Evening star., 1944-07-30
Finds
New Job Priority
Plan Effective
loundries, Hotels
And Restaurants
Get Needed Workers
BY MIRIAM OTTENBERG

Get Needed Workers
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.
Shirts are coming back more
quickly from the laundries, restau-
ant service is improving and more
workers are getting jobs where they
Ire needed most as a result of
he three-week-old priority referral
program here, Washington War
Manpower Director Ernest v. Con.
aolly reported yesterday.
He tempered his statement, how
sver, by a warning that the real
est OF the worker control program
Will come in September when ap-
oroximately 1000 students and
teachers 90 back to school at a time
when the demands for workers in
fuel distribution and the retail
trades normally increase.
Spokesmen for the laundries. res.
taurants and hotels backed up Mr..
Connolly in reporting favorably on
the operation thus far. These major
results were noted:
/. Laundries-Where a few weeks
ago. most laundries were refusing
new customers and taking several
weeks to return shirts and sheets
most large plants are now current
with their orders and a few are even
considering one-day special service.
Laundry spokesmen attributed this
partially to an unexpected dropping
on OF orders but agreed with Mr.
Connolly that fewer workers are
changing jobs or staying away from
work.
Restaurants Get Workers.
z. restaurants - Such "a marked
improvement has been noted that
the danger of many establishments
closing for lack of help, which ap-
peared Inevitable a few months ago.
has been averted. The Workers for
restaurant Associat ton estimated il
has obtained between 600 and TOO
workers from the United States
employment Service since July l.
as compared with 1896 placed in all
wholesale and retail ablishments
by the USES during June.
Inspired by the new program, the
association. Mr.. Connolly reported.
has hired an instructor and started
training classes for workers.
s. Hotels - Continued recruiting
OF workers as it is going now will
help lick the help shortage. Arthur
j. Harnett of the Hotel Association
was quoted by Mr.. Connolly as re-
porting the program has definitely
helped" the hotels by supplying
workers and cutting down labor
turnover.
Mr.. Connolly said reports from
several Industries that absenteeism
has decreased indicated that work.
ers were taking less time off to shop
for other jobs and might be afraid
to lose the jobs they now hold
through continued absences.
Answering charges that the new
program Is keeping workers out
OF jobs" Mr.. Connolly said he had
asked the USES to explain. why ap-
proximately so per cent of the
workers visiting the USES are not
being referred to jobs.
Includes Many Now Employed.
He said the USES reported to
him that the so per cent included
workers now employed but inter-
ested in finding what was available,
applicants for one or two day Jobs
which are hard to find, workers on
the fringe" of the labor force whom
employers won't accept, workers
looking for tailor made Jobs" and
not satisfied with those offered
them and workers ineligible for new
jobs because they lack releases
from their last employers. The fig
ures on the number of workers in
terviewed. he added. don't repre-
sent the true state of affairs since
some workers visit the USES two or
three times week and are counted
each time.
The percentage of workers re-
ferred to jobs, he reported, increased
from As per cent of those inter-
viewed the first week in July to 81
per cent last week as compared to
43 per cent in June The percentage
referred to essential jobs averaged
81 per cent since the new program
went into effect as compared to 10
per cent in June.
An increasing number of employ
ers is asking the USES for help. Mr.,
Connolly added. An average of O.
900 additional job openings have
been filed at the USES each week
since the new program started, he
said. The USES now has more than
15,400 jobs to be filled.
Although one of the goals of the
national priority referral program
was to move workers from one CITY
to another to meet critical needs
the number of workers referred
out of Washington has decreased
slightly with a total of 300 workers
referred, Mr.. Connolly said.
Workers are offered local Jobs
first, he explained. If they are
not needed in Washington, repre-
sentatives of five concerns are now
stationed at the USES to offer them
jobs in Pittsburgh, Chester, Pa:
Alaska (Alcan highway, Oregon,
California and Norfolk.
401. Ask Higher Priority.
On the employer side of the local
picture, 401 Washington employers
have applied for higher priority
on workers or an adjustment in their
employment ceiling allowing them
to hire more workers.
So far, 10 employers, employing
l7,035 workers, have been placed in
Group 3-the highest priority grant,
ed to date-with the first call on
workers. Increases in employment
ceilings permit this group to hire
945 additional workers.
A total of IS firms, with 7O63
workers on the payroll, have been
placed IN Group 4, with second call
on workers, and they have been
permitted to increase their staffs
by SAT workers.
In Group S. where all other es-
sential and locally needed firms
have been placed automatically.
"a firms, with 9,975 workers on