Unemployment in the United States

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236179

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-226169

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Unemployment in the United States

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: United States, Government Printing Office

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: II, 193 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Statement of Mr. William Green, president of American Federation of Labor

Collection:: Economics Books

of ve I. nt IM nt 0b 3 19) al BY Ly 0 at i'Q n o UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 37 You see, with the development of the automobile and airplane in- dustry; radio and others, with all their equipment, hundreds of thousands of men have been taken into these newer industries. Now that will probably continue so long as we are resourceful enough to develop new industries and newer needs and create and build only new things; but even now, Congressman, if we could only develop a system of employment, the market in America is so potential that we could put every man to work if you would put in the hands of the masses of the people the power to buy. We would have no unemploy- ment. Itis a matter of equilibrium, economic equilibrium, and surely the problem is not too great for us. But we can not afford to wait, I maintain, to solve this economic and social problem. Mr. MonTaGuE. These measures will start you on the way? Mr. Green. They will help us wonderfully. . Mr. LaGuarpia. I just want to get back to the bill we are dis- cussing and to carry out the idea suggested by my colleague from North Carolina, Mr. Jonas: Is it not true that in times of industrial depression, without a uniform system of employment agencies, there is a tendency to bring down the standard of wages and to increase the hours of work; so that, instead of getting work for the unemployed, you are constantly bringing down the standard and you increase the unemployment situation; while if you had a uniform Federal system, that could be guarded against and not permit industry to depress and tear down the standards? Mr. Green. I am glad to have you make that little argument in support of the bill; it 1s the right point. The facts are that under our present system, in the private employment agency, advantage is taken of the large number of men out of work applying for employ- ment and, of course, some of them are told, “Well, if you will take some reduction in wages, we will give you a job at this rate of wages,” which, of course, would be a substantial reduction in wages. Now there is a selfish interest there; that is, the selfish interest of the employer in back of the private employment agency to take advan- tage of this unemployment situation, and to aggravate it by reducing the purchasing power of the great masses of the people. Now back of the private employment agency are the selfish employers seeking men as cheap as they can secure them. Now we will reverse that situation. The Government is not interested in reducing wages; the Government is interested in maintaining high standards. We should not conceive of a situation where the director of an employment agency, supervised by the Government, would try to beat down a man’s wages in order to get him a job. We feel it 1s creating at least an impartial tribunal (if I might put it that way), to deal with a serious unemployment situation. The man is sympathetic; the Government is sympathetic. ‘We want to bring back prosperity and we can bring it back by placing the men, finding them work. They are interested in finding work, whereas the private agency and employ- er back of it is interested in getting men cheap. We reverse the whole situation. There is a splendid argument in support of Senate bill 3060. Mr. BaceMANN. Just one question in connection with S. 3060. I notice in section 2 it says these employees must be selected in accordance with the civil service law. Now the purpose of this legislation is to help labor and to help the laboring man.

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