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Ne r t n No-4 --- 103~r'l 1 . .N• ,qt 3rl'\ u..-, i ,srr,•tY THE WO R K S P R O G R .h M --- Works Progress .hdministretion --- For release in morning papers Monday, February 10, 1936. Col. Westbrook praises WP.h supervisors for cold-weather action, raps critics of 11 lost time 11 • • Praising the ingenuity with which WP.h project supervisors have kept work going during recent cold wee..ther, Col. Lawrence Westbrook, .hSSistant Works Progress .hdministrator, today declared that Works Program critics who have 11 set up a hue and cry about the wages paid for lost time" haven't the sli~test understanding of the program's "security wages." "Our current reports from the cold-weather States reveal a high degree of ingenuity and determination in carrying on thousands of projects in the face of bitter weather, 11 Col. Westbrook said. "Wherever possible, supervisors have had scaffolding erected around buildings under construction so that inside of canvas enclosures the workmen are p rotected. Sand, water, and cement have been heated so that concrete work may go on. On ma.lout-door projects, part of the men have been assigned to cutting wood and keeping fires burning. \, Temporary shelte rs with stoves have provided others with a chance to warm up from time to time. 11 We are getting a substantial percentage of productive time, considering the weather. It isn't high. No outside job is showing any- thing but the usual cold-wea ther production results, whether it is under the WP.h or private construction work. "Security wages for the workers go on as usual. -~.;-~.;_,~ ~.<f)igiti-z-ed~ -,_ ---··-•'--- NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - - - - ... - - · · - .:i - - That is a basic .1. i-Ofigml•from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY No-4 --- 1036 -2- "It is being p rovided until such time as p rivate employment in commerce, industry, and agriculture is able to take back the workers it fired fr om its payrolls. "We have wi ped out the d0l e for 3 ,700 , 000 needy unemployed by p r ovidi ng the Wo r k Program;. The security wage s wipe out the handout syst em of di r ect reli ef. permit s wo r k . fie pay tr.e wage s fo r work, when the weathe r We pay t he wage s, anyway , if weat he r :or event s wo rk. "Having scal ed tte secur ity 1"."age as a st ead~r inco11e duri ng the per i od t he worke r is unde r the TTod:s Pro gram, it '!roul d be impo ssible to st op wage s when for emen ment condi ti ons . have to s end the wor ~ers home b e ep.us e of incl e- The wa5 e s a r e not scaled to pe r mi t savings to tide over workless pe ri ods. "The s ecurity we,ge is a new p rinci:,ole. I a m not surp ris ed that critics who are u s ed to t hi nkinG fr om the point of view of th e pr evaili ng wage scal e take a c r ack at it. p rac tices in constructi on wo r k . It i s a sharp contras t wi t h t he usual The c on struc ti on i ndus try , as carried on by p riva t e empl oyers, is noted fo r its irregularity of employment. During the course of a y ear, if a worke r is a ble to ge t in half his time at pa id wo rk, h e is lucky . If he ge ts in t wo t hi r ds , he is a marked exception. 11 The wo r ke r under private industry is up and down in his i ncome when he is on and off hi~ job, whether t he r eas on is his faul t or not. "Under the Works Pr ogr am , t hrough the s ecurity wage , we are p r ovidi ng what amounts to e:milo~,7men t assura.1ce f or the needy , ex- employees of industry, commerce , anci_ n_gricul tu:r.e. "We have s ai d t o 3,700 ,000 ab l e-bodi ed wo r £e rs who are broke and in need: 'You can earn you r own needs by wo rking on useful public p r oj ec ts for s e curity wages. private industry. try. You will be 9aid r egularl;r until you ge t a job· in This job isn't as attractive as a j ob in private indus- It isn't suppo s ed to be, but you don' t have t o live on a dole and a handout like a pauper when you can wo r k .' "This p rinci ple of security wages is a new thi ng . been done before. It hasn't It means that we pay wages for work, instead of relief. So when the mercury goes do wn to a po int where men can't wo rk outside, or it rai ns t oo hard, or materials don't ge t to the j ob, or any one of the · hundred t hings happen that have always affected outside ,.,o r k, we do n 't penalize the wo rkers for it. Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY No-4 --- 1036 -3- "Under the security wage policy the worker gets credit for a day's work and a day's pay, if he shows up on the job, whether the job goes on that day or not, so long as it isn't his fault. He is assured of a much more stable income the.n under ordinary construction customs. The security wage is worked out with lost time taken into consideration. "The people under the Works Program, with very small exception, are from the relief rolls. They have no savings and no reserves of credit. Sto~ their security-wage income, and they are destitute. them, clothe them, pa.y the rent? Who will feed Will the critics who don't understand the principle of the security wage take ca re of them?" ---00000--- Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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