The Department of Labor: still a fine old tradition, but
The Department of Labor: still a fine old tradition, but in bureaucratic clothes
Prehistoric man discovered that when people work together for a common cause, such as feeding themselves, the results are always better than if they worked apart. Man was a hunter before becoming an agriculturalist. Hunting parties, wherein each man played an essential role in the logistics of the hunt, required organization and the participation of all the members. The band trained the children to hunt, taught them the use of the bow and arrow, along with the techniques for tracking and cornering their prey. The band itself assured that all able members were equipped with the knowledge and experience to be a positive contributor to the hunt. It was the society’s responsibility to the young.
Modern societies, such as the United States, being bureaucratic, have assigned the oversight of the workforce that the elders, chiefs and seasoned hunters of a tribe once performed to dedicated departments staffed with relevant experts. The U.S. Department of Labor, is just one example. On their website, in its mission statement, you’ll see that it fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States. This it does by standardizing work conditions to protect the worker, by administering Federal labor laws that protect the worker and the worker’s right to safe and healthful working conditions, and by administering minimum hourly and overtime pay rules. For most individual workers, the most significant units of the Department of Labor are those that help workers train for and find employment. The United States continues to carry out the compact with the individual worker and the society, to enable work opportunities for them, in exchange for their good citizenship.
For training and employment, the Department of Labor has established the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The goal of the ETA is to improve employment prospects for all U.S. citizens by funding training programs and pro-actively bringing together prospective employees and employers. Most of the Department of Labor training programs support state training efforts, since each state would pose different employee demands, with different training requirements. The Department of Labor also gives special attention to helping veterans train for and gain employment after they’ve served their enlistment. ETA has consolidated all its employment, training information and access in its ‘Career One Stop’ system, a page on the ETA website. Using a clickable map, you can access training and job information for any state.
The Department of Labor is serious in addressing worker health and safety by administering laws designed for these purposes. It offers free training in worker health and safety to all businesses. It also concentrates on assuring that every worker is paid both wages and retirement payments, in the form of Social Security. It watches out for the elderly.
Now more complicated and increasingly more bureaucratic, the efforts of societies such as the U.S., to provide opportunity, training and a job for its members still goes on as it did long ago when societies realized that greater results are achieved when people work as a team.
