U.S. "RUNAWAY SHOPS" IN MALAYSIA

(LNS)--This is only a partial listing of the giant U.S. electronics corporations that have shut down plants here to open "runaway shops" in Malaysia: ITT, RCA, Motorola, Texas Instruments, National Semi-Conductor, Hewlett-Packard. U.S. firms have recognized the profitability of relocations to Malaysia since 1971. Malaysia is now the world's leading producer of semi-conductors, due primarily to U.S. electronics firms there.

work assignments to dismissals under a special 1969 "Industrial Relations Act".

And profit made by foreign electronic firms in Malaysia is profit kept. The Malaysian Government grants such corporations "pioneer status'. This special subsidy frees firms from income tax for up to ten years. Companies can extend this tax-free status for additional years by introducing one new product each year. And the Malaysian Government offers other fringe benefits: training schools for person. nel; low-interest loans; low-cost electricity; clearing land; leasing plants; no import or export duties, etc.

The U.S. Government supports both Malaysia (in the form of available military credit sales) and the U.S. corporations (with non-taxable profits for using this money for overseas construction),

Profit is ensured in two ways: 1) low wages; and 2) governmental subsidies and tax rebates from both Malaysia and the U.S. Malaysian officials attract prospective investors with "wages that are among the lowest in Southeast Asia" and "trade union activities are either banned or remain at a low level". Many cheap laborers can be employed to produced more high-priced electronic components. "It costs them about 88 cents to make a semi-conductor they sell in the U.S. for $8." At an average wage of $2 per day, corporations can afford round-the-clock production 6 days a week. Malaysia also guarantees companies absolute control over production from recruitment of workers through E.R.A. MARCH ON WASHINGTON

One hundred thousand women converged on Washington, D.C. last month to demand ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, the largest women's march ever. As the crowd gathered on the Mall beneath the Washington Monument, women asked each other, "How many people are here?" When Ellie Smeal announced that the police estimated between 60,000 and 90,000 and inore were still marching down Constitution Avenue crowd cheered wildly. We felt powerful!

The Complete Text Of THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Section 1.

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3.

This amendment shall take effect

two years after the date of ratification.

the

What made so many women stand up for the Equal Rights Amendment? The ERA itself is not an earth-shattering piece of legislation. It is a rather basic statement of equality between the sexes under the law. But if the ERA were defeated, every woman in that crowd understood what it would mean. One woman I spoke to said, "I'm fighting for myself as a woman. I am going to be equal in this country,'

For the National Organization for Women, this demonstration was a departure from their previous strategy. For six and a half years, NOW had urged its members to fight in their state legislatures, in the halls of Congress, and on the campaign trail. Not in the streets. NOW's lobbying efforts had failed to gain the crucial state ratifications, and a motion to extend the ratification deadline was stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.

July 9, 1978 marked a change, a new beginning. Looking at the faces in Washington that day, it was clear that the march represented the beginnings of a real broadening of the forces that are ready to fight for women's rights.

Although the march consisted largely of white and middle class women, there was a significant contingent of working women, union women, minority women, There were women miners. Women ship builders. Nurses. Auto workers. Steel workers. Many young faces. Students. Housewives. There were large, enthusiastic lesbian

These "runaway shop" profits affect both American and Malaysian workers. Fewer jobs are available for American workers. No effort has been made to hire from the unemployed of the Malaysian cities. Instead, Malaysian women from the coun. tryside are recruited into an unorganized, underpaid, overworked, unhealthy, but controllable factory workforce.

contingents. For many, many of the women, this was their first demonstration, the first time they were making demands on the government.

The recent right-wing attacks on affirmative action, abortion, maternity benefits, gay rights, hit these women hard on the job, in their schools, and in their communities; their participation will grow as women, Blacks, gays, working people are forced to defend themselves. July 9 proves that women are beginning to respond.

