NEW DEAL WORK RELIEF AND ORGANIZED LABOR.

"We are going to have to find some way to secure the approval of organized labor," warned Aubrey Williams, as he and Harry Hopkins began planning a work relief program in October, 1933. As the New Deal struggled to meet the winter's unemployment crisis, the two social workers knew they had to placate the American Federation of Labor, which had historically opposed government !made jobs. As the nation's largest single employer during the winter of 1933-34, the Civil Works Administration created jobs for four million Americans on "economically and socially desirable" public projects. Although half the applicants would come from relief rolls, the remainder would be among the self-sustaining unemployed, who could avoid a demeaning investigation and simply register at the local United States Employment Office. By reaching out to skilled artisans and even white collar workers and professionals, many out of work for the first time and too proud to accept charity, Hopkins intended to preserve skills and boost morale.