Evening star., 1943-08-15
Thousands Of Jobs
Reported in Essential
Activities Nearby

Thousands of jobs in essential &C
tivities are open to District men now
classed AS non-deferrable but the
men will have to go to Maryland or
Virginia to take them, local man
power officials said last night.
Jobs which require no skill or
training but pay wages as high as
$40 a week for beginners are avail
able in Baltimore aircraft plants
and shipyards and at Hampton
Roads, Va. Food professors in Mary
land and Virginia are also looking
| for workers.
Acting Regional Director Leo
Werts said the plants weren't short
enough to warrant occupational de-
ferments for runskilled workers. as
is the case in some other sections
of the country.
Mr.. Werts pointed out, however,
that if men go into the plants now
they may develop sufficient skill bv
the time their order numbers are
reached by their draft boards to give
them an equal chance for occupa-
tional deferment with single men
now in the plants-and the single
men are released to the armed
forces ahead of fathers.
New List to Hit Hotels.
Officials could give no estimate Of
the number of men in the District
whose jobs are now considered non
deferrable, but thought hotels would
be hit particularly by the new list.
Department and retail stores are
also affected since sales clerks are
included on the non-deferrable list
Announcement of the first list of
non n-deferrable jobs in February
swamped the loca! United States
Employment Service with several
thousand calls and visits from men
who wanted to change jobs.
Mr.. Wertz said that while the list
of nondeferrable jobs would mean
more work for the USES, it would
also have the advantage of bringing
in new supply of desperately need
ed workers
Until officials determine how many
men stay in nondeferrable jobs after
the 30-day period of grace, they will
be unable to predict how long non-
deferrable fathers will fill draft calls
and when fathers who are not on the
nondeferrable list will be called.
Group Particularly Affected.
Particularly affected here by the
new list of critical occupations are
men in aircraft maintenance at the
National Airport, Navy Yard ma
chinists, engineers and railroad men.
On the score of revising the en-
ployment stabilization plan through
out the region to meet the new reg
ulations announced by the War
Manpower Commission, Mr.. Wertz
said that only the provision requir-
ing that workers on the list of criti-
cal occupations be hired through the
USES would go into effect imme-
diately.
The rest of the revised plan, he
indicated, would not go into effect
until the question of whether the
standard wage rate here Is 40 or so
cents an hour is decided. Workers
paid less than the standard rate,
under the VINO regulation, are en-
titled to releases allowing them to
change jobs for higher pay.
The War Labor Board has an
nounced that any wage below so
cents an hour is substandard. but
Mr.. Werts said he would move eau
far xY,ift
affected industries before giving re-
leases to workers paid less than so
cents but more than 40 cents an
hour.
Baltimore Case Cited.
He pointed out that. 50-cent
standard rate would mean that most
service industries in Washington
would have to raise wages or lose
many of their workers
Asked how far VINO would go in
employing the sanctions against
noncomplying employers provided
for in the new regulations, Mr.. Werts
cited one case of Baltimore COM
pany which wasn't permitted to-hire
workers for a month until 1t came
under the Baltimore plan.
The District Labor Management
Committee read over the new pro-
visions of the stabilization plan yes
terday and referred it to its execu-
tive committee to make amendments
in the existing plan for conform
ance. 1t will be up to the local
committee to decide which, If any