The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-04-30
Information On
SociuI Security

Organized labor was one of the
principal forces supporting the estab-
| lishment of the free public employment
system which today is known as the
United States Employment Service.
Because of labor's pioneering interest
support given it, the nations unions
can take credit for much of the success
of the public employment service.
a little more than half century
ago there was opened in Cincinnati a
free public employment office. While
history records other early free EN-
plOyment exchanges, this is credited
with being the forerunner of the mod
ern day United States Employment
Service, now operating 1,5OO full-time
offices and 5000 part-time offices in
cities throughout the country. Early in
1890, the Municipal Labor Congress
of Cincinnati adopted resolution
urging the establishment of State-Oper-
ated free employment agencies. The
labor congress actively supported in
PRODUCTION of such legislation, passed
by the Ohio General Assembly on April
2S of that year. The service originally
was financed by state and city govern
mentS.
From this humble beginning the pub
lie employment service has developed
during the intervening years into the
highly specialized job finding agency
of today.
With the sympathetic interest of
labor, many other states followed
Ohio's lead and set up public employ
mcnt offices. Then, i'm 1918, the United
States Employment Service was Gre
ated. Federal funds became available
for additional offices to help meet the
demand for labor in the munitions in
dustreS of World War l.
Came the end of the war and the
federal government withdrew it's sup
port from the state employment SyS-
TENS, but several years later, in 1888,
the federal Wagner-peySer Act made
it possible for the employment systems
of the states to affiliate with the
United States Employment Service,
with the state matching dollar for dol
lar the funds provided by the federal
government. Then, on January l, 1912,
under Presidential order, the United
States Employment Service national
iZcd all State-Operated employment ser
vices to provide the help needed to
operate at full speed the countrys war
production machine.
The sudden and extremely heavy
production schedule required by the
vast rearmament program created an
unprecedented demand for workers,
and particularly for those with the
special SlIllS required for production
OF munitions.
AS early as ltMdl, 1910, an inven-
tory Of the active files of job seekers
registered at public employment offices
revealed that the supply of skilled
workers i'm certain essential Occupa
tions was inadequate for anticipated
needs. The number with skils in air
craft manufacturing and Shipbuiding,
for example, was negligible. Stringen-
acute during the following months.
Through Ms intimate knowledge of
induStry's labor requirements and Of
the employment prospects of firms
which might suffer from shortages of
materials and production curtailment
orders, the employment service has
been able to help in formulating plans
for war vocational training courses.
1t also has furnished data concerning
impending layofts in nOn-defenSe EN-
plOyment, which has enabled the War
Production Board Division of Contract
Distribution to place Sub-cOntractS.
This has speeded up the transfer of
workers from non-defenSe to war pro-
ductiOn.
a cly for I1pi,p I aho1ol orcb o ,Isco