How the Shortage of Skilled Mechanics Is Being Overcome by Training the Unskilled

Part 1

Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: italic

SEPTEMBER, 1918

How the Shortage of Skilled Mechanics Is Being Overcome by Training the Unskilled

SECTION ON INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOR THE WAR EMERGENCY COMMITTEE ON LABOR COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE.

SECTION ON INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOR THE WAR EMERGENCY

National Committee

REPRESENTING LABOR:

FRANK DUFFY, General Secretary, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Indianapolis, Ind.

HUGH FRAYNE, General Organizer, American Federation of Labor, 706 Council of National Defense Bldg., Washington, D. C.

JOHN GOLDEN, President, United Textile Workers of America, 86-87 Bible House, New York.

GRANT HAMILTON, American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.

ARTHUR E. HOLDER, Member Federal Board of Vocational Education, Ouray Building, Washington, D. C.

MISS FLORENCE C. THORNE, American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.

CHARLES H. WINSLOW, Federal Board of Vocational Education, Washington, D. C.

REPRESENTING EMPLOYERS:

FREDERICK A. GEIER, President, Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.

HENRY M. LELAND, President, Lincoln Motor Company, Detroit, Mich.

C. E. MICHAEL, President, Virginia Bridge & Iron Company, Roanoke, Va.

PERCY S. STRAUS, R. H. Macy & Co., 1317 Broadway, New York.

H. E. MILES, Formerly President, Wisconsin State Board of Vocational Education, Chairman, Com. on Industrial Education, National Association of Manufacturers, Racine, Wis.

C. U. CARPENTER, Works Manager, Dayton Recording & Computing Machine Company, Dayton, Ohio.

G. B. DUFFIELD (Chairman, Michigan Branch Committee), Detroit Lubricator Company, Detroit, Mich.

REPRESENTING EDUCATION AND WELFARE:

S. W. ASHE (Chairman, New England Branch Committee), Chairman, Education and Welfare Department, General Electric Co., Pittsfield, Mass.

JOHN C. FRAZEE (Chairman, Pennsylvania Branch Committee), Member of State Committee of Public Safety, 704 Finance Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.

C. R. DOOLEY, Educational Department, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Pa.

R. O. SMALL, Deputy Commissioner of Education, State House, Boston, Mass.

DR. CHARLES MCCARTHY, Ph. D., Chief, Reference Library, Madison, Wis.

Part 2

ALVIN E. DODD, National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education, 140 West 42d Street, New York City.

Training for War Industries, which was heretofore developed under the SECTION ON INDUSTRIAL TRAINING of the Council of National Defense, has been taken over by the

TRAINING AND DILUTION SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 618 17TH ST., N. W. WASHINGTON, D. C.

to whom all correspondence should be addressed.

Executive Committee.

Chairman.

INTENSIVE TRAINING OF UNSKILLED WORKERS AS A MEANS OF OVERCOMING LABOR SHORTAGE

The Committee on Labor, Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense, of which Samuel Gompers is chairman, authorizes the following from the Official Bulletin of August 14:

The grave situation of shortage of labor (it now being estimated that there is a shortage of 250,000 skilled workers) is being met by a new quick method of training operatives. All over the country, day by day, one factory after another falls into line and puts in a training department to train its own people—the same sort of quick, intensive-training plan to meet the same sort of situation which the regulations in France prescribe for every manufacturer employing 300 people or more, and the English ministry of munitions requires in its contracts for materials. And the situation must be met in greater degree and substantially all factories must train their workers if the 750,000 new skilled workers which the country needs by January 1 are skilled and efficient and standing at their job by that time.

Note: September 30, now estimated 500,000.

