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MANPOWER PROBLEMS CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
IN THE
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ALBERT
L-ELDER
C H E M I C A L S DIVISION, W A R f?RODUCTION BOARD, W A S H I N G T O N ,
{%** A U G U S T 5 Donald Nelson reported ^ ^ t t a t 12 billion of the 14-billion-dollar construction program had been com pleted with t h e ananiumtion and explosives program 95 p e r cent complete, chemicals 90 p e r cent, shipways 8 4 per cent, aircraft 77 per cent, high-octane gasoline 63 per cent, a n d the synthetic rubber program 61 per cent. On t h e basis of these figures we might;, at first glance, suppose that the worries o f t h e chemical industry for the war period were 9 0 per cent ο 'er. Th - fact that a ^Manpower Symposium is being held in connection, with the 106th meeting of t h e AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY is in
dicative -that this i s not true. A. new problem, which many of us have anticipated i s in. our midst. Unfortu nately, rfc is n o t a problem which can be so readily attacked by the research chem ists and ehemical engineers and made ap plicable to t h e principles of distilling columns, catalytic converters, or any laws of thermodynamics. W e admit that we do n o t have t h e k e y to the formula for the treatment of l a b o r problems, but we have met here to discuss the synthesis of a work able pattern s o that t h e chemical plants which have been completed will meet the quotas which, theoretically at least, these plants a r e capable of producing. Labor strikes i n the chemical industry have been responsible for some decrease in production, and. in s o m e instances such strikes have disrupted, for a time at least, the required production in some phases of the chemical industry. In 1941, there were 38 strikes involving 21,411 workers w i t h a total loss of 315,581 man-days in the chemicals a n d allied products industries. In 1942 there were 6 7 strikes involving 31,198 workers with a total loss of 103,394 man-days. D u r i n g the first five months of this year there have been a, total of 2 6 strikes in the chemicals a n d allied products industry invol vring 6,559 workers with a total loss of 2 5 , 8 5 5 man-days. T h e number of workers involved during these five months were: January February March April . May
745 169 1,217 1,250 3,178
T h e record i n t h e rubber industry during this same five months' period, for example, was rnueb worse, -with a total of 37 strikes involving 78,439 workers with a total of 235,,517 m a n - d a y s lost. AJ1 concerned must attempt to keep labor losses i n t h e chemical industry t o a niinimuna during this war period; other wise, all o f t h e efforts which have been ex
VOLUME
pended towards a more efficient utiliza tion of labor in our industry may b e nulli fied. Losses in production on account of equipment breakdowns, sabotage, and a c cidents of various types have been reason ably low u p to the present time. From t h i s standpoint the chemical industry i s to b e congratulated on the fine record it h a s made, which i t is hoped may be main tained, but it is recognized that, with t h e continued withdrawal of skilled operators and technicians into the Combat Army, t h e replacement of these skilled individuals will be extremely difficult. I t should n o t be overlooked that the dollar value of equipment for men in a chemical plant is high a n d that the replacement of an opera tor trained to care for such equipment b y one not fully qualified m a y easily result i n the marked decrease in t h e production of certain chemicals as well a s t h e added e x pense of t h e replacement of costly equip ment. It will be necessary for some plants to insist upon the continued availability of men of certain types if these plants are to meet their production quotas. I n many instances it is not feasible to set u p training programs in colleges or universi ties t o train men for these jobs. They must b e trained on the job under the direct supervision of men highly skilled and with a broad experience in the particular opera tions involved.
Labor Turnover Fluctuations in labor turnover in t h e chemical plants vary greatly throughout the country. One of t h e most serious cases w h i c h has been called t o m y atten tion is that of the plant i n which, during
2 1, N O . 2 0 » « O C T O B E R
2 5, 1 9 4 3
Γ>. G.
the past; 12 months, the labor turnover was approximately equal t o the total number of employees i n the plant. Fortunately- in many instances, the percentage of *ployees still on t h e job is reasonably high, and it i s only within certain groups that the turnover is appreciable. I t is anticipated that, in the near future, there m a y be several unavoidable labor turnovers required on account of the pro duction of certain chemicals being suffi cient, n e w chemicals supersede ^ old ones, and labor shortages being b. xeat that transfer of contracts from one area to an other will b e necessary. These plant shut downs represent a potential source of trained labor for plants located elsewhere which are in desperate need of additional manpower. Be they Government owned and operated, Government owned and privately operated, or privately owned and operated, it i s clear that some mechanism must b e established whereby this potential labor i s not lost t o t h e chemical industry. It may not b e t h e responsibility a s an em ployee o f t h e company of the present em ployer tio assist i n t h e placement of tech nical employees which he i s releasing, but it i s certainly his duty as a citizen t o do so, and if such a policy is n o t adopted, then t h e training program will h a v e t o be expanded. A n y plant having a n abnormal labor turnover, a s indicated b y the re ports o f the United States Department of Labor, should accept the challenge and solve t b e problem immediately. There are many technically trained men in the Armed Forces who are not using tbeir technical training. Those with technical backgrounds or who h a v e tech nical adaptability but are engaged in non essential activities should get into the war production army at once. T h e r e are still thousands of m e n and women with technical backgrounds who feel that they could be making a greater contribution t o t h e war effort and w h o are seeking only guidance as to w h a t they should d o . T o such people, m y advice is that y o u look first i n your own commu nity. I f y o u cannot find a war job which will utilize your full capacity i n your own town, t h e United States Employment Service may be of great help in locating one for you elsewhere. Decreases in% college enrollment have in some instances been so great that it has become necessary to reduce the size of the science faculties. Some of these m e n have gone i n t o plant production as plant opera tors a n d in manual work around plants. These m e n are making a real contribution to the -war effort, and a t the same time they a r e obtaining valuable experience
