COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR-FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY

APPROPRIATION BILL FOR 1947

HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IN CHARGE OF THE LABOR DEPARTMENT-FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY APPROPRIATION BILL FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1947, ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING:

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1946.

STATEMENTS OF HON. LEWIS B. SCHWELLENBACH, SECRETARY OF LABOR; JOHN W. GIBSON, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY; AND JAMES E. DODSON, CHIEF CLERK AND BUDGET OFFICER

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. HARE. We meet today for the purpose of considering the justifications of the requested appropriations for the Department of Labor. We have with us the Secretary of Labor, Mr. Schwellenbach. I assume, Mr. Secretary, you would like to make a general statement outlining the activities of your Department for the past year and the program for 1947?

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. I understand, Mr. Chairman, that is the custom.

Mr. HARE. We shall be glad to hear you.

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. This is the first time I have appeared before an appropriation committee and it is a new experience for me. As you know, I came to the Department on the 1st of July, last year.

NEED FOR CONSOLIDATION OF LABOR FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT

The situation in reference to the Department prior to that time, and partially at the present time, was that most of the labor functions of the Government had been, not removed, but through other devices, placed in other departments of Government. I had the feeling then and I still have the feeling that the functions of dealing with labor should be lodged in the Department of Labor.

During the war we had, very definitely, the handling of labor disputes, to a great extent in the National War Labor Board which, in my opinion, did a very remarkable job, considering the difficulties with which it was confronted. However, it did result in the functions of the Department being very much limited insofar as labor disputes were concerned.

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Then, in each one of the other departments that had to do with labor-management relationships in any way, there was set up a labor office. The War Department had one; the Navy Department had one; the War Production Board had one; and various of the agencies that were purely intended for war purposes had their own labor office. I came here with the idea that it was very desirable to consolidate that work, to eliminate a considerable portion of the work done by other departments, and I started out with a very definite effort along that line. Also with the idea that certain of the agencies which would remain should be returned to the Department of Labor. We had, when I came here, eight units, most of which had bureau status.

Mr. HARE. May I interrupt for just a moment, Mr. Secretary?
Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. Yes.

Mr. HAR. I think it should be said for the record that this committee, at the beginning of the war, with the creation of a number of war activities in the various departments and independent agencies, decided that appropriations should be made and earmarked as national defense appropriations. Apparently the committee had in mind that following the war, many or even most of these war activities would be discontinued and it would therefore be in a better position to decide on the normal functions of the various departments, including the Department of Labor, if we followed such a course; that we would have less difficulty and less work in determining what the normal functions of the Department would be following the cessation of hostilities.

I note that quite a number of the war activities in the meantime have been transferred to your Department and I assume that in the course of your remarks you will refer to the transfer of these activities and to what extent the functions of these war agencies will be absorbed by your Department?

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. Yes. I hope to be able to satisfy the committee along that line.

Mr. KEEFE. May I interrupt, Mr. Chairman, to say that I share the views that the Secretary has expressed in his preliminary statement, and I have made a diligent effort for the past 3 years to bring back to the Department of Labor its proper functions from the scattered departments of the Government into which were placed functions which I have always believed properly belonged in the Labor Department.

I would like to know right at the outset, Mr. Secretary, not having been able to follow the appropriations for the Army and the Navy and these other agencies including the Maritime Commissionwhich had separate labor-management relationship staffs, whether or not you have succeeded in bringing those functions into the Labor Department so that there will not be a duplication of effort and of appropriations.

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. Insofar as those were concerned, Mr. Keefe, it was not a matter of bringing them back. My effort has been rather to have them eliminated

Mr. KEEFE. Well, that was my effort, too.

