The House Appropriations Committee treated us very nicely. However, they did not allow the $39,653 requested to step up our Federal safety program, or the $3,000 for one clerical position in our union registration work. PRESIDENT'S INTEREST IN SAFETY PROGRAMS I should like to tell you gentlemen that last fall President Eisenhower sent a letter to all the Federal departments and agencies asking them to improve the existing safety programs that they had, and where none existed, to immediately establish safety programs. But I regret to inform you that the figures for the calendar year 1954 showed that we had reduced accidents-this is 1954 compared with 1953from 86,000 to 83,000. But we must remember that there were less. employees in Federal employment. So that really the accident frequency went up from 7.8 to 8 and the fatalities increased from 213. in 1953 to 239 in 1954, which is an increase of 26. Now, the average cost of fatals is about $40,000, which figures an additional cost to the taxpayers of about $1,240,000. And in addition to this waste of our human resources, in many of these instances, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the wife had to tell the children that daddy would not be home any more. The Department of Labor has the responsibility in the Federal Employees Compensation Act to reduce the accidents and the fatalities. in the Federal employment. However, we cannot do the job that the President wants us to do, without funds to secure five more positions in order to help the agencies and departments to set up a wellrounded program and to train their foremen and supervisors in accident-prevention techniques. SAFETY ENGINEERS Senator HILL. What would these five positions be? Senator HILL. What salary would they get? Mr. GURSKE. They would be grade 12. That would be $7,040, annually. There would also be 1 No. 14, which would be $9,600 as a starting salary; 1 No. 11, which would be $5,940; and another student engineer we would train, in grade 7, at $4,205, and then stenographic help would make up the rest. TOTAL PERSONNEL Senator HILL. How many people do you have in your Bureau now, sir? Mr. GURSKE. I believe it is 89. Senator HILL. This would be bringing it up to 94, would it? Mr. GURSKE. Yes. Senator HILL. Have you had much reduction in your Bureau in the last several years or not? Mr. GURSKE. Yes, a tremendous reduction, Mr. Chairman. Senator HILL. How many did you have, say, in 1952? Mr. DODSON. At the peak they had 163, Mr. Chairman. Senator HILL. When was that? Mr. DODSON. In 1951. Senator HILL. How does this year compare with last year? Mr. VAN ZANT. It is about the same. I think it is $43,000 less for safety. Senator HILL. That is the year before? Mr. VAN ZANT. In 1954 there was a reduction of about $40,000 in safety, and we have about the same again this year. Mr. DODSON. I can give you the staffing. It was 163 in 1951; 138 in 1952; 121 in 1953; 93 in 1954; 97 in 1955. All these figures that I have given you include the staff of the President's Committee on Employ the Physically Handicapped, which has never exceeded eight. Senator HILL. Is that the number today, the President's Committee has eight? Mr. VAN ZANT. They have nine positions. Senator HILL. Are there any questions, gentlemen? If not, thank you very much. Do you have anything else you want to add? SAFETY ACTIVITIES Mr. GURSKE. We have some charts here on our safety activities that we would like to give you and to talk on a few moments. Senator HILL. All right, sir. Mr. GURSKE. Mr. Parker has succeeded Mr. Marks, who has been up here for many sessions. Mr. Parker used to be Safety Director of the Army. Mr. PARKER. I may say I am in a peculiar position here. This is my first day of employment for the Department of Labor. However, I think that gives me one decided advantage. Having been on the presumed receiving end of the guidance and assistance from the Department of Labor over the years, I have recognized how they were unable to give the assistance that they desired to and for which there is a demand. But, fortunately, being with the Army it happened that we were in less need of it than a great many of the others. At any rate, they gave me the opportunity to study very closely the need for the manpower and the quality of personnel who could go out and give that administrative assistance on the development and strengthening of safety programs. These charts are very simple, as you can see. First we have the types of industry safety programs for which the visits and the training courses are held, with the approximate number of workers ultimately affected and the number of Federal employees affected by the type of activity. Those activities extend also into the Federal field safety councils, of which there is at the present time a total of 95, which if not given the assistance where you see the red dots, they are in danger of failing or becoming so ineffective as to be not reasonably expected to produce anything. NEW YORK LOCATION Senator THYE. May I ask why would a State like New York need two? You have two red dots there needing assistance. Mr. PARKER. They actually have four field safety councils organized in areas of concentration of Federal employees. Senator THYE. But do they need two additional? Mr. PARKER. Those are organized. Senator THYE. What is the red dot? I am looking at your chart. Field councils needing assistance are the red dots. New York shows 2 black dots and 2 red dots. Mr. PARKER. That is correct. Senator THYE. Then does New York