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OUR PUERTO RICAN FELLOW CITIZENS

Report of a National Conference Sponsored By AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES New York City, January 15, 1960

"An Act of Good Citizenship. Puerto Ricans and Labor Secretary-Treasurer William F. Schnitzler of the A. F. L.-C. I. O., in a recent address here in New York, said that "the labor movement is more determined than ever before to end the remaining pockets of exploitation of human beings." It was significant that he was speaking to a conference, attended by representatives of some ninety social welfare and civic groups, called to discuss the problems of the workers and their families who have come to the mainland from Puerto Rico and have settled here. It was also significant that the conference was put on by A. F. L.-C. I. O. Community Service Activities. The highest priority for organized labor in working for the betterment of Puerto Ricans is, of course, the improvement of wages and working conditions, which are so notoriously substandard in many of the city's occupations—especially when due, to collusion between racketeering unions and unscrupulous employers. But the A. F. L.-C. I. O. and its affiliated unions can do a great deal in other ways to make a good life for our citizens who have come from Puerto Rico. The conference theme was "Labor and the Puerto Rican Community—Working Together for Better Social Service" and the specialized groups which considered how this could best be done indicated the principal areas of action. They were: public welfare; family and child care; youth, recreation and leisure time; housing, health and hospital services, and consumer problems. With a union chairman in each case, outside experts discussed what the role of unions should be. To have conceived this conference and carried it through so well was indeed an act of good citizenship on the part of the A. F. L.-C. I. O.

The New York Times January 23, 1960

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RESOLUTION "The AFL-CIO Community Services Committee is acutely aware of the need for a coordinated approach in developing adequate health and welfare programs especially designed for our Puerto Rican fellow citizens. Such programs must include information, training and services. "To this end, the Committee recommends that the Director and staff initiate steps, in cooperation with. other national agencies, to promote a conference on social services to discover more effective ways of meeting the health and welfare needs of our Puerto Rican fellow citizens." Resolution adopted by the AFL-CIO .Community Services Committee May 25, 1959

MESSAGE FROM PUERTO RICO 'The Commonwealth government is deeply interested in the objectives of your January 15 conference and we sincerely believe that such cooperative action can unfold great possibilities.. "Let me compliment you for your fine initiative and wish you a most successful conference." Luis Munoz Mann Governor Commonwealth of Puerto Rico December 17, 1959

e.7 PUERTO RICAN CONFERENCE

A ONE-DAY CONFERENCE Sponsored By AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1960 HOTEL COMMODORE NEW YORK CITY

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CONFERENCE SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. General Background Paper By Rev. Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, S.J., Associate Professor of Sociology, Fordham University

2. Opening Remarks By Leo Perlis, Director, AFL-CIO Community Service Activities

3. Keynote Address By Sister Thomas Marie, Missionary Servants of The Most Blessed Trinity

4. Address By Hon. Fernando Sierra Berdecia, Secretary of Labor, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

5. Address By William F. Schnitzler, Secretary -Treasurer, AFL-CIO

6.. The Conference Groups: a.

c. Youth, Recreation and Leisure Time

d. Housing

e. Health and Hospital Services

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b. Family and Child Care

U.P.R.

Public Welfare

Consumer Problems

GENERAL BACKGROUND PAPER ON PUERTO RICAN CULTURE AND ORGANIZED SOCIAL SERVICES

Prepared by: REV. JOSEPH P. FITZPATRICK, S.J. Associate Professor of Sociology Fordham University, N.Y. Introduction "Social Services" are the community's helping hand to a neighbor in need. It is the application of system, of organization, of trained skill to the age-old difficulties of the human family; hunger, cold, unemployment, homelessness, illness, isolation, abandonment and family disorganization. It is one of the great tributes to the generous and human spirit of Americans that its abilities at organization have gone not only into production and commerce; they have gone also into providing food for a hungry family, sharing a cloak with a neighbor who is cold, and giving shelter to the man without a home. "Social Services" however, are a decidedly American institution. They "make sense" within the framework of American life. To people who do not share that way of life, they can be quite puzzling, bewildering. Sometimes they can be offensive. Therefore, in order to make social services effective -- "better" as your title calls them -- it is helpful to have some understanding of the background of the life from which the Puerto Ricans come. This may throw some light on the way they react to the social services that are offered to them. Knowing their background, the American may be in a better position to offer social services in such a way that the Puerto Rican will accept them with gratitude for the gift, and with respect for the giver. The following sketchy notes are provided as a modest contribution to your understanding of the way of life from which the Puerto Rican comes. Troubles The common troubles of the human family are as much the lot of the Puerto Rican on the Island as they are of anyone. He is familiar with them on his Island; he knows how they strike in the death of his infant son, in the illness of his wife, in his own weeks without work, in the drunkenness of the man nextdoor, in the flight from home of the girl across the way, in the family of his cousin that has just appeared at his doorstep. He has learned from folklore, from family and neighborhood gossip, from the tales of the older men how people cope with troubles. He has for the most part learned to bear with troubles with resignation and dignity. If faith lives in his heart, as it does in so many, he has learned to face trouble with a wonderful sense of God's Providence. Si Dios Quiere, "If God wills it," is as common a phrase on Puerto Rican lips as is the phrase on American lips, "somebody ought to do something about it." In the presence of troubles the Puerto Rican is keenly conscious of one allpervading resource: his family. The brother, the cousin, the compadre, the good neighbor, the parish priest, the store -keeper are the traditional human institutions that make the difference between sorrow or joy, between pain or pleasure, between death or life. In the recurrent crises of human life, "troubles" have led the Puerto Rican to weave around himself the protecting net of human loyalties, of people he can count on, of people who will always "be there". Likewise, in the facing of troubles, in knowing what to do and on whom to count, a man enjoys prestige and respect. He is one on whom other people can depend.

To an increasing degree, the Puerto Rican. is becoming conscious of another resource: the government. The District Hospital, the Health Center, the unemploy.ment and social security check, the milk station, the school children's lunch room, the public housing project, these are becoming more familiar to people of the Island. But for the most part they are administered by people who come from the same Puerto Rican culture, who know the background of human feelings and family life, who as often as not, know how to relate themselves to the traditions and customs of Puerto Rican people.. Poverty Poverty is old and familiar to many of the Puerto Ricans as it is familiar to most people in the world. But poverty is a diminishing trouble on the Island. Average family income of wage earners in 1941 came to $360 a year; in 1953 it had jumped to $1,188 a year. The advance is remarkable. But Puerto Rico still remains poorer than the poorest of the Mainland States. Industrialization has made Puerto Rico the greatest example in the world of "the development of an under -developed area." But industrialization, while creating many new jobs of higher skill, has been eliminating many jobs of the unskilled. Staple foods are all imported and are costly. Therefore, the bananas in the yard, the mango and the bread-fruit tree, the chicken and the pig are cherished possessions. They often mean the difference between food and hunger. And the credit of the store -keeper, the loaf of bread from the friend nextdoor, the bag of vegetables from the cousin in the country are still familiar weapons in the struggle with poverty that is part of many a Puerto Rican family. The Family Family life has developed in Puerto Rico under three influences: that of the native Borinquen Indians; that of the Spanish Colonists; that of slavery. A fourth influence from the U.S., is increasingly felt. The predominant influence was the Spanish one. Family life on all social levels in Puerto Rico is marked decidedly by Spanish characteristics. Parents play an important part in the selectión of the marriage partner of the son or daughter; the husband has a dominant role in the family; the wife's role is subordinate, oriented to home and children. Children are loved -sometimes give the impression to Americans of being pampered -- elders are respected, and the old folks have a position of influence and respect that is common in traditional rather than modern families. The husband expects to be the provider, to make the important decisions, often without consulting the wife; commonly he has controlled the money and has often done the shopping; he disciplines the children, and sometimes disciplines the wife. This is the framework of a strong, traditional family in which stability does not depend on "togetherness" in the American sense, but on a clear understanding of roles, of expectations. By doing that which is expected of a man, a woman, a son or daughter, the Puerto Rican enjoys the satisfaction of being a good man, a good wife, a good child. He has a sense of personal dignity and pride, and enjoys the respect and esteem of his family and friends. Tied in with these close family relations is an expanding netwórk of compadres; Godparents at Baptism; sponsors at Confirmation, best man and bridesmaid at marriage. This network of close personal loyalties and responsibilities acts like an extended family group to befriend, to support, to help, to correct, to criticise, to sanction. ~

The key to the stability of the system is the virtue that Puerto Ricans call respeto. The English word "respect" doesn't catch the meaning at all. Respeto consists of an understanding of my place, of what is expected of me as husband, wife, child; the carrying out of my obligations to others in a complicated network of personal loyalties. Husband provides support and authority because he has respeto; wife is faithful and properly submissive; child is obedient and dutiful because they have respeto. When this fails, family conflict and possibly disorganization is on the way. -5-

Typical of the Latin tradition, a double standard of sexual morality has been common in Puerto Rico. The girl is carefully protected, regularly chaperoned. The family feels deep responsibility to bring her safely to marriage as a virgin. As a wife she is expected to be close to the home, protected by husband and relatives, faithful to her husband. On her chastity, marital fidelity and devotion, the strength and security of the Latin family is firmly built. More liberty is accorded to the boy. Sexual liberties outside of marriage are not considered a "problem" in the American sense of the word. Pre -marital relations with prostitutes or "bad" women are more openly accepted than on the Mainland, and outside interests during marriage are tolerated, often openly admitted. Illegitimate children have generally been openly and honorably acknowledged. It is a matter of law now that, if the father is known, he must "recognize" his illegitimate child, and the law vests that recognized child with certain rights of status, support and inheritance. These outside interests of the man are never considered "morally good;" they are tolerated as "humanly expected." They do not represent the "problem" that they would be in the culture of the Mainland, but they can be the occasion in Puerto Rico of frequent jealousy, conflict and personal violence. Consensual Unions According to the 1950 Census, 25% of the unions of men and women in Puerto Rico were classified as "consensual," that is, what American law would define as a common-law marriage, a union without civil or religious ceremony. Many of these are stable unions. They have been a common feature of Puerto Rican culture for centuries. The background of consensual marriage is quite complicated; it is partly related to the experience of slaves; partly to the practice of a colonial ruling class having outside interests among poor women; partly to lack of good religious training; partly to the attitude of poor people who were much more concerned about having a companion who treated them well than they were about an official ceremony. Consensual unions have been a socially acceptable form of life in Puerto Rico despite the constant effort of the Church to correct them. People without embarrassment frankly admit that they are not married. Their moral judgment on the union is in terms of the behavior of the man or woman: "He supports me and my children;" "She keeps my home, prepares my meals, takes care of my clothes and is good to my children." Children of a consensual union are legally illegitimate, but are universally "recognized" and they enjoy the rights of recognized children. The Unstable Unions Finally there are the unstable unions. Divorce is relatively easy on the Island and the rate of divorce is high. Separation and abandonment may occur, and frequently in cases of distress, the women may seek support by living with another man, either consensually, or in a civil or religious marriage if the union can be regularized. The abandoned family, the fatherless or motherless child, are as sad a human phenomenon in Puerto Rico as they are on the Mainland. But again, the network of family relationships softens the shock of human distress. The relative, the friend, the compadre become once again the reliable human resources. They regularly take in as their own, mothers and particularly children who are in need. It is not uncommon to find in Puerto Rican families a child or children, informally adopted, and being raised by parents who are not their own. Youth, Recreation and Leisure Time The world of a child in Puerto Rico fills the mind with images and associations quite foreign to the child of a complicated city like New York. The life of a boy is taken up with many of the small tasks of childhood: bringing water from the common fountain in converted five -gallon oil cans; bringing meals in little containers to father or brother at noon -time; hunting for crabs; shining shoes, selling papers, feeling quite -6-

