The union times., 1943-04-17

Inc OOnnectlcut House Of Representatives had before it this week another measure in place of the one reported out last week on working hours for women and children. The Commissioner of Labor has the authority under the law to grant special permits to em- plOyers to work women in an emergency 10 hours a day and up to 5 hours week for an eight-week period. The state hour standards for wO- men and minors are 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week.
 The measure now before the House would give Gov. Baldwin the right to extend this eight-week per- init indefinitely. This bill in reality would restore the provision enacted at the l94l session of the General Assembly giving the Governor the same right in regard to the extend ing permits on women working hours and for the same purpose promotion of the war program. That provision expired Feb. 10. Members of the Labor Department have said that it should have been renewed in place of the Governors suspension of the wOmen's hour laws.
 COMMITTEE RECALLS BILL
 This latest measure was reported out of the General Assembly's Labor Committee after it had requested the House to allow 1t to take back the bill 1t had previously reported out That bill, which was described in THE UNION TIMES last week, would have extended by legislative action the right to work women and children 55 hours week.
 For all intents and purposes this new measure if enacted into law would remove all need for that DOT tiOn of Gov. Baldwin's War Order No. 2, which suspended hour stand ards for women workers. That sus- pension occasioned quite a stir in labor and legislative circles after the Connecticut Manufacturers As sOciatiOn sent its members a special bulletin interpreting the Cover nOr's Order as removing all re- strictions on the hours of employ ment for women.
 Many viewed the CALAIS bulletin as suble invitation to take advan- tage of a situation of suspended law in their field.
 Embarrassed not a little by the Manufacturers brashness, the Gov erner called that organization to task.
 SENATOR'S AROUSED
 This, however, didn't placate aroused legislators, and two sena- tors, James P. Ceelan, Democrat, New Haven. and William MOrten- sen, Republican, Hartford, offered bills by which they sought to limit the Governors order so that the employers would have a guide to go by.
 Both senators wanted to limit the maximum work day for women to 10 hours, and the week to 55 hours. They would provide in their bills a day of rest for workers each week This was an answer to an erroneous interpretation the Manufacturers As sociation had written in its bulletin. Geelans measure regarding the work weeks however, would have eliminated the Governor order entirely.
 The Labor Committee wrote its own measure, sent 1t to the House and then recalled it, in order of the present bill to restore the special war emergency provision giving the chief executive the power to extend the time on permits to employ women in ex- cess of the standard 48-hour week.
 THERE ARE LIMITS!"
 After Gov. Baldwin had repri- manded the Manufacturers Assn. for sending out its special inter- pretative bulletin, which was pulp lished in The Union Times, March 20, the Association forthwith sent another bulletin to members in which the C.M.A. said, ''while the Order itself does not specify daily or hourly limits numerically, there are limits."