Calf. bless SoarsTo 7.4% In June

The ranks of jobless workersgrew to 493,000 or 7.4 per cent ofCalifornia's civlian labor force in

June although employment in thestate reached its second highestpeak during the month, accordingto Director of Industrial Rela-tions John F. Henning and Employ-ment Director Irving H. Perluss.The two state officials noted that

the month's performance, markedby the addition of 36,000 workers toMay's 457,000 or 7 per cent unem-ployment level, was dominated byseasonal changes. About half of theadditional workers found jobs inagricultural and related industries,Henning explained.The seasonal elements in the un-

employment picture, Perluss ex-plained, were largely related to thenormal June influx of students intothe labor market.The state's employment total rose

by 82,000 during June to 6,177,000,second only to the all-time high of6,205,000 registered last Septemberwhen seasonal activities were attheir annual peak.The June count of jobholders

topped that for the same month in1960 by 60,000 or 1 per cent. Em-ployment continued below year-earlier levels in manufacturing, ag-riculture, transportation-communi-cation-utilities, construction an d

(Continued on Page 3)

WeeklyVol. 3-No. 25July 14, 1961

News Letter

THOS. L. PITTS j Pld by CAfr Labor F t, AFL-CIOExecutive M

Secret.ry-Tramurer __ =NSTtUTR IN=DUSTftAL--~~ ~ ~~~~~~~S*M AVlf%kl I IDOADVRLAUTIUN5 LEWUAXT

AFL-CIO Executive Council Bra 4s JUL 18 1Unemployment No. 1 US. Proble yIJERITYO ALIFORNIA

The primary threat to the nation's economic he an itsoffset communist advances around the world is the combination of 5.6million unemployed workers together with the idling of one-fifth of ourproductive capacity.

This was the highlight of the analysis of our economic and politicalproblems which emerged early thismonth from the meeting of theAFL-CIO Executive Council atUnity House in Pennsylvania.Condemning attempts to revive

the false specter of inflation stem-ming from necessary wage in-creases, the council specifically at-tacked the "wage restraint" policiesadvocated by White House aideWalt Rostow and Treasury Secre-tary Douglas Dillon as "untimelyand unnecessary." It added that the"example of the previous Adminis-tration should be lesson enough,"with its resulting "unemployment,

Pitts Names Fred Smith to Calif. Labor COPEA quiekening of the tempo of labor's political activities was indicated

Wednesday when Thos. L. Pitts, executive secretary-treasurer of CaliforniaLabor Couneil on Politieal Edueation, announced the appointment of FredC. Smith as his full-time assistant, commencing as of September 1, 1961.

Smith is presently serving as president of the Federated Fire Fighters ofCalifornia. He will resign this postat the organization's state conven- thinking of our people in relation to

tion on August 12-13 in order to de- the legislative scene.vote his entire attention to the "One of his main objectives will

COPE position. be to increase participation at localCOPEpoppoitmet,oPtts levels, and to bring about increasedIn making the appointment, Pitts liaison between the state COPE or-

declared: ganization and its local units. A cor-

"Labor has learned the hard way ollary aim will be the developmentthat it must more thoroughly edu- of closer relationships between thecate its membership regarding the labor movement and political organ-

qualifications of political candi- izations.dates, regardless of their political "We know where we want to go

label, while bringing home a in our COPE activities, and the spe-greater awareness of the issues con- cific policies and programs will befronting working people. fully hammered out when Smith as-

"I feel great confidence in Fred sumes his duties in September."Smith's ability to build a COPE or- As legislative advocate for theganization which will stimulate the (Continued on Page 2)

economic stagnation and not muchstability."The council's economic statement

asserted that organized labor's abil-ity to maintain and "even increasewages has been an indispensable ele-ment in softening the impact andshortening the duration of every re-cession since World War II."The council reviewed the move-

ment of various economic indicatorsdemonstrating that consumer pricesrose by an average of only one percent annually since 1958 and thatthe wage gains registered in recentyears have been subnormal. It alsoobserved that high level profits evenduring recession periods havehelped divert an increasing share ofAmerica's wealth into the hands ofthe upper fifth of our population.Although a "number of impor-

tant preliminary steps" toward realrecovery have been successfully ad-vanced by the Kennedy Administra-tion, the council declared "muchmore needs to be done this year."It called again for further reductionof long-term interest rates, imme-diate cuts in withholding tax, and apublic works program to stimulate$1 billion in quick-starting, short-term projects already planned bystate and local governments.