Ten days after the march, the House Judiciary Committee approved by 19-15 an extension of the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment by an additional 39 months. The resolution now goes to the full House, and then to the Senate.

Another amendment that would allow states to reverse their approval of the ERA was defeated by the Judiciary Committee 21-18. Still up in the air is whether Congress can pass the extension by a simple majority vote or by a two-thirds vote.

The leadership of the women's movement should take a lesson from this victory. It is clear that the July 9 demonstration convinced the Judiciary Comittee to move. If there is a filibuster in the Senate, or if states are reluctant to ratify, we should know what to do! How do you think they'd like it in Springfield, Illinois if 100,000 women visited?

Carolyn Platt

THE UNRATIFIED STATES

PHILADELPHIA "NEWS"

Philadelphia (LNS)--Women's rights, Puerto Rican rights and various community organizations are protesting the derisive columns by Pete Dexter in the Philadelphia Daily News. Dexter's response to being asked to leave a women-only speak-out on violence against women was printed in the Daily News: "If they were looking for rapists, there were a couple of their own people who looked more experienced than I did."'

F. Gilman Spencer, the editor of the newspaper, contends that the columns should be read with a "sense of humor". But neither rape nor racism are funny. Protest by writing or calling the Philadelphia Daily News, 400 N,. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101, Area Code 215, 854-2600. Petitions protesting the rape articles are available from Wages Due Lesbians and the Philadelphia Wages. for Housework Committee at 602 S. 48th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19143, Area Code 215, 726-7926. ABORTION COFFEES

(Feminist Bulletin, June-July, 1978)-Women with Southern Westchester NOW and NARAL are promoting the Right to Choose with a new grass roots tactic, Abortion Coffees. Giselle Melnick explained that the purpose of these CR-type sessions is to "defuse the word 'abortion' so that it will become as respectable as the word 'pregnant'. It wasn't too long ago that 'pregnant' was a dirty word. People said 'in the family way' instead."' PENAL CODE IMPROVED

new

(New York Times, July 30, 1978)--Amid cries of "perverts" and "garbage" from the gallery, the New Jersey State Senate last week approved penal code which, among other things, eliminates all penalties for sexual acts in private between consenting adults. The code also standardizes sentencing, requiring prison terms for some violent crimes, and it changes the rules of evidence in rape cases to favor victims.

During its decade-long gestation, the penal code endured many vicissitudes and they may not be over yet. To win passage, its supporters had to include a provision that allows 13 months for amendments before the code goes into effect.

With the new code, New Jersey joins at least 18 other states in legalizing all forms of sexual contact between consenting adults.

In New York, meanwhile, Governor Carey last week signed a bill dealing with another kind of sexual relationship. The new law subjects the men who patronize prostitutes to the same penalties as the prostitutes themselves, meaning that "johns" can be fingerprinted, photographed and booked upon arrest. Furthermore, it provides that a pimp can be convicted solely on a prostitute's testimony. EXCLUSIVELY......... for WSW

(Grand Canyon)--Phyllis Schoofly, infamous speechmaker of a highly reactionary group, will be quieter than at any other time in her vocal career. She has developed a severe echo.

Ms. Schoofly arrived here yesterday to view the Grand Canyon Women Artists Exhibit. She was last seen getting into a huge sculpture done in her honor. The beauty of female sexuality lives in "Natural,'' as does Ms. Schoofly now. She slid down a long hollow fallopian tube into an ovary. The ovaries lie somewhere down the canyon wall just above the floor. From the sound of her voice, she'll be a long time coming.

(New York)--A major broadcasting company confirmed reports that R. M. Brownie, a bright new mystery writer, has mysteriously disappeared. Ms. Brownie was completely absorbed by a character in a new script at the time of her disappearance. Molly Bolt, a close friend of the writer, told police that a character in search of an author pulled a plain brown wrapper over Ms. Brownie's head and abducted her to an uncharted jungle.

September, 1978/What She Wants/page 5