useful in the manifold services he carries out for his family. Apart from that, leisure moments are filled with the simple play of childhood, along the beachiif he lives near the sea; around the mountain home if he lives in the hills; seeking amusement with other children around the Plaza, along the streets, across the fields. C i Even if he were very poor, possibly living in a slum, his life is~likely to be filled with memories of waves breaking quietly against the shore, of trade winds whistling through the trees, the sudden downpour of tropical rain followed by brilliant sunshine, the sight of cane blossoms bending in the breeze, hybiscus growing wild beside the fields, flamboyants covering the highways. As the child pushes into the teen ages, school finishes often when he is sixteen, sometimes before he is sixteen, and the desire for a job becomes a pre -occupation for the boy. The girl generally helps around the house. Interest nowybegins to center in more organized sports, baseball, basketball, soccer; in the small fiestas in someone's home or the dance in a nearby hall or in social gatherings where he hopes to meet a girl who will someday be his wife. Play and recreation are thus geared into the ordinary routines of a simple life. There are the special moments when hundreds gather in the Plaza for" a patronal feast, a procession, a parade. The old, the young, the middle-aged participate in the common celebrations of a community, each one conscious that he belongs to a "pueblo," that he has an identity, that one's life is tied in with that of is family, friends and neighbors. One feels always "at home." Housing A house in Puerto Rico is a different thing than it is on the Mainland; it serves a different function. It is a private house, to begin with, a little wooden structure built up on stilts and consisting of two or three little rooms. The Puerto Rican lives there with his family, often with parents and grandparents; sometimes sharing it with cousin or friend. It is a kind of symbol of his individuality and independence, for, whether rented or owned, it is his and it is separated by a little or a big space from the house of the man next door. The Puerto Ricans have put these up'¡for themselves, climbing up the hills on the outskirts 6f'-the towns, along the river banks or the seashore, gazing out on the beautiful water, lining the steep mountain paths, and clinging to precipitous slopes over,. the green valleys. They are his house andÍhis home. If we could allow the Puerto Ricans to put up their little houses in Central Park or along the Harlem River, they would settle their housing problem quickly. Almost all houses have electric lights, most have an electric refrigerator and a radio, and the TV aerial is appearing more frequently above the little wooden dwellings. Children fetch water from public pumps; women wash in nearby streams; and life goes on in a vigorous lively, human way in the area round the house. The Puerto Rican generally sleeps in his house; but he lives around the house. It is a shelter only from thé rain, not from the cold. Life in Puerto Rico is very much under the open sky. Public housing is now quite common: large, long multiple dwellings, two and three stories high, echoeing with the sounds of activity and life. Middle class homes are becoming so numerous that the outskirts of most cities are beginning to resemble Levittown.E Practically all the middle-class houses are detached, concrete private dwellings, open to the wind and the air, as is so much of Puerto Rican living. Medical and Hospital Care The one aspect of life that brings government and family close together is the matter of health. The control of illness and disease, the cutting down of the death rate is one of the great achievements of Puerto Rico. The death rate on the Island was cut from 3'l per thousand per year in 1899 to 7 per thousand per year in 1957; and life éxpectancy at birth was raised from 38 years in 1910 to 68 years in 1}957. In this victory over illness and disease, the Puerto Rican was particularly aware of the local health center, the small hospital in his town, the large district hospital, of public -7 1

health services brought into the most crowded neighborhoods of coastal cities and the most distant hamlets of the mountains. Folk practices are still widespread, the use of herbs and potions; recourse to the woman who has special powers to cure; reliance on superstitions. But the systematic efforts of the government have reached the lives of the people in every section of the Island with results in health improvement that have been remarkable. Race and Social Class The Puerto Rican has been aware all around him of people of every variety of color from completely white to completely Negro. In his ordinary social relations, he never averted to the fact of a person's color. If a man was upper class, the Puerto Rican knew that man would be "white," although, interestingly enough, some of the "white" people in the upper class were darker than people who were not called "white." If a man were lower class, the Puerto Rican knew he might be any color. In the plaza, at social gatherings, at civic meetings, around the neighborhood, people of all different shades mingled together, took each other for granted, often intermarried and had children in their family of noticeably different color. Discrimination on the basis of color, as it prevails on the Mainland, was something an ordinary Puerto Rican would not understand. However, as classes began to shift, as a middle-class began to form and to be prominent (and it has been forming for a long time), as education, industrial development and government services began to break open many channels to higher status, the question of color became a troublesome source of anxiety to many Puerto Ricans. The influence of the Mainland has only contributed to the difficulty. When color no longer means that a man is lower class, what is it going to mean in Puerto Rico? And with this question, the Puerto Rican, especially the one who is moving up, is struggling in his mind and heart: whether the}rwill slip into the injustice and inhumanity of an American pattern of discrimination, or whether they will make explicit the human values implicit in their tradition, of accepting a man on the basis of his personal worth and not on the basis of his color. Religion Puerto Rico as a Spanish colony was "Catholic" in its culture. As a man was born into the white or colored race, as he was born into an upper or lower class family, he likewise was born into the Catholic faith. This was the way a Spanish person thought about religion and its relation to society. It was part of the cultural environment. The Church dominated the plaza at the center of his town, for God had to be present in every community. Periodically, in great festivals or processions, the community worshipped God, and the Puerto Rican ordinarily is deeply conscious that he belongs to a community where God is present in the Catholic Church, and in which God is worshipped in great public demonstrations. The Blessed Virgin, the Saints are almost like compadres, part of that network of personal relations on which the Puerto Rican depends for help, protection, support. He will tell you, therefore, when you ask him, that he is muy catolico, "very Catholic" and there is a great deal of meaning to what he says. In many cases, he will be as devout and faithful a practicing Catholic as one can find. In many other cases, he will have no formal knowledge of his faith at all. Despite its constant effort to provide sufficient priests, the Catholic Church has never come near the point where it would effectively reach with religious instruction and spiritual care the large numbers of Puerto Ricans who need these. In dealing with Puerto Rican people, therefore, one cannot presume that they will understand their faith or base their behavior on a conscious knowledge of Catholic principles. Protestantism has been active on the Island since the time of its accession to the United States, and in more recent decades, the Evangelical and Pentacostal sects

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have been very much in evidence. Estimates of the percentage of Puerto Ricans who are Protestant or belong to the Sects range from 10% to 20%. Almost every town has a Protestant Church, and the Evangelical and Pentacostal Churches or meeting places are scattered far and wide. The Puerto Rican, therefore, has generally become familiar with Protestantism before he leaves the Island. Spiritualism is widely practiced, by wealthy and poor, by Protéstant and Catholic, despite the efforts of the Church to correct it. r This sketchy outline gives some idea of the way of life from which the Puerto Rican comes. It is presented as a "'point of reference" against which Americans may try to judge how they should interest Puerto Ricans in social servicés that are available. With an appreciation of this background, it is hoped that the American may be given a bit more guidance in his noble and generous effort to make available to the Puerto Rican the benefits and services which the American wants so sincerely to give to any person who is in need.

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OPENING REMARKS

Delivered by: LEO PERLIS Director AFL-CIO Community Service Activities

They said it couldn't be done. They said it about the Irish, and they said it about the Jews. They said it about the Italians, and they said it about the Germans. Now they are saying it about the Puerto Ricans: "They cannot be integrated. They cannot be assimilated. They are strange, they are different, they are foreign and, therefóre, they are a threat. . . ." But it was done by the Irish and it was done by the Jews. It was done by the Italians and it was done by the Germans. They are all now a vital and integral part of our political, social and economic institutions - builders of a democratic American society. And it will be done by the Puerto Ricans. This conference, therefore, is not designed for the purpose of repeating past prejudices. Nor are we assembled here to give heart to those who would keep the Puerto Rican away from the mainland through such legislative devices as residency and disclosure requirements for public welfare recipients. The AFL-CIO is opposed to such mean measures whether they are concocted in Albany or elsewhere. The essence of respeto, dignidad and carino will not be found in these discriminatory proposals. This is not a legislative rally although I know that, at least here in New York, where the greatest number of Puerto Ricans reside, Mayor Wagner came out in support of Federal and State minimum wage legislation of $1.25 per hour. This is not a civil rights forum although we know that there is too much discrimination of every kind and that first class citizenship is still more of a desirable goal than a weekday reality. Nor has this meeting been called to provide a forum for the AFL-CIO. It is not our purpose here to boast about our accomplishments or to tell you what to do. On the contrary, we are here to ask questions, to listen and to learn. You are here from many national health and welfare agencies to advise us. This, then, is a national advisory conference to the AFL-CIO on community services. The theme is "Labor and the Puerto Rican Community (and here I should add, perhaps, health and welfare agencies) - working together for better social services." This is a working conference, and the six workshops this morning and after lunch will deal with specific and tangible needs, programs and actions in general areas of public welfare, family life, youth services, housing, health care and consumer problems. We hope that out of today's discussion will come 1) better understanding of the needs, 2) closer relationships among us, 3) practical programs of community service and 4) more effective day-to-day activities on behalf of our Puerto Rican fellow-citizens. - 10 -

While the idea for this conference was born in Puerto Rico less than a year ago in conversations with leading representatives of social agencies, the University of Puerto Rico School of Social Work, Catholic Action, the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and other groups, it was developed in consultation with our informal conference of church-sponsored social service representatives and a special advisory committee consisting of Dr. Baldwin, Mrs. De Silva, Mrs. Mumm and Msgr. Wilson to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. And so to the speakers, discussion leaders, moderators, resource persons, recorders, to those who prepared the splendid background papers, to all delegates welcome to this conference. And thank you for your kindness in coming here to spend a few hours with us to help us do a better job of serving all citizens and the entire community by doing a better job of serving our Puerto Rican fellow citizens and the Puerto Rican community.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: "FAMILY CUSTOMS OF PUERTO RICANS AND ORGANIZED SOCIAL SERVICE"

Delivered by: SISTER THOMAS MARIE Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity It is a pleasure to be able to talk to you today about what is so dear to my heart. I am very grateful to Mr. Rothman for inviting me to speak at this Conference,; and for the opportunity of presenting to you the attitudes of my people that seem strange to you or may even be unknown to you. I am not a professional social worker. During the day you will hear specialized conferences from representatives of social agencies. They can point out to you an organized program in a practical and effective way. However, I have worked as a missionary in Puerto Rico among my people for many years, and also here in the Borough of Brooklyn at three different periods over the past 20 years. So I know the changes that have occurred in regard to Puerto Ricans. What I want to do is to present to you some of our traditional family customs so that you may have a wider understanding of our people; and a feeling for the "why" or "how" of our manner. This increased knowledge will, I believe, help you to work more effectively with my people for a better integration of our Puerto Rican community. First of all -- let me clarify that I cannot make generalizations of one type Puerto Rican. In our Island there are many types, personalities and temperaments. We are a combination that is hard to explain. To understand us well, we have to go deep into our historic background and there find that, from our Spanish heritage and Puerto Rican traditions and environment, we have developed into a special people with many idiosyncrasies and ways of acting typical to us but variable because of many circumstances. The American citizen from Puerto Rico differs from his continental fellow citizen in three characteristics of his cultural background; language, tradition, and emotional attitude. Traditionally, Puerto Ricans are known for their "dignidad," "respeto" and "carino" - dignity, respect and love. These are things that are hard to analyze because they are not learned from books, but are transmitted from family to family through the years. It is my hope that I may illustrate for you these basic forces of our lives. Here is a little story that may explain what I mean Roque Marrero is a Puerto Rican teenager from a poor family. Although poor, the family has tried to live with "dignidad" and have tried to get along as best they can. We noticed that Roque's shoes were worn out but we knew that he would not take money from us, so we asked him to wash our car and then Sister gave him an envelope with money as a "little gift". That afternoon Roque came back to us with a beautiful African violet plant. He spent the money on a grateful gift to the Sisters. To a practical American, this may seem wasteful. To the Puerto Rican, this is "dignidad". And for people who have the eyes to see it, there are many, many thousands of Roque Marreros in New York. - 12 -

