plained that information on the number of workers and their skills was available for the use of the Chamber of Commerce or any prospective employer who wished to locate in Sanford. ES Offers Testing Facilities This situation was then discussed with the Chairman of the Employment Security Commission and the Chairman instructed the Field Supervisor to extend the entire facilities of the State Agency to this distressed community, with particular emphasis on the testing program being carried on by the Agency. The Field Supervisor then arranged a meeting between the Sanford-Springvale Chamber of Commerce, the State Supervisor of Testing and Counseling, the State Informational Representative, and the Manager of the Sanford office of the Commission. At the close of this meeting, the Sanford group stated that the offer made by the Maine Employment Security Commission to test all interested workers for unknown skills or aptitudes would be of great value to them in attempting to carry out their proposed plans. Therefore, on November 1, 1954, an experienced staff of the Commission was sent to Sanford to interview all persons interested in finding employment and to obtain as complete information as possible regarding their work experience. Although considerable work experience, other than textile, was uncovered, most of the applicants had been textile workers the greater part of their lives. An aptitude testing program to appraise the potential qualifications of the labor force was conducted so that prospective employers could evaluate the suitable trainee material. As was expected, the testing technicians of the Commission were able to uncover and classify a large amount of information regarding the available labor force in the Sanford area. With this information arranged in proper form to use as a working tool, the Chamber of Commerce industrial committee has been able to discuss labor supply with prospective employers on a tangible basis. Some 43 skills were uncovered and classified. The results were analyzed and a booklet prepared giving the complete results of the Labor Survey. In the meantime, the Sanford-Springvale Chamber of Commerce prepared a brochure, "Facts on Sanford" and had several hundred of these printed along with several hundred copies of the Commission's Labor Survey. Ready for Promotion The Chamber was then ready to start an extensive promotional campaign. Advertisements were published in leading New York newspapers and trade journals stating that representatives of the Sanford-Springvale Chamber of Commerce would be in New York at the Hotel Commodore for a week. During this week, the group contacted a size able number of industrialists in the New York area. At the end of this week, a banquet was held at the Lambs Club in New York and 65 industrialists met with the Sanford group to discuss the industrial possibilities of Sanford. In addition, many manufacturers from other sections of the country got in touch with the Sanford representatives while they were in New York. In the weeks that followed, many manufacturers visited Sanford to look over the available industrial space. In each instance, the Chamber of Commerce representatives brought these prospective employers into the local office of the Maine Employment Security Commission where a complete picture of available labor was furnished them by the local office manager. The City Takes on New Life The spirit of cooperation which has developed between the Chamber of Commerce and the Maine Employment Security Commission has resulted, up to the present time, in the establishment of 11 new industries in Sanford and the expansion of another. Among the new industries established and now operating are a plastic manufacturer, a woolen mill, a dress manufacturer, a manufacturer of metal molds, a chemical company, a garment manufacturer, a carpet manufacturing concern, a food manufacturer, an aircraft manufacturer, a leather products manufacturer, and an industrial plastics concern. More than 2,000 workers are already employed and there is a good possibility that as many as 600 additional jobs will develop in the near future. The expansion program of a well established shoe concern has opened up more jobs and negotiations are now being carried on with at least 12 more new industries that have shown an active interest in locating in the Sanford area. A vast majority of the workers in Sanford were home-owners and, although some did leave for work in nearby communities, it was for the most part— only on a temporary basis. Practically no homes were put up for sale and the families of these workers remained in Sanford. Today, we find many of these workers employed in some of the new industries which are being located there (11 in all thus far, and the payrolls are constantly growing). And thus Sanford moves on-justifying the faith of the people of the community in the fact that a serious illness can be cured with the proper medicine. The outlook for the future is bright. Out of what might have been industrial ruin, a new Sanford is arising, the economy of which is so well diversified that it will act as a stabilizer to prevent an economic tailspin in the future. The story of Sanford's industrial despair is similar to that of many one-industry New England towns-but the story of its industrial recovery is filled with courage, fortitude, perseverance, and cooperation of many agencies and people along with a lot of faith in the future of their community. Puerto Rico's new $15 million International Airport in San Juan. One floor of the terminal building is a 30-room hotel unit; the parking lot has room for nearly 1,000 automobiles; and the landing strips can accommodate the newest jet passenger planes. Problems and Prospects.. UNI Industrial Development and Employment By DR. LEO SUSLOW Acting Director, Department of Industrial Services NTIL the last decade Puerto Rico's economy consisted chiefly of agriculture, sugar processing, and some home needlework. Sugar completely predominated in both agriculture and manufacturing in terms of employment and value of production and shipments. But this monocultural economy brought with it the ills faced by most underdeveloped countries: seasonal employment, dependence