DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR AND HEALTH, EDUCATION, HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE EIGHTY-FIFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR AND HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island, Chairman HENDERSON LANHAM, Georgia JOHN TABER, New York WINFIELD K. DENTON, Indiana MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE INTERSTATE COMMISSION ON THE POTOMAC RIVER BASIN NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD UNITED STATES SOLDIERS' HOME 88498 Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1957 Documents Dept. COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman GEORGE H. MAHON, Texas ALFRED D. SIEMINSKI, New Jersey EDWARD P. BOLAND, Massachusetts DON MAGNUSON, Washington WILLIAM H. NATCHER, Kentucky DANIEL J. FLOOD, Pennsylvania WINFIELD K. DENTON, Indiana TOM STEED, Oklahoma HUGH Q. ALEXANDER, North Carolina JAMES B. BOWLER, Illinois JOHN TABER, New York RICHARD B. WIGGLESWORTH, Massachusetts H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota FREDERIC R. COUDERT, JR., New York EARL WILSON, Indiana BENJAMIN F. JAMES, Pennsylvania GERALD R. FORD, JR., Michigan EDWARD T. MILLER, Maryland CHARLES W. VURSELL, Illinois HAROLD C. OSTERTAG, New York FRANK T. BOW, Ohio HAMER H. BUDGE, Idaho CHARLES RAPER JONAS, North Carolina MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin KENNETH SPRANKLE, Clerk and Staff Director (II) DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR AND HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1958 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1957. WITNESSES HON. JAMES P. MITCHELL, SECRETARY OF LABOR V. S. HUDSON, ASSISTANT TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT Mr. FOGARTY. The committee will come to order. This is the start of the hearings on the annual appropriation bill for fiscal year 1958 for the Labor Department, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and related agencies. The committee will meet at 10 o'clock each morning and go until between 12 and 12:30 and resume at 2 o'clock and try to end at 4:30 in the afternoons until hearings have been completed. This afternoon we have as our first witness Mr. Mitchell, the Secretary of Labor. You have a prepared statement, Mr. Mitchell? Mr. MITCHELL. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. FOGARTY. Go right ahead. GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE SECRETARY Secretary MITCHELL. I would like to recite some accomplishments and events of interest in the field of labor. The Department has and is continuing to aggressively administer the labor laws and programs for which it is responsible. Its scope of coverage continues to grow; December figures show a total civilian labor force of more than 69.9 million. At the end of calendar 1955 the labor force was 69.5 million; and 67.8 million in 1954, and 6 years ago, the end of 1950, it totaled 62.9 million. We were SUPREME COURT CASES IN 1956 exceptionally successful in our Supreme Court cases in 1956. In a year which brought the largest number of cases the results (1) 315 were 100 percent favorable to the Department's interpretation of the 2 major Federal wage-and-hour laws. A total of 12 decisions or final orders were handed down by the Supreme Court. Investigations by the Wage and Hour Division have disclosed underpayments of $9,020,000 affecting 88,000 workers during the 6-month period ending December 31, 1956. Over $5 million was found due in the quarter ending December 31, which is at the highest annual rate in 10 years. A total of almost $225,000 was restored to workers who were not paid in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act. Nearly 500 wage determination actions establishing pay minimum on Federal-aid highway construction in 32 States have been issued affecting 743 miles of new road construction; $2,403,913 was recovered in third party tort cases under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act. EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAMS IN 1956 The fiscal year 1956 saw improvement in management's and labor's programs for developing high-level mechanical skills. With the assistance and promotion of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, industry stepped up its expenditures for employee training in order to meet demands arising from continuing expansion of the economy. Registered apprentices rose 17,000 during the year to 180,000. COUNSELING PROGRAMS Counseling programs for the hard to place-youth, the handicapped, and older workers-were stepped up. We estimate we will make 1,100,000 counseling interviews during fiscal 1957 as against 1,068,000 in fiscal 1956. In 1958 we expect to step this up to 1,460,000. Experience shows that the effort expended here pays off in more and better placements of these workers. For example, in 1956 more than 290,000 handicapped workers were placed in gainful employment. Job placements in total for all workers exceeded 1512 million. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COVERAGE Total coverage under unemployment insurance laws has risen to 43 million. Average weekly benefits rose from $25.03 in 1955 to $27.22 in November 1956. Statutory minimum wage rates were adopted in Rhode Island and Puerto Rico applying to men, women and children. SAFETY TRAINING Safety training was given in 38 courses in 16 States to over 700 State, labor and management officials and to 800 Federal officials. Third quarter injury frequency rate for manufacturing (12.3 per million man-hours worked) was the lowest third quarter rate ever recorded. The rate for the same quarter of 1955 was 13.1. |