For the information of all agencies dealing with apprenticeship, the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship, appointed by the Secretary of Labor, published the following "criteria of apprenticeability":

"1. Which customarily has been learned in a practical way through training on the job;

"2. Which is clearly identified and commonly recognized throughout the industry;

"3. Which requires 4,000 or more hours of work experience to learn;

"4. Which requires related instruction to supplement the work experience (144 hours of such instruction during each year of the apprenticeship is usually considered the minimum);

“5. Which is not merely part of an occupation already recognized as apprenticeable by the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship;

"6. Which involves the development of skill sufficiently broad to be applicable in like occupations throughout an industry, rather than of restricted application to the products of one company;

"7. Which does not fall in any of the following categories: (a) Selling, retailing, or similar occupations in the distributive field, (b) Managerial occupations, (c) Clerical occupations, (d) Professional or semiprofessional occupations (this designation covers occupations for which entrance requirements customarily include education of college level), (e) Agricultural occupations (this designation includes those engaged in the growing of crops, fruits, nuts, etc., and the raising of livestock, poultry, etc.)." (1947: 44-45)

International Labor Affairs

The expanding role of the United States in world affairs and the everincreasing importance of labor in the political, economic, and social life of foreign countries create conditions and problems which make expert knowledge of foreign labor affairs vitally important to the Government and the people of the United States.

These developments were reflected in the expanded international activities of the Department of Labor. In 1947 all international activities of the Department were placed under the direction of one of the newly established positions of Assistant Secretary of Labor.

"Thus there was established, within the Office of the Secretary, a small high-level staff to formulate the policies of the Department on international labor affairs, to coordinate and supervise all international activities of the various bureaus and offices of the Department, and to provide primary liaison with other agencies of the Government, the Congress, the American labor movement, and the public in general on international labor matters." (1948: 11)

Secretary Schwellenbach appointed a Trade Union Advisory Committee on International Affairs, composed of top officials of the American Federa

tion of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Railway Labor Executives' Association, and the Brotherhoods of Locomotive Engineers and Railroad Trainmen.

Advisers were supplied as needed to various international bodies interested in problems affecting labor. Delegates attended meetings of the International Labor Organization. The Department also participated in various governmental organizations in the United States dealing with foreign affairs in which labor problems were involved.

As the Secretary stated:

"A broad and firm foundation has been laid for carrying out the international responsibilities of the Department of Labor. The Congress, the Administration, the Department of Labor, and the American people are fully aware that the economic and social activities of working men and women the world over are an essential part of the life of the modern community. In a great many countries, labor exerts a strong and direct influence on domestic and international policies. The Department of Labor is that agency of the Government which has the primary responsibility for presenting to the American people, the Government, and the labor movement analyses and information concerning international labor affairs.. (1947: 16)

Veterans' Reemployment Rights

Eligible veterans, reservists, persons who have enlisted or have been inducted, and persons who have been examined and rejected for military service may be entitled to reemployment rights. Generally speaking, provided they satisfy certain legal requirements, they are entitled to the job in which they were employed before they entered military service, or in which they would have been employed had they not entered the Armed Forces, or to one equal to it in seniority, status, and pay.

To determine what these rights may be, the Bureau of Veterans' Reemployment Rights was established by Congress during the war. In March 1947 the Bureau was transferred to the Department of Labor.

Although immediately after the war the main problem encountered by the Bureau was that of helping returned veterans in getting back their old jobs, toward the end of the reconversion period the nature of the problem shifted to "more complex questions of seniority, improper discharge, vacation pay, promotions, transfers, status, and hours of work." (1948: 82)

Most of the cases involved rights after reinstatement:

"The importance of these cases to veterans, employers, and labor organizations is shown by the large number of veterans who may be affected by settlement of a single case. One vacation-rights case resulted in the extension of these benefits to several hundred veterans hired by the same employer. A single case of seniority rights will often involve all union agreements in a particular industry." (1948: 82)

The Bureau sought to resolve problems through amicable settlement. In this connection it used the assistance of volunteer negotiators extensively.

Few cases reached the courts. Question-and-answer handbooks were made available to servicemen as well as to agencies and volunteers cooperating with the Bureau. A great deal of preventive work was done through consultative service to employers and unions.

Departmental Library

Although the organic act of the Department of Labor consolidated the then existing libraries of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Children's Bureau, the actual consolidation did not take place until 1917, when space facilities became available. At that time the collection totaled less than 55,000 volumes. These, however, had been most carefully selected, and in many cases represented material not elsewhere available.

Within 10 years the collection had increased to over 118,000 volumes, in addition to extensive subject files of small pamphlets, circulars, and mimeographed reports. It then was receiving over 1,800 labor, statistical, and social-welfare journals from 46 different countries. With its wealth of reports of special investigations by both official and private organizations covering a wide range of problems connected with labor and child welfare, it came to be generally recognized as one of the most important collections of research material in the social and economic sciences in the country. Many acquisitions were obtained through library exchanges with other departments, private organizations, and foreign countries. It has maintained continuously the aim of being a selective library, and is of particular help to the bureaus in the Department. It is also available as a public reference library. (1927:11)

In 1947, with the transfer of the Children's Bureau to the Social Security Administration, some 7,000 volumes were transferred out of the Department. By that time, however, the library had increased to more than 300,000 volumes, 85 cases of pamphlets, etc., and about 500 rolls of film recording foreign periodicals. The file of publications of labor organizations, going back in many instances to the formation of the union, was probably unique in its completeness. Together with other union materials it represented a detailed documentary history of the organized labor movement in the United States. (1947: 26-28)