Reiterating its position that thestruggle with communism is theoverriding issue of this era, thecouncil stated:

"But we repeat what we have saidmany times before - our most in-dispensable weapon in that contest

(Continued on Page 4)

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Eleventh Annual Scholarship Award WinnersThe five boys pictured on these

pages have been chosen as winnersof the 1961 competition sponsoredby the California Labor Federation,AFL-CIO, from some 450 partici-pants.Each of these young men will re-

ceive a $500 award to be depositedat the college or university of hischoice, with no restrictions on fu-ture course of study.As there will be no state AFL-

CIO convention this year, arrange-ments for formal presentation ofthe awards will be made locally inthe respective areas of the winners.

The judges who selected the win-ners, without knowledge of theiridentity, were: Frederick A. Breier,Ph.D., Associate Professor of Eco-nomics, University of California;Benjamin Aaron, L.L.B., Director,Institute of Industrial Relations,University of California at Los An-geles; and Leon F. Lee, Ph.D., De-partment of Industrial Relations,San Jose State College.Two of these five winners are

from trade union families:

MARTIN BURKERT - AbrahamLincoln High Sehool, San Fran-ciscoMartin Burkert, the son of a mem-

ber of Masters, Mates and PilotsUnion, AFL-CIO, Local 90, gradu-ated from Abraham Lincoln HighSchool with high honors.During the 1960 presidential elec-

tion, Martin was active in the Youthfor Kennedy movement. His inter-ests lie in the areas of politics andhistory.He is enrolled at Antioch College

in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he

is already attending summer ses-sion. Martin is considering major-ing in journalism.

WILLIAM ARTHUR SOLDWISCH-Pasadena High SchoolWilliam Arthur Soldwisch gradu-

ated from Pasadena High Schoolwhere he received a special FacultyHonor in Physics and Chemistry, aswell as the American Association ofPhysics T e a c h e r s' Award. Hisfather is a sheet metal journeymanand has been a member of SheetMetal Workers Local No. 108 in LosAngeles for 18 years.

Bill has chosen Pomona Collegeat Claremont to further his studiesand made a perfect score in themath section of the college entranceexamination. He was a CaliforniaScholarship Federation Sealbearerand has won two other scholarshipawards, one from the state and an-other from Pomona College.

Bill's outside interests includebaseball, in addition to participationin dance and concert bands as atrombonist.

WALTER C. FICKLIN, III - Ma-dera Union High SchoolWalter C. Ficklin, III graduated

from Madera Union High Schoolwith an outstanding record. Clare-mont Men's College in Claremont,where he plans to continue his edu-cation, has awarded him honors atentrance. His plans, tentatively, areto major in some aspect of foreignaffairs and eventually to enter theForeign Service.

Walter is a life member of theCalifornia Scholarship Federationand holds three degrees in the Na-tional Forensic League. He was afinalist in the 1960-61 competitionof the National Merit ScholarshipCorporation and was named Boy ofthe Month for January 1961 by theMadera Exchange Club. Walter rep-resented Madera Union High at Cal-ifornia Boys' State in 1960. He waschosen as a specific field winner inEnglish and a general field winnerin liberal arts for his school in theBank of America AchievementAwards program.

(Continued on Page 3)

Pitts Names Fred Smith to Calif. LaborCOPE(Continued from Page 1)

state fire fighters' organization dur-ing the past six years, one of Smith'smajor achievements was the enact-ment of state legislation in 1959rendering his craft the first publicemployee group in California to winthe right to organize into a unionof their own choosing.A native of San Diego, the 46-

year old Smith will also draw upona long history as an active tradeunionist which began in 1934 as

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recording secretary of his localunion.

Immediately upon joining theLos Angeles Fire Department in1942, he became a charter memberof Fire Fighters Local 1014. He hasserved his local as an officer since1955.Smith has been a delegate to

State Federation conventions sincethe mid-1930s and has participatedin state COPE conventions since1953.

ALAN BARON - C. K. MeClatchySenior High School, SacramentoAlan Baron graduated from C. K.

McClatchy High School with a highscholastic record and was selectedto deliver the commencement ad-dress. As a junior, he won the schoolhistory medal. He also won a Letterof Commendation Award from theNational Merit Scholarship Corpora-tion. He plans to attend Reed Col-lege in Portland, Oregon. His chosencareer is medicine, with the possi-bility of later specializing in psy-chiatry.

Alan's interests are history, for-ensics and literature, where he dis-played a special aptitude. He alsoenjoys an occasional game of chess.

MICHAEL WILLIAM BAUGHNotre Dame High School, Sher-man OaksMichael William Baugh graduated

from Notre Dame High School in

Sherman Oaks, ranking fifth in aclass of 269.The university Michael has

chosen to further his education isYale in New Haven, Connecticut.He has won two other scholarships,one from Yale and the other fromthe National Merit Scholarship Cor-poration.

Michael has been active in theCalifornia Scholarship Federationand has served as president of theSan Fernando Valley district. Hehas been very active in debating andextemporaneous speaking and haswon many awards. Just recently hecompeted in the national champion-ships in Pittsburgh and placed sixthin extemporaneous speaking. Hewas a member of the Science Club,the Future Engineers of America,and the Great Books Discussiongroup.These five young men are a credit

to their families, schools and com-munities. The Federation is proudto be in a position to assist them infurthering their chosen careers.

Calif. Joblessness SoarsTo 7.4% In June(Continued from Page 1)

mineral extraction. On the otherhand, more workers were employedthan a year ago in services, govern-ment, trade and finance.Although half the gain in employ-

ment took place in seasonal farmwork, together with the transport-ing, wholesaling and processing offarm products, there was also theusual June increase in constructionand retail trade. With the start ofsummer vacations, employment alsorose in camps, parks and otherrecreational activities.The unemployment mark of 493,-

000 for June was 101,000 or 26 percent above year-ago levels.The California civilian labor force

totaled 6,670,000 in June, com-pared with 6,509,000 twelve monthsearlier. The civilian labor force con-sists of the employed and unem-ployed available for work and seek-ing work.

Details of the U. S. employmentsituation in June are given in a sep-arate article on this page.

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U.S UnemploymentRemains Near 1%For the seventh consecutive

month, there was virtually nochange during June in the nation'sseasonally adjusted unemploymentrate.

U. S. Department of Labor esti-mates for the month reported theadjusted rate of joblessness at 6.8per cent (or 7.5 per cent on an un-adjusted basis) as the ranks of job-less workers swelled by 800,000 to alevel of 5.6 million over the May-June period.A record influx of teen-agers into

the job market at the end of theschool year helped boost employ-ment figures by 1.9 million to the68.7 million high mark achieved inJune-July 1960. At the same time,the unemployment total for themonth stood 1.2 million over theJune 1960 level.

Although the number of personsout of work for at least 15 weeksdeclined seasonally by 300,000 to1.6 million, this was still almosttwice the level of a year ago. Thenumber out of work for more thana half year rose slightly over themonth to 928,000. This compared toa total of only 396,000 in June 1960.One bright spot was a better than

seasonal 500,000 increase in em-ployment of adult men between Mayand June. Unusually large employ-ment gains were reported in bothfarm and non-farm sectors.The Labor Department also re-

ported, "Among the employed inJune were 3.2 million non-farmworkers on part-time for economicreasons. This was about 300,000more than in May, because so manyyoung persons under 20 who en-tered the labor market reportedthey could find only part-time work.

"The number of regular full-timeworkers whose hours have been cutbelow 35 because of slack work orother economic reasons was downby 100,000 over the month to 1.2million."The seasonally adjusted 6.8 per

cent unemployment rate for Junecompared with 6.9 per cent duringMay and 5.4 per cent a year earlier.The department's report

reflected the impact of the higherpostwar period birth rate on thescramble for jobs. An estimated 2.5million teen-agers entered the labor

(Continued on Page 4)

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO995 Market Stre i

San Francisco 3, Calif.

2

FORM 3547 REQUESTED B

AFLCIO Exeeutive Council(Continued from Page 1)

is a healthy, growing economy hereat home."The current international crisis

was dealt with by the executivebody in an eight-point program de-signed to strengthen the freeworld's position.

This program endorsed grantingemergency presidential powers formobilizing the nation's resourcesfor "any eventuality" and the crea-tion of a special presidential com-mission to recommend eliminationof policies which have "tended tohelp the Communist bloc" overcomeeconomic difficulties.The statement on international

affairs also asked congressional ap-proval of the Administration's for-eign economic aid program. It par-ticularly emphasized the importanceof long-term planning and financ-ing.

