Memorandum on Conference with WMC Executive Director

Mr. Will Maslow, Director of Field Operations
Mr. John Davis, Director of Review and Analysis

Clarence M. Mitchell
Associate Director of Field Operations

Conference with WMC Executive Director

March 28, 1945

On the above date three of us had a luncheon conference in the office of Mr. Robert Goodwin, Executive Director of the War Manpower Commission, also present was Mr. Don Kingsley, Deputy Executive Director. The following is what took place:

  1. Mr. Goodwin stated that Mr. Kingsley now has the function of coordinating the activities of the placement, utilization, training, and planning bureaus of the War Manpower Commission. Mr. Kingsley will serve as FEPC’s liaison and will also keep us informed of important War Manpower planning which may affect our agency. He, in turn, will be expected to make specific recommendations on matters which we believe require changes in War Manpower’s operations as they affect the requirements of Executive Order 9346. Mr. Kingsley also agreed that it would be proper to talk with Mr. Collis Stocking on matters affecting planning if we so desire. However, it appears that the more desirable approach should be through Mr. Kingsley. It was agreed that we would furnish specific recommendations on the administration of the pending manpower legislation if this is given to the War Manpower Commission as one of its functions.  
  2. Mr. Kingsley is to send us a written proposal on how FEPC’s representatives in the field will have proper liaison with the War Manpower Commission’s labor priority committees. The question was discussed at some length and it appears that the WMC will expect us to maintain this liaison through its Area Directors. These Directors will be expected to determine from FEPC whether the hiring policies of plants seeking priority comply with Executive Order 9346. It was agreed that FEPC’s regional directors would submit lists of companies not complying with Executive Order 9346 to WMC. Also it was agreed that WMC representatives would receive recommendations from FEPC regional men (to effect compliance with E.O. 9346) concerning firms seeking priority. This proposal will be discussed further at our regional directors’ meeting.1
  3. We discussed the specific problems of Region IV concerning ES 270 reports and ES 510’s. Mr. Goodwin stated that he had talked with Mr. Triede (WMC Regional Director) on the matter and Mr. Triede said that FEPC does have access to the ES 270 reports but he imposes the restriction that such reports could not be used for publicity purposes.We pointed out that it is our understanding that such reports are confidential and we do not use them for publicity purpose. We stated that FEPC’s Region IV contends that it does not have access to those reports but that since Mr. Triede says we do, we would again ask Mr. Evans to get in touch with WMC’s Region IV Director on this question. Mr. Triede was also quoted as saying that he did not submit any ES 510 reports because he was trying to resolve the problems before referring them to FEPC. We stated that even though WMC might wish to resolve the problems, there was no reason why the copy of the report should not be sent to us. We pointed out that the sending out of such reports would give FEPC some proof that Mr. Triede is attempting to correct discriminatory problems and would also enable us to know whether WMC is working on a given company when a complaint is sent to us. It was agreed that we would again talk with Mr. Goodwin on this matter if Mr. Evans has no success with Mr. Triede.

It was also agreed that the conference would be summarized and the important points verified by letter from Governor Paul V. McNutt, Chairman of the War Manpower Commission, to Mr. Ross.

cc: Mr. Johnson
  Mr. Jones
  Mr. Evans

MS: copy, HqR3, Office Files of George M. Johnson. M.

[1] The regional directors’ meeting was held in 4/45. For the background to these FEPC-WMC negotiations, see the section on the WMC and USES in the headnote on Relationships with Federal Agencies.

To enhance the current FEPC negotiations with the WMC over ways to improve their working relationships, particularly with regard to discriminatory actions of USES offices or their failure to report discrimination by employers, Maslow had on 3/23/45 requested each regional director to send a summary of the worst example of a USES violation of the nondiscrimination program. Their responses, dated from 3/27 to 4/26/45, can be found in FEPC RG 228 (entry 40, PI 147), Office Files of Clarence M. Mitchell, box 14, WMC-FEPC Relations, and in HqR76, Office Files of Clarence Mitchell. WMC-FEPC Relations. Despite improvements, complaints of USES accommodation of discriminatory work orders continued after the war. See, for example, George Crockett, report, 3/20/46, HqR2, Reports.