Labor Standards and War Production

Date01 November 1942
AuthorFrances Perkins
Published date01 November 1942
DOI10.1177/000271624222400109
Subject MatterArticles
54
Labor
Standards
and
War
Production
By
FRANCES
PERKINS
AXIMUM
production
for
war
M cannot
be
achieved
unless
full
consideration
is
given
to
the
conditions
under
which
the
human
factor
in
in-
dustry
functions
best.
Sound
labor
standards
were
never
more
important
than
now
if
we
are
to
maintain
health
and
efficiency
at
a
high
level
and
to
reduce
to
the
lowest
possible
point
time
lost
because
of
accidents,
illness,
strikes,
and
voluntary
absenteeism.
Flexibility
in
standards
is
needed,
in
order
to
over-
come
certain
bottlenecks,
in
order
to
utilize
substitute
materials
in
place
of
scarce
materials
for
safeguards,
in
order
to
use
to
the
full
the best
capacities
of
every
worker
and
potential
worker.
But
there
should
be
no
relaxation
of
vigi-
lance
against
.the
known
causes
of
lost
time,
fatigue,
or
inefficiency.
We
need
to
remind
ourselves
constantly
of
those
standards
which
experience
has
shown
contribute
to
increasing
the
output
of
both
men
and
women-such
things
as
safety
and
industrial
hygiene
standards,
good
lighting
and
ventilation
of
work
places,
rest
periods,
time
and
facilities
for
hot,
nourishing
meals,
smoothly
functioning
collective
bargaining
and
grievance
procedures,
proper
hours
schedules,
and
one
day
of
rest in
seven.
Because
of
the
large
numbers
of
new
workers,
especially
women
and
minors,
who
are
being
trained
and
inducted
into
industry,
and
because
of
the
many
novel
hazards
associated
with’
war
industries
-arising
from
the
materials
worked
on,
the
processes,
the
machinery,
and
the
urge
for
speed-special
safeguards
are
often
needed.
Where
women
are
to
be
employed
for
the
first
time,
manage-
ment
must
make
provision
for
seating
and
rest
rooms,
for
special
protective
clothing,
and
for
special
devices
to
pre-
vent
the
necessity
for
women
to
lift
heavy
weights,
and
for
hygienic
meas-
ures
to
guard
against
such
obvious
dan-
gers
as
lead
poisoning
to
which
women
are
particularly
susceptible.
Unless
each
establishment
engaged
in
war
production
strives
for
the
best
pos-
sible
working
conditions,
our
flow
of
tanks,
guns,
ships,
planes,
and
ammuni-
tion
will
be
halting
and
uneven
and
will
fall
short
of
our
potentialities.
High
labor
turnover
and
waste
in
many
forms
will
creep
in.
This
we
know
from
the
peacetime
experience
of
innumerable
firms,
from
experience
in
the
last
war,
and
from
the
unfortunate
results
of
too
intensive
production
efforts
in
the
summer
of
1940
in
England.
What
is
needed
is
a
generally
accepted
code
of
labor
standards
covering
all
phases
of
working
conditions
and
employment.
A
significant
step
towards
such
a
policy
has
recently
been
taken
in
respect
to
one
phase-hours
of
work.
WARTIME
LABOR
POLICY
ON
HOURS
Within
six
months
of
Pearl
Harbor
the
Federal
agencies
chiefly
responsible
for
carrying
out
the
war
production
pro-
gram
had
come
to
recognize
that
sound
labor
standards
in
regard
to
hours
have
a
great
deal
to
do
with
achieving
and
sustaining
a
high
level
of
production.
A
statement
of
wartime
labor
policy
on
hours
was
issued
on
July
28
by
eight
Federal
agencies:
Labor,
Commerce,
War,
Navy,
Maritime
Commission,
Public
Health
Service,
War
Manpower
Commission,
and
the
War
Production
Board.
This
charter
of
minimum
war-
time
labor
standards
is
intended
as
a
guide
to
Government
procurement
of-
ficers,
contractors,
and
Government
establishments
such
as
arsenals,
ship-
yards,
and
navy
yards
working
directly
at SAGE PUBLICATIONS on December 4, 2012ann.sagepub.comDownloaded from

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT