Santa Cruz County Chapter of the National Organization for Women Newsletter

Co-Coordinator's Report

As you may know, CA NOW registered a Title IX complaint against the Pajaro Valley Unified School district with the Office of Civil Rights. Since that time, members of the task force have met with a representative from the OCR, who gave us some disappointing news. First of all, there is a six month statute of limitations on events that one can make a complaint on. This means that while people who were concerned about violations were attempting to work their way through the administrative system to address their concerns and try to create positive changes, their time to complain to the OCR was running out. The other disappointment, and possibly the biggest as far was we are concerned, is that the OCR will provide the district with a list of areas where the district is out of compliance before the OCR writes up its findings. This means that the district has a chance to fix the problem before the final report goes out to the public. On the one hand, this is great, because the district will have to change things to get itself a good report. On the other hand, its lousy in that it makes the complainant (us) look like our complaint was unfounded. Although the OCR made visits in December, the report is not yet complete. Stay tuned...

In addition to following up on the complaint, members of the task force visited Aptos High School's principal, David Hare on April 1. The purpose of the visit was to bring him up to speed on the problems he has inherited. (He is a first-year principal at Aptos HS.) The main topics discussed were the 2:1 ratio of boy to girl opportunities in athletics, the effects that has on the opportunities for girls to take 6th period athletic P.E., whether 6th period athletic P.E. is good for the student body as a whole, written policies and procedures for athletic directors to follow to ensure their program is in compliance, the representation of women teachers in nontraditional subject areas (at Aptos, they have had one woman science teacher and no women teaching shop, etc.), and the lack of representation of people of color on the faculty and staff.

Mr. Hare seemed to agree with us in some areas of concern, but had difficulties in others. He felt that statistics were not the problem with athletics, but that they represented some underlying problem. The problem of 6th period athletic P.E. was for him a problem affecting girls and boys equally, in that most of the college prep classes are offered 6th period. There are currently no written policies and procedures which can provide an athletic director with guidance for compliance with Title IX. We agreed that such policies and procedures should perhaps come from the district. Finally, in the area of representation, Mr. Hare informed the task force that "he would not hire a lesser qualified woman or minority to simply meet proportional representation" desires. ( Mr. Hare needs some education regarding equal representation and affirmative action...any volunteers?). We had a discussion about the availability of highly qualified women and people of color, although one may need to publicize the opening more broadly or for a longer period of time. Mr. Hare indicated that he expects help from community groups like ourselves to help him find these qualified women and people of color. We agreed to do whatever was necessary to accomplish the goal of balanced representation. All in all, it was a good first meeting, and we expect to meet with Mr. Hare again soon.

Our next meeting will be scheduled with Clem Donaldson, the Title IX officer at the district level. We will be raising many of the same issues.

Women thronged the streets claiming April 14th their day as they shouted to preserve women's rights. Shoulder to shoulder, they marched with caring men and children down to Crissey Field. Thousands who joined the walk on this sunny day in San Francisco waved slogans, chanted, inspired a spirit of sisterhood that touched each of us. Fortunately, many probably will vote against the California Civil Rights Initiative, (CCRI). Unfortunately, too many will in the next few months shop at Macy's, Walmarts, J.C. Penney, Sears, K Mart-a partial list of bargain retailers. Although the thread connecting these two issues, affirmative action and consumer shopping, may seem very remote, there is a deep connection-the bond of sisterhood. As we keep the spotlight on the affirmative action cause, let it also shine and expose the subhuman conditions under which women work in the garment industry.

In the last decade, shocking stories have surfaced publicizing the exploitation and physical abuse heaped on women whose labors provide retail giants with inventory. The harsh treatment of women and children finally hit the front pages in 1995. Two Thai women escaped by scaling the wall surrounding the compound in El Monte, CA. They blew the whistle on the captivity of 72 workers producing garments for Macy's, Mervyn's, Montgomery Ward, Nieman Marcus, Victoria's Secret and other retailers who contracted with sweatshop owners.

The Sweatshop Watch reported on the pre-dawn raid on an apartment complex enclosed in barbed wire: "For up to seven years, 67 women and 5 men, forbidden to leave the guarded compound, had been forced to sew garments for U.S. brand-name mfrs. and retailers for $1.60/hour. They were forced to work from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, six days a week to pay off the smugglers for their cost of passage. Even after they had paid back their captors, the workers were unable to leave and were forced to continue working...with threats of rape and retribution against family members in Thailand."

As the stench of exploitation began to spread in the '80's, organizations sprang up in response, demanding codes of conduct from both manufacturers and retailers. In addition to the Sweatshop Watch, the Guatemala Labor Education Project (GLEP), and the National Labor Committee (NLC) have entered the fray. The NLC sponsored two young women, workers from El Salvador garment maquiladora, a factory sewing for GAP. These workers spoke for half a million garment workers, many as young as 13 who are employed in the Central American Free Trade Zones. Claudia and Judith described the humiliation and abuse. "Workers were allowed only two 5 minute bathroom breaks during their 14 hour days. To force them to work faster, supervisors hit them. To retain their jobs, the girls must take birth control pills. Those who get pregnant are given pills to induce miscarriages." GAP was petitioned at its headquarters in S.F. to demand contractors provide decent working conditions. When managers failed to conform, GAP withdrew contracts throwing hundreds out of work. Hardly a solution! In December, 1995, GAP agreed to renew the contract, becoming the first retailer to do independent monitoring for compliance with codes of conduct.