Let

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH (continuing). From the other departments. I think we have had a considerable measure of success. me say this: As you gentlemen know, I was away from here for 5 years in a very pleasant job. I talked to many people at home,

however, who came to Washington on labor matters. When I first came here, I called in representatives of labor organizations and perhaps an equal number of businessmen who had had relationships with labor problems, and the chief complaint that they made was that when they came to Washington on some labor problem and they would go to one office, they were sent to another office, and from there they were sent to still another office, and that it took three or four times as much time to find out which department of the Government they were supposed to deal with on labor matters as it should have taken. Of course, that is not an uncommon complaint of people who come to Washington on any problem. But I did have the feeling at home, and it was reinforced when I got here, that there were more complaints, legitimate complaints, among people who came to Washington in reference to labor matters, in that they never knew exactly where to go, that they usually found that the last place to go was the Department of Labor, because there was less there to do with the kind of labor problems that they had than any other place where they might go.

Mr. HARE. We shall be glad to hear you further on your general statement, Mr. Secretary.

UNITS IN OFFICE OF SECRETARY

Secretary SCHWELLENBACH. On July 1 there were eight units: The Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Solicitor, the Division of Labor Standards, United States Conciliation Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Children's Bureau, the Women's Bureau, and the Wage and Hour Division.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PERSONNEL

The total personnel of the Department at that time, including both regular employees and some temporary dollar-a-year employees, was about 12,000. Since that time there have been added to the Department, the United States Employment Service, the Apprentice Training Service, Retraining and Reemployment Administration, the National Wage Stabilization Board, and several smaller functions, such as the Shipbuilding Stabilization Commission, the labor-management committee function of the War Production Board. So that there has resulted, because of the addition to the Department of these various other functions and activities, an increase from approximately 12,000 to approximately 40,000 employees.

I want to say frankly to the committee that I have been disappointed in the opportunities that have been afforded me. As you know, I got here on the 1st of July. The war ended in the middle of August and within about 3 weeks after that time, labor-management difficulties throughout the country started and there has been a constant demand upon my time from members of the public and also from Members of the Congress, who were receiving very serious inquiries about the strike situation in their particular district or in their particular State. So that I have not had the opportunity to give the time to the administrative work of the Department that I should like to have had.

I think, frankly, if I could have had 6 months' time to have rearranged the Department and gotten it functioning before the

deluge of labor difficulties came on, it might have been possible to have functioned much more effectively in reference to labor difficulties.

We have brought these different agencies in and have attempted to consolidate them with the Department. We have made many changes that have resulted in elimination of duplication and have made some very considerable savings. While the amounts are not large as compared with total amounts expended by the Government generally, they have been real savings as a result of the work that has been done by myself and by the staff of the Secretary's office.

SOLICITOR'S OFFICE

I want to go through the various offices within the Department, if I may. The first is the Solicitor's office. His function is that which would be naturally implied by the term "solicitor." He is the chief legal officer of the Department and has supervision over the legal staff. He serves as counsel to the Secretary and to all of the bureaus and divisions of the Department both in Washington and in the field. His office not only interprets the laws in which the Department is interested, but also has to do with the enforcement of those statutes which are of such a nature as to require enforcement. He conducts the trial of civil cases and prepares for the Attorney General's office the cases which involve criminal charges. Those are handled, of course, through the United States attorneys in the various districts.

The Solicitor renders aid to the Conciliation Service and also heads up the work of the preparation of reports to Congress particularly on pending legislation and of statements which are made by me in testifying before the various committees.

When a request comes in, or a bill is introduced and sent to the Department for the advice and opinion of the Department, the system that we use is for the Solicitor's office to take the leadership, because of their knowledge of the legal side of it and because he is better able to know each one of the bureaus which might be interested and might be of value and assistance in the preparation of a report; and he calls them together in staff meeting. If it is a matter of sufficient importance, I meet with him and we discuss the problems involved and reach a conclusion as to policy. The reports are actually prepared by the Solicitor's office.

DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS

The next is the Division of Labor Standards which I understand has been under close scrutiny by the committee for several years. We have had, as you know, and presented to the committee, a report on the value of its activities for the fiscal year 1946. That report is rather voluminous. It was sent to the committee a short time ago. I doubt that you have had an opportunity in the period since you have received it, to make much of a study of it.

The Division of Labor Standards acts as an administrative arm of my office in the promotion of industrial safety and health activities; the development of labor legislation; the promotion of labor-management cooperation in industry, including the development of materials on labor education services.