In
Brief
Opinions on
Harassment
Differ Greatly
Opinions surrounding the amount
of sexual harassment women under
go in the workplace varied greatly
at recent congressional hearings.
Phyllis Schlafly, a leading op
ponent of the Equal Rights Amend
ment, told the Senate Labor and
Human Resources Committee that
sexual harassment on the job is
"not a problem for the virtuous
woman.” She added that support
for equal job opportunities and
equal pay by proponents of equal
rights (or women Is a means to
‘induce wives and mothers out of
the home."
By contrast, a spokesperson for
the federal Equal Employment Op
portunities Commission told the
committee that sexual harassment
“ is not a figment of the imagina
tion” and may be more widespread
than is reflected in current statistics.
Natural Gas Deregulation Will Cost You Plenty
While most Americans are still
reeling from the skyrocketing price
of deregulated gasoline, plans for
total decontrol of natural gas may
add another huge increase to
consumers’ energy bills.
Even though nearly 60 percent of
the nation’s families heat their
homes and cook their meals with
natural gas, the Reagan Administra
tion has indicated it is committed to
total deregulation of natural gas
prices. Administration officials say
that they will do whatever is
necessary to obtain their goal—if
not by legislation, then by Presi
dential writ. This campaign was
formally begun by a recent cabinet-
level report recommending de
control of natural gas prices.
Natural gas price controls are
scheduled to be phased out by 1985
under present law. Even so, current
prices are rising faster than the
overall rate of inflation.
These officials say that total
Workers at a Ford Motor Co.
plant in Amsterdam, Netherlands
have taken over their factory and
have locked out management to
protest the company’s plan to close
the plant.
A workers’ committee has as
sumed control of production, ac
VOLUM E X X III, H o. 7
September 1981
A p u b lica tio n o f the O regon P ublic E m ployes U nion, SEIU
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Page 2
decontrol is necessary to insure
adequate supplies of the fuel for the
next 20' years. However, in
dependent analysts say that with
the present system of partial price
deregulation, natural gas supplies
from the adjacent 48 states and
some imports from Canada and
Dutch Workers Take Over Ford Plant
T
H
E OREGON
P U B L IC
EM PLOYE
NATURAL GAS
cording to a report in Labor Notes,
and has announced that assembly
operations will continue as usual.
However, workers say they will
keep finished vehicles at the factory.
The occupation has the support
of the major labor unions in the
Netherlands.
Public Employe
Representation
Over 48 Percent
Nearly half the nation’s full-time
state and local government em
ployes were represented by unions
or employe associations in 1979,
according to a report released at
the end of March by the U.S.
Census Bureau.
Of some 10.2-million full-time
state and local government workers,
4.9-million or 48 percent were
members of labor organizations in
1979, an increase of two percent
over 1978, according to the report.
Workers were covered by a total of
32,528 collective bargaining agree
ments during the year.
A majority of state and local
government employes were rep
resented by labor organizations in
15 states and the District of
Columbia. New'York was the most
heavily organized, with 77.4 percent
of its public employes covered by
contracts. Following in percentage
of union representation were Rhode
Island (73 percent), Connecticut
and the District of Columbia (72.2
percent), Massachusetts (69 per
cent), Hawaii (68.2 percent) and
Alaska and Pennsylvania (60.4
percent).
Independent school districts were
the most heavily organized (60
percent), while county governments
were the least organized (34
percent).
Figures on union representation
in Oregon were not available.
Mexico will be enough to meet
demand from residential, com
mercial and some industrial
customers until well into the 1990’s.
Whatever the supplies of natural
gas may be though, deregulation will
mean dramatic increases in the
price of natural gas to the
consumer. Most experts concede
total decontrol will mean that
consumers who heat their homes
with natural gas will watch their gas
bills triple by 1984. They point out
that families with large homes or
with homes in cold climates will see
their gas bills increase to $300-5400
or more in winter months and that
the average gas consuming house
hold will see yearly natural gas bills
of $1,100.
In addition, higher natural gas
prices would increase the cost of
other consumer items like food,
clothes, newspapers and auto
mobiles by an average of another
$400 yearly.
Subminimum
Wage Bills
Before Congress
Calling for a “ bold experiment” to
reduce youth unemployment, Sen.
Orin Hatch (R-Utah) has introduced
legislation allowing employers to pay
25 percent less than the minimum
wage for up to six months for
w o rk ers u n d e r th é ag e of 20.
Hatch’s proposed legislation is
one of three “ youth opportunity”
bills currently before Congress. One
of the two other pieces of legislation
would eliminate the minimum wage
for all workers under 18. The other
bill would lower the minimum wage
for youths by 15 percent.
‘« si
Hatch has admitted that he is not
certain any of these bills will
help lower teenage unemployment,
which is currently just under 20
percent. Many experts testifying on
the “ youth opportunity” bills said
that they would have little impact
on youth unemployment and
predicted that suburban white
teenagers will fill most new openings
created by such legislation,
legislation.
Many labor leaders believe adults
will be displaced by teenagers if any
of the bills pass. Nearly 70 percent
of those receiving minimum wages
are adults and 70 percent of those
adults are women.
These bills have also been
criticized because they would “ pit
workers against each other.” These
critics claim that because little new
employment would be created by
these bills, employers would benefit
from lower wages and increased
competition among potential
workers for minimum and
subminimum wage jobs.