Labor bureau

“ The establishment of the Department of Commerce and Labor, with the Bureau of Corporations thereunder, marks a real advance in the direction of doing all that is possible for the solution of the questions vitally affecting capitalists and wage-workers. ”

“ Employment bureaus and labor exchanges are essential to the democratic program of industrial reform. Just as vocational education must move individuals from overcrowded to undercrowded occupations, so the employment bureau should move laborers from places where they are relatively little wanted, and hence poorly paid, to places where they are relatively much wanted, and hence better paid. A co÷rdinated system of national, state, and municipal employment bureaus is a valuable part of our program of industrial reform. ”

“ We expect from the United States government that ideal justice, even to a foreign workman, which we shall each receive when we stand in the presence of Eternal Justice.
All this shows that the idea of a Bureau of Labor which will help the laborer is steadily growing.
AN INCIDENT OF THE WINTER OF 1910 One day Mrs. Kline, the wife of the Superintendent of the Gospel Mission, phoned me, “We have a man here so covered with vermin that I cannot let him into the house, yet he seems to be an educated man. [This was at the Industrial Department on Fourteenth Street, before we had our new building.] ”

“ Unemployed persons shall be assigned to work through the Departments of Labor Distribution in the manner stated in Sections 21–30.
21. A wage earner who is not engaged on work at his vocation shall register in the local Department of Labor Distribution as unemployed.
22. Establishments and individuals in need of workers should apply to the Local Department of Labor Distribution or its division (Correspondence Bureau) stating the condition of the work offered as well as the requirements which the workmen must meet (trade, knowledge, experience) . ”

“ Unlike the food, fuel, and transportation problems, which were solved through new administrations not connected with the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Mines, or the Interstate Commerce Commission respectively, that of labor was met by new bureaus and boards which were organic parts of the existing Department of Labor. ”

“ This evil we hope to obviate by means of our Labor Bureaux, which will be planted in every city and district, and will keep such elaborate returns as will enable to watch all the fluctuations of the labor market.
For instance let us be informed of the fact that a railway is to be opened, a canal dug, or some other public work constructed in a particular district, we should be able to calculate from our returns the amount of labor that could conveniently be withdrawn from existing channels, and the amount that would have to be imported. ”

“ The league’s idea of remedying or removing the evil was to establish a Labour Bureau on a large scale and under a responsible head, so that it might record all wage-scales mutually agreed upon by employers and workers, adjust disputes by arbitration, and obtain statistical information in regard to the labour market, and also have an agency that would be capable of drafting the unemployed to districts where they could be given work. ”

“ It is my purpose to establish bureaus through the congested portions of the United States where men and women in search of employment can register and be supplied with information as to where and what kind of work is obtainable. And if no work is to be had, I shall arrange that every indigent person that is honest and industrious shall be given employment by the Federal, State, County or Municipal Government as the case may be. Furthermore, it shall in the future be unlawful for any employer of labor to require more than eight hours work a day, and then only for six days a week. ”

“ Inspection of workshops, mills, factories, mines, yards, public services, shops, etc., shall be carried out with reference to the conditions of work, hygiene, and safety, by inspectors elected by the workmen's unions, in concurrence with the State inspectors.
10. Extension of the industrial arbitration courts to all wage-workers of industry, commerce, and agriculture.
11. Convict labor to be treated as a State monopoly; the charge for all work done shall be the wage normally paid to trade-unionist workers. ”

“ Nevertheless, both in the enactment and in the enforcement of law the Federal Government within its restricted sphere should set an example to the State Governments, especially in a matter so vital as this affecting labor. I believe that under modern industrial conditions it is often necessary, and even where not necessary it is yet often wise, that there should be organization of labor in order better to secure the [122] rights of the individual wage-worker. ”

“ Trafficking of children, primarily for labor exploitation, was a serious problem, although a lack of statistical data made it difficult to estimate its magnitude.
Regulations set the age of 16 as the minimum for employment and the age of 18 as the minimum for any work likely to jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of a young person. Regulations permit children to work at the age 15, provided the employment is not harmful or prejudicial to school attendance. The law requires children between ages six and 15 to attend school. ”

“ It will not allow even a shopkeeper who has no employees to dispense with his half-holiday; because if he does not take it, his competition will injure those who do. The 'labor department' of the government has an army of inspectors, who keep a close watch on stores and factories, and prosecute violations of the law which they themselves discover. ”

“ The industrial relations between the company and its employees nonetheless affect interstate commerce and come within the field occupied by the National Labor Relations Act, as amended. The Labor Board is but an agency through which Congress had authorized certain industrial relations to be supervised and enforced. The Act goes further. The instant employer, employees and union are controlled by its applicable provisions and all courts, state as well as federal, are bound by them. ”

“ The constitution and law prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and in the provision of other state services; however, the situation of persons with disabilities remained difficult. Although the law mandates access to official buildings, it was not enforced and such access was rarely available in practice.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is the government agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. By law, protection and provision of services is offered to all citizens ”