These Puerto Ricans we see up here in the mainland have come from a warm friendly colorful Island, so friendly that tourists and visitors are delighted with the traditional openness and generosity of the Puerto Ricans, whether rich or poor. The Island is so warm that they have no idea of what cold means; and I do not refer here only to the cold temperatures but to the "cold shoulder" people around may give them. In Puerto Rico everyone seems to know his neighbors and somehow people sense when there is trouble and they are ready to help in their own manner. We Puerto Ricans are human beings with the same feelings and human weaknesses that everybody has. If you can come to see things the way we see them, I am sure it will be easier for you to help the Puerto Rican to accept the great American way of life but you must be conscious of the concept of "dignidad" and "respeto" and what it means to our people. Jose Perez is a crippled man and he is not able to walk. Ever since his wife abandoned him - some eight years ago - he has tried to keep his five children together, to bring them up as best he can. The Aid for Dependent Children sends him a check every two weeks. However, it is very hard to manage the expenses of a growing family from a wheel chair. When I visit him his continual complaint is: "If I could only work" - "if I could do something for my children." He is handy with his hands and he makes guitars and fixes radio sets, but he is afraid that if he works at home, his investigator will cut off his check. This would mean depriving his children of what they need, for he could not manage to earn a steady income just by making guitars. I know the welfare department and social agencies have many problems and difficult things to manage and we are very grateful for the wonderful work they do but if there could be a way to increase their understanding of some of these cases, then Mr. Perez and many others like him, who want to work, would be able to use their capabilities and feel the satisfaction that they still have "dignidad." If social agencies could make allowances for individual differences in regard to these families then there would be less bitterness and resentfulness on the part of Puerto Ricans and less occasion for the criticisms that Puerto Ricans are lazy and only come here to get on relief. What is necessary here is to deal with the person as a person, as an individual. Could not the labor unions play an important role here? Would it be possible for them to find better ways to represent their own Puerto Rican members as persons, as individuals, before the social agencies? The Puerto Rican is so accustomed to depending on the friend, the "amigo" whom he can trust -- isn't it one important job of the union to be this "friend"? But to do this, you must first really be the friend, and the Puerto Rican must know that. There is another point worthy of consideration - and in which your community services would be of wonderful help. In Puerto Rico the familiar figure of the traveling salesman of hardware articles whom we call the "Quincallero" is the friend of everyone. He may come walking to the mountain homes with a basket on his head - or he may travel through the steep hills on a donkey or through the better roads on a bicycle or in a car -- but wherever he goes he is welcome and people buy things from him willingly. This man is patient and understanding. He may not be paid immediately but he knows that he will get his money eventually. So also does the storekeeper in the barrio know that the people will buy on credit and pay when they can. These salesmen are human; they are Puerto Rican and they know that at times there is no work for many months but they also know that the day comes when things get better and debts are paid. Many poor Puerto Ricans on the Island live on credit many months of the year. The Puerto Rican in New York starts working and as soon as he gets paid he feels that now he has a steady income and he can buy furniture, clothing, etc. to make his family happier and to live with "dignidad" - but the Puerto Rican, not understanding - 13 -

English and with the idea of the "quincallero" of his Island, innocently signs "pay on time" contracts. Week after week our worker pays until one day he may be laid off or there is sickness in the home and he .lags behind in the payment of his credit slips. Soon they come for his furniture and he loses even what he has paid for. The Puerto Rican does not know whom to turn to for help or advice. He will not fight or argue for he knows he has no defense and sadly shrugs his shoulders with the proverbial "que se va hacer?" - what can you do?

I know of nothing more important in which Puerto Ricans need guidance than this question of credit and instalment buying. There is a great public clamor about poor housing, but I know some informed people who claim that exploitation of Puerto Ricans in housing cannot compare with the exploitation of Puerto Ricans through credit and instalment buying. If you could guide them in forming things like credit unions - the credit union is common in Puerto Rico - or help them to learn that credit works differently here than on the Island, you would be doing a great service. I mentioned housing. I do not have to mention it because everybody knows the difficulty. The problem of justice used to be centered in the factory or the shop; now the problem of justice is centered in the neighborhood, in the apartment or the rooming house. If unions became strong enough to correct the injustice of the factory, does it not seem that some kind of union is needed to correct the injustice in housing. Carmen and Jorge came to New York nine years ago. They now have five children. They lived in a furnished room where they paid $19 a week for rent. Later they moved to a little apartment on 125th Street. There was a fire so they had to go back to a furnished room, paying $25. Carmen had an accident and was given compensation. With that money and what they saved, they "bought" an apartment for $800. That phrase "buy an apartment" is part of every Puerto Rican's vocabulary. You know what it means! Not that they are going into cooperative houses, but they are paying bribes of $400, $600, or more, to a landlord, a .janitor, a former tenant, to get a place to live. Or they buy the furniture of the apartment. When Carmen bought her apartment for $800, they did not tell her that her building had already been sold for public housing, and was going to be torn down. They were there only a month when they were told to look for another place. She fought until they gave her the apartment in a project where she is now. But didn't Carmen see the notice on the building that it was taken for public housing? Didn't she inquire to find out if the building was condemned? Why didn't she call the District Attorney about the "bribe?" This sounds easy, but if you .think it is, you do not know what it means to. live as a poor Puerto Rican in a mixed-up city. This is where she needed the "friend," the "amigo" whom she could trust. The labor unions are going in for cooperative apartments now. I hope you will really be a "friend" to the Puerto Ricans who will be displaced. Will any of them get back into the cooperative? As you see, "buying an apartment" is quite a common experience for Puerto Ricans. But could poor Puerto Ricans who are making minimum salaries in your unions, ever be able to afford cooperative housing? The Puerto Rican has great love for all the members of his family, and their health is of much concern to him. In the Island when someone gets sick, the neighbors are always around to help. There are also many herbs and household cures used to relieve illness. However, if it is a serious matter, there is the hospital or health center. If someone has to be hospitalized, the family sees to it that someone is at hand for any need. If it is a sick child, the mother would stay with him in the hospital while a neighbor takes care of the household. The men show their concern by hanging around the hospital and waiting for the least word from doctors or nurses. They would feel they neglected their duty if they did not do so.

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Not long ago, in our neighborhood, Maria Matos was rushed to the hospital with a severe pain. One of our Sisters happened to be at that particular hospital visiting a patient and she told us how angry the nurses were because Maria Matos' husband and two big sons would not move from the hallway watching and waiting patiently for some word about Maria. They had been curtly told to go home, but they had not argued. They could not understand and waited sorrowfully for someone to explain how sick was their mother. Please understand the conflict that is here. These Puerto Ricans do not intend to disrupt the hospital routine. They have "respeto" but they just don't understand that they are not expected to wait around in sympathy. They haven't learned that this is considered wasted time, since they cannot do anything definite to relieve their mother. Nor, is it that they question the knowledge of the doctor or the competency of the hospital, but ,just that - in their minds - it would be a great neglect - a loss of "carino" - to leave their mother alone at such a time. It is in situations like these that the friend, the "amigo" becomes important again, someone whom the Puerto Rican knows and who knows the Puerto Rican, someone who makes the situation a human thing. Again, perhaps the union could be the "amigo." One of our contemporary thinkers, Antonio S. Pedreira wrote that: "Our people are docile and patient - they are characterized by their resignation." Let me explain - Mrs. Torres came the other day begging me to accompany her to the hospital. Her daughter had been sick and she needed a letter from her doctor that could explain to the teacher why the child had been absent so much. Mrs. Torres had gone again and again to the hospital and there was always a delay in giving it to her. She thought I could get it for her. is

It so true that when Puerto Ricans are going from one office to another looking for some service or for work, they accept resignedly the so often repeated phrase "Come back tomorrow - Come back tomorrow." "The man two flights up handles that." "Send us the application and we will forward you a copy of Form 90 to fill in; you filled out a green slip instead of a yellow one." Our people are not demanding but rather their deep trust in others is so often mistaken for weakness or timidity. This, let me assure you is only another expression of their "respeto." To many of them the opportunities they looked for in this great Nation have turned into a land of "manana" that never comes because of lack of knowledge of how to go about it. The solution is not just in calling it a problem but rather a question of greater understanding, not just people who simply understand and talk Spanish to our American citizens from Puerto Rico, but who understand the deep human feeling involved, and an acceptance of Puerto Ricans as our brothers under God, our common Father. Your Community Services can accomplish the great work of strengthening the link between social services and the Puerto Rican fellow citizen by insisting on preserving the sense of "dignidad" of the Puerto Rican. If you do this I can assure you that our people will prove the worth of their cultural heritage and will respond with "respeto" and "carino" to all.

AN ADDRESS BY: HON. FERNANDO SIERRA BERDECIA Secretary of Labor Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Let me first express to you, on behalf of Governor Munoz, his regret at not being able to attend this conference. A busy session of the legislature is just beginning. He asked me, in representing him here, to congratulate Mr. Perlis and the Committee on Community Services of the AFL-CIO, because the philosophy of this conference is especially noteworthy and is certain to produce good and far-reaching results. You are very wisely proposing to develop a program after hearing from the community you are trying to help. Too often we approach our problems from the wrong direction -- telling, people what is good for them without giving them a chance to speak their own minds and act for themselves. And now that I think of it, we in Puerto Rico know -- have proved -- that the approach you are using here today is the most effective one. I am thinking back to the dark era of the 1930's when Puerto Rico was called "the poor -house of the Caribbean." In those days economists and sociologists used to come down from Washington to diagnose our illness and most of them concluded that we were done for. But in 1940 we Puerto Ricans decided that in the last analysis only we could solve our own problems and our outlook changed as if by magic from despair to determination. Then, in 1952, we inaugurated our Commonwealth form of government. Since becoming completely self-governing, we have been developing our economy at perhaps the fastest rate of any country in the world. I will not burden you with a long list of statistics. I will emphasize that we still have a long way to go. I will just say that our progress has been great enough so that, since 1950, about 9000 observers from more than 100 countries around the world have come to study our economic and social programs. From a poorhouse we have transformed ourselves into something of a showcase for American democracy in action. This process of transformation from despair to hopefulness is important to you who are considering how best to help citizens of Puerto Rican background in the various states of the union. For this transformation is evidence that Puerto Ricans are inclined to be imaginative, hardworking and optimistic even against overwhelming odds. It should be helpful to you, also, to know that, while our industrial tradition is very young, our respect for human rights and workers' rights is old. One of our most revered leaders was Santiago Iglesias, all his life a champion of the rights of labor. His lifetime spanned the last decade of our history as a Spanish province and the first decades of our association with the United States. For many years he was a labor organizer under Samuel Gompers. I think it will amuse you to know that at the time of the American occupation of Puerto Rico in 1898, Iglesias considered himself to be an "anarchist." When he expounded his "anarchist" views to a general of the U. S. Army, Iglesias was amazed and delighted to be told, "those are precisely the sentiments of President McKinley." We have a saying in Puerto Rico that "a man should be proud of his house but should keep the windows open on all four sides to let in fresh breezes." One of the fresh breezes that has been blowing strongly in our house is that of the trade union movement. Our Commonwealth Constitution raises to the Constitutional level the right of labor to organize, to bargain collectively, to strike and to picket. It guarantees the right to choose one's occupation freely, to receive equal pay - 16 -

