TECHNICAL MANPOWER Address by Fowler V. Harper, Deputy War Manpower Commission, before the C h e m i c a l Society, Detroit, April C 1 very body is talking and worrying " ^ about manpower. It is one of the nation's most complicated problems. It cuts across every phase of the war effort— the armed services, war production, the food program. If we fall down on manpower at any point, the whole war effort is impaired. Perhaps because the problem is so complicated and because it is so completely new in American history, there are a l o t of misunderstanding and unnecessary concern. There is also a lot of complaint, which is not surprising because manpower is a tough problem. We Americans are spoiled. We have never had t o think, of ourselves as poor. We have, throughout our history, been blessed with an abundance of material resources and an abundant supply of people. It is not very surprising that we have not learned to conserve them. I t is a new experience for us to have to ration them. But we have learned to ration materials and we are learning to ration manpower. So far we have done very well. The first two years of the war production program have produced results which were regarded as fantastic when they were first announced as our objectives. The genius of American management and American labor has brought about this miracle. We VOLUME
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have accomplished in a few months what our enemies required years to attain— the conversion of the greater part of our industrial establishment to the production of war materials. To bring this about, we have had to add about 5,200,000 workers to the number of employed persons in the Nation in two years, in addition to providing personnel to our rapidly growing armed forces. Where did these additional workers come from? Most of them came from the ranks of the unemployed—about 6,000,000. Another 1,500,000 represented the normal growth of the labor force, while the rest came as the result of intensified recruiting efforts of the Manpower Commission. During 1943 we must add more workers by the millions to make the guns and tanks and planes that will be necessary to supply our own armed forces and those of our Allies; to man the transportation system, weave the textiles, raise and process the food, and maintain a minimum civilian economy, and at the same time provide manpower for the armed forces. With a population of over 130,000,000 people, if properly mobilized and utilized, a labor force of half that number is not out of the question. And that brings me to the heart of our
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manpower troubles. It is not that we do not have enough people to do the job. The problem is to have the right people in the right places in the right numbers at the right time. It is first a community problem. The national problem is a network of community problems. You can understand what I mean when you consider that our manpower needs are concentrated in a relatively few industrial areas, while our labor supply is scattered throughout every nook and cranny of the country. Here are some of the things we must do to meet this situation. People should work as near their homes as possible. Employers must exhaust the local labor supply before looking elsewhere for workers. This Government cannot afford to transport a single worker into an area where a single worker is available to perform the job. It just does not make sense for an employer to go 1,000 miles to pirate workers from another plant when there are unemployed workers in his own community looking for work. Traditions, practices, and prejudices which interfere with this principle must be abandoned. In some communities employers dislike to employ women. In others they are slow to hire Negroes. In still others men beyond a certain age are not wanted regardless of their health, ability, or skill. These conditions cannot continue to restrict the utilization of the Nation's manpower. We can no longer afford to indulge such prejudices and caprices. It is the logic of history that we must abandon some of our own intolerance and prejudice in order to win a war against them. Now it is just as bad to keep labor that is not needed as it is to refuse to use available labor which is needed. The employer who hoards impairs the production of war materials as much as the employer who pirates from his fellow employer. On the other side we must recognize that the worker who shops around from job to job interrupts production as much as the labor pirate who fills his own needs by robbing his neighbor. And the worker who fails to report for work without a valid reason is impairing the war effort to as great a degree as the employer who operates shorthanded when local workers are available. Labor pirating and hoarding, job shopping and absenteeism, prejudice and discrimination—those are some of the factors which will impede the full utilization of our manpower. Tough problems require tough solutions and in spite of the fact that we have taken every precaution to soften the impact, manpower measures are invariably drastic ones. They hurt. And naturally people don't like to be hurt. I am convinced, however, that when Americans comprehend what we are up against, they will accept grimly but without complaint the hard program we must follow during the months ahead. 651
Now we do not claim to know all the answers to manpower problems. But we do know the nature and extent of these problems and we know a great many of the answers. We have adequate data, carefully collected and painstakingly analyzed for many months. We have developed sound policies and a thorough program. And we have a smooth working organization to administer and execute this program. This is what we have done and what we are now doing. There are already 17,000,000 workers in the war effort. With rare exceptions we have generally met manpower requirements without loss or delay in production. We expect to meet future manpower requirements with the same success. By the end of this year, there will be almost 11,000,000 men in our armed forces. To attain this, the Selective Service Bureau of the War Manpower Commission will have to draw about 4,300,000 additional men out of civilian life during the 12 months of 1943. At the same time, our munitions factories and our other essential industries will need about 2,100,000 additional workers. Thus, we must have a total of 6,400,000 more men and women in our armed forces and in our essential factories and farms than we had in December 1942. Can we secure this number, and if so how? The first source we are tapping is the people who are not now working. In most parts of the country, unemployment is already reduced almost to its practical minimum. During 1943, more