“ As for the laborer, we sought reforms that contribute to his dignity as a working man. We have just finished a Comprehensive Survey for Employment by world experts. Through the National Labor Relations Commission, we instituted a system of swift arbitration and conciliation between labor and management. ”

“ The inspectorate lacked trained staff and did not enforce health and safety standards effectively. The law does not permit employees to remove themselves from dangerous workplaces without jeopardizing their continued employment.
Although there is a law to protect employees' health and working conditions, many private and public institutions continued to violate it. Labor inspectorate officials reported difficulties in obtaining accurate information since workers rarely disclosed the problems themselves, in spite of legal protections. ”

“ The company's plant was divided into a number of departments, one of which was the machine shop. The wage scales differed in different departments and the foreman and old men whom the company employed in each department received higher wages than new men in the same department. The company had had a practice of keeping the old men at work, in case business was slack, by transferring them from their own departments to others at their regular pay. ”

“ The agreement provided that the company would recognize the shop committee as representing the employes for collective bargaining; that no employe should be discharged without a hearing before the shop committee and the management; that certain employes should be discharged and not rehired; that stipulated notice should be given of layoffs due to shortage of work; that new employes might join any labor organization they chose. It also covered wages and hours of work. ”

“ One of the aims of the Labor Movement is to secure such changes in the run of things that “the workers should own their jobs.” Well, some of the unions of the A. F. of L., bakers, printers, etc., have secured such a hold upon their trade in certain localities that they succeeded in putting into their contracts with the employers provisions that the union is to act as the employment agency for the employer, and the latter, whenever he needs help, must take whomever of its membership the union will send to him. ”

“ Certain persons in Tanay have made it a practice to gather up a store of mats and take them to Antipolo for sale there during the fiesta. A few of them are on sale in Manila and in neighboring provinces. Of late, however, persons have appeared who are taking up the industry more thoroughly as brokers and it is to be hoped that the workers will be organized into some better system for production than now exists. There is a large opportunity not only for supervision but also for division of labor. ”

“ It is said that this, with the further requirements that the prescribed wage is to be fixed with 'due regard to economic and competitive conditions'; that the classification if made shall not 'give a competitive advantage to any group in the industry', and that the prescribed wage must be one fixed 'without substantially curtailing employment', leave the function which the committee and Administrator are to perform so vague and indefinite as to be practically without any Congressional guide or control. ”

“ When formulating or modifying the rules and regulations, or making decisions on important matters, which have a direct bearing on the immediate interests of workers, such as labor remuneration, working hours, rest and vacation, occupational safety and health, insurance and welfare, training, labor discipline and labor quota control, the employing unit shall, after discussion by the conference of workers or all the workers, put forward plans and suggestions and make decisions after consulting with the trade union or the representatives of the workers on an equal footing. ”

“ He protects the business man with the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Interstate Commerce Commission.
HELPING THE WORKING MAN. In the Department of Labor a vast amount of Service is devoted to securing employment for laborers, supplying information concerning labor conditions, pursuing practical investigations for the safety and health of the working men. ”

“ But it is quite another matter to say that a state may fix standards or qualifications for labor unions and their officers and agents which would preclude any of them from being chosen and from functioning as bargaining agents under § 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. ”

“ The Twelfth Annual Convention instructed your Executive Board to take such action as might be necessary in order that the representatives of organized labor might be brought together and plans outlined for the amalgamation of the entire [Pg 61] wage-working class into one general organization. Following out these instructions at a meeting held in the month of December it was decided to send a committee to meet with the officers of the American Labor Union. ”

“ Free public employment bureaus and agencies, national in scope and well integrated, would do much to secure a better adjustment of demand and supply in the labor market, and secure a better distribution of the labor force and greater mobility of labor. Better organization and mutual understanding on the part of both employers and employes is needed, to prevent the loss through strikes and lockouts. ”

“ But there is nothing in the labor policy indicating that the union and the employers in one bargaining unit are free to bargain about the wages, hours and working conditions of other bargaining units or to attempt to settle these matters for the entire industry. ”

“ Motived by the same desire, our American labor-unions are demanding, and steadily gaining, an increasing share in the actual direction of industry. Joint control by boards composed of representatives of employers, employees, and the general public is, to an ever-increasing extent, determining the conditions of employment, wage standards, work standards, hours of labor, choice and conduct of foremen, and many other matters of vital importance to the wage-earners. ”

“ What is before us is a very real and practical situation. The vast range of jurisdiction which the National Labor Relations Act has conferred upon the Board raises problems of administration wholly apart from available funds. ”

“ After the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act, by interpretations of the Wage and Hour Administrator, it was held that certain preparatory activities such as sharpening the tools, oiling the machinery, preparing his machinery for work, were so closely related to his productive activity that the employer must compensate the employee for it. ”

“ And a 'labor organization' means any organization of any kind or any agency or employee representation committee or plan which exists for the purpose in whole or in part of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work. ”

“ In case of urgent public work the Department of Labor, in agreement with the respective professional unions, may order the transfer of a whole group of wage earners from the organization where they are employed to another situated in the same or a different locality. ”