PROVED BY THE FACTORIES

To-day 100 important factories making war orders are proving that it is possible to train their own men. They do not assume to teach a worker a whole trade in the brief time available. They do teach him by the methods of the training department how to master one process or one machine in a few weeks or a few days. These 100 factories are spending, or preparing to spend, at the rate of $1,500,000 solely in this business of intensive training of new workers. This training investment is not an expense, as the training is immediately upon production and the product from the training room is expected to equal that in the factory. All the training departments mentioned are on a production basis at all times, with speed and accuracy as the watchword.

Note: September 30, now 200.

DECLARATION OF POLICY

One year ago that section of the committee on labor of the Council of National Defense which has been instrumental in developing the training department or vestibule schools above noted recorded the following as its declaration of policy:

“The Section on Industrial Training for the War Emergency is concerned with industrial training only as a war measure. It is not concerned with vocational education in general. In all cases in the existing crisis shortage of labor must be met first by training operatives from allied trades who are unemployed and by advancing operatives of ability from lower to higher positions in the occupation itself. For instance, apprentices should be advanced rather than outsiders. It is possible that many sewing women will be without work, and many men in the building trades. For all such, new and fitting places must be developed where possible. Non-wage earners must not be trained to take places for which unemployed wage earners may reasonably be trained.”

At the same time the section on industrial training stated the following to be its plan and scope:

1. Increased use of the public vocational schools through the co-operation of local manufacturers. This is being done very fortunately in Worcester, Bridgeport and some other cities.

2. Introduce new workers, men and women, into industry through these schools.

3. Arrange for the training of present mechanics and others in existing workrooms in connection with regular production, and by more scientific procedure than heretofore.

4. As of particular importance, act as a clearing house, that the judgment and experience, good and bad, in each locality may be available to all.

The section on industrial training, a part of the welfare division of the committee on labor, is composed of one-third representatives of labor, one-third employers and one-third experts in factory training. State committees similarly organized have been developed where war products are being made. There are at present nine associate branch committees of the section on industrial training, which are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

KEEPING CHECK ON TRAINING

The section recommends three checks on the factory training department, to be made daily by report:

1. How many operatives are sent into the factory? (If this were the only test they might be sent in too fast and only partly trained.)

2. Cost, net, after crediting production which should equal the shop average.

3. Wastage.—There should be none. There should be 100 per cent. Government inspection.

These training departments, because of the thorough training given, have yielded from 10 to 40 per cent. increase in production, both for men and women, and the labor turnover has been reduced materially thereby.

Part 3

Great care has been taken to advocate that unemployed men be adapted and trained in new trades for the period of the war and that unskilled men be educated wherever possible before resorting to the employment of women.

POSSIBILITIES OF DEVELOPMENT

As an indication of the possibilities of this development, the experience of the State of New Jersey co-operating with this section may be cited. In order to overcome possible objection which labor might have to the introduction of emergency training a program was agreed on, after a series of conferences, which was heartily approved by all the employers and by the representatives of the employees. Some of the clauses of this agreement are as follows:

“All skilled labor available within the surrounding territory should be brought into the essential war industries before it is unduly diluted by the introduction of unskilled labor. When such dilution is necessary, and in the opinion of the committee that time has already arrived, the more skilled activities should be supplied by training those already at work and successful in handling the lesser skilled activities of the same general type. The lesser skilled activities should be supplied by training those already skilled in non-essential activities and not engaged at present in essential war industries, and who, because of such skill, are peculiarly capable of quickly learning the rudiments of the new activities.

“Exploitation of labor and reduction of wages through dilution for war purposes is to be avoided, and to this end persons brought into an essential industry, or promoted from one grade of work to another, are to be paid the prevailing rate of wages for the class of work for which they have been trained, after a training period of reasonable duration.

“Dilution of labor by the employment of women when necessary is recommended, provided women receive wages equal to men for the class of work performed by them, and provided the working conditions surrounding their activities are carefully controlled for their comfort and well-being.”

ELIMINATING HOUSING PROBLEM

One interesting result of training resident unemployed is the practical elimination of the housing problem in certain instances.

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