Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-03-04
Women's News
And Views
BY Odessa Overy
Secretary Women's Bureau
Region 2-B


have even gone so far as to say
that they pity the women wher
and if they do get the equal
status bill through congress
Well l would like to tell these
few individuals that the women
have been fighting for equal
rights since around 1861. Things
that the women are fighting is
for the right to have an educa-
ton the same as the men. The
women in older days seldom had
an education beyond the third
grade.
The women were classed as
slaves, and the men treated them
as such. The wives, had to do
their husbands every wish, or
rather l should say, their every
command. If a wife worked he
could and would in most cases
collect her wages. The biggest
share of the men would beat a
wife whenever she didn't do as
he wished her to. A wife in re-
turn had to put up with this
kind of treatment, because if she
left him she was compelled to
return to him any one who pro-
tected her was liable for law
suit.
In the late nineteenth century
the women were finally gaining
recognition, and were granted
the right to attend school as far
as they wished to attend. In
the twentieth century the women
were still trying to obtain more
recognition then, shall | say the
gentlemen cared to have them
obtain.
In August of 1920 the women
picketing and struggling for 30
years, finally obtained the right
TO vote, and if this was some
thing to be sorry for will the
gentleman come forward and
please tell me what is so terrible
about the women having the
same right as the men TO vote
for something that we all must
live by. | think that if it wasn't t
for the women voting in the No
vember election perhaps there
wouldn't be quite so many labor
candidates to reach Washington.
The women still had a long
battle ahead of them trying to
convince their own husbands
that it was the proper thing to
do, as well as the politicians.
Now they tell us that they need
the women's vote, not just in
the city, state, and national, cleo
tons, but also in the union cleo
tions. The men just don't want
to give way to the women's
whims as they call them. They
still think that women should
take the back seat, but / have
seen many women that do a
am better job of things then
the men.
Now the women are fighting
for equality rather they have
always been fighting for equal
ity, but this time they are COM
ing out with equality at work.
| do not mean that they want
to take the mems jobs away
from them. They just want the
same wages that the men are
getting when they are working
on similar type of work, The
seems to think that
they can get by with saving
money if they put women on
jobs that are specified as mems
jobs but still pay them womens
wages. This is the thing that we
are striving to overcome. 1t
really is a gain for the men as
well as the women for the men
do not have to fear, that women
will take jobs away from them.
II safeguards them to the point
that management will not hire
women to replace the men. On
the other hand the women are
asking for one seniority list and
that they be laid off in line of
seniority. This is one phase of
the bill that | don't care much
about, at least at our plant. We
have as many women as men
and when there is lay off it
seems that the men always go
farther back on the seniority
list. II might work out alright
but | will have to have it proved
to me first.
The UAW-CIO is backing up
this bill and | think that they
know what they are doing, and
certainly hope that it isn't for
the purpose of running the
women out of the union, They
are always saying that the union
needs the women and the women
need the union. So hope that
they don't intend to turn us
back to slavery again.