› history on civil rights," she observed. "I don't ik that there was anything like a mandate in the O elections to revert to the standards of a generaago in equal employment opportunity. It is a at signal of the irresponsibility of national leader>," she continued, "that such proposals would be forward at all, especially given the fact that they not likely to succeed at this time. It is most ir: ponsible when you consider that putting such proals...in, largely has the effect of polarizing people the basis of race and sex....That is unworthy of a mber of Congress". She further noted that "Most ninistrations, Democrat and Republican, even en they have not liked these remedies, have felt at the point was to make us one people-one whole >ple".

Affirmative action is not meant to be popular, but Įny people are misinformed about the process of particular remedy, she noted. She described afnative action as a temporary set of extraordinary hedies designed to "self-destruct" after two or ee years, when its goal of correcting a discrimtory practice has been achieved. This type of cisely targeted corrective action has strong supt, not only from civil rights groups, but from ny labor unions and the courts as well, she obİved.

Ms. Norton noted that, for reasons that are newhat different from those of civil rights ganizations, the business community has also Come deeply divided and distressed with many of proposed changes. For example, she observed t while the OFCCP needed streamlining and Jorm, the administration, rashly and without coneration of the issues at hand, simply slashed 75 cent of the companies (those employing fewer in 100 people) from coverage by OFCCP rules, ile leaving many concerns of larger companies ch as cost cutting) unaddressed. She termed the ve "irrational," since 80 percent of all new jobs cur in these smaller companies. "They've ended up h a patchwork that satisfies no one," she exined.

In the name of regulatory reform, they have cut legs from under [civil rights] enforcement," Ms. rton said. She went on to suggest that the focus w was not so much regulatory reform, which is an going concern of any administration, but rather ulatory dismantling. A case in point, she said, is

"hit list" of the President's Task Force on gulatory Relief. Among the EEOC guidelines geted for review are the sexual harassment idelines. Preventing sexual harassment on the job sts nothing and requires no paperwork, she noted.. ther it calls for defining and stopping a behavior. Even if, for some reason, they could wipe away the idelines, they could not wipe away a cause of acn for sexual harassment," she noted. "The federal urts have found that this a violation of Title VII". But I think business may have its own reasons, cluding not wanting to be sued for this very embarssing kind of conduct, for proceeding to enforce idelines that, after all, don't cost it a dime," she d. "Everyone would understand that if racial rassing goes on day after day, the employer would liable. What in the world is the difference with kual harassment?"

The issue of discrimination will still have to be ced even after the Reagan era passes, "and it will ss," Ms. Norton noted tersely. Many proposals, e suggested, are being put into the hopper to see hat reaction they get, and Congress is not getting ough reaction from us. She did not believe, wever, that outright destruction of enforcement s likely to occur; rather, she speculated that agenes and remedies would probably be chipped away adually until they were sufficiently weakened to be able to do their jobs.

"While the more extreme bills will not pass tomorw, they would pass the day after tomorrow if we let em simply lie there as if they didn't mean anything anyone," she warned.

+

AFGE Abortion Benefits

At least one union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has resisted the Reagan administration's September 24 announcement that it was cutting abortion coverage from Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) programs According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), effective January 1, 1982, abortion benefits would be paid only when the woman's life was endangered. The change would affect more than 8.7 million people.

AFGE is one of nearly 140 FEHB insurance carriers and, according to AFGE attorney Joe Henderson, the only carrier specifically to refer to abortion. in its description of benefits. AFGE promptly asked the courts. for a restraining order to block OPM's attempt to curtail benefits. The judge ruled that OPM did not have the authority to curtail payments for abortions without an act of Congress. Henderson told WSW that, although OPM Director Donald Devine has the authority to administer federal health benefit plans, he cannot dictate the benefit negotiation process. The ruling, however, applies only to employees covered by AFGE. Henderson noted that one other union, the National Treasury Employces Union (NTEU) has also filed suit against OPM, based on the AFGE ruling. NTEU has paid for abortions as part of its pregnancy-related benefits. Since the ruling, however, Devine, in a letter to

A Minor Watergate

(HerSay)-Tish Sommers, Director of the Older Women's League, is charging the Reagan administration with cooking up “a minor Watergate" in an effort to prevent the upcoming White House Conference on Aging from criticizing cuts in services to older Americans. The Conference is held every ten years; this year, for the first time ever, women's

德

}

organizations have lobbied successfully to have the problem of older women placed on the agenda.

