Page 8
University Daily Kansan Wednesday. Feb. 4, 1959
'Forgotten Men' Plead Their Cause
(Continued from Page 1)
"How does the public and Gov. Docking think a man can live on a wage like that?" he asked.
"People seem to think that if a man works for the state he is getting good money," he continued. "The real situation is sadly different."
Maurice Weaver, a truck driver, said the reason the public thought workers were getting good wages is that nobody had ever taken the trouble to tell what the wages are.
'One thing we want to stress is that the report we were getting 70 per cent of the union scale is incorrect,' he said. In some cases, even before the cut, wages were closer to only 50 per cent of union scale.'
"This cut in hourly wages wasn't the only thing that hurt us," V. R. Votaw said.
"The wage as it is now, is figuree on a monthly basis on hours. Civil service regulations say that overtime pay starts after 200 hours. The University has cut us to 176 hours a month.
"If we get hurt on the job we have to bear the expense for treatment of ourselves," Votaw said. "We used to get free treatment at Watkins Hospital for injuries, but that was discontinued.
"I came in at $1.22 and worked here for a year, and then they started hiring men at more money at $1.34 even though I didn't get a promised raise," said Everett E. Hazlett, laborer.
"One thing I've always wondered about was a raise I was promised when I first came to work here," Hazlett said. "I was supposed to get it last July but it never came. When I ask about it, nobody seems to know."
The Civil Service Board has no jurisdiction over wage standards—just labor relations. The Finance Board, composed mostly of cattlemen and farmers control wage standards, the men said. Not only are wages low, but they are inequitable in that little distinction is made between skilled, unskilled workers.
"Did you know that state truck drivers have to carry their own liability insurance? The University doesn't pay for that—we do," Weaver said.
The men went on to explain that they received only two benefits in addition to regular wages -vacation with pay and sick leave with pay.
They expressed indignation when one member of the group revealed that he had been called into a University office to explain why he made a trip to Topeka to see a legislature member.
"Why that's prying into your private affairs," one man said. "That's what they do in Russia."
The men reacted very strongly when someone asked if this seemed to be just a game of politics.
"That's just what it is. The Democrats and Republicans are firing at each other and we're the ammunition. We're just getting slapped around in a fight between people we don't know.
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The men were asked what they thought of the report that Docking would veto the bill that would extend their prevailing wages until July.
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26th Year
"One or two men can work on a job in a small college. Here at the University there is more work involved. Eighty per cent of our work is construction work," said R. C. Cooper, carpenter.
"That's just mighty poor judgment. It sounds to me like the man doesn't realize the cost of living has gone up something terrific in the last few years," Weaver said.
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(Continued from Page 1)
"There is a vast difference between us and the small colleges," he added.
Agreement Seen
It is believed that by putting all workers under the civil service pay scale, criticism would disappear from state workers who are not included in the present Senate bill.
The bill will go to the House ways and Means Committee and then be sent to the House floor for action. However, should the compromise plan work out, a new measure would be placed before the Legislature.
A key legislator told the Daily Kansas the compromise proposal seems to have the approval of both University and statehouse officials.
Only KU and K-State employs would benefit from the present Senate bill.
Word Power Answers
(From Page 2)
Vocabulary Ratings: 20 correct,
excellent; 19-17 correct, good;
16-14 correct, fair.
1-C; 2-A; 3-B; 4-A; 5-D; 6-A;
7-B; 8-C; 9-B; 10-C; 11-A; 12-D;
13-B; 14-A; 15-D; 16-B; 17-A;
18-B; 19-C; 20-D.
TV's Peter Gunn Is Former KU Student
Craig Stevens, who portrays a rugged detective in the television series, "Peter Gunn," was a KU pre-medical student from 1935 to 1937.
Stevens then went by his real name of Gail Shikles Jr. He is best remembered here for his performance on the freshman basketball team in 1935-36.
When he entered KU his main goal was a career in dentistry. But at the insistence of his father, a Kansas City, Mo., school teacher and KU graduate, Stevens enrolled in speech courses.
In 1937 he decided to try his acting ability with the Pasadena Community Playhouse, but intended to return to Kansas to get his degree in dentistry.
Stevens continued as an actor, however, and in 1941 he was given a contract with Warner Bros. studio in Hollywood. He has appeared in a total of 32 movies.
While working on his second
Two More on Honor Roll
Jack Schrader, Parsons sophomore, and Mary E. Schultz, Kansas City, Kan., junior, were unintentionally omitted in yesterday's listing of the College honor roll.
movie, "Steel Against Sky," he met Alexis Smith, whom he later married.
From the movies, Stevens went on to a mediocre career in television. He appeared on the Schlitz Playhouse, Fireside Playhouse, and in the "Tales of the Texas Rangers" and "Mighty O" series.
His House too Big for Him
CHICAGO — (UPI) — Police were called in yesterday when four-year-old Elinathan G. Smith got lost in his family's 45-room mansion. Police found him behind a divan in the living room.
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