for equal work, to reasonable minimum wages, to protection against industrial risks to health and safety, and to at least time and a half pay for work over eight hours a day. Our Department gives accounting service and counsel to any union which requests such service by a majority vote of its members. Most AFL-CIO unions in Puerto Rico, I am happy to say, are using this special service. We are also helping unions whose treasuries are small to prepare financial reports under the so-called '1Federal Labor Reform" act. The government of Puerto Rico, in other words, is frankly and actively friendly to honest, responsible and democratic trade unions. I should also emphasize that it is openly and vigorously opposed to racketeering in the guise of trade unionism. You will hear from other speakers, I am sure,, about what life is like in Puerto Rico, about the traditional importance, for example of the "extended family" as a social unit. With our rapid industrialization, this once powerful social unit is undergoing great strain. There, as here, mothers as well as fathers now go to the office and to the factory. Families, once united, are being dispersed. If nothing fills the vacuum, problems must inevitably arise. There is an old Spanish saying, "vivimos, vivamos". It means, "we're alive -- let's live", or in other words there is a difference between merely earning a living, no matter how large the income, and living a full life. Trade unions today must be more than mechanisms to bargain for higher wages and shorter hours, or for medical and pension benefits. They must serve, in a sense, along with other agencies --the very agencies represented in this conference -- as an extension of the family unit. They must be a force for preserving and recreating a sense of community spirit. The AFL-CIO is performing this role in an outstanding manner in the world. We in Puerto Rico have been very proud to see the emergence recently of the Self -Help Program of the Puerto Rican Community of New York City. Considering that most of the members of the community have been living in New York for less than 10 years, we feel that this is a tremendously encouraging sign of the determination of Puerto Ricans on the mainland to make the greatest possible contribution to the communities in which they live. By contribution, I do not mean, and I am sure they do not mean, merely a contribution in the form of useful economic work, valuable though that may be. The fresh breezes I spoke about, that one should keep one's windows open for., do not blow only towards Puerto Rico. They blow northward as well as southward, eastward as well as westward. They make exciting and diverse sounds, -- artistic and scientific, spiritual and intellectual, as well as economic. Good friends, let us all be proud of our houses but keep our windows open to fresh breezes. Just one final word. All of you here will, I hope, honor us by coming to Puerto Rico. It would give us great pleasure to express to you on our home ground our traditional greeting to visitors, "esta es su casa" .... "this is your house".

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AN ADDRESS BY: WILLIAM F. SCHNITZLER Secretary-Treasurer AFL-CIO This conference is an important step in a trade union program to carry out and fulfill labor's fundamental responsibility. The historic role of the American trade union movement has been to help the working men and women of our country to help themselves. In this effort, we have achieved almost miraculous progress since the turn of the century. Through organization, through free collective bargaining and through the enactment of social justice legislation we have established working standards and living standards here in America that are the envy of the rest of the world. Union members are not the exclusive beneficiaries of this record of progress. All American workers have shared in our gains. So have private business and the farmers, for their markets and profits have expanded in direct proportion to the increase in mass purchasing power which the trade union movement has generated. Let no one think that because labor has come so far it is now prepared to stop. Let no one imagine for a single moment that union members have become such fat cats that they are willing to close their eyes to the plight of their less fortunate brothers. On the contrary, the labor movement is more determined than ever before to end the last remaining pockets of exploitation of human beings, to wipe out slums and to make all America a model community. Whatever added power and strength we have been able to achieve, will be used to the fullest extent to bring that goal to pass. As President Meany has frequently emphasized, there are practical as well as idealistic motives behind the trade union movement's constant concern for the underprivileged. The existence of sub -standard conditions anywhere poses a threat to the security of the high -standard, union conditions we have built up through generations of struggle. The American people recognize that the slave way of life under dictatorship constitutes the prime menace to our own free system. The economic and social facts of life, if we face them honestly, present explosive dangers comparable to the international crisis of our times. Now, let's get down to cases. During the past decade, there has occurred an extensive migration of American citizens from Puerto Rico to the continental United States. They come here out of desperation, driven by hunger, by unemployment, and especially by lack of opportunity for advancement. Given equal economic and social conditions, most of these people would have preferred to remain with their friends and families in their native island, blessed as it is with an ideal climate and a pervasive serenity so sharply in contrast with the hectic and nerve-racking pace of our cities here. That conclusion is borne out by the fact that the rate of migration from Puerto Rico has dropped progressively in the last few years, during which hundreds of new manufacturing plants have been established on the island with higher wages, improved housing and more modern educational facilities. In fact, the Governor of Puerto Rico told us a year ago, when the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO held a meeting there, that he expects the trend to be reversed in the near future. That more people will be going "back to the island than leaving, when its program for economic development and social progress swings into high gear.

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Be that as it may, conditions in Puerto Rico ten or fifteen years ago were not at all promising, to say the least. The younger people, the more enterprising people, were up against what appeared to be a dead end. Showing the same pioneering spirit that inspifed the westward trek on our mainland during the last century, they, too, headed west by the thousands and the tens of thousands. But they did not find new frontiers, they landed in already crowded cities. They were handicapped, for the most part, by the language barrier, by lack of training, by the absence of preparation for their arrival and by what might be called an overflow in our traditional melting pot. America, which in its glorious past had welcomed and absorbed multitudes of immigrants from the Old World, suddenly found it difficult to accommodate this relatively minor influx of its own citizens from its own island territory. To what extent this difficulty was aggravated by discrimination and segregation because of color, I leave it to you to judge. The fact remains that New York City, my own home town of Newark, Chicago, Cleveland and the other northern cities tó which the Puerto Ricans migrated in large numbers are in no position to point the finger of scorn at the South for its treatment of Negroes, they have their own sins to expiate. The Puerto Ricans were herded, perforce, into the slums. To say that they had to start their new lives here at the bottom of the economic ladder is to put it mildly. When they could get jobs, they were outrageously exploited by unscrupulous employers, and they were likewise exploited by racketeering organizations masquerading as labor unions. Even the legitimate trade union movement -- and I say this not parenthetically, but as a deliberate plea of guilty -- was slow to recognize the evil, was overly preoccupied with other problems and was negligent in undertaking corrective action. Now that phase is over. Here in New York City, under the public-spirited leadership of Central Trades President Harry Van Arsdale, the labor movement has declared war on the racket organizations which have grossly misrepresented thousands of Puerto Rican workers. At the same time, through more aggressive collective bargaining, the legitimate trade unions are now making definite progress toward attaining for the majority of organized Puerto Rican workers the higher wages and improved working conditions to which they are entitled by reason of their skill and productive capacity. In these efforts, here and in other cities, our local unions are receiving the full support and cooperation of the entire AFL-CIO. We know from experience that economic advancement is the first and most important step in rehabilitating the underprivileged. People must be able to earn more before they can appreciably raise their standard of living. At the same time, the trade union movement is exerting all its pressure, both at and local levels, for legislation and administrative action for the amelioranational the tion of oppressive conditions. We want -- and we will never stop fighting till we get -- more and better schools. We want -- and we will move heaven and earth until we get -- decent, low-cost housing and the elimination of slums which propa gate crime and disease We want -- and we are certainly going to get -- higher standards of social security, unemployment compensation and medical care for those who can't afford to pay the going rate. We want -- and eventually we will get -- the extension of full civil rights to all our citizens to end the un-American evils of discrimination. - 19 -

The achievement of this legislative program -- we hope with more than dewill benefit all Americans. It is the second vital step toward the liberate speed full development of our human resources, especially those presently untapped because they are underprivileged. For the third and final step, we appeal to you here assembled at this conference to show us in the labor movement how we can be of greater help and assistance, we need your counsel and advice and constructive suggestions. Be assured of one thing -- we sincerely want to work with you in order to render better and more effective social service to the Puerto Rican community. Your work has one great advantage that appeals to us. Ít is direct, it is immediate and it produces concrete and visible results. We don't have to wait and we don't intend to wait for an Act of Congress or the State Legislature before extending a helping hand to those who need help right now. As you know, the AFL-CIO is organized, through its Community Services Committee, for fast and effective action in this field. Under the able direction of our host, Leo Perlis, this arm of the AFL-CIO has succeeded in raising substantial contributions from union members for the Red Cross, the United Givers Fund and other similar campaigns year after year. If you can use money -- I made a note here to pause for laughter, but I see I don't have to -- show us how you can use it to good advantage and we'll try to help you raise it. If you can use manpower for a worthwhile objective tell us where and when and why and perhaps we'll be able to enlist it. Labor union is a voluntary, rather than a compulsory association, but we always somehow manage to get enough volunteers to meet any emergency. Our affiliated national and international unions also are ready and willing to volunteer services and funds when the occasion arises. You are all familiar, I am sure, with the housing and slum clearance projects sponsored in this city by a number of unions. At this very time -- believe it or not -- the International Ladies Garment Workers Union is financing an extensive low-cost housing project in Puerto Rico being built by the Rockefeller interests. It is not my province to spend or invest that union's funds, but if David Dubinsky had the opportunity to go into partnership with the Rockefellers here in New York on an equally worthwhile proposition, I am confident, knowing him and his wonderful union as I do, that he wouldn't hesitate to do so. We are happy and privileged to have you with us for this conference. It is our fervent hope that it will bear fruit. In many respects we have a common goal and a common purpose. It would be foolish, therefore, to operate at cross purposes, instead of following divergent or even parallel paths, it may be possible for us to travel faster and further in the same groove. With your guidance and assistance, you can count on the maximum assistance of the trade union movement. The Puerto Rican citizens of our community are good citizens. They want to be better citizens. Our service to them today will unquestionably pay off in far greater contributions by them to the community and to our nation tomorrow.

