The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-09-12
SURVEY SHOWS WOMEN PREFER
 TO STAY ON JOB
BY cENEVIEVE SCOTT tUnllea Press Stan COErespondeT

NNNNANAA NINkO AWt-N0A F-ANN.aN the Riveter probably win change her Slaeks involuntarlly for Q postwar houSedreSS unless unprecedented peaeetlmo production Is achieved in the Rutomotlve industry,
 rnterviewerS with high-rankinV officials of leading automobile companies and with labor repre-. Sentatives showed one thing clear. ly-that the woman war worker the lowest In seniority rating, will be the first to feel the blow oi large contract cancellations,
 Cutbaeks already approxlmatinl $S, 000, GOO have caused Q drop oi thre per cent in womens auto motive employment since January lsAA, according to figures of th' automobile council for war pro- dWction. At the present time, 2I per cent, or 100000 of the workers are women, compared to per cen' in pre.war automotive production,
 A survey by United Automobile Workers (CIO(, showed S6 pel cent of the women answered yes to the question;
 "If Q job Is available, will you continue to work outside youl home after the warq"
 similar queries by the Thompson Products O., and Hendix Aviation Corp, showed affirmative replies from a per cent and 64 per cen of the women respectively,
 similar queries by the Thompson Products co, and BendiX Aviation Corp. showed affirmative replies from SA per cent and 64 per cen of the women respectively,
 Last Hired, First Fired
 Top representatives of labor ant management say that under pro visions of union contracts, womel workers, the latest hired, ar placed at the bottom of Seniorit, lists. Consequently, they are thI first fired when production fall or contracts are cancelled,
 officials of Ford, Packard, Gen eral Motors, and BendiS pointed out that many of the women vii return to their homes. having ae cepted war work aS wartim duty. Others will join returninI veteran husbands and many ar expected to leave when the $5S6 average weekly wage is loweret by abolishment of overtime
 But the women who had no worked hefore-the young girl ol her first job and the women with out children-are expected to re main, Some maintained they like, factory work, did not find it physi cally hard and found 1t more in teresting than pre-war feminin occupations,
 If We are going to reach Q higl national income, there must b more women employees" said Ern est Breech, president Of Bendi Aviation, Women have incom accustomed to making high in comes and 1t is hard for them | quit and go back home. It's laudible ambition to keep as man women employed as possible"
 Essential in Radio
 Breech said he would not expeC women to be keept on heavy labe jobs but that they would prov essential in the radio division ( the company, Q small pre-wa division, which he said will becom a vital part of the organization.
 Plans of General Motors, a summarized by c. E, Wilson, presi dent, would provide maintenance of employment of 100000 com pared to the 2s4,000 figure befor Pearl Harbor, Ten per cent of tn pre-war employees were women whil the corporation now employees lS5, 900 women workers or 80 per cen of the total,
 Ford and Packard showed a per centage of women employees of 3 and 28 per cent respectively,
 Women will be at the bottom of the seniority list and the re turning veteran at the top" Ford spokesman said. If there 1 a turn to all-out production, t maintain high national income there will be a great shortage c labor when industry drives to mee the demand, Then women will b back in the factory"
 R. J. Thomas, UAW-CIO presi dent, predicted a lay-off perio for women immediately followin the war.
 But if the capacity productio is maintained as soon as norma output is resumed" he declared there will be jobs for all. We mus have maximum utilization of ou nations machinery, labor powe and natural resources. Manage ment cannot forget the job wome have done in this war and ther won't be any seniority trouble there is plenty of work.
 After the last war, women wen into the office. After World Wa II. they will go into the plant, t stay"