Immediate action to alleviate distress

The more immediate needs of the people in distressed areas can be provided by the adoption of the following Federal measures:

(1) Initiate programs of public works which would employ workers unable to find private employment.

(2) Funnel Government contracts to plants in depressed areas.

(3) Increase unemployment compensation to equal two-thirds of average weekly earnings and extend the period of eligiblity for workers displaced by plant closings up to 2 years.

(4) Provide suitable training for the unemployed.

(5) Reduce the retirement age under the social-security law to 60 for persons displaced by plant closings.

(6) Distribute processed foods and clothing to the needy.

(The tables accompanying Mr. Belanger's statement are as follows:)

TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, RESEARCH DEPARTMENT, NEW YORK, N. Y. TABLE I.—Labor force and unemployment in 4 Massachusetts labor market areas, November 1950–55

TABLE II.-Textile mills liquidated in Massachusetts, 1953-55

See footnotes at end of table.

TABLE II.-Textile mills liquidated in Massachusetts, 1953-55-Continued

American Woolen Co. (later

became part of Amerotron

Ames Textile Corp.:

Fabyan Woolen Co.1

Gilet Carbonizing Co. (Gilet Lwell..

Mr. CLIFTON. For the question of conserving time, I will just touch on parts of Mr. Belanger's statement for you and leave these copies with your committee.

The Textile Workers Union of America is the large organization in the textile field and had many of these plants organized in the New England area. They cover in this statement that they prepared for Mr. Belanger the statistics of defining the textile industry, citing the situation in Lawrence and so forth, giving the percentages. They mention the exhaustion of unemployment benefits.

They pay particular attention to the impact of this unemployment on the older worker, who is in the textile industry and has little chance of getting into something else, because it is indicated that employers are not too anxious to employ workers over 50 years of age, and that there are no training programs.

They mention the study which bears out their own surveys that have been made in 1 or 2 areas. One of them was in the Pennsylvania area in a textile mill in that community, where they checked up to find out what happened to these people.

The study by Prof. William Miernyk of Northeastern University is mentioned in here, with some of the comments from him.

I would like to make a couple of remarks on this matter of the unemployment compensation part of the problem, because I noted one of the speakers this morning mentioned something about setting up these additional programs, but taking away from the present programs some of the benefits that are now obtainable.

The Governor of the Commonwealth mentioned this morning about the training program, an extension of so many weeks to people for eligibility for benefits if they were taking a program of training.

We are for that, but that bill did not go through last year because it was tied in with the very thing that we are concerned about, and that is the reduction which in this instance was some $10 or $11 million according to the proponents of the program that was being reduced from the benefits now available under our law.

I mention that, Senator, because we are particularly concerned with that sort of an aspect. I think it ties in with this matter of this bill because other legislation is before the Congress relating to it such as the setting of certain Federal standards.

I think that is very important if we are trying to do something about this measure, S. 2663, to relieve unemployment, to build up industries so people can have employment and so forth. We at least have to consider that there are certain factors that are adverse to new industries starting up or the expansion of other industries.

One of the ways that part of these adverse factors can be eliminated is by the establishment of Federal standards for the unemployment systems in the 48 States. Very frankly, personally I believe and I think some people in the AFL-CIO believe that it ought to be federalized. But, of course, as you recognize, that is a pretty difficult practical problem to accomplish a thing like that.

Senator KENNEDY. You remember we had an amendment 2 years ago to set national minimums, both for time and amount. It was regrettable that it was not put into effect, because it would have written into law the recommendations President Eisenhower made and which no State legislature has chosen to follow.