Specialty CollectionGenre: WOMEN'S ISSUES
Description: Episode #42 OBD: 1964-07-20 TRT: 30 min Description #1: From Washington, DC, AT ISSUE will present a half-hour interview with U.S. Secretary of Labor, Willard Wirtz. Secretary Wirtz will assess the progress being made by the Department of Labor with the President’s anti-poverty program. He will also discuss the government’s role in collective bargaining in light of the current negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the automobile industry and the strength of labor and management in the business world today. Host: John Grimes, labor reporter with the Washington Office of the Wall Street Journal AT ISSUE A 1964 National Educational Television production Executive producer: Alvin Perlmutter Producer: Andrew Stern Description #2: U.S. Secretary of Labor, W. Willard Wirtz tonight (Wednesday, July 22) called for a “careful rationing of intervention” by government in labor-management disputes, a retraining program for workers displaced by machines, a drastic cut in the nation’s unemployment rate, and a solution to the growing high school drop-out problem. Secretary Wirtz emphasized these points on National Educational Television’s “At Issue,” which was broadcast across the country on the N.E.T. network of 82 affiliated non-commercial stations. He was interviewed by John Grimes, labor reporter for the Wall Street Journal. “Although there’s a price wherever the government steps in, it seems quite important that careful rationing of intervention, if you will, which lets a private dispute go to a certain point but then steps in to prevent it’s going to a point where there would be legislative enactment,” said Secretary Wirtz. He said that neither Congress nor the country wants to resort to legislation to solve labor disputes. Secretary Wirtz ruled out government participation in the settlement of the current United Auto Worker negotiations with the automobile industry and said collective bargaining “is becoming a more responsible, a more reasonable procedure than it was before.” While pointing out that a vigorous economy is entirely dependent upon automation, the Labor Secretary said “We’ve got to recognize the fact that automation does move some people out of their jobs.” “The number of jobs is going up all the time,” he continued. “The trouble is that automation takes one man’s job away from him and creates another job, and we’ve got to do what’s necessary to move that first man into a position to take the second job. That means more education; that means a training program.” Mr. Wirtz expressed deep disappointment about the continuing high rate of unemployment and the growing school drop-out problem. He said he hopes to have the unemployment rate under five percent by the end of the year but added “five percent is a completely unsatisfactory unemployment figure. So is four percent.” He sees two solutions to the unemployment problem: legislation like the recent tax bill which he called “one of the most significant advances we’ve made in meeting this problem,” and a training program for unskilled workers who must move into skilled jobs. “As things now stand,” he said about the drop-out problem, “8 ½ million will have dropped out of school before they finish high school. My largest disappointment is in not being able to get across publicly the fact that what we’re doing when we’re failing to educate the younger boys and girls is committing then, to economic suicide.” “At Issue” is a 1964 National Educational Television production. Alvin Perlmutter is the executive producer. Andrew Stern is the producer.
Keywords: women's rights