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SPECIALIZED

DISCUSSION GROUPS

SPECIALIZED DISCUSSION GROUPS CONFERENCE GROUP 1—Public Welfare Chairman:

MR. AL HARTNETr Secretary-Treasurer International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers

Discussion Leader: MR. HENRY L. MCCARzxY Executive Director Community Council of Gréater New York Resource:

MR. HENRY RosNER Assistant to Commissioner New York City Department of Welfare

Recorder:

MR. EUGENE SHENEFIELn

Associate Director Community Planning Department United Community Funds and Councils of America

Recorder's Report: Mr. Henry L. McCarthy, Executive Director of the Community Council of Greater New York quoted a number of pertinent statistics with respect to Puerto Rican people and public assistance. He reported-as follows: that 175,000 Puerto Ricans were in the U.S. in 1950 with Tess than 9,000 on public assistance. There are now 700,000 Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States, including children of Puerto Rican parents. 88% of the Puerto Ricans are self-supporting in the United States. There are now only 7,500 cases on public assistance who have been in New York less than a year. Mr. McCarthy stated that the total cost in New York of public assistance for non-residents was about $6,000,000 last year. He feels that the restrictive residence laws that are proposed are a blow aimed at the Puerto Ricans. Mr. Henry Rosner, Assistant to the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Welfare, in commenting on public welfare and Puerto Ricans stated that the New York Department now supplements sub -standard wages, that is, it makes up the difference between the actual wage received by many Puerto Ricans and their rélief budget. He stated that 60% of the Puerto Ricans who are getting assistance are in families where their earnings do not add up to the amount allowed on a relief budget. He added however that most Puerto Ricans are too proud to apply for supplementation. Only 12.4% of Puerto Ricans receive aid after the first six months of residence in New York. A family of five gets about $200 per month on relief in New York. In response to a question about the services provided the Puerto Ricans from the unions, the following three points were listed: 1. Classes fór learning the English language. 2. Information and referral services. 3. Publication of news in Spanish as well as English. It was suggested that a better job needs to be done in educating the public on the facts with respect to the Puerto Ricans. A prejudice against this group was recognized by the conference group. On the other hand, Mr. Rosner of the Welfare Department feels that we are making progress in appreciating the Puerto Ricans as well as Negroes. He feels that the residence law in New York State attempts td reject the rightful responsibility to these groups through restrictive residence laws is just another attempt by upstate interests to dodge that responsibility. - 22 -

A representative of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union told of attempts on the part of the union to make the Puerto Ricans feel at home, to sponsor English -Spanish classes, to intercede very often with a sharp dealer who is trying to put over a "gyp deal." The union teaches the Puerto Rican workers the trade and then attempts to place them. It was suggested that Welfare Department staff workers could be helpful in suggesting or rather reporting violations of the Housing Code and helping to get compliance with the Code and thus get improved housing for this group. It was further suggested that placing on the Department staff some persons with facility in Spanish would be of great help in working with this group. The establishment of Speakers' Bureaus and in certain instances, Conferences to interpret the Puerto Ricans more favorably to the general population was suggested. Mr. Rosner stated that there was really no solution to better housing for low income groups until we have a more adequate supply of low cost housing for anyone who needs it. Mr. McCarthy decried the official policy of cutting people off public assistance who had enough initiative to find some supplemental income. He feels that the record is conclusive proof that chiseling is a piddling problem with perhaps no more cheating done in this area than is done by persons who make loans from banks. The necessity of defending the Public Welfare Program generally was a matter of concern to the group, although everyone present seemed to agree that the welfare worker had an obligation to the taxpayer to see that monies were properly spent and not only an obligation to the relief applicant. Several mentioned the necessity of securing a more adequate staff to give more case work service to clients. It was generally felt that more skill on the part of staff could achieve better results with more imaginative programs. The successful drives under the Community Council's auspices for Negro and Puerto Rican foster and adoptive homes was reported. Mr. Green of NEWSDAY, a Long Island newspaper, stated that his paper had done a survey related to the question of how to sell the welfare program. He said that among the findings of the survey were the following: 1. Administrators generally put "roadblocks" in the way of finding out the facts with respect to the program. 2. The press and the public is, of course, suspicious of a thing of secrecy or mystery. 3. The press can't determine whether a good job is being done - it can't tell from the statistics. 4. They find emphasis put on "maintenance" rather than rehabilitation. Two union representatives rose in a defense of public welfare stating that there had been great improvement and it was stated that the laws haven't been used fully to provide programs which could be helpful. One representative stated very strongly that he felt it was up to the public to have confidence in the duly-elected representatives of the people and administrators of public welfare. He felt it was unfortunate for people to have to bear their souls in order to get help. Mr. McCarthy felt that a single category would sizxiplify the problem of the administration of public assistance and made a very strong plea for confidentiality of the records. His plea for confidentiality seemed to strike a warm note in the entire group. The following recommendations were reported to the Conference: 1. The problems of the Puerto Rican community are the problems of the whole community - which means that adequate services are required by all those in need. - 23 -

2. One way to reduce the relief load is to support a higher minimum wage law which would remove thousands of families from the relief load who are now receiving supplementary grants. 3. Local unions, with large Puerto Rican membership, should provide social service departments or have skilled social service people attached to the local. 4. The Welfare Department could provide better service to Puerto Rican families on relief if it had an expanded staff and better paid workers. 5. The unions should expand the union counselling program, and should seek to increase labor participation on social agency boards and committees. Union people who assume board and committee responsibilities should attend meetings and participate actively in the work of the organization. 6. Every effort should be made to change the public attitude toward public assistance. Only a small fraction of those on relief today are employable. The relief load consists largely of the aged, the handicapped, etc.

CONFERENCE GROUP 11—Family and Child Care Chairman: ME. JOHN BROPHY Industrial Union Department AFL-CIO

Discussion Leader: Mas. MATu.DE PEsas DESI VA Chief Social Service Section, New York Office Migration Division, Department of Labor, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Recorder:

Mscx. JAMES•J. WisoN Coordinator Spanish Catholic Action Archdiocese of New York

BACKGROUND PAPER:

Prepared by MRS. MATHILDE de SILVA Chief, Social Service Section Migration Division, Department of Labor Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Introduction: To foster better social services for Puerto Rican families, who have come to the continental United States seeking betterment and wider opportunities in employment and education for themselves and their children, the same basic principles of social welfare which underlie good social service programs apply. No insurmountable difficulties should be met if three important considerations (which apply also to many other families) are not overlooked:

1. The pressures and stresses under which clients find themselves in the transitory period of adjustment to a new environment should be considered an important factor in judging their behaviour and reactions and the worker must not distort the true situation by interpreting conflicts and problems from his own cultural experience. 2. The families (under the above circumstances) are usually faced with reality problems '(i.e. unemployment, health, housing) and come to request help for their immediate solution. If they have no insight into the causes of these problems, they will interpret as rejection any delay in meeting their immediate needs. 3. To stress the importance of broader issues: education, adjustment, community participation (i. e. "You must learn English"; "You must change your eating habits"; "You must join the P.T.A.") before the client has resolved his reality problems creates confusion to the client, who is not aware of any other cause of malfunctioning, except the immediate problem which motivates his request for services. Sometimes too much is expected of clients who are unsophisticated in the use of case work services or agency policies and eligibility standards. There is a danger too of underestimating the capacity of the client to manage his own affairs because he may seem so confused and ignorant. (Many are in such need of help and education in so many areas that one has to control oneself not to offer unsought advice). Our experience is that they are quite capable to cope with very complex situations and guidance should be very intelligently given to avoid two negative results: (a) dependency, (b) the tendency to manipulate the worker and use him as a pressure agent to obtain their own aims, which may be valid but are not always good. (i.e. Bring the family from Puerto Rico when not yet ready to receive them; arrange discharge of a patient without adequate plans for his care). - 25 -

Clients who come to the attention of a family case work agency mainly fall under one of two categories: (a) has been dependent on help when in trouble all his life and expects things to be done for him, (b) has never before had experience with a case work agency and does not know how to use its services. The average client may be an individual who has all his life been struggling to cope with the immediate demands of everyday life and has come here in an effort to improve his situation, but has had little experience in analyzing causes and effect and much less in analyzing himself. Subtle questions to disclose psychological data can be very disturbing and create blocks. It is important to understand what he thinks of himself (self-image), how he fits into the family constellation, and what changes in family roles and relations are affecting his attitude and behaviour when he comes in contact with the agency. Family Case Work: Family structure in Puerto Rico is based on the Roman Catholic tradition and authority rests on the father as head of the family. The family is a closeknit unit including close and distant relatives, god -parents and sometimes even friends. (There are urban families and rural families with sub -cultural differences and at the present time all are under the pressure of social change due to industrialization, which is influencing the role of women in the family). In the field of family case work the most important services needed by Puerto Ricans migrating to the continent fall under three main areas: 1. Reuniting split families (part here and part in Puerto Rico) to avoid their becoming broken families. 2. Patient orientation and education in the use of health and welfare services in the particular community where they settle and encouragement to overcome difficulties (environmental, personal and emotional) to avoid conflicts later. 3. Counselling in family relations to help in the adjustment to new environmental and cultural differences: the new role of women who had not before worked outside and now become co-breadwinners, sharing a responsibility which traditionally belonged to the man as head of the household; children left without direct supervision of the parents and community controls to which they are accustomed in Puerto Rico; family members who expect to share accommodations (and receive food) and become a burden here; elder relatives left behind in Puerto Rico who are anxious for news, expect support which cannot be fully provided, or desire to come and join the family here, etc. Child Care: Many of the problems which beset migratory families in transition fall under the category of child welfare because children are greatly affected by the change. Children play an important role in the Puerto Rican family group. Training aims •to instill in them the basic principle of respect, which is a control factor in their behaviour too often lost here. The main services needed are: 1. Day care or after school care for children of working mothers. 2. Adjustment in schools and encouragement and help to profit by educational opportunities.

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3. Church and supervised recreational activities to help in their social development. 4. Economic assistance either through court order in the case of broken families or ADC, both for broken families and families with inadequate income. 5. Special services for special cases: handicapped children; mentally retarded; emotionally disturbed, etc. 6. Counselling to adjust parent -child relations and educate parents in the differences in child upbringing patterns in this culture. In the pressure to cope with the demands of meeting immediate material needs (shelter, food, clothing) parents here sometimes overlook the children's need for emotional security and expect the children to automatically adjust to life here without their support. A situation which is many times ignored (with so much emphasis put on "the need to learn English") is the case of many children, adolescents and young adults of Puerto Rican parentage, who have been born here or came as small children and function better in English than in Spanish. In fact, some do not understand Spanish well, or at all, and this creates a breach between them, their parents and their older relatives. There is practically no communication, relations deteriorate and all feel unhappy. Children become aggressive, parents try to enforce stricter discipline and a crisis is created. Intelligent counselling is needed to conciliate both parties to the reality of the need for mutual cooperation. With proper interpretation we have been able to interest young people in learning Spanish and understanding how their parents feel and how they can help them bridge the cultural gap which separates them. How to Reach Puerto Rican Clients: We have heard often from agencies and professionals, "We are ready to offer services to Puerto Ricans, but how can we reach them?". Three questions have to be answered first: 1. What language, as a communication media, is best to use and when? We pray in Spanish).

(i.e.

2. What is the intellectual and social level of the individual or group to be approached? 3. What are the things that appeal to them and motivate positive response and the desired action? Generalizations, based on the experience with one or several individuals or a group, are misleading. In the area of language communication, all Puerto Ricans do not necessarily function better in Spanish, as we have already pointed out in the case of young people born or brought up here. Another generalization which handicaps reaching an individual or a group in the Puerto Rican community is assuming that all come from a common social background. (We have several sub -cultures which have to be studied and understood). In our society in assessing the level at which an individual or a group can be reached, social status is an important consideration. (The values involved in the prestige of heritage, family, and tradition have to be recognized.)

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What appeals to us is, of course, tied with our values and mores. Anything related to God, the family, children, love, death, our country, has a great emotional value. Practical considerations are not always paramount and material profit may not be regarded imperative as a motivating factor. In summarizing, I would say that the emphasis on family and child welfare services for Puerto Rican migrant families has to be aimed at the same objectives of good family and child welfare services for any other group: (a) strengthen family life; (b) give children an opportunity to develop normally into sound, good members of the community.