on prices set by the consumer, monopoly of the richest soils, and, concomitantly, the lack of agricultural diversification. The problems of a stagnant economy were seriously compounded by one of the fastest growing populations in the world due to a high birth rate and decreasing death rate. At present, population density on the island is over 630 persons per square mile. If the U. S. mainland had this same density, the entire world's population would fit within its borders! Seasonal agriculture alone could not cope with a labor force increasing at the rate of 20,000 workers annually, nor could it provide work for thousands of unemployed. Industrial development had become imperative to help diversify the economy and provide jobs for the unemployed, the chronic underemployed, and new persons entering the labor force. Industrial Development Program In 1942 the government set up and operated factories to manufacture glass containers, cement, shoes, paper cartons, and clay products. The major reason for this experiment in government enterprise was to prove to private capital that modern industry could make a go of it in Puerto Rico. These plants were subsequently sold to private interests. During the 1940's, the insular government sharply expanded its programs against illiteracy, slums, representing an investment of more than $3 million, was This plant, located at Caguas, when operating at capacity in-plant training programs for Puerto Rican workers. and managers in Puerto Rico and on the mainland; arrange for scholarships to potential industrial engineers, technicians, and industrial managers; and set up intensive accelerated vestibule worker-training programs. Case Study The Consolidated Cigar Company, Puerto Rico's largest cigar factory, The industrial development program had made little real headway until the local legislature passed the Industrial Incentives Act in 1948. This Act provides a completely tax-free period of 10 years for most manufacturers who set up new plants in Puerto Rico. The tax incentive offered the expansionminded mainland industrialist compensation against the difficulties of distance to markets, overseas transportation, and inexperienced labor force. But tax exemption is not meaningful unless profits can be made. The major stumbling block was the lack of trained supervisors, technicians, production engineers, managers and assistant managers, and finally, the lack of a specifically trained work force. In order to provide worker and managerial skills, three agencies-the Economic Development Administration (EDA), in charge of the industrial development program; the Department of Education, particularly the Division of Vocational Education; and the Puerto Rico Employment Service -pooled their resources. As one of its major contributions to the employment development program, the Puerto Rico Employment Service (PRES) carries out extensive selection programs and screens and tests workers, supervisors, and managerial candidates for industry. The EDA and Vocational Education Division develop Most of the new industrial firms in Puerto Rico have been of a light assembly nature, relying chiefly on inexperienced and semiskilled labor. The major new industrial groupings are: wearing apparel, metals, electrical machinery, and plastics. A case study of the development of a hypothetical new firm in Puerto Rico may give a clearer picture of the close coordination between government agencies and private groups. Firm Y in the metals industry is planning to expand operations and, due to a tight labor market at their present location, they are looking for a new site with an adequate labor supply. Firm Y has heard that Puerto Rico has one of the most concentrated available labor pools in the United States. After studying its cost picture Firm Y decides to visit Puerto Rico and study alternative site locations. Upon arrival in Puerto Rico, prospective employers are provided with PRES publications describing recent manpower surveys of each municipality in the island. The individual data include sex, age, education, employment experience, and marital status of available workers, as well as maps and charts of roads, water and power, and other essential labor market data. Firm Y decides to locate in Puerto Rico in a new building to be ready for rental within 5 months. During this interim period, training for workers, supervisors, and managers is undertaken for the individual firm. PRES screens, tests, selects, and refers applicants to the employer from among various sectors of the population, including vocational education Over 1,600 individual 3-bedroom homes are being built on this 200-acre site. First families took possession during July 1955, but the project will not be completed until sometime in 1956. graduates and college graduates of engineering, industrial management, and business administration. Firm Y makes final selection of its personnel. The training begins at the Vocational Education schools while the firm's building is under construction. At the same time the supervisory candidates are sent to the parent firm on the mainland for training. Upon completion of the building, the nucleus of a skilled worker and supervisory force is available. Further in-plant training, under skilled technicians and supervisors, builds up the remaining part of the necessary work force. Results of the Industrial Development Program Since 1940 economic conditions have steadily improved in Puerto Rico. Real income of the average family in Puerto Rico rose from $360 in 1941 to $1,180 in 1953. By June 1955 the industrialization program had resulted in the establishment of 325 new plants, employing more than 25,000 persons with a weekly payroll of a half million dollars. Most of these new firms have come in during the past 5 years. Due chiefly to the light assembly nature of the initial industrial development, nearly two-thirds of all new jobs have been for female workers. Success in some types of industrial development has been somewhat offset by soft spots in the economy, chiefly in the home needlework sector where employ ment has fallen sharply-from 60,000 in 1950 to about 28,000 in April 1955. The home needlework industry seems destined to disappear due in