ia the welter of discus-
aN debate and specula-

On automation and its
ns and problems, a
* Of conclusions are be-
= ‘0 develop.

se :
lMMharize; wsions can be
( €d in capsule form:

(I

: - Attomation in the real

ation -ciStinct from mechan-

Nore ra Is likely to develop

Pecteg ean, than generally. ex-

Ntol ie nless some form. of con-
Stablished.,

at Present © circum-
inate Utomation tends to
) "eW jobs are created.

{emg ee Nature of the prob-
the cae by automation and
Mite iy Of these effects re-
x argai Concepts in collec-
lant Cong ting and in_ social
“ble, wale thinking. For ex-
~ lengy, enagement rights,”
i ettive of the work week,
na, a Work, job classifica-
Hd to be uiority provisions
the ,.., “Xamined in relation

f Momation Situation created by

1b (4
| itp rollective bargaining can
} toma uShion the impact of
, aS on those employed
tl the ‘cular firm. However,
Hots gq, Most advanced provi-
jet those Not solve the problem
he broagee® are not hired, or
te effects Social and commu-
) “ention S$ of automation. In-
| ate ec and action by the
Ome essential.

jay eatmber of technological
My prog Olving new equip-
= esgeq ucts, materials and
tinue 4 ave produced .and
! tr fects” Produce far-reach-
"hh. Work; On employment and
4% 28 conditions, apart
pUe cutee. identified . with
ley: *Utom, Omation (application
“Vices, Atic, — self-controlling
Je nj) ©, 0Perate. machinery
omy WNction th ‘
| “Puterg), with electronic
: uy See A :
| bagMotives tution of diesel
tha alreg a or steam power
ayes» Produced dramatic
yan C2 the railways, not-

h nh
Oduye: “AOrmous i i
tivity Ous increase in

Jobs more rapidly:

Of workers and

Pees

Some conclusions

about

The known and the likely effects of
technological advance and automation
on workers’ jobs and some ideas on
what should be done about if are
discussed in this article abridged from
Labor Facts, a monthly labor

drastic reductions in railway
employment.

Even the service.. industries
are feeling the effects of tech-
nological changes, direct and in-
direct. Thus, the increased use
of ‘sealed units” in automo-
biles is resulting in a decline in
the amount of servicing of cars
done by service stations and
garages. The spread of automa-
tic vending machines is another
devélopment.__bound to” affect
employment in the service in-
dustries. 2

: Developments such: as « pipe-
line. transportation of: pulpwood

chips, water transport of liquid

natural. gas, the invention of
“paper. clothing” (made of cel-
lulose and synthetic fibre, and
thrown away when dirty) and
synthetic “leather” for shoes
(already on the market) are only
a few examples of “non-auto~
mation” changes with poten-
tially major implications.

What of those industries in
which assembly-line operations
limit the application of autoraa-
tion? According to Dr. John
McDonald, of the Canadian de-
partment of labor, some of
these industries will be changed
to allow the full potential of
automation to be realizéd. He
cites the example of the auto-
mobile industry, where the sub-
stitution of automatically-mold-
ed plastic car bodies for steel
bodies would permit the appli-
cation of automation!

It is a fact that automation
eliminates jobs, a great many

_of them. What is still in dispute

is whether automation also eli-
minates workers, whether it
causes unemployment. A recent
estimate by Arthur V. Piggott,
vice-chairman of the Canadian

Scholarship Trust Foundation, |

placed the number of jobs eli-
minated in Canada by automa-
tion as “at least 4,000 per week
during the next two years.”

This means about 400,000
jobs will. have disappeared by
the end of 1966. .

In the United States, one 0
the’ top experts of the U.S.
Labor Department told a Con-
gressional. committee a year ago

research publication.

that automation would eliminate
about 22 million jobs during the
period 1960 - 1970!