need additional assistance? Mr. PARKER. Yes, sir. Of those 4 field councils in New York State, 2 are relatively effective. The other two, either by reason of being relatively new or not possessing the know-how to give the guidance to the Federal units being represented by their membership, are in need of assistance. It might be due to lack of leadership, due to lack of skill in organizing or lack of analysis in the problems. Senator THYE. I notice in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota you do not reflect needing assistance. Mr. PARKER. That is correct. Senator THYE. Are our records up there so good that we stand out as commendable and need no additional assistance? Mr. PARKER. Not necessarily so. This is on the basis of an analysis of current field activities of these councils, as to whether they are proving adequate and therefore with reason to be effective, or to expect them to be effective over a period of time. In accident prevention work you have to establish first the sound preventive activity, and statistically it will take care of itself. EMPHASIS ON ACCIDENT PREVENTION WORK Senator THYE. The reason I am asking the question is that we have stressed and put emphasis on the accident-prevention work in the State. I was just hoping that that effort on the part of the State, industries as well as municipalities, had achieved that. Then that is to their credit and these other States had better take a good look at their own operation in comparison with some of the smaller industrial States, to see whether they could not pull a page out of our accomplishments and add it to their endeavors. Mr. PARKER. That is correct, sir. You will notice I said "not necessarily so." Senator THYE. How do you propose to help them? Can you give for my benefit, at least, roughly what you propose to do there to step up these States to get a better performance? Mr. PARKER. You understand that these are councils dealing directly with the Federal employee, and it is sometimes rather difficult to get a representative of a Federal department, having a small group of people, to become very interested in accident-preventive activities when he cannot visualize that he should have any accidents, nor does he recall having had any. We know in the safety business that accidents are occurring all the time and unless they make adequate planning on a preventive effort, the law of averages is going to create the disabling injury and the fatality. Therefore, men from the Bureau will go out and assist them in establishing the council activities which will automatically render assistance to those small groups of workers who do not neces 62284-55- -5 sarily employ skilled safety engineers and other qualified persons. By giving and establishing training activities for them, their supervisory personnel become more skilled in accident-preventive activities without necessarily having to hire safety engineers for small groups. Senator HILL. All right, sir. What is your next chart? Mr. PARKER. The next chart is simplifying somewhat the type of work being given through all of the Federal departments and agencies. You will notice that they are surveys, appraisals, training courses, consultant service, and inspections. This actually represents only in broadest terms what the Safety Standards Division is able to accomplish, because through the utilization of the Federal Safety Council, for which it is administratively responsible, they encourage a great deal of development by the individual agencies, thus not having to make it all original work. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE LOCATIONS Senator HILL. You use the term there "25,000 Federal locations." Exactly what do you mean by that? Mr. PARKER. Actually, those are 25,000 locations at which there are Federal employees. Senator HILL. Are there that many different locations where there are Federal employees whom you are seeking to help in making conditions safe? Mr. PARKER. That is correct, sir. Senator HILL. Are there any questions, gentlemen? If not, we are certainly obliged to you gentlemen. BUREAU OF VETERANS' REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS STATEMENTS OF ROBERT K. SALYERS, DIRECTOR, AND HUGH W BRADLEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF VETERANS' REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS; AND JAMES E. DODSON, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SECRETARY APPROPRIATION ESTIMATE BUREAU OF VETERANS' REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS Salaries and expenses: For expenses necessary to render assistance in connection with the exercise of reemployment rights under section 8 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended (50 U. S. C. App. 308), the Service Extension Act of 1941, as amended, the Army Reserve and Retired Personnel Service Law of 1940, as amended, and section 9 of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, and, under the Act of June 23, 1943, as amended (50 U. S. C. App. 1472), of persons who have performed service in the Merchant Marine, [$300,000] $392,000. To place handling of cases and problems on a current basis and reduce the backlog: Permanent positions (14). Extra day's pay. To assist in handling inquiries and correspondence from exservicemen, employers, etc. and the increased number of contacts with national organizations (employer, labor, veteran) and other Government agencies: Permanent positions (4)_. Extra day's pay- Lapse__ Net permanent. Nonlabor.. Total increase_. |