higher pay for greater skills by setting different rates for skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled work. The Minneapolis-St. Paul committee furnished definitions of "skilled" and "unskilled" worker. The Syracuse standards suggested the use of the term "household assistant" or "aid" in preference to "maid" or "servant.”

Methods of Arriving at Standards.-Cincinnati and Cleveland offer good examples of two effective methods used in arriving at standards. Before finally adopting its standards, the Cincinnati committee discussed them with a number of outside groups. The opinion of employee members of the Industrial Girls Club of the YWCA was requested on specific questions through questionnaires and discussion. The committee also obtained reaction to the proposed standards from the household training class which was organized under committee sponsorship in one of the public high schools. Samples of standards in operation in other cities were studied. Final recommendations were based on the suggestions of all these groups and were endorsed by the industrial committee of the local YWCA. All these approaches helped greatly in making the standards realistic and in promoting their general acceptance.

The Cleveland committee was in the process of conducting a pretesting experiment that represented a significant attempt to develop sound and practical standards. Ten employer-employee units in this city were testing the tentative recommendations developed by the committee. On the basis of the experience and reactions of this select group, standards were to be revised and reviewed prior to their final adoption and general distribution.

Obtaining Community Acceptance of Standards.-After standards have been agreed to, the problem of gaining community acceptance must be faced. Committees have used mainly two methods. Some formed employers' leagues as subsidiaries of the committees, and others used effective publicity and promotion. The St. Louis committee established a league of employers, and at the time of the survey the Cleveland and Atlanta committees were contemplating the formation of similar leagues. Membership in leagues of this type was voluntary. Yearly dues were charged to finance the work of the leagues. Members were pledged to abide by the standards program as outlined by the household employment committee from which the league stemmed. The emergence of employer groups formed primarily to put standards into operation assured some public support and assistance for the standards developed by the committee.

The second method, the effective use of publicity, included panel discussions and forums, teas, radio programs, and newspaper feature articles. The Syracuse committee, however, attempted more directly to obtain the cooperation and understanding of women's organiza

tions. Speakers for any social agency, group, or club were made available by the committee to all community women's organizations that indicated an interest in the subject of standards for household employment.

Chicago Household Employers' League's Standards.-In Chicago the initiative for developing household employment programs was taken by an employers' organization rather than by a general community organization. This organization was established late in 1944 to "attract competent women into household employment by establishing standards which will compete with industry in the postwar labor market." Dues were fixed at $5 yearly.

The league established a set of minimum standards on wages, hours, and vacations for resident and nonresident workers, for general household, day, and part-time workers, and for specialists. Hours recommended were 50 per week for resident and 44 for nonresident workers. Overtime was limited to 10 hours weekly, and time-on-call was to be paid for with 2 hours on call counted as 1 hour of working time. (Standards are reported in full in the appendix, p. 65.)

League standards applied to employer members who secured experienced household assistance through the YWCA placement office. At the time of the survey nine members of the Chicago league were employing household workers in accordance with recommendations of the league.

Unions' Standards.-The growth of household workers' unions has been slow and limited. The isolation of the average domestic employee and the difficulty of securing mutually convenient meeting dates make unionization difficult. Nevertheless, workers had organized themselves into unions in three of the cities visited: Louisville, Ky., New York City, and Washington, D. C.

Most successful of the unions was the Household Domestic Worker's Union, a CIO affiliate, in Washington, D. C. As hours, wages, and working-conditions standards were higher in this city during the war than is usual for this occupation, 33 women household employees, the majority of whom were Negroes, formed a union in 1942 to maintain and protect the gains made during the war emergency. They believed also that discriminatory practices, such as paying Negro workers less and requiring long hours of them, could be abolished through union contracts covering both white and colored workers. Further, as organized workers they could act more effectively to obtain coverage of legislation favorable to workers, such as the old-age and survivors-insurance benefits of the Social Security Act and unemployment and workmen's compensation.

The union concentrated its attention and energy on the development of wages' and hours' standards for beginners and for experienced

workers. Rates for day work, part-time work, and overtime were set. (See copy of work agreement, appendix, p. 68.)

TRAINING COURSES FOR HOUSEHOLD WORKERS

It was agreed by those dealing with the problem that any household employment program for establishing standards must take into account the need for training of both employers and workers. An understanding of the value of good standards and of what constitute reasonable requirements for performance of duties and the ability to organize and manage a household efficiently are essential goals for the training of employers. Equally essential for employees is training to equip them to perform their tasks in an efficient and skillful manner. The success of any household employment program rests ultimately on good job performance.

Despite this general conviction, few groups were able to afford the time and the energy necessary for training projects. At the time of the survey, no projects for training employers had been begun, and training activities for employees had been undertaken by only 5 of the 12 general community committees: Syracuse, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Atlanta. In 3 other cities-Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis-training projects for workers were instituted by the YWCA Household Club, the Institute on Household Occupation, and the secretary of a community center, respectively. Household Employment Committees' Training Programs

In the five cities in which the general community committees undertook training programs, these committees worked with local educational systems to introduce household training courses for workers and cooperated in the program. Several committees gave financial and material assistance for carrying out the training program.