RECORDER'S REPORT: Introduced by Mr. Brophy, Mrs. Matilde de Silva remarked that the pressure and stress of New York City life affects behaviour; therefore the migrant should not be judged rashly. In connection with these remarks she made four points. 1. We must understand and appreciate the feeling of the new migrants in regards to "dignidad", "respeto", "carino". 2. The new migrants are non -conformists; as a general rule that is why they migrate. Therefore perhaps there is too much pressure to make them conform. A feeling of rejection may be the result. 3. People who come for help are facing "reality problems", e.g., unemployment, housing, etc. They are not preoccupied with the "inconsequential", e.g., whether they are members of P.T.A., etc. 4. We have a tendency to misjudge the capacity of the person, e.g. -because he does not know English we might judge him as stupid. Answering the person as if he were a child hurts "dignidad". On the other hand, Puerto Ricans should recognize the necessity of education as a preparation for jobs (the number of jobs for the underskilled is declining). They should be encouraged to speak English and should be warned that cultural differences do not excuse lack of comformity with important aspects of life here..

Sometimes the migrant learns quickly to be dependent on agencies and may try to use them as pressure agents. Mrs. de Silva also noted that Puerto Ricans can best be reached through three sources or topics to which they have a strong affection. "God" "the family", "la patria". She noted also that adolescent groups are mainly contacted in the English language and adults generally in Spanish. Fr. Gildea, Director in charge of Catholic migrants in Puerto Rico, had some interesting statistics covering the year 1958. Using a Center at the airport, he and his volunteers personally interviewed over 20,000 people. Of this number 19,555 were Catholics; 994 were non Catholics; and 252 did not answer. 11,432 were married; 322 widowed; 294 divorced; 7,384 were single and 1,369 did not answer. In regard to the sex of the migrants interviewed, 12,703 were men; 8,070 were women; in regards to age, 19,166 were adults, 16 years and over; children were 1,351; 284 did not answer the question. 7,314 knew some English, 12,121 had no knowledge of the language; 1,366 did not answer. Those who traveled accompanied by at least one other person numbered 1,168.

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Fr. Gildea testified that the majority of spouses living together were legally married. He said that he was greatly worried about the proportion of separated families and the evil consequences which follows this situation - e.g.: delinquency, the formation of new alliances, families on relief, etc. This question of separated families, occupied most of the time of our workshop. Fr. Gildea believes there is a fear on the part of Island agencies to promote family reunions because of a possible accusation that they are promoting migration. He advocates government action similar to the cooperation given by the U.S. Government to private agencies such as the N.C.W.C., and the corresponding Protestant and Jewish agencies. He felt that labor unions might extend credit to their members to promote family reunions. He thought that credit unions might be encouraged by the labor unions for this purpose. Commissioner Dumpson, of the N.Y.C. Welfare Dept., said that, some efforts had been made by the Departments of Welfare here and iii Puerto Rico to reunite children with parents living either in New York City or on the Island. Mr. Dumps on said that there are two problems in the reunion of families by the Welfare Dept.: one is a conflict in law which poses the question - a part of the family is on public assistance - can we add to that burden by bringing in other members? Another point - the resources of families not on relief often are not adequate for newly arriving members. Mr. Dumpson continued by stating that it was difficult to teach 20,000 social workers to appreciate the actual culture of the clients. Mr. Dumpson concluded that there was an evident need to look carefully at the reasons for the special problems that arise. He thought that there is a need for federal action and a careful look at the extent of interstate migration (5,000,000 each year), and to look at the consequent social and economic implications to family life. Mr. John Yeldell, representative of the National Urban League, believes that existing agencies should be educated to understand the culture of Puerto Rican migration, as his league tries to help educate them in regard to the culture df Negroes migrating from the South. In a discussion between Mr. Robert Bondy, Director of the National Social Welfare Assembly, the A.F.L.-C.I.O., and Fr. Gildea, it was agreed that the issue of separated families should be examined by all agencies, government and private. Referring to Fr. Gildea's statistics in which it would seem that over 80% of the migrants declare themselves to be Catholics, Mr. Arnold Bringerwald, of the Lutheran Church, stated that "reality problems" sometimes make the matter of church affiliation insignificant in the Puerto Rican mind, leading an outsider to the conclusion that many really belong to no religion. Fr. Gildea in answer to this said that we must be careful not to judge the Catholicity of the Puerto Rican by continental standards. The Puerto Rican Catholics because of the lack of instruction and opportunity, do not practice their Faith in all the details, but will say very vehemently that they are "muy católicos", i.e., very Catholic. Mrs. de Silva commented that the Puerto Rican migrant, no matter what faith he practices, seems to feel that he must change his religion in order to get help from an agency of a different faith. This generally adds to his confusion and emotional instability.

Miss Ethel Jacobs, of the National Travellers Aid Association, said we should take a look at the services we are rendering to Puerto Rican migrants asking ourselves if we are using all the facilities available. She felt that we sometimes forget about the long-term help that the client needs. Miss Antonia Lugo, of Catholic Charities in NYC., denied the charge that many

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social workers become case-hardened. She said that 50% of the social workers in Catholic Charities, are Spanish speaking and that 60% of the clientele were Puerto Ricans. She felt that a Puerto Rican social worker serves as a bridge between the two cultures. A knowledge of the language and the culture of the migrant are two essential requisites for social workers. Miss Lidia Ramirez, social worker of Hartford, Conn., said that Puerto Rican clients should be educated in the use of the agencies. Fr. Parrilla, of the Nativity Mission, NYC., in discussing the high rate of crime and delinquency trouble in broken families, proposed that Labor Unions should try to help eliminate the need for mothers working, should encourage increased facilities for the care of their children, and should enlarge counselling services in budgeting and problems involved in buying on -time. Legislation giving family subsidies as in England and Canada might be studied. Joan Ann Oppenheimer, of the Puerto Rican Association in Stamford, Conn., saw a lessening of respect for parents by children who have been assimilated into North American culture. Children are embarrassed by the parent's lack of knowledge of English. Mr. Bringerwald, Mrs. Wilson (social worker from Boston), Mr. Brophy, Mrs, de Silva, Miss Antonia Mendez (Puerto Rican School Fund, NYC), and Carlos Martinez (Puerto Rican Government representative in Camden, N.J.), thought that the Labor Union would do well to recruit and train Puerto Ricans to be social workers.

SUMMARY I.

II.

III.

Main issues or problems raised: 1.

Problem of separated families.

Lack of social workers trained in language and culture.

Lack of continental appreciation and understanding of Puerto Rican values of "dignidad", "respeto" y "cariño".

The need of Puerto Ricans for counselling services.

General conclusions agreed on: 1.

That Government and private agencies should cooperate in establishing means to bring separated families together as soon as possible.

In helping the Puerto Rican there are three basic pillars on which his love rests: "Religion", "family" and "country".

Non Puerto Ricans should consider and respect these values.

Labor Unions should take the lead in helping Puerto Ricans, inasmuch as the labor market is the principal motive for migration.

Specific recommendations made: 1.

Labor Unions should develop counselling services.

Labor Unions should encourage credit unions.

Labor Unions should work for increased facilities for the care of children of working mothers.

Labor Unions should help recruit and train Puerto Ricans as social workers, i.e., by means of scholarships.

Labor Unions might well study the possibility of legislation for family subsidies similar to those given in Canada and England. - 30 -

CONFERENCE GROUP 111—Youth, Recreation and Leisure Time Chairman: MR. ANDREw W. L. BROWN Assistant Director Community Service Department

UAW, AFL-CIO Discussion Leader: Miss MAEGARET E. BERRY Executive Director National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers

Resource:

MR. SHERWOOD T. ERNENWEIN

Executive Director Madison Square Boys' Club New York City

Recorder:

Mas. STANLEY S. LIBEN Community Relations Advisor Girl South of the U.S.A.

BACKGROUND PAPER:

Prepared by MARGARET E. BERRY Executive Director National Federation of Settlements And Neighborhood Centers

In many cases, the leisure -time agency is the welcoming committee for new population groups coming into city life. The problem of feeling at home and developing know-how in city ways is not too different for the Puerto Ricans than it was for earlier groups of newcomers. However, in spite of similarities, each group has some characteristic differences. The leisure -time agency is especially important for a group which is new, because contacts made in friendly, social ways help people to relax, to learn to trust each other, and to begin to express problems which are on their minds. Since youth serving and leisure -time agencies are close to people where they live, and are flexible in programs, they can respond quickly to the needs of neighborhood families.. This has special importance for the Puerto Rican group, since it tends to be informal, organized around the family and extensions of the family, and does not have experience in large fraternal or self-help organizations. The quality of intimacy and informality can be found easily in agencies serving youth, or in agencies like settlements which serve families. Leisure -time or recreational programs include a wide range of organizations and activities. They include friendship groups, church clubs, PTA's, and all kinds of civic and fraternal associations. More formally, they include Scouting, YMCA's, YWCA's, Boys and Girls Clubs, recreation centers in schools or housing projects and settlements and neighborhood centers. Those agencies which serve families on the basis of family needs and interests may have social clubs, recreational activities, classes, day care programs, art or music programs, senior citizen clubs. In addition, they frequently help neighbors (or tenants in a housing project) to organize councils in order to make improvements in .local living conditions. The following are some of the characteristics and problems of the Puerto Rican group, which have implications for social organizations or leisure -time agencies: 1. There are relatively few formally organized groups (such as the fraternal organizations characteristic of older immigrant groups), and there are many informal groups based on the family. - 31 -

2. The leisure -time habits of many Puerto Ricans do not transfer easily to city life. Country and seashore are not easily accessible. The street is the "living room" and much social life is carried on there. Play materials which are found in nature in Puerto Rico must be made artificially here. 3. For children and youth, leisure time in the city is a problem. In a rural setting, boys could help their fathers or run useful errands for adults. Girls helped their mothers. In the city there are none of these community tasks to do. Children become a nuisance and an economic liability rather than a help to the family unit. 4. The pressure on young teen-agers is extreme.. The family needs their help economically. But there are few ways for them to earn money. Furthermore, in Puerto Rico the boys learned what would be expected of them as adults by helping their fathers or other adults. Here there is no way for them to help, and in many cases they do not even know what their father's work is. Since the young people do not know what is open to them in the adult working world, they have no motivation to learn or to stay in school. 5. In considering welcoming Puerto Ricans into social or civic organizations, the "open door policy" is not enough. They are not sure of their welcome in general, and are reluctant to move ahead until they can trust individuals. In addition, our usual casual way of posting a notice or mailing an invitation is not polite and personal enough. They need to know they are wanted personally. A further mark of respect and friendship is being able to speak Spanish, if that is the only language they know. Notices and reports have to be in Spanish as well as English. 6. There has to be provision for welcoming the family as a group, where it is traditional for the women not to go out alone. 7. There are special complications in some parts of cities (in public housing, for example) where there may be a number of families where the father is absent. With the absence of the authority of the father, the changed position of the mother as breadwinner, the family's traditional ways of doing things are broken. Children in particular lack security. In addition, they lack the guidance and practical help which they ought to be able to get from a father. There is no one to help them get a job, for example. 8. A new problem has been added to those affecting any stranger: racial prejudice on the mainland tends to weaken the ties of the Puerto Rican group, and even family ties, as the lighter ones feel they should disassociate from the darker ones if they are to "get ahead" here. With youth groups,, in particular, this results in active hostility and gang fights.

