VANITA'S

STORY

IZER

The Cleveland Council of Union Women is looking for ways to fight discrimination in employment. By inviting women who are involved in law suits and grievances against employers for discrimination to their meetings they hope to: publicize these cases, learn from other women's experiences, make this experience known to other women who need it, and encourage women by letting them know that they have support and are not alone. At their May meeting, the Cleveland Council of Union Women heard Vanita Staton and found hers to be a clear case of discrimination and moved to write a letter protesting her unfair discharge. The following is Vanita's story.

photo by Barbera Winslow

For years it has been common knowledge among women that Ohio Bell, like all the other Bell systems, discriminates against women in hiring, in promotion and in rate of pay. The Bell system is an example of an employer which benefits from the careful use and abuse of unskilled female labor. The Bell system has traditionally been one of the few places an unskilled woman could find employment and training. In return for this favor she is expected by the company to give up good pay, job security and the hope of ever being promoted.

Recently the company in an out of court settlement was forced to set up affirmative action plans and award back pay to women who were arbitrarily being paid lower rates than men -solely on the basis of their sex. Part of the affirmative action plan was the provision that women be hired into the better paying "men's jobs" which did not actually require the use of a penis.

Vanita Staton was one of the women hired in Cleveland to work in a nearly all male unit in a repair office in the A.T.&T. long lines division. Vanita, like many Bell new-hires, is a twenty year old, unskilled high school grad. She has a six-year old son to support. Her job was a clerk position requiring phone work which involved scheduling repairs and taking complaints, and some light typing

Her first assignment on the job was to retype her job description, adding new duties assigned by her supervisor. The original 4-page description grew to 23 pages. Her supervisor, who is unpopular in the office and considered to be incompetent by most of the other workers, began blaming his mistakes on Vanita. He would ask her to type his reports over and over es he added or osions he had made-and then he filed "lost ume" reports on her, claiming that her work was too slow and inaccurate sounds fam Car, doesn't it?)

Vanita, who is a member of the Cornmunication Workers of America, did not just go home and cry in her beer. She reported his behavior to her steward, who met with the supervisor

to discuss the accusation of unfair treatment. After the meeting, during which the supervisor admitted his guilt, the union agreed with Vanita that it was a case of unfair treatment, and notified his superiors of the decision. Vanita's supervisor agreed to inform the union of any future problems he felt he had with Vanita's work before taking action.

and with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. When asked why her supervisor treated her this way, Vanita's reply nicely summed up everything:

He was brought up in an all white neighborhood Instead, he waited until the office stewards and I was brought up in an all black neighborhood. were out on union business and then immediately fired Vanita. He wrote a 3-month evaluation of her work stating, according to Vanita, that "'! was incapable of improving my skills." She refused to sign the evaluation.

The stewards returned and the matter was brought to a union meeting. 250 people walked off the job to protest Vanita's treatment and demand that she be rehired. The walkout was covered on radio and television. Walkouts are often held to protest the firing of members for carrying out union business, but this walkout protested the discriminatory treatment of a rank and file black woman member.

Vanita's local president, Jim Irvine (C.W.A. c. 4350), helped her file racial discrim: action charges with the Gro Civil Rights Co

Vanita, who was chosen over other applicants to do a job, and who did her best to carry out the duties of her job, found herself fired after 3 months. Why? Was she ignorant, incompetent? Her 250 fellow workers say NO! What She Wants feels strongly that Vanita did all the right things and deserves to get her job back, to get all her back pay and a new supervisor.

How did Vanita feel about her discussion with the Cleveland Council of Union Women "Fm what I heard today, I think

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Cleveland union walks out to protest

discrimination against

rank & file member

page 1/What She Wants/July 1974