Recruitment. The previous failure of such courses to attract registrants was mentioned by practically all vocational and educational directors who were consulted by the committees. Consequently, the committees in these five centers usually assumed some responsibility for recruitment.

The most thorough effort at recruitment was made by the Cleveland committee. Letters were sent to a number of people whose names were obtained from the unemployment compensation files and to women who had previously expressed an interest in training for household employment. Committee members also interviewed job applicants reporting to the Service Section of the USES office. Sixtyseven persons indicated a desire to register for training. Only 23, however, actually enrolled, and 16 completed the course.

Another method of recruiting was employed by the Cincinnati

committee. Since most household workers in this city were Negroes, efforts were directed primarily toward recruiting Negro women. Letters were written and recruiting dodgers were circulated in the schools in the Negro district. Invitations to attend the course, addressed to mothers and sisters and requesting a reply, were copied by the children in regular classes during the day. Eighteen students, of whom 14 were interested in having household employment, enrolled in the course offered in this district. In contrast, of the 31 registrants in the white residential section, none planned to use their training Vocationally.

Syracuse Program.-In this city a specialist in domestic science, several employers on the committee, and four employees invited by the committee consulted with the superintendent of schools on the content of a training course. Their aim was to obtain training on a level comparable to that of other business and vocational courses offered by the Syracuse adult education extension division.

Cleveland Program. The Cleveland subcommittee on training helped to plan a 60-hour course given in the summer of 1946 under the auspices of the Board of Education. The course covered basic information and skills. Cooking was included in each session and 1 week was devoted to each type of meal-breakfast, luncheon, and dinner. Table setting, general housework, cooking and serving for invalids, care of children, cleaning, and laundering were other subjects taught. Sessions were held in the school building, but committee members arranged for classes to meet in their homes to demonstrate the over-all care of a home and the scheduling and timing of tasks. Course content was designed to give workers training in the performance of actual jobs in the average household in the community. Committee members in Cleveland lent household furnishings not available at the school, such as silver and linen. The committee paid for food and incidentals used in the course and for the employment of an extra teacher requested by them for the summer course. They also transported students to and from sessions meeting outside the school building, thus enabling the students to attend sessions in homes in various parts of the city without extra cost for carfare.

St. Louis Program.-The St. Louis committee sponsored a training course for household workers which provided that employees of committee members or of others subscribing to the committee's standards should be released on employers' time to attend classes. Thus they overcame the frequently encountered obstacles to training such as lack of time while on the job and financial inability to stop work in order to attend classes. The tendency of employers to disregard any obligation to recognize increased skill by increasing wages was countered by a provision that workers were to receive a minimum

wage of $18 weekly during the training period and an increase to a $20 weekly minimum on completion of the course. The course consisted of 2-hour sessions twice weekly for a period of 8 weeks. Segregation of schools in St. Louis required that the course be given in two sections. Twenty-two Negro women, 16 of whom were currently employed, registered for one section. Because of insufficient registration the course for white women had not yet begun at the time of the survey.

Atlanta Program.-The Atlanta training program-the first after the war which was an attempt to deal with household employment on a community basis-furnishes a valuable example to committees planning similar projects.

Prewar Atlanta Program.-Interest in training workers for household employment had been continuous since the 1930's, when the Training School for Domestic Service was organized as a department of the Colored Division of the Community Employment Service. An agency of the Community Chest, it was financed by a grant from the Rosenwald Foundation, matched by funds from the Community Employment Service Federal Aid for Vocational Training, the USES, and the State Vocational Board. It had an advisory committee of Negro and white businessmen, educators, and social workers. The executive secretary of the Community Employment Service was the director of the school.

A nine-room duplex bungalow served as a practice house. Courses were of 6 weeks duration and the school day lasted from 8:30 a. m. to 5 p. m. daily. Students who were employed and could not attend full-time were permitted to attend part-time.

Courses included plain, fancy, and invalid cooking, serving, housecleaning, laundering, sewing, and mending. A special course in child care was given with the cooperation of the city health department which furnished a trained nurse as instructor twice weekly. In addition to this practical instruction, there were lectures and discussions covering professional ethics, personal hygiene, behavior on the job, proper dress, and the like.

A physician was employed by the school to give free medical examinations to the students. A health certificate was given each student, which, with the diploma granted on completion of the course of study, aided the worker in obtaining a position. The Community Employment Service sought to obtain suitable employment for those who had satisfactorily completed the course.

In 1940 the program was taken over by the National Youth Administration. The school continued to function under the auspices of this agency until 1942, when the NYA was disbanded.

Postwar Atlanta Program.-Public interest in the household em