40
years old and the remainder, 4,257, were
under 40 OF the younger men, 1885
were between 20 and 80 years old. In
other words, when it came to hiring, the
reporting firms took only 16 per cent
from the lover 40" applicants and "a per
cent from the under 49,"
Another discouraging feature of the
councils survey was that the Rochester
cal Of industrial communities. The
largest plants have high proportions of
skilled personnel-optcal and camera
workers, tool and die cutters, assemblers
and special machine operators. In these
trades the older, experienced workers are
given preference over the unskilled but
stronger men.
The Joint Legislative Committee un-
covered more comprehensive and typical
data. Analyzing a boasting report by
the National Association of Manufac-
turers based on a survey of 2,485 ques-
tionnaires sent to representative indus
trial units employing 2344.538 employees
in 43 States, the committee experts de-
duced that while 80 per cent of the re-
porting firms declared they had no
maximum age limits in their hiring
policy, the association by its own figures
revealed that only 8.4 per cent of all new
hiring and rehiring was In the older
group.
Even in Rochester the present writer
found q contradiction between theory
and practice. A. E. Crockett, manager
of the Industrial Management Council
and several personnel directors insisted
that few, if any, reporting firms had
maximum age limits for hiring, and
cited individual instances of hiring in
the Cos. Yet Frederick G. Bell, man
ager of the Rochester Office of the State
Employment Service, said that in max
ing placements he was forced to "sell'
employers the idea of hiring individual
Job applicants over 40 years old.
THE ban against workers over 40,
he said, lis not absolute We can place
the older applicant if We can show the
prospective employer that he has the
necessary skill, steadiness and physical
endurance. But it is selling job"
The magnitude of the middle-age
problem is graphically shown in a
chart prepared by the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Co., reproduced in the
Legislative Committees report. This
compilation and forecast Of the popula-