- and rape by customers she has refused advances

Do: you ever wonder when you pass a
restaurant and see a ‘Help Wanted — Waitress”
sign in the window, or go to a Manpower office
and notice that no matter how few jobs are open,
there are nearly always requests for waitresses

regardless of the unemployment level? There is §.

a reason. A good reason.
How convenient is the restaurant for the

waitresses who have to work in it? How have

their needs been catered to? How is the table and

floor plan laid out for convenience in serving andy

step-saving? How far must they travel to fetch a
glass of water? A piece of cutlery?. Crockery?
Salt, pepper condiments and napkins? How
convenient are the chairs and tables for cleaning
the floor, ete? And the lighting — how easy is it
for them to see to write out the orders?

Almost invariably you will see the kitchen at
one far end of the restaurant, the aisles awkardly
arranged, requiring a maximum of steps to take
the customer's order, than back to the kitchen to
relay the order, than back to the table, then back
to thekitchen — for about four to six round trips
before a single table is served and the table
cleared.

‘That is one’ aspect.

With dim lighting, ‘“‘semi-private’, booths, a
young, attractive waitress is highly vulnerable
as a target for crude behaviour from male
customers. Add to this the fact that many
restaurants are now licensed to serve liquor.
Aleoholic consumption in near darkness, and
semi-privacy of restaurant booths in an obscure
corner makes the waitress an even more
vulnerable object of sexual advances from male.
customers. Yet the waitress is always aware of
the necessity for “pleasing” the customer, If she
gives him the brush-off too openly he will make
his anger known to the manager. Several
complaints — and the waitress can lose her job.
If she shows even a normal dislike of obscenities
hurled .her way by drunks, near drunks, and
grabby run-of-the-gutter smart alecks, she can
suffer in a score of ways. |

Unfairly — low wages force her to rely on-
“tips”. If she doesn’t play along with the
customer -no tips. It’s as simple as that. More
than one waitress has been the object of assault

from.

And speaking of safety? Waitresses often have
to.go to work early in the morning, and also take
their shift late‘at night. For hospital nurses and
other institiitional female staff, contracts may
call for free transportation to and from work
after ten o’clock at night. Not so for waitresses.
Restaurants usually refuse to accept any
responsibility for the dangers involved of having
to go home after dark.

There is a third area of hazards for waitresses.
This also can and does apply to chambermaids.

‘The young “sexy” highly attractive girls
usually are able to fend off unwelcome ad-
vances... not only from customers but also from
their male managers and bosses. It, however, is
not so easy for the older women, with families
dependent on them at home for support. They
cannot quit and walk telling the customers and
boss: to “‘shove it’. And, all too often the
customers and employers know this — and take
full advantage. . .

At least one local establishment is noted for a
situation of this sort of sexual exploitation of
staff to a most shocking degree.

Not only is the wage scale extremely poor for
waitresses, -job security is practically nil: A
waitress can put in faithful service, year after
year. She can suffer in silence returning only
smiles and good nature when the cooks spoil the
food, the milk turns sour, the toast burns, the
bread is moldy, and the chicken or hamburger
under-over cooked or on the turn. One day a
sweet young thing comes in to apply for a job.
The boss takes a look at the pretty little doll —
and the look in his male customers eyes as she
walks in. Then he looks at the plain, tired,
haggard ‘‘old faithful’ — who -has varicose

veined legs from beingrun ragged on her feet
all day. You don’t have to carry the situation any
further; you know what happens next, without
being told.

What is the answer to this sort of exploitation?
Is it a true picture of the profession of waitress
today — in Terrace and in Kitimat? Is this an)
over-dramatization, a ‘“Tear-jerker” of a
writeup to sell newspapers, tear at readers
‘heart-strings, or what? -

Busy as waitresses are; tired as they must be
from long hours of work, perhaps some of them
will come across this editorial, and they will read
it for thémselves.