The Conference, which is made up of 1800 delegates appointed by Congress members and state governors, has been expected to take up the questions of proposed further budget cuts. Chief among these is a proposal to slice into SSI benefits, which Sommers describes as "welfare" for the impoverished elderly. These benefits were earlier included in the "safety net" for the truly needy, which the administration had promised to let alone. Hardest hit by any cuts in SSI, Sommers points out, would be elderly women, who outnumber elderly men by three

to one.

The New York Times recently reported, however, that the administration appears to be maneuvering to "assure that the meeting does not become a sounding board for criticism" of the President. Both the director and the assistant director of the conference have been fired, and a newly chosen advisory committee has decided to add 200-400 "presidential" delegates to those already chosen in their home states. In addition, the Times reports, the original 1800 delegates have received mysterious phone calls, in which they were asked explicitly what political organizations they belonged to. Sommers herself was called and questioned in a survey which was represented to her as an official one. However, she says, it now appears that the "survey" originated at offices located in the Republican National Headquarters building.

I

NATIONAL NEWS

AFGE, gave the union an ultimatum: drop abortion coverage voluntarily or be dropped from the federal program. Henderson explained that Devine's letter referred to an amendment to the 1981 supplemental appropriations bill banning FEHB abortion payments. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Ashbrook (R-Ohio), passed in the House but not the Senate.

As a result of the letter, U.S. District Court Judge Gerhard Gesell lectured Devine and the OPM on its obligation to abide by a court ruling and follow the legal appeal process. As of October 15, Devine agreed to include full abortion coverage under the AFGE plan, but has not yet delivered amended brochures describing the coverage. To date, OPM has not appealed the judge's decision.

All Peoples Congress

Over 2,000 people, representing a coalition of more than 100 labor, political and social organizations, met in Detroit October 16-18 at an All Peoples Congress to plan a strategy to combat the Reagan administration's anti-people policies. After two and a half days of discussion, which included 26 workshops on various issues, many of them directly affecting women, the Congress voted overwhelmingly to organize massive national "Days of Resistance" April 24 to May 2, 1982 opposing Reagan's cutbacks in social services and the buildup of the military.

Speakers at the Congress included a large spectrum of political viewpoints and social concerns; unions, blacks, Hispanics and women's organizations, Vietnam veterans, homosexuals, politicians, community organizations and foreign activists were represented. People from 43 states and 14 foreign countries attended the Congress.

According to a coalition statement, "The Reagan program of cutbacks, attacks on labor, racism, sexism, lesbian and gay oppression and buildup for war is meant to increase the enormous privileges of the rich at the expense of the majority of the people, particularly the poorest, most discriminated against and most oppressed".

Besides the Days of Resistance, the All Peoples Congress voted to organize a "Winter Offensive" of regional activities against the Reagan administration's cutbacks.

Majority Pro-Choice

(HerSay)—According to an Associated Press/NBC poll released on the eve of hearings last month on a proposed constitutional amendment which would severely restrict the availability of abortions, a majority of Americans-even those who do not personally believe in abortion-feel the procedure should not be outlawed.

Forty-four percent of those polled said they believed that abortion was not wrong; 49 percent said it was wrong; and 7 percent were not sure. However, among those who said they believed abortion was wrong, two out of five respondents still said they didn't believe the procedure should be illegal.

These results were corroborated by reaction to a recent Ann Landers column devoted to the testimony of Dr. George Ryan, President of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, against the proposed human life bill. Landers says she expected strong reader reaction to the column, but "was unprepared for the tally". Those supporting Ryan's and her pro-choice position ran "30 percent ahead of the opposition," she writes, while letters critical of her stand were mostly "threatening, hysterical and abusive".

"