DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL LABOR AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITS DIVISION STATEMENT OF DONALD AVERY, CHIEF LABOR MISSIONS Senator MCCLELLAN. I have one or two questions. You discussed specifically the $1,126,000 that you say has top priority that you wish to have restored. You discussed primarily the fairs-and-exhibits item in that appropriation. You said nothing so far about the labor missions, only $15,500. What is this "labor mission"? Do the labor leaders go over there for a conference? Mr. SHAKESPEARE. I believe there is a gentleman here from the Labor Department who can speak to that. It is a transfer item. Senator MCCLELLAN. Who is he? Mr. AVERY. My name is Donald Avery, Chief of the International Exhibits Division of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. MISSION TO BRAZIL Senator MCCLELLAN. Now tell us what that little $15,500 item is. Mr. AVERY. That $15,500 item is for a proposed structured labor mission for Brazil. We are in the planning stage on it now, of course, because it was scheduled for the fall of the year. Senator MCCLELLAN. What will it do? Will we send some people down to Brazil? Mr. AVERY. What we would be doing is sending down a three-man labor mission, which would consist, in the Brazilian case, of one representative from management, one representative from a trade unionwe are hoping to get them both from the same industry-and one representative from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Around this group of people, who would be picked for their ability to speak Portugese, would be placed a small portable exhibit, and we would get backup from USIS in Brazil for films. We would develop some small pamphlets. It would be a media package rather similar to some of the things the agency is now doing in the Near East area. OFFER OF CROSS-SECTION OF U.S. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM: PARTICIPATORY ACTION OF GOVERNMENT, LABOR, AND INDUSTRY IN ACHIEVING INDUSTRIAL PEACE Senator MCCLELLAN. What good comes from this? Mr. AVERY. We are relating directly to the agency's objectives in this. Senator MCCLELLAN. What is it? Mr. AVERY. What we are targeting this project toward is management and democratic trade union groups in Brazil who form one of the opinion groups that the agency is trying to reach in that country. Senator MCCLELLAN. What do we get out of it? I really don't understand. We get up a group to send down there to lecture them or do what? Mr. AVERY. What we are offering them is a cross section of the American industrial-relations system, how we go about making sure that we can maintain a balance of industrial peace and the participatory action of Government, labor, and industry in this country in achieving industrial balance. STRIKES IN UNITED STATES Senator MCCLELLAN. I don't know that we have anything so much to be proud of to export. We have strikes here that force wages up. Now we have strikes in Government. I don't know why we want to export that to some other country, to tell you the truth. Mr. AVERY. I would no deny that we have strikes; certainly, sir. Senator MCCLELLAN. More and more the threat of strikes is arising in the Government. The Government is having trouble operating in some areas. Mr. AVERY. In many cases the strikes are the major things that are reported about our country overseas. And, of course, the number of man-hours lost from strikes in the United States, considering the working time, is small. CONTRACTS WITH DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF LABOR GROUPS Senator MCCLELLAN. Tell me one good thing that comes out of this now for the United States. We are spending money. If any good thing comes out of this expenditure for the United States tell me what it is. I am not saying there isn't. Just tell me what it is. Mr. AVERY. I think it is important that we maintain contacts with democratic groups in the labor movement down there. Senator MCCLELLAN. Don't we have a labor man in our Embassy down there? Mr. AVERY. We do. To some extent this project can be used by him as a tool. Senator MCCLELLAN. Why is it so important that such a relationship be maintained? I suppose through the Embassy we maintain relations in a general way with all segments of their economy. Why is this particular activity necessary? Mr. AVERY. We would be working, of course, with the labor-attaché programs as well as USIS programs in Brazil. As a consequence, when we get it in shape, our project would reflect the Embassy's programs, and we would expect they would get the maximum mileage out of it. We are not trying to throw something in the field from Washington which would not relate to what the Embassy's objectives are. Senator MCCLELLAN. Thank you very much. I guess you have given the best explanation you can. Mr. AVERY. Well, it is an information program. It is hard to count nickels. TRADE MISSIONS Senator MCCLELLAN. Thank you. I can't see any value in it, to tell you the truth. Now let us get to the next item, $144,500 for trade missions. Give us something on that. Mr. SHAKESPEARE. That is also a transfer item to the Department of Commerce. Mr. Pauly from the Department of Commerce is here. Mr. PAULY. I am Mr. Pauly from the Bureau of International Commerce. Senator MCCLELLAN. Tell us about that item. Mr. Shakespeare, do you give priority to this item? Mr. SHAKESPEARE. No, I am sorry. My priority is essentially the priority for the exhibitions in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Senator MCCLELLAN. You gave priority to the $1,126,000, but you are disowning these two, then? Mr. SHAKESPEARE. No, I did not mean to say that. What I meant to refer to was the approximately 1 million of that Senator MCCLELLAN. $996,000 for fairs and exhibits. That is what you give priority to? Mr. SHAKESPEARE. Yes, sir. Senator MCCLELLAN. They are on their own if we can sustain it? Mr. SHAKESPEARE. Yes, sir. Senator MCCLELLAN. Proceed, Mr. Pauly. Mr. PAULY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROMOTIONS STATEMENT OF PAUL E. PAULEY, DIRECTOR TRADE MISSION APPEAL Mr. PAULY. I am here on behalf of our appeal for restoration of the sum of $600,000 for fiscal 1971, which is, as Mr. Shakespeare reported, a transfer item to allow us to advance the trade mission program. Senator MCCLELLAN. Tell us about the trade mission program. Mr. PAULY. Mr. Chairman, our program is not a very expensive or extensive or fancy program. It is simply a program designed to support the business people of the United States in expanding their markets abroad through the use of Senator MCCLELLAN. This has to do with trying to create larger markets for us abroad? Mr. PAULY. Yes, sir; it does, indeed. Senator MCCLELLAN. In other words, it is to benefit and to enhance, if we can, our export trade? Mr. PAULY. Yes, indeed, Mr. Chairman. That is what it is for. That is what it does. PROGRAM DIMINUTION BECAUSE OF ABSENCE OF LARGE CARRYOVER Senator MCCLELLAN. Tell us why you need this restored. Mr. PAULY. Mr. Chairman, the House applied a cut to the request, and it is a very important cut to a program of this size, far exceeding the rough percentage you calculated Senator MCCLELLAN. What is the total amount in the budget for this item? Mr. PAULY. We requested $600,000. The House allowed us $455,000. Senator MCCLELLAN. In other words, they cut you about a fourth? Mr. PAULY. Yes, sir. Senator McCLELLAN. About a fourth. Mr. PAULY. Now we have a particularly difficult situation this year. The 1969 appropriation was roughly the same, but we benefited from the fact that at that time we had some carryover, and we were able to expend $117,000 of carryover to increase the effectiveness of the program in 1970. But we do not have anything like that in the way of an anticipated carryover in the 1970's. |