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and training which. \vill probably make them better teachers when the war is over. Any employer seeking a man or woman with a technical background soon becomes aware that such individuals are unavailable today. We must seriously consider the possibility of this war dragging on for several years and, should this occur, we must have a training program such that replacements can be m a d e available, to industry; otherwise, trie probabilit}'· of winning a technical war will decrease with each year t h a t such a war lasts. I am convinced that at t h e present moment the Allies have technical superiority, and if we maintain it, there c a n b e no doubt as to the outcome of this war. Many people are anxious t o see our training programs placed o n a sound basis. Three of the speakers on t h e symposium will consider this problem from different angles. Many women have entered the Services by joining the WACS, W A V E S , Marines, SPARS, etc., and more h a v e gone to work in industrial plants. T h e chemical industry does not offer the glamour of some of the other industries, a n d therefore the number of women applying for positions in chemical plants have been fewer than could be used. In m a n y plants the work is both dirty and dangerous, but in spite of these difficulties, thousands of woman are at work i n chemical plants today. I have* seen them in research a n d control laboratories, pilot plants, operating full-scale production units, and handling heavy carboys and barrels of chemicals. If mon· womanpower can b e made available t o the chemical industry, i t is a n established fact that such labor can be used. Women have been trained t o do many of the jobs done by men i n the chemical plants, but we have a long way to go i n the United States before we have the same percentage of women working in our p l a n t s as there are
in Great Britain. In some plants better facilities should be maintained and in others training programs will have to be developed before women can be utilized to a much greater extent. Regulations pertaining to the deferment of men have been changed necessarily so often and the procedures for deferment have been modified t o such an extent that it has been difficult t o follow these changes and procedures. I t is hoped that the speakers o n this symposium will be able to give us the latest information on this subject. Fortunately, some leaders in the chemical industry have shown considerable foresight in planning training programs so that industry could solve its own manpower problems. In some instances where labor shortages have been extremely acute certain chemical industries have been unable to solve their manpower problems. Many appeals have been made to the Chemicals Division of the War Production Board for assistance, and the Deputy Director of the Chemicals Division will discuss some of these problems. I t is the duty of each chemical plant to meet its production quota, and if a plant anticipates that i t will be unable to do so, thon the Chemicals Division should be made aware of this fact at once. ' We did n o t want this war and therefore did not plan for it as did the Axis countries. The innumerable setbacks which the Allies have had are the obvious results of their lack of coordination and planning. Within recent months the results of thousands of hours of work in the laboratories and factories are beginning t o bear fruit on the battlefield. All of us hope that the war will end. today, but it may not end for years or it might be over within a reasonably short time. Therefore, the only safe policy which we can adopt is to attempt to
anticipate the most likely events which may occur and plan t o meet them should we b e confronted with them. Thie shortages of food, clothing, shelter, gasoline, rubber, and fuel are t h e result, not o f our lack of ability to produce these things, b u t of a lack of organization t o do so, A s I said before a group at the Detroit meeting of the CIETY:
AMERICAN CHEMICAL S O -
Except for items imported, there is no one "who would disagree with the broad statement that there is sufficient technical r *know-how" in this country to produce an abundance of all other items which are rationed. I t has been our inability t o harness this technical "knowhow" which makes rationing necessary. It is obvious that w e will come out of this war with new "know-how 7 ' in the fields of medicine, surgery, dentistry, and with a deeper appreciation of physical fitness. W e will have n e w methods for the production of clothes and shelter, better methiods of transportation, and all down the line technological advances will be available for improving our postwar world. One big problem will be that of knowing fciow to use this "know-how" for the common good. Somehow, sociological progress has lagged far behind that in the technical fields. Milesticks are needed to measure technical progress in the last 100 years whereas microequipment is needed t o record social progress. There is no» reason why technological advances, wars, and unemployment should go hand in hand. Out of this war must come a "know-how" capable of solving * this problem. With this in mind a certain amount of planning must be done so that chemical manpower can be used most efficiently for postwar industries. B u t w e cannot afford to devote all of our technical skill to postwar planning, or we will most surely lose the war. Neither can we operate successfully in t h e peace period to follow unless a certain amount of planning is done at the present time.
T R A I N I N G PROGRAMS FOR CHEMISTS H . T.
BRISCOE
CWIEF*. P R O F E S S I O N A L A N D T E C H N I C A L T R A I N I N G . W A R M A N P O W E R C O M M I S S I O N , W A S H I N G T O N , D . C.
£\F THE many problems with which we ^ ^ must be concerned a t home, so long as the war continues, n o n e are more difficult or disturbing than those resulting from our efforts t o u s e our manpower where it is needed and t o t h e extent that is necessary to make victory as complete and as early a s possible- From a population of 135,000,000 persons it is necessary that we select some 11,000,000 for the Armed Forces, and that w e transfer from their normal ways of life many more millions of men and w o m e n t o work in the industries which are producing the materials of war. In addition, we must main-
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tain essential civilian activities, health, education, Government, transportation, agriculture, and the production of the necessities o f life. These transitions cannot be made without upsetting the lives of all of u s . However, they have been made and t h e results speak for themselves, for they are measured b y the successes of our troops and b y the production records made i n the industries which are supplying these troops with the equipment with which they are fighting. Thus far, we have also been able t o maintain, not without inconvenience but a t least with full consideration of our public health, and
CHEMICAL
interests, all civilian activities that are absolutely essential. In meeting the many problems with whicn it has been faced, the War Manpower Commission has looked upon its task as one which can be divided into four parts: 1. T h e ascertainment of the needs of. t~he Armed Forces, war industries, and all essential civilian activities for manpower and womanpower. 2. T h e ascertainment of t h e supply available to meet these needs, with due respect t o the training and skills necessary for each.
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