Some Questions for Consideration 1. How can community groups adapt their programs so that Puerto Ricans feel welcome, and are helped to participate? 2. What can unions do to help the Puerto Rican teen-agers to get ready to be good workers? Is there something which can be done (1) to help with vocational advice, so they can learn about occupations; (2) to develop apprentice programs? 3. Can union groups develop informal educational programs, teaching new Puerto Rican workers their rights and responsibilities in the city and giving them new skills which they need for advancement? - 32 -

RECORDER'S REPORT: 1. Main issues or problems raised A. The pressures on Puerto Rican teenagers which, cause them to go from childhood to adulthood, skipping the adolescent stage. B. The absence of life goals and ambitions. There is a lack of motivation for Puerto Rican youngsters to study and learn. There is a greater motivation for them to get jobs to earn money to help the family. C. In school, there is poor counseling and guidance for those students capable and interested in advanced education and a lack of vocational guidance and training for those wanting to work. D. Leisure time organizations have not adapted program to fit the needs of Puerto Rican children, but instead are attempting to fit these children into the existing programs. E. There is a lack of family -oriented group services available to Puerto Ricans, and a need for informal activity for families instead of the structured activity (separation of age groups). F. 'Literacy in English -- quiet children can go through school and never learn to read or speak English fluently. 2. General conclusions agreed on A. Sister Maria Rosanne spoke to the group about the relationship between island-born parents and their mainland -born children. She said that in order to work successfully with Puerto Rican children, there must first be understanding of the background of the family and the fears of parents who feel their children are being separated from them. An effort must be made to win the trust of the parents. B. Schools must put a sharper focus on literacy in English for Puerto Rican young people. An effort must be made, through schools and voluntary organizations for better vocational guidance. Voluntary organizations can help young Puerto Ricans by encouraging supervised study groups, etc. C. Youth serving organizations must do more than say "the door is open" to Puerto Rican families and children. They must actively welcome them to their organizations. D. Puerto Ricans who have attained positions of stature should begin to assume leadership roles on committees and boards of community organizations. Those in leadership of these organizations must actively welcome Puerto Ricans to to join them on committees and boards. It was suggested that community organizations should seek assistance for leadership from existing Puerto Rican organizations such as Puerto Rican Civil Service Employees Association, the Hispanic Social Workers, etc., and from the Puerto Rican "township" organizations (people from same town or area in Puerto Rico who have formed a social club in Ne,w York). ` a

E. Major discussion centered around the need for an apprenticeship program to help train young Puerto Ricans for better jobs, as well as assisting young people, who wish to stay in school, arrange for summer and after school jobs. Labor unions can play a most important role in working with community groups in encouraging this type of program.

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CONFERENCE GROUP IV—Housing Chairman:

MR. ARTHUR HARCKHAM

Chairman Community Services Committee New York City Central Labor Council

Discussion Leader: MR. IRA S. ROBBINS Vice Chairman New York City Housing Authority Resource:

MRS. BLANCA CEDENO

Senior Intergroup Officer New York City Housing Authority Recorder:

MR. PAUL MENDENHAY.L

Staff Representative AFL-CIO Community Service Activities

BACKGROUND PAPER:

Prepared by IRA S. ROBBINS Vice Chairman New York City Housing Authority

What is the role of (a) Labor Unions, (b) the Puerto Rican community, (c) the local community's health and welfare agencies in --1) Obtaining stricter housing codes .and better enforcement of the laws applicable to existing housing. 2) Stimulating and participating in neighborhood conservation programs involving the cooperation of public agencies, landlords and tenants. 3) Bringing about an increase in the supply of low-rent public housing. 4) Reducing and eventually eliminating discrimination in the sale or rental of housing to Puerto Ricans and other minority groups. 5) Preventing undue hardship to families who are displaced to make way for public and private improvements. 6) Establishing programs of tenant education for families in public and private housing to enable Puerto Ricans and other newcomers to adjust to the complexities of urban living. 7) Establishing social service units in public housing developments to diagnose the problems of troubled and troublesome families and to act as liaison with appropriate community agencies. What is the role of the federal, state and local governments in connection with each of the foregoing problems? RECORDER'S REPORT: The housing session was an extremely lively one in which everyone present participated. The following recommendations are only the highlights of a discussion which touched upon the many facets of housing problems and programs in New York and other cities.

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1) There was a general agreement that union locals should continue to act as the "middle -man" between Puerto Rican workers and public agencies. They can act as the liaison between their members and public agencies which deal with such things as discrimination in housing, rent control, violations of building and housing codes, and applications for public housing. Every effort should be made by union locals to have their headquarters become the type of "union hall" or meeting place described so effectively by Harry Golden in his book "Only in America." 2) Unions should consistently endeavor to educate the non -Puerto Rican public, particularly their own members, on living conditions and customs in Puerto Rico and !'why the Puerto Ricans act as they do" when they come to the mainland. This type of educational program can do much to create mutual understanding and adjustment. 3) The AFL-CIO must continue its efforts to organize the non -organized Puerto Rican workers to fight the menace of "sweetheart contracts", so that Puerto Rican workers can be brought into the area of the AFL-CIO Community Services program. In this connection, it was pointed out that, unfortunately, the places where this fine program is most needed are identical with the places where the Puerto Ricans are unorganized and exploited. 4) A strong recommendation was made that the unions, together with other appropriate groups, endeavor to persuade official agencies, such as the borough offices of the Department of Buildings, local offices of the State Rent Commission and of the State Commission Against Discrimination, to remain open at night so that the Puerto Rican worker will have an opportunity to present his case without losing a day's pay. At present, many injustices cannot be corrected because the Puerto Rican workers cannot afford to take a day off. In addition, they cannot get the union members to accompany them to the offices of the official agency because of the working hours of all concerned. It was also pointed out that at the present time literacy tests for prospective voters are given on Saturdays, in addition to weekdays, by the Board of Elections and the Board of Education only in the months immediately preceding Election Day. It is possible to take a literacy test at the office of the Board of Elections from Monday through Friday throughout the year, but many Puerto Rican workers are not free to take advantage of this arrangement nor are their union friends free to accompany them to the office of the Board of Elections. It was strongly recommended that the opportunity to take literacy tests on Saturdays be made available all year round. The failure of many Puerto Ricans to take literacy tests obviously results in the inability of many qualified Puerto Ricans to vote on Election Day.

5) Strong emphasis was placed on the fact that an increase in the supply of housing generally, particularly housing for families of low income, would result in improvement of the housing situation for the Puerto Ricans and others. In "other words, more and better housing for everyone is the prime objective. It was agreed that labor union activity for housing legislation in Washington and in Albany was entitled to great praise. The group agreed, however, that the power of the vote of individuals was of utmost importance. The unions can "help get out the vote." This is particularly important in New - 35 -

York State where state loans and subsidies for public housing must be approved by the electorate. The housing propositions are technically worded and are hard to understand. They are placed on the top of the voting machines along with constitutional amendments, and many voters overlook the need for their support of these important measures. 6) Although only a small percentage of the tenants in public housing in New York City can be considered'tproblem families" their impact on a housing development can be serious. These families, including some Puerto Rican families, can be assisted by the New York City Housing Authority through the efforts of the staff of its Social Consultation Unit. The social workers act as a liaison between the tenants and family welfare and other public and private agencies. The Public Housing Administration has given its approval to the New York City Housing Authority for the employment of a limited number of social workers who can assist in carrying out this program in federally -aided projects. However, the New York State Commissioner of Housing, has refused to approve the employment of any social workers who are needed for the tenants in state -aided projects. Civic groups, including the unions, can be of great assistance in efforts to persuade the Rockefeller administration to change its policy and to join with federal and city administrations in implementing this important program.

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CONFERENCE GROUP V—Health and Hospital Services DR. Moxtus BaAsm Medical Director Sidney Hillman Health Center Discussion Leader: Da. S. DAVID POMRIN&E Chief Health Professions Branch Division of Public Health Methods U.S. Public Health Service Da. ALBERTO VERGES-FLAqus Resource: Vice President Spanish-American Medical Society Miss MARGARET B. Wu.Fs Recorder: Assistant Director Department of Public Health Nursing National League for Nursing Chairman:

BACKGROUND PAPER:

Prepared by DR. S. DAVID POMRINSE Chief, Health Professions Branch Division of Public Health Methods U.S. Public Health Service

The problem of health and hospital services for Puerto Ricans in the continental United States must be considered from the background of (1) the health, social, economic, and cultural characteristics of Puerto Ricans in their native state, and (2) the changes inherent in their move to the continent. DEMOGRAPHY Puerto Rican migrants are among the more educated, skilled, literate, and urban part of the Puerto Rican population. Thus the median migrant has completed almost 8 years of schooling while the median resident of Puerto Rico has completed less than 4. Only 5% of migrants formerly worked in agriculture as against 34% of thos.e residing on the island. Forty-eight percent of those who migrate worked in manufacturing as opposed to 23% of the island population. Eighteen percent of. the migrants are skilled workers, 35% are semiskilled; these figures should be compared with the 5% of the population who are skilled and the 20% who are semiskilled in the Puerto Rican work force. Ninety-two percent of the migrants are literate while only 74% of the island population is. Ninety-one percent of the migrants come from an urban background while only 40% of the people live in urban communities in Puerto Rico.

The group identifiable as Puerto Rican (both, those born on the mainland and those who migrate here) total 850,000 (as of December 31, 1958). Of these, it is estimated that 650,000 live in New York City. The number who migrate vary with the interesting to note, however, that the pereconomic conditions on the continent. It centage of Puerto Rican migrants who settle in New York City has decreased from 85% in 1950 to 60% in 1958. Thus an increasing percentage of the Puerto Rican migrants are settling in cities such as Chicago (25,000), Philadelphia (20,000), Newark (13,000), and Bridgeport (10,000). The magnitude of the Puerto Rican immigration can be seen in the increase of 223% on the continent of the United States between 1940 and 1950 Censuses and of 169% between the 1950 Census and the estimate at the end of 1958.

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HEALTH STATUS IN PUERTO RICO The health status of Puerto Ricans on the island has been steadily improving during the past two decades. Thus the infant mortality rate which was 113 per thousand live births in 1940 had dropped to 51 in 1957. This is still twice as high as the rate of 26 for the continental United States, however. The death rate in Puerto Rico in 1957 was 7.0 while that of the continental United States was 9.6.. This difference is attributable to the fact that the population of Puerto Rico is much younger than that of the continental United States. The island birth rate was 32.6 as opposed to 25.0 for the continental United States in 1957. In summary then, the migrants have come from a home where high fertility is matched with a high infant mortality rate but with a young population. The tuberculosis death rate in Puerto Rico in 1957 was 33.2 while in New York City for all people it was 12. We have a picture then of a population which is young but which is burdened with more illness and more avoidable deaths than one finds on the continent. HEALTH STATUS ON THE MAINLAND Since the population by ethnic groups in New York City for the years after the last Census (1950) is based on estimates only, and since the number of Puerto Ricans in New York City has been changing rapidly, it is difficult to establish accurate rates for the. common public health indices. However, one can estimate that in most health situations, the Puerto Rican residents indicate rates which are intermediate between the rest of the white population and the non-white groups. Thus total infant mortality for New York City in 1958 was 26.4. Puerto Ricans had a rate of 30.8 while the nonwhite group was 43.1. The New York City Health Department reports that the Puerto Ricans are cooperative in their use of health services but are not aware of all of the benefits which would accrue from early intensive care, and thus do not receive maximum benefit from services available to them. In the case of tuberculosis, which represents a particularly serious problem, it should be noticed that in 1957, 772 new cases were reported among Puerto Ricans while the total for New York City was 6,117. It will be remembered that Puerto Ricans make up slightly less than 10% of the population, and yet they account for 12-1/2% of the active cases. Also it may be noted that the median age at death from tuberculosis is lowest among Puerto Ricans than among any other group. Since tuberculosis in the remainder of the population is rapidly becoming a disease of older age, this suggests the need for a different method of attack on the tuberculosis problem among Puerto Ricans. In a study of serologic tests for syphilis among migrant agricultural workers in New Jersey, Puerto Ricans had 2.3% positive tests vs. 4.3% for other whites. Cultural Factors Inherent in the data given above is the attitude and orientation of the Puerto Rican people towards health services available. In Puerto Rico about 2/3 of the medical care is provided by government since these people are able to meet eligibility standards for public assistance. When hospitalization becomes necessary it disrupts the family life of Puerto Ricans to an even greater extent than that in a continental family. Family ties are extremely strong, especially that of mother and child; the wishes of an older parent are seldom denied, even though the health of the family is being endangered as, for example, in tuberculosis. An important aspect of this relationship is for the family to eat together. For this reason in their island home, families may remain at. the hospital with the patient and food may be brought to the hospital. As might be expected, the Puerto Rican migrant feels lost and confused when confronted by the strangeness of a highly organized continental hospital which does not understand or make any