This is one success story among many failures especially in Guatemala where Wal-Mart is one of the giant retailers contracting with Korean managers of the maquilladoras. When I traveled to Guatemala on a Habitat for Humanity dedication in December, I met my friend and union organizer. Flor looked awful, recently recovering from a hysterectomy operation. It was painful to hear her story. A few months ago, when she had began organizing maquilladora women, intimidating phone calls began. One day, while riding a bus, she was forced off by two gunmen, and savagely raped. Her work continues in spite of threats and her own fears. Support from the Chicago-based organization, GLEP, has stiffened her resolve to fight.

However, we can put our inspiration from the march into consumer awareness. Public pressure is a stunning message to retailers that profits and greed need to be balanced against human needs.
For Information, Updates, and Action, contact:
*Sweatshop Watch
468 Bush St, 3rd Floor, San Francisco 94108 415/391-1655
*National Labor Committee
15 Union Square West, New York NY 10003 212/242-0700
*Guatemala Labor Education Project
333 S Ashland Ave, Chicago IL 60607

The "Fight the Right" weekend had an appropriate and thought provoking kickoff on Thursday and Friday nights right here in Santa Cruz.

On Thursday, April 11, Rosemary Dempsey, Action Vice-President for NOW spoke at Oakes College at UCSC about "Fighting the Politics of Hate." She stressed the importance of joining the fight against impending encroachments on rights which we now take for granted and which other people have died for. She said, "Often we don't appreciate how quickly we can lose our civil rights."

Dempsey defined Affirmative Action as "a very gentle implementation of federal law," specifically the 1964 Civil Rights Act. She sees it as a compromise which sets goals and time tables, but is not really law in itself.

She cited the findings of the Glass Ceiling Commission as evidence of the need for such policies. This commission, which was mandated by President Bush, found that 97% of upper level jobs in Fortune 500 companies were held by white men. When men holding these jobs were asked their theories about why these statistics are true, many suggested very negative explanations such as the laziness of Latinos and the fact that women "won't work full time."

Dempsey also addressed the upcoming vote on the California Civil Rights Initiative which she said would change California's sex discrimination law from the strongest in the nation to the weakest. She noted the frustrating use of "doublespeak" by the writers of the proposal who use the same language as the words used in the Civil Rights Law. The proposal says that "race and sex" can not be used to correct inequalities of race and sex.

Dempsey views California as a "trial state." She feels that if CCRI can be passed in California, it will then be "rolled across the entire country."

One of the major effects of this proposal would be felt on college campuses where the last hired would be the first to let go. Generally speaking, these people tend to be women and people of color.

Dempsey's speech was particularly effective and heartfelt because it was punctuated with personal anecdotes about her own experiences with discrimination. In 1979 her ex-husband challenged the custody of her children by using her sexual orientation. In fact, however, she says that the issue turned out to be money and not the well-being of their children.

She also battled discrimination when she moved to Florida with her partner to start a business. They were harassed, and the business was actually burned down. That issue, too, turned out to be economic as the people who owned the land her business was on wanted to sell it to the Hilton and make a lot more money.

Dempsey's impassioned plea for action ended with a memorable reminder that, "Whenever we divide ourselves by issue, we do the work of the fundamentalist right for them."

The Santa Cruz preliminary events continued on Friday night at the Light and Life Community Church on Brommer Street where Ted Jefferson hosted his nightly radio show for KSCO AM as an open public forum.

At this forum Patricia Ireland, the President of NOW, debated Rev. John Rankin from the Theological Education Institute in Hartford, Connecticut on the topic of Affirmative Action.

Ireland began with an 18 minute statement of her views. She said that she likes to define feminism as she saw it defined on a tee shirt as, "the radical notion that women are people." She also said that she herself has been the "proud beneficiary of Affirmative Action."

She argued that the economic disparities in this country can not be ignored and quoted the depressing statistic that 1% of the country controls 40% of the wealth.

Rev. Rankin then was given the same amount of time to explain his views. He noted that his Christian world view demands that any policies he supports be "consistently affirmative" for everyone involved. He explained that because some people are denigrated by Affirmative Action policies, he is opposed to them.

Following the presentation of both sides of the issue, audience members were invited to participate by asking questions on air.

The atmosphere was charged with tension during the question/answer period as both sides grappled with understanding and listening to the opposing views.

MAY

02      7-9pm. Thurs. SCCNOW General Meeting. Kid's Klub, Harvey West Blvd.
        335-7704.
17      CA NOW State Conference. North Hollywood.

02      Gay Pride Parade
06      7-9pm. Thurs. SCCNOW General Meeting/Elections. Kid's Klub, Harvey
        West Blvd. 335-7704.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR
(not sponsored or endorsed by NOW)

MAY

Asian-American Awareness Month

01      International Workers' Day

2-3     Thurs/Fri. 8:30-5:30. Building Bridges Across Differences.
        Watsonville Community Center. Call YWCA for info. 724-6078.

05      Cinco de Mayo

12      Mothers' Day

15      International Conscientious Objectors Day

15      Wed. 8:00-3:00. 1st Annual Teen Women's Conference. Veteran's Hall,
        Watsonville. For info: 408-763-2310 or 477-4244.

17      World Communications Day

19      Muharram (Islamic New Year)

20      Victoria Day (Canada)

24      Women's International Disarmament Day

25      African Freedom Day

27      Memorial Day Observed

31      The March for Social & Economic Justice begins with Rally at CA
        State Capitol. For info, call 619/583-7347 or 619/594-6541

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