The main unemployment im-
pact will fall on young people
looking. for their first job. =~

Not only does automation
eliminate jobs, it als> eliminates
or threatens entire occupations
and crafts. The basic issue in
the Toronto newspaper dispute
is the substitution of computer-

-controlled tape for linotype ope-

ration. Machines are already in

existence which can perform.

the complete job done by
draughtsmen! ee a

We are_told that automation.

results in massive up-grading,
unskilled and semi-skilled work-
ers:can move into skilled, high-
er-paid jobs by re-training. The
evidence from studies in Can-
ada and the: USA do not sup-

port this optimistic idea, A

number of case studies show
that the proportion of skilled
workers is higher after automa-
tion, but that the actual num-
ber of skilled employees is less!
As one writer puts it, in the
long run, there is an up-grading

of jobs; in short run, there is a-

downgrading of workers.

A further important problem
is that of the “runaway plant,”
since it is often more efficient
and even cheaper to build a new
plant than to “automate” an
old. Even where it is made pos-
sible for displaced workers to
transfer to the new plant, it
may be very difficult for them
to do so, particularly the older
employees. The: financial prob-
lems alone. of selling a house
and moving a family can make
it impractical for employees to

‘even consider the moves, unless

special moving allowances and

compensation are provided by

the employer.

According to some authori-°

ties, such as Dr. W. Dymond,
deputy minister of labor for

‘Canada, automation and its-con-

sequences will require -young
workers to change their occu-
pations, not merely their jobs,
several times during their work-.
ing lives. This perspective im-
plies a radical change in plan-
ning and facilities for education
and training.

. The labor force in Canada, as
in the. USA and other industri-
alized countries, has become
and will continue to become
proportionately more ‘white
collar.” An ever-increasing per-
centage of employees are pro-
fessionals,
and administrative employees.

The first stage of automation
had its major impact on manual
workers. In recent years, how-
ever, the new technology has
begun to make big inroads
among many categories of cler-
ical and other white-collar em-

_ployees: Not only is there a sig-

nificant increase in-the number
of computers in use, but there
is a wider variety of the type
‘of computer installations.

The automation and mechan-
ization of office work is rapidly
converting “white collar’ em-
ployees into “blue collar work-
ers,” machine operators, with a
corresponding disappearance of
individual control. over their
own work: A similar develop-
ment is likely to occur for
many technicians, draughtsmen
and even engineers.

One significant implication of
these trends is that. the tradi-
tional resistance to unionization

technicians, office

Automation eliminates a great many jobs. What is
‘in dispute is whether it also eliminates workers.

among white-collar workers in
Canada and the USA may break
down as they realize that a
union is the only effective
means to defend their human
dignity and protect their rights
and conditions of work.

Dr. John McDonald of the de-
partment of labor has pointed
out that “automation is morally
neutral.” In other words, auto-
mation can be’ a boon or a
curse, depending entirely on
how it is used.

The fundamental position of
the employers was stated a few
years ago by the B.C. division
of the Canadian Manufacturers
Association: “The sole justifica-
tion for automation is profit.”
The labor point of view is that
sepmeton must serve human-
ty.

While collective bargaining
has already produced a number
of measures and provisions to
cushion the impact of automa-
tion on workers, the problem is
clearly of such scope and mag-
nitude as to require much
broader, more far-reaching ac-
tion which can be undertaken
only by the state.

It has been suggested by some
that a form of public or state
control must be placed on au-
tomation, that employers should
be required to obtain a sort of
“automation permit,” before
proceeding to carry through ma-
jor changes. This involves such
things as public determination
of the employment and other
effects of the change, the time
period for completing the chang-
es, and the provisions made by
the employer and union for pro-
tecting the employees and their

families from the effects of au- .
. tomation.

It is obvious that any kind of
effective public or state control
over automation requires co-
operation and consultation of
and with management, labor

and. the community. It also re-

quires a considerable degree of
effective economic and _ social
planning, in which the contribu-
tion and effects of automation
can be assessed and taken into
account.

April 30, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 13