''Good Ole Boys''

[Anonymous <pres291@AOL.com>]

 First,let me say ,I am not a woman,but I do deal with this problem.
 I am a union rep and have come face to face and head to head with this ''good ole boy'' network many times. I too have faced retaliation for simply trying to get fair treatment,not special,but equal 
treatment for some of the women in my local. This network is an insidious conspiricy 
by a few that are power hungry to hold that power and keep those ''trouble-makers'' in 
line. I can't say that I have been in the shoes of the women that have had to deal 
with this,but I have seen,and felt the impact on the ones that are dealing with it here.
 I have seen an otherwise strong,determined person driven to tears by the underhanded 
actions of those in charge. I have had to spend weeks and in one case months,trying to 
help  these women feel strong and secure enough to file charges against these people and 
in a few cases I filed them my self as the ''injured party'' to draw attention to this 
problem and try to end the discrimination. Today for example, I opened the door of a work 
vehicle( I work for the State government) and out slid one of the filthiest magazines 
I have ever seen. I took this to managment ,they called all the fore men in and advised 
them that they need to be ''more discreet '' about the magazines. MORE DISCREET! I 
insisted that they ALL be removed from where ever they are by tomorrow or I will file 
more charges. The foremen were told to remove them. Great,right? Wrong. By the end of 
the day some of the people I had considered friends were reminding me that we work in 
traffic and accidents can happen. I was talking to one man about it and he was trying 
to tell me there is nothing wrong with it, I asked him how he would feel if it were ''KKK'' 
material ( he is black)   he said that is entirely differant, that is ''racism'' the other 
is ''just'' sexism. My point,if I can find just one, is this, all men are not  the enemy. 
We can work together to end this
but it will be a long battle. Look for the allies whereever you can find them . 
Thank you for allowing me to respond
Chas ( pres 291)