than 2,000,000 women will be added to our labor force, many of whom—probably most of these—do not ordinarily work outside their homes. The War Manpower Commission is now carrying on special recruiting drives in those communities in which women are needed by local war plants. The women we are trying to employ first are those who do not have small children or other heavy family responsibilities. Many towns do not yet have labor shortages and it is only as new jobs actually become available for women that these campaigns are undertaken. Other workers must be secured from retired workers whom we are asking to come back to work in large numbers, from young people who are being recruited for work at an earlier age than in peacetime, and from the physically handicapped. We have placed hundreds of thousands of these workers and estimate that there are hundreds of thousands of additional handicapped people who might be used for certain types of work. Even after we bring into our labor force all these people who are not ordinarily employed, we shall still face a deficit of about 3,000,000 workers. These we can obtain only by shifting people from jobs that are less important in time of war than they were in peace. The War Manpower Commission has a 652
definite program for dealing with these problems of finding additional workers and transferring workers from less essential to essential work. In the first place, we have a definite and well-planned recruiting program for both men and women. Special recruiting programs are in operation in shortage areas and in industries where the needs are critical. Five distinct training programs, both of the preemployment and on-the-job variety, are in effect. These programs are training several million workers each year for war industries and essential civilian activities. Special programs have been devised for the rehabilitation and training of handicapped workers who are now performing many types of work that were previously considered, suitable only for able-bodied workers. We are already well into the task of transferring workers from less important to more important work. We are finding the occupational questionnaires filled out b y draft registrants of great value in locating workers with special skills. Under a recent order of the President, the work week is being extended to a minimum of 48 hours in communities in which serious labor shortages already exist. This is reducing the number of employees in less essential work and thus providing additional labor supply for war industry. The recent action of the War Manpower Commission announcing a list of "nondeferrable occcupations" is another step to expedite the transfer to war industry. These measures cause some hardship but it is the unavoidable hardship of war. In the case of the nondeferrable list, for example, we are merely doing what any reasonable person will admit must be done. We are recognizing that in a struggle for existence, a Nation must do without some things which it can afford in times of peace. We can get along without phj'sically fit barkeepers of military age, even though they have several dependents. We are not only recruiting and transferring workers to essential work, but we are taking vigorous efforts to stop manpower losses arising because of turnover. In about 50 communities, with the cooperation of management and labor, the War Manpower Commission has already established employment stabilization plans. These plans include severe restrictions upon workers leaving their jobs. Under these plans, war production hindrances arising from "job shopping" by employees and "labor pirating" by employers are being eliminated. In one town, for example, in the 60 days following the establishment of this program, turnover was reduced 50 per cent. Loss of manpower through absenteeism is also being substantially reduced. The War Manpower Commission, in cooperation with other government agencies, is working with local officials and with representatives of labor and management to improve housing, transportation, and other community conditions which lead to CHEMICAL
loss of time from the job. Local arrangements are being worked out t o keep stores and ration boards open during the evening so that men and women will not bave t o take time off for shopping and other essential tasks. Working schedules are being improved so that there will be less time lost because of fatigue and illness brought on by excessive hours without regular time off. And labor itself is taking steps t o deal with the relatively small number of workers who absent themselves from the jobs without good cause. Many studies have been made for the purpose of determining t n e needs for chemists. It has not been difficult t o demonstrate these needs. Tor example, the
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY,
through the office of Dr. Parsons, the Secretary, has made a survey whicb. shows that 263 establishments need. 1,618 chemists and chemical engineers. A recent study by the Illinois Institute of Technology showed that 129 companies all engaged in war industries needed 16,940 additional engineers and chemists during 1943. Another survey of many professional and technical occupations has been made by the United States Employment Service. This survey determined the current employment and anticipated hires of 526 companies. T h e results for chemists, metallurgists, and chemical engineers are as follows: PER CENT OF CURRENT H I R E S CURRENT EMPLOV- frllNOS EMPLOYL.A.YOFF MENT MENT AÎCTICIP.A.TED
Chemist, biological Chemist, organic Chemist, inorganic and physical Metallurgist Chemical engineer
222 1,687
57 530
38.8 32.6
704 508 928
223 262 298
32.6 51.9 32.6
The United States Employment Service completed during March tfcie most extensive survey of the shortages i n critical professional and technical fields yet attempted. When the results of this survey are tabulated we shall have available information on the needs o f some 16,000 establishments. There is also a decided shortage in available laboratory technicians and chemical assistants. The best available data show a need for 78.2 per cent additional employees of this kind figured o n the basis of current employment. The War Manpower Commission, as you know» has taken every possible action to protect the available supply of chemists and other necessary scientifically trained Avar workers. We expect soon to announce plans to ensure adequate replacements. With the continued assistance of this group and similar professional and scientific associations we expect to meet requirements here, as elsewhere. We are tightening our manpower belt. We will have to tighten it still more. But we know what we are doing and we know how to do it. AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
