REMARKS, INTRODUCTION OF

SECRETARY OF LABOR ARTHUR GOLDBERG

MIDDLE RIVER

February 9, 1962

Ladies and Gentlemen: This is a most important gathering—it is
important for several reasons:

First and foremost, it is important because it represents an effort by
members of labor, management, and government to solve an acute and
serious unemployment problem.

Secondly it is important because of the caliber and level of the group
represented here. From the federal government we have the Secretary
of Labor, Mr. Arthur Goldberg, showing us, by his plant visits all morn-
ing that unemployment in the basic industries of this area is of national
concern. We have our Maryland Congressional delegation present—our
most effective link and spokesmen between local and national govern-
ment. This Middle River area, being in Dan Brewster's District, is of
particular concern to him, but it is also vital to Congressmen Garmatz,
Fallen and Friedel. We have officials here from Baltimore City and Balti-
more County. We have regional and local spokesmen for labor unions
that represent many thousands of our most skilled and productive
workers. And we have top management people from the Martin Com-
pany, Bethlehem Shipyards, and Maryland Drydock—people who are
responsible for a tremendous segment of the economic life of the Balti-
more area.

It is not often that a group of this kind is assembled, and when the
event does occur it is only because we are faced with a very urgent prob-
lem. Shipbuilding and the aerospace industries are two of the corner-
stones on which Baltimore's prosperity is built. These industries are also
cornerstones on which this nation's security is built. When they are in
trouble, we are all in trouble. The federal government, through its con-
tracting authority, injects billions of dollars into our economy each year.
Each year, especially since the advent of our stepped-up space effort,
more and more workers are finding their lives and their welfare per-
manently linked to this vast federal program. It is only natural, there-
fore, when the loss of federal contracts results in personal hardship and
unemployment, that these workers should look toward the federal govern-
ment for the remedy. Because the employment is so directly linked to
federal expenditures, the search for a remedy is also expressed in a direct
and unashamed demand for contract continuation. I have the feeling

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