It also called for a "democraticcounter-offensive of bold and mas-sive economic measures" designedto "correct the deplorable social in-equities still plaguing most of LatinAmerica."OTHER LEGISLATION NEEDED

Early.congressional approval ofthe McCarthy-King bill was urgedby the AFL-CIO governing body.This bill would carry out the Admin-istration's proposal of updating thejobless benefits program while pro-viding a fairer distribution of thesocial costs of unemployment.The council also called for an ef-

fective national employment serviceto meet the problems of technologi-cal change and high unemployment.Such a measure, it stated, shouldinclude a "complete separation ofthe employment service from theunemployment insurance system"and an end to its discriminatory and"segregationist practices."While commending Kennedy's

"forthright" executive order estab-lishing the President's Committeeon Equal Employment Opportunity,the council also called upon Con-

:ndustrtal Relations LibrarianUnstltute of Ind istrial Relations,14 CalVforni3 HallJnl'v/er37ty of Cal -ornia3er 7 elAey 4, Caltf.

gress to approve enforceable fairemployment practices legislation.The council also urged all AFL-

CIO affiliates to join in the urgenttask of abolishing all discriminatorypractices, "including those vestigesthat inexcusably remain within thetrade union movement itself."INTERNAL PROBLEMSA substantial portion of the exec-

utive council's attention was rivetedupon a variety of problems withinthe AFL-CIO itself.

After accepting a partial progressreport of its subcommittee on inter-nal disputes, the council instructedthe group to complete the report atits next meeting in October.AFL-CIO P r e s i d e n t George

Meany publicly announced "a gooddeal of progress in this area." Heindicated, however, that the unre-solved problems had to do with dis-putes and boycotts affecting the In-dustrial Union Department and theBuilding and Construction TradesDepartment.

Responding to a petition fromnine affiliates, the council charteredthe Food & Beverage Trade Depart-ment. This seventh AFL-CIO de-partment will handle the specialproblems and concerns of the onemillion members employed in theaffected industries.

In a separate action, the councilannounced that the AgriculturalWorkers Organizing Committee willset up an orderly transfer of itsmembers to an appropriate interna-tional union.Meany stated that AFL-CIO went

into the farm worker area to helpdevelop a trade union conscious-ness and to improve conditions. Heindicated considerable success inthe latter area, citing wage increasesestimated at 25 per cent as a resultof the organizational effort.Meany noted that the AFL-CIO's

total expenditure in this area willexceed $500,000 and that it canspend only a certain amount ofmoney in any one project. He indi-cated that the Packinghouse Work-ers and the Meat Cutters are both

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NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU. S. POSTAGEP A I D

San Francisco, Cal.Permit No. 7085

active in this field and interested inthe AWOC members.

After discussing a report fromthe director of organization, thecouncil announced that the nextmeeting of the AFL-CIO GeneralBoard will consider organizing prob-lems "in some depth."STRIKES AND BOYCOTTSWith respect to strikes in prog-

ress, the council assailed the use of"federal courts as a strikebreakingmedium" by Television StationKXTV in Sacramento. It pointed tothis strike as a "graphic illustra-tion" of how the "most vicious pro-visions" of Landrum-Griffin canbe used to oppose legitimate walk-outs.

In view of the continuing nation-wide boycott of Sears, RoebuckCompany, the council directed aprotest to Commerce SecretaryLuther H. Hodges over use of aSears exhibit in a trade fair abroad.A nationwide boycott of Peter

Paul Candies was endorsed until thefirm reinstates workers dismisseddue to union activity.The court decision in the Peyton

Packing Company case was wel-comed as "greatly strengtheningthe authority of the Secretary of La-bor to prevent importation of strike-breakers." The council stressed thatwhile it wants "no closed borders"in the American hemisphere, NorthAmerican trade unionists "do notwant commuting workers used toundermine wages and working con-ditions or to act as strikebreakers."

U. S. Employment(Continued from Page 3)

market in June compared with 2.2million a year ago and 1.9 million in1959.

In a companion report on employ-ment in major cities, the depart-ment pointed to a slight improve-ment for the second consecutivemonth. Of the nation's 150 major la-bor markets, 88 reported unemploy-ment rates over 6 per cent as com-pared to 96 in May and an all-timehigh of 101 during March and April.

c,