New-York tribune., 1909-12-29
AGAINST EQUAL PAY
COMMISSION NOT FOR
GENERAL MOVE.
Suggests -4lternatiue Plans,
Gi1ing Some Relief to
UOmen Teachers.

! llc schools reported yesterday that equal
izing the salaries of men and women
teachers would cost from $7,O00,G0o to
| S11,oOo,o0o, depending on how fully it
was done
Gustav H Schwab. Of the North Ger
man Lloyd Steamship Company: John B.
Clark, of the New York Central Rail
road, and Charles H. Keep comprise the
commission.
Five alternative propositions are sub
mitted by the commissioners. the lead
ing one being that the pay of men and
women teachers in all grades above the
sixth might be equalized, leaving the
pay of women teachers below the sixth
grade unchanged.
The tenor of the report with reference
To equal pay for equal work is that
| the market price ought to control, and
that the city ought to have the benefit
if the market price of Women's labor
is less than that of men.
The Mayor sent a letter to each of
the commissioners thanking him for his
work. The commission was appointed
in November. 1t received from the
president of the Board of Education a
ton of salaries This statement shows
that to equalize salaries of all women
who are teaching in the same grades as
men with those of the men now en-
ployed in such grades would amount 70
a cost of S7,S3LG62 OF annually
To equalize the salaries of all women
with the salaries Of men throughout the
system would cost $11.426, sol IS an
nually.
The commission reports that the presi-
dent of the Interborough Association Of
Women Teachers does not ask for the
equalization of the salaries of all women
with those of men throughout the sys-
tenn 1t adds that the organization rep
resenting the women teachers now
stands by the provisions of the so-called
white BILL which was passed by the
Legislature in 1907 and vetoed by the
Mayor and by the Governor. This bill
gives the Board of Education power u
adopt bylaws fixing the salaries of
teachers, subject, however. to certain
important mandatory provisions of the
statute, chief among which are that the
first years salary of any teacher shall
not be less than $T20 which is $l20 d
year more than the present minimum.
1t also provides that the salary of an
assistant to principal shall be greater
than that of a grade teacher. The high
est salary of a grade teacher is now
81, a year, and the present salary
of an assistant to a principal is 81 500
The bill further provides that the
maximum of salary of women teachers
shall be reached in twelve years. At
present women teachers reach their
maximum salary in sixteen years An
other provision is that no salary now
paid to any teacher shall be reduced.
The commission says: This seems a
very ambiguous provision, and under it
il is not certain whether the Board Of
Education must adopt schedule which
is not lower at any point than the pres
ent schedule, whether they may. sub
ject to the other provisions of the bill
adopt any schedule they please. but
that. if such schedule reduces the salary
of any teacher now teaching. such
teacher shall continue to receive the
salary which he (or she) now receives"
The commission makes the following
statement to the Mayor:
In the general market for labor. men
command higher wages than women.
This fact imposes hardship on the women
who have children or relatives dependent
upon them and favors men who nave no
one to support but themselves It has a
beneticent effect in the case of married
women and young children whose sup
port Is provided by male wage Garner.
In New York we are confronted by the
fact that there are 10,510 women en-
ployed in the kindergartens and lower
six grades of the elementary schools. and
only 445 men. In most of the lower
grades no men are employed. Including
principals and assistant principals. they
constitute One-third of the teaching
force The problem of eQualizing pay,
therefore, does not necessarily affect the
teachers of the lower grades. but in
those of the upper grades il is real
and serious problem.
II is clear that the rate of pay which
Will attract women of high quality does
rot suffice to attract men of an equally
high grade The Department of Educa-
ton if unhampered by mandatory stat
utes, might conceiVably adopt any one
of several possible plans:
F'irSt-It might raise the pay of all
women above the sixth grade to the level
of the present salaries of men. leaving
the schedules unchanged in the lower six
grades This would treat very unequallv
two classes OF women and is not desired
by the Association of Women Teachers
Second-It is possible TO raise i'm this
way the salaries of women in the upper
grades and also TO make ii corresponding
addition to those OF women in the lower
grades. This would give 10 the men pay
based on the market rate for more or less
similar labor. and would give To the
women a very large addition to such
market rate. The figures submitted to
US by the Board of Education show
that, if the mems salaries remain un-
changed, this system would entail an ad-
ditional cost to the city OF about Sl1.-
100000 per annum
Third-A more moderate increase
might be made in the rate of pay for all
women. leaving the pay of the men un-
changed. This would not bring the paw
of the two classes to equality but il
would not exclude the men from posi-
tions where they are needed.
Fourth-It would be possible 10 make
this moderate increase in the pay of all
women, and either suddenly or gradually
to reduce to the same level the paw of
all the men. 50 that the rates for the two
classes would be ultimately equaized
This of course. would drive the more
valuable men out OF the school system
Fifth-lt is possible to remove from
the present schedules any glaring in
euualities which are now 10 lie found q.
terial increase of salary 10 4 large body
Of women. including those in the lower
grades.
The commission adds that a more