If this is just so much “hogwash”’, hopefully
some of them will write and tell us so. We would
be most delighted to hear how wrong we are.
How a conscientious waitress is able to earn a
‘successful living at her job. How she is able to
please her boss, serve her customers politely and
efficiently without being subject to getting
pawed at, sworn at, have to wrestle or humour
drunks; that she is able to afford her own
automobile and drives to work and home again
without having to walk the cold damp streets in
the morning dusk and the dark, scary streets
near midnight, That she is able to work and
enjoy her profession year after year, knowing
she is covered with some sort of retirement pian
that will keep her comfortably in her old age;
that her husband and children are able to feel
proud their wife and mother is a respected
waitress; one they can be proud to tell their
friends about, We'd love to hear it!

anted |"

oe ele
el age EE patie

Above photo from negative taken by Gordie Howe,

_ less than 4 months ago, is of dog tied to line, said to
be one of 3 dogs owned by family of squatters in
Thornhill district of side road near Jackpine Flats.
Left ted, in starved condition, blood soaked snow
tells story of long delayed death that resulted when

ea a OOD

In My Opinion

by Vic Jolliffe

chain ruptured dog's windplpe. Another dead dog
was recovered by Howie under house nearby; ‘a
third dog was running wild, killing neighbour's
geese, and had to be destroyed. Terrace—Thornhili
has no SPCA, Voluntary worker, Gordie Howe, has
had to destroy numerous “pets” similarly

mistreated and abandoned by owners. Concerned
residents of Thornhill area are desperetely trying
to organize a local branch of the SPCA and put
some teeth in laws preventing cruelty such as
shown above. Phato enlargement courtesy Eri
Brerup. :

How not to plan a new courthouse

This is the second part of an article regarding
the Provincial Government's announced in-
tention to build a Health Unit; and new Court
facilities on land presently owned by the
Government on Kalum Street — Zoning R.3
Residential.

The former N.D.P. Government purchased
this land for housing and built a senior citizens
housing complex on the south west corner.

The Health Unit plans were, we are told, in the
working drawings stage - although neither the

Regional District; nor the Municipality, has any .

idea of what is in the plans. This time last year
the Regional District offices were to be located in
the complex-and the taxpayers in the region
were to pay up to Four Hundred and Sixty
Thousand Dollars ($460,000) as their share.
There are indications from B.C.B.C., that the
building has been drastically cut. One recent
letter indicated that perhaps.a One Million
Dollars savings could be realized. A local Ar-
chitect is working on the drawings.

It would appear that the location. of the Health
Unit is now settled. The new Court facilities are
a different story altogether. —

The building of a Court Room, holding gaol;
and other government offices in what is essen-
tially a residential area, will put pressures on
existing zoning which will influence land
development on our community. Lawyers like to
build or have their offices as close to the Court
facilities as possible. There is no land in the
immediate vicinity zoned for this purpose.

The houses on Olson Street running east from
the back of the Shell Station, wo

Paina ale ao SS DOSS MRR

 Otta

the first area to be looked at by developers for re-
zoning for Commercial use. The land on the west
side of Kalum, between the E. T. Kenney School
and: Kalum Street, has been considered as the
futuiesite for Skeenaview, and may indeed finish
up being used for that purpose -- it is at present
residential.

If one looks at the District of Terrace zoning

' map, you will see that the Commercial zone is

designed to spread as a ribbon adjacent to the

.Lakelse Avenue, and south to the rail tracks. .
‘The centre of the town is Eby and Lakelse. The.

placing of the Court facilities in the north-east

corner of the community is not deemed to be _

good planning.

_ The Provincial Government’s crown cor-
poration B.C.B.C., has corresponded with the
District of Terrace on March 7, 978, recom-
mending, and I quote, ‘that Council change its
zoning for the Court House and Health Centre
and recommended that Council upgrade Olson
Avenue, build side-walks, curbs, gutters, storm

drains, blacktop pavement, in the block Flanking -
our property with adequate storm drainage,.

street lighting and other services as required.”

* Council met with B.C.B.C., ofticials, and were
told that the crown corporation was a profit
oriented entity and expected the District of

Terrace taxpayers to pick up the cost of the-

above services. Members of Council informed

to negotiate, but didn’t take lightly to the heavy-
handed way the crown corporation was handling

things

_the Corporation that they were certainly willing ~

The services are being costed out and a further
meeting will be held between the two parties.
The latest item to arrive is a rather caustic
_ letter from our M.L.A., who for a short time was
amember of the Terrace Council. It can only be
assumed that Mr. Shelford was either ill-
“informed as to what Council's position was, or
that the M.L.A. is supporting the government to
the detriment of the people that he represents.
To comply with the Government’s requests
would take in excess of One Hundred and Fifty

“Thousand Dollars’¢9160,000. .out:..of... thé,
District. of Terrace taxpayers pockets, -.I, had.

always thought that the system went the other
way. .

Re SSC

There is one other interesting item. When the .