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allowances for these needs and where he is unable to communicate effectively with those responsible for his care and treatment. Interestingly enough, as per capita personal income on the island increases, the mainland pattern of private fee for service medical care with some prepayment of hospital care through health insurance is becoming more frequent. Perhaps as the economic situation on the island begins to approach that of the continent more closely, some of the disparities in acceptance of medical care will disappear. Proposed Questions 1. To what extent should health and hospital services for Puerto Rican migrants be separate from those provided for the general population? a. Should some hospitals have a Spanish speaking staff? b. Should there be an attempt to provide diets including traditional foods? c. Should health agencies carry out educational programs specifically aimed at Puerto Ricans? d. Should leadership classes be started for Puerto Ricans to develop community responsibility for health services? e. Is it possible to improve health and hospital services for people who have inadequate income, housing, food, and hope? f.

Is it really desirable to identify some health services as being exclusively for Puerto Ricans?

g. Can the health services available for this group be improved without changing the total pattern of health services in the community? 2. How can program planning utilize the strengths of the Puerto Rican community and its Leadership? a. Is there a need for a mechanism for bringing the problems of Puerto Ricans to the attention of responsible public officials? b. Should Puerto Rican leaders be members of the Board of voluntary health and welfare agencies? of planning agencies? c. How can Puerto Rican professionals be involved in demonstration and service projects? d. What community organization technics can be used to hasten the development of a more structured Puerto Rican community? Should they be used? By whom? 3. What is the role of labor unions in improving health services for Puerto Ricans? a. For those who are members of the union: (1) Are special health insurance benefits needed? (2) Do union counselors need special training? (3) Is a systematic referral plan in order? (4) Should there be special orientation sessions for Puerto Rican members and their families about continental health services? - 39 -

b. For the Puerto Rican community as a whole: (1) Should union members of the boards of voluntary health agencies bring this problem to the attention of staff? (2) Should health and welfare planning councils be asked to determine the extent and kinds of problems occurring?

(3) Should unions request public agencies to identify specific problems and how they are being handled? (Many agencies do not record ethnic origins and thereby increase the difficulty of obtaining accurate data.) 4. How can the community's health and welfare agencies meet the increasing needs of this group? a. Should they be concerned with employment possibilities iñ order to improve the economic base? b. Should they employ special staff persons to assist this group? c. Is it practical to assign program priorities on the basis of ethnic groups? d. Should improved referral and information exchange between health agencies in Puerto Rico and those on the mainland be brought about? e. If programs are to be expanded, will the necessary finances be forthcoming from usual sources? from Puerto Ricans? from Special project grant funds? Or where?

RECORDER'S REPORT: Main Issues Discussed 1. To what extend should health and hospital services for Puerto Rican migrants be separate from those provided for the general population? a. It was the feeling of this group that there not be any separation of health and hospital services for one group of people. b. It was agreed that the facilities, equipment, etc. were already available but that they were not being used by the Puerto Rican because: (1)

Preventive care has not been sold.

(2) Communication between the Puerto Rican and professional people is poor. This involves the language barrier, the approach made to these people, the lack of identification between the professional person or the individual who is in a position to give assistance and the Puerto Rican. c. It was agreed that there is a need to develop educational programs for all immigrant groups. d. It was agreed that if there was a better understanding and acceptance of the cultural differences, etc., services would be accepted to a greater degree.

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Throughout this discussion the emphasis was on human relations, being a friend, and being understanding rather than on the need for different kinds of facilities. Also, that when health and hospital services are improved in general for all people, there will be fewer problems for Puerto Ricans. 2. How can program planning utilize the strengths of the Puerto. Rican community and its leadership? a. There was agreement that a more intensive effort be made to develop leadership within the community, and that they be given an opportunity to participate in the planning of health and welfare programs. b. It was felt that there was a need to ask the Puerto Rican what he saw as his health or social problem before one could expect any growth in this area. 3. What is the role of the labor unions in improving health services for Puerto Ricans? a. It was agreed that labor unions should evaluate their present activities, and increase their efforts toward the improvement of their counseling programs. Also, that they be familiar with and support legislation affecting the kinds and amounts of health services available to people. Specific Recommendations 1. Better coordination of services offered by social and health agencies. 2. An effort be made to improve the techniques of communication with the Puerto Rican worker. 3. Active participation of union members on the boards of community agencies. 4. Study of the reasons why union members do not use to better advantage the benefits available to them. 5. Inclusion of health services such as public health nursing service in the home, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc. in fringe benefits. 6. Unions strengthen their activities in the area of legislation in regard to health and social services. 7. Unions develop counseling programs and make an effort to have more trained counselors of Puerto Rican origin in areas where there are large numbers of Puerto Rican workers.

8. Unions and other community agencies should reach out increasingly to the Puerto Rican population for their advice on services needed, and for their participation and leadership in designing and utilizing of programs for health and medical care in the total community.

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CONFERNCE GROUP VI—Consumer Problems Chairman:

MR. NORMAN ZUKOWSKY President International Leather Goods, Plastics and Novelty Workers Union Discussion Leader: DR. PERSIA CAMPBELL Professor of Economics Queens College Resource: MR. GEORGE H. FOWLER Deputy Industrial Commissioner New York State Department of Labor Recorder: MR. RALPH REUZER Assistant Director of Education International Ladies Garment Worker Union

RECORDER'S REPORT: In recent months the American public has learned, to its dismay, of shocking acts perpetrated by sections of the business community on the unsuspecting consumer. These are facts which have been known to some, but have never been so glaringly brought to light, due to the intensity and extent of the acts committed. Consumer protection is indeed highly important, especially when we look at the income of the families which make up our great consumer public. In 1957, the Bureau of the Census reported that there were 43,714,000 families in America; of that number 2,823,000 families had an income of under $1,000; 3,712,000 had an income of $1,000 to $1,999; 4,206,000 had an income of $2,000 to $2,999; 5,160,000, $3,000 to $3,999; 6,158,000, $4,000 to $4,999; 6,352,000, $5,000 to $5,999. An investigation in the same year by the Heller Committee of the University of California indicated that a wage earner with a family of four, renting a home, living moderately, should have an income of $5,831.70. Though some of the families reported by the Census have less than four members, it is obvious that a great many of them in these ttprosperous" United States cannot possibly live even moderately well on their meager income, even if they plan their family budget carefully.. If we add to this the frauds, price fixing and other misdeeds of sections of the business community, we see that there is great need for consumer protection against and control of such practices. This is all the more true with respect to the Puerto Rican community on the U.S. mainland, for they are in fact at the lower end of the economic ladder.. Their consumer problems are no different in kind from those of the average consumer, but by virtue of their relatively low income and their different language and cultural background, they are more severely hit in this area. It therefore becomes essential that special attention be given to the consumer problems of Puerto Rican families so these families can be better served. In this labor can undoubtedly play an important role. It must, however, be obvious that by virtue of the fact that the Puerto Ricans, when first coming to this country, are most likely to be employed in the most unskilled trades and in jobs which are hardest to unionize, therefore, not only does the burden fall on labor, but on all community agencies which have any contact with the Puerto Ricans. Among the areas which present very real problems are: 1) Adequate legal protection 2) Instalment credit buying 3) Medical and hospital expenses

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4) Advertising 5) Insurance 6) Family budgeting 7) Group buying 8) Comparison shopping and a multitude of other problems When the Puerto Rican comes to the mainland, he is faced with a change of environment and people having a culture pattern different from that which he experienced on the Island. The strong family ties, the relationship among neighbors, the relationship between the local business community and the consumer -buyer, are quite different. When buying on the Island, the Puerto Rican is quite used to buying "on the books;" i.e., buying on credit without a formal contract. Such credit buying results, at least in part, from uncertain or irregular income. The local business man trusts his customer because he knows that sooner or later the debt will be paid; it is usually later. When the Islander comes to the mainland, the pattern of his earning and spending changes. His income might well be seasonal, but it is much more certain. This, of course, should make it possible for him to do better planning of his family budget. Unfortunately, he receives very little help in this direction. What is more, there have grown up a number of business companies which especially cater to Puerto Ricans and like groups. Some of them thrive on the lack of knowledge .of what the laws are, the different language and background of their customers. Consequently, quite frequently Puerto Ricans find themselves in difficulty, due in part to the unsavory characters of some of the business men they deal with. This conference group agreed that at the very minimum: 1) There should be a Department of the Consumer on the federal level, such as recommended by Senator Estes Kefauver, and similar departments or divisions on the state level. These agencies should bear the responsibility of strengthening and coordinating the consumer protection functions now assigned to various departments in government, some of which are primarily oriented to other economic interest groups. There is great need for a department whose sole and only interest is that of the consuming public. These government agencies representing the consumer should also promote research and education in the consumer interest, recommend legislation when necessary, and appear before regulatory authorities on behalf of consumers. 2) We furthermore urge that the mass media do a far better job of giving information helpful to the public as consumers. While recognizing that the existence of the media is dependent on the business community, we nevertheless feel that they have a responsibility to the consumer whose intelligent buying is necessary for a proper functioning economy. Labor unions and other civic organizations have an immense responsibility to acquaint the Puerto Rican with his new community and help him solve his many problems, including his consumer problems. 3) We urge that the Puerto Rican Migration Division establish a special department in the area of the consumer so that it may serve those who cannot be serviced by other agencies. 4) We urge the establishment by government and other interested groups of demonstration techniques and the use of mass media communication to bring home to the Puerto Rican community the story of the consumer.

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5) We urge the development by government agencies of quality standards and quality designations so that the consumer can determine the relative costs and merits of items. 6) We urge action by authorities against firms attaching price tags to merchandise which have no bearing on the actual intended sales price, and also against other misleading and improper pricing practices. 7) There should not only be action against fictitious price promotion of merchandise but against misleading information on instalment credit costs and such extra charges attached thereto as investigation fees, service and insurance charges. 8) We also urge the licensing of all door-to-door salesmen.

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AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS GEORGE MEANY

President WM. F. SCHNITZLER

Secretary-Treasurer

AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES 9 East 40th Street, New York 16, New York LEO PERLIS

Director

AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE JOSEPH A. BEIRNE

Chairman W. C. BIRTHRIGHT

JOSEPH D. KEENAN

JOHN BROPHY

EMIL MAZEY

WILLIAM E. BUCK

LEE W. MINTON

PATRICK E. GORMAN

A. PHILIP RANDOLPII

JOHN J. GROGAN

JAMES ROBA

AL HARTNETT

DESMOND WALKER

SAL B. HOFFMANN

NORMAN ZUKOWSKY

~373