part to increasing wage levels in Puerto Rico as compared to the wage levels of competitors in the Philippines and Japan. The development of new industries and the setting of higher wages has resulted in stimulating low-paid or seasonal workers to move into factory employment. But in a transition economy such as Puerto Rico's, sharp dislocations mean serious unemployment for a significant period since alternative factory employment on the island develops gradually. On the whole, the sharp decline in home needlework and the expansion of the far more efficient factory apparel industry, which pays five times as high weekly earnings, is an excellent healthy example of job upgrading. The wage experience in the needletrades has been duplicated in all the new industries developing in Puerto Rico. The older industries in Puerto Rico which supply the local market exclusively have had a relatively low wage level compared with the new firms which are mainly in interstate commerce. A major factor has been the differential between the local minimum wages set for insular commerce and the Federal minimum wages set for industries in interstate commerce. In both cases the minimum wages have been set realistically commensurate with the cost of production, worker productivity, and the economic environment in general. Wherever new industrial expansion-with its modern technology-has taken place, there have been increases in production and higher wages. The older and long-established local industry has tended to follow the example of the newcomer gradually. This has been most spectacularly demonstrated in wearing apparel factories. In this industry, average hourly wages increased 33 percent in Puerto Rico between 1950 and 1954, as compared to a 13 percent increase in the same industry on the mainland. A more recent review of minimum wages in this industry has indicated further sharp increases, ranging between 25 and 66% percent. The Commonwealth Government has consistently fought for higher wages based on the flexible industryby-industry approach, commensurate with the ability of the industry to pay without curtailing employment. Prospects Puerto Rico has set as its goal that 90 percent of all its families have an income of $2,000 or more per year by 1960. But this goal cannot be reached without overcoming tremendous obstacles. The total population of Puerto Rico is over 24 million. The labor force was calculated at 637,000 in 1954-55. About 40 percent of this labor force is between 20 and 35 years of age. It will stay young for some time, since almost half of the population is now under 14 years of age. Unemployment varies seasonally-from a low of about 70,000 during the sugar season to almost 125,000 in the "off” season. Underemployment is estimated at double the unemployment. Underemployment in agriculture is so great that an estimated 40,000 male agricultural workers could be drawn into manufacturing or other jobs if they were available. In addition, if women constituted the same proportion of the labor force that they do on the mainland (one-third), about 50,000 more women would be available for work. But a lack of jobs keeps female labor force participation lower than it would be otherwise. Against this background of hard statistics, the Commonwealth realizes that industrialization must be pushed harder than ever. The effort is now double-pronged: To secure a fair share of the industrial boom and full employment on the mainland, and to stimulate the old established industry of Puerto Rico to modernize and expand as rapidly as possible. Besides needletrades, the major local market-oriented industries in Puerto Rico are food and kindred products, furniture, printing, and stone, clay, and glass. The industrialization program is interrelated inseparably to three other major facets of Puerto Rican life which must work together to contribute to raising the standards of living on the island. These three factors are agricultural development and diversification, migration, and a lower birth rate. The Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural Extension Service, and the University of Puerto Rico are working in the diversification and development of our arable land. In the land distribution program, over one-half of our share croppers have been resettled in small rural communities where they own their own land and the remaining half expects to be resettled in the next 6 years. As long as sufficient jobs are not available in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Ricans as American citizens will migrate to mainland areas of employment opportunities. With these symptoms of increasing personal aspirations go positive attitudes toward family size; since 1939-1940 the birth rate has fallen from 39 per 1,000 inhabitants to 35 per 1,000 at present. All in all, the people of Puerto Rico have set themselves a formidable goal, the attainment of which will not be easy. But 15 years ago the most optimistic of us could scarcely have envisioned the social and economic progress which has occurred. With the sustained interest and enthusiasm on the part of all segments of government and continued cooperation of business and industrial interests, both on the island and on the mainland, our job development program shall move forward toward our full employment goal. ANY How Toledo Tackled Its Unemployment By WILLIAM L. BATT, JR. Toledo Industrial Development Council, Inc. NY community with a disproportionate number of its jobs concentrated in a single industry is due for a major shock when that industry goes into a recession. This has been the experience of the textile towns of New England and the coal towns of Pennsylvania, whose basic industries have suffered a long-term decline. It has also been true in metalworking towns of the Midwest, fortunately for shorter periods. The Quad Cities and Racine, for instance, are in trouble whenever farm machinery production declines. In Evansville, it's refrigerators. One recent estimate indicates that Toledo, like Detroit, has over 50 percent of its manufacturing employment dependent upon the new automotive market. This is the feast or famine part of the automobile market; the replacement parts business is far more stable. |