Government revived the story that they were
going to build new Court facilities in Terrace -
one of our local speculators went around and
optioned some residential land, and thex tried to
persuade the Government to purchase that land.
[didn’t hear the M.L.A. making any noises about
that one — how come?

April 25th . This article was written before
Monday night’s Council Meeting of April 24th.
The reader should consider that this is one
person’s opinion -- in the same way as when you
listen to the radio, it is one reporter’s opinion, as
to what is happening.

Let me assure you that all members of Council

are attempting to achieve the very best .

arrangement with the Provincial Govenment for
the Jocal taxpayer - and I sincerely hope that our
M.L.A. will support us in our endeavors,

by Richard Jackson

Ottawa — So they’re starting to phase out
wage and price controls this very month, and
what do you know?

Why, it’s going to cost only $1 million less this
‘year than last to operate the Anti-Inffation
Board,

And while controls may fade away, the AIB
and its staff of 750 lives on.

Especially the staff.

For when the Board finally does wind down —
and its Director General Ralph Blackwell allows
that could happen by the end of next year — the
“'Son-of-AIB” will be born.

As you might guess, ‘‘Son-of-AIB” is planned
as a post-controls monitoring wage and price
agency, to be run by Sylvia Ostry, chairman of
the Economie Council of Canada.

Sylvia says — and Sylvia carries clout — that
the agency likely will have a statf of 100.

Most of them will come from the Anti-Inflation
Board to the new agency, to do what, beyond
drawing their salaries?

Who knows. .

For Sylvia’s monitoring agency will have no
power beyohd the questionable authority of
exerting “‘moral swasion.” "

If it should find some wage and price levels
wildly out of line, Sylvia’s brave band of 100
survivors of the AIB will be able to jump up and
down, point an accusing finger, and scream
“shame,” ,

But that’s about all.

Remember how it was back in late 1975 when
the AIB was first set up?

Prime Minister Trudeau has spent the 1974.

election ridiculing the very idea of wage and
price controls as proposed by the Conservatives
to contain inflation. '

And then, in the very next year after doing an
abrupt about face on controls, the government
solemnly promised that the AIB staff: would
never exceed 100 or cost more than the $5.4
million it took to launch the agency.

Well, in ‘only another year, the staff had

ballooned to 920, and the cost to $22.9 million.

There was a bit of trimming of staff in 1977, but
because of the cost of outside consultants
largely, the cost crept up to $23.2 million.

For the current 1978-79.federal financial year
when controls are being phased out and they're
preparing for the birth of ‘Son-of-AIB”, the cost
of operations is down only slightly to $22 million,
with a staff shaved back to 750. a,

Which goes to show you that old public service
agencies not only never die, they don’t even fade
away. .

It could only happen in the never-never

-bureaucratic land of “Fat City,” where public

servants are never. laid off it they can be tran-

sferred, or if all else fails, even promoted.

The process is smoothly synchronized.
As controls begin phasing out this month, the

_Staff will start dwindling, and by the ena or next

year, perhaps vanish completely,

But as AIB slowly and painlessly expires with
its staff disappearing itno the public service
woodwork ‘‘Son-of-AIB” will be being born along
with a starting 100 new jobs.

There’s a worrisome similarity between
“father” and “son” in this. particular agency.

AIB started out with the promise of never
needing more than 100 on the payroll, and went to

0.°

Its “‘son’’ comes into the feathorbed world of

the public service with ine same pledge of

restraint,
Makes you wonder, what?

ISERIES RN Sere

Letters to Editor:
Disapproves of ‘Vigilante’

Who are you,
Vigilante? .Are you s0
special you can't sign
your own name? If you
are guing to be em-
barrassed about what you
write - you shouldn’t
‘write anything at all!

As far as reference to
the School District 8B
which you seem to enjoy
picking upon, | and

~ {
government jobs - they.
are awarded to peopl
who really want to work
and have the ability to do
go. And if you can't.do the

for money - or anything,
else because in the end,

Signed: Not afraid - B.
Michaud

TERR ACE/KITIMAT

daily herald .

General Office - 635-6357
Circulation - 635-6357 Sterling Publishers
PUBLISHER...Don Cromack

MANAGING EDITOR...Ernest Senior
REPORTERS...Donna Vailieres (Terrace-Thornhill)
REPORTERS...Seott Browes (Kitimat-Kitamaat)

Published every waekday at 3212 Kalum_St., Terrace,
B.C. A member of Varitied Circulation. Authorized as
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job, then don’t take it-on .

you only hurt ‘yourself,

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