.MjkwMQ.MjkwMQ

July 25, 1969 · 0 Mr. Arnold R. Weber Assistant Secretary for Manpower U. S. Department of Labor Washington, D. C. 20210 Dear Mr. Weber: Thank you for giving the Urban Coalition Act{on Council the opportunity to comment on the second draft of the General Description of the Public Service Careers Program. The Urban Coalition Action Council strongly advocates an exten$ive public service empJ.oyment pr0g ram. At its Emergency Convocation in August 1967, the Coalition called for the creation of one million jobs in the public sector at the earliest possible moment. The Convocation Statement urged that a public service eIJ1ployment program should contain certain essentials such as: 1) An extensive program at all levels to assure that meaning f ul and p r oductive work is available to everyone willing and able to work; 2) Funds for employment to local and state governmen ts, and nonprofit ins titutions able to demonstrate their ability to use labor productively; 3) Operations keyed to specified localized unemployment problems and focused initially on those areas where need is most apparent. ' ·, As we have studied the Departme nt of Labor proposed Public Service Careers Program, we find th at your analysis of the presen t employment" picture is in basic accord with the Coalition's. The concept of Public Service Caree rs h as merit, but the main short- • comings are in the implementation. Therefore , · we offer the following comments in the hope that you might see fit to broaden your proposal. ~ l) In not providing for wage supplementation, the progr am fails t'o realistically fac e the present financial crisis of most of our citi es. Although cities des perate l y nee d more people to fill public service jobs, they nevertheless lack the financial resources to add these individuals to e x isting payrolls. The Action Council considers wage supplementation an es~ential ingredient and would urge ., ,, I 1', •..,,,.·, .,. f . ... • "": , · r--i . .- .

~

�ARW - 7/25/69 2 - its addition to the final draft. Without wage

supplementation, we believe the program is marked

for failure. 2) We would strongly fav·or a more extensive program . .The $50 million appropriation is so small as to be ineffectual. If we read page 30 correctly, the ·present allocation is only $28~million of fresh money, as some ·funds were already budge ted for New Careers in fiscal year 1970. The need for such an employment program far exceeds the approximate 17,500 jobs that would be provided. 3) Clearly the program is experimental in nature. It is the Action Council's position that we are beyond the experimental stage. There is already an excellent precedent in the JOBS program for the hire-first and·train-later concept . Relying on Department of Labor and National Alliance of Businessmen statistics, it worild appear that the concept and program have been well received. The - practical effect of such experimentation will delay moving toward an extensive , well-funded program in the public servic~ career area. ~ · we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you ~o amplify a_ny of our conunents. Since rely, Lowell R. Beck Executive birector • .i \ · ·t ~- . . •#'f •..,,,- .• 11 ... . "" .- .._ r �