The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-12-26
Information On
Social Security

[1H LiIt ttltilot program oeNelOpS,
uncounted thousands Of men and
women will move out Of jobs which
are covered by our insurance pro-
grams under the Social Security Act
into Federal civilian defense jobs,
which are not covered by the Social
Security Act a. it stands.
"Those civilian defense workers
employed and to be employed by the
Federal Government require our i'm
mediate attention, lest they loose the
insurance rights they now have.
LET US consider the situation of
men in the metal trades, the building
trades, and other crafts or callings,
who take jobs in Government estab-
lishments such as the Navy Yards
| and Arsenals, moving out Of private
industry into Government employ
ment. On their jobs in private in
dustry they have built up wage
credits which would mean to them
weekly benefit payments in case they
should be out Of work, which would
mean monthly payments when they
are old, which would mean monthly
payments to wife and children or de-
pendent parents should the breadWin-
ner die.
"Unless the present law is changed
these men will not get credit in their
social security accounts while they
are in Government employment, be
cause the law as it now stands ex-
cludes from unemployment insurance
and old-age and survivors insurance
employment by the Government Of the
United States, and by any State,
county, or municipality.
"And not only would wage credits
stop when the man moves from
private to public employment. If or
| when he returns to private employ
ment after the defense emergency is
over, and his social security account
| is reopened, the amount Of his old
age benefits, and the amount Of the
benefits to his wife and children, will
De reduced by the present method of
calculating his payments. Clearly
something must be done about all
that But how to do it is a difficult
| problem.
"ln order to propose a method of
| protecting the insurance rights of
| .hese men under the Social Security
Act we have to find way to do it
without colliding with the insurance
rights Of hundreds of thousands Of
mechanics, postal workers, and en-
| ployes of all the other branches of
The Federal Government who have
quilt up insurance rights under the
| Federal Civil Service Retirement sys-
tem. This as it now stands is the
result of some thirty years of or
ranized effort by the unions in Gov
| 2rnment Service. We must protect
he insurance rights which have been
| earned under the Social Security Act
Without hurting anybody's rights or
| interests acquired under the Federal
-ivil Service Retirement Act.
"The problem is to find the best
| way. And that is one thing we have
been working on, in conference with
| lnion officials
LET me point out, also, that this
problem Of the defense workers is
merely an enlargement Of one which
| lnion representatives have brought to
is many times before-the 'in-and-
)ut' problem, we call it. All over the
country are men, in the building
trades especially, who work at times
on jobs covered by the insurance pro-
grams, and at times for the Federal
State, or city government or on some
construction job for a university, or
4 public hospital, or some other in
stitution not covered by the unemploy-
nent or old-age and survivors insur-
nee systems as the law now stands
These men, going in and out Of COW
cred employment, find it difficult and
often impossible to earn either un-
employment insurance coverage, or
)ld-age and survivors insurance COW
arage.
"While we are working out a plan
for the defense workers who go from
private employment into Government
service, we should also take care of
hose who go 'in-and-out' of short
term Jobs"