Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The Oregon state employee. (Salem, Oregon.) 1944-195? | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1947)
20 Progress . . . Not Perfection By ELIZABETH DOTSON ket, that her . expenses are less because she lives, at home and that she' has no We couldn’t.,resist the challenge! Two women s£ate employees sent a dependents. All of these assumptions letter to the Capital Journal in Salem, are true lft . some c.ases, but statistic^ saying in part, "It seems that we, Çthe, indicate that out of every 100 women working class, ! can only look to some workers, '34;<tgq£k to support them- fearless editor to champion our cause selves and/or others; 8 work to/ow n . . . Look at the persons’ paid from $100 a home or to educate their children; per month to$,Ï6Q, take out deduc-. arid only 8 work primarily bee arise of tions, retirement^ etc., and a girl liasn’t interest in their jobs. A "Prince, enough to live oh. On it goes. People Charming” on a white horse doesn’t struggle from year to year, Jiving in always appear, .especially in a genera hopes of something better . As .,a tio n that has given many of its/young' fearless newspaper, check into condi m en, is war casualties. Of every’ 100 tions., Talk |p employees and you' will women workers who live in family, . detect -a wave ok resentment and in groups, 151 are the w/e wage earners contributing to household expenses,. justice that wifi reflect into thé next election. We don’t know what anw Over half/ of these 100 women con other "fearless” editor or .newspaper is tribute more than half of their earn doing about the situation, but we do ings to the family group. I tjis esti/- know what the Oregon State Employee mated that 4 out of every 5 women workers live in family .groups. Of the is doing about it. women Jiving alone almost all support : Let us approach women’s salaries themselves and some have dependents.; from this point, of view: there is -a- Boosting of women’s v/ages in gen tendency > In all types of work for women’s wages to be at the bottom of' eral is.not ajyictory, to be won in iso the scale. Sometimes this means that lated situations in one campaign. In clerical and professional positions'usual- creases come only'after y e a rso fe ffo rt ly filled by women have à lower salary and sacrifice. Equal- pay laws, .civil ränge than those filled by men. Some service/.sy stems, the work of women’s' times itriieans that women receive less organizations and of the Women’s Bu pay for doing identically or substan reau of the U. S. Department of ’Labor; tially the same work as I zr male“ em have helped. Women employees them selves must striye, with the*'assistance ployee. rif fair-minded employers, administra There I are several reasons for this trend. First, it has long been falsely tors -and law makers, toward a new assumed that woirién don’t need much' equality-^-wage equality. jhiohpy; I Investigation of living Costs The foregoing, are general statements^ of individual employees proves -this to which muSt be understood before :we be untrue. SeGpn-d, there, is the myth can evaluate the salary I situation in that women are inferior workers. In the Oregon state service. Under tire', numerable production , I surveys and new pay plan, the lowest salary is statements by employers prove this ’ is’ $ LLO, an I improvement over the pre not correct. Third, because of keen vious $10.0 b ase /T h is-rep re sen tsah competition for available jobs women annual I increase of $'¿94 after federal will work for less, and they haye failed income tax deductions. A clerk-typist to ask for recognition either individ III and clerk-stenographer Jll-’^an ad ually or through organizations. Fourth, vance tp I a maximum of $ 2 2 5. It. seem#, it is always assumed that a woman logical that thejplerk-typist I and oijly temporarily in the labor mar clerk I positions would be held by? in-
